Happy New Year, Everybody!
Well, you've been waiting for it all year and now here it is! My top 10 film list from two, double-aught, five. Disclaimer: I am not a professional critic. These are just my very biased opinions. Enough blather! Here is my list from 10 to 1:
#10) GEORGE A. ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD: George A. Romero, the Orson Wells of zombie flicks, brings us another enjoyable (if disgusting) chapter in his epic zombie-world saga. In this one zombie fighters, who are hunkered down behind a walled city, must face political corruption on the inside and rapidly evolving undead forces on the outside. Oh, how I love the hell-feast of the damned!
#9) KUNG-FU HUSTLE: How best to describe this unique film? How about this; Bruce Lee style kung-fu action merged with loony tunes zaniness with a dash of Gene Kelly like choreography on crack. This film was one fun trip.
#8) HARRY POTTER & THE GOBLET OF FIRE: Although the films are never quite as charming as the Harry Potter books, this movie did a fantastic job of condensing J.K. Rowling's 734 page novel into an exciting, cohesive, little flick.
#7) THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE: I confess that I have never read any of C. S. Lewis's Narnia series, nonetheless I found this movie to be quite excellent on several levels with some of the best computer generated character's this side of a Peter Jackson film.
#6) WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT: I can not adequately describe how delightful I found this film going experience. From it's comedy of English manners to it's quaint claymation animation to the corking plot and off the wall characters, this was a joy from start to finish.
#5) HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS: This was basically the Romeo & Juliet story told within the context of a martial arts action masterpiece amidst some breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
#4) SERENITY: If you've never seen Joss Whedon's short-lived but brilliant television series, Firefly, than this science fiction western may not pack the emotional punch it should. But as a huge fan of Mr. Whedon's small screen work, I was blown away by his first big screen effort (the first movie to be both written and directed by Joss Whedon).
#3) FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: This is film noir, pulp fiction, and hard boiled action at it's best. Beautiful, lurid, shockingly stylized violence mixes with gorgeous dames, classic cars, and tough guys with hearts of gold. Look out for Mickey Rourke's bravura performance as Marv - a psychotic thug with a soft spot for dead hookers.
#2) BATMAN BEGINS: At long last, a live action Batman movie with real emotional depth that focuses more on the psychology of Bruce Wayne than on the Batman's freakish rogues gallery (as delightful as the bat-rogues are). This is a Gotham City one could truly believe is real. This is a film that understands it's comic book source material.
And the number one best film of 2005...
#1) KING KONG: Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson shows his love of the original 1933 King Kong with this beautiful re-make. This movie works extremely well as an action adventure, but it goes way beyond that. What really makes this new Kong click is the very palpable chemistry created between the characters of Ann Darrow (as played by Naomi Watts) and Kong himself (performed by Andy Serkis in a motion capture suit). It is not a sexual chemistry (that would be creepy) but more a love that develops between two beings who have lost everything and find connection in their mutual loneliness. Sure, it's cool to see a 25 foot silverback gorilla fight a pack of hungry t-rexes (who doesn't love a good monster fight?), but the real impact of this story is how the power of love is a double edged sword. We all know the positive aspects of the emotion, but this film points out how love can also consume and destroy like a fire.
So there you have it. Feel free to contact me and critique my choices.
See you at the movies.
Johnny D.
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2 comments:
And now, as a bonus "Easter Egg," here is a list of all 55 eligible films (in order for a movie to be eligible for my list it has to be released in 2005 and I have to have seen it in 2005) that I've seen last year, listed from best to worst.
1) King Kong*
2) Batman Begins
3) Frank Miller's Sin City
4) Serenity
5) House of Flying Daggers
6) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
7) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
8) Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
9) Kung Fu Hustle
10) George A. Ramero's Land of the Dead
11) Unleashed
12) War of the Worlds
13) The Constant Gardener
14) Assult on Precinct 13
15) Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
16) The 40 Year Old Virgin
17) Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
18) Constantine
19) Red Eye
20) The Transporter 2
21) Jarhead
22) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
23) Layer Cake
24) Millions
25) Sky High
26) Zathura
27) Walk the Line
28) Hostage
29) Into the Blue
30) Fantastic Four
31) Be Cool
32) Four Brothers
33) The Island
34) Crash
35) Saw II
36) Dark Water
37) Flight Plan
38) The Legend of Zorro
39) Kingdom of Heaven
40) The Skeleton Key
41) Wedding Crashers
42) Mr. & Mrs. Smith
43) XXX: State of the Union
44) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
45) The Interpreter
46) Elektra
47) Stealth
48) Doom
49) Aeon Flux
50) The Boogeyman
51) The Brothers Grimm
52) The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D
53)The Man With the Screaming Brain
54) Man-Thing
55) Cursed
AND NOW, BECAUSE NO ONE DEMANDED IT, HERE ARE A SMATTERING OF RESPONSES TO MY "TOP TEN FILMS OF 2005" LIST...
1) Speck said:
"Hey!! SO sorry that we missed catching up over the holidays. Thanks for the movie list... I saw "Brokeback Mtn" and "Good Night and Good Luck" last week- I'd recommend both!"
2) Jem Matzen said:
"Rather than argue with your movie opinions like I usually do, I started
a movie review Web site:
www.entertainmentinreview.com
It's really starting to take off. We get over 100 visitors per day now.
That's nothing compared to the 5000/day with The Jem Report, but hey --
it's something."
3) Jeff Frank said:
"Well, I don't think I've seen 10 movies in the last year, but I'll respond to the ones I did see in no particular order:
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE: I think I liked this movie marginally better than you did. I also never read the books, but I fondly remember the cartoon on CBS when I was a kid. This movie accomplished something rare: It portrayed kids that for the most part didn't make me want to kill them for being too abrasive, cute, etc.--A condition I call Wesley Syndrome (aka Boxey's Disorder)
SERENITY: I agree with you that if you weren't a Firefly fan this didn't pack the same punch. I hope it does well enough for a sequel...
FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: I never read the comics, but I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. It meets my general criteria for quality: Generous helpings of sex and violence.
BATMAN BEGINS: Batman done right. I agree that this one actually focused on the Bat instead of his rogue's gallery. Top notch...
KING KONG: Haven't seen it yet. I hope to catch it before it's out of theaters. This one definitely is a big screen must."
4) Chas F. Murray said:
"Hmm a top ten list I mostly agree with? Yikes I might be losing my taste."
5) Liza Tichenor said:
"happy new year, john michael decker!
ya know, i always love your top ten films! there's usually a couple that i hadn't seen and i watch them and love them! you're best recommendation that i took was "dangerous lives of alter boys"- that one i bought on dvd!
take care, john! thanks for my movie to-do list!"
6) Beth Hinderliter said:
"Thanks for your list. I'm now considering seeing some that weren't on my list. Let me know what's going on in your world.
love light"
7) Brian Pringle said:
"I think this is probably the most films on your list that I have seen and agreed with your wrap-up. Unfortunately, it probably also marks the most middle of the road opinions you've ever had. Consider further your opinion of the performances of the "computer generated" actors. Although patterned and even traced from real performers, how far are we from having entire performances come from conglomerations of actors stored in data bases and generated by formula instead of by an artist's vision?"
8) The Clem said:
"Granted John, I haven't actually seen King Kong....but- i have utterly no desire to. At 3 hours 12 minutes, and with them not even getting to Skull island for what... 70 minutes?- the story had little appeal to me.
Furthermore I STRONGLY disagree with his choices for leads. Adrian Brody is an ugly skinny ugly man. Why cast such an utterly weak looking ugly dude as your leading man? Chicks want to be saved by the guy who looks handsome, not someone who looks like a foot.
Futhermore- I HATE Jack Black. Everything about his paunch snotty demeanour annoys the crap out of me. And after hearing his voice in the credits I don't know how any could take him seriously in a 'real' role. He sounds like he's constantly passing silent farts and trying desperately not to 'giggle' about it.
Just because King Kong is the current fassion mini-crazy, does not mean King Kong is better than Batman.
Batman jumpstarted my faith in movies again. It took away the pain and scarring of that long ago stab wound to the heart that I suffered during Batman 4. To quote an off-used Reeves line - Batman Begins "made you believe a man could kick-ass".
I didn't see some of this stuff. I guess I'm mostly just glad RENT didn't show up on your list. Which I also won't see, but I've seen it on Broadway once so I know for a fact it's really bad. I was really impressed with the Harry Potter movie, and might have put it higher. My only problem with it was that it seemed like it would be impossible to follow if you hadn't read the books or seen the other movies- but then again, damn near everyone has.
I also liked Land of the Dead though. I'm glad War of the Worlds didn't make the list as I found it too hard to follow and rather silly. Also- didn't we argue about Fantastic Four over the summer? I think I made a case for how dissapointing it was and you defended it. Clearly didn't like it enough to include it in the list eh?
Furthermore- I think you left out some really charming comedies that happened over the summer. Wedding Crashers really impressed me and made me laugh. But maybe I could see not including it as parts of it were silly, improbable, and not well made. The too close camera angles, the illogic of them working at the same office but not seeing each other for months, the villian that was too mean for a comedy, not using Christopher Walken to his full potential... all logical critiques of the movie.
BUT- 40-year-old-virgin was very good. And had almost no flaws. And should be included on the list somewhere. I think the only flaw I found was that I really resented the movies accidental 'message' or endorsement of the idea that one has to sell one's toys in order to 'grow-up' or get married. If that chick really loved him she would have understood his toy habit as being awesome. Fuck her.
But the movie was very very funny and charming too. It was much more human than you'd think. Where is the love for that eh?
And though I sort of wanted to see Serenity- I certainnly had not seen the tV-show. And I felt like it wasn't appropriate for me to see it becuase of that. Shame really... if they had found a way to combat that thought process the movie might have made more money. Oh well. I'll probably end up watching that sooner or later. Cuase I hear it was good.
OH- and I sort of liked DOOM. Though I can see how it's maybe not 'list worthy'.
talk to you later-"
"And I'd have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"
Johnny D
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