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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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Dan Owen reviews
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2004. The year movies got serious. No, seriously!
Hollywood will always rely on special-effects for their big money-spinners in the summer, but this year we were blessed with a more varied choice for cinemagoers: the eco-friendly The Day After Tomorrow, the politically-charged Fahrenheit 9/11, a battlecry against fast-food in the Super Size Me documentary, religious blockbuster The Passion Of The Christ, and many more. Even Will Smith's I, Robot had brains behind its CGI, being based on an Isaac Asimov story! Take a look below and you'll realize just how many of the year's most popular movies were great leaps forward in terms of ambition, creativity and genuine quality. Hollywood is even becoming more accepting of world cinema - with Britain's Shaun Of The Dead becoming a hit Stateside, as well as foreign cinema's Hero and House Of Flying Daggers raking up cash. A Japanese director was even allowed to direct the English-language remake of his horror smash The Grudge! All this bodes very well for next year, but let's take a look at 2004's most popular movies and how they fared in the year. |
Modern cinema's greatest double-act, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, teamed up yet
again for their affectionate parody of Starsky & Hutch. Managing work as
a traditional buddy-cop comedy, while also taking swipes at 70's culture, the
movie was a big success and has prompted next year's Dukes Of Hazzard remake.
Of course, beyond the sublime casting of Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear, the laughs
in S&H are actually pretty few and far between, but it's still an entertaining
but mostly flat adventure.
A star was born with Scarlet Johanssen receiving plaudits for her role in Lost In Translation, the romantic fish-out-of-water comedy drama from Sophia Coppolla, and co-starring Bill Murray. Unfortunately, the domination of The Lord Of The Rings at the Academy Awards meant LIT only took away Best Original Screenplay. 2004 was definitely The Year Of The Zombie, with three cinematic offerings from the walking dead. First to make its mark was Zack Snyder's remake of George Romero's Dawn Of The Dead (2004). Despite predictably low expectations and ridicule from fans of the original, this update was a pleasant surprise - managing to improve on the original in quite a few key areas and provide enough bloody scares to keep zombie aficionados happy! By far the most controversial movie of the year, and perhaps the decade, was Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ, with James Caviezel as Jesus and Monica Bellucci as Mary. Focusing on the final hours of Christ's life before his crucifixion, the movie divided opinion - with many people appalled by the movie's excessive violence. Despite this, many Churches used the publicity to their advantage and the movie became the most successful independent movie made... ever! |
Occasionally, Britain manages to make a movie that finds success around the
world. These movies usually star Hugh Grant and have Richard Curtis in the
credits... until now. Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright, fresh from cult
sitcom Spaced, brought their skills to the big-screen with a low-budget English
take on zombie lore in
Shaun Of The Dead.
A hit in Britain, the movie found an audience in America thanks to word-of-mouth,
and entered the Top 10. Not bad for a debut movie Working Title has almost forgotten
about while prepping their big-budget Wimbledon and Thunderbirds movies!
Easily the most mind-bending movie of the year arrived courtesy of cranium obsessed writer Charlie Kaufman, in Michael Gondry's beautifully executed Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslett as lovers who decide to erase each other from their memories, the film is a sublime mix of romance, science-fiction and fantasy. Eagerly awaited sequel Shrek 2 bounced into multiplexes in the summer, now packed with more characters and more startling CGI animation. Of course, none of the technology really matters to children, so it was a good job the story and characters remained as entertaining as the first time. However, while entertaining and technically superior to the original, the movie never quite hits the same high for adults. |
Another hotly anticipated sequel arrived in blue and red spandex, with Toby
Maguire returning in Spider-Man 2 as everyone's favourite (and only)
web-slinging superhero. The effects were better, the action more elaborately
staged, and the villain more monstrous in the guise of Alfred Molina as the
eight-armed Doc Ock. While Spidey deservedly set the box office alight, the
film was continually crippled by a romantic subplot that quickly became
repetitive and a somewhat silly sense of humour. Still, no doubt superior in
most respects to the original and amongst the best in its genre.
M Night Shyamalan has quickly become the Stephen King of the movie world after The Sixth Sense in 1999. Now, every time he releases a movie the weight of expectation grows heavier and the quest to predict his stereotypical "twist endings" a global sport! The Village was Shyamalan's first foray into period drama, but his tale of a small village community surrounded by terrifying creatures in the woods, met with a lot of criticism. The Village is another beautifully constructed and meticulously filmed piece of gentle spooking, but maybe it's time Shyamalan moved away from twists in the tale before they bite him in the hand once too often... Five years ago you'd have thought it crazy that a political documentary would ever be released to worldwide cinema audiences, but Michael Moore proved there was a market for such cerebral movies with last year's Bowling For Columbine. In 2004, Moore went one step further, winning the coveted Palm D'Or with Fahrenheit 9/11 - a biased, yet extremely persuasive argument against President Bush and his "War On Terror". The movie split audiences, but at least provoked debate amongst usually apathetic voters. Still, perhaps the movie's message didn't hit home quite as strongly as it seemed, with Bush voted to stay in office until 2008... |
Email Dan Owen
The following is a list of Dan's Movie Digests online :
2007 Retrospective: Part One 2007 Retrospective: Part Two 2007 Retrospective: Part Three 2007 Retrospective: Part Four
Issue 188: August 22nd 2007 Issue 187: August 8th 2007 Issue 186: February 22nd 2007 Issue 185: January 26th 2007
2006 Retrospective: Part One 2006 Retrospective: Part Two 2006 Retrospective: Part Three 2006 Retrospective: Part Four
Issue 184: December 20th 2006 Issue 183: December 8th 2006 Issue 182: November 30th 2006 Issue 181: November 22nd 2006 Issue 180: November 15th 2006 Issue 179: November 6th 2006 Issue 178: July 19th 2006 Issue 177: July 12th 2006 Issue 176: July 6th 2006 Issue 175: June 23rd 2006 Issue 174: June 16th 2006 Issue 173: June 7th 2006 Issue 172: May 18th 2006 Issue 171: May 10th 2006 Issue 170: May 4th 2006 Issue 169: April 26th 2006 Issue 168: April 20th 2006 Issue 167: April 12th 2006 Issue 166: April 5th 2006 Issue 165: March 29th 2006 Issue 164: March 15th 2006 Issue 163: March 9th 2006 Issue 162: March 3rd 2006 Issue 161: February 22nd 2006 Issue 160: February 15th 2006 Issue 159: February 8th 2006 Issue 158: February 3rd 2006 Issue 157: January 27th 2006 Issue 156: January 18th 2006
2005 Retrospective: Part One 2005 Retrospective: Part Two
Issue 155: November 24th 2005 Issue 154: November 18th 2005 Issue 153: November 11th 2005 Issue 152: November 4th 2005 Issue 151: October 21st 2005 Issue 150: October 12th 2005 Issue 149: October 7th 2005 Issue 148: September 29th 2005 Issue 147: September 21st 2005 Issue 146: August 19th 2005 Issue 145: August 10th 2005 Issue 144: August 4th 2005 Issue 143: July 29th 2005 Issue 142: July 22nd 2005 Issue 141: July 13th 2005 Issue 140: July 8th 2005 Issue 139: June 30th 2005 Issue 138: June 24th 2005 Issue 137: June 17th 2005 Issue 136: June 9th 2005 Issue 135: June 2nd 2005 Issue 134: May 25th 2005 Issue 133: May 20th 2005 Issue 132: May 11th 2005 Issue 131: April 20th 2005 Issue 130: April 13th 2005 Issue 129: April 6th 2005 Issue 128: March 23rd 2005 Issue 127: March 16th 2005 Issue 126: March 2nd 2005 Issue 125: February 23rd 2005 Issue 124: February 17th 2005 Issue 123: February 11th 2005 Issue 122: February 2nd 2005 Issue 121: January 26th 2005 Issue 120: January 21st 2005 Issue 119: January 12th 2005
2004 Retrospective: Part One 2004 Retrospective: Part Two 2004 Retrospective: Part Three 2004 Retrospective: Part Four
Issue 118: December 22nd 2004 Issue 117: December 15th 2004 Issue 116: December 8th 2004 Issue 115: December 1st 2004 Issue 114: November 24th 2004 Issue 113: November 18th 2004 Issue 112: November 11th 2004 Issue 111: November 3rd 2004 Issue 110: October 28th 2004 Issue 109: October 13th 2004 Issue 108: October 6th 2004 Issue 107: September 29th 2004 Issue 106: September 22nd 2004 Issue 105: September 15th 2004 Issue 104: September 8th 2004 Issue 103: September 1st 2004 Issue 102: August 11th 2004 Issue 101: August 7th 2004
Issue 100: Greatest Underdog Movies Part 4 Issue 100: Greatest Underdog Movies Part 3 Issue 100: Greatest Underdog Movies Part 2 Issue 100: Greatest Underdog Movies Part 1
Issue 99: July 28th 2004 Issue 98: July 21st 2004 Issue 97: July 9th 2004 Issue 96: July 7th 2004 Issue 95: June 30th 2004 Issue 94: June 22nd 2004 Issue 93: June 6th 2004 Issue 92: May 28th 2004 Issue 91: May 23rd 2004 Issue 90: May 14th 2004 Issue 89: May 9th 2004 Issue 88: April 30th 2004 Issue 87: April 24th 2004 Issue 86: April 17th 2004 Issue 85: April 9th 2004 Issue 84: March 27th 2004 Issue 83: March 19th 2004 Issue 82: March 12th 2004 Issue 81: March 5th 2004 Issue 80: February 27th 2004 Issue 79: February 20th 2004 Issue 78: February 13th 2004 Issue 77: February 6th 2004 Issue 76: January 30th 2004 Issue 75: January 23rd 2004 Issue 74: January 16th 2004 Issue 73: January 9th 2004
2003 Retrospective: Part One 2003 Retrospective: Part Two 2003 Retrospective: Part Three 2003 Retrospective: Part Four
Issue 72: December 12th 2003 Issue 71: December 4th 2003 Issue 70: November 28th 2003 Issue 69: November 21st 2003 Issue 68: November 14th 2003 Issue 67: November 7th 2003 Issue 66: October 31st 2003 Issue 65: October 24th 2003 Issue 64: October 17th 2003 Issue 63: October 10th 2003 Issue 62: October 3rd 2003 Issue 61: September 26th 2003 Issue 60: September 19th 2003 Issue 59: September 12th 2003 Issue 58: August 29th 2003 Issue 57: August 22nd 2003 Issue 56: August 15th 2003 Issue 55: August 8th 2003 Issue 54: August 1st 2003 Issue 53: July 25th 2003 Issue 52: July 18th 2003 Issue 51: July 11th 2003 Issue 50: July 4th 2003 Issue 49: June 27th 2003 Issue 48: June 20th 2003 Issue 47: June 13th 2003 Issue 46: June 6th 2003 Issue 45: May 30th 2003 Issue 44: May 23rd 2003 Issue 43: May 16th 2003 Issue 42: May 9th 2003 Issue 41: May 2nd 2003 Issue 40: April 25th 2003 Issue 39: April 18th 2003 Issue 38: April 11th 2003 Issue 37: April 4th 2003 Issue 36: March 28th 2003 Issue 35: March 21st 2003 Issue 34: March 14th 2003 Issue 33: March 7th 2003 Issue 32: February 28th 2003 Issue 31: February 21st 2003 Issue 30: February 14th 2003 Issue 29: February 7th 2003 Issue 28: January 31st 2003 Issue 27: January 24th 2003 Issue 26: January 17th 2003 Issue 25: January 10th 2003 Issue 24: January 3rd 2003
2002 Retrospective: Part One 2002 Retrospective: Part Two 2002 Retrospective: Part Three 2002 Retrospective: Part Four
Issue 23: December 20th 2002 Issue 22: December 13th 2002 Issue 21: December 6th 2002 Issue 20: November 29th 2002 Issue 19: November 22nd 2002 Issue 18: November 15th 2002 Issue 17: November 8th 2002 Issue 16: November 1st 2002 Issue 15: October 25th 2002 Issue 14: October 18th 2002 Issue 13: October 11th 2002 Issue 12: October 4th 2002 Issue 11: September 27th 2002 Issue 10: September 20th 2002 Issue 9: September 13th 2002 Issue 8: September 6th 2002 Issue 7: August 30th 2002 Issue 6: August 23rd 2002 Issue 5: August 16th 2002 Issue 4: August 9th 2002 Issue 3: August 2nd 2002 Issue 2: July 26th 2002 Issue 1: July 19th 2002
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As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
