Herewith is the list of my top 11 movies for 2004:

1. Before Sunset

2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4. The Village

5. The Incredibles

6. The Notebook

7. Collateral

8. Kill Bill: Volume 1

9. Shrek 2

10. The Bourne Supremacy

11. The Day After Tomorrow

The only movies that can be included are those that were screened in the Philippines in 2004 and that I have had the privilege to watch. So if there’s a really good film that you think should’ve been in my top 11, chances are I haven’t watched it yet.

Why are there 11 films and not 10? Well, The Day After Tomorrow really deserves a special mention. While the story sucked, I really, really, really enjoyed the special effects. This film is the latest in a really long line of disaster flicks that destroyed New York. While New York being swamped with a wall of water was already done in Deep Impact, The Day managed to bring it to new level.

I liked the third Harry Potter film the best among the three done so far. While Chris Columbus gave us a magnificent view of witchcraft and wizardry in The Sorceror’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets, I have to concede that Alfonso Cuarón’ interpretation of the third book is much, much more artistic—the cinematography alone is tops!

Five of the films I have already talked about—Before Sunset, The Notebook, The Village, The Incredibles, and The Bourne Supremacy (I was half-tempted to put a definite article before the name of the first one, hehehe)—while the 2004 Academy Award Best Picture does not need explaining anymore. So that leaves films number 7, 8, and 9.

Much like Before Sunset, Collateral is mostly a talking film but it has got action enough to prevent one from getting bored. Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx both gave very outstanding performances in this film.

Between Quentin Tarantino’s two-volume picture, I liked the first one better since it has more action! Uma Thurman gave a really good portrayal of The Bride. And who can ever forget the gore-laden fight scene in the Tokyo restaurant? All those decapitated heads and severed limbs! Hehehe.

Finally we have the second best 3D-animated film, Shrek 2. Puss-in-Boots really deserves the credit that pushed this film into the top 11.