3 Best Movies of 2005

It's been a couple weeks, but here's our Best Movies of 2005...

Sean:
So there has not been a real structure for this list, but I am going to list the movies that were nominated for best picture and then list the movies that I thought were notable or could actually have qualified for best movie in 2005.

The Oscar nominated movies for best picture in 2005 were Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Munich, Capote, and Good Night and Good Luck, with Crash taking home the best picture statue. In retrospect, what was the Academy thinking? Crash is such self indulgent tripe, a punt on looking at actual racism by saying that everyone is racist. The movie leaves out an examination of one of the bigger sources of racial strife in LA, ignoring the relationship between the African American and Asian American communities. Everything in the movie is over the top. Crash is a movie by a white person (I couldn't make this shit up. The director, Paul Haggis, based it on when his Porsche was carjacked) for a bunch of other white people to watch and feel enlightened. Give me a break. Out of these movies, I would have picked Brokeback Mountain as best picture, but I only saw Crash, Brokeback Mountain, and Munich.

So with that being said, here is my list of notable or entertaining movies:

Sin City: Not a good movie, but a very entertaining movie, relying heavily on green screen technology. A brutal, violent movie and I would not suggest watching it if you have a weak stomach.

Batman Begins: The movie that re-spawned the Batman legend and cemented Christopher Nolan as a rising star, if Memento had not done so already. Well made and entertaining, Christian Bale does an excellent job portraying Bruce Wayne. Not as good as the Dark Knight, but an excellent super hero movie.

The Island: Such a great premise for a movie, but one that did not play out on the screen. Part of the problem was choosing an actress regarded (wrongly in my opinion) as a pretty face, Scarlett Johansson. You spend the whole movie looking at her in tight clothing instead of explaining the deeper issues that cloning and cloning technology brings up.  

Wedding Crashers: A great movie for it's time, much like Old School. Sadly, it has been beaten to death, and then beaten even more, also much like Old School. In another similarity to Old School, the first half is hilarious and then it falls off the comedy cliff. My hatred and distrust of all things popular lessens my appreciation of this movie.

Green Street Hooligans: A movie following soccer in England, starring Elijah Wood and also featuring Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy as well as Claire Forlani of Mall Rats fame. If you enjoy soccer, this gives an interesting fictional take on soccer hooligans, portraying them not just as thugs, but as complex human beings. The tribalism present in American sports is taken to an extreme when viewed through an English prism.

Serenity: If you are a fan of the short lived Firefly TV series, you will love this movie. Following the crew of the Serenity on their adventures, this movie explains the previously mysterious Reavers which had been one of the many overarching themes of the TV show.

Brokeback Mountain: First off, this movie is visually stunning to look at with its choice of scenery. Wyoming is both beautiful and stark. The look at the taboo relationship between two men who work together and fall in love is fascinating, especially set against the backdrop of the West, where a man was a man, full stop. This movie being set in the 60's adds another closeted layer to things. A shocker that this movie did not win best picture and my pick for best movie of 2005.

Ed F.:
As far as the 2005 Best Picture nominees… for the most part I agree with Sean’s retrospective assessment: what was the Academy thinking? I like his description of Crash as a "punt" on the actual examination of complicated race relations. Brokeback Mountain was beautifully photographed, but I didn’t find the romance between the two characters to be especially captivating (i.e. it didn’t seem to happen or evolve in an especially organic way). Good Night and Good Luck and Capote were both decent stories with commendable performances, but were ultimately forgettable, from my perspective.

I do, however, rank Munich as one of my favorite movies of ’05. The themes of retributive "justice" to terrorism and the ethical questions raised by such actions were (and remain) timely points of discussion. The fact that such ideas are explored so well in a genuinely suspenseful thriller is even more impressive. Eric Bana’s performance as Avner, an ex-Mossad operative, is brilliant as it traces the character’s arc from hesitant avenger to arguable terrorist and back again as he struggles to regain his moral and spiritual foothold. And, as always, I love Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography.

Another personal favorite of 2005: Match Point. The film’s opening monologue makes its themes of luck and chance explicit. The way Woody Allen contextualizes these ideas within the plot’s many superficial similarities to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a lot of fun, even as he draws entirely different conclusions. (I was on a real Dostoevsky kick about a year ago.) It’s debatable as to whether the ending is a bit rushed, but overall, it’s my favorite Woody Allen movie (along with Annie Hall).

A History of Violence: In a fairly straightforward way, it tells the story of a small-town diner owner, played by Viggo Mortensen, whose own history of violence comes back to haunt him. Tangentially, the subplots involving his children open up a commentary about the (im)possibility of forging alternative personal identities within the context of that history. In general, the narrative moves along very quietly (odd for David Cronenberg), which makes its explosions of violence all the more effective and shocking. Ed Harris and William Hurt are great as the movie’s villains.

The New World: What can I say? I am a Terrence Malick fanboy. His films are the cinematic equivalent to poetry (not that I am especially poetry-literate), and this demythologized telling of the Pocahontas story is no exception. The way in which the movie emphasizes the strangeness of two entirely different cultures becoming acquainted is remarkable. This is achieved primarily through the visually stunning cinematography which gives equal time to the natural locations and the silent expressiveness of the accomplished actors. It’s impossible for me to say enough good things about this movie, and it’s probably not even worth trying. I’m convinced that no two people walk away from a Terrence Malick movie experiencing it in the same way.

So it seems I’ve selected four favorites from 2005… I’ll leave it at that.

Marty:
Going third in these discussions always means there isn't much left to say. 

Here are some random quick hitting thoughts:

1.  Brokeback Mountain and Munich are my picks for the two best movies of 2005.

2.  Crash is Crash.

3. Brokeback Mountain's cinematography is amazing.

4. really liked A History of Violence, a movie filled with great performances. 

5.  Munich is a great film that is underrated. 

6.  For some strange reason, I like War of the Worlds a little bit more every time I happen to catch part of it on TV.  

7. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. is a fun little movie worth watching.

And here is a little longer thought. When looking over the movies from 2005, I saw that the best of the Star Wars prequels, Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith was released.  I thought that it would be weird if the two Star Wars prequels released during our movie review of the 2000s were never even mentioned.  I think the whole problem with the prequels was George Lucas.  George Lucas directed Star Wars in 1977 and didn't direct another movie until the Phantom Menace in 1999.  In that same amount of time David Lynch directed 5 movies and Twin Peaks, Scorsese directed 10 movies and Spielberg directed 14 movies.  I don't understand how George Lucas thought he could take all of that time off from directing and think he would actually make a really good movie.  If I stopped being a lawyer for 20 years¹ but then returned as a lawyer in a huge murder trial, then I'm pretty sure that I would do a horrible job, my client would be going to jail and I'd be getting sued for malpractice.  It's not a coincidence that the prequels got better as George Lucas got back into the swing of directing.  In fact, Revenge of the Sith is a pretty good movie on it's own.(2)  As they say, practice always makes perfect. 

¹ Some would argue I haven't started being a lawyer.

² I have high hopes for the recently announced Star Wars sequel sequels. *cough* J.J. Abrams *cough*