Best Movie of 2004 (no, seriously)

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2005)

It's hard to think of a recent movie that leaps out of the gate as ferociously and effectively as "Dawn of the Dead", the remake. Sarah Polley manages to pull us in (with her liquid eyes and the soft cadence of her speech) almost instantly. The peril she finds herself in is so effective because she manages to seem so ordinary, so available. I can't think of another actress who manages to convey her combination of vulnerability and tenacity (see "The Claim" for more proof), yet she's never precious, she seems to barely know the camera exists. It's strange to find such good performances, across the board, in a zombie movie. Everyone is up to the task, and nearly all of them have strong believable character shifts that are surprising for this genre (to say the least). Rent it along with "Shawn of the Dead". (I made lasagna and had a double feature with friends.)