February 23, 2005 -- It is time to look back on the year 2004. Actually, I'm about a month late doing this. It was a good year for movies. I skipped most of the bad ones, so my “worst of” list is hardly definitive, but I've seen most of the best films of the year. Usually, there are six to eight A films and this year was no exception. I had eight A films (four stars out of four), and 14 B+ films on my list (I don't use an A- rating).

As usual, many of the top films are released in December. I saw a number of these films on screeners (thanks to the studios, publicists and the Online Film Critics Society). The rest, I saw in Laramie, Cheyenne or Denver. Don't feel left out if you haven't seen all these films. Lots of people haven't seen them all yet. Some of them are already available on home video. There are some acclaimed films that I haven't yet seen, such as “Moolaade,” “Undertow,” “Tupac: Resurrection,” “The Machinist,” “Dogville,” “The Five Obstructions,” “The Brown Bunny,” “Birth” and other films that were poorly distributed around the U.S.

I did see “Million Dollar Baby,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Before Sunset,” but they didn't make my list, although you will find them on many other critics' top 10 lists. These are certainly good films, but not great ones.

Below the list of top films are a list of honorable mentions, followed by lists of my picks for top director, top actor, top foreign film, etc. Those lists are followed by a list of the worst films I saw this year. One thing that makes my list different than most is I've got more comedies in my list. Most actors, directors and critics agree that it is a lot tougher to make a good comedy than it is to make a good drama, but then they go ahead and omit the comedies from their top 10 lists anyway. I practice what I preach.

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4. Garden State This great coming-of-age comedy is a showcase for Zach Braff, who writes, directs and stars in the film as a zoned-out actor who comes alive when he meets a lovely young girl, played by Natalie Portman. Great performances, great writing and sure direction. Braff, of the TV Show “Scrubs,” announces his presence as a major talent with this film.

6. The Aviator Slick, star-studded, featuring top-notch acting, writing, direction, and production values, this film should win the Oscar for best picture this year. It is a compelling, entertaining, ambitious, sweeping, epic drama about the life of the fascinating Howard Hughes. Cate Blanchett is uncanny in her performance as legendary screen star Kate Hepburn. It should also give Martin Scorcese the Oscar for best direction he has long deserved, but then again, the Oscars often don't work out the way they should. The inferior “Million Dollar Baby” is expected to win the bulk of the awards. I hope that's not the case.

7. Closer This film features outstanding performances by all four lead actors, Julia Roberts (“Ocean's 12”), Clive Owen (“King Arthur”), Natalie Portman (“Garden State”), and Jude Law (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”). Flawless direction by uber director Mike Nichols. This powerhouse, raw drama is reminiscent of other classic Nichols films, like “The Graduate” and “Carnal Knowledge,” made over 30 years ago.

8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Renowned Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón (“Y tu mamá también”) takes over the helm of the Potter series and makes the third film the best of the lot. Stripped down and speeded up, this Potter doesn't plod along the way the others do. This film also exhibits a very high level of visual imagination. This film sets a new standard for the wildly popular Harry Potter series.

9. The Notebook This is the most powerful love story of the year. It is touching, heart-wrenching, funny and tragic. Critics tend to be cynical. Maybe that's why they don't like love stories. If you are looking for a place where my top 10 list differs from most, look no farther. This film has great performances from its two main stars, Ryan Gosling of “Murder by Numbers” and Rachel McAdams of “Mean Girls.” Veteran actor James Garner (who is underrated) also turns in a wonderful performance.

10. Good bye Lenin! A bittersweet look back at the last days of the old Soviet empire as seen through the eyes of an East German family carrying a lot of heavy secrets in their hearts. It is poignant, sad and funny all at the same time.

12. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
(Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom) This Korean film is gorgeous-looking. Set in a remote mountain valley, it has very few characters and it all takes place in one location. Almost all of the action takes place off-screen, yet it covers a big chunk of human existence. This is one Eastern film that shows a world view that is very different than the Western view of the universe.

13. I'm Not Scared (Io non ho paura) This Italian film is visually stunning. The story is told in such a visual way that you can easily follow the plot without understanding the dialogue. A young boy finds another boy about his own age trapped in a remote pit. He slowly realizes that he has a tough moral decision to make, a decision no child should have to face.

Links to reviews of all the films are indexed below:

Links to reviews of all the films are indexed below:

While I saw most of the best films of the year, I purposefully missed most of the worst films, including such stinkers as, SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2, National Lampoon's Gold Diggers, Johnson Family Vacation, Yu-Gi-Oh, The Whole Ten Yards, Paparazzi, Surviving Christmas, Christmas with the Kranks, Taxi, My Baby's Daddy, Godsend, Twisted, First Daughter, Envy, You Got Saved, A Cinderella Tale, Without a Paddle, Raise Your Voice, The Perfect Score, New York Minute, Saw, Merci Docteur Rey, White Chicks, Soul Plane, Thunderbirds and many others, so this is not in any way a list of the worst of the worst films, just the worst of the films I saw. I did see “Alien Vs. Predator” and “Catwoman,” by the way (after they came out on video). After all, I don't get into the movies for free, and I don't like to waste my money, but I got fooled into spending too much on the following films anyway: