No one's started a top 10 movies of 2005 thread? OK,I will.

[Ghost]

1) Grizzly Man
2) Good Night, and Good Luck .
3) A History of Violence
4) Pride and Prejudice
5) The Constant Gardener
6) Howl's Moving Castle
7) Capote
8) Downfall
9) Last Days
10) Domino

Next ....

[Via_Chicago]

I'm still waiting to see Woody Allen's Matchpoint and The New World, since both are technically 2005 releases, before coming up with my top ten list. However, until then, I will make a list of some of my favorites (English-speaking cinema) of 2005, that I've seen (in no particular order):

Sin City
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Cinderella Man
Batman Begins
Grizzly Man
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Murderball
Junebug
Me, You, and Everyone We Know
Broken Flowers
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Crash
March of the Penguins
Mad Hot Ballroom
Mysterious Skin
Good Night, and Good Luck
Syriana
Pride and Prejudice
Layer Cake
Brokeback Mountain
Walk the Line
Munich
King Kong

(I still need to see Capote and The Squid and the Whale which I will do in upcoming weeks).

Some year-end awards:

Worst Movie of 2005

There were some real howlers, but for sheer historical audacity and weakness in a lead performance, nothing was as bad as Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven.

Most unfairly maligned picture

Having not seen Sam Mendes' Jarhead, for me it is easily Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha. It certainly wasn't high art, and as Roger Ebert notes, it doesn't seem to ring true to Japanese culture and history, but the first hour is vastly entertaining. The film is beautiful to watch but let down by a clumsy and melodramatic final act.

Most overlooked films of 2005

The Constant Gardener
Grizzly Man
Myserious Skin

Most overrated film of 2005

March of the Penguins, and I liked the damn thing.

Top ten list forthcoming.

[Claymore]

I have a 16 month-old daughter. All I saw this year was "Dora The Explorer" on DVD.

God, I hate Swiper.

[Ringo]

I have a 16 month-old daughter. All I saw this year was "Dora The Explorer" on DVD.

God, I hate Swiper.


I've seen several Baby Einstein DVDs. I could make a top-ten list of those.

[Pathogen]

I'd be suprised if I saw more than three movies that came out this year. I'm in the same boat as Claymore. The kids dominate my viewing schedule.

[NoodlesMacintosh]

Most overrated film of 2005

March of the Penguins, and I liked the damn thing.

Top ten list forthcoming.

Take out Morgan Freeman and it's just an overlong and melodramatic episode of Nova. I liked it fine and all but after all the hype it was generating I was hoping to get more than something I saw on the Discovery Channel a couple years ago.

[jec1]

overlooked film of 2005

Mysterious Skin this was a incredible film with good performances.

[spejic]

The best 2005 movies I saw last year:

1) Serenity. I loved this movie. It had the spirit of the TV series, but was grand enough for the big screen. You expected the dialog to be top notch, but the plot was something special as well.

The worst 2005 movies I saw last year:

1) Star Wars III. I thought the whole first half of the movie was not only the worst stuff of the whole 6-movie set, it was the worst Star Wars related film since the Christmas special (and I am including the Ewoks TV specials). It would insult the intelligence of a 6 year old. I did like the lightsabre duel at the end, but I think everyone came out of the theatre with the image of Darth Vader being born and the Death Star/proto Star Destroyer/Captain Antilles' ship which brough back so many fond memories of A New Hope that they forgot about the start of this film.

Those are the only 2005 movies I saw.

[jec1]

2 movies you can do better then that bro

[billreeves]

I'd be suprised if I saw more than three movies that came out this year. I'm in the same boat as Claymore. The kids dominate my viewing schedule.

I don't have kids yet, my baby is coming in April, but it looks like I totally failed to take advantage of my last chance to see lots of movies in a year.

The movies I saw last year, ranked from best to worst:

Batman Begins
Serenity
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Star Wars Episode III

Movies I saw on DVD last week:

Star Wars Episode III -- it was mildly entertaining the first time, but sucked upon seeing it again, just horrible dialog -- real people don't talk that way -- I tried to justify it by reminding myself that these are people "in a galaxy far, far away" so they were aliens who don't act like humans do, but that just disconnected me from the whole story.

March of the Penguins -- I don't get why this got such good hype. My wife couldn't sleep after seeing the little chicks get killed in horrible ways. The DVD includes a National Geographic "CritterCam" special which was more entertaining and educational than the movie, and it was only about 20 minutes long.

[bojendyk]

Admittedly, I saw fewer movies in 2005 than I saw in 2004, but of those I saw, Kontroll (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373981/) was without question the top of the heap.

[obie]

The only three films I walked out of saying "wow, that was great" in 2005 were Good Night, And Good Luck, Mad Hot Ballroom and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. My opinion of W&G may be tainted by the fact that I was with two nephews (ages 8 and 6) and a niece (age 4) who completely adored it, but it was still the most fun 90 minutes I've had in a movie theater in years.

[Fanaddict]

I thought Star wars 3 was the best movie of the year. Lucas is infamous for not having great dialouge but it was still very entertaining. Ian McDiarmid the actor who played the emperor deserves an oscar nomination for supporting actor.

[bmurphyfl]

Between Ringo, Claymore, Pathogen and other parents of little kids, we should start a thread on the "Least Painful Kids Videos to Suffer Through". The Happy Elf would be at the top of my list. Pretty damn funny.

[Crewbasher]

Just recounting the ones I saw in the theater:
Loved Batman Begins and Crash.
Was mildly entertained by Star Wars Ep. III (only for the scenes where Anakin turns into a total bad-ass, and even that isn't explained too well).
Really did not like Flightplan. Too drawn out, way too predictable, and the whole "plot" is so farfetched and complex that it seemed like way more trouble than it was worth (sometimes, even suspension of disbelief can't prevent you from saying "WTF?" at a movie).

[jec1]

1.crash (one of the best films of 2005 and oscar worthy performances)
2.water (indie greatness)
3.The history of violence (even though it is cronenberg's style)
4.batman begins (bale is the best batman yet)
5.the devils reject (underrated rob zombie movie and great music)
6.good night good luck (george clooney's best)
7.mysterious skin (great performances)
8.The great raid (a great depiction of what went on)
9.Thumbsucker (indie underrated flick).
10.40 year old virgin (funny watching it the second time)

[nicodemus]

Take out Morgan Freeman and it's just an overlong and melodramatic episode of Nova. I liked it fine and all but after all the hype it was generating I was hoping to get more than something I saw on the Discovery Channel a couple years ago.
At least a lot of it wasn't staged (I think) like Winged Migration. That being said, the hype was a bit much.

[Via_Chicago]

Well, without having seen a few major films of 2005 (I'll fess up to not having yet seen Capote, The New World, or The Squid and the Whale, so who knows where those would fit in), here, very late, is my top ten list of 2005 (English-speaking films only):

1. A History of Violence dir. David Cronenburg - Easily director David Cronenburg's most accessible work, A History of Violence is by turns a reflection on gun violence, the inherent allure of violence in cinema, and Darwinism. I saw this film twice, and with two vastly audiences that may represent just how polarizing this movie was. The first audience was small but respectful, only laughing when appropriate. The second audience laughed at innapropriate moments and was generally uncouth throughout. One gentleman who sat a few rows behind me commented to his friend: "Well, I give that one two big thumbs down!" My own perception is that many moments seemed funny only because their realism made the audience uncomfortable; it's excesses seemed equally funny because, rather than seeing the film as an allegory, audiences saw it as a conventional action thriller. The film Cronenburg has made is not only a brutally accurate send-up of middle America, but a damning critique of the cold, sterile violence of American cinema. A brilliant movie.

2. Grizzly Man dir. Werner Herzog - Grizzly Man was the year's best documentary. Herzog takes the fascinating story of Timothy Treadwell and transforms it into a modern tragedy, a story of a man who thought he could live along with nature, when in reality, nature is chaotic and cruel. It's a shame that it was not only (apparently) inelligble for an Academy Award, but deemed "not good enough."

3. Munich dir. Steven Spielberg - Steven Spielberg's unfairly maligned Munich was perhaps the year's most thoughtful and thought-provoking film. Director Spielberg takes his material, which perhaps would have been simple thriller-fare in the hands of a lesser director, and transforms it into a gut-wrenching reflection on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of course, the picture is not without its flaws, including an ending that required more judicious editing, but it is also a film that uses the story of its central character to create a poignant, powerful, and haunting "prayer for peace." Munich has shamefully been the target of political critics of the right and left, some even accusing it of "moral equivalency," but the film is a lyrical statement about revenge, about nationhood, and about our own national identity that is anything but morally ambivalent.

4. The Constant Gardener dir. Fernando Merielles - Director Fernando Mereilles takes his third world story-telling to Africa, crafting a story that it is tragic, disturbing, and mesmerizing, all within the confines of the thriller genre. Featuring tremendous performances from leads Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz as well as excellent supporting work from Hubert Kounde, Danny Huston, and Bill Nighy, The Constant Gardener unfolds in a precise, calculated manner, allowing the audience to ride along with its story while also never allowing its message (regarding the pharmaceutical industry) to supersede the immediate human drama unfolding onscreen. It's a tremendous work and a worthy follow-up to 2002's City of God.

5. Brokeback Mountain dir. Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain is a meticulously crafted love story and one that is thankfully free of social or political commentary (in a film year that was filled with it). Instead, Lee is strikingly restrained, allowing his lead actors to tell their story with piercing, suggestive glances, and sly, delicate movements. While Brokeback Mountain didn't move me as much as it did many fans and critics, it was a haunting, well-crafted love story, and one which I can admire for its myriad of cinematic riches.

6. Syriana dir. Stephen Gaghan - One of two major ensemble pieces this year (Paul Haggis' Crash being the other), director Stephen Gaghan's thrilling meditation on the politics of oil amazingly ties together its multiple plot strands in ways that never feel contrived or manipulative, but given the film's subject matter, only too true. As a story, Syriana, while confusing, is fascinating and occasionally startling. Its political revelations should not surprise anyone familiar with global politics, but Gaghan makes sure that the film never feels preachy, given one of the film's most persuasive speeches is made in defense of political corruption. A remarkable, fascinating, tightly constructed thriller.

7. Match Point dir. Woody Allen - Heralded as Woody Allen's "return to form," Match Point is not so much that but a new beginning in a genre previously untapped by Allen (with the exception of perhaps Crimes and Misdemeanors). Match Point is a deceptively simple picture that ends with a profundly disturbing disquiet. That we almost want Chris Wilton to escape punishment is a testament to film's power to manipulate, but equally disturbing is that this is indeed how the film ends. A reflection not so much on the film's central premise ("whether it is better to be lucky than good"), but on the lengths we will go to to ensure our own comfort and survival.

8. Good Night, and Good Luck dir. George Clooney - Shot in gorgeous black-and-white, few films this year effectively portrayed the era they were attempting to evoke, but George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck did exactly that. At a lean ninety-three minutes, the film occasionally moves at what feels like a rushed pace, and never for a moment allows its audience to really penetrate the psyche of its protagonist, the late Edward R Murrow. But even if we never really know the true Murrow, thanks to David Strathairn's wonderful performance, his conflict becomes our conflict, and he becomes our champion. Brilliantly incorporating original footage of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the film occasionally feels pedantic, but it's also an honest and forthright film, and also a subtle reflection on the place of television in American society.

9. Pride and Prejudice dir. Joe Wright - So maybe the last two entries on this list are films that I both loved and admired, Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice is a remarkably fresh take on what is one of the most overdone literary adaptations in cinema. Keira Knightley, in all her radiant beauty, lights up the screen, giving one of the year's best female lead performances. However, Knightley never steals the scenes from her equally talented co-stars, including a very effective Donald Sutherland. While the film eliminated many of the book's sub-plots, many of the others it did develop it did so in a way that never detracted from the story of our two protagonists. This was a great romantic adaptation.

10. Mysterious Skin dir. Greg Araki - Not only one of the year's most profoundly troubling pictures, but also one of it's most assured and touching, Greg Araki directs this story of two boys connected by their past with compassion, but also in a way that never judges its main characters, including the child molestor Coach Heider. The film is a very subtle meditation on gay identity and child abuse, but it's also one of the most astonishingly well-acted films of the year, featuring two knockout performances from leads Brady Corbet and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I also thought I'd add my ten favorite films of 2005 (as differentiated from the films I thought were the ten best). I didn't want to write a detailed explanation of why these were my favorites, but I hope you'll all understand:

1. The Constant Gardener
2. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
3. Batman Begins
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Mysterious Skin
6. King Kong
7. A History of Violence
8. Syriana
9. Munich
10.The 40 Year-Old Virgin

The best foreign films I saw this year (having not yet seen either Cache, Saraband, or The Best of Youth):

Wong Kar-Wai's 2046
Chan-wook Park's Oldboy
Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall

Also good in 2005:

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Broken Flowers
Sin City
Cinderella Man
Batman Begins
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Muderball
March of the Penguins
Crash (this picture, as well as the aforementioned March of the Penguins I consider flawed and overrated, but still both excellent, thought-provoking pictures)
Junebug
Me, You, and Everyone We Know
The 40 Year-Old Virgin
King Kong
Mad Hot Ballroom
Layer Cake
Walk the Line
Corpse Bride

[ForeverRed]

1. Syriana
2. Crash
3. Grizzly Man (Fooking fascinating)
4. the Edukators
5. Good Night, Good Luck
6. The Beat that my Heart Skipped
7. The Constant Gardener
8. Munich
9. Revenge of the Sith
10. Batman Begins

[jec1]

Im sorry but I do disagree with SYRIANA which has so many plotholes and unanswered questions?And the character sendoff was totally unexplained such like William hurt's character.

I agree with MYSTERIOUS SKIN which was vastly underrated and MUNICH which I thought was better then syriana.

I loved MURDERBALL and CRASH both are in my top then but I think A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE was the best movie of 2005 because it left the viewers in a standstill and wondering.

All in all 2006 should be a big year:D