Hey folks, Harry here... I'm warning you... right now, I'm very intoxicated... meaning I've had too many glasses of champagne, a few shots of tequila, some crazy large mixed alcohol drink that just kicked ass, some flavored tobacco from a Chong Glass and well more champagne, but hell... that's what ya do New Years, and me... well I have to come back and put up content, but ya know what... The Holiday Season sucks for scoops and stories, festivals and test screenings, and not much that I've seen this Holiday season has gotten me jazzed enough to really write. Holiday malaise? Possibly, more likely, a lack of inspiration and motivation. Hopefully, as 2004 kicks into gear, I can get out of the Holiday funk and get back to serving you up the news you want to hear, or at the very least, what I want to write about.

Well, for now, I decided I would write an intoxicated contemplation upon the films of 2004. What to look forward to? Well, at somepoint in 2004, I hope we see a teaser trailer for KING KONG, but... ahem... that film is forever and a day away. This top ten... well, they're the films that I feel, without a doubt will be just the best frickin movies of the year. I not only want to see each and every last single one of these right now, but I want them on DVD and I want to watch them over and over. Where does this feeling come from? Well... Let's start off with number 10:

10 A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (aka Un long dimanche de fiançailles)

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's gigantic follow-up to AMELIE! This project is based upon an absolutely amazing book. It is due out in France in October, which I suppose means we'll see it in this country, most likely, at Toronto first! It reteams Jeunet with Audrey Tautou and Dominique Pinon!!! He's got Jodie Foster in this, as well as Tcheky Karyo!

9 THE LADY KILLERS

If anybody other than the Coen Brothers wanted to remake this film, I'd be screaming like a maniac, but they are perfect filmmakers, that make me a happy film going camper ... EVERY... SINGLE... TIME! The waffles line kills me. The lady whose house they're in, is hilarious. The original is brilliant, and I expect the same from this.

8 ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

One of the absolute best scripts I have ever read in my entire life. The only question I have concerns Michel Gondry, and whether he can pull it off. After watching his compilation director's dvd... specially those brilliant Bjork videos... I have faith. This film has the ability to shake your soul if done right. Let us pray!

7 SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW

The screenplay is 100% Pulp Greatness. The designs by Kevin Conran are jaw-droppingly cool retro-ness. And what we've seen is just the tippest of the tip of the iceberg. I don't know for sure how the rest of the world will react, but I'm betting this becomes a certain amount of the public's fave flick of the year. We'll see.

6 THE LIFE AQUATIC

It's the latest by Wes Anderson. It has an amazing cast. Henry Selick is doing Stop-Motion Animation. Yes, Please. Now, Please. Wes has the beginning of a career that I hope never strays from the track it is on. Because, for me... every film he's made is better than the one before. That's astonishing and a very rare thing. Right now, I can only really think of a single other filmmaker working on that same path, and that's Chan Wook Park from South Korea.

5 THE AVIATOR

Scorsese taking on the story of Howard Hughes... well, it is completely unlike anything he has ever done before. The cast is humbling to look at. The pedigree of the folks working on it is simply the best. But these gigantic bio-pics have a way of falling apart most of the time. Like with CHAPLIN, where there are moments of brilliance, but it just collapses under its own weight. Will Marty's Spruce Goose fly? Personally, I would not vote against Scorsese on this one...

4 SPIDER-MAN 2

Rumor has it from the folks that I'm talking to that have seen great big gobs of this thing, that have no investment in the film... is that it is simply astonishing. That Raimi is shooting more confidently than he's ever shot before. That Alfred Molina is a GOD in this thing and that Tobey and Kirsten are exactly who they need to be. I think SONY has spent "All-da-money" to make this, and I'm very curious to see just how far it goes!

3 THE INCREDIBLES

Brad Bird, Pixar, Superheroes, a fat superhero... GENIUS! After I see this movie, I'll throw my crutches away, take 7 wobbly steps, then do 7 back hand springs ending with a quad somersault with a twist. It'll cure all that see it!

2 "Izô: Kaosu mataha fujôri no kijin"

Takeshi Kitano... Takeshi Miike... Samurai Flick - Possibly the greatest film ever made.

1 THE TERMINAL

I don't know what it is. I've seen next to nothing on this, but there's just something about the simplicity of the story... and knowing that Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are going to just nail this, that makes me bet this will be a truly great film from them both. We'll all see with that first trailer... where we'll probably hear the first tidbits of Williams' score... Where we'll get the first bit of what the tone of the film will be... and I think by the time ya walk out of the theater... it'll just take you away. That's what I'm hoping.

Here's a lucky Thirteen others that I'm dying to see, but didn't crack that top ten! In no particular order:

ELIZABETHTOWN

Next film by CAMERON CROWE! It may be 2005, but it may also be Christmas 2004. No matter, it must be on the list cuz Cameron makes films that resonate and get into your head. Bringing back Jane Fonda to the big screen is an easy way to get me very happy, as Jane definitely should be on screen as much as possible.

KINSEY

It is Bill Condon, a fantastic subject, a great cast and well... it's Bill Condon and he's better than all these other poor slobs, so that's why I'm dying to see his latest film. Word has it he screened a rough cut... that's about how far word got... I heard... AMAZING rumors about how great it is.

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

Intriguing trailer... First non-Dean Devlin produced flick with Roland Emmerich directing... curious to see if there is a tonal shift... how that affects the script and the characters. Lots of great actors in this... We'll see.

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Could be outstanding. Potter fans tell me it is their favorite book of the group... the director is a god. And I love the song in the trailer.

KILL BILL VOL 2

How did this not end up in the top ten? I think it comes from me getting depressed over the rumors that this might not be coming out till April or May. I talked with someone that's seen an early cut recently and they're like gaga crazy for the damn thing, and I know I should be to, specially given just how much I'm dying to see this one....

MAN ON FIRE

I've heard from someone that's kinda working around with Tony that this film is a really great film. HOWEVER, if the title of this film were... oh... say... DOMINO, and the screenwriter was RICHARD KELLY - then it'd definitely be on my top ten. That script is so cool, it's outside the solar system. Must Get Made!

TROY

Pretty damn great script. Love the director. Fantastic cast. This movie will be pretty great, I just hate the last few pages of the script. We'll see.

OCEAN'S TWELVE

I didn't care much for the first film (actually I love the original OCEAN'S ELEVEN, but I didn't care for the remake), as I thought the heist and the plan was just too pat, too easy and that nothing in the movie ever really counted for anything. BUT - I love the idea of them having another adventure... in far off locales and not stuck in the goddamn tourist trap that is modern day Vegas.

CLOSER

The next flick by Mike Nichols and starring Jude Law, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts. I don't really know much more than that, but damn if that cast and this director don't get me curious!

ALEXANDER

If you ever read Oliver Stone's original script for CONAN THE BARBARIAN, then you would know the images of this type of battle that he has in his cranium. Stone was wanting to do "LORD OF THE RINGS" style action, back in the 80's, but the world just wasn't there for him to make it able to be shot yet. NOW IT IS, and ALEXANDER is a helluva story for him to shoot!

SOUND OF THUNDER

Peter Hyams has been working on this forever it seems like, but a lot of that comes from him putting together a specialist visual effects team so he could be very hands on, so the post production process has been... FOREVER, but I've seen designs of the creatures in this thing, and WOW. Adapted from Ray Bradbury's classic story. Watching the future Chicago kinda go bonkers is gonna be fun, I hope he pulls it off! His last film opened against September 11th... Damn unlucky.

HELL BOY

This will be a major film geek triumph. Can not wait for the Super Bowl spot!

ANCHORMAN

This is the comedy that I'm dying to see this year. At BNAT, we had an absolutely wonderful clip from the movie that just killed the audience. Will Ferrell is on a roll and it will definitely continue with this movie. It'll be the best SNL flick since BLUES BROTHERS in my opinion.

OK, that's that... if you have any info, pics, stories... anything about the above 23 films... or any other film that you're as excited as I am about these... drop me an email at Harry@AintItCool.Com so I can share with the rest of the world.

And finally - here are 10 movies, that I wish to God that they would be good, but I just have a nagging feeling are going to be great big gobs of shit spooled out onto a screen which will cause mass suffering and broken expectations:

GARFIELD

No need to comment, you've seen the trailer.

VAN HELSING

I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO want this to be great. However, the jokey fucking punchlines at the end of every death in the screenplay have me scared like crazy of the film. This could be amazing. Universal spent "all da money" just like Sony did on SPIDER-MAN 2, but... there's a difference in the way I consider Sam Raimi and Stephen Sommers. I like Stephen, but I love Sam.

TAXI

We've yet to have the original FRENCH version of TAXI or its sequel or that sequel released in the U.S., but hey... they've got a remake of it with Queen Latifah. I just don't know what to think of this. I really love the originals, but they've changed so much about the story and the characters that well... I am scared of this being a terrible American remake of a great French comedy action flick.

MASK 2

That trailer makes shit hold its nose.

KING ARTHUR

Trailer for this makes FIRST KNIGHT and DRAGONHEART seem ok.

I, ROBOT

I absolutely love Alex Proyas to death. I have loved and supported every single one of his films, but I'm so scared of this flick. That teaser trailer didn't really do anything for me, and the robot designs just seem too much like Bjork and Chris Cunningham's work.

CONSTANTINE

Yeah, call it HELLBLAZER, cast a brit and let's get serious.

CATWOMAN

Has the potential to be one of the most hated films of all time.

THE VILLAGE

I really want Moriarty and every other reviewer of this script to be dead wrong. The last thing I want to see is a bad M. Night flick. Really.

ALIEN VS PREDATOR

As much as I don't like the films of Paul W.S. Anderson, I really do want to see a bad ass ALIEN VS PREDATOR movie. But, I'm gonna be Missouri on this, cuz he'll have to show me and the rest of us that he can do it. I'd love nothing more than to be suprised.