15) Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

Movies aren't always about powerful performances and sweeping story arcs. Now and then, we at BOP like to lay back and embrace our inner Freud. What better way to do that than with a few explosions and a lot of good ol' fashioned T&A? We make no claims that the original possessed the biting wit of Noel Coward or anything, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a blast throughout. The creepy Crispin Glover and his freakishly immobile hair combined with the greasy charm of under-appreciated genius Sam Rockwell created the perfect tone for slick fun. Kelly Lynch as the final baddie wound up being the most disappointing aspect of the first film, so the presence of Demi Moore as a Fallen Angel is brilliant. BOP doesn't expect Full Throttle to be in any way memorable, but with Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore kicking ass for 100 minutes or so, and with the added incentive of the unbelievably funny Bernie Mac taking over as Bosley, we're there opening night.

14) The Italian Job

The presence of this film on our list shouldn't be surprising to long-time readers. After all, the cast is like a Who's Who of BOP favorites, including Seth Green, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Ed Norton, Donald Sutherland, and Mos Def (a personal favorite after his work in Brown Sugar). Oh, Mark Wahlberg is in the movie as well.

The Italian Job is being marketed as a European version of Ocean's 11 with a slightly grittier feel but also with a pointed emphasis on the comedic aspects of the script, a clear attempt to soften the edges a bit. While director F. Gary Gray is coming off a very disappointing effort in the forgettable Vin Diesel revenge flick, A Man Apart, he has already proven with his three prior efforts that he is the perfect man for the job here. If Paramount is sincere about giving this film an Ocean's 11 vibe, this No Honor Among Thieves drama will need to achieve the perfect blend of action, suspense and humor. With the wildly dissimilar Set It Off, The Negotiator and Friday under his belt already, Gray has accomplished all three feats individually. The trick will be for him to tie them all together into one masterpiece. The staff at BOP is cautiously optimistic that with rising talents such as Green and Statham and accomplished vets like Norton and Sutherland, this cast will prove just as impressive as Soderbergh's did.

13) The Eye

With a run of films in the gangster and horror spaces, Thailand's talented Pang Brothers have garnered themselves plenty of international attention for their high quality output. The first film from the pair that created a stir outside their native country was Bangkok Dangerous, a stylish crime drama that belied the heavy influence of John Woo and Wong Kar-wai. Since that effort they have worked both solo and in tandem, and it seems that with The Eye, the brothers may really have struck gold this time. Already well-received in Asia, this unsettling ghost story has parlayed good online word-of-mouth and Toronto film festival buzz into a North American release. Buoyed by the excellent performance of Angelica Lee (for which she recently was given the Best Actress prize at the 2003 Hong Kong Film Awards) this ghostly tale of detached retinas and the visions that come along with them isn't exactly groundbreaking storywise, but the visual and auditory flair of the proceedings makes it eminently intriguing and a treat to watch. This is one of the must-see films of the year for those film aficionados who like their celluloid a little fantastic and terrifying, and it'll also be nice to catch a glimpse of the true original before there's a big budget Hollywood remake down the line.

12) Down With Love

Director Peyton Reed follows up his better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be Bring it On with this homage to the 1960s sex comedies starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson. In Down with Love, Ewan McGregor plays Catcher Block, a charming, irresistible womanizer, and Renée Zellweger plays Barbara Novak, a successful author of female advice books. As that book espouses the idea that romance is phooey and a woman can do just fine without a man, she presents a challenge to the undefeated playboy. Will what starts out as a simple contest turn into true love? If you've seen any of the Day/Hudson movies, we think you have your answer.

It will be interesting to see whether co-opting this style from a bygone era will help shed light on gender issues that still exist today. Oh, who are we trying to kid? We want to see Down with Love because a bunch of us have the hots for Ewan McGregor (that's dark-haired romantic Ewan, not mullet-wearing Jedi Ewan). But, hey, we still have love for Renée, seeing as she has finished in the top three for voting in our Calvin Awards the past two years, winning in 2002. Down with Love seems likely to provide us with some light romantic fun, a perfect summer treat.

11) Seabiscuit

Based on a book by Linda Hillenbrand, Seabiscuit is the true story of a little horse that was built funny, with stumpy legs and an unusually squat appearance, but became perhaps the greatest and most popular race horse in history. Not only does the story follow the Biscuit's rise, but it also highlights his jockeys, trainer and owners, all of whom are fascinating characters in their own right.

If the movie can capture the magic of the book, it's going to be terrific. The cast is stellar, including recent Academy Award winner Chris Cooper as trainer Tom Smith and Tobey Maguire as jockey Red Pollard. Though a film about a thoroughbred by no means screams summer blockbuster, the sport is on the rise in the U.S and the book Seabiscuit itself was enormously popular. If the film is done right, it could be an awards contender later in the year.

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