Best films of 2004:

In no particular order, here are the films that have tickled my fancy so far in 2004. Some of them, like Shawn of the Dead are obvious, others like Mean Girls…are there because they were surprising in their goodness.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A mind trip, and a load of fun.

The Ladykillers – The Cohen brothers can do no wrong, even when nobody “gets it”.

The United States of Leland – Just an all around good movie.

Shreck 2 – I wasn’t expecting this one to be as clever as it was.

Kill Bill Vol. 2 – A better pure movie than the first, but not as fun as the first.

Mean Girls – Probably the funniest movie of the year.

Troy – I’m a sucker for a good Brad Pitt movie…and the swordfighting was awesome.

The Village – I’m the only person on the planet who liked “the twist”.

Garden State – One of the best movies of the year.

Collateral – A rip roaring good time. Enjoyable, violent, and well made.

Shaun of the Dead – Hi-friggin-larious. Funny, and an homage to every movie ever made.

Worst of the year:

The Chronicles of Riddick – Worst…movie…ever. Worse than Glen or Glenda.

Aliens vs Predators – Oh god, stop the pain. It was so horrible

Contenders I haven’t seen:

Stuff I’ve heard great things about, but haven’t had a chance to see.

Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer

Robot Stories

The Passion of The Christ

Dawn of the Dead

Man on Fire

Coffee and Cigarettes

Saved!

Napoleon Dynamite

Danny Deckchair

Hero

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Bubblegum I haven’t seen:

Stuff I know won’t be good, but which just begs to be seen.

The Big Bounce

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Eurotrip

Welcome to Mooseport

Broken Lizard’s Club Dread

Hidalgo

The Whole Ten Yards

Ella Enchanted

Van Helsing