My Faves of 2005
The One I’ll Take Shit For, Part 1: War of the Worlds
Fuck you, I dug it. It was my favorite movie of last year, hands-down. “War” is a well-made, edge-of-your-seat thriller, and Dakota Fanning is awesome in it. Even though we all knew the ending, Mr. Spielberg somehow made this a gripping watch.
The One Everybody Likes: Brokeback Mountain
This ain’t just the gay cowboy movie: it’s the saddest flick I’ve seen all year. And I love sad flicks – particularly well-made/well-acted ones about people not living their lives the way they really want to. Heath Ledger didn’t give a performance in this flick: his Ennis exists – that’s how genius his non-performance was. Not since Billy Bob Thorton in Raimi’s underrated “A Simple Plan” has an actor been buried so deep in a character that you forget there’s acting going on. Ang Lee, whose film directorial choices are always all over the place in a great way (”Wedding Banquet” to “Sense and Sensibility” to “Hulk” to “Brokeback”) made a great, great film.
The One I’ll Take Shit For, Part 2: Revenge of the Sith
Fuck you, I dug it. I thought it was a great way to end the “Star Wars” saga. Dismiss me all you want, but c’mon: that was a fantastic opening half hour. And at the end of it all, we got Vader back in black.
The One That Made Me Happy: Crash
Such a good flick. And no unhappy endings (well, mostly).
The One That Made Me Feel Dumb: Syriana
I loved “Traffic”, so it was no stretch to love this flick, too. Great script, great performances. And it confirmed my worst fears about pool lights.
The One I’ll Take Shit For, Part 3: Dreamer
Fuck you, I dug it. The trailer made me cry more than the movie, but I felt it was still a great watch. Once again, that Dakota kid’s awesome. And why didn’t anyone else ever think to pair up Kris Kristoferson and Kurt Russell as father and son before? “I love the stupid King” too.
The One That Surprised Me: Cinderella Man
Alright, there were one too many instances of “People were so poor during the Depression…” (”How poor were they?”), but the second half of the flick more than made up for it. Great performances all around (especially Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti), and a unusally good job by Ron Howard. And not being well-versed in sports lore, I was so glad to not know how it was gonna end.
The One That Made Me Feel Guilty for Not Doing More: The Constant Gardener
Strong, well-made flick, with great performances, but fuck, did it leave me feeling like I’m not doing enough for the world outside my own.
The One That Did the Impossible: Sin City
Robert and Frank Miller somehow managed to take the “Sin City” graphic novels and put ‘em up on screen as… the “Sin City” graphic novels. This flick was, visually, an amazing achievement, and fun as fuck to watch.
The One That Reminded Me of Why I Got Into Film in the First Place: Junebug
It’s out on DVD now. Pick it up and give it a watch – not just for Amy Adams’ performance, but because it’s a really wonderfully drawn, quiet portrait of small town life and manners. This flick really stuck with me.
Honorable Mentions
A History of Violence: Yay, Cronenberg and his great cast.
Capote: For Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance alone.
The Wedding Crashers: Vince Vaughn made this flick for me.
The 40 Year Old Virgin: Two words: Seth motherfuckin’ Rogen.
Inside Deep Throat: My 2nd favorite documentary of the year.
Sky High: It was a Kurt Russell kinda year for me, and this clever flick was another reason why.
Good Night and Good Luck: David Strathairn, an actor I’ve always dug, in another impressive, Clooney-helmed flick.
Mrs. Henderson Presents: What can I say? I’m a Judy Dench-whore.
Batman Begins: For Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine alone (not to mention Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, and Cillian Murphy).
And last, but certainly not least, my favorite documentary of the year, Reel Paradise. Yes, I was an exec-producer on this flick, and some may say it’s kinda gauche to champion your own shit, but fuck you, I dug it. It’s a doc about some of my favorite subjects on the planet: movies and John Pierson. It’s coming to DVD in a few months, so keep an eye out for it.
Read all of Kevin’s new diary entries, which also delve into a blast from the past, in a positive “Mallrats” review (the 19th), and an excellent confession/explanation on the events that led to the famous comic book script shortage of 2004 (complete with a simulated instant messenger session between Kevin and Joe Quesada). Required historical reading, at www.silentbobspeaks.com!
