2004 Flashback: My top 10 films from 10 years ago

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2004 was a decent year for movies -- not earth shattering, but there were some pretty great memorable films. Ironically Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Oscars for this crop of films and did a winning job then too.

I am doing this arbitrarily but I thought it'd be fun to pick years at random and try to come up with a top 10 list in retrospect -- because who doesn't love top 10 lists.

Turns out it's not so easy -- especially when you haven't seen a particular movie in a long time and so you're not as sure if it still holds up. Still, I think I came up with a solid group that I shouldn't be ashamed of.

So here we go, with as few caveats as possible, from 10 to 1:

The Aviator

10) Sideways: Alexander Payne's film about a pudgy wine enthusiast (Paul Giamatti) and his womanizing best friend (Thomas Haden Church) could have been a real bore, but instead it is a hilarious hoot. In what has become something of a trademark for the director, it's a revisionist road film where middle aged romance takes center stage. It's not always a pretty picture but it's an honest one.

9) I Heart Huckabees: While I have largely enjoyed David O'Russell's newfound success as a Hollywood insider, I somewhat miss this kind of work from the director. A pure existential comedy with wild unpredictable turns from a great cast which includes Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jason Schwartzman and Mark Wahlberg. This is a movie which takes risks and is definitely not for everyone's tastes, but I've come to like it quite a bit.

8) The Incredibles: Again, I haven't watched it in years -- but I remember it as one of my favorite entries in the Pixar pantheon (after the Toy Story trilogy, Up and Wall-E). This animated movie actually works as an action film -- with incredible, eye-popping visual pizzazz and a irresistible premise about domesticated superheroes. It's no surprise that its director, Brad Bird, was able to translate his aesthetic to a live action adventure like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

7) The Aviator: This was the movie that, for me, really cemented Leonardo DiCaprio as a real adult leading man. This beautifully shot period picture and character study about Howard Hughes was unjustly maligned as Martin Scorsese's desperate attempt to finally get the Oscar (he didn't, until The Departed). But in retrospect, it's one of his more unusual works. I feel in stretches it resembles the movie he wanted to make with New York, New York both a throwback and a quirky original.

6) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: I am a huge Wes Anderson fan and defender. I know this one is divisive for a lot of people. It's more of an acquired taste than say Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums, but I loved it. Bill Murray is more his old self in this one than some of his more melancholy recent roles and his byplay with a stacked cast of oddball characters makes this whimsical, sea-bound fable work. It deserves legendary status for Seu Jorge's David Bowie covers if nothing else.

Anchorman

5) Million Dollar Baby: This movie floored me -- I cried like a baby, and I'm not ashamed to say it. Clint Eastwood gives one of his most moving, compelling performances and also he gets terrific work from Hillary Swank (who won the Oscar). A saga of a plucky female boxer and her grizzled manager should have been riddled with cliches but the movie sucks you in and when it reaches its powerful conclusion you are swept up in its spell. The movie justly won best picture.

4) Fahrenheit 9/11: No movie better captures the atmosphere and raw anger of the country at this time better than Michael Moore's polemic about the Bush administration. It really affected me, raised my already burgeoning political consciousness and lit a spark for a more engaged electorate.

3) Kill Bill Vol: 2: Volume 1 of Quentin Tarantino's kung fu-revenge movie mash-up had more action but for my money, the second half was the better film. If it wasn't for this richer, more emotional side of the Bride's (Uma Thurman) journey to get justice from her sadistic foes the whole enterprise would be just a silly diversion. The late David Carradine should have been nominated for an Oscar for his silky turn as Bill and who can forget the Bride being buried alive or her eye gouging showdown with Darryl Hannah's character?

2) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: Will Ferrell's greatest comedic role in one of the (no joke) most influential movies of the decade. The SNL icon's balls-to-the-wall, improvisational style of broad comedy spurned many imitators, some great, some awful. There have been few comic creations as wonderful as the egotistical but endearing Ron Burgundy. It's not just the endlessly quotable lines that stick with you, its the clever send-up of mainstream media's shift towards 'infotainment' from which this movie derives its power.

1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: One of my favorite movies of all time -- a creative and heartfelt film about regrets and romance. It deserved to do better at the box office and more love from the Academy Awards, but films this ambitious rarely connect with audiences. This was Michel Gondry working at the peak of his visual powers, Kate Winslet is at her sexiest and Jim Carrey gives a really underrated, understated lead performance. This film will stand the test of time.