The biggest media event in 2004 for me was LOST
- and I didn't even experience it in 2004, since my VCR failed to tape
the first couple of episodes and I knew I wouldn't want to watch the
series out of order. It took LOST to fill the void left by Lord of the Rings, but 2004 had a pretty good crop of movies, most of which I didn't catch in the theater. These were my ten favorites.
13 Going on 30
- Probably my favorite movie of the year. I found it much funnier and
sweeter than I expected, an endearing story of childhood sweethearts and
the mistakes made along the road to adulthood. I loved getting to see
Andy Serkis playing a regular old human, and quite a charming one at
that, and Sean Marquette and Mark Ruffalo are extremely lovable as the
younger and older versions of Matty, the love interest of Jennifer
Garner's Jenna. But Garner was the one who really impressed me as the
teenage girl in adult shoes trying to figure out just where she went
wrong in the 17 years she never experienced.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - One of the strangest movies of the year, it too boasts a Lord of the Rings
alum. Elijah Wood's role as an unethical memory wiper is a far cry from
the virtuous Frodo. The movie stars Jim Carrey in one of his most
dramatic, least frenetic roles to date, while Kate Winslet is his
extremely eccentric love interest. I much prefer his character to hers,
but they play off one another well in this pleasantly bizarre movie
about the importance of one's memories to one's identity. I'm glad I
waited for this one to come out on DVD, since I ended up watching it two
times in a row. It made a lot more sense the second time...
Finding Neverland
- I find Winslet a lot less grating in this film, which also stars
Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore. Depp is Scottish playwright J. M.
Barrie, who seems a little out of touch with reality and is happiest
when reclaiming his childhood with the family led by the widowed Sylvia
(Winslet). Depp's low-key performance is most endearing, as is that of
Highmore, who plays one of Sylvia's sons, the lad who supposedly served
as the model for Peter Pan. A lovely score and cinematography and
creative incorporation of Barrie's fantasy world added to my enjoyment
of this unusual biopic.
Garden State
- There were three main reasons I rented this one. An acquaintance of
mine had heartily recommended it, and I'd heard that its soundtrack
included one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs and that the cast
included Ian Holm, yet another Lord of the Rings alum. I'm glad
they led me to this movie, which is part romance between the quirky
characters played by writer-director Zach Braff and Natalie Portman,
part a reflection on dealing with grief, part coming-of-age story, part
buddy comedy. It all adds up to a pretty impressive directorial debut.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- I couldn't leave this one out. Third in the Harry Potter film series,
it departs more from the books than the first two films but is still in
many ways a wonderful adaptation, from the soaring score to the
sweeping cinematography. Important characters such as Remus Lupin and
Sirius Black are introduced, and while it's a rather painful transition
from Richard Harris to Michael Gambon, Emma Thompson is hilarious as the
wacky Divination professor. Meanwhile, the visual spectacle of the
Hippogriff and the Patronuses are fantastic, and the Dementors are
terrifying.
Mean Girls
- Lindsay Lohan stars in this story of an innocent newcomer to high
school who befriends a pair of oddballs, who encourage her to infiltrate
the class's top clique and do some spying. Of course, she ends up
getting sucked in and must ultimately decide whether popularity is worth
the changes it has wrought to her personality. Based on Queen Bees and Wannabes, a treatise on teen behavior, the movie is a little over-the-top but still fun and occasionally thought-provoking.
Napoleon Dynamite
- I saw this one in the theater with my brother, his friend and the
exchange student staying with us. We enjoyed it, but we couldn't really
think of anything to say about it as we hung around waiting to get
picked up afterward. It's an odd, amusing movie about the triumph of the
underdog. Jon Heder's Napoleon is awkward and towering, always sounding
like he's mad at the world but expressing his frustration with a
surprisingly clean vocabulary. Tina Majorino plays the most normal
character in the bunch, a shy girl who actually finds Napoleon
appealing. The cult hit is full of great catch-phrases that have spawned
everything from magnets to t-shirts. I'm a little surprised there
hasn't been a sequel, but then one movie's worth of Napoleon may be
enough...
Spider-Man 2
- Probably the best of the series, though each installment has its
charms. Alfred Molina and James Franco give great performances as men
turned sour by tragedy, and Spidey's big heroic train scene is one of my
favorite moments in a superhero movie.
The Terminal
- This one didn't get a lot of attention and generally seems to have
been regarded as a bit of a flop for director Steven Spielberg and star
Tom Hanks. However, I loved this fairy tale-like story of a gentle man
from a fictional war-torn country in eastern Europe who spends weeks
living in an airport, infuriating the airport director (Stanley Tucci)
but inspiring everyone else. Very sweet and very funny.
Two Brothers
- This was the movie that introduced me to Freddie Highmore, my
favorite child actor since Haley Joel Osment. It also stars Guy Pearce.
Each of them has a significant relationship with one half of a pair of
tigers, the brothers of the title. The boy and the man don't meet until
late in the movie, but their scenes together are quite moving. Most
notable, though, is the gorgeous cinematography that so perfectly
captures the majesty of these creatures.
I've still got some catching up to do on 2004's crop of movies, but so far, what I've seen is a pretty good batch.
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