Five for Friday, Vol. 17: JP's Favorite Movies of '05
So after my preface, we've come to my favorite movies of 2005. Note, as with many of my lists, the keyword is "favorite." This doesn't necessarily mean I think these were the best films of the year - just my favorite ones. The main qualification for this list is that it's a movie released this year that I saw - either at the theater or on DVD.
This was a tough list to make considering some of the big releases being from stories that have long been my favorites, so I took the easy way out for the top spot: a tie.
JP's Favorite Movies of 2005 (and I welcome readers to submit their own lists or heck, criticize mine):
1. (tie) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - I'll admit to being biased here, since SW: Ep IV was my formative movie experience back in '77. I understand what Lucas was trying to do by telling the story of Vader and after faltering some in Eps I and II, he regains a lot of the style and fun of the original trilogy with this one, I think. For me it was satisfying and entertaining - and I had high expectations for it. Many of the visuals were stunning, and amid the clunky dialogue, there were some moments of good drama. "You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy The Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to The Force, not leave it in Darkness!"
Batman Begins - Batman was always my favorite superhero growing up because he had no “super powers” other than his intellect and courage. I was excited at the possibility of Christopher Nolan directing as I loved Memento. But Burton’s 1989 Batman was tough to follow. Still I think Nolan gets it right, focusing more on developing Bruce Wayne as a character, letting us understand more clearly than any Batman movie before what makes a man dress up like a bat to fight cr
ime.
This was an appropriate tie in my mind, since the stories have such similarity. A young boy has to deal with losing a parent/parents. Bruce Wayne overcomes his anger and desire for revenge, Anakin Skywalker does not.
3. King Kong - If you see one giant ape movie this year, it should be this one.
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Much like King Kong, there was so much right about this one but a few glaring problems (a lengthy movie with a lot of story crammed in) keep this one from soaring. But it's still very good, though I think I liked Prisoner of Azkabahn slightly more. I look forward to the next movie, though.
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I always had a special place for Gene Wilder and the original movie, despite the creepy psychedelia that mostly went over my head back in the 1970s. Depp's amazing Willy Wonka is a more realized character. This one just seemed to have more heart. Another memorable, offbeat film from Burton.
Honorable Mentions:
War of the Worlds - Despite Cruise's offscreen year, I thought he was really good in this as the disaffected dad when the aliens come.
March of the Penguins -
Beautifully shot doc about penguin love.
Kingdom of Heaven - Period piece about the Crusades at a curious release time, considering the war in Iraq, in which some fundamentalist Muslims claim as a modern Crusade. Liam Neeson was The Man in 05. I know historical leaps were taken and the middle part drags. But I thought it was engaging.
Sin City - Visually unique. So gory and dark, almost too much but not quite. But it did seem a tad too long, I thought.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit - More because the claymation fascinates me, as does the wacky English humor.
Movies out this year I wanted to see but didn’t get to:
Syriana - Politics of oil.
Munich - Politics of terrorism.
Capote - Looks like a tour de force by Philip Seymour Hoffman
Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
Good Night and Good Luck - Politics of commie hunting.
A History of Violence - Aragorn is in it and the storyline sounds provocative.
Shopgirl - Steve Martin wrote it.
Crash - Supposed to look at race.
The Aristocrats - Dirty joke documentary
The Squid and the Whale - Supposed to be a good character-driven piece.
Cinderella Man - Boxing epic
The Chronicles of Narnia -Fantasy epic
Broken Flowers - Bill Murray looking lonely and hangdog, whodda thunk it.
The New World - Period piece.
Last Days - Supposed to be a take on Cobain's last days.
Murderball - Looks like an interesting doc on wheelchair rugby.
Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride - Nuff said. I love Burton's stuff.
This was a tough list to make considering some of the big releases being from stories that have long been my favorites, so I took the easy way out for the top spot: a tie.
JP's Favorite Movies of 2005 (and I welcome readers to submit their own lists or heck, criticize mine):
1. (tie) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - I'll admit to being biased here, since SW: Ep IV was my formative movie experience back in '77. I understand what Lucas was trying to do by telling the story of Vader and after faltering some in Eps I and II, he regains a lot of the style and fun of the original trilogy with this one, I think. For me it was satisfying and entertaining - and I had high expectations for it. Many of the visuals were stunning, and amid the clunky dialogue, there were some moments of good drama. "You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy The Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to The Force, not leave it in Darkness!"
Batman Begins - Batman was always my favorite superhero growing up because he had no “super powers” other than his intellect and courage. I was excited at the possibility of Christopher Nolan directing as I loved Memento. But Burton’s 1989 Batman was tough to follow. Still I think Nolan gets it right, focusing more on developing Bruce Wayne as a character, letting us understand more clearly than any Batman movie before what makes a man dress up like a bat to fight cr
ime.This was an appropriate tie in my mind, since the stories have such similarity. A young boy has to deal with losing a parent/parents. Bruce Wayne overcomes his anger and desire for revenge, Anakin Skywalker does not.
3. King Kong - If you see one giant ape movie this year, it should be this one.
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Much like King Kong, there was so much right about this one but a few glaring problems (a lengthy movie with a lot of story crammed in) keep this one from soaring. But it's still very good, though I think I liked Prisoner of Azkabahn slightly more. I look forward to the next movie, though.
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I always had a special place for Gene Wilder and the original movie, despite the creepy psychedelia that mostly went over my head back in the 1970s. Depp's amazing Willy Wonka is a more realized character. This one just seemed to have more heart. Another memorable, offbeat film from Burton.
Honorable Mentions:
War of the Worlds - Despite Cruise's offscreen year, I thought he was really good in this as the disaffected dad when the aliens come.
March of the Penguins -
Beautifully shot doc about penguin love.Kingdom of Heaven - Period piece about the Crusades at a curious release time, considering the war in Iraq, in which some fundamentalist Muslims claim as a modern Crusade. Liam Neeson was The Man in 05. I know historical leaps were taken and the middle part drags. But I thought it was engaging.
Sin City - Visually unique. So gory and dark, almost too much but not quite. But it did seem a tad too long, I thought.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit - More because the claymation fascinates me, as does the wacky English humor.
Movies out this year I wanted to see but didn’t get to:
Syriana - Politics of oil.
Munich - Politics of terrorism.
Capote - Looks like a tour de force by Philip Seymour Hoffman
Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
Good Night and Good Luck - Politics of commie hunting.
A History of Violence - Aragorn is in it and the storyline sounds provocative.
Shopgirl - Steve Martin wrote it.
Crash - Supposed to look at race.
The Aristocrats - Dirty joke documentary
The Squid and the Whale - Supposed to be a good character-driven piece.
Cinderella Man - Boxing epic
The Chronicles of Narnia -Fantasy epic
Broken Flowers - Bill Murray looking lonely and hangdog, whodda thunk it.
The New World - Period piece.
Last Days - Supposed to be a take on Cobain's last days.
Murderball - Looks like an interesting doc on wheelchair rugby.
Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride - Nuff said. I love Burton's stuff.
posted by JP at 10:15 PM
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