2004 Film Journals

[Josh]

I'm going to imitate the big-time movie critics at the Promontory messageboard and keep track of all the 2004 releases I see in the theater. Anyone else who wants to do the same is more than welcome.

Please use this thread just for film journals, though-- if you want to discuss specific films, make a separate thread, or use the "What was the last movie you saw?" thread.

Oh, and I, personally, am only going to record 2004 releases, not rentals or leftovers from 2003 that I saw this year. But you can do it however you want, if you participate...

 

[Josh]

Josh's Film Journal
2004 releases only...

A-level films:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-- A
Spider-man 2-- A-
The Story of the Weeping Camel-- A
Collateral-- A-
Hero-- A-
The Incredibles-- A
Kill Bill Vol. 2-- A
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow-- A-
Mean Creek-- A
Monty Python's Life of Brian (re-release)-- A
The Motorcycle Diaries-- A-
Ray-- A-
Sideways-- A-
Finding Neverland-- A
Primer-- A-
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou-- A
Before Sunset-- A
The Aviator-- A
Million Dollar Baby-- A

B-level films:
The Ladykillers-- B-
13 Going on 30-- B-
The Reckoning-- B+
Mean Girls-- B+
Shrek 2-- B+
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban-- B+
The Stepford Wives-- B-
The Terminal-- B
Spartan-- B+
Super-size Me-- B+
Anchorman-- B
Coffee and Cigarettes-- B-
I, Robot-- B
Napoleon Dynamite-- B
We Don't Live Here Anymore-- B
Good Bye, Lenin!-- B
I Heart Huckabees-- B+
National Treasure-- B
Ocean's Twelve-- B-
Garden State-- B
The Manchurian Candidate-- B+
House of Flying Daggers-- B+
In Good Company-- B+

C-level films:
50 First Dates-- C
Secret Widnow-- C+
Ella Enchanted-- C-
Starsky and Hutch-- C+
Saved!-- C+
The Village-- C+
The Door in the Floor-- C-
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman-- C-
Wimbledon-- C

D-level films:
Taking Lives-- D+
The Chronicles of Riddick-- D
The Notebook-- D-
The Alamo-- D+
Closer-- D
The Phantom of the Opera-- D+

F-level films:
Dogville-- F

[Rachel]

50 First Dates--C
Secret Window--C
The Passion of the Christ--A+
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind--B+
Ella Enchanted--D-
 

[Josh]

More of you pholks need to get on board this train. C'mon, it's fun...    

[enemy anemone]

I presume we just keep editing our post every time we see a new movie? I guess that keeps the thread tidier but it's kinda harder for others to read everyone's updates. does the thread show up as having new messages if all that is new was that a post had been edited?

The Passion of the Christ - A
Hidalgo - A
13 Going On 30 - A
Shrek 2 - A
Spider-Man 2 - A
King Arthur - C
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - B
Secret Window - B
Before Sunset - A+
Jersey Girl - C
The Bourne Supremacy - C
Taking Lives - D
Dogville - B
Along Came Polly - D
Twisted - D
Collateral - B
Laws of Attraction - D
The Prince and Me - D
Mean Girls - A
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - A
Raising Helen - C
White Chicks - C
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 - A
Coffee and Cigarettes - B
Saved! - B
A Cinderella Story - C
Van Helsing - D
National Treasure - B
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - A
Stepford Wives - D
Luther - A
Hero - A
The Incredibles - A
The Manchurian Candidate - B
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - B
Napoleon Dynamite - A

[linds]

okay, i'm joining, just for fun.
(this list goes back to 1-1-04)

Theatre-Viewings:
Big Fish--A+
In America--A
Peter Pan--B+
Mona Lisa Smile--D
Lost In Translation--A
A Girl With a Pearl Earring--A-
Triplets of Belleville--A
The Passion of the Christ--A
Hidalgo--B
The Company--B+
Osama--A
The Ladykillers--B
Mean Girls--B
Good-bye, Lenin!--A+
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban--A
Troy--C+
Bon Voyage--A+
Saved--B-
Shrek 2--A
Spiderman 2--A+
Dodgeball--B-

Rentals/Misc. (no ratings):
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Back to the Future Part 1
Back to the Future Part 2
X-Men United
Far and Away
Back to the Future Part 3
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Deep Impact
Pride and Prejudice
Fight Club
Nightmare before Christmas
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Notting Hill
Gladiator
Tak for Alt
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
American Splendor
The Princess Diaries
While You Were Sleeping
A Mighty Wind
Cast Away
Waiting for Guffman
Airplane!
Spellbound
Rear Window
Pieces of April
The Princess Bride
Men in Black II
The Other Sister
Prince of Egypt
Under the Tuscan Sun
Gosford Park
Matchstick Men
Latcho Drom
Superman
Stuck on You
Calendar Girls
On the Waterfront
Igby Goes Down
A Beautiful Mind
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Raising Arizona
Return of the King
Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
Bladerunner
The Pink Panther
Punch Drunk Love
The Station Agent
The Royal Tenenbaums
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Cold Mountain
Heaven
Beauty and the Beast
Amelie
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
When Harry Met Sally
AI: Artificial Intelligence

[Aaron]

50 First Dates - C-  (disappointed this big Adam Sandler fan, though not as bad as Little Nicky)

[murlough23]

I was wondering if there was a thread for this. Here's my 2+2 cents' worth:

Top 10 So Far:
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - A
2. Mean Girls - A-
3. The Terminal - A-
4. 50 First Dates - B+
5. Hero - B+
6. The Incredibles - B+
7. Ray - B+
8. Shrek 2 - B+
9. Big Fish - B+
10. The Village - B+

Everything else:

After the Sunset - B-
The Aviator B
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason C-
Cellular - B
Collateral - B
Ella Enchanted - C+
Finding Neverland B-
Hidalgo - B-
I, Robot - C
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - B-
Ladder 49 - B-
Lust Actually - C+
Meet the Fockers - B-
Mona Lisa Smile - B
National Treasure - C+
The Notebook - B+
The Polar Express - B
Raising Helen - C+
Shark Tale B-
Spanglish C+
Spider-Man 2 - B-
Starsky & Hutch - B-
Taxi - C+
13 Going on 30 - C+

Would like to see:

The Bourne Supremacy
House of Flying Daggers

(Last Update: 12/9/05)

[bdg13disciple]

here's a couple...

Spiderman2  (A-)
Bourne Supremacy (B+)
50 First Dates (B-)
The Passion of the Christ ( C )

*edited to fix the ( C ) which ironically turned into a copyright symbol...*


peace...
love...
bdg...

[worldofcm]

50 First Dates - B-
Secret Window - C+
Taking Lives - D
13 Going on 30 - B+
Shrek 2 - A
Starsky and Hutch - C+
The Stepford Wives - C+
The Terminal - A
Spider-man 2 - A-
The Village - B+
The Passion of the Christ - B-
The Dreamers - D+
Without a Paddle - B
Alien Vs. Predator - C-
The Bourne Supremacy - B
The Day After Tomorrow - C
Dodgeball - B+
Troy - C-
Along Came Polly - B-
Hidalgo - B
Kill Bill, Vol. 2 - A
The Butterfly Effect - C
Godsend - D-
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen - B
Twisted - C-
The Prince and Me - C+
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London - C-
Eurotrip - C+
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! - C-
Catch That Kid - C+
Welcome to Mooseport - B-
Chasing Liberty - B+ (Mandy Moore fanboy)
The Perfect Score - C+
Club Dread - B+ (Broken Lizard fanboy)

 

[bethany]

August:
Kill Bill vol. 2 - A+
Rushmore - A+
The Color of Paradise - A+
An Ideal Husband - A
Napoleon Dynamite - A
Coffee and Cigarettes - B
Miracle - B-
13 Going on 30 - C+
Godsend - D+
Laws of Attraction - D
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - F


September:
The Royal Tenenbaums - A+
Garden State - A+
Almost Famous - A+
Dogville - A
Shaolin Soccer - A
Napoleon Dynamite - A
The Philadelphia Story - A-
Shadowlands - A-
Bon Voyage - A-
Goodbye Lenin - B+
Bottlerocket - B+
The Barbarian Invasions - B-

(Viewed, but not graded: Birth of a Nation, The General, Battleship Potemkin)

October:
City Lights - A
Before Sunrise - A
Mansfield Park - A
Bridget Jones's Diary - A
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - B+

 

[DvChWi]

1. Hero
2. Sky Captain and the World of Tommorrow
3. Spider-Man 2
4. Shrek 2
5. The Bourne Supremacy
6. Napolean Dynamite
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8. The Terminal

[Josh]

Because I love you all so very much, I have reorganized my film journal.

Now, the 2004 movies I have seen are grouped by their letter grade. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to see what I recommend and what I think you should avoid...

[Aaron]

More of you pholks need to get on board this train. C'mon, it's fun...  

you have way too much time on your hands to see all those movies, and somehow enough finances

[Josh]

you have way too much time on your hands to see all those movies, and somehow enough finances

You're just jealous.

[bethany]

I updated mine, and also organized them in rank by letter grade (though if there are multiple films with the same rank, they're just in chronological order of my viewing them, not descending grade).

[murlough23]

So, my fiancee has a job at AMC movie theatres now. Which means that we get to see a lot of free movies. So I'll be adding to this list a lot more frequently!

[DvChWi]

So, my fiancee has a job at AMC movie theatres now. Which means that we get to see a lot of free movies. So I'll be adding to this list a lot more frequently!

Wow, thats pretty cool.  
*Goes to look for a girlfriend who works at a movie theater or music store.*

   

[dgp11776]

What the heck, I'll add the few I've seen.

1.  The Bourne Supremacy - A  
2.  The Passion of the Christ - A
3.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - A
4.  Shrek 2 - A-
5.  Miracle - A-
6.  National Treasure - A-
7.  Jersey Girl - A-
8.  Mean Girls - B+
9.  13 Going on 30 - B+
10.  Alfie - B
11.  Troy - B-
12.  Raising Helen - C+
13.  Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! - C+
14.  The Girl Next Door - C+
15.  Starsky & Hutch - C+
16.  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - C
17.  Laws of Attraction - D+
18.  Johnson Family Vacation - D-

Last update - 11/22/04

[murlough23]

Updated to include a list of movies that I would like to see before '04 is out (if possible).

[Brett]

Here's just a few I've seen recently...



1.  The Bourne Supremacy - A
2.  The Passion of the Christ - B
3.  Shrek 2 - B+
4.  Miracle - B+
5.  National Treasure - B
6.  Jersey Girl - C
7.  Mean Girls - B-
8.  13 Going on 30 - C+
9.  Raising Helen - B
10.  Starsky & Hutch - A-
11.  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - A+
12. The Butterfly Effect - B+
13. Napoleon Dynamite - B
14. Hero - B+
15. Collateral - B
16. The Garfield Movie - C-
17. The Incredibles - A
18. Dodgeball - A+
 

[Josh]

Okay, here they are...

My Top Ten Favorite Films of 2004.

[bethany]

I can't read what that says; could you make the font bigger?

[bethany]

My Top 10 Films (and much more) of 2004

[Josh]

Now HERE is a list of film awards that I can get behind.

Cate Blanchett... yes.

Michel Gondry... YES.

Eternal Sunshine for Best Picture... YES! YES! YESYESYES!!!!!

Three cheers for the OFCS!

[murlough23]

Eternal Sunshine for Best Picture... YES! YES! YESYESYES!!!!!

Shoot, I'm just happy that you and I agreed on our #1 movie this time around, given how divergent we were last year.

I wonder what else Jim Carrey is doing this year. It would be funny if he had my #1 film of the year for three years in a row.

[Josh]

Peter T. Chattaway gives us still another Top 10 list, and his is one of the most interesting yet.

[Aaron]

spiderman 2 and kill bill?  gimme a break.  Spiderman 2 could have been a great comic book movie if they didn't make the dialogue more idiotic than normal.

[bloop]

spiderman 2 and kill bill?  gimme a break.  Spiderman 2 could have been a great comic book movie if they didn't make the dialogue more idiotic than normal.

Did you accidentally post this in the wrong thread?

(Kill Bill, either volume but 2 was better, and Spider-Man 2 were both good movies.  Volume 2's dialogue was sometimes even sharp, especially the Superman speech.  Just making sure this post makes the inevitable move to the appropriate spot).

[Josh]

spiderman 2 and kill bill?  gimme a break.  Spiderman 2 could have been a great comic book movie if they didn't make the dialogue more idiotic than normal.

Both are valid choices for a Top 10 list, at least for 2004, which wasn't really a great year for movies. Spidey 2 is a legitimate choice for best in genre, and Kill Bill vol. 2 is a masterpiece of creativity and style that suceeds in all the areas in which the first one failed.

Not necessarily what I would choose, but they're both solid picks.

[Aaron]

Did you accidentally post this in the wrong thread?

(Kill Bill, either volume but 2 was better, and Spider-Man 2 were both good movies.  Volume 2's dialogue was sometimes even sharp, especially the Superman speech.  Just making sure this post makes the inevitable move to the appropriate spot).

i don't think so..I thought I posted it here in response to that link Josh provided.  It didn't appear at first so I don't know........................

[bloop]

[bloop]

Both are valid choices for a Top 10 list, at least for 2004, which wasn't really a great year for movies. Spidey 2 is a legitimate choice for best in genre, and Kill Bill vol. 2 is a masterpiece of creativity and style that suceeds in all the areas in which the first one failed.

Not necessarily what I would choose, but they're both solid picks.

I'd say that Volume 2 completes the first.  The first was a quest for style, particularly in action genre filmmaking, and it succeeds on that level (even if it is somewhat disappointing when we've come to expect certain things of Tarantino).  The second was designed from the ground-up to give its principal characters substance, but was still highly stylish as well.  It made for an interesting approach, and one would be remiss in not mentioning that they were conceived as one long film, so it's usually best to think of them in that way.

[Aaron]

[murlough23]

In the grand tradition of Phorum Necromancy, I bring this thread back from the grave so that I may provide you with a detailed rundown of my Top 10 Films of 2004.

http://www.epinions.com/content_4606828676

Hopefully I'll get to 2005 in more of a timely fashion, eh?