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Friday, October 07, 2005

Favorite Movies of 2005 ...So Far

With the year 2005 more than three-quarters complete, I thought it might be an appropriate time to take a look at where we stand on the movie releases so far. Just as disappointing box office figures dominated movie discussions for most of the summer, the quality of this year's movies has left something to be desired as well. I tend to be rather selective about which movies look worth paying to see in theaters, so I'm still catching up on many of the early-year releases that are finally making their way to DVD. But nevertheless there haven't been any truly great movies yet in 2005. A few have been very good, many have been entertaining, but so far none appear to be destined for classic status. It's somewhat telling that many of the better films this year have been documentaries or movies not released theatrically. Let's hope the end-of-year awards season will bring with it some worthy choices.

1) Sin City
A visually brilliant film, but sputters a bit in the overlong second story.

2) Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
This two-part PBS documentary is a very thorough and endlessly interesting account of the first great minority boxer.

3) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
An astonishing account of the infamous scandal that will leave many shaking their fists at greed and immorality of Kenny Boy and company.

4) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Lucas scores with the final prequel, but dialogue and other problems persist.

5) Batman Begins
Character development trumps action and fanboys everywhere can finally forget about Batman and Robin.

6) Crash
A great ensemble piece with some of the best acting of the year.

7) Land of the Dead
Romero exceeds expectations in this gruesome zombie tale, but the humans are the weakest link.

8) Bad News Bears
Billy Bob steals the show, but the plot and story is pretty much the same as the original.

9) Family Guy Presents - Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
The straight to DVD movie is really just a sequence of three related episodes, but the show's trademark wit and outrageous humor will leave you satisfied.

10) Warm Springs
This drama about a young FDR is, like most HBO original movies, well-acted and leaves you satisfied.

Michael Bentley 10:17 AM

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