The Much Anticipated, Long Awaited, Heavily Hyped, Sneaky Cheetah Best Films of 2004!!!!!

Drum roll please.........
In order to qualify for this list, the movie must have been realesed on the big screen in the year 2004. I've waited until the end of February to post this so I could hit a few more movies on DVD. I figure I've only seen 21 films from 2004 . So here's the top 10.

Without further ummm adieu (a do)

10. HELLBOY - A great comic book movie. The characters look great not fake, the action is cool, and the story actually goes into character motivation, something other crappier comic book movies forget. Director Guillermo del Toro's style fits beatifully in this dark supernatural world. Ron Pealman has always been a favorite of mine, since The Name of the Rose. It's nice to see him get a well-deserved lead role in a quality Sci-Fi/Fantasy production. (IMDB rating - 6.7 out of 10)

9. LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU - Read Full Review Here Another quirky winner from Wes Anderson, a great performance from Bill Murray (also the best acting Owen Wilson's ever done), a film you don't just watch, you experience. (IMDB - 7.4)

8. SKY CAPTAIN & THE WORLD OF TOMORROW - Breathtkingly beautiful, this film has style to spare. I hardly believe a film shot entirely on blue screen turned out this great! Especially from a first-time Director and Writer, Kerry Conran. I wasn't a big Gwyneth Paltrow fan until this. She and Jude Law have an incredible chemistry here, just strap in and enjoy the ride. (IMDB - 6.5)

7. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND - I think this is the best performance of Jim Carrey's career, because it's so un-Carrey-like. A trippy mindbender from wierdo Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry, it tops many critics' lists as best picture of the year. A brutally honest film about relationships. And Kate Winslett is so damn cute with blue and orange hair! (IMDB - 8.6, #32 on Top 250 films of all time.)

6. KILL BILL vol. 2 - Not as good as KB1, but still better then all but 5 films this year IMHO. Quentin Tarantino is the greatest filmmaker of my generation. The ass-kicking of KB1 is still here, with a little more story and heart. I really don't think of them as seperate films though, and will treat it as 1 giant Kill Bill experience. (IMDB - 8.2, #92 on Top 250 films of all time)

5. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - Read Full Review Here Deep performances, awesome football cinematography, the best football movie EVER MADE! Director Peter Berg makes his career film. (IMDB - 7.1)

4. HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN - Read Full Review Here - Director Alfonso Cuaron was exactly what the Potter films needed to convey the changes going through our beloved characters and the increasingly complex stories. He focused the story on the magicians, not the magic. Sadly, he's not directing the next one. (IMDB - 7.7)

3. SHAUN OF THE DEAD - Full Review Here - A comedy that will survive as an all-time classic. Writers Edgar Wright (also the Director) and Simon Pegg (also the star "Shaun") show an equal amount of love and disdain for the horror genre. A RomZomCom that will hurt you with laughter. (IMDB - 7.9)

2. SPIDER-MAN 2 - The Godfather of comic book films, only the Spider-Man series has truly gotten it "right." I attribute this to director Sam Raimi's love of our friendly neighborhood arachnid and Toby Maguire's skills. Superman was also Clark Kent, and Batman was also Bruce Wayne, but as any comic fan knows, it's all about Peter Parker, he just happens to also be Spider-Man. (IMDB - 7.9)

1. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGANDY - Read Full Review Here - I'm gonna catch a lot of heat for giving Anchorman the #1 slot, but there's no other film this year that I laughed so hard at, or watched more then twice, or quoted at work, or can see myself re-watching it over and over on cable for decades to come. Having worked in local television the last 4 years also gave me a keen insight into this world, and an appreciation for the humor that most others just don't have. In my cannon of comedy, it joins Spaceballs, Bill & Ted, Billy Madison, and Pootie Tang as the ultimate in silliness and perfect escapism. (IMDB - 6.4)


Honorable Mentions:
Miracle, Shrek 2 (read full review here), Van Helsing (read full review here), The Day After Tomorrow, The Village

The Rest:
Alfie (Full Review Here), Shark Tale (Full Review Here), The Punisher, Jersey Girl, Starsky & Hutch, Torque