Movies of 04

Time for something less emotive - my favourite movies of 2004 (these may not all have come out last year, but it was in 2004 that I watched them). 1. Hero. Breathtakingly beautiful and certain to be a favourite among Neo-cons ("The road to peace is war"). I love this Chinese floating-through-the-air-and-fighting stuff. 2. Dogville. Stark. Brutal. Nasty. Kidman gives the performance of her life. Lars Von Trier is allegedly anti-American. The fact that he's never been to America is often used against him in this matter, but having just read an article about the John Birch Society, I wonder how many Americans in the 1960s had been to the Soviet Union? 3. The Passion of the Christ. Not very PC, I know, but for flagellation-as-ballet Gibson excelled. And I'm a theologically conservative Christian, so bugger-off. 4. Fahrenheit 9/11. Yes, I know it's propaganda, I know. But I watched this film on the opening night of the Jerusalem Film Festival. Watching a movie about war and terrorism with Israelis was memorable. 5. The Bourne Supremacy. How James Bond films should be. 6. Kill Bill 2. The first film was crap, but this was great. Watch it for the burial scene alone. 7. Osama. I was so angry after watching this film that I wanted to steal a B52 and bomb the Taliban. Wait, that's been done.... Good. 8. Big Fish. Weird but warm. The ultimate film to watch and weep through when a family member dies. 9. Spiderman 2. "With great power comes great responsibility". Spidey has always been my favourite action hero, and I'm so glad that Sam Raimi got to make these films. [10. The Village. I haven't seen this yet, but I know I'll like it. Same goes for Dodgeball.] Note that there are no British films here, but I'm assured that Shaun of the Dead is brilliant. Please add to my list. I have unlimited movie rental with Hollywood Video, so I'm always looking for good films to waste my time with.