Summer flicks: The good, the bad and the ugly

Summer has come and gone, and with it came an onslaught of movies -- some good, others bad. I didn't see every flick that came down the pike -- some I simply missed in spite of wanting to see them or they just didn't come to town ("Baadasssss!," "Before Sunset," "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi," "Coffee and Cigarettes," "Open Water," "Saved!" and "Super Size Me"). Others looked like the equivalent of a trip to the dentist's office and were justly skipped ("Catwoman," "Garfield," "Soul Plane," "White Chicks" and the tween trifecta of "A Cinderella Story," "New York Minute" and "Sleepover"). Below are the best of summer 2004 for your viewing pleasure.\nBest:\n1.) "Spider-Man 2" -- Certainly one of, if not the best, comic book to screen adaptations of all time. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst grow into their roles nicely, and Alfred Molina's Doc Ock makes for a much more formidable villain than Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin did. The direction of Sam Raimi is also more assured, i.e. this looks like a big-budget blockbuster from the man that brought us "Evil Dead II." Summer spectacle doesn't get much better than this.\n2.)"Garden State" -- Sitcom actor Zach Braff makes a startling directorial debut with his "Graduate" for Generation Y. "State" is undoubtedly the most heartfelt and hilarious film of the summer, that it's also one of the most visually appealing seals the deal.\n3.)"The Bourne Supremacy" -- Matt Damon's Bond for the new millennia continues to pick up steam. Grittier, meaner, darker and all together better than its predecessor, "Supremacy" is action filmmaking at its pinnacle.\n4.) "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- Michael Moore's follow-up to "Bowling for Columbine" doesn't resonate in the same way its precursor did, but few films do. Equal parts humor and horror, the documentary had enough of an effect to prompt me to vote for the first time in November's election. Shock of shocks, my vote ain't going to be for Bush.\n5.) "Napoleon Dynamite" -- Jon Heder gives the best performance from any debut actor I've seen onscreen this year as this film's titular character. That the movie, a deft mixture of "Revenge of the Nerds" and Wes Anderson's beloved aesthetic, matches him oddity (tater tot fetishism) for oddity (his Poindexter-turned-pimp older brother) makes this a bizarre blast.\n6.) "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" -- Head and shoulders better than its two forebears, the latest "Potter" picture is magical for kids and adults alike. That its director, Alfonso Cuarón, transitioned from the horny humping of "Y Tu Mamá También" to Hogwarts isn't only mind-boggling, it's perversely satisfying.\n7.) "Collateral" -- Granted, this movie is piss compared to director Michael Mann's "Heat," but it's also one of the summer's slickest. Tom Cruise, playing malevolently against type, and Jamie Foxx give performances that rival each man's best. High concept rarely has such grandiosity.\n8.) "Troy" -- Sure, this flick was historically inaccurate and excised the mythology, but I'll be damned if it wasn't entertaining. Much of this can be attributed to two men: star-in-the-making Eric Bana (giving my favorite performance of the summer) and screen legend Peter O'Toole.\n9.) "The Chronicles of Riddick"/ "I, Robot" -- These two sci-fi extravaganzas looked like crap on the basis of their trailers, which just goes to show, you can't judge a movie by its trailer.\n10.) "Anchorman"/"Dodgeball"/"Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" -- These three comedies are equal parts smarts and stupidity. Each hits and misses, but when hitting, hilarity is high.\nIn Between:\n1.) "The Village" -- Somewhat slow and ponderous, M. Night Shyamalan has made the worst film of his career. That his worst is better than most people's best is a testament to the man's talent. A scene depicting one of the main characters being stabbed was as riveting and well executed as anything seen this summer. Props must also be given for Bryce Dallas Howard's star-making performance.\n2.) "The Terminal" -- Steven Spielberg at his most saccharine. Tom Hanks is good as per usual, but a sequence depicting denizens of the titular terminal flashing him thumbs up and toothy grins almost made me toss my cookies.\nWorst:\n1.) "The Day After Tomorrow" -- Rarely does a film resemble its subject matter. "Tomorrow" is truly a natural disaster.\n2.) "Alien vs. Predator" -- The tagline says it all, "Whoever wins … we lose." Filmmaker, and I use that term loosely, Paul W.S. Anderson (the man behind videogame-turned-movie tripe "Mortal Kombat" and "Resident Evil") turned the Predator into such a pussy this thing might as well be retitled "Predator and Pal." Also, seeing alien face huggers fly through the air in "Matrix" bullet time must've lowered my IQ at least 10 points.\n3.) "Van Helsing" -- This monster mishmash made the usually likable Hugh Jackman look like a huge jackass.\n4.) "The Clearing" -- Seasoned actors Robert Redford and Willem Dafoe should've been above this Lifetime-movie material.\n5.) "King Arthur" -- A gutless, both literally and figuratively, retelling of Arthurian lore.\n6.) "Shrek 2" -- The first "Shrek" is a modern-day classic, its sequel a bad knock-off. Aside from the intermittently funny Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) and an inspired "Cops" parody, this movie was relatively laughless. Also, any movie ending with its characters jumping joyously into the air and then being captured in freeze-frame is inane.