The Ten Best Movies of 2005

1) The 40 Year Old Virgin

I debated back and forth, can you really call a sex comedy the year's "best" movie? Absolutely. It is widely known that comedy is harder to pull off than drama, and yet still it gets no respect. Think back at all the "comedies" you saw this year. How much did you laugh? And if you did laugh, did you feel anything? Did you remember it after walking out of the theater or hitting the Stop button? Probably not. This movie had more laughs than anything in recent years. To pull that off while maintaining an oddly touching romance and a spot-on character study deserves major respect. The fact that this wasn't nominated for anything at the Oscars shows you how out of touch they are. This should have had nominations for at LEAST Original Screenplay, Actor, and Supporting Actress and probably a lot more. Take yourself away from the preconceived notion that only "important" and "serious" movies are deserving of our respect, and what you have here is not just a classic comedy but a classic movie.

2) Brokeback Mountain

Just about a perfect movie. It never steps wrong, never gets overly preachy or political, it just presents a great story, told about as well as it possibly could have been. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal are both excellent, and not because of their supposed "bravery" for playing gay. The supporting cast is fine as well, most notably Michelle Williams and the strangely never acknowledged Anne Hathaway, who is every bit as good. A hell of a love story, and hopefully someday we'll see the day when anything remotely less than masculine won't be described as a "Brokeback moment."

3) Shopgirl

A movie that totally gets relationships. Like, human relationships. Between actual people. Not romantic comedy "relationships," which are usually completely devoid of recognizable behavior. Steve Martin, Claire Danes, and Jason Schwartzman are perfect. Very smart, sad, and casually profound. Slight drawback, a totally unnecessary narration by Steve Martin. Narration should be used to cover up problems with storytelling. This movie has none.

4) The Squid and the Whale

A much more intimate, much more painful Royal Tenenbaums (I'm not saying it's as good). Not a second of this movie didn't feel totally real. Jeff Daniels has never been better, and creates a true asshole of a character that I found horrifyingly relatable. Goes for one of those hit-you-in-the-gut quick endings, trouble is it didn't quite hit me in the gut. Everything else is right on.

5) Good Night, and Good Luck

Just a classy movie. Short, efficient, and makes its connections to today in a very laid-back, draw-your-own-conclusions style. Looks and feels old-fashioned, in the best possible way.

6) Match Point

I remember seeing the trailer for this and laughing out loud when the name "Woody Allen" came onscreen. It looked nothing like his disastrous recent work, and I was sure he would blow it. Boy, was I wrong. This is pretty much the closest we've gotten lately to "Hitchcockian." And like all Hitchcock movies, it has a stunningly dull opening 20 minutes, (Really? Still talking about tennis, fellas?) but boy, does it pick up after that. A truly great thriller.

7) The Matador

Far and away the most underrated movie of the year. Why no one saw this, I don't know. Why critics were indifferent, I don't know. What I do know is that this movie entertained the hell out of me. The use of pop music is particularly great, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis give their best performances, and you should keep an eye on first time writer/director Richard Shepard.

8) The Weather Man

A movie that from what I can tell was pretty much hated across the board. The reason is that this is a genuinely depressing movie about a man with a horrible life that remains pretty much horrible, like American Beauty without the release. I think it will play much better for people on the small screen, stripped of expectations. It really got to me, this is a truly painful "comedy" that avoids all the big studio movie traps. Note, for example, that they picked a genuinely overweight, unattractive and unappealing girl to play Nicolas Cage's daughter. Most movies would pick an adorable pudgy gal with a heart of gold. This girl is highly unlikable. I don't know why most people felt the same way about the movie.

9) Junebug

Another totally underrated movie, I don't think a lot of people even know this exists. The main selling point of this film is the performance by Amy Adams, which is wonderful. This portrait of a dysfunctional family leaves a lot unsaid (like most families) and is all the more interesting for it.

10) Crash

Far from perfect, but some of the most intense and gripping scenes in the movies this year. The cast is great right across the board and though it frequently feels forced and corny, it makes its points forcefully and effectively.

Next 10, in no particular order: A History Of Violence, Cache, The Family Stone, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Murderball, Nine Lives, Munich, Hustle and Flow, Syriana, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

tags: movies  ten best movies  best  shopgirl  squid  brokeback  virgin  match point  clooney  matador  weather man  junebug  crash  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit