Last night, somebody asked me what my favourite movie of the year so far was. I scratched my head, and thought for quite a while. I really couldn’t come up with a stand-out movie-of-the-year. I checked out MetaCritic and ran some IMDB searches (IMDB dudes, my search results should get a unique URL) to jog my memory. Here are my top five:
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Garden State
- Fahrenheit 9/11
- Code 46
- Hero
I wouldn’t describe any of these movies as great, and wouldn’t give any of them more than 8.5/10. Samsara was probably the best film I’ve seen in the theatres this year, but it was originally released back in 2001. I haven’t seen The Motorcycle Diaries or Shawn of the Dead, but it’s hardly been a banner year for major cinema. I know, film festival, yada yada, but I’m referring to films that other people will actually see beyond the festival.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
Shaun of the Dead was entertaining and kitschy – but nothing that I’d call cinematic excellence.