13. Garden State – An odd little emotional film in the same mold as Lost in Translantion. That means I was destined to enjoy it.
12. Finding Neverland – A fantastical biopic of the moment of creation. I dont’t think the movie ever really figured out what it was trying to show us but it was an interesting journey trying to come to a conclusion.
11. The Incredibles – Family can beat anything if you just work together. Not a bad theme for this year of values. Plus it had a scene ripped straight from my past family travels – all except the triple roll into the parking space. Hey, at least it’s an easy way to parallel park.
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – My favorite of the stories thus far and the first of the Potter books to really have a sense of dread – not to mention a halfway satisfying ending. They can only get better from here, provided they keep serious, dark-minded directors in charge. Pity we’re likely to lose the child actors as they outgrow the characters.
9. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – Stupid Ben Stiller. He has only two modes: closeted gay tough guy and overly sensitive nebbish. He plays the former this time around but at least Vince Vaughn is there to save the film and deadpan his way to success.
8. Team America: World Police – Puppet Sutra. What more could you want? It’s not South Park to be sure but I think I’ll like this flick more and more the more I watch it. There’s just too much going on in the background and in the music to fully appreciate it the first time around.
7. Shaun of the Dead – English zombie movies with multiple shots in the pub are custom made for my entertainment. Especially when it’s actually a romance movie set against the backdrop of the rise of the living dead. The desperately hungover walk to the shop is priceless. I’ve done it myself many times.
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Weird. Another picture I have to see again to begin to draw conclusions. It may end up becoming one of my favorites or it may be relegated to Leaving Las Vegas territory as too painful to see more than once (or twice).
5. National Treasure – A historical treasure hunt? Chase scenes through some of my favorite places on Earth? Where do I sign up? Sure it’s a popcorn movie, but it’s a good popcorn movie.
4. Hellboy – Comic book movies keep getting better and better. I am of the opinion that Guillermo Del Toro should direct almost all of the movie adaptations of the books I like. Can you imagine what he could do with Preacher? With Green Lantern? Maybe not Transmetropolitan though, that needs someone with a distinctly twisted view of the world. Who is doing Sin City? The Watchmen?
3. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – Wow. I can barely remember the plot or the action but I remember the sheer sense of wonder as Sky Captain’s Warhawk roared through the infrastructure of this fictional New York City. Naturally, I’ll buy it on DVD but it will never be as impressive as on the towering screen. Here’s hoping Sky Captain becomes a cult classic and sees infinite big screen revivals over the years.
2. Harold and Kumar go to White Castle – Maybe it’s because my consciousness was slightly – albeit legally – altered that night. Maybe it’s because a titanic wave of nostalgia passed over me as I watched. I don’t know. This flick goes on the shelf next to Strange Brew, a classic oddball buddy movie.
1. Spider-Man 2 – One of precious few sequels to actually be good, let alone better than the first (Terminator 2 comes to mind). Full of foreshadowing, full of pain and loss and final happiness and replete with mad scientists with semi-sentient arms. My only complaint is the obviousness of some of the CGI but even that’s not enough to dampen the sheer liquid joy that is Spider-Man 2.
I *heart* Huckabees
De-Lovely
The Passion of the Christ – This can’t be included in a list of favorite films because it’s not that kind of movie. I liked it. Loved it maybe. Very powerful, very sad, very thought-provoking. It will be a Lenten classic for ever and may become the Christmas Carol of the Easter season.
Update! Saw The Incredibles and added it to the list.
Update! Update! Saw and enjoyed Kinsey although it did lead to a tiny bit of a rant.