2004 - Cinema
by starman_vagabond | created - 11 Aug 2011 | updated - 7 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Life Kills Me (2002)
89 min | Drama
Based on Jack-Alain Léger's novel, this drama focuses on Paul and Daniel, two different brothers of North African origin, and their efforts to succeed in life. Paul has an university degree... See full summary »
Director: Jean-Pierre Sinapi | Stars: Sami Bouajila, Jalil Lespert, Sylvie Testud, Simon Bakinde
Votes: 203
2. 21 Grams (2003)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston
Votes: 245,899 | Gross: $16.29M
Compared with the director's earlier work, Amores Perros (2001), 21 Grams is less graphical, and perhaps less flamboyant in terms of describing the tragedy that happened to the main characters. Nonetheless, through the fine performances for each of the 3 main characters, the same intensity is still there. Besides, it is a much "darker" film about the beauty of life, the tragic of death, the moment of love, the weight of guilt and the sour-taste of betrayal.
The story, although it is a bit "old-fashioned", it does keep a chance for the director to explore the state of mind of each of the characters after the accident, as Christina (Watt) said in one of the dialogues "..life goes on but it is not the same..". The three characters had reacted in their own way to deal such tragedy and tried hard to reduce the level of suffering, but only to fine out they are falling into another web of pain and guilt. Life for the characters is fragmented as much as the editing/story telling style of the film. On the other hand, the director also asked moral questions (in a subtle way) such as organ transplant and the effectiveness of religion belief when one facing sudden tragedy.
If there is room for improvement, I would think that for the first 15 to 20 min., the editing can be less fragmented and perhaps follows that of Amores Perros. It would be more effective for audience to understand the characters and their relationships.
DATE: 2004-01-17
3. The Station Agent (2003)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Director: Tom McCarthy | Stars: Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Paul Benjamin
Votes: 73,441 | Gross: $5.74M
4. Friday Night (2002)
Unrated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
It's Friday night--she's moving in with her boyfriend tomorrow--so she goes out, but gets stuck in traffic--where she meets a handsome stranger.
Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Valérie Lemercier, Vincent Lindon, Hélène de Saint-Père, Hélène Fillières
Votes: 2,140 | Gross: $0.16M
"Friday night" follows the tradition of Claire Denis's film in which intimacy between the characters are being examined in a very detailed way. The best of Denis's work since Beau travail (1999), the story cannot go more simpler. 2 characters, not particularly attractive and strangers to each other, met up by chance during a strike in the city of Paris, and decided that they should take the chance to spend the night together.
The whole film goes without much of a dialogue, and indeed there is no need for them. The camera work of veteran cinematographer Agnes Godard (as well as the occasion use of special effect and the lush music by Tickerstick’s Dickon Hinchcliffe) had captured, as well as create that intimacy in a very sensual and quite often, "sexy" way by using lots of extreme close-up on the body part of each of the characters (most noticeably, shoulders, hands and legs). It seems that the 2 souls are longing for each other, not because they obsess each other so much, but simply because of the burden on their lives had taken its tolls, and it was a chance for them to release themselves (and escape the reality at least for once). The film goes without mention much about the morality of the issue, but purely try to portrait that sense of comfort which was given (and felt) by a stranger.
5. The Captive (2000)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Music, Romance
An adaptation of Proust's "La Prisoniere" (book five of "Remembrance of Things Past"). Set in Paris, France, it is a serious tale of a tragic and dysfunctional love.
Director: Chantal Akerman | Stars: Stanislas Merhar, Sylvie Testud, Olivia Bonamy, Liliane Rovère
Votes: 1,959
6. Tears of the Black Tiger (2000)
Unrated | 110 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
With its loud acting style, exuberant sets and stunning shots in pastel colours, this Thai cult film is as much a parody as an homage to the Western and the romantic tearjerker.
Director: Wisit Sasanatieng | Stars: Chartchai Ngamsan, Stella Malucchi, Supakorn Kitsuwon, Suwinit Panjamawat
Votes: 2,918 | Gross: $0.07M
7. A Cold Summer (2003)
83 min | Drama
The chance meeting of two stressed-out, romantically vulnerable twenty somethings initiates this raw examination of life in the emotional outer limits.
Director: Paul Middleditch | Stars: Teo Gebert, Olivia Pigeot, Susan Prior
Votes: 52
8. Harvie Krumpet (2003)
TV-14 | 23 min | Animation, Comedy, Short
The odd biography of a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck.
Director: Adam Elliot | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Kamahl, John Flaus, Julie Forsyth
Votes: 9,024
9. The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Rémy Girard, Dorothée Berryman, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze
Votes: 30,039 | Gross: $3.43M
10. Sansa (2003)
116 min | Drama
Sansa is a young man. The camera pursues him, takes a peep at him, tries to catch his face, his look, his cap. The camera gets out of breath running after the man, becoming an observer, a ... See full summary »
Director: Siegfried | Stars: Roschdy Zem, Ivry Gitlis, Emma Suárez, Silke
Votes: 347
11. La petite Lili (2003)
104 min | Drama, Romance
A group of cinematic spend a holiday in the French countryside. The film provides insight in their relationships, including that between a young man and a local girl, Lili. She uses the ... See full summary »
Director: Claude Miller | Stars: Nicole Garcia, Bernard Giraudeau, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Ludivine Sagnier
Votes: 1,787 | Gross: $0.03M
12. The Fog of War (2003)
PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Robert McNamara, John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon
Votes: 25,054 | Gross: $4.20M
13. Gate to Heaven (2003)
90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
With help from airport technician Dak, Alexej breaks out of the holding area for refugees, Dak puts up the Russian, who yearns to become a pilot, in an underground labyrinth of pipes and ... See full summary »
Director: Veit Helmer | Stars: Valeriy Nikolaev, Masumeh Makhija, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Udo Kier
Votes: 195
14. Liegen lernen (2003)
87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Helmut, living in West Germany in the early 1980s, has a big crush on a fellow student, Britta. He does everything to get to know her, but, when she suddenly moves away to San Francisco, he's devastated.
Director: Henk Handloegten | Stars: Fabian Busch, Susanne Bormann, Fritzi Haberlandt, Sophie Rois
Votes: 1,371
15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Gerry Robert Byrne
Votes: 1,078,431 | Gross: $34.40M
16. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
R | 137 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 806,008 | Gross: $66.21M
17. Elephant (2003)
R | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Elias McConnell, Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson
Votes: 97,283 | Gross: $1.23M
18. Touching the Void (2003)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
Votes: 38,112 | Gross: $4.59M
19. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder
Votes: 132,404 | Gross: $119.19M
20. The Company (2003)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young ballet dancer is poised to become the principal performer in a group of ballet dancers.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Neve Campbell, James Franco, Malcolm McDowell, Barbara E. Robertson
Votes: 6,847 | Gross: $2.28M
21. Shrek 2 (2004)
PG | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Shrek and Fiona travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away, where Fiona's parents are King and Queen, to celebrate their marriage. When they arrive, they find they are not as welcome as they thought they would be.
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon | Stars: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews
Votes: 505,237 | Gross: $436.47M
22. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
TV-MA | 122 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, John Lithgow
Votes: 15,291
23. Before Sunset (2004)
R | 80 min | Drama, Romance
Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torrès
Votes: 287,951 | Gross: $5.82M
24. I'm Not Scared (2003)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A young boy accidentally discovers a deep hole in the ground, where another boy is kept prisoner.
Director: Gabriele Salvatores | Stars: Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Dino Abbrescia, Giorgio Careccia, Riccardo Zinna
Votes: 15,555 | Gross: $1.62M
25. The Return (2003)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
In the Russian wilderness, two brothers face a range of new, conflicting emotions when their father - a man they know only through a single photograph - resurfaces.
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Nataliya Vdovina
Votes: 47,516 | Gross: $0.50M
26. Somersault (2004)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Romance
A young girl flees her hometown and arrives in the Australian Alps, where new experiences help her learn the differences between sex and love.
Director: Cate Shortland | Stars: Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran, Damian de Montemas
Votes: 8,195 | Gross: $0.09M
27. My Architect (2003)
116 min | Documentary, Biography
Director Nathaniel Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.
Director: Nathaniel Kahn | Stars: Edmund Bacon, Edwina Pattison Daniels, Balkrishna Doshi, Frank Gehry
Votes: 3,321 | Gross: $2.75M
28. Meet the Fockers (2004)
PG-13 | 115 min | Comedy, Romance
All hell breaks loose when the Byrnes family meets the Focker family for the first time.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo
Votes: 286,611 | Gross: $279.26M
29. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
R | 126 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, popularly known as Che, along with his friend Alberto Granado, decides to take a road trip across South America. His experiences on the journey transform him.
Director: Walter Salles | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Mía Maestro, Mercedes Morán
Votes: 104,796 | Gross: $16.78M
30. The Incredibles (2004)
PG | 115 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
While trying to lead a quiet suburban life, a family of undercover superheroes are forced into action to save the world.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee
Votes: 809,121 | Gross: $261.44M
31. I Heart Huckabees (2004)
R | 107 min | Comedy
A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, Mark Wahlberg
Votes: 66,282 | Gross: $12.78M
32. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
R | 133 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 75,962 | Gross: $6.17M
33. Father and Son (2003)
Unrated | 97 min | Drama
A father and his son live together in a roof-top apartment. They have lived alone for years in their own private world, full of memories and daily rites. Sometimes they seem like brothers. ... See full summary »
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Andrei Shchetinin, Aleksei Neymyshev, Aleksandr Razbash, Fyodor Lavrov
Votes: 2,642 | Gross: $0.04M
34. Collateral (2004)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo
Votes: 433,275 | Gross: $101.01M
35. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a former brilliant scientist named Otto Octavius.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco
Votes: 709,047 | Gross: $373.59M
36. King Arthur (2004)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd
Votes: 176,150 | Gross: $51.88M
37. Delicatessen (1991)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime
Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.
Directors: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Pascal Benezech, Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Votes: 90,071 | Gross: $1.79M
38. Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel (2003)
PG | 93 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Directors: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni | Stars: Janchiv Ayurzana, Chimed Ohin, Amgaabazar Gonson, Zeveljamz Nyam
Votes: 6,414 | Gross: $1.74M
39. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya
Votes: 182,623 | Gross: $0.50M
40. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
R | 127 min | Drama
Depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Maia Morgenstern, Christo Jivkov
Votes: 251,230 | Gross: $370.78M
41. Letters to Ali (2004)
106 min | Documentary
A documentary of one Australian family's attempt at gaining custody of an immigrant refugee held in a detainee center.
Director: Clara Law | Star: Malcolm Fraser
Votes: 87
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