I admit I’m easily the harshest of any critic here in the Movies Zone at InsidePulse.com, a reputation I’ve earned pretty quickly. I tore up Star Wars: Episode 3 earlier this year to go with such other classics of cinema like Beauty Shop and Herbie: Fully Loaded. 2005 has been one of an almost amusing quality for me. There have been a lot of awful films populating the landscape and yet there was hope: at least 25 films I thoroughly enjoyed watching this year amongst the 115 I saw at the theatre and the 15 or so I saw on DVD.
Cutting down those 25 to only 10 was a tough task, as The Weather Man, Sin City, Sahara, Sky High, Broken Flowers, and The Upside of Anger occupied spots on my list at various points of the year. If I had to go with only ten movies to represent the peak of film-making in 2005, these would be it:
10. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Shane Black made his fortune and spent a lifetime making the rules and plot structures of action movies. In one magnificent fell swoop he skewers them with ruthless precision as Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang came and went to critical acclaim and not too much commercial success. It’s a bit of a shame as this is a great film that satires the plot and parcel of the action film while becoming a great representative of it. With an inspired Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer stepping into a different version of a familiar sort of role, Black shows his talent doesn’t extend to writing alone.
9. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Behind every great comedy is a great story, as a series of gags without anything to stick to gives you a mediocre schlock fest like Wedding Crashers whereas a great series of gags centered around a great story gives you the best comedy of the year in The Forty Year Old Virgin. With a great cast of supporting actors, Steve Carell brings plenty of great laughs for over two hours as Andy, a virgin exploring the female species and himself. A vindication for Judd Apatow, is two hours of tremendous laughs coupled with a great story, great characters and inspired directing.
8. Lord of War
Nicolas Cage went 2 for 2 this year with both The Weather Man and Lord of War being great films. Cage was at his best for Lord of War, which followed him as Yuri, a gunrunner who sacrifices a bit of himself to become the sort of powerful man he had dreamed of as a child. Taking a place next to Goodfellas as a great fictional biopic of a good man who does bad things, Lord of War is a showcase of great writing and yet another amazing performance from the best actor working in Hollywood right now.
7. An Unfinished Life
A film that was probably seen only by a select few, An Unfinished Life follows the life of Jean (Jennifer Lopez), a woman on the run with her daughter Griff (Becca Gardner) from her abusive boyfriend and finds herself with her former father-in-law Einar (Robert Redford) and his crippled friend Mitch (Morgan Freeman) in a tale of acceptance and grieving in a small town. With a return to form by Lopez complimented by the always strong performances of Redford and Freeman, An Unfinished Life is a great film about people coming to grips with tragedy and each other.
6. Capote
In Cold Blood was the book that immortalized Truman Capote, but the events of writing the book drove him to the bottle and eventually his death; he never published after writing his novel about two men who killed a Kansas family with ruthless efficiency. Capote stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as the title character, a once in a lifetime performance about a man driven by demons as he wrote his masterpiece. With notable performances from Chris Cooper and Catherine Keener, Capote is a psychological drama between Capote and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) as Capote tries to understand the killers as their execution looms.
5. King Kong
Peter Jackson has been dreaming of doing this movie since he was a child and oh boy did he deliver, matching pace with the Lord of the Rings trilogy as he delivers an epic update of one of the greatest films of all time into one of the best films of the year. Still the same story about an ape that trashes New York City, Jackson’s King Kong gives us a greater emotional connection to the beast and the woman (Naomi Watts) he’s connected with. With some impressive action sequences to go with the same high level of directing from Jackson, King Kong is the sort of epic film that isn’t made too often anymore.
4. Brokeback Mountain
It’s an epic love story, it’s Ang Lee’s next great film, it’s a triumph for a community that hasn’t been represented well but above all Brokeback Mountain is a great movie. Featuring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as a couple of gay shepherds, Brokeback Mountain follows the two as they have a forbidden love over the better part of two decades that they can’t show to the world. With a brilliant performance from Ledger and a strong supporting performance from Michelle Williams as his wife, this film is a breakthrough film that will be remembered for being a great love story long after the initial shock value of it being about “gay cowboys” goes away.
3. Munich
Steven Spielberg released two major films in one year, a rarity for any director, and did both within 18 months of each other in terms of filming schedules. While War of the Worlds was a special effects extravaganza that tried to please all and failed, Munich is the sort of masterpiece we’re used to. Following the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics of 1972, Munich follows the Mossad’s strike back against Black September in a fictionalized account inspired by the book Vengeance. Centered around the leader of one of the hit squads sent to seek justice for the dead Israelis, a man named Avner (Eric Bana), what follows is Spielberg’s masterpiece in a piece of inspired directing that he hasn’t shown since Saving Private Ryan.
2. Pride & Prejudice
It’s been done many times before, but Jane Austen’s classic is still a remarkable love story for the ages. With the Bollywood adaptation having come and gone from theatres earlier in the year it’s only fitting that one of the year’s best movies is another retelling of the same classic story about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Keira Knightley gives one of the best performances of the year as Elizabeth, a woman of modern sensibilities in a time requiring something else, and her love with a man whom she can’t stand initially. Matthew MacFadyen provides a wonderful love interest and great chemistry with Knightley as Darcy, the rich man whose rough around the edges.
1. Cinderella Man
Russell Crowe has a knack for knowing to pick projects in the last seven years. His filmography is a list of any actor’s dream projects: A Beautiful Mind, The Insider, Gladiator and Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World were all Academy Award nominees and Crowe earned acting nominations and one win because of them. He’s gone from being Australia’s special gift to being one of the few who can be considered amongst the best actors working in Hollywood today. And only Crowe could pull off one of boxing’s greatest heroes in its greatest story.
Crowe stars as James J Braddock, a man who became World Champion after seemingly being down for the count. But Cinderella Man, the latest film from Ron Howard, isn’t the story of a great boxer. It’s the story of a great man, a man who wanted to provide for his family in the Depression. As he hits bottom, Braddock knocks out a top contender and is vaulted back into the big time, eventually earning a title fight with Max Baer (Craig Bierko).
With another masterful performance from Crowe in the lead complimented by the always great Renee Zelwegger and Paul Giamatti as his wife and manager respectively, Cinderella Man may have been over-looked at the box office but was the best reviewed film of 2005. And it’s easy to see, as it’s the best film of 2005.
