It was a great year for genre films, but a mediocre one for Oscar-bait Serious Art. Of the films most likely to be Oscar-nominated, I really have no strong feelings.
But then, I prefer horror/fantasy/sci-fi stuff anyway, and make no apology for it. If I want real life, I can live in the real world. I like entertainments to take me elsewhere. On the other hand, a movie can occasionally hit every one of us where we live, as was the case with at least one of my entries.
10. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. Simply put, a book I grew up with translated as perfectly as it could possibly be done for the big screen. Following it with a Prince Caspian movie is a mistake, methinks, but I really hope they get to do Dawn Treader and Silver Chair.
9. THE JACKET. Adrien Brody starts time-tripping in the nuthouse. Keira Knightley gets naked, and unlike in DOMINO, I think it’s really her. Kris Kristofferson is the scary old guy, and the direction is from experimentalist John Maybury, who makes the whole thing feel like a bad drug trip (in a good way). The first greta movie of 2005, still great.
8. THE NEW WORLD. Full-length review coming in a week and a half.
7. SIN CITY. Simple, stylized tales of good sexy girls and the badass men who protect them, often with their lives. The plots are not deep, but nor are the stories told in the opera, or kabuki theater, or WWE Smackdown. Yet the appeal is, I think, very similar.
6. SHOPGIRL. This movie nails some of the truths about the L.A. dating scene that most other movies don’t go near. The way Claire Danes (who I used to hate, but have totally come around on since TERMINATOR 3) decides to have sex with Jason Schwartzmann simply because he’s available, and the first person who has been for a long time. The way he loses her by being a fuckup, but eventually gets his shit together and proves that there is worth there. The way Steve Martin thinks he’s communicating well with Danes when he really isn’t. The way Bridgette Wilson-Sampras has carefully and cynically worked out the rules for landing a man in this dire datescape.
Dave White called this one of the worst movies of the year, and I normally respect what he says, but I think he’s missing it here — this isn’t a film about true love and destiny, but about trying to make true love with what seem to be very limited and harsh options. As a gay man living in West Hollywood, I also suspect his dating experiences have been way different.
5. MIRRORMASK. That rare dreamworld fantasy that looks like nothing you’ve seen onscreen before. Bound to find its audience on video.
4. WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT. Fuck Chicken Run – THIS is “were” it’s at. As perfect as movies get.
3. OLDBOY. Truly fucked up and twisted, and I can’t take my eyes off it. So many memorable scenes — I’ve described many of the gross ones, but the giant ant on the subway was also one of the strangest yet effective poignancy metaphors ever visualized onscreen.
2. THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. I don’t know if Rob Zombie did this deliberately, but it’s astonishing the degree to which his white-trash rampage movie mirrors the plot of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, with Ken Foree as a pimpin’ Lando Calrissian, and William Forsythe as a Vader/Luke hyprid on a twisted vision quest to become a divine soldier and hunt down the societal rebels who escaped the siege of their secret base. To the extent that it improves upon its predecessor, this movie is also the “Empire” of redneck horror.
Speaking of which…
1. STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Rather than spend ages refuting the criticisms of others, as I have done, let me say what I love about it:
-the way it begins as a buddy action-comedy, and gradually turns into a damnation game where every hero becomes a victim.
-the way George Lucas, when he’s on, can shoot big battle scenes in which you NEVER lose track of where the main characters are or what they’re doing.
-Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. So good at being so bad.
-the look of the thing – every frame is like a gorgeous painting.
Now, I do want to take the time to deal with one thing – everyone seems to hate that Padme dies of a broken heart. Yeah, it sounds lame, but consider:
-Her husband has just tried to kill her, and by extension, her unborn children.
-He has also revealed that, though his having a dark side is no surprise, he has basically become Hitler. Padme’s alternatives, if she lives, are to be Hitler’s wife, or to become, along with her kids, the primary target of Hitler’s wrath. Not hopeful options.
-Combine that with postpartum depression. It’s gotta suck.
Anyhow, the movie feels like a true Star Wars movie to me. Most of the people who actively disliked it struck me as the type who never liked the originals all that much.
Is it what YOU imagined? Probably not. But it never could have been.
No love for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang? That was at least better than the jacket, a movie who’s entire plot plot could have been resolved with a roll of gauze.
You’re right – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was on my runner up list and should have been included.
Would it be too revisionist to add it back in now?
It’s your website–add away.
But dying of a broken heart usually takes more time: My grandma did, but it took over a year. Granted, her husband was no Vader, but still.
Would it be presumptuous, Peggy, to imagine that she probably also wasn’t pregnant at the time?
forgive my sensless joining of a non argument but, dying of a broken heart could be instantaneous – or take thrity years – since it would have to be something else that did the actual body clock shut down – heart attack being the best bet for a quick ending.
Your list does make me want to see the star wars movie more than I did – the first 2 prequels having put me off placing it on my cinema list, just seen the Narnia flick and agree as to it being about the most faithful possible live action realisation, but the image of Ted Baehr purring was an annoying virtual presence on my shoulder. (Incidentally, the lad playing Peter is a local here, well known to my partner Katrina and many in the audience – which added some fun)
Shopgirl and the Jacket are unknowns over here, but sound interesting, and many I know loved kisskissbangbang.
re Crash – I didn’t think it was a realistic portrayal of LA – I mentioned that it gave us the impression of it not being a desirable palce to live – the racism overplay wasn’t the issue though – we also have Rodney King etc, and the history of police corruption and number of hand gun deaths to go on to create that impression.
Of places to live in the USA its way down low on my list anyway, – having said that I really like Randy Newman’s celebratory song “I love LA”
Not presumptuous–she had a lot of kids and was a lot less sturdy than Padme would be. But she basically just had no will to live once he died, and they couldn’t find a cause of death when she finally did pass, so ruled it natural causes. She was only 55.
Offpat–I like your comment about heart attack as the ultimate killer, that makes more sense. But from what I understand, the Randy Newman song is rather tongue-in-cheek–he’s not a big champion of L.A. from the sound of things. I could be mistaken.
As handgun deaths go, I don’t think L.A.’s particularly high — Washington D.C. (where they’re all illegal, btw) has the most I think, with Detroit way up there, but I could be wrong.
When you have a city that has on at least two occasions erupted into anarchic riots, I don’t blame people for wanting to own a gun. Charlton Heston said all his liberal friends came running to him for protection during the ‘92 riot.
On the other hand, the cops here have kind of a siege/wartime mentality as a result, and when the time came that they could actually use that for good (i.e. ‘92), Daryl Gates held them back.
But Crash is such a caricature overall. People as blatantly racist as those in the movie would lose their jobs quickly.
But then, I prefer horror/fantasy/sci-fi stuff anyway, and make no apology for it. If I want real life, I can live in the real world. I like entertainments to take me elsewhere.
That’s golden. And you know I agree on Sith.
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!
“but the image of Ted Baehr purring was an annoying virtual presence on my shoulder.”
Pat – many’s the time when Dr. Baehr or his sidekick Tom Snyder have quite literally been sitiing just over my shoulder at some screening. Be glad you only deal with the virtual version.