THE TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2005

1. "CRASH"
"Crash" is a POWERFUL and unforgettable commentary about spatial and racial relationships in today's Los Angeles where "...nobody touches you." Backed by an original script and some of the best ensemble acting that I have ever seen, this movie just pulsates with power and intensity.

First time director and scriptwriter, Paul Haggis (the scriptwriter for "Million Dollar Baby"), gives us a searing portrait of people of all races who meet by chance or by design in this large city teaming with life and urban angst. Sometimes they meet after car crashes with the often volatile consequences that follow. In a powerful lesson for racial harmony and understanding, a member of each race is depicted in this film to feel or express racial bigotry towards one of another race which sadly evidences the universality of these horrid feelings.

The movie starts out on a dark note with the investigation of a homicide and it seems that it will remain relentlessly downbeat. Suddenly the sun begins to shine with moments of redemption and humanity sprouting like spring flowers after a rain. The most bigoted people exhibit moments of tender humanity while the nicest people exhibit moments of vile racism. In addition, there is an exceptionally tender and beautiful scene in this film where a Hispanic dad comforts his beloved daughter. This screen gem alone is worth the price of admission in a wonderful movie that should not be missed.
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2. "SYRIANA"
The tag line for "Syriana" is that "Everything is connected," and so it is in this dark and powerful film about the politics and business of Mideast oil. The wealth of oil is so great that it corrupts everything that it touches, including those who own it, those who need it, those who preach about it, those who buy it, those who transport it, those who trade it, and those who pass laws governing it.

While the CIA and "Big Oil" come in for scathing criticism in this movie for their lack of ethics, no one here is left untouched as there is so much corruption that it is hard to find even one honest man. In fact, there is only one entirely honorable man in this movie, and he is an Arab prince.

That this movie is a leftist political polemic is obvious, but it still succeeds because it is a brilliant story as well as being a beautifully crafted film. It is also a complex and sometimes very confusing story with multiple strands which are ultimately "connected" as the tag line tells us. You will have to pay close attention because writer and director Stephen Gaghan does not go out of his way to spell everything out for us.
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3. "CAPOTE"
Everything about this movie is brilliant from its cinematography to its story to the incredible acting by all of its participants. This is a powerful and very moving film.

Philip Seymour Hoffman gives such a brilliantly nuanced performance of novelist and raconteur Truman Capote that you would swear that he must be channeling the man's soul. If Hoffman doesn't win the Oscar for Best Actor, then there is truly no justice in this world.

Getting to the truth and the essence of the story is everything for Capote. This famous New York City author and bon vivant lies and schemes and connives with everyone to achieve his ends, ultimately even betraying one of the killers with whom he has become emotionally attached due to the fact that both had been raised by abusive mothers.
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4. "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE"
For those like myself who can never get enough of anything by Jane Austen, here is another wonderful rendition of her literary masterpiece, "Pride and Prejudice." Fans of this timeless Jane Austen novel will generally be thrilled with this new cinematic adaptation lavishly directed by Joe Wright from a very fine script written by Deborah Moggach.

This movie soars with an exuberance and a passion that is captivating beyond belief. Keira Knightley is nothing short of glorious in her role as the story's heroine, Elizabeth Bennet. This version stars Matthew MacFadyen as the Mr. Darcy opposite Knightley's Miss Bennet, and they both give us a liveliness and a heartfelt passion that is highly commendable. In addition, the secondary roles in this movie are all extraordinarily well cast.

This film captured my heart every bit as much as Mr. Darcy's heart will eternally be captured by the lively and spunky Miss Elizabeth Bennet. This movie may not be the best movie of the year, but it sure is the one that I enjoyed the most!
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5. "GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK"
This movie gives a brilliant and insightful portrayal of what goes on behind the camera in a television news room. It is also a well justified paean to a broadcast giant, Edward R. Murrow, who is brilliantly played here by David Strathairn. His dead-on portrayal, it should almost go without saying, is worthy of the Oscar nomination for Best Actor which he has received.

It is also an equally well justified condemnation of the tactics used by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, who is represented here by actual archival television clips. He demagogued the understandable fear of Communism to enhance his political career with reckless disregard for the very institutions of government and the rule of law that he had sworn to uphold.

This movie is beautifully filmed in black and white just like the television broadcasts of that era. It is also a fascinating time capsule view of television studio life during the 1950's where everyone smoked on and off the air and departed to the bar for several scotches after work.
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6. "A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE"
Director David Cronenberg has created a near masterpiece with this movie. While the title may be off-putting to some and invoke questions from others, I would hasten to assure you that this movie is not as violent as you might think. The scenes of violence, while graphic, are short and then passed over. What this movie does dwell on is the long term effects of that violence, especially its devastatingly corrosive effects on family relationships.

This excellent movie is a thoughtful study about why some people find it so difficult to escape their violent past in an effort to change the course of their lives. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a family man and a solid, respectable citizen of a small farming town in northeastern Indiana. He has an idyllic life with a loving wife, two healthy kids, and a pleasant career as the owner of Stall's Cafe on Main Street.

One day two mindless toughs attempt to rob his diner and rape an employee. Tom unexpectedly leaps into action and dispatches both men with lethal force. The media circus following this event creates a very unpleasant aftereffect for Tom when two mobsters show up from Philadelphia and claim him to be one of their own. Is this devoted family man really who he says he is, or does he have a dark secret in his past that no one in town knows about?
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7. "JUNEBUG"
This is a small gem of a movie filled with prescient character studies that explore with great sensitivity the great divide between urban and rural, or, if you wish, Red State and Blue State lifestyles. Chicagoan George Johnsten (Alessandro Nivola) reluctantly brings his new wife, Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), home to meet his family. Well traveled, liberal, and highly educated, she is a Chicago art dealer in rustic "Outsider Art."

One of her new finds just happens to live in the Carolinas only a half an hour away from the home of her husband's parents. George has no wish to return home again, but he does so to please his wife. The members of his family are all poorly educated blue collar workers, and most of them treat his new wife with ill-disguised suspicion. The sole exception is George's young and very pregnant sister-in-law, Ashley (Amy Adams).

Ashley takes an instant shine to Madeleine as she is everything that she isn't, whereas all of the other family members dislike Madeleine for being everything that she is, which mainly is that she is not one of them. She will need her new friend for support as there is a sad undercurrent of conflict and sibling jealousy running through the family. This movie has two astonishingly resonant performances by Embeth Davidtz and Amy Adams (who received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress).
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8. "WALK THE LINE"
Johnny Cash personally picked Joaquin Phoenix to play his character for this movie as did June Carter Cash when she selected Reese Witherspoon to play her character before they both passed away about two years ago. Their choices were both wise decisions as neither Phoenix nor Witherspoon disappoint in this film. Quite to the contrary, their performances are so perfectly nuanced that they both look and sound just like the real singers and both received as their reward an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and Actress, respectively.



9. "MELINDA AND MELINDA"(2004)
This film is one of the best Woody Allen movies in years as the entire movie is built around the brilliant premise of exploring the sometimes very slight difference between comedy and tragedy. To build further on this philosophical note, Allen has Radha Mitchell, in a heartfelt and passionate performance, or performances, play two different women, both of whom bring a large measure of both tragedy and comedy when each visits a Manhattan family.

This film is vintage Allen. Those who love Allen may or may not accept Will Ferrell in an Allen-esque role. Others might complain about the myopic self-absorption of these materialistic and mostly unlikable Manhattanites.
These slight quibbles aside, this is a very fine movie and Mitchell deserves an Oscar nomination for her finely nuanced performance.
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10. "DEAR FRANKIE"
This is a thoroughly entertaining and heartwarming story that quietly draws you into the lives of its characters once you get past the linguistic difficulties. This movie is alternately sweet and sad as well as being a very warm and affectionate look at a family, all of whom come to life in this film. Emily Mortimer is outstanding as a troubled mom who is constantly on the run to protect herself and her beloved son from an abusive ex-husband who is always placing ads in personal columns inquiring as to her whereabouts.

Part of her protection includes covering up the nature of her former husband to her young son, Frankie (Jack McElhone), by spinning a yarn that he is a seaman on a fictional ship. Then her son discovers an actual ship of the same name and Glasgow will soon be a port of call. Now Lizzie has to make a difficult choice as whether to tell her son the truth or to find a stranger to play the role of her husband for the few days that this ship will be in port.
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