John Topping's Opinion of Films That He Saw That Were Released Theatrically In The United States In The Year 2004

 

Films within each category are listed alphabetically

 

 

My Very Favorite Films of the Year

 

The Aviator 

Garden State 

In Good Company 

The Incredibles 

The Motorcycle Diaries
Sideways 

 

Secondary Favorites and Honorable Mentions, As It Were

 

 

Collateral 

The Dreamers

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 

Fahrenheit 9/11 

Maria Full of Grace

What the #$*! Do We Know!?

 

Other Films That I Thought Were Exceptionally Good

 

 

Closer 

Hotel Rwanda

Intimate Strangers 

Million Dollar Baby 

Napoleon Dynamite 

Shaun of the Dead 

Spanglish 

Spider-Man 2 

Super Size Me

Vera Drake

 

Films I Enjoyed But Didn't Flip Over

 

 

50 First Dates 

The Bourne Supremacy 

Dawn of the Dead

Cellular 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

Dawn of the Dead 

The Saddest Music In The World

 


Most Refreshing Film of the Year
 
Before Sunset

Most Overrated Film That Was Better Than I Expected It To Be
 
Finding Neverland
 

Two Spanish Films I Saw Within The Same Week That Were Refreshingly Unafraid Of Gay Content and That Both Had English Titles That Started With The Letter B

 

 

 

Bad Education 

Bear Cub 

 

 

 

A Film I Thoroughly Enjoyed Because I Saw It In 3-D And It Was The Best 3-D Experience I've Ever Had, But I'm Pretty Sure I Would Have Found It Thoroughly Mediocre If I'd Seen The 2-D Version

 

 

The Polar Express 

 
 

A Film That Was Interesting And Eye-Opening And Yet Strangely Unimpressive

 

Outfoxed

 

The Vast Land of Mediocrity and/or Indifference

 

 

The Day After Tomorrow 

I Heart Huckabees

Kill Bill:  Volume 2

The Ladykillers 

The Manchurian Candidate 

Meet the Fockers 

Shrek 2 

The Terminal 

 

Kind of Empty But So Fookin' Beautiful

 

 

Hero

House of Flying Daggers 

 

 

Proof That Mediocrity Remains Mediocre Even In French

 

The Chorus
 

The Film That Was The Most Violently Disgusting, Dramatically Shapeless And Socially Irresponsible And Yet Hard Not To Admire For How Well It Was Done

 

The Passion of the Christ 

 
The Worst Films of the Year (that I didn't sit through all the way)
DodgeBall
Mean Girls
Paparazzi 
 

The Worst Films of the Year (that I sat through entirely)

 

Greendale

Latter Days

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Ocean's Twelve 

Open Water

Primer
Ray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Films I Want To See But, As Of The Moment, Haven't

 

CATEGORY 1 – WASN'T ORIGINALLY INTERESTED BUT HAVE A FILMGOER'S OBLIGATION SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOMINATED FOR ACADEMY AWARDS

 

Being Julia 

 

CATEGORY 2 – TRULY WANT TO SEE, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU JUST MISS FILMS AND NOTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT

 

Kinsey 

With God on Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right in America 

 

CATEGORY 3 - SIMPLY A PERVERSE CURIOSITY ON MY PART

 

National Treasure 

 

 

YOU READ THIS AND SAY

"I MUST EXPRESS HOW MUCH I DISAGREE WITH YOU, JOHN!"

 

 Okay, no problem!  Everyone has an opinion about movies, and probably no two lists are alike.

 

 But now you can cast a rebuttal, or simply tell your own opinion.  Here's how:

 

 1.    Go to this link to get a list of all of the U.S. Theatrical Releases of 2004

 

 2.  Rebut or make your own list and send to johntopping@nyc.rr.com.

 

3.  I will then make a link to
your very own page
with
your very own opinions
like the one by my friend Phake Sampul below

 

Phake Sampul's Movie List

 

Please bear these things in mind:

 - if you are only casting a rebuttal to MY list, please do not be abusive (unless, of course, the abuse is brilliantly witty)

 - if you are making your own list, please include every 2004 release that you saw

 

 

Oh, look!  The lists are starting to come in!

Heath Hewett's 2004 Movie List

Steve Herrick's 2004 Movie List
plus bonus 2004 CD list

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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