January 9, 2005

[lists] ^{8:22 PM}

When it came time to sit down and write my top ten lists I realized something: 2004 is probably the year of my life I saw the FEWEST movies. Alot of these I saw multiple times in the theatre, but there's insane amount of films I've still yet to see (Finding Neverland, Life Aquatic). It's also interesting to note that for the most part my list is split in 2: the serious movies lead up to the unadulterated fun. 2004 was definitely an odd year, full of lots of changes, and I think my tastes reflect that.

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2004

10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — Until recently I didn't view this an optimistic movie at all, perhaps because I saw it at the tail end of a relationship. I adore Gondry's work (his was the first of the Director's Series DVD's I purchased), and I find Kate Winslet to be amazing. I was also astounded by Kirsten Dunst's 11th hour evolution and the way she handled it, both as a character and as an actress.
9. We Don't Live Here Anymore — It's like somehow finding enjoyment out of walking across broken glass while pouring salt into a wound. Laura Dern astounds me. Oscar for her, please.
8. Kinsey — More specifically the first hour. In act III things get shakey, but his life got shakey, so it's forgiveable. I adore Laura Linney, I have a crush on Peter Saarsgard and I'm so happy those books were published.
7. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow — Pure expectation-free enjoyment. The people who ridicule this movie obviosly forget what it was like to be a child with an imagination. Or I had a better childhood than most people.
6. Shaun of the Dead — Funny and Scary. The pre-end credits sequence is so original it makes me giggle when I think about it.
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — My favorite of the books, my absolute favorite of the films. I actually somewhat hate the first two Potter films, proof that direct adaptions aren't always the way to go. Cuaron handles this tale with skill, keeping what important, alluding to things are rightfully absent, and treating the series with the gothic reverence it deserves. If I had my way, he'd handle Order of the Pheonix as well.
4. Spiderman 2 — So much better than the original it will make your head spin. And things, like, actually change. Harry Osbourne finds out who Spider-man is and doesn't get amnesia? Mary Jane knows, for like, real? Impressive on so many levels, and enjoyable on that many more.
3. Garden State — Jerry's one word review was "soundtrack," and while may be apt, I still enjoyed it. Maybe it's because I'm a twentysomething and this has been dubbed "the movie of my generation," or maybe I just like knowing Zach Braff was able to save some money and pull some strings to get his little movie made. It made me happy.
2. 13 Going on 30 — This movie is like crack. You can judge me all you want, I don't care. This little thing never ceases to make me happy.
1. The Incredibles — Gah. I weep thinking of it.

TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 2004

10. Saturday Night Live — I myself am puzzled by SNL's place here, but the past few weeks have given me some of the best laughs the series ever has. While there hasn't been a solid entire episode, when it hits its hitting hard. After some growing pains thanks to cast re-shuffles, I think they've got a great roster going now. Plus anything that brings back the Muppets is A-OK in my book.
9. Drawn Together — If you got rid of Adam Corolla's stupid pig character, I think this show would be golden. Call me crazy, but poop humor just doesn't do it for me. Everything else on this show? Golden.
8. The Ellen DeGeneres Show — And to think a few years ago I thought "this is what a talk show should be" while watching Rosie O'Donnell ... oh, how wrong I was. At least I got the lesbian part right. Ellen and I are BFF.
7. The Venture Bros. — Eat your heart out Jonny Quest.
6. Sex and the City — One of the most satisfying series finales I've ever seen, even if time management (8 episodes to wrap everything up in) was a minor issue. A very fond farewell.
5. Six Feet Under — So Claire is getting stupid and James Cromwell is a waste, it's still better than half the shit on TV (even if it is become a shadow of it's former self)
4. Gilmore Girls — The current fifth season resurrected GG to new heights. I'd say the past five or six episodes rival the first season for wit, charm, and wonderful pacing. Maybe Season Five will save Alias, but somehow I doubt it, since season four is off to such an abysmal start...
3. Angel — the tail end of Angel's final season contained some of the series' best work from every standpoint: writing, directing, acting, I'm sure even the craft service table was amazing. If I wasn't a stickler for arranging things in chronological order my season five dvd's would sit proudly next to season two.
2. Lost/Desperate Housewives — Such a toss-up.
1. Lost/Desperate Housewives — Since I was cable-less for the past week, I've rewatched every episode of both series, and tho it may be heracy, I find DH more enjoyable as a repeat viewer. Not since the first season of Alias have I been so anxious for new episodes of television (re: Lost), but repeat viewings don't enrapture me as much as first go-round (save for excellent outings such as "Walkabout"). So which show is number one? Well, I'm not quite sure, and I think that's fine. It think it's good to have things vying for "the most amazing" label. Did you think that a year ago I'd be so impassioned about two shows on ABC? I sure didn't, and I love it when things like that surprise me.

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