Top 9 movies: Summer 2004
I meant to write this like three weeks ago, but that's ok...
The following are my top 9 movies from the summer of 2004. I wanted to see 10, but we ran out of time and didn't get to see some I wanted (mainly Collateral). Note that my top 9 only includes movies I saw during the summer. So regardless of how good they were, my list will not include Shrek 2, Anchorman, Manchurian Candidate, Princess Diaries 2, Van Helsing, etc.
1. Bourne Supremacy. I would definitely not have expected this to be my favorite movie of the summer. Hell, I didn't even really like Bourne Identity. But this one was so much better, in that there were a lot more plot twists. I like movies where you don't really know who to route for and against until the end. Also had one of the best car chases I've ever seen. Can't wait for the Bourne Ultimatum :-)
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This is the only movie I saw twice this summer. Some of the huge fans of the books didn't like this movie as much as the first two because the director didn't follow the outline of the book as much. I didn't mind, and rather than comparing it to the book, I compared it to the other HP movies, of which I consider this to be the best so far. I'm a big fan of character movies (best character director: Wes Anderson) and new director Alfonso Cuaron depicted the HP characters so the audience could relate to them better through their personalities and relationships with each other. Some would argue that HP is a fantasy so you shouldn't be able to relate to them, but that's what I like in a movie so I liked it.
3. Troy. This movie had some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen, including Brad Pitt vs. Eric Bana and Eric Bana vs. Some really tall Roman dude. Unlike some movies, I found all the subplots to be engaging. I should note that the first two and last two movies on this list were very easy for me to pick. But the middle five really gave me some trouble.
4. Garden State. I was expecting this movie to crack my top two or three but it didn't quite make it. Zach Braff and Natalie Portman are each amazing in this movie, but the supporting cast was a bit of a letdown. The movie showed flashes of brilliance, but it often moved too slowly, which kept it from really being great. I hope to see Zach Braff writing/directing many more movies though because I thought he did a good job. There was some color imagery, along with some good lines that make you think.
5. I, Robot. I wasn't expecting too much out of this movie. In fact, I'd wanted to see King Arthur the night we went to this movie instead, but that probably would have been a mistake. This movie was really pretty good, despite the female lead who was very monotone and unbelievable throughout the movie. The plot was good. My favorite part and the part that makes you think was when they revealed why the robots began attacking the humans even though they were specifically programmed never to harm a human. I won't spoil it for you.
6. Dodgeball. See above. I wasn't expecting much, and I wanted to see the Terminal instead, but this movie was definitely impressive. Some parts and lines were incredibly funny. And the message was good too. My boss used to use this movie as an example of how the underdogs / Average Joes / our small business can beat the GloboGyms of the world. Other parts of this movie were really weak though, which kept it from my top 5.
7. Spiderman 2. I wish I had room on my list to put this movie higher, because I did really like it. But I wasn't a huge fan of the first movie and the same holds true here. It was enjoyable, but not really something I'd want to go see a second time. I feel that if I had walked into this movie 40 minutes late I would have enjoyed it more. The beginning dragged on way too long with establishing relationships that we already knew about from the first movie. After that though, the action sequences were simply amazing. I agree with the critics that the CGI mixed with live scenes were a breakthrough, but essentially the only really entertaining parts of the movie unfortunately.
8. Little Black Book. Rachel dragged me to this one over Collateral :-P. It wasn't a bad movie, but it was a very typical girly movie. Pretty predictable as well through most of the movie. It was a decent romantic comedy. The best romantic comedy so far this year has been 13 going on 30, but I've got my hopes on Wimbledon and Closer being good too.
9. The Village. No contest in this one being the least favorite movie I saw during the summer. I was very disappointed how non-scary this movie was, and all eight or so people I saw it with agreed. A horribly predictable "plot twist" that I was able to guess before the movie was half over. And seriously just not scary at all. It's only saving grace was great performances by Jack Phoenix, Adrien Brody, and Bryce Dallas Howard (look for her to get some big starring roles in the next few years).
So that's my list. I hope to do another one over the holiday season. The ten movies I'd like to see (in order of release date) are the Incredibles, Alexander, Closer, Blade 3, Ocean's 12, Aviator, Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, Meet the Fockers, Phantom of the Opera, and the Life Aquatic. Some other movies to look out for: Polar Express, Christmas with the Kranks, Spanglish, National Treasure. SpongeBob, Bridge Jones 2, and Flight of the Phoenix.
But before any of that, watch for the movie SAW coming out on October 29. It will be THE scariest movie of the year by far. I've seen three different trailers and the movie is gonna be SICK. It's about a psychopath who instead of killing his victims, gets them to kill themselves. Great Halloween movie. Go to http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=saw and view the Uncensored Trailer
The following are my top 9 movies from the summer of 2004. I wanted to see 10, but we ran out of time and didn't get to see some I wanted (mainly Collateral). Note that my top 9 only includes movies I saw during the summer. So regardless of how good they were, my list will not include Shrek 2, Anchorman, Manchurian Candidate, Princess Diaries 2, Van Helsing, etc.
1. Bourne Supremacy. I would definitely not have expected this to be my favorite movie of the summer. Hell, I didn't even really like Bourne Identity. But this one was so much better, in that there were a lot more plot twists. I like movies where you don't really know who to route for and against until the end. Also had one of the best car chases I've ever seen. Can't wait for the Bourne Ultimatum :-)
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This is the only movie I saw twice this summer. Some of the huge fans of the books didn't like this movie as much as the first two because the director didn't follow the outline of the book as much. I didn't mind, and rather than comparing it to the book, I compared it to the other HP movies, of which I consider this to be the best so far. I'm a big fan of character movies (best character director: Wes Anderson) and new director Alfonso Cuaron depicted the HP characters so the audience could relate to them better through their personalities and relationships with each other. Some would argue that HP is a fantasy so you shouldn't be able to relate to them, but that's what I like in a movie so I liked it.
3. Troy. This movie had some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen, including Brad Pitt vs. Eric Bana and Eric Bana vs. Some really tall Roman dude. Unlike some movies, I found all the subplots to be engaging. I should note that the first two and last two movies on this list were very easy for me to pick. But the middle five really gave me some trouble.
4. Garden State. I was expecting this movie to crack my top two or three but it didn't quite make it. Zach Braff and Natalie Portman are each amazing in this movie, but the supporting cast was a bit of a letdown. The movie showed flashes of brilliance, but it often moved too slowly, which kept it from really being great. I hope to see Zach Braff writing/directing many more movies though because I thought he did a good job. There was some color imagery, along with some good lines that make you think.
5. I, Robot. I wasn't expecting too much out of this movie. In fact, I'd wanted to see King Arthur the night we went to this movie instead, but that probably would have been a mistake. This movie was really pretty good, despite the female lead who was very monotone and unbelievable throughout the movie. The plot was good. My favorite part and the part that makes you think was when they revealed why the robots began attacking the humans even though they were specifically programmed never to harm a human. I won't spoil it for you.
6. Dodgeball. See above. I wasn't expecting much, and I wanted to see the Terminal instead, but this movie was definitely impressive. Some parts and lines were incredibly funny. And the message was good too. My boss used to use this movie as an example of how the underdogs / Average Joes / our small business can beat the GloboGyms of the world. Other parts of this movie were really weak though, which kept it from my top 5.
7. Spiderman 2. I wish I had room on my list to put this movie higher, because I did really like it. But I wasn't a huge fan of the first movie and the same holds true here. It was enjoyable, but not really something I'd want to go see a second time. I feel that if I had walked into this movie 40 minutes late I would have enjoyed it more. The beginning dragged on way too long with establishing relationships that we already knew about from the first movie. After that though, the action sequences were simply amazing. I agree with the critics that the CGI mixed with live scenes were a breakthrough, but essentially the only really entertaining parts of the movie unfortunately.
8. Little Black Book. Rachel dragged me to this one over Collateral :-P. It wasn't a bad movie, but it was a very typical girly movie. Pretty predictable as well through most of the movie. It was a decent romantic comedy. The best romantic comedy so far this year has been 13 going on 30, but I've got my hopes on Wimbledon and Closer being good too.
9. The Village. No contest in this one being the least favorite movie I saw during the summer. I was very disappointed how non-scary this movie was, and all eight or so people I saw it with agreed. A horribly predictable "plot twist" that I was able to guess before the movie was half over. And seriously just not scary at all. It's only saving grace was great performances by Jack Phoenix, Adrien Brody, and Bryce Dallas Howard (look for her to get some big starring roles in the next few years).
So that's my list. I hope to do another one over the holiday season. The ten movies I'd like to see (in order of release date) are the Incredibles, Alexander, Closer, Blade 3, Ocean's 12, Aviator, Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, Meet the Fockers, Phantom of the Opera, and the Life Aquatic. Some other movies to look out for: Polar Express, Christmas with the Kranks, Spanglish, National Treasure. SpongeBob, Bridge Jones 2, and Flight of the Phoenix.
But before any of that, watch for the movie SAW coming out on October 29. It will be THE scariest movie of the year by far. I've seen three different trailers and the movie is gonna be SICK. It's about a psychopath who instead of killing his victims, gets them to kill themselves. Great Halloween movie. Go to http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=saw and view the Uncensored Trailer