Top o' the Year To Ya!

Since I've blogged so many movie reviews this year, you'd think coming up with my own top 10 list would be a snap. But the difficulties are twofold. One, I don't like comparing across genres... or feeling the need to represent all genres in a given list. Two, I'm not sure there were 10 great films released last year. Nevertheless, I'll attempt to do just what I hate... Issue forth a meaningless list of my favorite films of the last year.

I started the process with this list of better than average movies released in 2005: The Squid and the Whale, Serenity, Brokeback Mountain, Roll Bounce, Capote, King Kong, Good Night and Good Luck, Walk the Line, Howl's Moving Castle, 2046, Aeon Flux, Batman Begins, Broken Flowers, Constantine, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Look at Me, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Millions, Mirror Mask, Nobody Knows, Walk the Line, Kingdom of Heaven, Crash, Sin City, Unleashed, Match Point and The Constant Gardener.

Then I started whittling away. Capote may well be the best picture of the year, but I wouldn't know because I didn't see it. Therefore, in good conscious, I cannot include it. Same goes for Woody's new film Match Point. Walk the Line, as impressive as Joaquin Phoenix is, just seems too formulaic. Mirror Mask, though creative as hell, never gelled for me. Unleashed and Kingdom of Heaven are undone by the gratuitous violence propping up their pacifistic claims. Too much hypocrisy. Aeon Flux, Batman Begins, King Kong, Sin City and Constantine all have fantastic visuals and are just deep enough to be interesting... but they don't quite make the grade as excellent movies. Nobody Knows and Good Night and Good Luck are too serious. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is too silly. See how this works? You just eliminate films that are "too" anything.

So here I am... left with:
10 Roll Bounce (Feel-goodest movie of the year)
9 Serenity (I laughed, I cried, I got resolution on 15 episodes worth of story arcs)
8 Look at Me (Poignant French film)
7 2046 (Beautiful to watch and effectively depressing)
6 Millions (Irresistible)
5 You and Me and Everyone We Know (Quirky scores many points with me)
4 Brokeback Mountain (Important)
3 The Constant Gardener (More important)
2 Howl's Moving Castle (Absolutely fabulous... makes me wish I had a daughter.)
1 The Squid and the Whale (Small, interpersonal conflict film does everything right.)

That's my list. If you're gonna argue with it, then justify your own top 10 first! _Cinema

I also apologize for skipping any reference to: Downfall, Hustle & Flow, 40 Year Old Virgin, Jesus is Magic, Corpse Bride, Wallace & Grommit, Grizzly Man and Murderball. I wasn't able to see any of these during the year either.

And, just for kicks, here's the worst (that I actually saw) of 2005 list:
1 Fantastic Four
2 Elektra
3 Coach Carter
4 Gunner Palace
5 Land of the Dead
6 Madagascar
7 Proof
8 StarWars III
9 A Dirty Shame
10 Crash