Planetarium - politics/music/culture/smarts

Apologies all around, but really, it's not easy to compile the top films of 2004. Every time we thought we had the list nailed down, a fight would break out between the foreign-film support side and the American film team, and madness would ensue. Also, a few films we have the nagging feeling might deserve to be on this list, like Guy Maddin's ethereal Saddest Music in the World, simply haven't been seen by much of the Planetarium staff yet. So, needless to say, it's about a month tardy this year, and you know what? Tough shit. Whose blog is this, yours or ours? Anyhoo, on with the show.

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- was there really any question? Forget an Oscar, Michael Gondry deserves his own little place in heaven for directing this piece of unadulterated emotional heartbreak. See it as hopeful, see it as pessimistic, either way there's no way you can easily shake the feel that Gondry has concocted a movie that's talking directly to you, and if for nothing else than that alone, we salute him.

2. I Heart Huckabee's- It's an exciting year for national pride when the two best movies were made by American studios. Of course, that's the ONLY reason to feel proud, but let's not take that out on Huckabee's, one of the only attempts in recent years to make a BIG movie, all about big ideas, life and how to live it, and so on. And it's a rare film indeed that is talky without being pretentious. A gem. And Mark Wahlberg DOES deserve an Oscar.

3. City of God- Planetarium poster B. Alec reminded us of this film the other night, and so, with little fanfare but large spirit, this Brazilian flick nabs the number three spot. A classic gangster film, the kind of thing Scorcese would have directed, had he been born in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Brilliant acting and cinematography to make Cold Mountain drool with envy are the two biggest draws, but this tale of ghettos and lovers and legends will OWN your ass.

4. Kill Bill Vol. 2- This flick was so good, it made us retroactively like the first one even more. Delivering all the emotional goods that Vol. 1 dangled over us like Tantalus's grapes, this ode to the spaghetti western fuses perfectly with the grindcore mentality in a hint of what'll be plundered and re-used by indie and studio bastards alike in the years to come. Quentin Tarantino still runs the A.V. club with an iron fist for a reason.

5. House of Flying Daggers- everything that Yimou Zhang had hinted he could pull off in Hero finally comes to glorious fruition here. While the emotions in Hero had come off a little detached and cold, here Zhang fulfills the promise of an epic story combined with intimate feeling, to exquisite detail.

6. Spider-Man 2- This is American blockbuster moviemaking the way it's supposed to be. The glitzy, over-the-top excesses of the studio system, when commanded by an actual great director, is what Hollywood should always be about. The neverending struggle of god versus evil and ordinary folks made many a young kids' film experiences this summer a hell of a lot better.

7. Dogville- You, by virtue of being a thinking person, will either love this movie or hate it. Sorry, but that's just how it works sometimes. It's much more rare than others would have you think, but there you go. Thankfully, we at Planetarium, being possessed of exceptional taste, loved it. And for the first time, we will go on record as being fans of a man we previously detested: Lars von Trier. Happy now, Lars? You win. You coaxed something extraordinary and deep out of Nicole Kidman in your morality-play-slash-attack-on-America, and it glows through every plain-Jane-style camera action. Dogme 95 is dead, long live Dogme.

8. Collateral- Man, the last twenty minutes of this film were a real stinkeroo, weren't they? They sure were. Good thing the first hour and a half more than makes up for it. This love letter to the grimy Los Angeles underbelly cooks and pops with more charisma than you can shake a stick at, thanks in no small part to it's positively orgasmic chemistry between the two leading men. Also, when are you EVER going to get another chance to hear Tom Cruise shout "Hey, homie!"

9. Infernal Affairs- Okay, busted: Andy lau's good-cop-bad-cop masterpiece is actually from the previous year. But it didn't reach these shores until last year, so nyeah. Chronology aside, it takes a lot to make this genre feel fresh these days, and Lau does it with understated aplomb. Um, except for the awful title. Hurry and see it before you're forced to go see the American remake being shot this year with Scorcese at the helm. (Fine, fine, we'll see that one, too.)

10. Before Sunset- Okay, we're throwing down the gauntelet on this one, that's all there is to it. If you can't find a spot in your heart for this movie, on SOME level, ANY level, then we guarantee you that you have the heart of a bastard, and will never truly know love, you cold-hearted prick. Them's the breaks. And we mean it.