10) "Star
Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith"
I
used to be a George Lucas apologist, and I thought I liked the movies a lot more
than
I
really
did. My
buddy
Gerald
tried
to
get
me
to
see
the
light,
and eventually I did, but it took a while. By the time "Star
Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" hit theaters, I knew better, and
I figured it would be another disappointment. For the most part, it is, but
the
good
stuff
in the movie is VERY good. Unfortunately, the bad stuff is really bad. This
movie just barely made it to this list, and to be honest with you, there were
better
films
that
were pushed aside so that this movie could be here. Ultimately, the scene where
the
clones
slaughter the Jedi (set to some of the best music John Williams has composed
in years) and the climactic duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker
are
why
this
movie
made the cut. However, Darth Vader screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOO" makes me
wonder
if I made
the right decision.
9) "The
40-Year-Old Virgin"
Every year that I do this, there's an oddball comedy
that somehow makes the list. This
year, that
oddball comedy is "The
40-Year-Old Virgin." Although I'm not 40 years old (nor am I a virgin, though
I may as well be at this point), I can relate to the title character. Steve Carrell
is excellent in that role, as are those in supporting roles, and despite the
raunchiness, "The
40-Year-Old Virgin" is actually a very sweet movie. I loved it, and that
hair waxing scene is priceless.
8) "Brokeback
Mountain"
Even though I feel that "Brokeback Mountain" is a bit overrated, it really
is a great movie. It's not merely a "gay cowboy movie," as it's often been
referred to as, and even though it's not unusual for a movie to feature gay
characters, it's the first mainstream Hollywood film where the two main characters
(played
by name actors) are gay, they kiss and have sex, and their being gay is a
focal point of the film. It could be argued that "Bound" (an excellent film)
had all of those things, but that was about two sexy lesbians, and with all
due respect to lesbians (who certainly have their share of struggles), two
sexy lesbians having sex on film is a lot more easily accepted (and by me,
encouraged) than two gay guys. "Brokeback Mountain" is a brave film, and a
damn good one.
7) "The
Greatest Game Ever Played"
Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are that a PG-rated live-action movie from
the Walt Disney company, a movie about a golfers, no less, made
this list. Disney's live-action films are usually crap, but "The
Greatest Game Ever Played" is one of their few surprises. Golf bores the
shit outta me,
but Bill
Paxton, who directed the film, made the golf sequences interesting, and one
golf sequence in particular stands out as downright exciting. What I probably
like most about this movie is that the antagonist of the film isn't reduced
to being a standard villain. Very few people saw this movie, and that's a shame.
I'd recommend it to anybody.
6) "Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
The trend has been that with each new "Harry Potter" film that's released,
it's darker and better than the one before it. "Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is no exception. This film is so dark,
I wonder if really young children should even see it. The scene towards the
end of the film, when we see "Lord Voldemort" for the first time,
is VERY creepy, and I have a feeling that the little tykes would freak out
seeing it. Then again, they seem to be more resilient than we adults give
them credit for. A lot of stuff in the book wasn't included in the film, and
I'm okay with that. What wasn't included is stuff that was really unnecessary.
Hopefully the next film is just as good,
or even better.
5) "Good
Night, and Good Luck"
I never would have thought that George Clooney
was capable of directing this kinda film. Although "Good
Night, and Good Luck" is placed fifth in this list, I would
probably say that out of all the films I've seen last year, it's
the best.
It's just
that what I consider to be the best is OBjective, and this list
is purely SUBjective. Still, I really loved this movie, and even
though it admittedly moves very slowly, I was completely engrossed
from beginning to end. It's brilliantly directed by George Clooney,
and David Strathairn's performance as Edward R.
Murrow is astonishing. Awesome movie.
4) "Cinderella
Man"
I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. Although he's an amazing
actor, I'm not a fan of Russell Crowe. He's pretentious, he's an asshole, and
he's a bully, but the fact is that he's one of our best living actors. Still,
I can't stand him. Renée
Zellweger annoys me. I have nothing against her personally, but for whatever
reason, she annoys me. They're both in this movie. On top of that, Akiva Goldsman,
the writer who
nearly destroyed the "Batman" franchise (along with director Joel Schumacher)
with "Batman & Robin," helped write the script for "Cinderella Man." I saw
the movie, which is based on an incredible true story, despite the involvement
of those people because critics were going crazy for this it, and I ended
up
loving
it.
Ron Howard,
who directed the film, did an excellent job, and it's a shame that more people
didn't see this movie. The one flaw in the film is that Max Baer is portrayed
as a villain. Everything I've read about the boxer makes him seem like
a good guy. Such a cheap stunt was unnecessary.
3) "Batman
Begins"
After that horrible piece of shit movie called "Batman & Robin" was released,
I thought that was it for the Batman franchise. Thankfully, Warner Bros.
was willing to give it another chance, and they decided that they
would do it right. There are a lotta things to nitpick about "Batman Begins,"
but the good outweighs the bad significantly. The most important thing is that
a feature film was made about my favorite comic book character, a character
I'm extremely passionate about, and it was done right. Christian Bale was and
is THE perfect guy to play Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Christopher Nolan, contrary
to my initial concerns, ended up being the right guy to direct the film. I
loved this movie, and I can't wait for the sequels. And Mr. Nolan, if you're
reading this, here are my casting recommendations for villains in the sequels:
The Joker should be played by Paul Bettany, Harvey Dent/Two-Face should be
played
by
Clive Owen,
The Riddler
should be played by Crispin Glover, and Catwoman should be played by Milla
Jovovich.
2) "Million
Dollar Baby"
You might be wondering why "Million Dollar Baby" is on this year's list rather
than last year's list. Well, it was playing in select cities in 2004 (making
it eligible for Oscar consideration in 2005), but Miami, where I live, wasn't
one of those select cities. It wasn't released in Miami until early January
of 2005, and since 2005 is the year I actually saw the film, it wasn't eligible
for the list of My
Top 10 Films of 2004. If I had seen "Million Dollar Baby" in 2004,
it would have been number one, but in 2005, it's number two, because 2005,
in my opinion, was a better year for movies. If you haven't seen "Million Dollar
Baby," you need to see it. I saw it three times theatrically, and I watched
it twice
on DVD. This movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director
(Clint Eastwood), Best Actress (Hilary Swank, in a awesome performance that
still
haunts me),
and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman, and it's about damn time), and all
of those Oscars were well-deserved.
1) "Sin
City"
"Sin City" is simply revolutionary. It's a comic book movie where the feature
film is almost an exact visual representation of the comic book. The comic
book
panels were the storyboards. The comic book itself was the script. And then,
of course, there's the fact that almost the entire film was shot on a virtual
set. "Sin City" is very, very entertaining. It's also sexy,
violent, and despite being dark, it's pretty
funny at times. Mickey Rourke steals the show as "Marv," but
my favorite character would have to be "deadly little Miho," who is played
by Devon Aoki. "Sin City" is a true old school film noir, but with a whole
lotta modern sensibility (not to mention special effects) thrown in, and it
works perfectly. "Sin City" is my favorite film of 2005.
My
Top 10 Films of 2004
My
Top 10 Films of 2003
My
Top 10 Films of 2002
My
Top 10 Films of 2001