2004 Films From Best To Worst
In my own opinion of course, and featuring all films released in 2004 I've currently seen. As such, this is an ever-evolving list. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: it is extremely difficult to rank all these films against one another, so different in style, scale and ambition they are. It's a constant battle between which film was objectively better, which one I personally enjoyed more, which one was more memorable,... Even then, the exact position of many films is chosen somewhat arbitrarily in I know I rank it in that area, but that it stands above or under this or that other film is too complicated an issue. Anyway, as the list currently stands, I consider numbers 1-33 superb, 34-58 truly great films just short of excellence, 59-79 perfectly solid entertaining films, 80-142 also entertaining but progressively less and less nice, and 143 is rather bad.
Check out my other lists if interested (full selection accessible on the right):
2001
2002
2007
2009
2010
2011
Check out my other lists if interested (full selection accessible on the right):
2001
2002
2007
2009
2010
2011
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143 titles
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsDon CheadleSophie OkonedoJoaquin PhoenixPaul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
- DirectorBrad BirdStarsCraig T. NelsonSamuel L. JacksonHolly HunterWhile trying to lead a quiet suburban life, a family of undercover superheroes are forced into action to save the world.
- DirectorStephen ChowStarsStephen ChowWah YuenQiu YuenIn Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsAdam SandlerDrew BarrymoreRob SchneiderHenry Roth is a man afraid of commitment until he meets the beautiful Lucy. They hit it off and Henry think he's finally found the girl of his dreams until discovering she has short-term memory loss and forgets him the next day.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsZiyi ZhangTakeshi KaneshiroAndy LauA romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsJohnny DeppKate WinsletJulie ChristieThe story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCate BlanchettKate BeckinsaleA biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
- DirectorJonathan HensleighStarsThomas JaneJohn TravoltaSamantha MathisAn undercover FBI agent becomes a vigilante and sets out to unleash his wrath upon the corrupt businessman who slaughtered his entire family at a reunion.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsGerard ButlerEmmy RossumPatrick WilsonA young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.
- DirectorBrad SilberlingStarsJim CarreyJude LawMeryl StreepWhen a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsTom CruiseJamie FoxxJada Pinkett SmithA 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.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsJavier BardemBelén RuedaLola DueñasThe factual story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsDennis QuaidJake GyllenhaalEmmy RossumJack Hall, paleoclimatologist, must make a daring trek from Washington, D.C. to New York City to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age.
- DirectorPaul McGuiganStarsJosh HartnettDiane KrugerMatthew LillardA young Chicago advertising executive believes a woman he sees in a café is his long-lost love. His belief leads to obsession, as he puts his life on hold in order to trail her.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
- DirectorJon TurteltaubStarsNicolas CageDiane KrugerJustin BarthaA historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsWill SmithBridget MoynahanBruce GreenwoodIn 2035, a technophobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBrad PittEric BanaOrlando BloomAn adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsSigourney WeaverWilliam HurtJoaquin PhoenixA series of events tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsPierce BrosnanSalma HayekWoody HarrelsonThe story of what happens after a master thief achieves his last big score, when the F.B.I. Agent who promised he'd capture him, is about to do just that.
- DirectorZach BraffStarsZach BraffPeter SarsgaardNatalie PortmanA quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother's funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.
- DirectorLuke GreenfieldStarsEmile HirschNicholas DownsElisha CuthbertA teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love.
- DirectorAshutosh GowarikerStarsShah Rukh KhanGayatri JoshiKishori BallalA successful Indian scientist returns to an Indian village to take his nanny to America with him and in the process rediscovers his roots.
- DirectorGil JungerStarsJennifer Love HewittPaul NichollsTom WilkinsonIt takes a tragedy to teach the young businessman Ian to put love ahead of work and open up to his musician girlfriend Samantha.
- DirectorEnki BilalStarsLinda HardyThomas KretschmannCharlotte RamplingIn the distant future, Earth is occupied by ancient gods and genetically altered humans. When a god is sentenced to death he seeks a new human host and a woman to bear his child.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTom HanksMarlon WayansIrma P. HallAn eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a classical ensemble in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting but sharp old landlady.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsKate HudsonJohn CorbettJoan CusackAfter her sister and brother-in-law die in a car accident, a young woman becomes the guardian of their three children.
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsJames GarnerRachel McAdamsAn elderly man reads to a woman with dementia the story of two young lovers whose romance is threatened by the difference in their respective social classes.
- DirectorRoland Suso RichterStarsRyan PhillippeSarah PolleyPiper PeraboAn amnesiac discovers himself leaping through time between 2000 and 2002 as his past returns to him.
- DirectorPeter HowittStarsPierce BrosnanJulianne MooreParker PoseyAmidst a sea of litigation, two New York City divorce lawyers find love.
- DirectorEric BressJ. Mackye GruberStarsAshton KutcherAmy SmartMelora WaltersEvan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksCatherine Zeta-JonesChi McBrideAn Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsDennis QuaidBilly Bob ThorntonEmilio EchevarríaBased on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonChristopher WalkenDakota FanningIn Mexico City, a former CIA operative swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsChieko BaishôTakuya KimuraTatsuya GashûinWhen an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsColin FarrellAnthony HopkinsRosario DawsonAlexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest army leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world.Placement based on the "Revisited Final Cut" version
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsRon PerlmanDoug JonesSelma BlairA demon raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsClive OwenStephen DillaneKeira KnightleyA demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsTobey MaguireKirsten DunstAlfred MolinaPeter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a former brilliant scientist named Otto Octavius.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineMichael MadsenThe Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
- DirectorStephen SommersStarsHugh JackmanKate BeckinsaleRichard RoxburghThe famed monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula, who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for nefarious purposes.
- DirectorChristophe BarratierStarsGérard JugnotFrançois BerléandJean-Baptiste MaunierPierre, a successful orchestra conductor, returns home when his mother dies. He stumbles upon an old diary and recollects the childhood school memories and his music teacher Clement Mathieu.
- DirectorFarhan AkhtarStarsHrithik RoshanPreity G ZintaAmitabh BachchanAn aimless, jobless, irresponsible grown man joins the army and matures into a battlefield hero.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsGeoffrey RushCharlize TheronEmily WatsonThe feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsLiam NeesonLaura LinneyChris O'DonnellA look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.
- DirectorJohn MooreStarsDennis QuaidMiranda OttoGiovanni RibisiSurvivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert work together to build a new plane.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiZiyi ZhangFaye WongSeveral women enter a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years, after the author has lost the woman he considers his one true love.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDenzel WashingtonLiev SchreiberMeryl StreepIn the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouGaspard UllielJodie FosterTells 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.
- DirectorMira NairStarsReese WitherspoonRomola GaraiJames PurefoyGrowing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
- DirectorJohnnie ToStarsRichie JenKelly ChenNick CheungAfter a disastrous failure to stop a robber gang, the police attempt to redeem themselves through a series of publicity stunts and shootouts.
- DirectorBenny ChanStarsJackie ChanNicholas TseCharlie YeungA hero cop accidentally leads his team into a trap from which he is the only survivor. Drowning his guilt in booze, he is eventually assigned a new younger partner who turns out to have his own secrets.
- DirectorNiels MuellerStarsSean PennNaomi WattsDon CheadleBased on real life events, Assassination is set in 1974 and centers on a businessman who decides to take extreme measures to achieve his American dream.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsViggo MortensenOmar SharifZuleikha RobinsonIn 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.
- DirectorJoe NussbaumStarsAlexa PenaVegaMika BooremScout Taylor-ComptonDesperate to improve their social status, four best friends enter into an all-night scavenger hunt against the popular clique in their school.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksChris CoppolaMichael JeterOn Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsJean RenoBenoît MagimelChristopher LeePierre Niemans faces the threat of the apocalypse while investigating a series of ritual murders.
- DirectorAlain BerbérianStarsChristian ClavierJean RenoCaterina MurinoRémi François is a detective who is hired to find Ange Leoni, a Corsican who apparently has inherited a 2 million euros house.
- DirectorTommy O'HaverStarsAnne HathawayHugh DancyCary ElwesElla is under a spell to be constantly obedient, a fact she must hide from her new stepfamily in order to protect the prince of the land, her friend for whom she's falling.
- DirectorAndrew AdamsonKelly AsburyConrad VernonStarsMike MyersEddie MurphyCameron DiazShrek 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.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry WashingtonThe story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsNatalie PortmanJude LawClive OwenThe relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
- DirectorAndy CadiffStarsMandy MooreMatthew GoodeMark HarmonAnna wants to be like other girls her age (18): date a guy etc. but she's the US president's daughter and always guarded. In Prague he breaks his promise of only 2 agents following her to a concert and she runs away with Ben to see Europe.
- DirectorRawson Marshall ThurberStarsBen StillerChristine TaylorVince VaughnA group of misfits enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain.
- DirectorKevin BrayStarsDwayne JohnsonAshley ScottJohnny KnoxvilleA former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.
- DirectorGary WinickStarsJennifer GarnerMark RuffaloJudy GreerUnpopular schoolgirl Jenna Rink makes an unusual wish on her birthday. Miraculously, her wish comes true and the 13-year-old Jenna wakes up the next day as a 30-year-old woman.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonFranka PotenteJoan AllenWhen Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
- DirectorBrian DannellyStarsJena MaloneMandy MooreMacaulay CulkinWhen a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, all of her former friends turn on her and she is ostracized and demonized.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsVal KilmerLL Cool JChristian SlaterA group of FBI trainees are taken to a remote island for simulation training. However, once there, they realize that they are being hunted by a serial killer, who might be someone amidst them.
- DirectorShainee GabelStarsScarlett JohanssonJohn TravoltaGabriel MachtA headstrong young woman returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsAnne HathawayCallum BlueJulie AndrewsNow settled in Genovia, Princess Mia faces a new revelation: she is being primed for an arranged marriage to an English suitor.
- DirectorYann MoixStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJean-Paul RouveJulie DepardieuBernand Fréderic is a mediocre bank executive, married, with a son. He used to have another profession: look-a-like of French star Claude François. Now, with the Imitators Gala Night coming up, he must choose between his wife or the only thing that makes him fully happy: the applause.
- DirectorFarah KhanStarsShah Rukh KhanSushmita SenSuniel ShettyAn army major goes undercover as a college student. His mission is both professional and personal: to protect his general's daughter from a radical militant, and to find his estranged half-brother.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsKirsten DunstPaul BettanyJon FavreauA pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon.
- DirectorKevin AllenStarsFrankie MunizAnthony AndersonHannah SpearrittWith all-new gadgets, high-flying action, exciting chases and a wisecracking new handler, Derek (Anthony Anderson), Cody has to retrieve the device before the world's leaders fall under the evil control of a diabolical villain.
- DirectorJoseph KahnStarsMartin HendersonIce CubeMonet MazurA biker returns from Thailand to set things straight with his girlfriend. One gang leader wants him for delivery of 2 motorbikes filled with crystal meth and another gang leader wants him for murdering his brother.
- DirectorSanjay GadhviStarsAbhishek BachchanJohn AbrahamUday ChopraDhoom reinvents the classic cops and robbers tale for the 21st century. Fast bikes, big action, and non-stop fun make for a thrilling story.
- DirectorDavid S. GoyerStarsWesley SnipesKris KristoffersonParker PoseyBlade, now a wanted man by the FBI, must join forces with the Nightstalkers to face his most challenging enemy yet: Dracula.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsBen StillerOwen WilsonSnoop DoggTwo streetwise cops bust criminals in their red and white Ford Gran Torino, with the help of a police snitch called "Huggy Bear".
- DirectorPierre MorelStarsCyril RaffaelliDavid BelleTony D'AmarioIn the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and an ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWill FerrellVinessa ShawChiwetel EjioforTwo alternating stories, one comedy and the other tragedy, about Melinda's attempts to straighten out her life.
- DirectorJan KounenStarsVincent CasselMichael MadsenJuliette LewisIn 1870, after a brutal run-in with an outlaw in a brothel, Mike Blueberry becomes marshal in Arizona where he keeps the peace between whites and Apaches, but an influx of gold-hunters threatens to lead to violence.
- DirectorTristan AurouetGilles LelloucheStarsGuillaume CanetZabou BreitmanBenoît PoelvoordeGus (played by Guillaume Canet) suffers from narcolepsy. He falls asleep all the time and has dreams about supermen from comics (Van Damme would play one of these supermen, a short & secret appearance).
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsKim BasingerChris EvansJason StathamA young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. The catch? The woman claims to have been kidnapped, and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.
- DirectorKen GhoshStarsKareena KapoorFardeen KhanShahid KapoorA young man is hellbent to destroy his arch enemy and his lover, who destroyed his life.
- DirectorKunal KohliStarsSaif Ali KhanRani MukerjiKirron KherA novel look at the eternal battle of the sexes and the trials and tribulations of Karan and Rhea and their attempts to understand each other.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostKate AshfieldThe uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
- DirectorBibo BergeronVicky JensonRob LettermanStarsWill SmithRobert De NiroRenée ZellwegerWhen a son of a gangster shark boss is accidentally killed while on the hunt, his would-be prey and his vegetarian brother decide to use the incident to their own advantage.
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneElle RussPopular Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited by the elite counter-terrorism organization Team America: World Police. As the world begins to crumble around him, he must battle with terrorists, celebrities and falling in love.
- DirectorCharles ShyerStarsJude LawSienna MillerSusan SarandonA cockney womanizer learns the hard way about the dangers of his actions.
- DirectorSanjeev PuriStarsJimmy ShergillSameer DharmadhikariRahul DevBased on the true story of Air Force personnel in Srinagar, Kashmir.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsSarah PolleyVing RhamesMekhi PhiferA nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsBen StillerRobert De NiroBlythe DannerAll hell breaks loose when the Byrnes family meets the Focker family for the first time.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsGuy PearceFreddie HighmoreJean-Claude DreyfusTwo tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.
- DirectorAlexander WittStarsMilla JovovichSienna GuilloryEric MabiusAlice wakes up in the Raccoon City hospital after the area has been overrun by zombies, and must now make it out of the city before a nuclear bomb is dropped.