2004 Capsule Reviews

Alexander
rating: *****
review: This is my favorite all-time movie.  I think it's Oliver Stone's best movie, the one where he stretches the most (and he's released enough versions of it where you know he still can't get it out of his system).  I think it's a fantastic cast all the way around.  I think its score is lovely.  There's nothing I don't love about it.  The fact that so many others don't is Exhibit A in the hall of modern cultural horrors.

Kill Bill Vol. 2
rating: *****
review: The confrontation between the Bride and Bill is the evolution of Tarantino as a filmmaker, in which he stops going for shock and instead focuses on timeless storytelling.

Troy
rating: *****
review: I have a great appreciation for the legacy of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey.  I think this is a worthy modern retelling.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
rating: ****
review: While this is indeed the best of the series to this point, it got better.

The Passion of the Christ
rating: ****
review: Over the years, I've softened on this film, because becomes hard to justify watching in the face of the all the extreme violence.  Otherwise I think it's as powerful an artistic statement in just about every way that's ever been achieved in film.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
rating: ****
review: As enchanting as it is, it's still weird to see such a subdued Jim Carrey.  Will probably be destined to be his most studied film.

The Manchurian Candidate
rating: ****
review: This is the last time I really liked Meryl Streep, where she does a parody of Hillary Clinton.  I'm also glad it gives Liev Schreiber something interesting to do.  I'm glad Denzel Washington deviates from his increasingly action-oriented trajectory.  Just an overall incredibly fascinating remake, which if you're going to do one this is probably what it ought to look like.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
rating: ****
review: If Eternal Sunshine is Jim Carrey shrinking into the background, this is his last big character(s) hurrah, and it's a joy to watch on that level alone.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
rating: ****
review: I'd love if Bill Murray did more outright surreal material like this, because when you see him like this, it's the perfect mode, like Groundhog Day scrubbed of its Hollywood sheen.

The Aviator
rating: ****
review: Scorsese was nakedly appealing to Hollywood with this one, but it's entirely worth it.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
rating: ****
review: There's something incredibly wrong with critics who can't understand that movies are inherently a constant balance between style and substance.  They're a visual medium.  By necessity sometimes style comes first.  And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I, Robot
rating: ****
review: Will Smith brilliantly enters his golden age as an embittered lead actor free from his earlier good cheer.

Shrek 2
rating: ****
review: A successful riff on what made the first one work so well.

Club Dread
rating: ****
review: Broken Lizard's spoof of horror movies is its biggest win for me, thanks to Bill Paxton's zany Coconut Pete.

Shaun of the Dead
rating: ****
review: The textbook definition of cult classic.  "You've got red on you."  The best horror movie years ahead of the surge it helped inspire.

Sideways
rating: ****
review: It may have been Paul Giamatti's best bid at remaining a critical darling, but Thomas Haden Church stole his thunder.  Still, I don't think I'll ever take merlot seriously.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
rating: ****
review: Even though this didn't originate from Saturday Night Live, it's about as perfect a movie as you could get from it.

The Alamo
rating: ****
review: This wasn't the movie as it was supposed to happen, but it's still an incredibly vivid depiction of a classic American tale.

The Village
rating: ****
review: M. Night Shyamalan had begun to cotton to audience expectations, and I think this whole movie was meant to mess with them.  Audiences, I mean.

King Arthur
rating: ****
review: Clive Owen's star rose and fell so quickly it can be easy to forget just how singular his appeal really is, and how he sells this particular of the classic narrative so well.

Million Dollar Baby
rating: ****
review: Hilary Swank backed away from the image of her Boys Don't Cry so successfully that its polar opposite became equally hard to live down.

National Treasure
rating: ****
review: Nicolas Cage found a real winner in this movie, a persona that found a new angle on a Hollywood legend (Indiana Jones) that had seemed to swallow it whole.  The affable nature of the performance gave Cage something new to work with, but it couldn't have come at a worse time.  Because no one takes him seriously anymore.

Garden State
rating: ****
review: For a time it seemed as if Zach Braff was going to be able to make a whole movie career out of this. 

Finding Neverland
rating: ****
review: This is the closest, to date, that Johnny Depp has transitioned from Peter Pan to the man he might have become.

The Terminal
rating: ****
review: Charming riff on Tom Hanks' traditional everyman appeal.

Collateral
rating: ****
review: Tom Cruise in his last universally admired role, in the movie that temporarily elevated Jamie Foxx to superstardom.

Layer Cake
rating: ***
review: Daniel Craig finally established himself in this one, but it's hard to remember what else is going on in it, besides Sienna Miller.  Tom Hardy, I think, is in it in one of his more interesting attempts at career revival, totally against type as we know him today.

Alfie
rating: ***
review: Jude Law in a movie all about his rakish charm.  I suppose it's different when it's Michael Caine in the role, because Law seems like if he's not finding ways to please all these women, it's because of a personality flaw that may not exist in the film.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
rating: ***
review: The same Disney flavor as the first, this time with added Chris Pine pre-stardom!

Dawn of the Dead
rating: ***
review: An effective way for Zach Snyder to get noticed.

EuroTrip
rating: ***
review: Another riff on American Pie, this time with Matt Damon in one of the most unexpected film appearances of all time.

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
rating: ***
review: I have no idea what this would've looked like with Ben Stiller's character as the focus of the story, but I would probably prefer that.  But only if this were still in it: "If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball."

The Ladykillers
rating: ***
review: I love Tom Hanks in this.  Reason enough to see it.

Ladder 49
rating: ***
review: John Travolta has been on a failed comeback tour for years.  This was an engaging attempt at winning over fans of thematic drama.

Hellboy
rating: ***
review: Ironically, the Avengers model can be traced back to a Dark Horse Comics adaptation.

Meet the Fockers
rating: ***
review: Kind of distracting to take the focus off Stiller and De Niro.

Saw
rating: ***
review: As enduring as the concept became, the main reason to watch the first one is to marvel at how low Cary Elwes' stock fell after Princess Bride.

Spider-Man 2
rating: ***
review: I love Kirsten Dunst.  But the MJ sequences in this one sunk what many fans consider to be a perfect superhero movie.  It's off-putting to make the love interest a de facto antagonist, no matter how hardluck Peter Parker is supposed to be.

The Incredibles
rating: ***
review: The Pixar model is exposed as not particularly caring whether or not it appeals to its target audience.

Van Helsing
rating: ***
review: I like the concept just fine, but Hugh Jackman goes from iconic Wolverine to a character whose main function is to unite all the monsters against him.

Catwoman
rating: ***
review: Halle Berry had such shit poured on her for making this, but I only ever saw it as an attempt to make an empowering female superhero.  It's somewhat the opposite of the character as depicted in Batman Returns, but I see that as a good thing.

The Chronicles of Riddick
rating: ***
review: The only real problem here is that it attempts to recast Riddick as a hero, when he's really pretty obviously an antihero at best.

Walking Tall
rating: **
review: Disappointingly attempts to take Dwayne Johnson straight.  Turns out to work best when he's hunting the dude from the previous movie (the actor, I mean).

The Big Bounce
rating: **
review: There's nothing particularly wrong with this.  Seems like an ideal Owen Wilson vehicle.  Maybe I just need to actually watch it again.

50 First Dates
rating: **
review: Adam Sandler in a creepy romantic comedy.

Man on Fire
rating: **
review: There's nothing particularly wrong with Denzel Washington in action movies.  But again, it's a huge waste of talent.