It's always the same routine: come December, we are treated to a blizzard of high-caliber releases jockeying for Oscar positions and holiday box office. There is only so much room on the top ten lists, and in the frenzy, many outstanding films are overlooked. So why not use the impending end of summer as a moment to take a breather and highlight our top ten favorite films of 2004, so far? Honorable mention goes to "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Spider-Man 2," "Since Otar Left," and "Strayed."

1. The Trilogy

The best movie of the year so far consists of three interlocking films: together, Lucas Belvaux' "On the Run," "An Amazing Couple," and "After the Life" form a brilliant experiment in structure and genre-bending. By turns a thriller, a farce, and a melodrama, the films cover the same events from different angles and finally form a fourth, more complete film in the audiences' mind. Viewed separately, each is deserving a top spot in this list.More »

2. Before Sunset

Unabashadely romantic and unapologetically talky, Richard Linklater's sequel to the 1995 love story "Before Sunrise" is bound to become a milestone for the aging slacker generation. With more than a little autobiographical honesty, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke reprise their characters who had promised each other to meet again in six months time--but never did. Even without having seen the original, "Before Sunrise" is an exhilerating experience, and the best American movie of the year--so far.More »

3. Dogville

Love him or hate him, there is no avoiding the manipulative genius of Lars von Trier. His latest epic provocation, starring Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, and Chloe Sevigny, is formally fascinating and tells a visceral, passionate story: a completely unique and extraordinary movie by one of the world's most adventurous directors.More »

4. Festival Express

Exuberant, outrageous, and seriously smokin', "Festival Express" documents a 1970 concert tour aboard a train with Janis Joplin, the Band, and the Grateful Dead. The decision to retain the look of the original 16mm stock and to use montage and split screen effects truthful to the period turn "Festival Express" into a lost gem, an instant classic.More »

5. Maria Full of Grace

Joshua Marston's powerful first feature "Maria Full of Grace" tells the gripping tale of an independent, determined Colombian woman who becomes a drug mule. Catalina Sandino Moreno gives an outstanding performance that connects on an emotional level and keeps the film from becoming an overt political statement.More »

6. The Five Obstructions

The second film by Lars von Trier on this list documents a unique creative challenge between the Danish auteur and his mentor, the veteran filmmaker Jorgen Leth. The directors' game involves the making of five short movies according to rules set by von Trier, and the result is a curious portrait of both filmmakers and an almost giddily inspiring examination of their artistic processes.More »

7. The Dreamers

Revolution, movies, and sex enjoy a delightful threesome in Bernardo Bertulucci's NC-17 love letter to Paris in 1968. Eva Green and Louis Garrel play a pair of French twins who take in a wide-eyed American (Michael Pitt) to protest, adore Truffaut, and engage in kinky games. A sumptuous, tender movie that only a hardened cynic could hate.More »

8. Bon Voyage

In Jean Paul Rappeneau's sophisticated farce, an ensemble cast including Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu, Virginie Ledoyen, Yvann Attal and Peter Coyote flee from the Nazis in 1939. Full of accidents, chance encounters, and surprising reversals, "Bon Voyage" is perfect entertainment.More »

9. Control Room

More even-handed than "Fahrenheit 9/11" and more rigorous than "Outfoxed," Jehane Noujaim's captivating film was the first must-see political documentary of 2004. Shot at Al Jazeera and the US CentCom during the inital assault of the Iraq War, "Control Room" presents a fascinating look over our medial horizon and a necessary reminder that all news is manufactured.More »

10. Coffee and Cigarettes

For the RZA/Bill Murray routine alone, Jim Jarmusch's collection of vignettes about unhealthy habits deserves a spot in cinema heaven. Some of the short scenes are more successful than others, but when the cast, including Cate Blanchett, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, the White Stripes, Alfred Molina, Steve Buscemi and Cinque and Joie Lee are on, they are fantastic. Nobody does dead-pan hip better than Jarmusch.More »