Fun flicks in 2005

[JohnyUtah]

I am not sure what my favorite film was this year but I did really enjoy the low budget Canadian film "Phil the Alien". I think many Ultimate players will appreciate the humour.

[Wartank]

I saw a few films this year, but they were mostly bad or mediocre. Forgettable.

However, I'd give an honourable mention to Batman Begins, which gave a long, hard second look at the superhero genre, and had for the most part a thoughtful and capable cast.

The film that most comes to mind, though, is George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" which retells cbs newsman Edward Murrow's stand against Senator McCarthy. It genuinely captures one man's fear and courage against the proverbial overwhelming odds. rendered in elegant black and white and set to a subdued jazz score, the film is both a compelling story, and a tasteful piece of art.

[steve]

i was pleasantly surprised with the constant gardener... all around quality, and nothing, absolutely nothing other than that satisfied my movie needs, it was a terrible year. put that in a newspaper.

[Happy Camper]

Syriana was quite good. Interesting take on the oil situation and US involvement. Regardless of your feelings it was well done.

King Kong is the typical blockbuster - despite a slow start it was well worth the money to see on the big screen.

Memoirs of a Geisha is beautifully shot and fairly entertaining for an 'artisitc film'.

Munich was a huge disappointment. Long, slow, took serious liberties with the source material and Spielberg felt the need to hit the audience over the head just a few to many times with his point - especially at the end.

Walk the Line was excellent - great perfomances and interesting material - probably my favourite at this point.

Still need to see the Constant Gardner, Good Night and Good Luck and A History of Violence to get the majority of favourites covered.

[slackerjack]

Syriana was quite good. Interesting take on the oil situation and US involvement. Regardless of your feelings it was well done.

Syrania had lots of interesting ideas, but wasn't really a movie. It felt more like a PBS special. I really enjoyed it, but I could hear at least two people in the theatre snoring. Loudly.

Munich was a huge disappointment. Long, slow, took serious liberties with the source material and Spielberg felt the need to hit the audience over the head just a few to many times with his point - especially at the end.

I just saw it and thought it was quite good. I think slow is not a very kind word to use. Maybe "deliberate"? I didn't find it particularily slow, and was kind of surprised that the running time was nearly 3 hours. Perhaps you need to get a smaller drink next time? The film posed some interesting political questions, and also did a fantastic job recreating Europe in the early 70's.

I haven't read "Vengeance" yet, but there's some angry 1-star reviews on Amazon that indicate Jonas' main source for the book was a complete fraud.

Wartank's comments on "Good Night and Good Luck" are spot on. One of the best movies of 2005.

For those who are interested in the business of movies, both of those Clooney flicks were financed in part by eBay billionaire Jeff Skoll (Participant Productions). Skoll got his undergraduate engineering degree at U of T...

[Wheels]

On the contrary it was a very strong year for films. Stronger than any in recent memory.

"King Kong"
"Nine Lives"
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Munich"
"Syriana"
"Crash"
"The 40-Year-Old Virgin"
"Walk the Line"
"A History of Violence"
"Capote"
"The New World"
"Sin City"
"Batman Begins"
"Star Wars Episode 3"
"Cinderella Man"
"The Constant Gardener"
"Transamerica"
"North Country"

Just to name a few.

Munich - As Speilberg says the book that he based the movie on has been out for years and has been attached but never discounted or refuted by facts.

I'm really looking forward to seeing "Good Night and Good Luck" but my favourite movie of the year was "March of the Penguins". I like that sort of stuff.

[dc]

agree... penguins rule. although this is my favourite bird movie of 2005...

[Shamus]

Martha Stewart's gonna be sweating when she sees that top notch production.

[will mercer]

I agree. Definitely better than that nauseating documentary I saw on the source of bird flu. Shame on you Shamus for what you did to that poor chicken.

[TerryBobJack]

Fantastic! Does Turdeucken go better with Guiness or Corona?

[GregS]

Fantastic! Does Turdeucken go better with Guiness or Corona?

I believe Turducken originated somewhere in the US South, so perhaps screech or bourbon is the way to go.

[Wartank]

apparently some people call it a chuckey. i'm not sure which one is the less appetizing name.

speaking of fowl, i also enjoyed 'march of the penguins'.

(but wheels, i'm really going to have to take exception to SW Ep3 being on the list of this year's greats.)

[orilliaboy]

how about the Chronicles of Narnia. that should be on the list.

i know it's a book for children, but i thought they did a great job of adapting the book into a movie. wonderful effects to make Aslan the lion. brought back lotsa memories.

[dc]

I recco Guinness while youre starting the de-boning process and move along to Corona as you build up a real thirst (deboning a 25lb turkey takes a bit of effort)...

Bourbon is a must have when assembly is complete. A sturdy bottle of Jack, Jim or my personal fav ~ Wild Turkey is necessary to cut the stress once you have the sucker bound and resting.

Throw in a couple honey bears and NFL sunday ticket ~ youre off to the races!

For the Chuckey, put a duckling inside a larger roasting chicken (inside the turkey of course...) and voila.

Theres one more variation I've heard from the west coast ~ Turkey Royale where inside is pheasant, chicken, pork tenderloin, sausage and ham.

sorry, i know this is the movie thread... go see Syriana!

[Gonzo]

For any sci-fi/western/action-comedy fans out there, Serenity has to be near the top of your list. Although, if you didn't watch or didn't like the original Firefly tv show, you probably won't get as much out of the movie.

Bill

[Happy Camper]

I was kind of disappointed by Serenity. Not that it was bad but I had just rented and watched the series Firefly over Christmas and found it to be superb so the movie was kind of anti-climatic.

A History of Violence was everything for me that Munich was not. Concise, subtle, and ambiguous at the end. How nice to have a film ask the audience to question something rather than to provide the answer for them (I would elaborate but I do not like to discuss film endings unless I know everyone has seen it).

I agree with Wartank about SW3 - just cause it was the best of the pre-Star Wars trilogy does not mean that it was a good film. Cut out at least 1/2 of Phantom, meld part of Clone and Revenge and leave some serious time to explore the transition of Anakin to the dark side rather than a 'Whoops, what have I done' moment. Plus more time dressed as Vader. Gotta love the scuba effects.

[Wartank]

the problem with serenity is that, having been an avid firefly fan since the beginning, the movie only served to remind me of what the series could have been. Whedon proved over the short-lived series that he could write fantastic episodic television which was both immediately gratifying and successful at teasing out and exploring *pre-planned* long-term story arcs at the same time (oh boy, i feel a rant about Lost coming on, real soon..).

As i was watching the movie, all i could think about was how many huge plot reveals/conclusions he had to pack into the movie's 2 hour frame. You know that he had planned all of these things out from the beginning of the series. If it all came out, as originally intended, over the course of the show, fans can only dream about how much more of a methodical, compelling build-up, and proportionally stronger payoff, those climactic ideas would have had.

[Shamus]

I finally saw March of the Penguins on the weekend. It was an interesting look at hmmmmm.....the life and mating paterns of Emperor Penguins. A must see "film" though....you gotta be kidding me.

[BJ]

Not enough 'Brokeback Mountain' action for you, I guess Creamer?