Top Ten Films of 2004

I considered for a long while whether I wanted to do a year-end Top Ten list. My movie-going has fallen off recently after losing my free pass when I quit the local theater, getting a theater worthy set-up in my home, and embracing the convenience of Netflix. Still, I looked at the past year in film, and I found so much to delight in that I figured it was my cultural duty as a film fan to add my two cents to the world of film opinion.

So, here is my carefully considered, though somewhat limited Top Ten films of 2004.

10 – Dawn of the Dead

This remake of the George Romero classic deserves its own place among the best splatter films. Fleeing from a growing plague of zombies in suburbia, a rag-tag group of survivors takes up refuge in a shopping mall. Skipping the social satire of Romero’s original, this film goes for pure visceral shock. The zombies aren’t the lumbering lugs we’ve become accustomed to dealing with; most of them could run down Barry Sanders for lunch. Though the film does lose some of its impact upon second viewing, when you know upcoming scares, the first run through is pure horror at its best.

9 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

For the first time in the franchise’s history, the beloved Harry Potter books became great cinema. The first two films suffered from being too faithful in their adaptations and so the thrill of seeing the books on film was somewhat muted. But this time around director Alfonso Cuaron brings a thrilling new imagination to Hogwarts that finally feels, in a word, cinematic. The cast of young talent continues to grow into fine actors, most notably Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger, who all but steals the film in the final act. This chapter bodes well for the rest of the franchise if future directors follow Cuaron’s lead.

8 – Farenheit 9/11

Let’s get this out of the way first: I think Michael Moore is an ass. This patriot of the little man has not been in the little man’s shoes for years, and his battles continually inch closer to condescension. That being said, he is a masterful filmmaker. Take out the politics of the film (the bias fluctuates from desperate to ridiculous) and watch the film for its editing, for its use of music, and for the little stories that Moore manages to find in the middle of his Bush bashing. Is Moore pushing an agenda here? Absolutely. But it’s HOW he pushes that agenda that makes this such a compelling film.

7 – The Incredibles

It took me a minute to get used to this film. I walked in expecting another jolly romp like Monsters, Inc. or Finding Nemo. That’s not what The Incredibles is. Short and sweet – this is an action/adventure in the truest sense of the word. The more I considered this film the more I realized that is very much like another film you’ll find later on this list, in that it surrounds superheroes with common man troubles that are as difficult as the next super villain coming down the pipeline. My favorite anecdote about this film is that after seeing it the makers of the new Fantastic Four film had to go back and add dozens of special effects shots after realizing that The Incredibles’ elastic matriarch made their Mister Fantastic look like a Commodore 64 construction.

6 – The Bourne Supremacy

Of the films on my Top Ten List, this was the most pleasant surprise. A big fan of the original, this sequel to The Bourne Identity came out of (virtually) nowhere to become one of my favorite movies of the summer. Matt Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac black ops agent who finds himself wrapped up in another plot that he remembers nothing about. The always reliable Brian Cox and Julia Stiles return to their roles from the original, and Academy award nominee Joan Allen joins the cast as another agency foil for Bourne. Matt Damon continues to impress as the title character, bringing a down-to-earth humanity to a larger-than-life hero.

5 – Collateral

Tom Cruise should never play a hero again. Ever. As hitman Vincent, Cruise projects a cool, intelligent menace that is so much more compelling than the cheesy-grin heroes that made him a household name. After kidnapping Jamie Fox’s lonely taxi driver, the two begin a dusk till dawn nightmare through Los Angeles. Cruise got raves (and an Academy nod) for his misogynist motivational speaker in Magnolia, but I thought the performance was way too over-the-top. In Collateral, Cruise goes ultra low-key, and turns out one of the best silver screen villains in recent memory.

4 – Kill Bill Volume 2

Kill Bill Volume 1 got rave reviews from critics, but left me ultimately unfulfilled. This is only natural considering it was half a movie. Kill Bill Volume 2 is not only a superior film to Volume 1, but it actually makes Volume 1 better. Uma Thurman remains pitch perfect as Beatrix Kiddo (aka The Bride) as she seeks revenge on those who murdered her fiancée and kidnapped her unborn child. But the revelation in this film is David Carridine as the title character Bill. Much like Cruise in Collateral, he projects a steely, low key menace that keeps the audience on edge each second he is on the screen. Tarantino returns to form with his sharp dialogue and visceral filmmaking, something I felt got a little out of hand in Volume 1. In Volume 2 he has created a film that transcends its genre.

3 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Charlie Kauffman possesses an unrivaled creative mind. I don’t know what planet he spends his downtime on, but it is definitely not Earth. That being said, I found many of his previous films to be lacking humanity. Being John Malkovich and Adaptation were interesting concept films, but I left both scratching my head more than relishing the gentle pulling of my heart strings. Here Kauffman finds a way to weave his quirky sensibility into a compelling love story. Bolstered by the tremendous performances of Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, Kauffman examines the power and influence of memory and its influence on those we love. Make no mistake, despite the curious concept and virtuoso filmmaking, this is one of the greater love stories of the new century.

2 – Friday Night Lights

A high school football movie that both embraces the constraints of its concept and bucks them. Billy Bob Thorton plays the head football coach in a town where high school football is all they have. Thorton brings gravitas to a coach whose intensity is in his eyes, not in his mouth. The football feels genuine without being stagy, and the team members show how they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulder-pads. The relationship between the offensive end and his alcoholic father (played wonderfully by Tim McGraw) reaches a heart-rending conclusion that had me sobbing at the back of the theater. One of the greatest sports films of all time.

1 – Spider-Man 2

We go from one of the greatest sports films of all time to the best superhero movie of all time. If the Academy Awards were about justice and not pretension, Spider-Man 2 would win Best Picture this year. I can think of no other film in recent memory that was so universally loved by the critics and the public alike. Watching the film for the second time just recently, my admiration for it only grew. Every single note of this film is perfect. It does not misstep once. From the comic book art of the opening credits, to J. Johah Jameson’s incessant ranting, to Mary Jane’s final line – “Go get ‘em tiger” – everything in this movie is as it should be. I cannot understate my admiration for Sam Raimi who handles the quiet human scenes (Peter’s confession to Aunt Mae) as deftly as the epic action sequences (the train sequence was absolutely astonishing). Only a filmmaker with unmatched confidence could reach back to his cult horror film days and use those tricks to remarkable effect in a $100 million blockbuster. At the risk of endorsing fascism, Sony Pictures should keep Raimi working on these films for the rest of his life.


Last year was a tremendous year to be a filmgoer. This next year promises to be equally as compelling. The Star Wars film franchise will reach its epic conclusion. Batman Begins reenergizes the Dark Knight. Harry Potter will return (with a book too, ironically) in the fall. Constantine and Sin City promise to be sensationally fun dark horses, and there’s the smelly turd of the Fantastic Four threatening to soil the major Marvel film franchises. At the very least, it will be an interesting year.