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Best of 2004

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SaburoChaos
Mar 18 2005
03:18 pm

The year started out slow, but I thought 2004 was a great year for movies. Here were som of my favorites.

The Aviator – A definite positive on Scorsese’s resume.

Sideways – What’s not to love. It’s so human, compassionate and funny.

The Machinist – A vastly underseen and underappreciated movie about sin the power of guilt.

Before Sunset – Just a beautiful movie.

Undertow – Another underseen masterpiece. Haunting and beautiful.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A complex and powerful love film. Jim Carrey’s performance is worth the price of admission alone.

Collateral – Michael Mann’s gritty chastisement of moral relativity.

Million Dollar Baby – Controversial and powerful. The religious subtext is intriguing.

I Heart Huckabee’s – It doesn’t quite work, but its thrilling to see a movie explicitly explore philosphy this way.

Maria Full of Grace – A superb debut film by Joshua Marston

Dogville – An infuriating mixture of childish politics and powerful parable. Von Trier’s audacity is magnetic.

The Five Obstructions – Another von Trier movie. I love the exploration of how restrictions can improve art.

The Passion of the Christ – After all the hoopla dies down this will be regarded as a great, great film.

The Life Aquatic – Another movie that doesn’t really work, but has its great moments.

Donnie Darko: Director’s Cut – A vastly improved cut of a mysterious and original film.