 The
Movie Man Ranks the top films for the Summer of 2004
The Movie Man,
as faithful readers are well aware, has been a missing person from
the staff news room for quite some time. In fact, nobody had heard a
word from him in at least a year so one might imagine our surprise
when he ambled through the door on a recent morning clutching a
chicken scratched page just like no days had even gone by.
"I've not been well boys," The Movie Man said, putting
both hands on the editor's desk and leaning down for effect.
"Let's just say my prostate, colon, arthritic hip and chronic neuralgia
are all acting up at once."
He puffed a cigar reflectively and tamped an ash into a Sopporo mini
keg, the act of which made an audible hiss.
"So here's my list of summer movies. Keep in mind I didn't see
everything that came out as I've not been well. I just told you I
haven't been well didn't I?"
And with another ash flicked and another hiss, he pivoted
geriatricly, hobbled towards the door and was gone.
"What the aitch was that all about?" asked a copy boy who
had been restocking the fridge. "I thought I was seeing a
ghost."
"I don't know," said the editor, tugging down his visor
and squinting at the page of scribbles the Movie Man had left.
"But I was still drinking that beer."
The Movie Man's ranking of the
films that made it to Tucson in the Summer 2004 and that he saw.
10 - The
Manchurian Candidate (2004) -
Outstanding individual performances highlight this suspenseful drama
which provides plenty of food for thought to all conspiracy
theorists during this election year.
9 - Super
Size Me (2004) - One New Yorker discovers the dietary
pitfalls of making McDonalds his kind of place for an entire month.
8 -
What the
#$*! Do We Know!? (2004) - The physics of metaphysics made
simple, interesting and bleeping funny.
7 - I'm
Not Scared (2003) (Io non ho paura)
- Suspense thriller about an Italian teen who uncovers a
kidnapping plot involving his father as one of the perpetrators.
6 - Valentín
(2002) - The
sweet but not saccharin tale of an adorable Argentinean adolescent
who survives a broken home by playing matchmaker and dreaming of
becoming an astronaut.
5 - Coffee
and Cigarettes (2003) - Share a table and a smoke and
some outrageous conversation with some of these unique individuals
who still take their java straight from the percolator at the local
diner instead of standing in line at Starbucks.
4 - Fahrenheit
9/11 (2004) - No matter which side of the political fence
you're on, this is unequivocally the most talked about documentary
ever made.
3 - Dodgeball:
A True Underdog Story (2004) - Your high school physical
education class goes to the national tournament and a guy who makes
Bobby Knight blush is your coach.
2 - Maria Full of Grace - María,
llena eres de gracia (2004) - A thoughtful and intelligent
film about a Columbian teenage girl who yields to the temptation of
easy money and then discovers the perils.
1 - Napoleon
Dynamite (2004) - The misadventures of the ultimate nerd and
his terminally nerdy acquaintances filmed in a nerdy location in a
uniquely nerdy style.
Movie
Man's Top and Bottom Ten for 2002
Movie
Man's Top and Bottom Five for 2001
Other Movie Reviews by the Movie
Man
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