The Year in Movies, 2005

One of my proudest recurring features, The Year in Movies, has twice occurred as the final post of each calendar year the blog has been around. As we had mentioned, I’m not a pro movie critic; therefore my job is not to see all the year’s movies for a living. However, as a cinema enthusiast, I feel qualified to impart my take on the year’s ten best. But in order to do such a thing, in the past I have given myself one extra year to see what I had missed, so that my Top Ten list isn’t just what I paid to see in the theatre and any early-year releases that fast tracked themselves to DVD release. When I reviewed the Best of 2004 in 12/05, I had seen 49 flicks. I thought that was a strong case for my list’s authority.

When 12/06 came around, I realized that I was not ready to post my Best of 2005 list. Sure, I had seen over 40 ’05 movies at that time, but some glaring omissions in watched list would negate the credibility my list had. The easiest way to disarm authority is to say, “Well, what about (Insert Movie here)?” and to have me respond, “Oh, I didn’t see that.” So with all due respect to Spud and The Chumscrubber, I now feel ready (with last night’s viewing of Hustle and Flow) to release The Year in Movies, 2005.

Yes, it’s May.

The other reason I was so hesitant to publish previously is that I was unsatisfied with what made up my Top Ten. The thing is with ’05, it was a year with a lot of good movies, just so few great ones. As I churned through some late winter Netflix rentals to displace the bottom end of the ten, few rose to the challenge. Before we get to the list, here’s some quick observations.

Worst Movie I Saw from 2005: The New World. With all due respect to Madagascar, The Game of their Lives, and The Wedding Date, Terrence Malick’s take on the story of John Smith and Pocahontas was a 150 minute movie where they introduced Smith’s main rival 100 minutes in. It was long, it was drawn out, and it was pointless. After watching this at the Tyson’s AMC, the four of us ran as fast as we possibly could for a strong drink. Like arsenic on the rocks.

Most Underrated Movie Not on My Ten: Serenity. A strong movie from the sci-fi genre, the dialogue alone makes me want to rent the entire Firefly series on which it was based. I’m a sucker for witty banter, and this movie delivered.

Most Overrated Movie: Brokeback Mountain. The thing is with Brokeback, it was universally declared the best movie of the year, (well by everyone but the Best Picture voters of AMPAS), and with such a universal accolade, I was expecting, well, the best movie of the year. While the love story was done well, this movie has a glaring flaw: the pacing. The movie takes place over 20 years in the lives of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, yet it’s nearly impossible to figure out how far the story progresses with each passing scene. However, if it weren’t for the aging of the two leads’ children, you would have no idea we were fast forwarded by leaps of years. They did very little to make it clear that time was passing quickly, as Ledger’s appearance doesn’t change nearly at all, and Gyllenhaal grows a mustache, but it’s far from old and distinguished. This is a critical flaw for a movie that was predicted to be the best of the year.

Best Re-watchability: There are movies in any collection that you can put in anytime for background noise, for a release from reality, or just an excuse to wolf popcorn. This year’s winner, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, is an action-comedy that while thin on the resolution, has yet to disappoint.

The Year in Movies, 2005

1. Crash – And here’s the thing about Crash. It was a good-to-great movie that won Best Picture in a weak year. But as an art form, the storytelling and acting are phenomenal, the best I saw in 2005. It solidified Paul Haggis as an A-List screenwriter, reinvigorated the careers of Bullock, Newton, and Dillon, and introduced us to Michael Pena and Ludacris. It had a message, but wasn’t preachy about it. (Preachy: The Constant Gardener)

2. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Best script of the year. Runner-up in the re-watch category. Further proof that Val Kilmer is an under-rated character actor, and that Robert Downey Jr. could have been on the greats of his generation, if he didn't insist on being a golden god so often.

3. Munich - Other than a strange final scene choice for Spielberg, this would have been my favorite movie of the year. It's dark and depressing, but it found a way to ratchet up suspense, develop characters, and depict a historical even I had previously known little about. Now if Eric Bana could stay out of scripts involving Drew Barrymore, we'd all be a little happier.

4. King Kong - I was worried about this movie when I heard it was being re-made. Peter Jackson was due for a major letdown, and with Jack Black as the male lead, I was skeptical. But he also had Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody, so I looked forward to it. As the big monkey rampages through the final act in old New York City, I realize that this is Hollywood movie making. It was the perfect storm of everything big budget, and I loved it.

5. Good Night, and Good Luck - Meanwhile on the other end of the film spectrum was this black and white take on Edward R. Murrow vs. Senator McCarthy. David Straithairn finally delivered a performance that removed him from the "That Guy in That Movie" Hall of Fame. Don't get me wrong; he does a great job as the brother in The Firm, the commisioner of A League of their Own, and Pierce Padgett in L.A. Confidential, but this will be his career moment. Slickest movie of '05.

6. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - An astute re-telling of the C.S. Lewis book, it blended fantasy, solid child actors, and a sweeping score to do justice to such a literary classic. It proved that a movie company needs to work hard to interpret a good book if they want it to succeed, as opposed to Eragon.

7. Cinderella Man - Every year, it seems, there are 6 big movies that could warrant Best Picture nominees, and one will be inevitably left out. Ron Howard's Depression-era boxing match hit the canvas as smaller movies like Capote snuck in. Make no mistake - this movie overcomes Renee Zellweger to make my list. And that's saying something.

8. March of the Penguins - Let me take this directly from my Film Critic review:Wow - I didn't know I can smile for 83 consecutive minutes. I loved this.

9. Walk the Line - The inevitable comparison for this movie will be the previous year's musical biopic, Ray. These movies are identical in structure, and the acting of Joaquin Phoenix and Jamie Foxx are a dead heat. But what makes Walk the Line a good movie is its pacing, and the inclusion of his early tourmates.

10. Sin City - I didn't like everything about this movie. The Bruce Willis storyline is weak, and I prefer a full story as opposed to three vignettes. However, the technical achievements in the visuals of this movie propel it past any other flaws it may have. Most revolutionary effects since The Matrix.

Honorable Mentions: Millions, Batman Begins