2004 Top 10 - #8
December 23, 2004#8: Sideways : Sideways represents the most mature film to-date from director Alexander Payne, whose impressive resume already includes Election and About Schmidt. By turns poignant and hilarious, Sideways follows the misadventures of two mismatched buddies as they embark on a Bachelor's Party trip through California's wine country. It's a tough thing to effectively mix drama and comedy, yet Payne makes it seem effortless. He is also blessed with an amazing cast: Paul Giamatti (in a performance that should earn him an Oscar nomination), Thomas Hayden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Payne's wife, Sandra Oh. Sideways was one of the best films I saw at 2004's Toronto International Film Festival, and I was no less impressed and entertained when I subsequently saw it twice around the time of its opening. It's currently playing in theaters in many markets, so, if you haven't seen it, rush out and give yourself a treat.
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Peeking Ahead
Why has ReelThoughts been limited to once a week when it used to be almost every other day?Where have the video reviews gone?Are you ever going to do another list like your Top 100?Looking in my mailbox over the past few months, these are among the ...
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The Great 2010 Turkey Hunt
I'm not calling this my "Worst Movies of 2010" list. There are two reasons for that. First, the term "worst" implies a level of objectivity of which I'm not capable. I equally avoid the term "greatest" unless discussing Mohammed Ali. Also, ...
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10 Top Performances of 2017
Wording matters. Please note that this column offers “10 TopPerformances of 2017.” It does not present the “Top 10 Performances of 2017”nor the “Best 10 Performances of 2017.” I’ll leave it to other critics to makethose lists. For...
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