Though I have not been able to bring myself to write about the bygone year of 2004, I had always been wanting to write this. It feels good to write, even though it does not mean much to people other than myself at all. Allow me to observe the tradition of the trilogy fashion here...
And this time I did put them down in my notebook. Like Paul Auster's characters do.
I. New
- "Mona Lisa Smile": Funny enough, I saw this with my former student (now she's sort of like my sister). It was an okay film; I went mostly for the costumes and Kirsten Dunst. Maggie Gyllenhaal's character could have her own movie. Definitely better than Elektra, I'd say.
- "Mystic River": What a sad movie. Tim Robbins broke my heart again. Sean Penn did a perfect job as he always does. Powerful score. This one made me sad for more than a week. And it still makes me think, especially when I walk through dark alleys.
- "Cheaper by the Dozen": Only for the goddamn genius: Steve Martin.
- "Love Actually": What a feel-good movie. Keira Knightley is so gorgeous; my friend was swallowing hard while watching it. For me, it's Liam and Colin who did it.
- "Lost in Translation": One of my favorite. I even wrote something for it. Scarlett Johansson is the talent to watch. And who knew Bill Murray'd be back in all his glory in such a tiny film?
- "Good Bye Lenin!": Very touching. Daniel Brühl and Katrin Saß are so wonderful.
- "Cold Mountain": Renee Zellweger was the only delight for me in this one. And I couldn't stop noticing how clean Nicole's coat was (even cleaner than mine) after walking so long in the mountains with all that snow!
- "Along Came Polly": OK. Ben, you gotta be better than that. Was fun to see Grace Adler, uh, I mean Debra Messing, in there though!
- "Troy": Diane Kruger's pretty. Brad's still Brad. Orlando needs to do something else other than hanging around with his bow and arrows.
- "Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban": Nothing more needs to be said. It's possibly the most perfect piece ever made with a teenage audience in mind. Who said it didn't bring out that part of us? And who said it couldn't be great? (I saw it twice in one week...)
- "Spider-Man 2": Wow. Sam Raimi, you are a crazy man!
- "The Terminal": Warm and fun. Typical Spielberg, always comfy. I love airports, in case you still don't realize it by now.
- "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself": Not bad. I liked the score and the cast. Lone Scherfig is a bit dreamy in person - very feminine and friendly. Oh, the Scottish accent did it for me too. (Btw, Harbour is played by Harry Potter's dad, James Potter! Haha)
- "Before Sunset": P-E-R-F-E-C-T. The best sequel ever made. Richard Linklater, you genius! On some psychological level, Julie Delpy is everything I want to be.
II. Old
- "Punch-Drunk Love": I never knew Adam and Emily could work together so well. Great cast. PTA, you are fascinating.
- "Comedian": Give me Jerry Seinfeld or nothing at all! Good documentary.
- "L'auberge espagnole": Fun! And I'm sort of living in that situation (again) now, which is kind of cool.
- "About a Boy": Hugh Grant's perfect for the part - the character would be so annoying if he's real, haha. Love the music. BDB, yay!
- "City Hall": Al Pacino could be my mayor.
- "Serendipity": John's cute. Hmm, that's pretty much all I remember.
- "Riding in the Car with Boys": Drew Barrymore is a good actor. You can't argue with that seeing her in this one.
- "Sense and Sensibility": How I loved this film. And I still do. Professor Snape can do romantic too!
- "Door to Door": Another one that made me wonder why William H. Macy wasn't better known here. He's so good at what he does!
- "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets": And now they're all grown up!
- "White Oleander": So sad. The cast delivered.
- "Adaptation.": Spike Jonze! Charlie Kaufman is the man with the most fooked up mind in Hollywood - and how we love that.
- "Bubble Boy": Cute comedy. Jake's IT!
- "Chicago": What a treat. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a diva alright, but she deserved all the praise she got.
- "Case of Evil": Meet James D'Arcy, the new Sherlock.
- "Bend It Like Beckham": Nice movie. Girls can have all the fun and do what they wanna do, of course.
- "The Laramie Project": Finally watched the whole movie. Very thoughtful. It's not a war, and it's not about right or wrong anymore.
- "Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi"(神隱少女): Amazing. I had never been a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki, but I could not resist the beauty.
III. What happened to me when these were on, anyway?
2046
The Incredibles
Maria Full of Grace
Collateral
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (but I saw it last month. Very, very good!!)
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Swimming Pool
In America
Monster
Tokyo Godfathers
In This World
