MC Yearly Consensus - 2004

[Spinal]

Submit your five favorite films from this year and in a week I will give you a top ten. IMDb dates will be used.

The point system is as follows

1st Place-5 points
2nd Place-4 points
3rd Place-3.5 points
4th Place-3 points
5th Place-2.5 points

There will be no restrictions on short films. A minimum of three films must be listed. You may edit your post freely up until the time that the voting is closed, which will be in about a week. I will give at least 24 hours warning before tallying votes.

You may begin now.

IMDB Power Search (http://www.imdb.com/list)

[Spinal]

1. Palindromes
2. Shaun of the Dead
3. Control Room
4. 3-Iron
5. Sideways

6. Fahrenheit 9/11
7. Nobody Knows
8. House of Flying Daggers
9. I Heart Huckabees
10. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things

[dreamdead]

1. Before Sunset
2. 2046
3. Tropical Malady
4. L'Intrus (The Intruder)
5. 3-Iron

HM: Nobody Knows, Mean Creek, The Incredibles, Shaun of the Dead, Million Dollar Baby, I Heart Huckabees, Mean Girls, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[Russ]

1. Mind Game
2. Palindromes
3. Bad Education
4. The Incredibles
5. Kung Fu Hustle

[Watashi]

1. The Incredibles
2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
3. Before Sunset
4. The Aviator
5. Kill Bill Vol 2

HM: House of Flying Daggers, Downfall, Spiderman 2, Mysterious Skin, Mean Creek

[Raiders]

1. Tropical Malady (Weerasethakul)
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry)
3. 2046 (Wong)
4. Born Into Brothels (Briski & Kaufmann)
5. Dead Man's Shoes (Meadows)

-------------------------------------------

6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Anderson)
7. Before Sunset (Linklater)
8. Nobody Knows (Kore-eda)
9. Kung Fu Hustle (Chow)
10. The Manchurian Candidate (Demme)

Monster year. All ten there are four-star films.

[Ezee E]

1. Kill Bill: Volume 2
2. The Aviator
3. Million Dollar Baby
4. Undertow
5. Closer

6. Collateral
7. The Woodsman
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
9. The Manchurian Candidate
10. Baadassss!

[Melville]

1. The Aviator
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Dead
3. Nobody Knows
4. Tropical Malady
5. Mysterious Skin

6. Spider-Man 2
7. 2046
8. Kung Fu Hustle
9. We Don't Live Here Anymore
10. Napoleon Dynamite

HMs: Closer, Pusher II, House of Flying Daggers

[Watashi]

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Dead


Was this the horror remake?

If so, I need to edit my list.

[Silencio]

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Before Sunset
3. Nobody Knows
4. Bad Education
5. Sideways

6. Kill Bill Vol. 2
7. 2046
8. Mysterious Skin
9. Keane
10. Mean Creek

HM: The Incredibles, 3-Iron, Collateral, Spider-Man 2, The Bourne Supremacy, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Man's Shoes, Mean Girls, Downfall

Damn good year.

[Pop Trash]

1. Before Sunset
2. Mysterious Skin
3. Kill Bill vol.2
4. 2046
5. Innocence

6. Head-On
7. Sideways
8. Shaun of the Dead
9. I Heart Huckabees
10. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

[Yxklyx]

1. 3-Iron (Ki-duk Kim)
2. Primer (Shane Caruth)
3. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
4. Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella & Pablo Stoll)
5. The Holy Girl (Lucrecia Martel)


6. The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass)
7. Mean Creek (Jacob Aaron Estes)
8. Tony Takitani (Jun Ichikawa)
9. Kung-Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow)
10. Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles)

Good year for foreign films.

[trotchky]

1. Kill Bill vol. 2
2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
3. Mysterious Skin
4. Bad Education
5. 3-Iron

6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7. Primer
8. The Aviator
9. Spider-Man 2
10. Kung Fu Hustle

Great year.

[Duncan]

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. L'Intrus
3. The Life Aquatic
4. The Weeping Meadow
5. 2046

edited to include L'Intrus. I think my top 100 list needs a revision already, cuz it's forcing me to make choices I don't really agree with anymore.
edit2: Edited to include The Weeping Meadow. Sorry Pegg.

[Weeping_Guitar]

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Incredibles
3. 2046
4. Before Sunset
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

[Melville]

Was this the horror remake?

If so, I need to edit my list.
:lol:

I can only assume it would be at least as good as the original, so I'll stick with it.

[Bosco B Thug]

I really shouldn't, but...

1. BIRTH whoo
2. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
3. The Incredibles
4. Mysterious Skin
5. The Life Aquatic With Steven Zissou

6. Undertow
7. Tropical Malady

HM: Shaun of the Dead, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Mean Creek, Collateral

Yeah, good year.

[Spinal]

I can only assume Melville intended to write "Shaun of the" and those other words are some sort of bizarre typo.

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Shaun of the Dead
2. Kings and Queen
3. Mysterious Skin
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. Mean Creek

This is one of my favorite top fives.

[dreamdead]

2. Kings and Queen


Crud. I thought that since this placed so high on ReverseShot's '05 list that it had seen French release then as well, so I was gonna get to it before the '05 list went up. Given the general praise for it, I'll try to get to this before this poll closes, I guess.

[Pop Trash]

Crud. I thought that since this placed so high on ReverseShot's '05 list that it had seen French release then as well, so I was gonna get to it before the '05 list went up. Given the general praise for it, I'll try to get to this before this poll closes, I guess.
I tried to watch it one time but never finished it. It seemed much longer than it needed to be.

[MadMan]

This year might be easily one of my favorite years for film. I finally was able to narrow it down, but I'd say at least 16 maybe more, films from 2004 are favorites of mine.

1. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
2. Shaun of the Dead
3. Kill Bill Vol. 2
4. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgendy
5. Layer Cake
============================== =========
6. The Incredibles
7. Spider Man 2
8. Team America: World Police
9. Dodgeball: A True Underdog's Story
10. Kung Fu Hustle

HM:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Heart Huckabees, Collateral, The Manchurian Candidate, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and Spartan. Some of those actually may still make the list, if I do indeed change my mind.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Holy crap, this was a great year. The other five I listed could be replaced with no problem.

01) Primer
02) Collateral
03) Spider-Man 2
04) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
05) Anchorman

06) Shaun of the Dead
07) Before Sunset
08) Mean Creek
09) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
10) The Terminal

[Lazlo]

1. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
4. Before Sunset
5. A Very Long Engagement

[Watashi]

1. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
4. Before Sunset
5. A Very Long Engagement
No Incredibles?

Boo.

[origami_mustache]

1. Nobody Knows
2. Tropical Malady
3. The Life Aquatic With Steven Zissou
4. 2046
5. Vital

6. Taste of Tea
7. Eternal Sushine of the Spotless Mind
8. Bad Education
9. Downfall
10. Palindromes

[Derek]

1. L'Intrus (Claire Denis)
2. Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin)
3. The World (Jia Zhang-ke)
4. Light is Calling (Bill Morrison)
5. I ♥ Huckabees (David O. Russell)
**************************
6. The Corporation (Jennifer Abbott & Mark Achbar)
7. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
8. Kill Bill: Volume 2 (Quentin Tarantino)
9. The Manchurian Candidate (Jonathan Demme)
10. Tropical Malady (Apitchatpong Weerasethakul)

[dreamdead]

1. L'Intrus (Claire Denis)


Ah, thank you for the reminder here on this film's original release date. Edit time.

[Spinal]

5. I ♥ Huckabees (David O. Russell)

If we're gonna give crap to the people who list all their titles in French, then we gotta give crap to the guy who goes and finds a way to make the little heart symbol. :)

[Derek]

If we're gonna give crap to the people who list all their titles in French, then we gotta give crap to the guy who goes and finds a way to make the little heart symbol. :)

:lol:

To my credit, I just cut-and-pasted it from my site and the heart was originally cut-and-pasted from someone else's list back in '04, so I didn't go that far out of my way. :)

[ledfloyd]

1. Eternal Sunshine
2. Shaun of the Dead
3. Millions
4. Before Sunset
5. The Incredibles

HM: Kill Bill Vol 2, BAADASSSSS!, Collateral, Downfall, Anchorman, Finding Neverland, Lemony Snicket, Sideways, A Very Long Engagement

great year. tough leaving a kill bill and the jeunet film off.

[Yum-Yum]

1. Shaun of the Dead
2. Mysterious Skin
3. Mean Girls
4. Mean Creek
5. Sideways

[Benny Profane]

1. Maria Full of Grace
2. Mysterious Skin
3. Born into Brothels
4. Turtles Can Fly
5. Mean Creek

Surprised that I'm the only one who's mentioned #1 and #4, though maybe it was just that good of a year.

[Duncan]

I have Born Into Brothels recorded. I'll try to watch that before the week's up.

[Kurosawa Fan]

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Mean Creek
3. Before Sunset
4. The Life Aquatic
5. 2046

[B-side]

1. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2. A Very Long Engagement
3. The Aviator
4. The Incredibles
5. The Woodsman
-----------------------------------------
6. Notre Musique
7. Kill Bill Vol. 2
8. 2046
9. Shaun Of The Dead
10. Super Size Me

Dogville
House Of Flying Daggers
Anchorman
Collateral

[Hugh_Grant]

1. Sideways
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. Born into Brothels
4. Before Sunset
5. Kings and Queen

[MadMan]

According to both Criticker and IMBD.com, Badasssss! is actually a 2003 release. Regardless though the film is pretty darn good, and is a new favorite of mine.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

1. Birth
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Vagina
3. Innocence
4. 3 Iron
5. Primer

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
2. A Very Long Engagement
3. The Incredibles
4. The Sea Inside
5. Head-On

[Spinal]

As Madman said, Baadasssss! is a 2003 film and will not be counted for this consensus.

[monolith94]

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. 3-Iron
3. Howl's Moving Castle
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Spiderman 2

HMs:
I Heart Huckabees, The Aviator, 2046, A Very Long Engagement

[Dead & Messed Up]

Wait, Millions came out that year, too?

Fuck!

[Pop Trash]

Gee...I wonder what will take the top spot for this year?

Maybe it will be Catwoman directed by legendary French neo-nouvelle vague filmmaker Pitof?

[Sycophant]

Gee...I wonder what will take the top spot for this year?

Maybe it will be Catwoman directed by legendary filmmaker Pitof?While working at a Hollywood Video, I once had a ten-minute conversation with a man who kept saying "I liked Catwoman" and different takes on the same sentiment with minutely varied phrasing.

[Pop Trash]

While working at a Hollywood Video, I once had a ten-minute conversation with a man who kept saying "I liked Catwoman" and different takes on the same sentiment with minutely varied phrasing.

I feel really bad for the guy who works at my local corporate video store. His favorite films include Performance and L'Eclisse and he has to form opinions on such masterpieces like Meet the Spartans or Delta Farce.

[MadMan]

I feel really bad for the guy who works at my local corporate video store. His favorite films include Performance and L'Eclisse and he has to form opinions on such masterpieces like Meet the Spartans or Delta Farce.That is pretty much movie hell on Earth.


As Madman said, Baadasssss! is a 2003 film and will not be counted for this consensus.I really wish I had seen that film before the 2003 consensus ended. I would have voted for it for sure.

Part of me is tempted to see Catwoman, just to marvel at its badness and even laugh at it. But I have better things to do with my time.

[Grouchy]

1. The Incredibles
2. Dead Man's Shoes
3. 3-IRON
4. Kung Fu Hustle
5. Shaun of the Dead

[Grouchy]

4. The Dreamers
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309987/

[Philosophe_rouge]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309987/
Thanks for pointing that out :)

[Grouchy]

Thanks for pointing that out :)
No problem.

[Bosco B Thug]

1. Birth So, my good man, what are you wearing right now?

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Vagina Hello!

[Sycophant]

Holy crap. When did this year become so mind-blowingly awesome?

1. Mind Game
2. The Taste of Tea
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Citizen Dog
5. Nobody Knows

-------

6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7. Beyond Our Ken
8. Kill Bill, vol. 2
9. 3-Iron
10. Kung Fu Hustle

Honorable Mentions: The Incredibles, Millions, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Samaritan Girl, Shaun of the Dead, I ♥ Huckabees, Throwdown, One Nite in Mongkok, Sideways, Anchorman, 2046

[baby doll]

1. The World (Jia Zhang-ke)
2. The Holy Girl (Lucrecia Martel)
3. Yes (Sally Potter)
4. Innocence (Lucile Hadzihalilovic)
5. Notre musique (Jean-Luc Godard)

I figure there's no need to vote for Before Sunset or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Runners-up: I Heart Huckabees, Triple Agent, and The Weeping Meadow.

[Pop Trash]

4. Innocence (Lucile Hadzihalilovic)


I really liked this film but I think I'll keep my list as is. I doubt it stands a chance at making the consensus anyways. It's a really weird, unique, memorable film.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

I really liked this film but I think I'll keep my list as is. I doubt it stands a chance at making the consensus anyways. It's a really weird, unique, memorable film.

well I plum forgot about that film. Edited to include Innocence at #3.

[Spinal]

I thought Innocence was disappointing. Great set-up, but then it doesn't really take advantage of it.

[Grouchy]

I thought Innocence was disappointing. Great set-up, but then it doesn't really take advantage of it.
I got bored by it pretty fast.

It has moments that are quitely eerie, so the atmosphere is achieved. But unless it's called Suspiria, atmosphere doesn't go a long way when what's behind is some lame psychosexualmelodrama mumbo-jumbo.

[Spinal]

I got bored by it pretty fast.

It has moments that are quitely eerie, so the atmosphere is achieved. But unless it's called Suspiria, atmosphere doesn't go a long way when what's behind is some lame psychosexualmelodrama mumbo-jumbo.

Mostly it reminded me of other films that covered similar territory and did it better. And yes, Suspiria was one that came to mind.

[MadMan]

After some thought, I believe that 2004 is the best year for film out of all the 2000s. Even as I continue to see more from other years I have yet to have this claim bested, although 2002 is pretty awesome too.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

After some thought, I believe that 2004 is the best year for film out of all the 2000s. Even as I continue to see more from other years I have yet to have this claim bested, although 2002 is pretty awesome too.

for me 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 are stellar. The rest of the decade is shite with a couple great films popping up here and there.

[Stay Puft]

1. Tropical Malady
2. Head-On
3. Primer
4. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
5. 2046

[origami_mustache]

a cool Guy Maddin short from this year...


Sombra Dolorosa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs9iqu83E9Y)

[baby doll]

for me 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 are stellar. The rest of the decade is shite with a couple great films popping up here and there.I thought 2006 was rock solid: Black Book, Brand Upon the Brain!, Coeurs, Find Me Guilty, Inland Empire, Marie Antoinette, La Science des rêves, Still Life, and I still haven't seen Bamako, Colossal Youth or I Don't Want to Sleep Alone to name a few.

[Pop Trash]

Mostly it reminded me of other films that covered similar territory and did it better. And yes, Suspiria was one that came to mind.

I think it's quite different in tone than Suspiria. I didn't know what it reminded me of. Maybe Picnic at Hanging Rock meets David Lynch. But it didn't really remind me of anything I had seen before, which is rare in films these days. It's also the type of film if you showed it to fifty different people, you would get fifty different answers for what the movie is really about. Ah, screw it I'm adding it to my list.

[B-side]

a cool Guy Maddin short from this year...


Sombra Dolorosa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs9iqu83E9Y)

I liked it. I've seen it before, but I really liked it.

[Pop Trash]

for me 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 are stellar. The rest of the decade is shite with a couple great films popping up here and there.
I agree the first three years of this decade are the best. 2004 is good but I'm not crazy about it. 2007 was pretty kick ass.

[baby doll]

2007 was pretty kick ass.I'm still catching up (see blog for details!), but so far Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, La France, Gone Baby Gone, Hairspray, I'm Not There., The Man From London, Margot at the Wedding, Persepolis, Silent Light and We Own the Night were all terrific.

[trotchky]

Meanwhile, The Darjeeling Limited, Southland Tales, No Country for Old Men, Margot at the Wedding, I'm Not There, Gone Baby Gone, and Smiley Face are my picks for terrific 2007 movies!

Oh, and Death Proof!

[Pop Trash]

Meanwhile, The Darjeeling Limited, Southland Tales, No Country for Old Men, Margot at the Wedding, I'm Not There, Gone Baby Gone, and Smiley Face are my picks for terrific 2007 movies!

Oh, and Death Proof!
We are totally derailing this thread but...being a big fan of Squid and the Whale, I was a little disappointed by Margot at the Wedding. I might warm up to it if I revisit it again in a few years but I felt like I was on a really bad date that ended with a glass of water being thrown in my face the whole time I was watching it.

Southland Tales, I'm Not There, and Grindhouse were orgasmic cinema in the reckless spirit of Godard.

[MadMan]

for me 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 are stellar. The rest of the decade is shite with a couple great films popping up here and there.I agree with this post to an extent. I think that 2003 was fairly good, and 2005 and 2006 weren't too bad. 2007 though has been disappointing to me so far, but I'm not extremely deep into it yet.

[baby doll]

We are totally derailing this thread but...being a big fan of Squid and the Whale, I was a little disappointed by Margot at the Wedding. I might warm up to it if I revisit it again in a few years but I felt like I was on a really bad date that ended with a glass of water being thrown in my face the whole time I was watching it.Oddly enough, I found Kicking and Screaming and The Squid and the Whale terminally slight, so I was happy to see Baumbach making a much darker, edgier kind of film.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I think this decade's going pretty damn well, personally. Lot of kickass movies. 2007 was a great year, and clearly 2004 was.

[trotchky]

Oddly enough, I found Kicking and Screaming and The Squid and the Whale terminally slight, so I was happy to see Baumbach making a much darker, edgier kind of film.

I love all three of those movies, but I don't think Margot's "darkness" is any more illuminating (no pun intended, lol) than the decidedly more drawn-out The Squid and the Whale. Margot obfuscates its characters motives and feelings more, which is cool and all, but I don't think that necessarily makes its revelations any more insightful or substantial than his more scripted, ultimately more approachable prior movie.

[baby doll]

I love all three of those movies, but I don't think Margot's "darkness" is any more illuminating (no pun intended, lol) than the decidedly more drawn-out The Squid and the Whale. Margot obfuscates its characters motives and feelings more, which is cool and all, but I don't think that necessarily makes its revelations any more insightful or substantial than his more scripted, ultimately more approachable prior movie.First of all, I'd object to the characterization of Margot at the Wedding as less scripted than The Squid and the Whale. If anything, it's the first Baumbach film that works as a piece of storytelling rather than a series of filmed conversations. It's still a very talky film, but finally Baumach has proven himself to be a writer-director, as opposed to a writer who directs. Nicole Kidman doesn't just talk about climbing the tree, she actually does it, allowing us to witness what a bitch Jennifer Jason Leigh is first hand. If elements of the characters' backstory are obscure--i.e., the two sisters joking (?) about their other sister being raped--their motives and emotions in the present are never in doubt. I don't think there are any big insights or revelations; its form is closer to the theater than a 19th century novel. You don't want some psychological explanation for why the characters act like they do; what's interesting is seeing how the characters interact with each other on a moment-to-moment basis.

[trotchky]

First of all, I'd object to the characterization of Margot at the Wedding as less scripted than The Squid and the Whale. If anything, it's the first Baumbach film that works as a piece of storytelling rather than a series of filmed conversations. It's still a very talky film, but finally Baumach has proven himself to be a writer-director, as opposed to a writer who directs. Nicole Kidman doesn't just talk about climbing the tree, she actually does it, allowing us to witness what a bitch Jennifer Jason Leigh is first hand.

I meant scripted in that it (The Squid and the Whale) is more blatantly dramatized, or "staged." I was thinking, I guess, in terms of what is presented to the viewer: Margot at the Wedding pretty clearly is meant to come off as more natural, organic, and spontaneous whereas The Squid and the Whale is more didactic. I'm well aware that both films are heavily "written," and that Baumbach is telling a story with each of them.


If elements of the characters' backstory are obscure--i.e., the two sisters joking (?) about their other sister being raped--their motives and emotions in the present are never in doubt.

I wasn't thinking in terms of their backstory, and I'd disagree that their "motives and emotions in the present are never in doubt." Actually no I wouldn't because that is true of just about every character in the film, except for Margot and, to a lesser extent, her sister. I guess that might seem like a failing on the film's part but Baumbach intentionally sets up the other characters as more "one-dimensional" in order to contrast (or provide comic relief from) the pretty seriously fucked-up title character, so it's all good.


I don't think there are any big insights or revelations; its form is closer to the theater than a 19th century novel. You don't want some psychological explanation for why the characters act like they do; what's interesting is seeing how the characters interact with each other on a moment-to-moment basis.

I'm not talking about character revelations, I'm talking about revelations into "the human condition," which no, don't have to come from psychology or science, and can (and do!) exist in theater! In fact, they can exist in something as simple as, say, sitting on a park bench on a summer afternoon, watching people do the things that people do! I guess I'm kind of hamming it up a bit here, but what I'm saying is that I don't think Margot's "darkness" (hey, remember that's what I was talking about here, before you started wildly extrapolating strawmen from my post?) is any more substantial than the alternative--the more tidy, didactic, and...I wouldn't say "optimistic," because that would just be inaccurate, but "feel-good" or "comforting" style of The Squid and the Whale.

[Pop Trash]

The Squid and the Whale felt more autobiographical and more "real" to me. It also countered Jeff Daniels' elite, snobby, asshole-ish character with the warm and friendly wife/mom and younger son. Plus, and this might be TMI, but that movie reminded me a lot of aspects of my life growing up. Nothing exact, but there were some moments that felt like I just got punched in the gut becuase it was so right on to me. To name just one, my dad looked and dressed exactly like Jeff Daniels' character in the 80s.

Margot felt like I was being forced to spend two hours with an icy, judgemental, snobby, emotionally stunted bitch. There was also some condescending and just plain odd things in Margot like the stuff with the redneck neighbors.

[Boner M]

1. Tropical Malady
2. L'intrus
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Before Sunset
5. Dumplings

Might watch Innocence this weekend.

[soitgoes...]

1. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
2. Closer (Mike Nichols)
3. The Hidden Blade (Yôji Yamada)
4. Tony Takitani (Jun Ichikawa)
5. Duck Season (Fernando Eimbcke)
--------------------------------------------
6. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel)
7. The Sea Inside (Alejandro Amenábar)
8. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)
9. The Incredibles (Brad Bird)
10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
11. Bad Education (Pedro Almodóvar)
12. Sideways (Alexander Payne)
13. Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi)
14. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright)
15. Vital (Shinya Tsukamoto)
16. Control Room (Jehane Noujaim)
17. Samaritan Girl (Ki-duk Kim)
18. Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow)
19. Buffalo Boy (Minh Nguyen-Vo)
20. Hotel Rwanda (Terry George)

[soitgoes...]

One more day...

[Spinal]

One more day...

*ahem*

[soitgoes...]

*ahem*
Internet service was down. This is closed. I'll begin tallying , and then will have the results posted in a wee bit.

[soitgoes...]

#10

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/KillBillVol2-photo_01_hires-1.jpg

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Country: USA

The murderous Bride continues her vengeance quest against her ex-boss, Bill, and his two remaining associates; his younger brother Budd, and Bill's latest flame Elle.

The character Pai Mei appears in several Shaw Bros Kung Fu films from the 1970s-80s including Hong Wending san po bai lian jiao (1980) (Clan of the White Lotus). Pai Mei means "White Eyebrow". Ironically, Gordon Liu (Chia Hui Liu), who stars as Pai Mei in this film, starred as the protagonist in Clan of the White Lotus and fought Pat Mei/Bak Mei (played by legendary Shaw Brothers studio actor Lo Lieh). Quentin Tarantino originally intended to only have Pai Mei's lips speaking Cantonese, while his voice would be in English, imitating a bad dub job. Tarantino was going to provide the voice himself. In the end, Tarantino abandoned this idea and Pai Mei's voice is that of the actor, Chia Hui Liu.

"Kill Bill: Vol. 2 stands alone as a witty and entertaining action movie, always clever and sometimes gripping, though at times also ponderous and self-indulgent. The hideous violence of the first installment is absent, and the overall feeling is less like '70s kung fu and more like Sergio Leone. This time we even get to see Bill, in the form of David Carradine, whose searching eyes set within a rucked and seamed face suggest both utter depravity and a self-awareness bordering on the spiritual." - Mick LaSalle

[soitgoes...]

#9

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/3iron9-1.jpg

3-Iron

Director: Ki-duk Kim

Country: Japan/S. Korea

A young drifter enters strangers' houses - and lives - while owners are away. He spends a night or a day squatting in, repaying their unwitting hospitality by doing laundry or small repairs. His life changes when he runs into a beautiful woman in an affluent mansion who is ready to escape her unhappy, abusive marriage.

Director Kim ki-Duk wrote the screenplay of the movie in one month, the movie was filmed in 16 days and the film editing was done in 10 days.

"3-Iron brought me to the unusual, delirious realization that I was watching a picture that's always unerringly insightful about the human condition and therefore intimately familiar, yet presented in such a way that I never for a moment dared guess what might come next. It's like finding the soft, familiar curve of your wife's breast on another woman: illicit, thrilling, and terrifying in equal portion." - Walter Chaw

[soitgoes...]

#6 (Tie)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/mysterious-skin-2-1.jpg

Mysterious Skin

Director: Gregg Araki

Country: USA/The Netherlands

In 1981, in Hutchinson, Kansas, the eight years old boy Neil McCormick is sexually abused by his pedophile baseball coach and his deranged and promiscuous mother does not pay attention. Meanwhile, the also eight years Brian Lackey awakes from a brief amnesia of four hours with a bleeding nose, but his negligent father does not pay attention to the event. Brian grows-up believing he had been abducted by aliens. The gay Neil grows-up as a hustler. When Brian is eighteen years old, he looks for and meets Neil, who discloses dark innermost secrets of their past.

Each of the youths in the film is based in part on the life of Scott Heim, the book on which the film is based. Scott claims to have seen a UFO with his family, excelled in school and lived with his single mom after a divorce (like Brian), he announced baseball games (like Neil) and his infatuation with cosmetics and British goth pop made him the subject of death threats (like Eric).

"From the hyperbolic, pop saturation of its images to its theme of pretty young things wrestling with their place in the world, it's an Araki film through and through, but the story—adapted from Scott Heim's 1996 book of the same name—is tightly wound and has a stabilizing effect on Araki's typically erratic and high-strung visual style, which tends to flail around aimlessly when it has no narrative momentum to hold on to." - Ed Gonzalez

[soitgoes...]

#6 (Tie)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/2046-rooftop-1.jpg

2046

Director: Wong Kar Wai

Country: France/Germany/Hong Kong/China

He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while. Everyone who went there had the same intention.....to recapture their lost memories. It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back- except for one. He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.

The title of the film refers to the last year before the 50-year period the Chinese Government promised to let Hong Kong remain as it is. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Each character speaks their own languages. Mr. Chow speaks Cantonese, Bai Ling speaks Mandarin, and Tak speaks Japanese even when talking to each other. Even so, they seem to understand each other perfectly.

"Director Wong wrings poetry out of both sex and despair—especially despair. He understands erotic moods and styles from the '60s on, and he's especially adept at showing the secret sadness of promiscuity. But this time he's upped the ante. Instead of a small, stylish mood piece centering on two repressed lovers, he evokes the melancholy of the unrepressed, the pain of loveless seduction." - Michael Wilmington

[soitgoes...]

#6 (Tie)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/shaun4-1.jpg

Shaun of the Dead

Director: Edgar Wright

Country: UK/France

Shaun doesn't have a very good day, so he decides to turn his life around by getting his ex to take him back, but he times it for right in the middle of what may be a zombie apocalypse... But for him, it's an opportunity to show everyone he knows how useful he is by saving them all. All he has to do is survive... And get his ex back.

During the sequence in which Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) are discussing the plan to pick up Shaun's mother (Penelope Wilton) and Liz (Kate Ashfield) a track from Goblin's soundtrack to Dawn of the Dead (1978) can be heard playing in the background, "Zombi," which was also the name of the Italian release of the film, which was edited by Dario Argento.

"I like the way the slacker characters maintain their slothful gormlessness in the face of urgent danger, and I like the way the British bourgeois values of Shaun's mum and dad assert themselves even in the face of catastrophe. There is also that stubborn British courage in times of trouble. "We never closed," bragged the big neon sign outside the Windmill strip club in Soho, which stayed open every night during the Blitz. In this movie, the Winchester pub exhibits the same spirit." - Roger Ebert

[origami_mustache]

ew this list sucks already...what a shame

[soitgoes...]

#5

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/tropical_maladyBig-1.jpg

Tropical Malady

Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Country: France/Germany/Italy/Thailand

Tropical Malady explores the passionate relationship between two men with unusual consequences. The film is divided in two parts. The first half charts the modest attraction between two men in the sunny, relaxing countryside and the second half charts the confusion and terror of an unknown menace lurking deep within the jungle shadows.

The film was inspired by the adventure tales of Thai author Noi Intanon and by Jacques Tourneur, director of I Walked With a Zombie and the original Cat People. The same year that this film was chosen to compete at the Cannes, the government sent a delegation of Thai film-makers to the festival. Ironically, when the director asked to be included, officials denied him support, saying that there were no more plane tickets.

"Weerasethakul's metaphysical fascination with ordinary human gestures and the shape of everyday objects colors Keng and Tong's unpretentious, bittersweet courtship. Keng gives Tong a Clash tape but forgets to give him his heart, and when Keng attempts to transplant his love for Tong via a simple gesticulation of his arm, the transfusion of Keng's cosmic-romantic energy is ravishingly felt in the director's enchanted compositions." - Ed Gonzalez

[soitgoes...]

#4

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/incredibles_1600-1.jpg

The Incredibles

Director: Brad Bird

Country: USA

Mr. Incredible is a superhero; or he used to be, until a surge of lawsuits against superheroes submitted by the people they've saved forced the government to hide them in witness protection programs so they could lead normal, anonymous lives. Now known exclusively by his secret identity, Bob Parr, he lives with his wife Helen, formerly Elastigirl, and their three children Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack. He works as an insurance claims specialist, and he's fed up with his pushy boss and his immoral profession, but his wife's worked too hard to build a normal life for her family to abide his nostalgia for heroism. When Mr. Incredible's offered the chance to play the role of hero again by a mysterious informant, he jumps at the opportunity, but when it turns out to be a trap set by an old nemesis he had a hand in corrupting, the whole family must reveal themselves to save Mr. Incredible and countless innocents.

Syndrome's zero-point energy beam is based on an actual physics concept, the zero-point field, demonstrated in 1948 via the Casimir Effect and essential to Stephen Hawking's theory that black holes eventually evaporate. Harnessing the zero-point field would be quite a feat, as it would yield a truly infinite source of energy.

"I can't even put into human words how awesome The Incredibles is." - Watashi

[soitgoes...]

#3

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/life-aquatic-with-steve-zissou-7-1.jpg

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Director: Wes Anderson

Country: USA

With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.

The jaguar shark is one of the largest stop-motion puppets ever constructed. It measured eight feet in length and required five hand-cranked controls for the swimming action. Writers Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson named several of the places and crew members in the film spontaneously after things and people they saw around them at the Italian restaurant where they held many of their meetings about the film. Pescespada Island, for instance, was named for one of the dishes on the menu. Some of the characters' names are named after waiters and patrons at the restaurant.

"In The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, director Wes Anderson takes Murray -- an emissary from the land of prose -- and drops him into a poetic landscape. The Life Aquatic is a children's book of a movie, with the interior logic of a dream, full of vibrant colors and fantastic visuals. And in the midst of it, keeping all of it from flying away, is Murray, with his sad-sack, satiric face, playing an undersea documentarian going through a personal and professional crisis." - Mick LaSalle

[soitgoes...]

#2

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/before-sunset-4-1.jpg

Before Sunset

Director: Richard Linklater

Country: USA

Jesse, a writer from the US, and Celine, a Frenchwoman working for an environment protection organization, acquainted nine years ago on the train from Budapest to Vienna, meet again when Jesse arrives in Paris for a reading of his new book. As they have only a few hours until his plane leaves, they stroll through Paris, talking about their experiences, views and whether they still love each other, although Jesse is already married with a kid.

Though this movie was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, the screenplay is not based upon any existing text. However, the Academy rule book says that all sequels are adaptations. Since the film takes place during the mid-late afternoon, it was the only time of day director Richard Linklater would shoot the scenes in the film. He felt it added to the hyper reality of the film, and often relied on the actors to get perfect takes at the right time.

"Before Sunset is a remarkable achievement in several ways, most obviously in its technical skill. It is not easy to shoot a take that is six or seven minutes long, not easy for actors to walk through a real city while dealing with dialogue that has been scripted but must sound natural and spontaneous. Yet we accept, almost at once, that this conversation is really happening. There's no sense of contrivance or technical difficulty." - Roger Ebert

[soitgoes...]

#1

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/eternal_sunshine_of_the_spotle ss-1.jpg

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Director: Michel Gondry

Country: USA

A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

The movie is based on the following quote from an Alexander Pope poem: How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;

"Performed with restraint and an affecting weariness by Carrey, and with warmth and dizzy energy by Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a picture of career performances bolstered by stark, mellifluous imagery. Director Michel Gondry's blueprint seems to be a fever dream or a beat poem, infecting the most mundane dialogue scene with book titles disappearing off shelved volumes and beach houses collapsing under the weight of fading memories." - Walter Chaw

[soitgoes...]

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 73
2. Before Sunset - 41
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - 30.5
4. The Incredibles - 29.5
5. Tropical Malady - 29
T6. Shaun of the Dead - 24.5
T6. 2046 - 24.5
T6. Mysterious Skin - 24.5
9. 3-Iron - 23.5
10. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 - 23

Nothing was close enogh for a single voter to change the difference. L'Intrus was next at 16.

[Milky Joe]

Let me just say that I'm super happy about The Life Aquatic getting this amount of praise from this crowd. Movie is timeless for me.

[origami_mustache]

How did Nobody Knows miss...it was ahead of of 7/10 of these films in the Battle of 00s. :crazy:


Let me just say that I'm super happy about The Life Aquatic getting this amount of praise from this crowd. Movie is timeless for me.

Hard to choose, but I think it is my favorite Wes Anderson.

[Sycophant]

How did Nobody Knows miss...it was ahead of all of 7/10 of these films in the Battle of 00s. :crazy:
Exactly what I was thinking.

[Melville]

Exactly what I was thinking.
Yeah, Nobody Knows owns most of those other movies.

[MadMan]

A single jizzing moment from Wats was used for the quote for The Incredibles? Yuck.

I really dig much of this list. It also reminds me that I never got around to viewing 2046. I should do that.

[Watashi]

A single jizzing moment from Wats was used for the quote for The Incredibles? Yuck.

What is your problem?

[Mysterious Dude]

I think Watashi's Ratatouille review is really underrated.

http://matchcut.org/viewtopic.php?p=491805&highlight=#491805

[MadMan]

What is your problem?My comment stands. There could have been something else better to quote from, like a review or something. Anything.


I think Watashi's Ratatouille review is really underrated.

http://matchcut.org/viewtopic.php?p=491805&highlight=#491805That is pretty hilarious.

[Pop Trash]

Switch #3 with #10 and I would really like this list.

[soitgoes...]

My comment stands. There could have been something else better to quote from, like a review or something. Anything.

Actually it was from a review, Watashi's review of The Incredibles. I figured a moment of levity would be okay, since I'm pretty sure most everyone here has seen the film. If you're truly looking for some new in-depth insight I can point you in the direction of some reviews.

[Grouchy]

- I love every film that I've seen on the list except for Eternal Sunshine, which I don't completely dislike.

- I haven't seen Mysterious Skin and Tropical Malady.

- I wish Kung Fu Hustle and Dead Man's Shoes had gotten some respect.

Other than that, one of the best lists ever.

[Raiders]

I wish ... Dead Man's Shoes had gotten some respect.

I did my best. Fifth place was as high as it could go for me in this year. I do think more need to see it, though I'm not sure it would be very popular here.

[Grouchy]

I'm not sure it would be very popular here.
Why? Just curious.

[Ezee E]

I rarely even read the quotes at the bottom of the films, unless it's from a Match Cutter, because it usually brings the lulz.