Darren Keeny Movie Experience Top 10 Films of 2004
BEST FILMS OF 2004:
Honorable Mentions: Birth, Collateral, Finding Neverland, Friday Night Lights, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Maria Full of Grace, The Motorcycle Diaries, Shaun of the Dead, Sideways, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Vera Drake.
15. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring
A deeply involving film about life's cycles seen through the eyes of a child becoming a man, and the monk living alone in the forest who guides him. One of the few films you can see that might actually make you a better person.
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Easily the best of the series so far, Alfonso Cuaron's dark and enchanting visual film is like a children's tale for adults only. It also happens to contain the best use of time travel in any film I've seen.
13. Kinsey
An excellent cast and strong filmmaker breathe life into a very controversial subject. The film is fascinating and one of the best biopics of the year.
12. Mean Girls
WINNER OF 4 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE & BREAKTRHOUGH ACTRESS & SEXIEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE & BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (RUNNER UP)!
So what if it is Diet Heathers? Its easily the most rewatchable film of the year and certainly the most quoteable. Fetch!
11. The Bourne Supremacy
Matt Damon officially kills James Bond with his retrocool espionage followup. In a year populated by sequels, this one had what few others did: actual surprises.
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2004:
10. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clint Eastwood's boxing drama/character study is a touching examination of struggle outside the ring. Drawing excellent performances from not only himself but his cast of Morgan Freeman, who has the wise black man role trademarked, and Hilary Swank, proving once and for all that Boys Don't Cry was no fluke, Eastwood keeps the action seering and the small and quiet moments soaring. The film's ending, already causing an uproar, is what makes Million Dollar Baby a knockout.
9. IN GOOD COMPANY
WINNER OF THE RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR!
Paul Weitz's dramedy is the best workplace film since Working Girl. It works like that film because it keeps character before plot even if it does deal with the corporate world of ad sales. When the film ends, you feel everyone has learned something and is in a better place even if they didn't get exactly what they wanted. Topher Grace delivers the goods proving he has what it takes to be the next great screen actor, I'd say the next Tom Hanks. Dennis Quaid - on a strong streak of late - is equally impressive as the older man worried that the young hot shots will end his career.
8. CLOSER
WINNER OF 2 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - SUPPORTING ACTOR (RUNNER UP) & SUPPORTING ACTRESS (RUNNER UP)!
Love hurts but not as much as the truth. Four people's lives connect over the course of four years and we're invited in on their darkest hours with each other. Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman make you feel for them even when they are at their most unlikeable. The dialogue is at times nasty, wickedly funny, tragic and all these things at once. Its not an upbeat take on love and most of the film is harsh to the concept, but Mike Nichols and screenwriter Patrick Marber know that a happy ending doesn't alway involve riding off into the sunset with that special someone.
7. KILL BILL: VOLUME 2
WINNER OF 4 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - SUPPORTING ACTOR & SOUND & EDITING (RUNNER UP) & ADAPTED SCORE (RUNNER UP)!
The second half of Quentin Tarantino's epic sage abandons most of the flash - though some western influence seeps through - of Volume 1 for a deeper, more involving substance. Uma Thurman is superherione assassin seeking vengeance and the actress nails every Tarantino flourish. David Carradine is the greatest villain in recent memory, the suave Bill. The "Elle & I" chapter is the series high point. Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen leave Lucy and Vivica from Vol. 1 in the dust.
6. SPIDER-MAN 2
WINNER OF THE RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARD FOR BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (RUNNER UP)!
The best popcorn film of the year. Sam Raimi's enormously entertaining, big budget spectacle is, no doubt, one of the best comic book based films ever. The drama is gripping, the inside jokes and references fun, the relationships touching. It delivers the biggest surprise: a superhero is actually a normal person. Tobey Maguire is even better this time around. This is the planned middle chapter of the franchise and part three will have an impossible task if it wishes to outdo the exhilerating fun.
5. THE AVIATOR
WINNER OF 6 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - BEST ACTOR & BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS & BEST ART DIRECTION & BEST COSTUME DESIGN & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ADAPTED SCORE!
Martin Scorsese's latest lived up to its years of anticipation! The period detail and old time Hollywood feel takes you into a time warp. The struggle of a man who already had it all is fascinating. The Aviator never takes the easy road going for cheap sentimental schlock, but rather takes us on an emotional journey that goes for the mind. The cast is exceptional right down to cameos by Jude Law and Gwen Stefani as Hollywood legends. Its big flashy filmmaking right to its downbeat but appropriate ending. Leonardo and Cate give the performances of the year!
4. BEFORE SUNSET
WINNER OF 3 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY & BEST SONG & BEST ACTRESS (RUNNER UP)!
9 years after the events of Before Sunrise, Jesse and Celine find themselves in a Parisian dream: walking and talking and walking and talking some more. They talk about politics, their lives, their aspirations, their failures and what happened when they were supposed to meet after the first film. You'll hang on every word. Ethan Hawke and especially Julie Delpy are so at home in their roles that it becomes the natural acting of the year. The final act, with Delpy's beautiful song, is one of the most lovely sequences in film history. After watching this, one thing is certain: you won't be able to wait till 2013.
3. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
WINNER OF THE RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR (RUNNER UP)!
Epic in size but intimate in story, Zhang Yimou's follow up to his other smash international hit Hero is a thrilling saga of surprises. The film walks in risky territory and takes chances most would be afraid of but wouldn't know how to handle, but it pays off in a glorious manner. Ziyi Zhang solidifies herself as the leading international actress of her generation with her performance as the blind daughter of a revolutionary. The two soldiers tracking her cause a sensational love triangle that pays off in some of the most dazzling battle sequences of the year. Its rivaled by only The Aviator as the year's most flashy film.
2. MEAN CREEK
WINNER OF 4 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS FOR BEST FILM (RUNNER UP) & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (RUNNER UP) & BEST DEBUT FILMMAKER & BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE!
Kids can be so cruel. The adults in Closer have nothing on these kids, both in character and performance. Jacob Aaron Estes assembles the best ensemble of child actors whose performances put last year's gold standards - Whale Rider's Keisha Castle-Hughes and Thirteen's Evan Rachel Wood - to shame. A group of kids go into the woods and you can imagine where this goes. What you won't expect is the emotional toll it takes on the characters, which is vivid and painful. Its one of the hardest film to watch you may ever see, but the trip is worth the journey no matter how tough the waters are to navigate.
1. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
WINNER OF 6 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS FOR BEST FILM OF 2004 & BEST DIRECTOR & BEST ACTRESS & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY & BEST EDITING & BEST ORIGINAL SCORE!
There's only one way for you to know how great, how romantic, how funny, how moving, how thrilling, how exciting, how sad, how alive this film is: watch it for yourself. The best film released so far this decade!
Honorable Mentions: Birth, Collateral, Finding Neverland, Friday Night Lights, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Maria Full of Grace, The Motorcycle Diaries, Shaun of the Dead, Sideways, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Vera Drake.
15. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring
A deeply involving film about life's cycles seen through the eyes of a child becoming a man, and the monk living alone in the forest who guides him. One of the few films you can see that might actually make you a better person.
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Easily the best of the series so far, Alfonso Cuaron's dark and enchanting visual film is like a children's tale for adults only. It also happens to contain the best use of time travel in any film I've seen.
13. Kinsey
An excellent cast and strong filmmaker breathe life into a very controversial subject. The film is fascinating and one of the best biopics of the year.
12. Mean Girls
WINNER OF 4 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE & BREAKTRHOUGH ACTRESS & SEXIEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE & BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (RUNNER UP)!
So what if it is Diet Heathers? Its easily the most rewatchable film of the year and certainly the most quoteable. Fetch!
11. The Bourne Supremacy
Matt Damon officially kills James Bond with his retrocool espionage followup. In a year populated by sequels, this one had what few others did: actual surprises.
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2004:
10. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clint Eastwood's boxing drama/character study is a touching examination of struggle outside the ring. Drawing excellent performances from not only himself but his cast of Morgan Freeman, who has the wise black man role trademarked, and Hilary Swank, proving once and for all that Boys Don't Cry was no fluke, Eastwood keeps the action seering and the small and quiet moments soaring. The film's ending, already causing an uproar, is what makes Million Dollar Baby a knockout.
9. IN GOOD COMPANY
WINNER OF THE RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR!
Paul Weitz's dramedy is the best workplace film since Working Girl. It works like that film because it keeps character before plot even if it does deal with the corporate world of ad sales. When the film ends, you feel everyone has learned something and is in a better place even if they didn't get exactly what they wanted. Topher Grace delivers the goods proving he has what it takes to be the next great screen actor, I'd say the next Tom Hanks. Dennis Quaid - on a strong streak of late - is equally impressive as the older man worried that the young hot shots will end his career.
8. CLOSER
WINNER OF 2 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - SUPPORTING ACTOR (RUNNER UP) & SUPPORTING ACTRESS (RUNNER UP)!
Love hurts but not as much as the truth. Four people's lives connect over the course of four years and we're invited in on their darkest hours with each other. Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman make you feel for them even when they are at their most unlikeable. The dialogue is at times nasty, wickedly funny, tragic and all these things at once. Its not an upbeat take on love and most of the film is harsh to the concept, but Mike Nichols and screenwriter Patrick Marber know that a happy ending doesn't alway involve riding off into the sunset with that special someone.
7. KILL BILL: VOLUME 2
WINNER OF 4 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - SUPPORTING ACTOR & SOUND & EDITING (RUNNER UP) & ADAPTED SCORE (RUNNER UP)!
The second half of Quentin Tarantino's epic sage abandons most of the flash - though some western influence seeps through - of Volume 1 for a deeper, more involving substance. Uma Thurman is superherione assassin seeking vengeance and the actress nails every Tarantino flourish. David Carradine is the greatest villain in recent memory, the suave Bill. The "Elle & I" chapter is the series high point. Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen leave Lucy and Vivica from Vol. 1 in the dust.
6. SPIDER-MAN 2
WINNER OF THE RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARD FOR BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (RUNNER UP)!
The best popcorn film of the year. Sam Raimi's enormously entertaining, big budget spectacle is, no doubt, one of the best comic book based films ever. The drama is gripping, the inside jokes and references fun, the relationships touching. It delivers the biggest surprise: a superhero is actually a normal person. Tobey Maguire is even better this time around. This is the planned middle chapter of the franchise and part three will have an impossible task if it wishes to outdo the exhilerating fun.
5. THE AVIATOR
WINNER OF 6 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - BEST ACTOR & BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS & BEST ART DIRECTION & BEST COSTUME DESIGN & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ADAPTED SCORE!
Martin Scorsese's latest lived up to its years of anticipation! The period detail and old time Hollywood feel takes you into a time warp. The struggle of a man who already had it all is fascinating. The Aviator never takes the easy road going for cheap sentimental schlock, but rather takes us on an emotional journey that goes for the mind. The cast is exceptional right down to cameos by Jude Law and Gwen Stefani as Hollywood legends. Its big flashy filmmaking right to its downbeat but appropriate ending. Leonardo and Cate give the performances of the year!
4. BEFORE SUNSET
WINNER OF 3 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS - BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY & BEST SONG & BEST ACTRESS (RUNNER UP)!
9 years after the events of Before Sunrise, Jesse and Celine find themselves in a Parisian dream: walking and talking and walking and talking some more. They talk about politics, their lives, their aspirations, their failures and what happened when they were supposed to meet after the first film. You'll hang on every word. Ethan Hawke and especially Julie Delpy are so at home in their roles that it becomes the natural acting of the year. The final act, with Delpy's beautiful song, is one of the most lovely sequences in film history. After watching this, one thing is certain: you won't be able to wait till 2013.
3. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
WINNER OF THE RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR (RUNNER UP)!
Epic in size but intimate in story, Zhang Yimou's follow up to his other smash international hit Hero is a thrilling saga of surprises. The film walks in risky territory and takes chances most would be afraid of but wouldn't know how to handle, but it pays off in a glorious manner. Ziyi Zhang solidifies herself as the leading international actress of her generation with her performance as the blind daughter of a revolutionary. The two soldiers tracking her cause a sensational love triangle that pays off in some of the most dazzling battle sequences of the year. Its rivaled by only The Aviator as the year's most flashy film.
2. MEAN CREEK
WINNER OF 4 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS FOR BEST FILM (RUNNER UP) & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (RUNNER UP) & BEST DEBUT FILMMAKER & BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE!
Kids can be so cruel. The adults in Closer have nothing on these kids, both in character and performance. Jacob Aaron Estes assembles the best ensemble of child actors whose performances put last year's gold standards - Whale Rider's Keisha Castle-Hughes and Thirteen's Evan Rachel Wood - to shame. A group of kids go into the woods and you can imagine where this goes. What you won't expect is the emotional toll it takes on the characters, which is vivid and painful. Its one of the hardest film to watch you may ever see, but the trip is worth the journey no matter how tough the waters are to navigate.
1. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
WINNER OF 6 RED ROOM MOVIE PALACE AWARDS FOR BEST FILM OF 2004 & BEST DIRECTOR & BEST ACTRESS & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY & BEST EDITING & BEST ORIGINAL SCORE!
There's only one way for you to know how great, how romantic, how funny, how moving, how thrilling, how exciting, how sad, how alive this film is: watch it for yourself. The best film released so far this decade!
posted by Darren at 7:18 AM
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