The Top Movies of 2005

[tabuno]

My Personal Best 10 Movies of 2005 plus One

I started out this year believing that 2005 was going to be a pretty bleak or at least a mild year for quality movies and my opinon continued until the fall. But then with the few great movies that came out early in the year and then a number of quality movies that arrived in the winter, 2005 has turned out to be a solid year for significant, memorable movies. My list is based on several criteria - emotional intimacy, social impact, compelling comedy and/or drama. My list contains some art films but also some popular mainstream films rarely considered by critics or film buffs. Hopefully I've been able to pick out a good representation of each film categories.

1. North Country (2005). This powerful, compelling, and intimately involving movie regarding a woman miner played by Charlize Theron and first sexual harrassment class action lawsuit is consistently dramatic and inspirationally awesome in its performances and script. Place in the top ten of my most favorite movies of all time for its intensity, sincerity to its subject matter, and no holds barred manner in its presentation without cute, playful overplaying or exaggerated melodrama. Hits the perfect notes of great cinema.

2. Crash (2005). A hard-hitting ensemble movie involving the constant theme of racial stereotyping and hatred and the deadly consequences and the deeply emotional revelations of human relationships. This movie resembles Traffic (2000) in its harsh, penetrating action drama approach. This is Sandra Bullock's best performance to date.

3. Munich (2005). A powerful dramatic revenge thriller directed by Spielberg of Israeli efforts to assassinate those Palestinians who murdered their Olympic athletes in Munich. This is the tense, serious, personal story of a man whose government has him go undercover to kill these men.

4. Jarhead (2005). Among the best war movies - portraying the emotional underbelly of war starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. Like Black Hawk Down (2001) meets Lost in Translation (2003), this movie brings home the real feel of war in its most usual experience for many soldiers. An important experience for the lay public and our understanding of the life of our military overseas.

5. The Chronicles of Naria: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (2005). A fabulously looking, sincere, and well performed children's fantasy movie. The evil witch is one of the most memorable evil fantasy characters yet delivered on screen. The intimate characterization of the children, particularly among the brothers, the larger than life and powerful presentation of this fantasy provides both a strong subtext of intimate personal character development and conflict along with the larger political battle between armies.

6. Prime (2005). Likely the most wittiest, funniest and most sincere romantic comedies of the year. Starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep, has Meryl, a therapist, seeing Uma who begins a love relationship with Meryl's son in the movie. Unlike other more raunchy, sexist comedies this year, this comedy stands out for its sincerity and integrity to both humor, duel client/therapist relationships and personal family relationships.

7. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005). May be on the best young adult movies of the past several years, up their with Stand By Me (1986) and The Breakfast Club (1985). The movie has grat openness, addressing the emotional and psychological issues of growing up and are presented with sincere intensity.

8. Elektra (2005). Jennifer Garner's solo starring performance (after Daredevil) in a qualitatively superior superhero movie that offers excellent martial art scenes along with a strong, emotional, sensitive female storyline. This movie emphasizes substance and style, finesse with a strong fantasy backdrop over special effects and epic proportion, power and strength that I feel is even more potent that this year's more well-received Batman Begins.

9. Sin City (2005). A great looking live action graphic novel adaptation that brings into virtual reality the animated character drama of the imaginary fifties of male violence, strong women, and big heart only slowed down by unnecessary attempt to fill the screen with too many storylines.

10. The Weatherman (2005). A strong drama about a television weather man played by Nicolas who is going through the disruptive experience of divorce, his attempts a reconciliation, coping with challenging children, and a father played by Michael Caine who himself undergoes a life-altering experience. This movie is a Lost in Translation with substance, dramatic plot and deals sincerely and mostly honestly with its subject matter.

Honorable Mention

The History of Violence (2005). An apparently ordinary husband, father, and owner of a small town café becomes a hero that brings with it a mysterious man who threatens the man's rather ordinary but happy life. This is a graphically violent movie with strong sexual depictions that however bring to the screen a powerful issue about a person's life and connection to the past.

Other movies worthy of commendatory recognition include:

Good Night, and Good Luck, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Perfect Man, What the Bleep Do We Know?, The Ice Princess, Aeon Flux, Unleashed, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Elizabethtown

To be fair, I cannot say that I've had an opportunity or personal interest in seeing many other movies of potential award winning honors including:

Broken Flowers
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
The Corpse Bride
Howls Moving Castle
Enron
Kingdom of Heaven
Layer Cake
Millions
Murderball
The New World
Pride and Prejudice
Proof
Rent
Shopgirl
The Squid and the Whale
2046
The Upside of Anger
Wallace and Gromit

[Chris Knipp]

Tabuno,

This overlaps a "top ten" thread just started over on the general fim forums section. YOu might want to move your list over there so it would be with all the others and enlist more comment?

http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/show...&threadid=1627