2005 was a year marked most prominently by the lack of one or two films that jumped out to absolutely everyone, as well as a few crushing disappointments (not to mention at least one repugnant piece of highly-praised “art” in A History of Violence), but amongst the chaff, there were still a number of movies that stood very well against the rest.
Walk The Line
Johnny Cash’s biopic not only did justice to his story, but also showed how a film following the conventional biography formula could rise above the rest in its well-populated group, and become a resplendent experience all on its own: The subject itself.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
The surprising success of Wallace & Gromit’s debut feature-length picture was tempered somewhat when Aardman’s studios were gutted by a fire, but there’s no denying the joy and vitality of the movie itself. The computer animation craze may continue unabated, but there’s still plenty of life left in the old school.
Crash
It may eventually be a victim of the Academy’s short-term memory, and it may have been guilty of taking a few too many liberties and painting too broadly at times, but Crash’s direct observations on race relations in America still packed a forceful punch without drowning things in cynicism.
Cinderella Man
Ron Howard glosses up the fall and rise of James J. Braddock to an appropriately Hollywoodish sheen, but that doesn’t keep the wonderful story or great performances in check. Russell Crowe may have met his share of bad publicity around the time the film was released, but both he and Paul Giamatti are worth the time.
Broken Flowers
Jim Jarmusch’s low-key rumination on the plight of a lothario long past his prime who is forced to come to grips with his past is yet another excellent chapter in the late-career revival and reinvention of Bill Murray. It rings true primarily for its hesitance to provide any easy answers, and in that alone it reflects life more accurately than any film all year.
The Edukators
A curiously compelling German film about the dangers of political idealism, The Edukators surrounds three young activists who are forced to kidnap one of their rich targets when he catches them in the act, and the subsequent revelations that bubble to the surface when the two generations are forced to co-exist.
March of the Penguins
The “cute penguins in front of a camera” formula may have not been rocket science, but its runaway success is hard to deny. The yeoman efforts of Luc Jacquet and his crew come through with shining colors, and his subjects and their dedication to life is equally as compelling. Morgan Freeman’s narration is only the icing on the cake.
Lord of War
Andrew Niccol’s Lord of War might wear its bleak, cynical view of the world on its sleeve, but there are few better actors in the world to help proliferate it than Nicolas Cage, this time around as an amoral yet oddly family-centric gun runner. It outdid my expectations probably more than any film all year, and in a year where I was disappointed so mightily by so many movies, it was more than welcome.
King Kong
After about an hour of exposition that is entertaining in its own right, Peter Jackson’s thoroughly modern adaptation of the classic film proceeds to batter its audience silly for the remaining two hours. The whole “giant gorilla and a woman” spectacle is long past dated, but Jackson amps up the whole experience with a series of the best action set pieces ever put to film. He’s a movie geek, and it pays off.
Serenity
When all was said and done, the film extension of Joss Whedon’s defunct Firefly series may have played to little more than its core audience, but even in that it was still a phenomenally entertaining sci-fi western with gobs of Whedon’s trademark pithy dialogue to be had. Those who didn’t take a chance on it missed out on a darn fine time at the movies.