| Another good year for movies rolls by, although there's probably a lot of rubbish out there that I didn't watch. No Lord of the Rings to make my list seem one sided either, so this years list should be more interesting than the last three. Also, as usual I must add that I can't see every film, so if you find any omissions that you are shocked by, chances are that I haven't actually seen them - just look in my reviews (I'm behind with posting at the moment though). If you have your own thoughts then email me at dave_or_did@yahoo.com, or post them on the guestbook. As always, please bear in mind I have classed these films as coming from 2004 because they've been on general release in the UK in 2004 and I personally have seen them on cinema or video this year. |
| Review of 2004 |
| My Favourites 1. Hero & House of Flying Daggers: Couldn't decide which was better but both are stunningly beautiful and breathtakingly exciting 2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Manages to be both clever and stylish but still very moving 3. 21 Grams: Powerful film with some superb performances 4. Dead Man's Shoes: Dark, original and overlooked British gem 5. Zatoichi: Comically violent and wonderfully bizaare samurai flick 6. Shaun of the Dead: Hugely entertaining homegrown 'rom-zom-com' 7. The Incredibles: Pixar can't put a foot wrong - great action/family film 8. Lost in Translation: Subtly touching and beautiful film 9. Spider-man 2: Possibly the best traditional superhero movie around 10. Old Boy: Outstandingly well made film, just loses a couple of marks for being so damn disturbing and twisted |
| Plus, films just brimming under : Touching the Void, Super Size Me, The Station Agent, Japanese Story, The Bourne Supremacy, Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events |
| The Worst (there are probably worse out there, but I avoided them) 1. Code 46 (pretentious and unbelievably dull) 2. Van Helsing (this headache-inducing bombardment of CGI is proof that less is more) 3. Aliens Vs Predator (not as fun as it should have been and painfully dumb) 4. Blade Trinity (someone needs to put a stake to the heart of this deteriorating franchise) |
| The Dissapointments (Where I expected more) Kill Bill Vol. 2 (not quite the trash extravaganza of the first - maybe it should have been one whole film after all) Infernal Affairs (its pretty good, but uninspiring considering its hype) Hellboy (looked wonderfully warped on the trailer but never quite delivered) The Village (nice and scary, but enough with the 'big twists' Shyamalan!!) |
| Top Ten BO of the Year (US Grosses) 1. Shrek 2 2. Spider-man 2 3. The Passion of the Christ 4. The Incredibles * 5. Meet the Fockers * 6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 7. The Day After Tomorrow 8. The Bourne Supremacy 9. The Polar Express * 10. National Treasure * (* still on release, based on projected grosses) |
| My personal Oscary type thingies |
| Best Director: Zhang Yimou (Hero/House of Flying Daggers) (close contender: Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine....)) Best Actor: Benicio Del Toro (21 Grams) (cc: Paddy Considine (Dead Man's Shoes)) Best Actress: Naomi Watts (21 Grams) (cc: Toni Collette (Japanese Story)) Best Screenplay: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (cc: Shaun of the Dead) Best Cinematography: Hero (cc: Old Boy) Best Special Effects: Spider-man 2 (cc: The Incredibles) Best Music: Lost in Translation (cc: Dead Man's Shoes) |
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| Top 10 Action Scenes 1. Hero - Jet Li vs. Donnie Yen 2. Spiderman 2 - Train sequence 3. House of Flying Daggers - Bamboo fight 4. Bourne Supremacy - Moscow car chase 5. Zatoichi - Gambling house massacre 6. Old Boy - Hammer fighting 7. Kill Bill Vol. 2 - The Bride vs. Elle 8. The Incredibles - Escaping the island 9. Shaun of the Dead - Zombies get in the pub 10. Touching the Void - The first fall off the edge |