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Harry's Top Ten Best Films of 2005!!!
Happy New Year Everyone, Harry here and I suppose it’s time for me to formally give up on 2005 and tabulate up what my picks for the best of the year were. Now there’s a difference between the bests of the year – and my faves. On this list you won’t see WALLACE & GROMIT and CORPSE BRIDE or BATMAN BEGINS or KING KONG or HOSTEL or FEAST or WALK THE LINE or STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH or UNLEASHED or THE DEVIL’S REJECTS or LAND OF THE DEAD or WAR OF THE WORLDS or SIN CITY or THE DESCENT or MILLIONS or KISS KISS BANG BANG or TOM YUM GOONG – though TOM YUM GOONG is the single most kickass asskicking film I’ve seen in 2005 or 2006. Hell – if put to the sword and asked to name my favorite comfort flick of 2005, I’m likely to say something really insane like SKY HIGH – which I fucking love. No. The following 10 films are frankly the films that kicked my ass in every conceivable fashion. Intellectually, emotionally, artistically – just at every conceivable level – these are the films that had my number as the guy that sees a zillion movies a year. And frankly – I’ve had a great year. That films like SYRIANA, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, THE CONSTANT GARDENER, MURDERBALL, CAPOTE, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA, ELIZABETHTOWN or CRASH haven’t cracked my top ten – much less those “favorites” of the year. I mean I’ve listed 28 films so far that I fucking dig the living shit out of – and I haven’t even mentioned films that got that U.S. distribution at last like OLDBOY, SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE or ONG BAK – which have appeared on my bests lists – going back… oh about 2 and 3 years ago.
My list is a bit different from the average critic, mainly because I pro-actively seek out films I hear about world wide. I don’t passively sit and just judge the films that the U.S. distributors put me in front of – there’s a bigger world of film out there – and if you seek out festival films and the films that play in other countries – and if you’re lucky enough to attend BUTT-NUMB-A-THON – well – there’s films that get seen that haven’t hit another venue in the country. And as a result they end up in my consideration. Think of those titles and early heads ups. They will be seen domestically eventually. And much faster than films like OLDBOY and SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE – which took 2 and 3 years to get in front of U.S. audiences. Let’s kick this off…
10. TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE
At number 10 is my favorite documentary of 2005. TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE. At one level this is “This is my Dad” film. The Dad in question is Haskell Wexler, one of the most fantastic Directors of Photography in the history of cinema, a wild pinko liberal (Yippee for the Pinko Liberal Dad Set!), but more than any of that this film became something that was more important than a career study of a man that has stretched and battled with the format of cinema. It became an amazingly intense look at aging, regrets, understandings and the soul of a very complicated man and his son. You see the Director – a Mark Wexler (Haskell’s son) has never lived up to his father’s estimation. He’s a republican, so naturally Haskell thinks he’s insane (I totally agree) – He makes documentaries about things like AIR FORCE ONE and takes innoculous photos with multiple Presidents. He tends to want to shoot things to make them pretty and composed instead of gritty and real. The sequence where Haskell is trying to talk to Mark’s camera – while Mark is inanely preoccupied with trying to get Haskell out on the balcony cuz there’s a pretty sunset… and in the argument you get a portrait of the difference between the two filmmakers – and in the construction of the documentary – that argument and that it was captured on film is more important than what Haskell was attempting to say or Mark’s pretty sunset. Ultimately – You see that what at the time had to be a very annoying experience to both – we as the audience are witnessed to Haskell condemning him for trying to make him pose for the camera which was totally artificial and orchestrated for the documentary -- he then goes on to say that the doc is about him and what and where he has to say something is more important than that fucking sunset – but in creating this argument what happens is – neither father nor son – both of whom were trying to manipulate the film, could beat the reality of butting heads in this scene which was REAL! And emotional.
The documentary interviews a who’s who of the wonderful artists that worked with Haskell – and it’s a real treat to see folks like Peter Bart, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, George Lucas, Conrad Hall (both of em), Dennis Hopper, Ron Howard, Norman Jewison, Elia Kazan, Irvin Kershner, Albert Maysles, Paul Newman, Julia Roberts, Sidney Poitier and so many others. Ultimately – the film is a portrait about how little fathers and sons often fail to realize how inadvertantely they hurt one another. The little jabs, the denigration, the lack of acknowledgement. And in this case – that door swings both ways. The son rejected a lot of the father, which in turn led to the father rejecting much about the son. That this Doc bridges and exposes that makes for an incredibly moving film that while educating you on the career and importance of one of the great cinematic artists – also reveals so much upon the human condition. Great film!
9. MUNICH
Easily the most classically filmed Spielberg movie in ages. That he made this as quickly as he did gave me hope that we’re going to get a great deal of wonderful work from Steven for sometime to come. To get a full look at my thoughts on this film, Click Here! It’s a movie that literally has it all.
8. THE HIDDEN BLADE (KAKUSHI-KEN: ONI NO TSUME)
The latest film from Yoji Yamada – the brilliant filmmaker behind TWILIGHT SAMURAI! Like THE NEW WORLD and MATCH POINT – this is a love story at its heart. And love with a Samurai – is oddly sweet and beautiful. I’ve only ever seen Yoji’s TWILIGHT SAMURAI – and the love story in that had my heart aching. Ultimately there is a two-fold story in place. First is the story of the samurai’s love for his maid, second is the shitty situation of this particular samurai’s buddy, who like Obi-Wan’s padawan – turned rogue – then he’s ordered to hunt him down and kill him. The love story illustrates and makes us care for the lead samurai intensely – while the danger and friendship of the task he has at hand… well you’re incredibly involved by the end of this film, which I will not spoil. I loved it though. That the creator of TWILIGHT SAMURAI has turned in yet another fantastic film, well it has me ecstatic. The performances, cinematography, music and story all just make for a brilliant movie.
7. MATCH POINT
While not at all the typical Woody Allen movie for most audiences, ultimately – it isn’t nearly as radical in it’s departure as most would assume. Ultimately – Woody has made a career out of the romantic triangle. It’s how the inherent problems of a love triangle are solved that is different. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is in the Woody Allen part of the film. But perhaps for the very first time ever, the Woody substitute isn’t affecting Woody throughout the film. There are lines that easily belong coming out of Woody’s mouth and mind, but Meyers does a brilliant job of just not going for the easy delivery. Instead, he flattens the irony of the line and delivers it with hidden wit instead of obvious wit. It really is quite fascinating to see an actor so confident in his own delivery to just leave Woody behind. Then there’s Scarlett Johansson and Emily Mortimer – they’re just wonderful. Had there been 40 minutes of Scarlett nudity – the film easily would’ve been number one this year, but that was a costume design error that hopefully will be corrected in Woody’s next outing with the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Scarlett.
It’s strange – I’ve seen so many articles about this film, that it was only while watching the film that I realized – I’d never seen a trailer, nor had I read any of those articles. If you haven’t seen a trailer – keep it that way – JUST SEE THE MOVIE. Go in expecting a Woody Allen film. This is one of the greatest presents of the year. There’s a point where the genre of the film just suddenly takes a right turn and at that juncture – you’ll either get furious at Woody – or be twisted emotionally into knots. Me? Woody was making me out to be an overstuffed Pretzel by the end of this thing. Brilliant film. Wonderful surprise! Way to go Woody!
6. THE NEW WORLD
To read my full thoughts on this one, CLICK HERE! Malick’s abstract narrative about the life and loves of Pocahontas is an amazingly affecting and telling film about the time in which the world got a lot bigger. As I’ve said in my review – this is one of the most beautiful films – period. I would LOVE to see a 70mm screening of the film, and I dream of the PARAMOUNT here in Austin getting a special engagement of the film in that manner. It’s just stunning. But more than that – this is cinema’s power to take one to a completely different time and place. This film’s ability to just make the theater and age we live in – to just make all of that disappear for the 2 and a half hours or so… that’s just magic. Pure and simple. Magic. Malick puts a lot of soul in his films – this is brilliant work.
5. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
Miyazaki’s latest is pure genius. He effortlessly creates fantasy in a way unlike anything I’ve ever seen. There’s never painful exposition to explain the universe we find ourselves in, it’s simply there. This world of magic and technology and warfare and despair and love and pain and joy. It’s incredibly. I love how a little girl named Sophie can just be walking down the street, she can meet a young man, then suddenly they’re being pursued by strange tar monsters and walking on air above the city and the ordinary life in a hatshop – and the next morning she’s an old woman cured… and then there’s that scarecrow hopping about – and the magic and the invention… It’s an endless string of creative possibilities unleashed. Miyazaki, I feel starts over anew with each film. These are not variations, they’re wholly new worlds and dreams. This isn’t like any fantasy that I know, but I love it. This is just stunning work. They also did a pretty damn good job on the English version – though I still prefer the Japanese. This is my second favorite non-live-action film of the year.
4. STRINGS
STRINGS is my favorite non-live-action film of the year. Absolutely brilliant. Completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. A Danish Marionette film that is simply so much more than you could possibly guess without having seen it. First off – the English version is just awe-inspiring. The voice work by James McAvoy, Catherine McCormack, Julian Glover and Derek Jacobi – among others – is just superb.
Ultimately the film is a tale of Shakespearean proportions about ill-advised vengeance based on the information at hand. It’s about sinister manipulation of facts, political intrigue and the dark secrets of dead fathers and so much more. These strings do not reach up to human hands, but instead they soar up into the sky, beyond the clouds. Where do they come from? Where do they lead? How do they know to appear for a new carved baby?
This is a world where the life of a marionette has led to no roofs, Where an arch is an impasse of impenetrable proportions. Where having your strings cut means death. They have their own metaphysics and beliefs. It’s the most magical puppet film since the heights of DARK CRYSTAL. Brilliant work!
3. LADY VENGEANCE (aka SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE)
Known everywhere else in the world as SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, Tartan Films will be releasing this in March of 2006, but it’s played a few festivals, countries and Butt-Numb-A-Thon 7 – so it goes in my 2005 list.
This film doesn’t come out and slap you like OLDBOY did, instead this is a story that is structured very very differently. In fact – the first 40 or so minutes you might even begin to doubt Chan-Wook Park. But friends, it’s all brilliant set-up and absolutely everything pays off in spades. This film builds and builds and builds with infinite patience. It unfolds like a brilliant tale should. And when you begin to get your payoff – dear god. It’s fucking amazing. The vengeance this lady unfolds is unlike anything anyone could possibly imagine. First – we learn what it is that has been done to her. Then we learn pieces of the revenge, who the victim of her vengeance is to be… or the victims. Just think raincoats and scissors.
Lee Geum-Ja. Don’t fuck with her, ever. Wow.
2. V FOR VENDETTA
It’s okay to hate me for having this on my 2005 Best of List. But you have to understand, I went through an awful lot to make sure I saw this in 2005 – and I did it all on the blind fucking faith that it was going to do justice to Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s original work. There’s a part of my that believes the movie was the most lucid fantastic dream I’ve had all year. And it is for that reason alone that it is not Number 1. The movie I have in my head felt like a brilliant dangerous dream of a film. It made you want put on a mask and blow up shit. I was applauding dialogue like it was action scenes, coveting gestures like they were FX show pieces.
The story about the girl that dares to be different is a brilliant short story buried in this film. And Natalie Portman does the best work of her career. She’s absolutely raw emotionally. Just fantastic. And then there’s Hugo Weaving. You never see his face – hell, if all you knew him from was his Agent Smith – you’re about to meet an entirely different Hugo Weaving. His V voice is brilliant. The lines he has and the delivery of those lines… they’re exquisite. It’s as perfect as Karloff reading Seuss or Olivier doing Shakespeare or Samuel L Jackson doing Tarantino dialogue. It’s bliss.
The music, Biddle’s brilliant camera work, the design, the editing and the story telling, it’s just a dream. I absolutely love this film. I crave it. Everyone I know that saw it is dying to see it again. We sit around and look at one another and start talking about it. It comes March 17th – and for those that have seen it… trust me – it seems an eternity away.
1. HUSTLE & FLOW
Why is HUSTLE & FLOW my number one film of 2005? Because it shouldn’t be. Under no circumstance should a film about a low rent pimp with rapper dreams should appeal to a Hawaiian shirt wearing film geek. But ya know what – that’s the power of great cinema. I saw this film back in March and it continues to slap me around and says “WATCH ME!”
This is a film about dreams, about beginning again, about how it is never too late to turn your life around. How you absolutely must stop doing what you hate to do and change your life for the better – not next week, not next month, but start right now. I love this film. I love the story of the film, how it got made, how it found me, how against all odds I loved it.
I love how it takes the expectations of the Blaxploitation Genre and turns it on its ear. This is a tale about the worst sort of people in the world. A pimp – an exploiter of women. His “whores” and the people he convinces to join him on his dream. And no matter what – you’ll dream that dream, you’ll feel that desperation, that hurt, that expectation. This is a film with a very small budget but the best acting in cinema this year. In my opinion – this film deserves to not only be nominated for Best Actor with Terrence Howard – but I also feel that Paula Jai Parker should be nominated for Best Supporting Actress and that Craig Brewer should be nominated for writing and directing and that the film should be nominated for Best Film – and in my opinion it should win all of those – plus best song for either “WHOOP THAT TRICK” or “IT’S HARD OUT HERE FOR A PIMP” or “HUSTLE AND FLOW”!
Craig Brewer is the debut talent of the year and he came out against all odds and frankly made the best film of the year.
Well – that’s my Top Ten. I’ll be doing a top twenty preview – just as soon as I finish this doozy of a DVD PICKS AND PEEKS for January – what a great month of releases – so for now – I hope wherever you all are at – you’ve had a safe and happy new year. Let’s prey we get movies of this quality throughout 2006!
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happy new year
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But hey who doesn't write the wrong year in for the first few weeks? ;)
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2006? Hustle + Flow? Ok mate.
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Jan 01, 2006 7:04:52 AM CST
All I know Hugo Weaving from is Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
by half vader
Ha ha. ________________ So, is Hustle & Flow sort of like a Get Rich or Die Tryin' - done right? Um, I'm not joking this time.
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Big fan of the book, but can anyone fill me in on the Stephen Fry character? Who he?
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Jan 01, 2006 7:28:43 AM CST
The Conservative repressives over at Liberty film festival's
by pumpkinsboy
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Hustle and Flow is a very good film except for the overly pretentious tacked on ending. and DJ Qualls. don't know what the hell he was doing there. Rent it to watch Terrance Howard if anything. Craig Brewer's first film, "Poor and Hungry", is a better work of art but Hustle and Flow has its moments.
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His top 10 lists are the most original compared to anyone else's. Where else are you going to see a fucking Danish Marionette film appear on any list-EVER? I always discover great films like when last year he put Brotherhood of War at #1.
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blech, want to see Mori's one
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Okay, Harry's done a left turn with it and I don't actually believe him but it is a nice list all the same. I still don't think you'd want to rewatch half of those films, nor will you remember them. Also, who the fuck thought V For Vendetta would suck? It was being written by the Wachowski Bros, it may as well be their film. They know comics inside out, they are the only guys capable of putting Moore on screen intact. Kong was the best of the year, easy.
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http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000410/
This man is a genius and anyone who hears him speak must agree, the height of 'englishness' and simply the most intelligent person i have witnessed. he regularly MC's the British Film Awards and often has me in stiches. check out Wilde where he takes the lead role as Oscar Wilde, simply brilliant. p.s. also the voice of the Guide in Hitchhikers. -
And somewhere PJ is crying.
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i heard jim's dad wasn't even funny in it.
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It's not that great, overrated. I guess this means Harry liked Kong, but it wasn't the film he thought it would be.
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Jan 01, 2006 9:28:14 AM CST
The American Pie Camp flick is about at the same level as the An
by orionsangels
It's just not the same
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Jan 01, 2006 9:30:00 AM CST
The most original top ten list? Wow, that doesn't make it an
by orionsangels
This list is weak, but they are his picks. He just lowered his standards
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love it how he goes, wel I liked alllllll these movies... but here is my intelectual arty fary hipster list with movies that I didn't even tell anybody about! Well if they were so cool maybe you should have told us about it instead of pimping KINK KONG all year!!!
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And my hope for 2006 is no more films that think extended, gratuitous torture sequences are all you need to excuse an otherwise shitty movie with no plot. There's a reason the violence happens offscreen in classical Greek drama--because it's the after-effects and not the brutality itself that is important to the story. Now, I like me some stylized cartoon violence--especially when it's elegant and lethal like in a great martial arts flick, or even gory and goofy like in a zombie flick--but this Hostel crap is just no good. Seriously, man. I have no interest in watching pseudo snuff films. None. It's just gross. And the fact that it's gross isn't some kind of interesting aesthetic achievement. I'd feel the same way about a two hour film about a guy taking a shit or a documentary of Goatse (which might actually be interesting). There will always be a certain element that find a kind of sexual titillation in these movies, and that's fine (better onscreen than in real life), but you AICN people need to stop venerating a cheap-shot trend just because you're buddies with the director. Peace.
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For V for Vendetta
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I really hope this meets the hype and doesn't crap out like Cabin Fever and High Tension. As for the new trend of pseudo-snuff films as entertainment I completely agree. They are just as bad as the PG13 flicks that lead to this hyper-realistic horror trend. Hostel doesn't look scary, it looks depressing.
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It wasn't my fav of last year, but it was easily in my top 5. It seems to have disappeared off of most people's fav lists after coming out with HUGE critical buzz. Interesting...
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but a marionette film instead? what the fuck?
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V is rated R! Can you believe it? Obviously someone wants to make sure that younger people do not get any ideas or be inspired to questions the status quo. Or hinder the movie's success by the rating system. There is some violence, but WTF, you know? Trust me, as a parent, I don't think there is anything in this film that warrants an R. In my estimate I would guage this movie for kids over 10 who are interested in great movies that make you think, or the work of an outstanding cinematographer (RIP) or graphic novels. Certainly I would not object to any kid over 13 seeing this.
Perhaps the injustice of the R rating will be its best advertising.
Great list Harry, btw. -
I totally agree. In a perfect world Craig Brewer gets nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Director, Taryn Manning gets nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and Terrence Howard wins Best Actor.
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Jan 01, 2006 10:35:51 AM CST
Everyone...it's time to sing Dust in the Wind for 'Blue&
by judas booth
The actor from 'Old School' has died at age 86. YOU'RE MY BOY, BLUE!!!!
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Jan 01, 2006 10:37:41 AM CST
"My list is a bit different from the average critic, mainly beca
by kiddae
Jesus Christ man, I get that it is sometimes useful to differentiate between objective quality and personal preference, but isn't a top ten list supposed to be a fun little thing?
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I like the list - all great fucking films.
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"Munich" does "literally has it all?" Literally? So "Munich" has midget porn, dancing washing machines, Carrot Top and everything else possible? Because, you know, it LITERALLY has it all, right?
Yes, a pet peeve of mine is people who misuse the word "literally." -
hidden blade maybe, howls and sympathy for lady vengeance not so much though.
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I think this list reflects the year of surprises and discoveries. That is why I think this list is cool. King Kong is obviously one of Harry's favorites, a huge commercial success, a wonderful movie and doesn't really need an additional nod from Harry on this list. I like this list because it is primarily about movies that came out of the blue to be discovered and enjoyed. They are unexpected delights These are the movies that won't get hyped by the mainstream media and AICN and Harry provide the perfect forum to share his knowledgeable insights on what makes movies work, as he says, on so many levels as well as movies that are out there to be discovered beyond the hype.
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Simply for what you stated.You seek films from around the globe.I know every year your gonna have some films that most will ignore because of subtitles.I am surprised not to see Kim Ki Duk's 3 Iron on your list.Brilliant little film that seems like something you would love. Great list.
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I was sure your top pick would be King Kong, but you got my respect with picking Hustle and Flow, that's my favorite movie of the year, and I agree, it deserves to sweep the oscars.
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I've seen this film and enjoyed it quite a bit.It gets better with each viewing.Reminded me of films like Point Blank and Woo's The Killer.With films like Quiet Family,Foul King,Tale of Two Sisters and now A Bittersweet Life Ji woon Kim is a filmmaker to keep your eye on.
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Harry picks some weird shit every year. The only ones I've heard of are Munich and The New World (which aren't put in the UK yet) and V for Vendetta (which isn't out anywhere yet). My best films of 2005 are Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, King Kong, Narnia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Cinderella Man, Sin City, Closer and A History of Violence.
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that's MY number 1 movie of 2005...i can't stop watching it.i know it's simple plot wise,but it was SO well made,and for a crime movie buff/noir fanatic i couldn't help but fall in love.you people should see it...
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But it was one of my favorites of the year.
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because it wasn't that good. Hopefully PJ will discover the wonders of editing by his next film. And BDT, Kong a "huge commercial success"? Moderate would be a better word than huge.
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Jan 01, 2006 12:06:36 PM CST
Harry, I coulda sworn that you loved that Fog remake also...
by doom ii
Hmmm. Maybe it's early and you forgot about it. Munich did indeed rule. HEY, let's start ANOTHER Israel/Palestine debate. Those never get old....
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Jan 01, 2006 12:09:08 PM CST
As Far as I can tell, Harry loved Kong for how enjoyable it was,
by mrmatt
A History Of Violence. I haven't been fortunate enought to see it yet, but from Harrys review I was honestly expecting it to be at the number one spot.
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Jan 01, 2006 12:15:31 PM CST
Yes, Harry must list as many obscure films as possible to make s
by eppdude
The reason, I think, Harry largely chooses to ignore the more mainstream titles that he listed up top is to prove he's more "in the know" about film. Really an exercise in elitist film writing, Harry.
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that way no one can call you on it.
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Not my choices, but respectable... Personally, I didn't care for Hustle and Flow at all. It had all the right elements, but somehow, for me, it didn't work. *** I want more Worst Of... lists. Just big fun to pick on the trash that was released last year.
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Its called being open minded.The US isnt the only country that makes great films.God forbid you have to read subtitles to enjoy a film.Sure you may have to do a little searching but its worth it.With Netflix,region free dvd players and ebay most of these films are easy to track down.
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Well, I don't know about "huge" but in the season of winter blockbusters, King Kong has held #1 at the box office since it opened...but frankly, IMO, box office is the worst measure of movie success. Most movie critics liked Kong. Certainly Harry liked it, but he "expected" to like it, as he said in his BNAT review. As I said before, it seems like this list is about movies that surprised or exceeded expectations in some way . Harry's list seems to have inspired an interesting discussion, for a change, instead of the inane Lucas vs Jackson crap, blind fangroup loyalty, or Conservatives vs. Liberals putdowns and rhetoric that seems to dominate most talkbacks these days. For this reason alone, I am glad he left most of the "blockbuster" types of movies off the list, even though Kong is one of my favorites of the year.
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Normally I would ignore that kind of movie (Rapper chases his dream, oh my how touching) but I took it on faith and saw it anyway... maybe because I had seen everything else and needed my movie fix. Surprisingly, it was pretty damn good. I was impressed - but it is in no way, shape, or form top 10 material... or maybe it is, I havn't tallied my list yet but not many good movies are coming to mind right now. Wow did this year suck that much? Anyway, I saw at least half a dozen superior movies - not the least of which is Munich, #9 on your list. I also fucking hate you for having seen The New World and V for Vendetta.
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Also, where is "Lord of War" and "Good Night and Good Luck"? Also, I wonder what other movies got the shaft for your shit anime - Syriana maybe? I mean, Howls Moving Castle was pretty standard anime fare - like Steamboy meets Fooly Cooly meets Spirited Away (which Miyazaki also did).
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Come on Harry! The line, "Wait I just had this suit dry-cleaned" is reason enough for inclusion. Fucking classic!
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Utterly fantastic graphic novel, read it about 5 years ago and have been eagerly awaiting the movie since. Very disappointed with previous Moore adaps, but thank God they didn't stuff V up. In some ways, it's better than Watchmen - which needs to be made in a similar vein NOW btw!
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Jan 01, 2006 1:32:56 PM CST
Harry, you know you just wanted to shake things up with Hustle a
by terry_1978
You secretly like to revel in the disdain the geek populous has for anything hip hop related, come on, admit it.
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It's not that good.
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Not one Korean film, without Engish dubbing or subtitles, that you are able to understand through the power, of, dare I state, FILM? I am so bitterly disappointed. You break my heart Harry Knowles. You absolutely break my heart.
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Only one of those movies has played where I live and that was Hustle and Flow. It's so great being in a non-major city, so you can sit back and hear about how wonderful movies like Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, V For Vendetta, so on and so forth and not see them for another six months, when they finally come out on DVD. So, in short, fuck you and your list. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
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Wow, what an eclectic, too-cool-for-the-room list!
Any actual movies we want to see on this list?
But seriously now, why no Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith? Is it not worthy of your fanboy love? -
Why is everyone so hard on Harry? Really. This is HIS personal list. So because he doesn't have your favorite films on HIS list, he is crap or a sellout or stupid or gay or letting someone down? Jesus Henry Christ. You folks need to lighten the hell up. Make a New Years resolution to stop being such out and out A HOLES! This is HARRY'S site and he can say or do ANYTHING he wants. And if he wanted to put Sky High as his #1, he could because it's HIS personal list on HIS personal website. Y'all, not just can be, but ARE such huge A HOLES, ALL - THE - TIME. Lighten up!! You schmucks.
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Because as good as some of them may have been, NONE of them were ass kickingly good. And I mean NONE.
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ROTS was ass kickingly good. Any one who can join the claim that TESB is not only the best star wars film, but also possibly the best film of all time, would NEVER be so shallow as to not see the same brilliance in ROTS. I'm serious, I'll fight you on this!
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Yeah, it's hip to hate on Star Wars and Lucas is a sellout, blahblahblah. ROTS kicked ass so you all can suck it.
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The ironic thing is though, Kong was actually deserving to be somewhere on the top 10. Sure itwas overlong and full of flows but the things it did right (of which there was many) almost made you forget about tthem.
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kudos
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What I want to know is this: Where do King Kong or Revenge of the Sith rank on your "best" list. In the top 20? Top 30 maybe? I never understood separating "favorites" from "best". You don't do it with your all-time list so why now?
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NEW WORLD, MUNICH and MATCH POINT. HUSTLE AND FLOW wouldn't crack my Top 30.
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Where's Sin City??? Where's Serenity?? Where the fuck IS KONG? Does he do this just to include shit that most of us that live in areas that don't have their own mega Alamo Drafthouse could never get to see, just to feel superior??
Sin City is one of the most amazing movies I've EVER seen. It's THE BEST comic book movie I've ever seen. And that's not on there?
And you call yourself a geek? -
Herc, you call yourself a Whedonite? It was obviously the greatest movie this year. Either that or Batman Begins. You suck.
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... but sweet merciful christ, get off his back! He's not making this list for you. He's telling you what he thinks were the best films he saw in 2005. That's it. Some of you guys act as though a movie will disappear from the face of the earth if Harry leaves it off his list. Good god. You know why Serenity wasn't on his list? Because he didn't fucking think it was one of the ten best movies he saw this year. That's it. There's nothing else. If you thought it was, go write down a list and fucking put it on it.
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while others such as the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, are deliberate acts of malice. Which of of these is the conspiacy theory so popular among the more pretentious Talkbacker? You know, the theory that Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, and basically any other director that Harry likes or has a nodding acquaintance with, are actually talentless hacks without any ability to make a decent film whatsoever. Furthermore these charlatans have fooled the public into loving and cherishing their films by enlisting Harry Knowles, without whose hyperbole they would've flopped into the obscurity they so richly deserve. Of course the type of Talkbackers who hold this belief usually are those with delusions of being Great Auteurs themselves, but for the hype of Harry, the world would recognise their greatness! Having endured this sort of crap in Talkback after Talkback, I am so pleased to see this years Top Ten, I bet the little hatemongers are scratching their pointy heads in puzzlement as to why none of "Harry's cronies" are on the list.
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I was all set to mention in talkback that Hustle and Flow should have been on your list, and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be your first choice! Great call buddy. This was easilty my best theater experience of 2005. When Djay busts out for the first time in the studio, it was goosebumps time. Incredible movie from a seemingly preposterous setup. Cheers!
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Why is Cheaper By the Dozen 2 my number one film of 2005? Because it shouldn
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NEVER use the word pro-active. Nice concept for the list by the way.
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1 BATMAN BEGINS...2 BATMAN BEGINS...3 BATMAN BEGINS...
YOU GET THE PICTURE. -
Jan 01, 2006 6:16:26 PM CST
"because it shouldn't be" what kind of a reason is that??
by windowlicker74
alas, it's probably not as bad as get rich or die tryin'..
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And I heard that Strings is a genius concept, but as a film is really nothing special.
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Jan 01, 2006 6:35:50 PM CST
I keep hearing on these talkbacks that Kong bombed. Actually Mun
by thirteen 13
For the 3rd weekend in a row Kong been running neck and neck for first place against Narnia and showing no signs of slipping. If you want to go see a bomb go see Munich. My wife and I went and saw it and there were only two other couples there and they walked out of it halfway through leaving us alone. The same theater where we saw that piece of crap at has already reduced it to only two showtimes because nobody is seeing it. And its only been out for a week and its slipped from a debut of 9th place to 10th place. I guess a rabid Munich fan like Harry could argue that its only showing in 532 venues. True, but how do you explain 532 empty theater auditoriums, people walking out halfway through the movie, and this new media blitz I saw today telling me that EVERYONE is saying that Munich is the best movie and must-see movie of the year. If your looking at numbers Munich bombed. Its made 12 million so far on a 70 million dollar budget and it will be lucky to hit the 25 million mark. And DVD sales for it will be dreadful and will have all of ten people buying the holy shit, ultra directors cut, the version the republicans don't want you to see, restored into its original magnificent glory,uncut hit movie of the year DVD. Kong on the other hand is still a solid player in the box office and will make huge money with its holy shit super ultra directors cut DVD edition. The numbers don't lie folks. Kong isn't doing Lord of the Rings numbers but its also nowhere close to being a bomb, while Munich is very quickly vanishing off the map after only one week.
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I've stated this once already for Thirteen13. I don't care what theater you and your wife saw it at, MUNICH still has the second highest per screen average in America, just behind BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. It's release is still comparatively limited, and mark my words, it's final tally will render it far from being the 'bomb' you're predicting. Obviously not WAR OF THE WORLDS-type figures, but it will easily surpass $50m, and if it goes on to garner Oscar noms, it'll break $100m comfortably (noms always add at least 30% minimum). But who cares anyway really? In my mind, we're talking about two great works from two great filmmakers. If you don't care for one of them that's fine, but what is incessantly driving you to (inaccurately) propogate that it's a commercial bomb? Does it really matter to you one way or another? Would your admiration of KONG be any different if it took $100m more or less? We all know box-office figures rarely have any baring on the quality of the films in question. But for as long as we're talking about it, MUNICH will be a success in the States and will possibly be even bigger abroad - especially in Europe, no question about it.
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I was getting so wound up reading thirteen 13's ignorant post that I was already formulating a detailed reply...but luckily you saved me the trouble. There are so many annoying people with an axe to grind about Munich. I've seen other people claiming it's a bomb, people who either don't understand or willfully ignore the fact thats it's a staggered release. The per screen average is whats crucial, as you pointed out. And of course, the intention with a downbeat and extremely violent film like Munich was never huge box office anyway.
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That was a great movie and nobody knows about it. It seems more by accident than skill on Wexler Junior's part, but it's a fascinating debate about how documentaries should be made, about politics, about the relationships between fathers and sons and between husbands and wives. The scene at the beginning where Haskell is talking in a room full of camera equipment and his son asks him to say where he is and Haskell flips out made me cheer. He is so right about documentaries but so wrong about how to treat his own son. Also, the heartbreaking scene where he visits his ex-wife (who has Alzheimers) is probaly the most amazing scene I saw all year. *** I gotta call bullshit on these newsies saying Harry's list is "elitist." He's been doing lists like these for years, I'm sure you can catch on by now. If he had just listed the same movies everybody else is, you would criticize him for that. I'm sure there is an element of wanting to champion little known movies he loves and upcoming movies he has already seen, but so what. That goes into anybody's list. It's not like there's a scientific measurement of which movies you enjoyed most. (Or if there is let me know.) Anyway, I always enjoy Harry's lists. Always some surprises, some movies I never heard of or hadn't paid attention to (I am interested in Hidden Blade now) etc. And he has a good track record because alot of movies that have topped his list (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, I think he had Shaolin Soccer maybe) have gone on to become pretty huge later on when the rest of America saw them.
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For recognizing the greatest American film of 2005, HUSTLE AND FLOW. You got it right.
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so what exactly was it you liked about Sith, WOTW, Munich, Narnia, Serenity if you don't like to be 'preached' too, or shown the 'times or trials' of modern life. I think you'll find mos of the films on YOUR list had some form of political or spiritual message. Let me guess, you like explosions and guns. :) be cool
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Jan 01, 2006 11:22:36 PM CST
Maybe you should have considered putting movies in WIDE RELEASE
by dorkmanscott
Instead of the films you and maybe a dozen other people actually saw in 2005, which are in fact scheduled for a 2006 release?
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You put Batman Begins, Constantine, Unleashed and Serenity on your top ten of 2005. Here goes your opinion: FLUSH!
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flush!
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Jan 01, 2006 11:27:21 PM CST
List has no credibility if Narnia isn't on it, probably the
by antoniusbloc
A close second is The Great Raid, and Batman Begins must be somewhere at the top. V for vendetta? Give me a break.
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Your idea to put nipples on the Batsuit? Gay! The screenplay you wrote for Syriana fucking SUCKED, Clooney! Joseph McCartney was a PATRIOT!
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Wow. Maybe you could post an URL for me or something...
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..as if any of us should really care about Knowles top ten list anyway.
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my final project is going to suck more donkey nuts than gus van rant... yet i continue to visit this site. good list harry.
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The film accomplishes much that the book does with the story working on many levels. The depth of this fairy tale is felt even by those unaware of the Christian philosophy it reflects. Credit must be given to the director, Andrew Adamson, for this brilliant translation. After multiple viewings, I believe this film has its own identity, despite the otherwise positive influence Lewis's friend Tolkien had on his writing. The similarity is mostly in the message that our desires for such worlds as Narnia is a reflection of a mysterious objective desire within us, and belief in such worlds does not defy logic. And after multiple viewings, I enjoy the final battle scene more and more. Great action, and really well done. The performances are also great. If this film is not nominated for Best picture for any type of film award, then the bias against Christian films will be obvious(after the snub of the Passion, which clearly should have at least been nominated.)
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but you keep on proving what a dumbass you are by not being able to understand anything. I know, I know, it was a pretty unfair joke to imply that you may get the last names "McCarthy" and "McCartney" mixed up. It is pretty brilliant, however, that you didn't get it.
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... Through an atomic straw. Bitches just want to bully their shit into awards shows, and then whine about a 'bias'. Hey, spare me the shitty talking animals pal. Dress it up for Christ all you want, you aren't getting any extra brownie points from the G.O.D. or the Oscars.
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Quote: ''Piss on anything resembling the "times" and the "trials" of modern life, UGH enough already.'' End Quote... Please, please, please soil yourself on your own time, trash. Your ignoring of reality, even in cinema, is sickening and childish.
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It's been a couple of years since Open Range, and people like that one, right? It's not like Postman was his last one...
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I agree that this a damn good film... Terrance Howard hits it out of the fucking ballpark. And Taryn Manning was good and sexy too...all the actors were great, but Terrance Howard really sold it...he's one to watch.
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because I purposely spelled "McCarthy" as "McCartney." My post was mocking yours by agreeing with you in your own voice. You come off as not knowing shit about anything, someone who would, conceivably, call Joseph McCarthy "Joseph McCartney." It's pretty funny that I have to explain it. Twice. Heck, I
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i'm not taking sides but...whenever somebody makes that reference i laugh.crash sucked btw.
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Jan 02, 2006 3:09:28 AM CST
I love how the more indignant you get, the worse your spelling a
by kintar0
I never said that Lucas didn't have the whole thing planned out. And for the record, ROTS would be my favorite film of 2005. Sure, it's common knowledge that Lucas planned the make a whole raft of Star Wars films and he knew more or less what was going to take place in each one. No shit, sherlock. But the fact remains that he didn't write the screenplay for ROTS until after he finished post on AOTC. There was even a webdoc on hyperspace.com about it. It even showed him actually beginning to write the script on his customary yellow memo pad with his usual Derwent 3H. Again, just because you don't get or understand the subtext, doesn't mean that it's not there. If you honestly think that Lucas writes without any outside influence, you are severely mistaken.
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Jan 02, 2006 3:25:28 AM CST
Kudos to HARRY for *not* including WAR OF THE WORLDS, that piece
by spacesheik
good list harry, much better list than quints i can tell you that mate
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Jan 02, 2006 3:29:52 AM CST
Pantera, I'm not giving you shit or taking sides against, bu
by bendersshinyass
Lucas did NOT shop 6 screenplays to studios and it was NOT a studio decision to go with the 4th because they thought it would make the most money. I don't know where you get your delusions lazer brain. Lucas wrote a first draft called 'the star wars' and it followed characters like Mace Windu, Luke Starkiller and Anikin Skywalker. The Character of Chewbacker was a big green lizard and C3po was a superior robot. there was a chase through an asteroid field and a hunt for some crystals which held a power of the universe called the force. It was weak. and it was trashy. Lucas himself always wanted to make a buck rogers/flash gordon style film, as it was the old serials before the features that used to get his juices flowing. It wasn't until a turn down from every major studio that he started to rework his script. Which is what most film makers and screen writers do. They have an idea. And over time it gets fleshed out. (A reason why some films are good in concept yet shocking in execution) So he was having a meeting with 20th century fox and that studio was in trouble. The back lots were all but empty and Lucas had employed an artist to airbrush some concept painting for him. (Much like he still did to this day with artists right through out all his pre-production) and THAT is what got him the limited budget he needed to make his film. It wasn't a 4th script he decided to go with. It was a second half to the story which he felt was stronger than the first which he went with. There was also logistics to filming which also made him have to make MANY cuts to hs story. So he figured that because his story was in 3 parts (like any good 3 act structured story) he soon discovered that his 'second act' was so big he had to split it up again in a 3 act structure of its own. Lucas wasn't concerned at all with episode 1, 2 & 3. In fact, making his film he decided to call it episode 4 just as a hint that this was part of a bigger story. Sure the man had the deep seeded idea to one day have ALL his episodes made. But for now he was only concernede with the reality of what he had. the second half of the story, told through a wonderous new approach to film making and special effects. Even after episode 6 the man wasn't interested in making any more star wars. It wasn't until over 10 years later he decided to go back over his 'notes' (Not scripts) and flesh out a whole new trilogy. Even now the man has no plans to make the next trilogy....... but he DOES have notes. And one day we may be fortunate enough to hear the news that he's going to make them. But so many fuckers have given him shit over his prequel trilogy it just doesn't seem worth it to the guy. Besides...... The 6 films he has now are solid. And complete. But it was never a solid and complete plan in the 70's when he was geering them up for production. do some research babe.
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...but I do realize how passionate you get about politics Harry, and I feel like this is something that has to be addressed. What I want to know is this: does the love you have for this film have anything to do with your political convictions? Understand that I'm not trying to incite a political debate, but I'm trying to calibrate my own expectations of the film. I dearly want to believe that 'V for Vendetta' is a fantastic movie, and enough positive reviews have hit the boards to at least inspire confidence that it'll be better than average, but for it to come within a whisper of (in your opinion) the best film you saw all year is no faint praise, from anyone.
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A "draft" is a different version of the same thing, not six different episodes.
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Because I heard from spielberg's mouth in an interview that When lucas saw the dinosaurs in Jurrasic park, his eyes lit up and proclaimed right then and there "I can now make the next star wars trilogy". As for financial trouble. Well, the man was never in any danger of being poor. But the issue with most multi millionaires, especially billionairs, is that when their bank accounts diminish to about 10 - 20 million, they feel as if they are broke. Like a prominant australian celebrity who started telling everyone how broke he was, but it came to light that his bank account still had a balance of $400,000 in it. Proportionately, you can see how that would hurt an ex-millionare. But Lucas was never in any real financial strife. It was the release of his special editions that both a) reminded him that star wars was still popular, if dormant and B) rejuvinated his bank balance to fully self finance his next star wars films. As for JEJ interview about vador being injured in lava. I don't know how, but I've always known that myself. It just seemed to be the folklore when I was a youngin. Obi-wan mortally wounded Anakin and he fell into a lava pit. It turned out much better than I'd ever imagined. And watching ROTS it was clear that Lucas had a vision for these characters. Hope you're feeling better.
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I'll never see most of those films, since they don't appeal to me. I might stretch to see howls Moving castle, but that's about it. The only way I'll see Hustle and Flow is if I'm captured in Iraq and they torture me by making me watch. Glorifying this behavior and disguising it as "culture" will be the death of this country.
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Blue is dead and all you fuckers can do is sit there and prattle on about Harry's "Look how cultured and intellectually superior I am" Best of 2005 list ? Am I in bizzaro world ? I mean, it's fucking BLUE, man. I wonder if his family will play Dust in The Wind at his funeral. I mean, you practically have to, don't you ? And as for Harry's list, I haven't seen a single fucking movie on there, so I have no comment. Personall I think The Island was the best movie of 2005, because they shot the street chase scene under my office window and I got to look out the window and see Scarlett Johannson's beautiful boobs bouncing up and down as she ran down the street. Mmmmmm.
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I'll buy Terence Howard's PERFORMANCE in Hustle & Flow as best of the year - or one of the best, anyway. That opening monologue is riveting, frankly. But the film itself fails to live up to Howard's performance. It's a nice feel-good story about the little guy following his dreams and having them pay off. It's entertaining. That's about all you can say. It lacks any depth or complexity that would make it worthy of a "best of" list, in my opinion - let alone be sitting at the top of such a list. If Hustle & Flow is "best of the year," then to me, Cinderella Man is an equally viable choice - both films operate on about the same level. They take similar approaches to different subject matter, sprinkle in some fine perfomances (Paul Giamatti, anyone?) and achieve roughly the same result. I wouldn't rank Cinderella Man in my top twenty, frankly, even though I enjoyed it - just like I enjoyed Hustle & Flow. But, hey, it's Harry's site, so what the fuck?
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'nuff said
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Jan 02, 2006 9:58:28 AM CST
Will the 2006 list consist of films that are not only not releas
by big bad clone
A puppet movie? Seriously, a puppet movie?
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To clarify about Lucas's original plans for Star Wars - he went through several drafts of one script which had the same basic structure throughout, but the characters and settings changed. He wanted the film to appear as if it were the middle chapter of an old cliffhanger serial. In writing the various drafts, he generated a backstory (which he didn't intend to film). This included the origin of Vader and Palpatine's rise to power (read the prologue in the novel of A New Hope, it's very close to what happened in Episodes I-III). He also had ideas for sequels (which he did want to make), although he admits in the Jedi DVD commentary that he didn't have that much - the Death Star was previously supposed to appear in the third movie only. The climax of the first movie was to be on a jungle planet (like Endor). The Luke/Emperor confrontation was always planned for film three.
Lucas has said in interviews that the two main reasons he held off from making the prequels were to raise his kids and to wait for the technology to allow him to do what he wanted. Clearly, the Special Editions and his extensive use of digital FX on the prequels bear this out (Lucas said he could not have adequately depicted Coruscant in the 70s and 80s). It's true that Jurassic Park convinced him that the technology was now ready for him to realise the prequels to his satisfaction (he could have passed them off to someone else beforehand if he simply wanted the money).
As for the social commentary, Lucas has stated that the rise of the Empire is based on history. And many people reckon the Ewoks were a metaphor for the Vietnamese (technologically-primitive natives battling a technologically superior force). This is likely as Lucas was developing Apocalypse Now at the same time as Star Wars. -
Jan 02, 2006 11:40:33 AM CST
Panterarocks, Lucas said the ewoks represented the US conflict i
by citizen arcane
Whether it worked or not, Lucas was trying to say something. And I can't be convinced that AOTC and ROTS wasn't a direct allegory for the Bush administration. Or maybe more accuratly, the political scenario in those films has been so common througout history and Dubya's just the latest example.
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Jan 02, 2006 11:47:30 AM CST
I would prefer a "Non Foreign Language" Top 10 List, Harry. Com
by ted striker
I'm disappointed.
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Clooney just inherited them. Joel Schumacher (yes he's gay, big fucking deal) came up with the idea from Roman soldiers' breastplate armour. Hey why don't you go tell Titus Pulo he looks gay?
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Here I was thinking that Harry's "best of" was instigating an interesting discussion on an interesting list. Unfortunately the 12-30 year old Lucas fanboys have to strut and pose about their SW mental databases. Waitng for more Kong/Jackson put-downs, mindless Whedon emotional investors endlessy throwing in their .02 on the greatness of Serenity, and Karl Rove cronies/trollers ready to hop on and kill anything that smacks of Harry's "liberal leanings". Such is the digression of almost every friggin' TB on this site. Hustle and Flow. First of I do not understand, on this MOVIE site why movies are dismissed as unenjoyable and accused of gloriyfing uncomfortable or negative. Most of the time the TBers who do this won't even see the film in question because they have assumed something about it... (Hooligans anyone?) Can you enjoy a film because it is entertaining, or well-made and/or thought-provoking even if it shows things outside the realm of your everyday beliefs or experiences? In fact, I hate the pimpy/misogynous/ lowlife/druggy lifestyle of the protagagonist in Hustle & Flow, but LOVE the film itself simply because I'm never FORCED to like him or sympathize with him and the movie makes no attempt to glorify about that lifestyle. There are no cliches which imply that he is really a wonderful guy and simply a victim of his circumstances. He makes mistakes, leads the life he leads by a mixture of his own decision to do so and a kind of denial of hope disguised as being pragmatic. The film works because the acting is wonderful, the story is unusual, and it is an independent film that wouldn't get much attention if it weren't for people like Harry giving it a chance. I found myself cheering for DJay by the end of the movie because he was a flaw-ridden non-hero who had one quality that we all crave, the guts and tenacity to pursue and hang on to a dream. He receives an epiphany that reveals his own talent and creativity as the only thing he REALLY has in life and produces an almost childlike wonder and innocence that feed the faith needed to embrace his dream. I applaud Harry's decision to put this as #1. Similarly, V for Vendetta might also evoke negative talkbacks because some ignorant jerks will say it glorifies violence or destruction. It is simply telling a story and how a person responds to that story says more about that person than it says about the movie. Fortunately V succeeds on so many levels of storytelling and cinematic artistry, that it will only be a sad loss to those who choose not to see it because FOX news condemns it as glorifying terrorism.
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Track down the "Annotated Star Wars Script" bok from the mid-90s. You'll find out how wrong you are on the development of the STAR WARS scripts.
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i liked it. had a lot of laughs. i did point out a jim carrey in-joke with batman forever, when jane asks dick about "this funny movie with val kilmer.." i pointed out in a split second it was an in-joke to jim carrey's riddler days. oh, yeah and alec baldwin good again in this too.
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MY BALLS ITCH!!!
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Jan 02, 2006 1:06:51 PM CST
Chronic (what?) beat out Kong this weekend at the BO. That'
by hypeendshere
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But hey, whatever.
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I would not describe that as one of the best films that I saw this year. In fact I think it was sitting on a shelf for a while. The longer it went on the more bored and uninterested I became in the film. Some of it was very pretty but I just got the feeling Miazaky lost control of all aspects of the story, there was a point where i felt the movie was over edited or somebdy tightened the financial pursestrings. Where on your list was the fabulous wallace and gromit. oh wait your list is an indy list. In Dublin there is only once arthouse cinema called the Ifi. Oh and by the way for me personally the best documentary of the year was Peter Lennon's re-released The rocky road to Dublin.
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Jan 02, 2006 1:51:41 PM CST
You're easily amused jig98. Anyone still laughing at jim car
by orionsangels
I mean jim carey starts with 3 big movies, fine its fresh and new. Then he does cable guy, probably his best comedy IMO and he showed he could play a different style of comedic character. Then he plays the riddler and its the same ol jim carey, bruce almighty, same ol jim carey. even the truman show. He keeps playing the same jim carey role. Ok Jim Carey does drama's sometimes, but you never take him seriously and its usually an uninteresting character. Jim needs to play a fresh original character. Because he's become stale
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People like mark Keromde and Dave fanning. Fanning believes that movies are entertainment, should not be analysed as anthing more than that. Kermode Believes the opposite view that if you look carefully, the writer and director are trying to tell you something. An example of this is alien. Fanning believes alien is nothing more than a very scary and highly entertaining monster in space movie. Kermode believes that Alien is sub-conciously/conciously written piece based upon Freud thoery about men's biggest nightmare is having children and the face hugger is actually is vagina shaped to inpregnate john hurt. Nonsense and get over yourself says fanning. its just a monster movie and so the argument goes on. Kind of like why Bragg hates rolf harris. Bragg believes the BBC should show docs about art theatre and culture and that rolf harris isnt culture.
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Jan 02, 2006 2:20:14 PM CST
Jim Carey is extremely talented but he needs to stop falling bac
by chief redcock
...maybe he should do more stuff with Charlie Kaufman? He seems insanely talented to me, but I think he feels the need to appeal to his fanbase at least occasionally with films like Bruce Almighty et al. Jim, in spite of what the Academy might think, we know you're a great actor... you don't have to go back to the old you. Keep broadening your horizons, its yielded good things.
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King Kong: 21.3 million
Narnia: 19.8 million
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Actually, it was $24 million, which is respectable for week #3. Despite being neck and neck with Narnia, Kong's doing just fine. The lack of competition helps greatly of course. I bet if Jackson hired an editor and saved some of the indulgent stuff for the DVD, they could have squeezed out another $50mill
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for #1. Remember, I loved Munich, I loved the Constant Gardener, I loved Kong. But my favorite is Walk the Line. I can't explain why, it's fairly formulaic, but Phoenix and Witherspoon are spellbinding. Phoenix has always been one of my favorites ever since Gladiator and Signs, but I never expected such a thing from Witherspoon. I'll see everything she does from now on. Walk the Line, #1 for me.
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It is staggering how absolutely wrong you are about the history of Star Wars. Every single thing you wrote is either mostly wrong or totally wrong.
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So, Lady Vengeance, Hidden Blade, and Tell them who you are... are all better than king kong...
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Hustle and Flow is better than Kong, also...
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Head over to dreadcentral.com and watch as the Great White Boll refers to Harry and Quint as "five fat retards." And I did not just double post.
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1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe $32.8M
2. King Kong $31.6M IMDB estimates. Variety and Hollywood Reporter confirm similar.
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He's an angry, angry man.
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Because from his filmography he sucks major ass or either picks the worst films in history to do. Give him credit though, no one else would do those films. I like how he calls people retarded with a filmography like that. Pot Kettle Black.
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wasn't TEAM AMERICA? wtf
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Howard is freaking awesome! I think Howard should get best actor and Craig Brewer should get NOMINATED for best screenplay.
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Gimme a break.
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Jan 02, 2006 6:50:45 PM CST
I don't know about the rest of what Panterarocks said but Lu
by citizen arcane
She did a little editing work on the original Star Wars and got like half his shit and left him with the adopted kid. No wonder Return of the Jedi featured a huge, vagina with tentacles and sharp teeth that imprisoned men and slowly devoured them over 1,000 years. So anyone who complains about how much money Lucas makes can eat it, he deserves everything he has.
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Jan 02, 2006 7:01:22 PM CST
I think Harry's particular brand of hackery is the kind I ca
by industrykiller
He shouts from the rafters how much he loves film but at this point he does more to hurt them as an institution. He has a voice in the industry and seems to squander it. There always seems to be motive behind what he claims to love. For instance it's clear that a film being from another country and not well known increases his enjoyment of it exponentially. Also when he decides to love a film or a director before he has seen the work it seems nothing changes his mind no mater the result. His reviews read as justifications or excuses for why he loves said film rather than an actual examination of what is onscreen. He loves being able to put blurbs in his lists about how he saw a movie two years before everyone else. I mean look at his faves list. Because you know Brokeback Mountain and Capote don't hold a candle to genius work like the fucking Devils Rejects and Hostel. WHat a jackass. Oh and apprently Marionettes pack more emotional punch than Munich. These aren't even matters of opinion. They're just flat wrong. But I guess everything is subjective and on a site where batman begins tops most of the readers lists it's par for the course. God whatever happened to good taste?
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is Dreamer not on here? Apox on thee!
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My God. Ok let's spell it out in language a retard can understand. The Original trilogy is brilliant, the Prequels are awful films. They have horrible dialogue, acting, editing, boring fights, constant continuity flaws, and add terrible additions to the mythology of the SW universe (i.e. midiclorians). these are facts. Now if you liked them that's fine but don't even attempt to argue that they are worthwhile as being thought of as good films. They are guilty pleasures at best. Accept this. Just because you like something doesn't make it good. it doesn't mean you can't like it it just means you cannot defend it. Think of it like this; if you like Duran Duran that's fine, they are fun and write infectious pop songs, but don't try to compare them to Led Zepplin or get angry when people rightfully point out their lack of substance. Now they do have jedis (or reasonable facsimiles thereof), aliens, lightsabers, and spaceships but that is really all they have in common with the OT. If that is good enough for you then fine but quit trying to push this shit on the rest of us. If somone doesn't put Episode 3 on their top ten list it's probably because they wanted more than these base factors. Also quit trying to justify the stupid shit that happens in Episode 3. My favorite so far is that the Jedis next to Windu went down without reacting to Palpatine is because htey were clouded by a dark aura. Where the fuck do people coem up with this shit?? Nowhere in 6 films is a dark aura that freezes master Jedi mentioned. I have a theory, they didn't eat their Wheaties that morning. What? It's just as plausible. I could go on and on but I don't have time to pick out the rest of the films 100,000 moments of bullshit. Oh and I'm not a "hater". I love how people use that term so they can easily brush aside arguments against the films that they have no reasonable response to. I love Star Wars, the originals are my three favorite films and I tried my absolute damndest to love the prequels and held off harsh judgement for 6 years until even Episode 3 let me down to judge harshly. And trust me I was not expecting brilliance. So if you think I hated these films automatically I hate to burst your ignorant little bubble. They earned my disdain fair and square.
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Jan 02, 2006 7:25:38 PM CST
Harry should have based his Top 10 Best Films Of 2005 on movies
by iamlegolas
...not one's he happened to have seen in 2005 at some festival. STRINGS and TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE technically are from 2004. V IS FOR VENDETTA isn't coming out until 2006. THE HIDDEN BLADE is from 2004, coming out in limited release here in the U.S. in 2006.
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Jan 02, 2006 7:31:58 PM CST
To the guy whose balls itch and wanted to know how to be first.
by prof.ikamono
First, you must have no life. No job, no sex, no interests, never see any of the movies everybody is posting about, nada, zilch, utter geek loser. Spend ALL of your time 24/7 on AICN main page. Click to refresh button constantly. Don't blink. The nanosecond a new item appears jump on it like Harry on a bag of chips. For God's sake don't stop to see what the item is about or all is lost! Just post immeadiately the message: FIRST! Odds are six other no-lifes will have gotten in ahead of you so you will have to do it again. And again, and again, and again. Hopefully you will not be clever enough to hook yourself up to an intravenous feeding drip, and so will starve to death waiting for your pathetic moment of glory. Then the Talkbacks will belong to those of us interested in the damn films we're supposed to be talking about.
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It's just too bad this isn't a thread about Star Wars.
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Jan 02, 2006 7:33:27 PM CST
harry what about all the great documentaries actually released t
by ectocriminal
march of the penguins, born into brothels, grizzly man, murderball...all wonderful cinema, almost none of them even mentioned on this site all year.
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My 4th Chan-wook Park movie and i think by far its his best. Its simply amazing. everyone see it when you can.
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They're your opinions and I don't recall anyone drooling over the prequels in this thread, although they're not half as bad as the internet fanboys say. So if you see a post about Lucas, just ignore it. Every instance of Lucas being mentioned doesn't have to be answered with the same tired, usually uninformed bullshit. It's over, the films are done. Move the fuck on.
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Knowles is a hypocrite.
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With not as much pressure of heavy blockbuster success on them, I was pretty sure the Washowski's were going to guide another winner. Bound and the first Matrix were both quite strong. So this isn't too surprising.
http://www.vongo.com - where do you Vongo? -
By no ones estimation does Episode 3 have good writing or acting. At least those two things are facts. Yes you could argue that everything is subjective and that there is no such thing as good or bad art but then even more art would probably be horrible and I cannot live in a world where art is worse than it is already. SO let's have some fucking standards.
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Google is a search engine, so there aren't any articles on it, just found by it. The six different drafts you speak of weren't six seperate, different episodes but six different versions of the same story. Lucas didn't make the Prequel Trilogy until the technology was developed enough so that he wouldn't be frustrated by limitations. That's why he updated the special effects on the Original Trilogy, as a sort of test to make sure digital technology and CGI was at the level he was interested in. He was never satisfied with the special effects on the Original Trilogy. Wikipedia doesn't support any of your claims, either. Sure, he did get a divorce in 1983, and sure, as with any rich couple, she was awarded a portion of Lucas' estate. But you're making connections that are not facts, but merely based on speculation. The burden of proof is on you, not us. Until you post some actual proof besides "I heard it from his own lips! I remember!" you're just a crackpot. Now go get your fuckin' shine box.
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Jan 03, 2006 2:25:14 AM CST
George LOONEY! Get It??!! I took his name and made it different!
by industrykiller
Cause you know he's CARAZEEYYY!!! Like Looney. boy I hope that pinko commie and his excellent films, flourishing career, critical acclaim, and love of the American public sees this post from his villa in Italy after nailing a supermodel. He'll be so cross! Heehee!! And he has sex with men. Democratic men! Oh SNAP!! got him again. I've really got my finger on the pulse of politics. WOOOO!
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Maybe if you cut down on the pie and the indignant rage, you wouldn't need the heart surgery. You're just some crackpot troll who doesn't know what he's talking about. Dimebag would've hated you.
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I'll have to work on that. Although mostly I can't be blamed, geographically challenged you see.
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It's like, "here's a list of movies, most of which you've never heard of, which makes me in the know."
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Erm, the Vader falling in lava backstory was mentioned by Lucas around 78 in an issue of Starlog. He didnt,however, have 6 films planned back in 76. In fact the "Episode 4" tag in the opening crawl didnt exist in 1977 and was added later as an afterthought when Lucas decided he had a franchise on his hands.
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I agree with Trazadone. I'm great cuz i watched all these films that you've never heard of. I don't know why I even look at this site anymore.
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Jan 03, 2006 9:46:45 AM CST
well, if you're going to go there..... The best movie of 200
by hypeendshere
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I vote to have a permanent Star Wars talkback that never leaves the main page! God it never gets old! Let me chime in on the whole debate. Who cares about the original scripts and stuff? It doesn't matter. The emperor was a character back then, obviously, and in order for Star WArs to be an allegory of the Bush regime, Lucas would've had to be predicting Bush's rise to power way back when he was still doing lines of coke off his daddy's oil barrels. Highly unlikely. I guess you could make the argument that the Emperor became an allegory of Bush in writing the scripts for the prequels - except that Lucas has been quite forthcoming in his research process for writing them. He studied the rise to power of various dictators throughout the course of history. It just so happens that the recent decisions made by the US government mirrors the rise of a dictator in some ways. And there is no doubt that the "Safe and secure" line in RotS was an obvious allusion to the current political rhetoric.
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What an absolutely overrated film. I dont get whats so great about it.
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...and the best part was reading all the comments along the lines of "no Kong, but some movie about puppets!!!!1111 OMG WTF???". Man, so many talkbackers just come across as............ignorami. Awesome list. I haven't seen Hustle and Flow, but I'll give it a try, and see if I feel the same as you!
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Jan 03, 2006 11:10:56 AM CST
Wow... that's the Worst Top 10 list by an accredited critic
by r.c. the "wise"
compiled their list of work that was accessible to the public in some form of medium (Movie theatre, DVD, Netflix, or international DVD specialty shops), yet you included films that the average, hell, aspiring film buffs aren't able view. For that, I consider that list utterly ridiculous and translucently pompus. I must say I'm sadly disappointed. I'm sure those are all excellent pieces of ART that should be experienced, but try to keep the list to films that we've heard about or could easily read about in an easily accessible magazine or trade paper. Yesh! I would agree that Munich and Hustle and Flow are two films deserving to be included in anyone's Top 10 2005 list.
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Yes, I know, it's so cool to hate that film now. Go ahead and ride the wave, you mindless automatons, many of whom I'm almost positive praised it when they first saw it early last year. To be clear, I am NOT claiming it
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Jan 03, 2006 12:36:54 PM CST
Has anyone ever come across some web site called super shadow (o
by bendersshinyass
there is some hard core star wars masturbation going on in there.
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I'll see that my name is jackson and it happens here!!
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I think this Panther Rock guy is missing something. George Clooney is an example of what every guy in his position should be doing. Yes, he was in that Batman movie and after that he publicly said that he now had enough money and had been humiliated enough that he would never do anything just for the money again. Since then his track record has been pretty incredible. All the Soderbergh movies, the Coen brothers movies, directing Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night and Good Luck, the live tv version of Fail Safe, etc. I mean how many people are there in Hollywood who only do movies they believe in? And in his case most of them are either good or great. Also Panther you made one other mistake, George Clooney is not a communist and it would make you look like a jackass if you called the guy who directed a movie about McCarthyism a communist. I mean, that type of namecalling would look just absolutely incredibly ridiculously stupid and ignorant. And you're not that I'm sure so you should probaly clarify what you actually meant there. thanks bud.
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I'm surprised he's still making shit up. When the prequels were still being made, he just pulled out a lot of fake spoilers out of his ass. Maybe now that it's all over, he should give it up.
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Clooney was the voice of that dog in an early episode of south park!
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What a complete and utter fucking cop-out. So what you're saying is, you have really shitty taste? Well the fact that HUSTLE & FLOW is your number one pick pretty much proves that. Newsflash Harry: Not even its intended audience found HUSTLE & FLOW to be that great. Picking it #1 comes off as a pathetic attempt to garner some street cred. And calling KING KONG one of your faves and using that as the reason to leave it off this list... wow. You know it sucks but you just can't admit it. You're too heavily invested in the film and Peter Jackson to be honest. Sad.
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Nuff said! The "Wise One" has spoken. er... The "Wise One" has typed!
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Jan 03, 2006 5:29:00 PM CST
If Harry is doing a top ten based on films he saw in 2005 then w
by big bad clone
that included The Godfather 1& 2, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Goodfellas, and so on? Harry needs to set some better rules about this ---- Oh and Clooney is hilarious.
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Jan 03, 2006 5:36:58 PM CST
to all those bitching about harry's list being too obscure..
by chief redcock
go fuck yourselves up the ass with a rusty shovel. the whole point of making a list like this is to expose people to good movies that they might not have otherwise heard of. if you can't grasp this concept, you're obviously a brainless dipshit who shouldn't be watching movies in the first place. you'd be better off playing grand theft auto, max pane, and masturbating to your picture of peter jackson. what a bunch of ignorant bitches...
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Jan 03, 2006 5:38:36 PM CST
oh, and clooney is cool. he's like a bizarro world version
by chief redcock
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Jan 03, 2006 7:03:29 PM CST
Ummm... putting a Danish puppet movie on your "best of..." list
by drunken rage
is pretty fucking stupid. How many of the AICN readers will seek it out? Any? Can you get any more esoteric? What, no Congolese mime movies this year?
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Im amazed that not on the list. One of the best films of the year that never gets old.
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Hell, I don't agree with Mel Gibson but I think it's cool that he went nuts and made a Jesus movie in Aramaic. For me personally I would rather see Payback 2 but fortunately for Mel Gibson, his life is not all about just pleasing me. I think it's admirable that he risks his Hollywood superstar status to do personal, possibly insane projects. And I like his new beard too. Also, I agree that Harry should only put mainstream movies that everyone in the whole world has already seen, because it would be bad if somebody found out about a movie they didn't know about. Wait a minute, no, I don't agree with that. Never mind.
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on both fronts actually. mel haters and the haters of harry's list both have one major thing in common: they expect people to tailor their creative tastes to them. these individuals can go pick up a smoking hot copy of 'the island' if they want to find out what happens to films when they're tailored to prospective audiences. yup, nothing new there and these people will bitch about it up and down. but new stuff on harry's list or in mel's films...we have haterfuel! it seems people want their horizons expanded for them (fighting hard not to make tasteless joke in this space). also vern why the fuck don't you have one of those black aicn headers? you deserve one for the reviews and tb insights.
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Jan 03, 2006 8:20:01 PM CST
Harry should come up with a list called "Top Ten Movies I Saw in
by hypeendshere
oh wait, he did.
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Well we're not disagreeing that much, but yes I do think he's a good director. Good Night and Good Luck is not perfect but I do think the directing is the best thing about it - the cinema verite type acting and sound, smoky minimalistic black and white cinematography and I like that he chose to have jazz songs and no score. Of course he's imitating the style of old Robert Drew documentaries but that's cool, why not? I think it takes skill to pull it off as well as he did. I also thought Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was real clever in the way he worked tv set designs into the scene transitions and what not. (that makes no sense if you haven't seen the movie but I don't know how to describe it.) Syriana is kind of disappointing (good but not great) but by no fault of his own, he is good in it as an actor. Finally, the Collinwood one, I haven't seen that and I believe you that it's bad. But almost all of this stuff has one thing in common, that they are done by great directors (even if they are their lesser movies) or they have interesting/daring subject matter (Syriana) and some of them are completely uncommercial (Solaris) or supposedly unfilmable (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind). Anyway there is one thing you might agree on, this is the one I feel strongest about: OUT OF SIGHT is a fuckin classic. Also THE LIMEY, but since he's not in that and had nothing to do with it I will only give him partial credit for that.
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I like the guy. As Vern said he has gone out of his way to work with good directors or challenging projects. I'm not a big fan of the Ocean's movies but i won't begrudge the man a living. And I think to a degree he has challenged himself as an actor, he has tested himself comedically, not something that is easy or safe, while taken on meatier roles that posses some depth with Solaris (I prefer to think of this movie as slow or 'deliberately paced', rather then boring) and Syriana- which I have not seen, but have heard that his is a role that you would not immediately associate with a Clooney type, i.e. a stretch for him to play, and that it's a role he had to fight for to try and convince people that he could indeed play the character, how successful he was I'm not sure, but I admire his willingness to take risks for what he believes to be the good of cinema) And as for his directing I think for a man two movies into his directorial career he is doing a fantastic job. His work is composed, challenging, layered, and confident. If someone else had come out with 'confessions' and 'good night' as their first two movies I would definitely be interested in them. As it is I'm looking forward to Clooney continuing his career as a director more then I'm looking forward to seeing him as an actor.
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Jan 04, 2006 12:19:40 AM CST
I'd been hearing for years how boring Solaris was..... then
by bendersshinyass
I don't know, but there was something about how slow that film was that really did it for me. Like, REALLY did it for me. Oceans 12 however..... oh man. What were they thinking????? At least with Batman & Robin I wasn't seriously questioning the integrity of everyone involved. "Ice to see you!"
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I just got out of Kong. And I have to say...if people aren't leaving the house to see that then I don't know what else they could want. Wait until Big Momma's House 2 I guess. It's old school Hollywood filmmaking. The reason movie cameras were fucking invented or, at least, perfected. It's just so in love with being a movie. And we rarely get those. I am surprised Harry left it off. But whatever...obviously it didn't hit him as hard. There were some pretty good movies this year. At least there was a lot to see. Even if people weren't going as much. Hell, I didn't go as much. I blame the crowds. I just cant stand the talkers. Also, I have to echo Vern's comments on Clooney. I have been making that argument for years. He really has tried to use his power to get cool movies made. I also am glad that everyone agrees he's fallen a little short but that at least the projects themselves were noble attempts. Better then someone like say...Harrison Ford, who really could give a fuck. Didn't we all snooze through the Firewall trailer? I bet even the people making it aren't pumped to see it. still, back to GC, my pal met him in a bar in LA. And he really is that cool. He talked to my friend for a good 20 minutes about movies, directors, and the 9/11 tribute. A huge star to some guy in the bar. I think because unlike a lot of these fuckers, he really does love his job and wants to talk about it. Props to him. Even though, Syriana was a one note, one dimensional, self congratulatory bore. But really, whatever...and yes, vern, Out of Sight is the reason I go to the movies. Thats one that will always be on my list. I don't think Soderbergh has made a good movie since The Limey. Also, thanks to the guy who mentioned Bittersweet Life. I'm gonna try to find that one.
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there is no denying that there is a definate degree of ego involved, as in, "look how cool i am because i saw films you never heard of and probably won't ever get the chance to see". now, don't get me wrong, nothing great was ever accomplished without ego, and if he didn't have a healthy one he wouldn't be as successful as he is and we wouldn't have this site to fan the flames of our own egos. my one real complaint/request is that i don't see the point of telling us about films that most of us have little or no chance of seeing, ala a danish puppet movie.
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I've been watching your war with Kintar0 with some amusement. Who really cares when Lucas wrote what and why? Does that make "Sith" a better or worse movie? For the record I think you are probably on-target about Marcia Lucas, and I also heard those interviews way back when. That doesn't mean that years later Lucas wouldn't have put nuances into his script to make it more timely to current events. Nevertheless, I find the whole disagreement silly and petty, what gets me though is you keep insisting that you "are not a bigot" yet you insist on attacking George Clooney, not just because his politics are different from yours, but also because you seem to think he is a closeted homosexual. And somehow I don't think it is the closeted part that bothers you. Unless you have some real proof about the "tea bagging" and the Ben Affleck thing, (outing two for the price of one?)I think you should be glad that George fairly good natured about such things and doesn't send a massive legal team after any suggestion of non-heterosexuality like a certain TomKat does.
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Really not that good. Too long, drawn out, maybe the whole idea is a bit outdated, there wasn't much to it, for 3 hours. Jack Black was the wrong choice. Plus, I knew how it ended.
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What about all that gushing and cowtowing you did all year over Robert Rodriguez's SIN CITY and Peter Jackson's KING KONG? Dude, if I like a film, I make no excuses for it. The films I like the most are my tops for that year. I don't like what I'm supposed to like more or what my overly artsy fartsy peers think I should like more. Hey, I'm sure MUNICH and HUSTLE & FLOW really blew you away, but in the end, are you really going to remember them over frickin' KING KONG and SIN CITY? And for that matter, BATMAN BEGINS and WAR OF THE WORLDS? And even STAR WARS; EPISODE III? Come on now... Ten years from now, what's going on your best of for 2005? Let's be honest. I mean, dude, if you're going to include SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE and V IS FOR VENDETTA... All I'm saying is if KONG and SIN CITY were so personal for you, then they affected you on a personal level. Isn't that affecting you emotionally? You are really talking up Guillermo's PAN'S LABYRINTH this year. Should by the end of the year we expect you to drop the film in favor of "more important films"?
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Jan 04, 2006 3:52:51 PM CST
"i don't see the point of telling us about films that most o
by hulk_beanpoll
Well I'd like to thank Harry and the one or two other people who have mentioned Strings over the last year. It's available on Amazon.com and I just ordered it. And if I can, so can you. I think I've counted four people in this talkback who've said the movie is damn near unobtainable. If you don't want to see the movie, if it doesnt interest you, fine. But don't pretend people can't get it and don't use that as an excuse to bash it's inclusion in this interesting list. Thanks.
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www.xreal.org
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I don't buy this as Harry's honest "Best of" list. He should have made a list spotlighting overlooked films, and then made an honest "Favorite Films of 2005". There are merits to recommending films people otherwise wouldn't see, but they don't feel truthful here. The best film I saw of 2005 was Downfall, which was all in German, so nobody else saw it. Seeing as I haven't seen most of the awards contenders, I doubt I saw the best of 2005 yet, but I saw most of the high profile geek films. I didn't see anything that wasn't excessively flawed. I did see Narnia, a film where the scariest villian was easily mistaken for Santa Clause. Oooh, how scary! Narnia had some good child acting, which was suprising, and it also had some horrible effects work, which was less suprising than good kid acting. Despite not really knowing the story, it was incredibly predictable. I saw War of the Worlds. Everyone is fine in the end? After all that you have the nerve to throw out a happy ending? Yeah, that was the point of the film. What a pathetic and insulting cop-out ending. King Kong had great effects. If you edit out the expressions of cgi Kong you have nothing emotional. Can anyone dare to justify the countless conversations between Hayes and Jimmy? Some of the most pathetic and cheesy scenes I've ever seen in a "blockbuster" and thats saying something. ROTS ended well, but it began with so many flaws I was amazed it recovered. As much as people complain about remakes, I wish they would remake the prequels in my lifetime because there are really great films trapped under some bad choices of editing, casting and direction. Also, why was everyone attacking Batman at the end of 'Begins'? Shouldn't they have been running away from him because they were scared? The doomsday ending hurt an otherwise fantastic film.
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Sin City
The Devil's Rejects
King Kong
Kung Fu Hustle
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Batman Begins
A History of Violence
Oldboy
Land of the Dead
Syriana
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How could you not put King Kong as one of your faves? It's upsetting. Get your head together.
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Penelope Cruz makes many movies, yet they are never popular. Colin Farrell is the same, they keep failing upward. Hustle&Flow seems the same. It wasn't popular with either the urban audience or the indie crowd (except for being a festival hit) and it continues to get props despite the fact that hardly anyone likes it. And it isn't bad...it just isn't really good, either. Just like Penelope and Colin.
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Okay Harry, enough with the fucking jokes. Where's the real fucking top 10 list? Fuck.
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Considering the rim job Harry usually gives Rodriguez, I'm shoked that movie isn't here. It was one of the best movies from last year. Noir. Guns. Cars. Girls. And the most incredible cinematography of all year.
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10.nannymcPhee 2.9m euros
9.Mr and Mrs smith. 2.97m euros
8. Wedding Crashers 3.07m euros
7. Chronicles of Narnia the lion the witch and the wardrobe. 3.22m euros.
6.war of the worlds 3.58 m euros
5.Madagascar 3.70 m euros.
4. Star wars episode three Revenge of the sith. 4.20 m euros.
3. HP and the GOF 4.75m euros
2. Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
1. Now before we get to that, i would like to say that I found the no. 1 absolutley the worst film of the year and complete and utter stinker about as funny as cancer etc. This represented along with Hide and seek an annus miserablis for Robert Deniro.
the no 1 film in Ireland of 2005 is meet the fockers. King kong came in at 14. This list is calculated from between jan and dec. 29th. I havent seen Wedding Crashers and have no wish to. Maybe one day they will tell the story of TITANTIC2: THE PORT TUNNEL.
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Sin City & King Kong. Two of the best reasons to pay ten dollars of last year.
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these would be it:
rather than make a top ten list I made a top 20 list
20 Alexander
19 Spongebob Squarepants the movie.
18 In good Company
17 Hotel Rwanda
16 Valiant
15 assisination of Richard Nixon
14 Downfall
13 OngBak
12 Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith - tied with Fantastic four
11. Mr and Mrs Smith
10 Millions
9 Corpse Bride
8 Sky High
7 Lord of War
6 Wallace and Gromit
5 Crash
4 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
3 King KOng
2 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
1 Constant Gardener.
Now for the worst
10 Magic Roundabout
9 Robots
8 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
7 Kingdom of Heaven
6 War of the Worlds
5 Bewitched
4 Mighty Celt
3 Howl Moving Castle
2 Goal
1 Meet the Fockers
Those films I caught on Dvd
Vera Drake: Brilliantly sent up on french and saunders at christmas. Mike Leigh's well acted period 1950's abortionist drama triumphed at the baftas, didnt do well at the oscars.
Elektra: doomed spin off starring jen garner as elektra. despite being kicked to death the BO, avi arad has said there are more sequels on the way thanks to his deal with Merrill Lynch. Awful, awful stuff incomprehensible plot. And when will some one end putting matrix style fight scenes in every comic movie.
Harold and Kumar: despite the presence of Fred Willard in the hilarious opening, this was watered down american pie, version 15.
Constantine: Keanu Reeves is neo once again. Peter Stormare looked like he was auditioning for hannibal, Tilda Swinton was the best thing in a otherwise dreadful movie, can any one explain djimonn Honsou's role in the movie.
Friday Night Lights: one of the most over-hyped movies of the year but the best at showing how a town leans on a college football team to win and the pressure they can exert even in the smallest. I am not a huge NFL fan.
Sin City: again one of the most over hyped of the year. I found personally found very little to like about this. may that was the point of the film. I dont know. a big fat meh. I wont be rushing to see the sequel.
Silver City. A could have been great sayles movie that sagged and ran out of steam in the end. Chris Coopers performance as Bush in all but carried the film. but then it lost its focus.
Robots: Beautifull to look at but utterly dull. Robin Williams reduced to doing farting jokes, oh dear.
Rocky Road to dublin: Shot in black and white in 1968 by Jean Luc-goddard camerman. This is an eye-opener from peter Lennon. Who is now the gaurdian's Paris Correspondent. This movie was ignored by the state until last year when it was found in the archives of the IFI. outstanding film. It is a powerful reminder of what Dublin Used to be like. -
Nuff said.
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I'm not sure if I would have placed "Hustle & Flow" as #1 but its definitely in my top three. It was such a vivid, fresh, original tour-de-force. It was unlike anything I've seen in years and as a flick it was hard to pin down what category it belonged in. Brilliant directing and acting. THoward still has given a performance that has not been topped by any actor this year (or last year I should say).I loved how it took us into a world that we would normally avoid like the plague both in the real world and, most times, on the screen. Months later those characters stick with me. Brewer was being pressured to turn DJay's character into a mailman instead of a pimp but thank God he stood his ground. It wouldn't have worked as a film if he wasn't a pimp. Ebert wrote correctly that this is one of the few films that showed how redemption could come through art. DJay wanted out of that world. Everyone working on those demos wanted out of the pedestrian, going-nowhere lives they were living and it touched something inside me. I loved that DJay was in some ways such an unsympathetic, selfish character. But that is what made the film so more rewarding and challenging. If DJay was something other than a pimp, if he was an immediately likeable character, if he was some Sidney Poitier-like or Denzel Washington-like do-gooder then the whiners on this forum would be dismissing it as "Model Negro" bullshit. How is it that the best literature offered over the centuries center on complicated, flawed individuals but when you make the lead character like that people lose their minds? During the history of films we have had as center characters mobsters, thieves, drug dealers, murderous femme fatales, Nazis, so-called "reformed" white supremacists, slave owners, uh, politicians, etc. But the thought of a pimp being the lead character and people feel compelled to apologize before handing out a positive review or, in some cases they have to condemn the flick. What a crock. Its a great movie. And the use of a pimp is far more daring than gay cowboys considering the amount of gay characters showing up in major, award-seeking movies. Oh, and the music by far is the best of the year and yet I'm sure the cowards of the Academy will pass all those songs over for some lame crap from "Narnia". And for the dude who wrote that the film was disliked by both the urban audiences and indie arts audiences I say bull. First of all you haven't talked to EVERYONE who have seen the film. To suggest that most people who saw it didn't like based upon your limited sampling is one of the most ignorant things I've ever read. I did run into one guy who didn't care for it. But that same person liked "White Chicks" and "Soul Plane" which tells you all you need to know how dumbed down some people have become after looking at garbage all their lives. As for the indie arts crowd those folks wouldn't see such a film because there aren't any English people in it, no gays, no foreign language spoken, no Steve Buschemi and no storylines centering in Asia. In the DC area the new crop of multiplexes that cater to the arthouse/foreign film crowds NEVER showed "Hustle & Flow". Obviously the people making those decisions came to a conclusion by the subject matter that the film wasn't for their audience.
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Big monkey balls.
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Just ignorant. Thanks for proving them right every day Harry.
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He could have put King Kong and Sin City on the list but chose not to do that.
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This review contains spoilers, so if you havent seen the movie look away. Match point is the new film from Woody Allen. It is his first film to be shot outside Manhattan. Joanthan Rhys Meyers plays Chris Wilton who is a former Irish Tennis pro turned coach. His first student is Tom Hewett(Matthew Goode) who introduces chris to his future wife Chloe(emily Mortimer) and to his Girlfirend american actress Noala Ryce (Scarlett Johansson. This meeting creates a dangerous spark between Noala and Chris, which soon leads to an affair. Even though Chris and Chloe are married. Noala goes back to the usa and when she fails to get her big break, she returns unannounced to the UK, Chris and Noala get back to business. This is where the movie takes a very dark turn, when Noala annouces shes pregnant and orders Chris to tell his wife or she will. Chris now has a job in the city thanks to Chloes dad(brian cox) who runs a large bank or something in the city of london. Chris wont tell his wife and this makes Noala hysterical. So Chris in a plot point you can see coming a mile away does Noala in , at this point despite the fine acting of rhys meyers and the british cast, the movie goes off the rails and descends into utter daftness. This is a post card movie, with allen as the tourist, Look theres tate modern, look there is the opera and look there Scatchi and scathi art gallery and look at those trendy little arty cafes and look its aspreys and look theres the gherkin in the city of london. The Scene where Jim Nesbitt works out what happens is simply unbelievable. Dont get me started on the ghost scene in the Kitchen! Cork Born Rhys Meyers is going to be a big star and this movie will be his launch pad. Rhys meyers is the star of the show but the movie does have strong support from mortimer, wilton and cox. I remain utterly unconvinced by Scarlett johanssons acting ability, just watch the scene where she turns up and throws a hissy fit and close your eyes and think of actress who could have done the scene and indeed her role much better. This is a case of a movie which looks great and has some great acting from Meyers, wilton etc. My advice to johansson would be get a new agent or take a permanent break from acting.
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His real name is John of Keefe and he was born in Dublin. Father walked out him and his mother. mother took him to cork, blackpool. Where he got kicked out of school a lot. Land owner took him under his wing, put manners on him. Cillian Murphy is the complete opposite. "only ididots talk about stuff like." The point I am making is Cillian seems to guard his private life vigoursly. He had a kid with some model called Yvonne McGuinnes. Rhys Meyers seems to be very brash. He seems to be very open person.
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I'm so mixed up about this movie. Better watch it, I guess...
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Especially if he rates the new Woody as anything other than woeful (I can't believe I decided to give him a try again after so many just bad films - this one is even worse, with British accents speaking words that sound wrong as the writer can't get the cadence right) and still is pushing the godawful tedium that is Strings.
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I just have to ask. Are you really putting FANTASTIC FOUR in your top 20 and WAR OF THE WORLS and HITCHIKERS GUIDE in your 20 worst? I mean FANTASTIC FOUR is hands down the worst movie I saw last year. And I saw it on video, so I wasn't pissed that I spent the ten bucks on it. I was just irritated I wasted the time. It's certainly the worst superhero origins movie ever made. At least the original PUNISHER is amusing/funny. If you can somehow remove yourself from the whole Tom Cruise is a lunatic sort of thing, WAR OF THE WORLDS is an awesome film. Even if you're just in it for the visuals. As far as HITCHIKER'S GUIDE... Sure it was a little disapointing compared with the novel, but come on. It certainly wasn't a bad adaptation. Nor was it a bad movie. Even on your worst day, watching the thing through squinty puss-filled eyes...HITCHIKER'S wouldn't measure up to the awefulness that is FANTASTIC FOUR. And what's with all the 2004 releases in your list. Where's BATMAN BEGINS? And I don't know what kind of condition you were in when watching SIN CITY, but watch it again. Actually, watch the new director's cut. Watch the episodes separately like the graphic novels. Maybe it'll give you a new perspective. SIN CITY isn't overhyped. If anything it's underhyped. Especially at the end of the year with all the oscarbate coming out. SIN CITY was forgotten long before it should have been.
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Normally lists of things I avoid like the plague.
Let me respond:
But before I do, my only regret in making up the list is my exclusion of Batman Begins of which I apologise Perfusely. An immensly entertaining, well written and well acted,batman begins is I think the future for the comic book genre. The star of Batman begins Was Cillian Murphy. Those dark menacing eyes when he says"Wheres the batman". I could go on about the scene where batmans face is filled with rage as he interrogates a hood by dangling him 40ft in the air.
And that scene where Bales face turns into a bat is the scariest thing in the movie. Sin City Left me cold. I saw that movie on DVD. I know that hype is a very important part of the Movie and tv industry. Sin City Didnt grab me for some reason, I have seen some of rodreguez including the Desperado trilogy, Once upon a time in mexico being the best of three. I even saw that awful alien film he did with elijah Wood and salma Hayek(I am startin to drool). Rodrieguez can be an exciting filmmaker or not(Spykids 3dreadful or Sharkboy, lets not go there) I thought the opening was stunning, I was not familiar with graphic novels before the film came, when i came to watching the movie, I saw it as a movie on those terms.
If there was one series that I had been really looking forward it was this, When I came of the cinema afterwards i was confused, did they leave something out, I know the tv programm was rubbish. But that whole humma Kuavala plot made no sense to me and as it dragged on, i thought how could they have capitulated to malkovichs ego. There are two theroies for why malkovich is in this one is that adams wrote him into the movie before tragic death or Malkovich demanded to be in the movie so they created the role for him. Big Mistake and the movie suffered as result. The piss poor box office and the Critical mauling it go in the US means, that even though, the movie ends with the restaurant at the end of the universe, we are likely not to get more adventures of Arthur, ford and company.
War of the Worlds: Had some great moments like man being blasted into dust via his camcorder, the scene where dakota has to the bathroom and scene with train. But other than I thought this movie was so-so. I thought they should have just called the movie Us Invasion because where was the rest of the world, nowhere to be seen. calling a movie war of the worlds and excluding the rest of the world, seems narrow minded. You asked me what is with all the 2004 releases, sometimes when releasing films in Ireland, the movie studios will by pass the cinemas altogether. So if you have seen something like Harold and Kumar in the cinema in the us, there is no guarantee that we in ireland will see that film in the cinemas too. Dont ask me why they do it I dont know. Sometimes Movies which, in my opinion should get a wide release, ie arthouse movies, get a limited release in the IFI and then if your lucky they may get wider release, like say brokeback mountain. our system is very screwedd. There was a film made in ireland called Serpents kiss and to this day no one knows why it was never released in the cinemas. There are no plans to release that film on tv, put it on tv. What happen it to remains a mystery.... -
Kong was both beautiful, and fucking terrible at the same time. Peter "Epic" Jackson should leave LOTR and all it's morbid slow mo pacing behind and edit Kong down to a 2hr version for DVD. TOO MUCH FUCKING FAT. Walk the Line, as was mentioned previously, was formulaic and also terrific. Joaquin did such a fucking great job singing, as did Reese. The film floated into greatness on their vocal chords. And fuck Strings, if I have to see a puppet film I will go watch that chick shit on the guy in Team America, FUCK YEAH!
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it was great...but thank goodness i only rented it.nowhere near best film of 2005.wow.just wow.
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Jan 13, 2006 12:17:52 AM CST
"SIN CITY" ...was BEST PICTURE, for me. Talk about a flick that
by jdanielp
LOVED IT.
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I just finished watching this one, and I can't believe I'm saying this.....but I kind of agree with Harry. I've been slacking off on seeing many of the recent films, but from what I've seen this is def. one of the best. It had one of the greatest music inspired scenes in movie history, right up there with Almost Famous and the tour bus/Tiny Dancer scene. I look forward to repeat viewings of this film. Terrence Howard, if there is any justice in the world, deserves an Oscar for his role, "man".
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I KNOW you're not about to pass up on Shug.
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