American actor Gene Hackman in a scene from the film 'The Poseidon Adventure' (directed by Ronald Neame), California, 1972.
I’ve been obsessed with Gene Hackman since the day I saw Hoosiers. Maybe “obsessed” is a little strong, but if he was in a movie, I wanted to watch it. No one could argue that he’s a great actor, but he also seems to be in great movies even when he’s not the main character.
Do The Hackman
An example of my ridiculous preoccupation with Gene Hackman is the many songs I’ve written and performed about him. These would be a regular occurrence on my show back in the late 90’s and early 00’s. They were well received, but I don’t think they’d be as big a hit today. I will share the stupidest one with you now. It’s understood that any respect you may have for me will certainly dissolve after hearing “The Gene Hackman Birthday Medley.”
Moving right along, it’s been 20 years since Gene Hackman retired from acting in 2004. This was right about the time I retired that song. Hackman’s final role was Monroe Cole in “Welcome to Mooseport.” This would be a rare example of the not-so-great movies he appeared in.
Gene was born 94 years ago today. For the most current picture of Gene check out this article by the Daily Mail. He has a couple of Academy Awards for “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven.” Neither of these films made my top 5 list of Hackman favorites, but are certainly films that I love.
The Hackman 5
In making my list of my top 5, I simply thought, “If I were to watch 5 Hackman movies right now, what would they be?”
The first is “The Royal Tenenbaums.” This is a dark comedy that I enjoyed more the second and third time. Gene was nominated for a Golden Globe as the title character, a horrible father, husband, and ex-husband. The rest of the cast is loaded including Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Paltrow.
One of my wife Kathleen’s all-time favorites is “The Birdcage.” I love the movie, and love it even more when we watch it together. It’s Hackman with Robin Williams, Dianne Wiest, and many other quality actors.
I saw “The Poseidon Adventure” for the first time when I was just a little kid. I had no idea who Gene Hackman was but was affected by the sacrifice his character made. When I watched it as an adult I loved and understood it even more. It received multiple Academy Award nominations.
It was an edge-of-my-seat and heart-racing experience when I saw “The Firm.” It’s another great cast along with Gene including Tom Cruise and Ed Harris. It was another Golden Globe nomination for G.H.
Then there’s the Holy Grail of Gene Hackman movies. “Hoosiers,” is an all-time classic. It combines my adoration of Gene Hackman, my love of sports movies, and another one of my favorite actors, Dennis Hopper. Hopper won the Oscar for “Best Supporting Actor.
These 8 Movies Turn 20 in 2024
2004 was a fantastic year for films across all genres. The ten highest-grossing films in the world that year include Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spider-Man 2, The Incredibles, The Passion of the Christ, The Day After Tomorrow, Meet the Fockers, Troy, Shark Tale, and Ocean’s Twelve. Though the majority of the films selected below didn’t make the top ten world box office, we included hits that are either long-forgotten or classic gems.
The Best of 2004
In 2004, there were a lot of films in the romantic genre that have set a precedent in its category. The Notebook, 13 Going on 30, and 50 First Dates all premiered this year. The early 2000s would be nothing without apocalyptic movies about the future, with films like The Day After Tomorrow and I, Robot. Family-fun films also were in abundance in 2004, with The Polar Express, Napoleon Dynamite, National Treasure, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Wes Anderson, Hayao Miyazaki, Peter Segal, Sam Raimi, and Steven Soderbergh all had amazing offerings this year. Anderson released his fourth film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Hayao Miyazaki’s seventh Studio Ghibli film, Howl’s Moving Castle, remains one of our top three films of all time by the director. Segal directed the Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler romantic comedy 50 First Dates this year, with another Sandler film the year before: Anger Management. Meanwhile, Sam Raimi made his last good Spider-Man film with the sequel. Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Twelve wasn’t nearly as awesome as the first installment, but we found ourselves thoroughly entertained when the heist flick came out twenty years ago. No matter what type of movie is your go-to, 2004 has a movie out there for every walk of life that we find ourselves going back to today.
Take a look below at our top eight picks of the best movies that came out in 2004:
13 Going on 30
This movie taught us how to do Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance! We fell in love with Mark Ruffalo with his role in the film as Garner’s long-lost love interest, and it is just one of those feel-good movies that’ll get a couple tears out of you with every re-watch.
Howl's Moving Castle
Christian Bale stars as our beloved wizard, Howl. The actor agreed to play any role in the Miyazaki film after watching 2001’s Spirited Away. During the recording, Bale was preparing for his role as Batman in 2005’s Batman Begins.
White Chicks
We couldn’t tell you how many times we watched this hilarious film starring the Wayans Brothers, but when we can recite almost the entire movie, it has to be a lot of times. You either hate or love this movie, but Terry Crews reciting Vanessa Carlton’s “1000 Miles” has got to be one of many pop culture moments captured in the film. He even did that scene in just one take!
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Bill Murray stars as the titular character, Steve Zissou, who is based on real-life underwater filmmaker, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Murray was so invested in his role, he became a certified diver, logging over forty hours during filming. Life Aquatic remains one of our top three favorite Wes Anderson films of all time.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Though this movie is beautiful, funny, and heart-wrenching, it is one that you watch just once. Seeing Jim Carrey in a serious role alongside Kate Winslet was a perfect match. The film explores the idea of someone erasing you completely from their memories.
National Treasure
Nicolas Cage became our national treasure after this action-adventure flick came out. Watching this movie as a kid filled us with wonder about our country, with Cage stealing the Declaration of Independence. Cage is a self-proclaimed history buff and acquired a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skull in an auction that cost him $276,000. The artifact turned out to be stolen in 2015 and had to return it to the Mongolian government.
50 First Dates
Upon our first watch of 50 First Dates, we had no idea how much it would tug on our heartstrings and make us cry every time we’d hear “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler gave The Notebook a run for its money this year, and we’d have to pick this film over the Nicholas Sparks story.
Spider-Man 2
After Spider-Man 2, Sam Raimi dropped the ball with the third installment. However, we got much enjoyment out of this sequel which sees Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man face off between a new villain, Doc Ock, played by Alfred Molina.
Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.
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