Top Nine Movies of 2005
I love movies. Like so many other Americans I didn’t happen to make it to the theater that much this year. For me personally it was partially that there wasn’t much I was interested in seening on the big screen and also because the filmgoing experience has turned into a bit of a chore.
Before we get too far into the new year, I wanted to share my favorite nine films of 2005. Now there are a lot of films that I didn’t get to see (Good Night and Good Luck, Syrianna, The Pacifier) so this is somewhat imcomplete. These aren’t necessarily the BEST movies made, but they are the ones I liked the most.
Top Nine Movies
1. Brokeback Mountain- After Hulk I thought Ang Lee was lost forever. Happy to be proved wrong. Heath Ledger will deservedly take home the Best Actor Oscar for this one. I wish more movies could be this haunting and engaging.
2. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit- A perfect movie. What more can you say? I was laughing from beginning to end. A great story well told. The animation was exceptional. The Lady Tottington scenes were especially good.
3. Serenity- Granted- I’m a fan of the TV show, but come on– this movie rocked. Finally a film verison of a TV show for the fans. A terrific ending to a 14 part Sci-Fi opera. Proof that a low budget with a good story can still make a great movie.
4. Grizzly Man- A deeply moving film. I have seen plently of so-so documentaries made with truly amazing subjects, but it has been a while where the filmmaking and documentary subject matter have been so evenly matched. Walking a razor’s edge of taste, Director Werner Herzog delivers one of the finest movies of the last decade.
5. 40-year-old Virgin- I love that the audience is mostly laughing with rather than at the main character for most of the movie. Also the side characters are pure gold. I’ll watch anything with Paul Rudd. See also Wet Hot American Summer.
6. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang- I had the most fun at the movies this year watching this film. KKBB was a truly hilarious surprise (and it didn’t hurt to have seenit at the Parkway Picture Pub and Pizza with a beer in my hand). Writer/Director Shane Black’s work has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me (Lethal Weapon, Long Kiss Goodnight) but it was great to see what he would do for a pet project. Most of his films have too big of a budget to try anything very risky. It felt like anything could happen in this film. Plenty of unexpected things did.
7. No Direction Home- Martin Scorsese’s engrossing four hour doc on Bob Dylan was a real treat. I have always been a Dylan fan, but this movie was an really interesting investigation into the life and times the leader of the singer songwriter movement. As with Grizzly Man, not just an interesting subject matter, but a well made film.
8. Batman Begins- Sure the fight sequences are about as coherent as the second Bourne film, but for a property that has always had its share of big sceen fumbles, Batman Begins was pretty cool movie. Director Chris Nolan chooses to play it straight and focuses on building a character-driven film rather than a collection of action setpieces. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Tom Wilkinson, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson and Christian Bale totally commit to their roles and fill out the Batman universe quite effectively. The end battle leaves a bit to be desired (Whouldn’t the fight on the train been much cooler if Batman had picked up a sword?), but such adventures have a hard time topping the first and second act. Becoming a superhero is more exciting than seeing the superhero do things (Matrix anyone?) More drama than action, This film thumbs it’s nose to the recent trend of flashy overly dependent CGI multiplex popcorn pictures by placing the viewer in a believable tactle Gotham, complete with working Batmobile. If only the fight scenes were better shot and edited, it could have been a classic.
9. The Squid and the Whale- Bad parenting has never been so eloquently filmed. It’s not a film for everyone, but I really admired the richness of the world and the well rounded characters. The tone reminded me a lot of Alexander Payne’s work. Sad, relatable and deeply embarrasing. Also Ken Leung is brilliant here as a psychologist.
That’s all for this year. Here’s hoping for better in 2006.
Dr. A
dangnerbit
In reference to number 8. Fire breathing horses dude… All you had to say was fire breathing horses.
awxome…
Alessandro_PPG
Parabéns pelo blogger!
SMacLeod
Did you see oliver twist (roman polanski)?
Jean-Denis Haas
Good list! But I would trade “Virgin” with “A Constant Gardener”. And somewhere you have to squeeze in “A History of Violence”
Hurt will win the Oscar!!!
Max Perelman
Can’t disagree with much here, but about Batman…
Maybe it’s just ‘cuz I’d read the comic-book version it seems to be based on. (Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.) It’s not quite a direct adaptation, but all the good stuff from the movie is there in the comic, and with much less cheez. (Think Frank Miller’s Dark Knight, but with less pretentiousness and more interesting illustration.)
Anonymous
Re: H.Ledger and Best Actor: Check out Hustle and Flow (http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/hustle_and_flow/) for a performance that extends beyond looking moody for 2 hours.
-david sloss
Garrett Shikuma
Im so happy to see Serenity on the top nine!! I loved this movie! Granted, I was a fan of firefly before I went to see it. But bottom line, even on its own without reference to the tv series, its a great film that deserved better recognition, and much better box office results.
Love this blog, btw!
GARRETT
Marie
Nice top 9
I totally agree with BBM being number one, except that Id rather have Jake Gyllenhaal leaving with the oscar in the best supporting role LOL
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, greaaaaat movie, it was nice to see Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr in these different roles.
Wallace and Gromit was fantastic, perfect is the word !!
Batman Begins was nice and interesting, somehow I liked it better when I saw it for the second time… strange
I also agree with jean denis haas about the Constant Gardener that was absolutely breath-taking, and is definitely in my top 9… of 2006 as it came out in january here, in France
Mmm and Grizzly man comes out soon here, I will definitely see that one!
nickv
i agree with anonymous, definetly check out Hustle and Flow, Terrence Howard at his best…
Constant Gardener and Good Night and Good Luck as well…
Michael
Batman’s fight scenes are incoherent for a reason — moreso the earlier ones — it’s that way on purpose. It’s supposed to be from the villains’POV. Bats strikes and they get their butts whupped in part because they can’t figure out what’s going on. Seems like viewers fall into two camps, those who dig this point and those who don’t… not being pejorative about either.
Dave
Firefly rocks therefor Serenity rocks.
Mr. Scribbles
How did Matador not make it’s way onto this list. A great movie. A role that Pierce Bronson needed to play. It knew exactly what it was and played out well. Great performance be Greg Kinnear as well.