Top Ten Movies - 2004
Candy Movies (as per POTN's use of the term i.e. a film I know isn't great, but I love it anyway)
10. Terkel i Knibe (Terkel in Trouble)
Danish computer-animated comedy written and voiced entirely by one of the best stand-up comedians to come out of Denmark. However, it's on this list because the animation hasn't aged well and neither has some of the humor, but I still love watching it. Sometimes I'll even put the CD on (which is basically the movie but on 'tape') and have it playing in the background, cause it's absolutely hilarious. Lots of Danish humor, though, so probably not for everyone 😛
9. Howl's Moving Castle
By no means a bad film, but I put it here because it's the only anime I actually like and I really like it 🙂
8. White Chicks
It has absolutely not aged well, but I just love it. I've always been a sucker for the Wayans brothers and this movie is hilarious AF.
7. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
I believe I've mentioned this in a previous post, but I just adore pre-breakdown Lindsay Lohan, so much! This was one of the last films she made before everything went... up a certain creek. I adore the whole cliche-driven high school drama, Megan Fox makes a great antagonist (and it's one of the few American HS films where the mean girl is redeemed in the end), and I even enjoy the soundtrack.
6. 50 First Dates
Give me Adam Sandler any day, but pair him with Drew Barrymore and it's even better! The concept of this movie lends itself really well to drama, so turning this into a full-on comedy (Rob Schneider and all) was ballsy and it works really well. One of my very favorite Sandler performances.
5. Little Black Book
This is a great concept and decent writing that suffers from a bad team. With a better director, a somewhat better writer, and better advertisement, this could've been more than a flop. Brittany Murphy is in stellar form here, the fact that she's not the hero of the story is a brilliant turn and a great character exploration, and the setting is very unique, as well. I love putting this on, on a rainy day.
4. Chasing Liberty
I didn't need to wait for Tangled and This Is Us to appreciate what a great actress Mandy Moore is. This (and another movie that will turn up on the other list below) was reason enough to think so. So many 'daughter of the US President' movies exist, another one came out around this same time, but this still remains the only one worthwhile, imo. Mandy really embodies the role well and she has great chemistry with the romantic lead (Ben something?). Anyway, another one that's just so much fun to watch, over and over again 🙂
3. Without a Paddle
How can you go wrong with Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard? Seriously! 😀
2. The Village
I don't care what anyone says, I love this movie, sooo much. I watch it at least twice a year. I love the twists and turns, the creepy atmosphere, the acting, everything. I don't consider this a part of M. Night's bad movies, quite contrary. But I know I'm in the minority, so on this list, it goes 😛
1. New York Minute
The Olsen Twins at their best. Simple Plan back when they were barely famous. American Pie dad on the case. And, as I discovered much later, a young Jared Padalecki. Beyond the absolute cheese-fest that is this film, it also has a really great exploration of sisters growing up and growing apart at the same time and how that affects them in the future. I couldn't love this movie more, if I tried!
Actual List
Honorable Mentions: Taking Lives. The Notebook. Million Dollar Baby.
10. Ella Enchanted
Some might put it on the other list, but I truly adore the writing and acting in this one and feel that it's entirely too underrated overall. Anne Hathaway is wonderful and does a very nice rendition of a Queen classic at one point that I just love. The lore and spell stuff are so well done and it's such a funny movie. It's also got one of my favorite underrated actresses, Minnie Driver, in it, in one of the best roles 😀
9. Kill Bill: Volume II
I sometimes find it difficult to decide which volume I like more, but this one comes close to winning thanks to the coffin scene, the flashback to her training and the great Michael Madsen. I'm not Uma Thurman's biggest fan (and feel she was completely miscast for this role) so it says a lot about how much I love the rest of it that it's even on this list. The fight in the trailer between the two women is also an outstanding fight scene, just from cinema in general.
8. A Love Song for Bobby Long
A truly underrated gem. Some of the best acting I've ever seen from both John Travolta and Scarlett Johannson. If you haven't seen it, I'd go check it out, immediately.
7. Vanity Fair
There is nothing more fun than a leading woman who is also the bad guy. Even better when it really isn't that black and white. Reese Witherspoon does an incredible job portraying a woman who wants nothing more than wealth and power and will step on everybody to get there. This is another underrated gem that rarely gets mentioned anywhere, but is worth more than one watch 🙂
6. Mean Girls
This time Lindsay Lohan is nowhere near the only good part (or even the best part) of the movie. The script is beyond brilliant (and, not surprisingly, written by Tina Fey), the actors surrounding Lohan are outstanding (and include Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried pre-fame) and has a bevy of iconic moments and endlessly quotable lines. Has yet to become outdated, imo.
5. The Terminal
Such a unique film and so hard to pull off successfully. No doubt part of that success is down to Tom Hanks, who has previously proven to be able to carry a movie almost entirely on his performance alone. One of the few on my lists that I've only seen the one time, years ago, but it stuck with me enough that I trust in this spot on my list.
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Can't imagine that anyone who has seen this needs an explanation for why it's on here. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are outstanding here, and the minor roles help make it great as well (though I continue to vehemently dislike anything Kirsten Dunst does that she calls 'acting').
3. Connie and Carla
Beyond funny and entertaining and completely re-watchable to the extreme. Haven't got a clue how many times I've watched it since it came out, but it's gotta be in double digits at this point. While some of those ranty feminists whatevers might consider it 'too far' by today's standards, I can't see anything to be offended by, but maybe that's just me. I still think it's as brilliant as ever.
2. Saved!
There. Are. No. Words. Jena Malone is great as a teenage girl struggling with faith and who that makes her. Mandy Moore is exceptional as the mean girl who uses Jesus and the Lord as an excuse for her actions. Macauley Culkin is wonderful as the paraplegic boy who makes no apologies for his disability, despite his sister constantly taking advantage of it. It has so many fleshed-out side characters without feeling stuffed, and the writing sometimes reminds me of Joss Whedon, with it's quick wit and cleverness. Would probably be on a favorite list of the decade, not just this year, if I'm being honest.
1. The Butterfly Effect
Ashton Kutcher has never been this incredible before or since. Time travel at it's very best and an ending that still gives me chills (depending on which ending you with, of course. I prefer the less happy one). This is one everyone should see, especially the ones who refuse just because Kutcher is attached to it. The exploration of time travel and alternate realities and choice, everything is just beyond amazing and I love it so effin much.
