Sunday, November 28, 2004

A LONG TIME AGO, FAR FAR AWAY...

It's been nearly twelve months since my last post and I'm back primarily to answer the question I've been asked a number of times in 2004 - are you still seeing one film every week?

The answer is yes but I have been too busy with other things to continue the reviews. In a way I'm glad I haven't had to analyse the films I've seen this year and write about them every week, but a friend said that in 2003 she used the site to decide what to see and many people have asked me, "have you seen anything good recently?"

So here is the list of the sixty (yep, 60!) films I've seen in 2004, with a crude 'star' rating (out of 5) to give you a hint of what I've enjoyed and what was a total waste of money:

Ratings:
5 stars: Unmissable!
4 stars: Definitely worth seeing
3 stars: Decent film
2 stars: Disappointing
1 star: Pants
No stars: Why was this released?

In date order - five star films highlighted in bold

Mystic River (****)
Lost in Translation (*****)
American Splendour (****)
Last Samurai (***)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (****)
Big Fish (***)
Elephant (**)
The Dreamers (***)
Infernal Affairs (****)
Valentin (**)
Zatoichi (*****)
Northfork (*)
Starsky and Hutch (***)
The Station Agent (*****)
Fog of War (****)
Shaun of the Dead (*****)
Open Range (****)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (*****)
Bus 174 (****)
Carandiru (***)
Kill Bill Volume 2 (*)
The Barbarian Invasions (**)
Van Helsing (*)
Twilight Samurai (***)
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring (*)
Bad Education (**)
The Day After Tomorrow (****)
Japanese Story (****)
Shrek 2 (***)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (****)
I'm Not Scared (****)
Spiderman 2 (*)
Nathalie (**)
King Arthur (*)
I, Robot (***)
Infernal Affairs 2 (***)
Bourne Supremacy (*****)
The Village (***)
Motorcycle Diaries (*****)
The Terminal (***)
Hellboy (**)
Supersize Me (***)
Carmen (**)
Open Water (****)
Collateral (****)
Dead Man's Shoes (****)
Hero (*****)
Bubba Ho-tep (***)
Before Sunset (****)
The Manchurian Candidate (****)
Mr Smith Goes To Washington (*****)
House of Flying Daggers (*****)
Bad Santa (****)
Finding Neverland (****)
Coffee and Cigarettes (**)
Shaolin Soccer (no stars!)
Old Boy (****)
The Story of the Weeping Camel (***)
The Incredibles (****)
I Heart Huckabees (***)