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Metacritic FilmFilm Critic Top Ten Lists

2004 Critics' Picks

Individual lists are displayed below, followed by a summary of all top ten lists.

Austin Chronicle
(Marjorie Baumgarten) 		Austin Chronicle
(Steve Davis) 		Austin Chronicle
(Kimberley Jones) 		Austin Chronicle
(Marc Savlov) 		 
1 The Aviator 1 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 1 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 1 Before Sunset    
2 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 2 Milliion Dollar Baby 2 House Of Flying Daggers 2 Shaun Of The Dead    
3 Milliion Dollar Baby 3 Sideways 3 Before Sunset 3 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind    
4 Control Room 4 I Heart Huckabees 4 Closer 4 Tarnation    
5 Bad Education 5 Control Room 5 The Incredibles 5 The Incredibles    
6 Hero 6 Shaun Of The Dead 6 Hotel Rwanda 6 Hotel Rwanda    
7 Vera Drake 7 Bad Education 7 Tarnation 7 Hellboy    
8 Notre Musique 8 Garden State 8 Maria Full Of Grace 8 End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones    
9 Before Sunset 9 Napoleon Dynamite 9 Bad Education 9 Garden State    
10 Moolaadé 10 Tarnation 10 Garden State 10 Dear Pillow    
Baltimore Sun
(Michael Sragow) 		Baltimore Sun
(Chris Kaltenbach) 		     
1 A Very Long Engagement 1 Sideways            
2 Miracle 2 The Incredibles            
3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 3 Spider-Man 2            
4 Before Sunset 4 The Motorcycle Diaries            
5 Sideways 5 Kill Bill: Volume 2            
6 The Aviator 6 Hero            
7 The Incredibles 7 Baadasssss            
8 Japanese Story 8 The Triplets Of Belleville            
9 Spider-Man 2 9 The Aviator            
10 Touching The Void 10 Festival Express            
Boston Globe
(Ty Burr) 		Boston Globe
(Wesley Morris) 		     
1 Sideways 1 Bad Education            
2 Milliion Dollar Baby 2 Milliion Dollar Baby            
3 Before Sunset 3 Tarnation            
4 Moolaadé 4 Vera Drake            
5 The Incredibles 5 Moolaadé            
6 Kill Bill: Volume 2 6 Goodbye Dragon Inn            
7 A Home At The End Of The World 7 Crimson Gold            
8 Kinsey 8 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind            
9 Dig! 9 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban            
10 (tie) I Heart Huckabees and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring 10 Kill Bill: Volume 2            
Charlotte Observer
(Lawrence Toppman) 		       
1 The Assassination Of Richard Nixon                
2 Sideways                
3 Touching The Void                
4 House Of Flying Daggers                
5 Milliion Dollar Baby                
6 A Very Long Engagement                
7 Before Sunset                
8 Bright Leaves                
9 Vera Drake                
10 Hotel Rwanda                
Chicago Reader
(Jonathan Rosenbaum) 		Chicago Reader
(J.R. Jones) 		     
1 The Big Red One 1 Zero Day            
2 Milliion Dollar Baby 2 Garden State            
3 Moolaadé 3 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring            
4 Los Angeles Plays Itself 4 We Don't Live Here Anymore            
5 The Exiles 5 The Corporation            
6 The Saddest Music In The World 6 House Of Flying Daggers            
7 Before Sunset 7 Sideways            
8 Young Adam 8 Dogville            
9 Coffee and Cigarettes 9 Since Otar Left            
10 Springtime In A Small Town 10 Primer            
Chicago Sun-Times
(Roger Ebert) 		       
1 Million Dollar Baby                
2 Kill Bill: Volume 2                
3 Vera Drake                
4 Spider-Man 2                
5 Moolaadé                
6 The Aviator                
7 Baadasssss!                
8 Sideways                
9 Hotel Rwanda                
10 Undertow                
Chicago Tribune
(Michael WIlmington) 		       
1 The Aviator                
2 Sideways                
3 House Of Flying Daggers                
4 Vera Drake                
5 Carandiru                
6 Before Sunset                
7 Ray                
8 The Incredibles                
9 Moolaadé                
10 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind                
Christian Science Monitor
(David Sterritt)
[no order specified] 		       
n/a The Assassination Of Richard Nixon                
n/a Dogville                
n/a Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind                
n/a Fahrenheit 9/11                
n/a In The Realms Of The Unreal                
n/a The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou                
n/a Milliion Dollar Baby                
n/a Notre Musique                
n/a The Saddest Music In The World                
n/a Sideways                
Dallas Observer
(Composite Of All Critics) 		       
1 Sideways                
2 Maria Full Of Grace                
3 House Of Flying Daggers                
4 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind                
5 Bad Education                
6 Napoleon Dynamite                
7 Osama                
8 Fahrenheit 9/11                
9 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster                
10 Closer                
Entertainment Weekly
(Lisa Schwarzbaum) 		Entertainment Weekly
(Owen Gleiberman) 		     
1 Sideways 1 Sideways            
2 Milliion Dollar Baby 2 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind            
3 The Incredibles 3 The Incredibles            
4 Maria Full Of Grace 4 Maria Full Of Grace            
5 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 5 Kinsey            
6 Moolaadé 6 Before Sunset            
7 Collateral 7 Osama            
8 The Aviator 8 Open Water            
9 The Return 9 13 Going On 30            
10 Bright Leaves 10 Ray            
Film Threat
(Composite Of All Critics) 		       
1 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind                
2 Napoleon Dynamite                
3 The Incredibles                
4 Last Life In The Universe                
5 Hero                
6 Sideways                
7 Super Size Me                
8 Shaun Of The Dead                
9 Dawn Of The Dead                
10 Anchorman                
LA Weekly
(Ella Taylor)
[no order specified] 		LA Weekly
(Scott Foundas) 		LA Weekly
(Ron Stringer)
[no order specified] 		   
n/a Before Sunset 1 (tie) Star Spangled to Death and Notre Musique n/a The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi        
n/a Collateral 2 Kill Bill: Volume 2 n/a Collateral        
n/a Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 3 Dogville n/a Dogville        
n/a The Incredibles 4 Milliion Dollar Baby n/a Enduring Love        
n/a Kinsey 5 Moolaadé n/a The FIve Obstructions        
n/a Notre Musique 6 Vera Drake n/a The Incredibles        
n/a Prisoner of Paradise 7 Distant n/a Milliion Dollar Baby        
n/a The Return 8 Before Sunset n/a Oasis        
n/a Since Otar Left 9 Kinsey n/a Passion Of The Christ        
n/a Tarnation 10 (tie) Collateral and Los Angeles Plays Itself n/a Sideways        
Los Angeles Times
(Kenneth Turan) 		Los Angeles Times
(Carina Chocano)
[no order specified] 		Los Angeles Times
(Kevin Thomas) 		   
1 Sideways n/a Bad Education 1 Tarnation        
2 The Incredibles n/a Before Sunset 2 Notre Musique        
3 Milliion Dollar Baby n/a Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 3 Milliion Dollar Baby        
4 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind n/a Fahrenheit 9/11 4 A Home At The End Of The World        
5 The Five Obstructions n/a I Heart Huckabees 5 Bad Education        
6 (tie) Primer and Tarnation n/a Kinsey 6 Maria Full Of Grace        
7 Vera Drake n/a The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou 7 Kinsey        
8 (tie) Fahrenheit 9/11 and Control Room n/a The Sea Inside 8 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind        
9 The Manchurian Candidate n/a Sideways 9 Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom Of The Opera        
10 (tie) The Return and Goodbye, Lenin n/a Super Size Me 10 Moolaadé        
New York Daily News
(Jami Bernard) 		New York Daily News
(Jack Mathews) 		     
1 House Of Flying Daggers 1 Sideways            
2 The Sea Inside 2 Milliion Dollar Baby            
3 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 3 The Incredibles            
4 Milliion Dollar Baby 4 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind            
5 Vera Drake 5 Dogville            
6 Infernal Affairs 6 Before Sunset            
7 The Incredibles 7 Kinsey            
8 Sideways 8 Maria Full Of Grace            
9 Collateral 9 Polar Express            
10 Shrek 2 10 The Merchant Of Venice            
New York Magazine
(Ken Tucker) 		       
1 Sideways                
2 The Incredibles                
3 How To Draw A Bunny                
4 Collateral                
5 House Of Flying Daggers                
6 End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones                
7 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind                
8 Kill Bill: Volume 2                
9 A Very Long Engagement                
10 Fahrenheit 9/11                
New York Post
(Lou Lumenick) 		New York Post
(V.A. Musetto)
[no order specified] 		     
1 Milliion Dollar Baby n/a The Big Animal            
2 Sideways n/a Goodbye Dragon Inn            
3 Tarnation n/a Good Morning, Night            
4 The Incredibles n/a Gozu            
5 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind n/a Oasis            
6 House Of Flying Daggers n/a Open Water            
7 Bad Education n/a Osama            
8 Finding Neverland n/a Saddest Music In The World            
9 The Motorcycle Diaries n/a Since Otar Left            
10 Vera Drake n/a Vera Drake            
New York Times
(A.O. Scott) 		New York Times
(Manohla Dargis) 		New York Times
(Stephen Holden) 		   
1 Milliion Dollar Baby 1 Milliion Dollar Baby 1 Bad Education        
2 The Big Red One 2 The Big Red One 2 Sideways        
3 Moolaadé 3 Sideways 3 Maria Full Of Grace        
4 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 4 Before Sunset 4 Vera Drake        
5 Tarnation 5 Collateral 5 Kinsey        
6 Goodbye Dragon Inn 6 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 6 Milliion Dollar Baby        
7 Kinsey 7 Kill Bill: Volume 2 7 Bright Leaves        
8 Tokyo Godfathers 8 Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence 8 The Door In The Floor        
9 The Incredibles 9 Time Of The Wolf 9 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind        
10 Fahrenheit 9/11 10 Blind Shaft 10 The Mother        
Newsweek        
1 Sideways                
2 Before Sunset                
3 Osama                
4 Milliion Dollar Baby                
5 Bad Education                
6 The Aviator                
7 Friday Night Lights                
8 The Manchurian Candidate                
9 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban                
10 Kinsey                
Philadelphia Inquirer
(Carrie Rickey)
[no order specified] 		Philadelphia Inquirer
(Steven Rea)
[no order specified] 		     
n/a The Aviator n/a Before Sunset            
n/a Bad Education n/a Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind            
n/a Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind n/a House Of Flying Daggers            
n/a Garden State n/a The Incredibles            
n/a Hotel Rwanda n/a The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou            
n/a The Incredibles n/a Maria Full Of Grace            
n/a Milliion Dollar Baby n/a Milliion Dollar Baby            
n/a Moolaadé n/a The Motorcycle Diaries            
n/a Sideways n/a Sideways            
n/a Spanglish n/a Since Otar Left            
Portland Oregonian
(Shawn Levy)
[no order specified] 		       
n/a The Aviator                
n/a Bad Education                
n/a Before Sunset                
n/a Hero                
n/a The Incredibles                
n/a Love Me If You Dare                
n/a Milliion Dollar Baby                
n/a The Motorcycle Diaries                
n/a Shaun Of The Dead                
n/a Vera Drake                
Premiere
(Glenn Kenny) 		       
1 Sideways                
2 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind                
3 Milliion Dollar Baby                
4 The Incredibles                
5 I Heart Huckabees                
6 Bad Education                
7 Notre Musique                
8 Goodbye Dragon Inn                
9 Time Of The Wolf                
10 The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou                
ReelViews
(James Berardinelli) 		       
1 Maria Full Of Grace                
2 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring                
3 Before Sunset                
4 Moolaadé                
5 The Sea Inside                
6 Milliion Dollar Baby<