THE MOVIES WITH THE MOST

FINALLY, THE TOP MOVIES OF 2005

Well, it’s Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and I probably should write about peace on our planet, being kinder to our fellow man, the state of race relations in America, the consequences of staging a proxy civil war in Iraq or saving our Social Security, but in honor of the Golden Globe Awards and the out of control hype that surrounds Movie Awards Season, I’ve decided to bring you, my devoted readers, my personal choices for the top movies released in 2004. To keep it interesting, I’ll divide the blog into two parts, thus making you wait even longer to see my choice for the number one movie, about which you probably don’t give a damn anyway. See the logic? So, okay, away we go:

10. RAY – Director: Taylor Hackford. Stars: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King. Heartfelt rendering of the life story of a beloved American icon, brought to dazzling life by Jamie Foxx’s full-bodied characterization of Ray Charles. If Foxx doesn’t win the Oscar for this, then maybe Oscar really does have it in for the Black Man.

9. BADAASSS! – Director: Mario Van Peebles. Stars: Mario Van Peebles.
This was a take-no-prisoners memoir by Mario Van Peebles of his father’s struggle to direct, star in and produce what is still one of the most successful indie films of all time: 1971’s Sweet Sweetback’s Badaass Song. Badaasss! is a colorful, thrilling, funny and moving tribute to a piece of cinema history. Unfortunate that so few saw it—check it out on DVD today.

8. SPIDER-MAN 2 – Director: Sam Raimi. Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, James Franco and Alfred Molina. Finally, a comic book movie with the heart, soul and brain to match the special effects and the crazy costumes. Alfred Molina does award-worthy work as the sympathetic villain Doc Ock, while the love story between the webslinger and Dunst's Mary Jane hits several lovely grace notes.

7. MARIA, FULL OF GRACE – Writer/director: Joshua Marstonn. Stars: Catalina Sandina Moreno. Gripping drama that looks at drug smuggling from the point of view of the mules, particularly one young Columbian girl looking to help her destitute family by swallowing coke balloons and smuggling them to New York. This is the best film to come out of the Sundance festival in years.

6. FAHRENHEIT 9/11 – Director: Micheal Moore. This agit-prop documentary about the ties between the Bush administration and powerful Saudi families and how this relationship may have led to the 9/11 tragedy is provocative, well-researched and considerably more straightforward than most of Moore’s efforts, although he can’t resist some of his usual stunts and grandstanding. The movie didn’t change the minds of anybody predisposed to vote for the President (unfortunately), but it stands on it’s own as a compelling work of cinema and one of the most important documentaries ever released...

HONORABLE MENTION (or, films 11-20, if you prefer): Intimate Strangers, The Incredibles, Friday Night Lights, The Passion of the Christ, The Aviator, Kinsey, Closer, Speak, Saved!, In Good Company.

Coming in the next couple of blogs: The Top 5, with more thorough and girpping commentary and (just for kicks) the Worst Five Movies of 2004 and my brief comments on the Golden Globes.