By Sarah Carlson, Arts Editor
Last year’s box office was filled with overblown and failed historical action movies (Troy, Alexander), countless sequels (Spider-Man 2, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), the highest grossing documentary of all-time (Fahrenheit 9/11), and a violent depiction of the last hours of Christ (The Passion of the Christ) that attracted millions to the theater, stunning the mainstream media. Plus, it just didn’t seem like Christmas break without part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to watch. Nevertheless, 2004 had its moments and here are 10 of my favorites.
1. Finding Neverland
Johnny Depp is flawless as Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie, who meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four boys while walking his dog in London’s Kensington Park. One of her sons, Peter (Freddy Highmore), still reeling from the death of his father, will become the inspiration for Barrie’s Peter Pan. Director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball) weaves the romanticism of the idealized youth and the key of imagination to endure adulthood into the film brilliantly. Four Stars
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey, at his best when not doing slapstick comedy, and Kate Winslet, outside of a period piece and a corset, come together as Joel and Clementine with excellent yet odd chemistry. The concept of erasing a person out of one’s memory in hopes of changing a situation, only to repeat the same steps that led one to that situation, is fascinating and the editing and effects only add to the originality of the plot. Four Stars
3. Garden State
Writer, director and actor Zach Braff (TV’s Scrubs) details the dilemma of the dangerously transitional stage known as your 20s: You don’t have a home. Your parents’ house isn’t your home, and you don’t have a family to have your own home with; you’re stuck in the middle. The films speaks to a certain time in life where the most important conclusion one can come to is to just live, and accept life for what it is, not what you think it should be. Three and 1/2 Stars
4. Sideways
Two old college friends, Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), take a week-long excursion through California’s wine country as a prelude to Jack’s forthcoming wedding. Both are nearing middle age; Miles is recently divorced but clearly not over it, and Jack is fearing the final commitment of matrimony. The poignant analogy of life to a bottle of wine helps make this one of the more honest films as of late. Three and 1/2 Stars
5. Before Sunset
A compelling sequel to 1995’s Before Sunrise, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy return as Jesse and Celine, two people brought together on a train to Vienna and then separated after spending 14 hours together, only to be reunited nine years later. Jesse, now a writer, is in Paris promoting his book and Celine, who lives there, shows up at one of the book tour stops. Jesse is scheduled to leave Paris that night and the two spend the rest of the day catching up with compelling and surprisingly natural dialogue, soon realizing they are still connected. Rent both movies and watch them back-to-back. Three Stars
6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Not the best of director Wes Anderson’s films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums) and probably the least coherent, The Life Aquatic nevertheless showcases Bill Murray’s unbelievable deadpan and knack of persuading the audience to care for his character no matter how flawed he is. Three Stars
7. Kinsey
Liam Neeson stars as Alfred Kinsey, author of Sexual Behavior in the Human Male released in 1948. Laura Linney stars as his wife, Clara, and both give excellent performances in this blunt telling of Kinsey’s life, loves and desire to educate the population on sex. The one glitch, however, comes from the lack of a middle ground represented in the sexual culture of the ’40s and ’50s, as well as today. Kinsey’s interviewees and friends either hold no sexual inhibitions and social mores of marriage, or condemn the very mention of sex. The role of love in human intimacy comes into play only briefly. Despite this, Kinsey gives a thought-provoking look at our culture’s views on sex. Three and 1/2 Stars
8. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera
The plot is shaky and the Phantom in the stage producton is not nearly this good-looking. At times, you might even want to bring in a CD and headphones with the voices of Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, the headliners of the original London cast. Ultimately, though, Phantom is spectacular to look at, playing to the audience’s emotions, and viewers do not already have to be fans of the stage production to enjoy the film. If you are a fan of musicals, you will be thoroughly entertained. Three Stars
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Easily the best of the three Potter movies so far, director Alfonso Cuaron’s (Y Tu Mama Tambien) eye for detail and stylistic approach to the material made the film darker and more believable than director Chris Columbus’ take on the first two books. While die-hard fans like myself moan over the nonexistant explanations about things like the Marauders Map, the Marauders’ identities and the significance of the Patronus, the magical white stag that dispells the evil Dementors at the end, Cuaron takes Rowling’s material and runs with it, achieving more than just a “children’s movie.” Three Stars
10. I Heart Huckabees
Existential comedies are rare and hard to sell, but this film combines just enough oddity, humor and philosophy to engage the audience’s minds and have them questioning the meaning of life. It’s good to see Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) again, and Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin are superb. Three Stars
