I would now like to add the wonderful "Me and You and Everyone We Know" to my previous list. Highly recommended for anyone interested in seeing something entirely different from a fresh cinematic talent.

quote:

Originally posted by ZBF:
1. Grizzly Man
2. Enron
3. Kung Fu Hustle
4. A History Of Violence
5. Thumbsucker
6. Broken Flowers
7. Everything is Illuminated
8. Junebug
9. Sin City
10. Hustle and Flow
And I've seen about 32 or 33 2005 films so far.

Look Im glad you have seen a lot of movies and all, but the bottom line is, History of Violence is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, let alone of this year...With the exception of Star Wars and Redeye...

My top list for this year, in no particular order...

Life Aquatic
Crash
The Constant Gardener
Capote
Batman Begins...I had to put this on cause I loved it...do I think its award worthy, probably not, but it was great...

Same with Charlie in the Chocolate Factory...this was brilliant, every aspect of it...but I cant see it being recognized because it is a remake...

Id also like to say that I think Jarhead, and Walk the Line are gonna be superb films...

Opinions, opinions. I'm not posting a Top Ten now because, although I have more than Ten films worth watching, I'm going to wait because it's too close to the end.

I'm glad that people are posting, but I guess I'm one of the few who doesn't feel they have to somehow justify their lists. People put out "favorites" and "bests". People talk about how they love movies, but they don't believe that they are "award-worthy". People are somehow justifying Pretension as Greatness and Commerciality as Shit. I don't get it, and I never will.

Most of the films each year which "critics" (actually glorified reviewers or gofers) call the greatest are pretentious, overrated, overlong, and decidedly "non-commercial". I agree that when most of the tickets are being bought by teenagers (nobody here, of course ) that non-commercial might mean intelligent, but it's a big leap from "might" to "will". Also, even if a film is "intelligent", nowadays that sounds like a buzzword for cheap and boring. Yeah, I'm an old curmudgeon, but they don't make 'em like they used to, and the ones which are most like how they used to make them are the ones which "cool" people think suck. I know it's a pain when you have to look at each film individually and objectively. It's so much easier to follow an agenda.

OK, now that I've alienated EVERYONE by saying NOTHING, I'll shut up. It's just a gift.

In no particular order:

Sin City
A History of Violence
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Crash
Wallace and Gromit
Star Wars

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LordSmoogsbottomIII,

I'm pretty politically apathetic, but Jarhead just SCREAMS anti-war propaganda to me... I'll see it anyways, but I do NOT have high expectations. I hate when films have such blatantly obvious underlying intentions...

Best things I have seen this year are Mysterious Skin, Serenity, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Grizzly Man, and Sin City. I also really enjoyed The 40yr Old Virgin and Red Eye, believe it or not.

Platypus Quest said:

quote:

I'm pretty politically apathetic, but Jarhead just SCREAMS anti-war propaganda to me... I'll see it anyways, but I do NOT have high expectations. I hate when films have such blatantly obvious underlying intentions...

I'm surprised that somebody would have problems with strong-message movies unless it was the message that was the problem. Some of the most powerful movies have strong political messages:

Traffic (2000) on the questionable U.S. policy on antidrug war.

Born on the Fourth of July (1990) and Platoon (1986) on the U.S. policy on war

A Beautiful Mind (2001) on our society's misguided beliefs of mental illness.

Dances with Wolves (1990) on the U.S. government treatment of the Native American.

American Beauty (1999) on sociological commentary on contemporary American life and with The Ice Storm (1997).

Even a current new release North Country (2005) is a strong hard-hitting movie about sexual harrassment.

Without such message movies, we are left with mindless entertainment for the masses.

Well put Tabuno

Of the 72 movies I've seen:

1. Nobody Knows
2. A History of Violence
3. Capote
4. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
5. Funny Ha Ha
6. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit
7. Last Days
8. Grizzly Man
9. Proof
10. Me and You and Everyone We Know

Runners-Up: Downfall, Oldboy, Look at Me, 2046, Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride, Saraband, Rize, Twist of Faith, Mysterious Skin, George A. Romero's Land of the Dead

And the bottom 5:
1. St. Ralph
2. Alone in the Dark
3. Waiting...
4. The Skeleton Key
5. Jarhead

2005 is not a great year compared to the others, so far, here are the best ones:

1. Sin City
2. Batman Begins
3. Me and You and Everyone We Know
4. Broken Flowers
5. The President's Last Bang
6. A History of Violence
7. Constant Gardener
8. Nobody Knows
9. Saraband
10. Capote

I'm glad someone brought up Melinda & Melinda. I think it was overlooked, unfortunately. Definately one of the most unique films in the main stream this year.
My Oscar wishlist is as follows,

Best Pic - A History of Violence
Actor - Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Supporting Actor - Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Special Effects - Sin City

... to be updated when I see more movies.

UPDATED:

01. Cinderella Man (****)
02. Jarhead (****)
03. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (****)
04. Layer Cake (****)
05. Good Night, and Good Luck. (****)
06. Crash (***1/2)
06. Batman Begins (***1/2)
08. The Constant Gardener (***1/2)
09. Star Wars: Ep III- Revenge of the Sith (***1/2)
10. Kung Fu Hustle (***1/2)
11. Wedding Crashers (***1/2)
12. War of the Worlds (***1/2)


and if I were giving out the oscars, this is how they would look right now:

Best Picture: Cinderella Man
Best Director: Sam Mendes, Jarhead
Best Actor: Robert Downey Jr, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Best Actress: Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Best Supporting Actress: Thandie Newton, Crash
Best Original Screenplay: Good Night, and Good Luck.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jarhead

Am I alone in thinking that this has been a generally crappy year for movies? I haven't seen anything that's really floored me this year. Last year we had already had great films like "Eternal Sunshine...", "Before Sunset", and "Sideways" out at this point.

quote:

Originally posted by ericg75:
Am I alone in thinking that this has been a generally crappy year for movies? I haven't seen anything that's really floored me this year. Last year we had already had great films like "Eternal Sunshine...", "Before Sunset", and "Sideways" out at this point.

This year hasn't been so bad...
A History of Violence, Sin City, Good Night, and Good Luck, Capote, Walk The Line, Cinderella Man...

... and The Squid and the Whale

What can I say. The answer here is pretty obvious. Sin City is by far the best movie to come out of 2005. It's possibly the most groundbreaking movie of the new millennium. For once someone actually made a movie based on a comic book, without venturing too far from it's roots, untill only the characters are recognizable. (ie. Spiderman, Daredevil).
Coming in a close second to me would have to be Cinderella Man. I think this movie is way underated. First of all any movie Russel Crowe makes is amazing, and for someone to say otherwise is just insulting. As for the movie, sure it's predictable, but it's based on a true story, what else can you expect? It's pretty easy to predict history! My third favorite of 2005 would have to be Crash. I just a cery well made movie, of timeless quality.

quote:

Originally posted by Matty_13:
First of all any movie Russel Crowe makes is amazing, and for someone to say otherwise is just insulting.

What about "Virtuosity"?

I have actually been quite disappointed with a lot of movies in 2005 - though some have surprised me. I fell in love with "Serenity" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" though some films that I had high expectations for left me feeling pretty disappointed, especially "2046," which I hated.

As it stands, "Me and You and Everyone We Know" and "Sin City" are probably my top films for the year.

"Tropical Malady" is number one on my list of films to see.

Oh, and I also loved "Mysterious Skin." And for the record, I didn't care for "Cinderella Man" all that much. Not bad, not necessarily good - I'm just indifferent to it.

These are my Four Star films of the year so far:
Batman Begins
Broken Flowers
Cinderella Man
Crash
The Devil's Rejects
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Grizzly Man
Turtles Can Fly
Lord of War
Me and you and Everyone We Know
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
Oldboy
Palindromes
Sin City
Walk the Line

My top 10 so far are:
1. Oldboy
2. Broken Flowers
3. Turtles Can Fly
4. The Devil's Rejects
5. Crash
6. Palindromes
7. Grizzly Man
8. Sin City
9. Me and You and Everyone We Know
10. Lord of War

There ar many I still have to see for Example Saraband, Capote, Nobody Knows and I'm sure many others.