Going Back in Time: The Top 10 Movies of 2004.

Rather than jump right in to the top 10 movies of 2008, I decided to go back in time and work my way up. My first installment: 2004.

2004 was a tough year to rate because not only was there no one movie that was a slam dunk for movie of the year, there was not even a handful of contenders. While there were plenty of movies that were solid, pretty good, or even great in 2004, it seemed to lack enough movies that I felt were true classics. Don't get me wrong, 2004 had a lot great movies worthy of top 10 status, but with so few true contenders for the #1 spot, not much thought that had to be put into the top three or so.

The second 10:

20. Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, 19. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, 18. Shrek 2, 17. Friday Night Lights, 16. Jersey Girl, 15. The Passion of the Christ, 14. The Incredibles, 13. Kill Bill Vol.2, 12. Napoleon Dynamite, 11. Hellboy.

The Top 10 of 2004:

10. Hotel Rwanda. Based on the true story of hotelier Paul Rusesabagina during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Hotel Rwanda was rightfully nominated for several Academy Awards in 2004. Don Cheadle was at his best as the main character, Paul, and was able to infuriate you, entertain you, and make you cheer all at the same time.

9. Dawn of the Dead. A direct re-make of George Romero's 1978 version, Dawn of the Dead had just the right balance of gore and drama to entertain zombie enthusiasts and casual fans as well. While I am not usually a fan of re-makes, this was a zombie movie done right.

8. Sideways. Telling the tale of two bachelors and their adventures in wine country before one of them is married, Sideways is at times a hilarious comedy and at other times a grade A drama.

7. Million Dollar Baby. You know, I didn't like this movie much the first time I saw it. It has since grown on me quite a bit and I am proud to have it in my movie collection. At times feeling long and drawn out, Million Dollar Baby is an excellent and tragic film.

6. Garden State. Coming out of nowhere, this movie is quickly becoming one of the most endearing movies of all time. Written by and starring Zack Braff, Garden State is the story of a man going back home after the death of his mother. Once there, he starts to have a mid-life crisis before the age of 30. I think a lot of us can relate.

5. Collateral. I admit that when I saw the previews, I did not buy Cruise as the pre-maturely gray hitman, Max. After seeing the film, I was blown away by his performance as well as Jamie Foxx as the unluckiest cab driver in all of L.A.

4. Spiderman 2. Sequels rarely live up to the first offering, but Spiderman 2 delivers. Picking up where the first film left off, this film made us feel as if this franchise was here to stay ... until that pesky Spiderman 3 came out, anyway.

3. Shaun of the Dead. Any other year, this movie would not have ranked this high. Don't get me wrong, I love this movie and find myself enthralled by it every time it comes on, but in a stronger it would have been outside of the top 5.

2. Saw. Some people will laugh at this movie ranking so high, but the original Sawwas finally a classic horror movie worth watching. Unlike a lot of movies in this genre, the violence and gore was not done just for the sake of violence and gore. There was an actual method to the madness making Saw a horror masterpiece.

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. We've all had relationships we'd rather forget so this film speaks to that side of us. The entire cast of this movie delivers and you find yourself pulled into their world. Eternal Sunshine is a movie that showed us Jim Carrey is capable of being a serious actor when he wants to. I went into it expecting absolutely nothing, and came away with an instant classic making it my favorite movie of 2004.


On to 2005 ...