My Top 10 Movies of 2005
I got the Entertainment Weekly Oscar issue, which got me all excited for the ceremony. I love movies and wish I could go spend a day on a set, to see how the crew makes the magic happen. Anyway, my love of movies is only rivaled by my love for listmaking. ;) Hence, a list of my top 10 movies of 2005. (Some I saw in January/February 2006 but they're still 2005 movies. LOL Some are 2004 movies I saw in 2005. It's my list so I'm fudging the rules a bit. LOL)
10. The Constant Gardener: I really enjoyed this movie. The plot is complex without being obtuse. You just need to pay attention. Besides, it's interesting to try to figure out where the story is going. It was shot for the most part in Africa, and the landscapes are beautiful. Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes are both very good.
9. Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room: I love documentaries and this was a great one even if I came out of the theatre so infuriated. I wanted to run down to Texas and jail the idiots myself. I thought Enron was a scandalous affair before I saw that movie; I now know it is even worst than I imagined it. Enough said.
8. March of the Penguins: I was impressed by all the work that went into making this movie. It was so beautiful that I could have stared forever at the screen. I am not necessarily a big National Geographic person but this is just so grand. It just showed the unbelievable steps animals will take to reproduce. Wow.
10. The Constant Gardener: I really enjoyed this movie. The plot is complex without being obtuse. You just need to pay attention. Besides, it's interesting to try to figure out where the story is going. It was shot for the most part in Africa, and the landscapes are beautiful. Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes are both very good.
9. Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room: I love documentaries and this was a great one even if I came out of the theatre so infuriated. I wanted to run down to Texas and jail the idiots myself. I thought Enron was a scandalous affair before I saw that movie; I now know it is even worst than I imagined it. Enough said.
8. March of the Penguins: I was impressed by all the work that went into making this movie. It was so beautiful that I could have stared forever at the screen. I am not necessarily a big National Geographic person but this is just so grand. It just showed the unbelievable steps animals will take to reproduce. Wow.
7. In Good Company: I love the duo of Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace as the old guy with experience who loses his job, and now has to work for the know-nothing-but-workaholic young guy. I thought it was a great script that toed the line between drama and comedy throughout the whole film. It just spoke to me somehow.
6. The Squid and The Whale: A movie set in the 80s about self-involved parents who are smart but so self-involved it is not funny. Their kids just act out, and they don't even notice. Good acting, great script. Funny, smart & twisted is my kind of movie.
5b. Maurice Richard: Great movie about a Quebecois hockey player who became the icon of a nation. He is the symbol of the awakening of the national/patriotic conscience within the French-speaking Quebecers.
6. The Squid and The Whale: A movie set in the 80s about self-involved parents who are smart but so self-involved it is not funny. Their kids just act out, and they don't even notice. Good acting, great script. Funny, smart & twisted is my kind of movie.
5b. Maurice Richard: Great movie about a Quebecois hockey player who became the icon of a nation. He is the symbol of the awakening of the national/patriotic conscience within the French-speaking Quebecers.
5a. C.R.A.Z.Y.: I'm cheating a bit but I had to include the 2 best Quebecois movies I saw this year. C.R.A.Z.Y. was just so so so good. The movie is about a lot of things but mostly, it is about a boy called Zack growing up in the 60s/70s who realizes he is gay and does not know how to deal with it. Society in Quebec at that time was fairly conservative and religious so he tries to navigate wanting to please his dad and wanting to be himself. It is also a movie about the relationships between the 5 very different brothers in this family. It was a huge success in Canada. Unfortunately it won't be distributed in the US because the music clearance would be too expensive. It has hands down one of the best soundtracks ever: "Crazy" (and many other songs) by Patsy Cline, "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Stones, and a lot of French classics.
4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin: I love Steve Carell. I just do. I think he has a knack for finding the line between pathos and laughter. This was hands down my favourite comedy of the year. It was hilarious, funny, yet sweet. It was not a great movie but one of my favourite movies this years. I'm sure I'll rewatch for years to come, all the while still laughing.
3. Good Night and Good Luck: I love historical movies, and this one is really interesting. It recounts the showdown between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and Edward R. Murrow, which ultimately ruined McCarthy's credibility. Beautifully shot in black and white by the no-less-handsome George Clooney. The whole cast was great. I thought its message about our responsibility as citizens of a democracy to question our leaders and keep the governement accountable. My hat's off to you Mr. Clooney on a great directing, writing, and acting job.
4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin: I love Steve Carell. I just do. I think he has a knack for finding the line between pathos and laughter. This was hands down my favourite comedy of the year. It was hilarious, funny, yet sweet. It was not a great movie but one of my favourite movies this years. I'm sure I'll rewatch for years to come, all the while still laughing.
3. Good Night and Good Luck: I love historical movies, and this one is really interesting. It recounts the showdown between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and Edward R. Murrow, which ultimately ruined McCarthy's credibility. Beautifully shot in black and white by the no-less-handsome George Clooney. The whole cast was great. I thought its message about our responsibility as citizens of a democracy to question our leaders and keep the governement accountable. My hat's off to you Mr. Clooney on a great directing, writing, and acting job.
2. In Her Shoes: I didn't have any expectation in regards to this movie. I figured it was going to be a light chick flick. Really not. It was sooooo good. The central focus of the movie is the relationship between 2 sisters and also with their grandmother. The sisters, played by Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, go through a crisis, and both have to grow and develop independently of the other sister. I thought it was fabulous, and I was into it that it made me cry so much.
1. Brokeback Mountain: I am usually not a sucker for sad, tortured love stories but this one just got me. I empathized with the pain all these characters were experiencing (pretty much everyone in this movie is happy for fleeting moments and miserable for the bulk of the movie). The label of the "gay cowboy movie" just doesn't do this movie justice. That is so not the point. It is a love story between two guys but that is not even really the main point. A lot of the movie was dealing with the feeling of being an outsider in your own life. It was either feeling that you don't belong to society or that people you love and who should care about you don't. All the characters (the couples but also parents and children) love each other in a clumsy, and often, hurtful manner. This movie resonated with me so much that I saw it twice. Both times I left with my stomach tied in knots from the angsty finale. The acting was top-notch, and the cinematography was just gorgeous. Plus, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal aren't too hard on the eyes. ;)
1. Brokeback Mountain: I am usually not a sucker for sad, tortured love stories but this one just got me. I empathized with the pain all these characters were experiencing (pretty much everyone in this movie is happy for fleeting moments and miserable for the bulk of the movie). The label of the "gay cowboy movie" just doesn't do this movie justice. That is so not the point. It is a love story between two guys but that is not even really the main point. A lot of the movie was dealing with the feeling of being an outsider in your own life. It was either feeling that you don't belong to society or that people you love and who should care about you don't. All the characters (the couples but also parents and children) love each other in a clumsy, and often, hurtful manner. This movie resonated with me so much that I saw it twice. Both times I left with my stomach tied in knots from the angsty finale. The acting was top-notch, and the cinematography was just gorgeous. Plus, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal aren't too hard on the eyes. ;)
Labels: documentary, movie, Steve Carell
posted by Brain Diva at 10:04 p.m.
6 Comments:
I wanted to do this, too, Gen, and just never got around to it.
I didn't see a lot of yours. In Good Company was in the same genre as many other movies this year (The Upside of Anger and The Family Stone for two) that were so well-written and acted but just... uncomfortably realistic. I thought it was fantastically done; I just can't say that I enjoyed those two hours of my life. (I usually look at movies for escapism.)
I loved Good Night, and Good Luck, and I really think Clooney has made a beautiful transition into a fine director (have you seen Confessions of a Dangerous Mind?).
I haven't seen Enron and I DO think it was a horrible scandal but I also think that smart movie-makers can make a documentary say whatever they want so I'm always leery.
Dying to see In Her Shoes. I love love LOVED the book (and G, she has written other wonderful books, too - Good in Bed is better, I think) and I think that Cameron Diaz is a better actor than she gets credit for, and could pull off that character without her audience hating her. I should rent it soon.
My favorite movie of 2005 was The Chronicles of Narnia... have you seen it?
Yes, I did see The Chronicles of Narnia. It was well done and I could appreciate that but I just didn't get very involved in the movie. I went with my brother and my friend Eve to see it because they both really wanted to go and couldn't stop raving about it after. I enjoyed it but fantasy movies are just not my cup of tea. It's like Harry Potter: I can see why people would like it but it leaves me indifferent.
I wish I had seen ten movies this year to make a list. Maybe I should make a list of the ten movies I wish I could see? ROFL.
I read Good in Bed, and loved it. In Her Shoes is on my mental list.
It's so nice to have you back Gen. :)
I just have such an emotional investment in Chronicles. I've read the books dozens of times, starting when I was in elementary school and even did my senior honors thesis on them in college. I've been waiting for this movie for literally 20 years. It didn't disappoint me. :-)
I saw Chronicles with a friend and fell asleep halfway through the movie. = 0 The little girl was adorable though. My friend totally loved it.
I LOVED Upside of Anger. I saw the movie once in the theater and twice on dvd. Joan Allen should have gotten an Oscar for her role.
And I know that you BBC P&P series purists will never agree with me, but the new Pride and Prejudice is on my top five of 2005. I am soooo not a fan of Keira but the movie got to me big time. *sigh*
I loved The Upside of Anger as well. I certainly would have included it if I had more slots. I was bugged a bit by Kevin Costner though, as I always am so that is the one factor that lost that movie its edge. Ultimately, I found In Her Shoes much more uplifting that The Upside of Anger.
Jamie, yes I have seen Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. (Actually, it was filmed in Montreal, and my brother had stumbled on the set one day since it was filmed on his university campus.) I liked it very much. As much as I like seeing Clooney in front of the screen, I hope he directs more. He seems to make interesting projects come to life. (You kno,w unlike Ocean 12, which was one of the worst movie of 2005.) About the Enron movie, I agree that moviemakers can spin it how they want. Although they may have sensationalized it, it didn't feel like it to me. I could be wrong. I guess what horrified me about it all was the complexity of the scheme, and the number of people who were accomplices just by their laziness/willingness to bend the rules & let things slide by when they shouldn't have. I went to a scientific conference explaining how preventable disasters happen (like a scandal of water poisoning we had in Ontario a few years ago). They found that it is this gradual drifting of boundaries that is often responsible for fiascos.
Bee, I know plenty of people who liked P&P but honestly, I really couldn't get into this version. It just didn't jive with my idea of it from reading the book. Of course, the BBC miniseries certainly has influenced my opinion a lot too. I don't know... Keira Knightley bugged me a lot. I was rewatching Love Actually recently, and she was radiant in it. In P&P, I just didn't see that. She just wasn't Lizzy to me.
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