Oh the joy of end of the year lists. Well, I guess it’s the beginning of the year, but I was busy last week. Here’s my picks for top movies of 2005:
1. Serenity
Aside the fact that I loved the TV show Serenity was based on (Firefly), this movie just hummed on all the right points. Great action broken up with hilarious comments and then sudden rollercoaster drama. The stakes were high and it all paid off. I even compared it to Star Wars (well, I didn’t, Joss Whedon did), and I’d say that comparison still stands.
2. Millions
I didn’t see this flick coming, but I really like it. It’s got an off-beat style and a quirky plot. It deals with death and childhood and growing up and faith in a unique way.
3) Hotel Rwanda
OK, so it came out in 2004, but I didn’t see it until 2005. And when I did I bawled in the theater. When the credits finally rolled I just sat there and cried. This is a movie you have to see.
4) Walk the Line
I like Johnny Cash. I don’t think there was anything particularly amazing about this movie, but I enjoyed it. I probably won’t buy it on DVD and don’t think I have a need to see it again, but I just enjoyed watching (and listening) to it.
5) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Yes, the prequels suck. But there’s nothing like seeing Star Wars in the theater again, especially when it comes so close to the original trilogy. I think Revenge of the Sith was sadly lacking in many areas (General Grevious?! That whole Frankenstein thing?! Whiny Amadala and angsty Anakin?!), but it still had lightsabers.
Honorable Mentions:
Best British Humor: Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit – This one was just fun. They had a couple gags that just made me laugh out loud. Good times.
Best Continuing Saga Worthy of a Yawn: Tie – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Chronicles of Narnia. Not that I think either movie was boring, but neither was everything I’d hoped it would be. Harry Potter just had too much to cover and it went so quickly I couldn’t enjoy anything. I thought the movies really took a turn for the better with the third one, but the fourth one has me less convinced. The Chronicles of Narnia just wasn’t that great. This is probably because I’m not a huge fan of the book. I always felt like Aslan was never a proper hero. We always heard people talk about him, but we never saw him do anything until the pivotal moment of the book. I want my hero to earn my trust before I care about them. One thing that saved the movie for me: Lucy. She was great. I could watch a movie with just her. I enjoyed watching both movies and would probably watch them again, but they just weren’t as good as I’d hoped they could be.
I agree with almost all of what you said. Especially the Wallace and Gromit comments. The gag with the purse and the coin… oh my goodness. Hilarious! I almost gave that joke a standing-O all by itself.
“Proper hero?”…Hmmmm…I don’t know if I agree with your opinion of LWW, the book, because it is mainly about a faith and grace that was greatly lacking within Narnia at the time…and the hope that it was returning until, with a fierce roar, it did in the form of a more physical Aslan.
Hope is a thing without tangible substance…and it is clearly reflected within this book. Desired, wished for, waited upon, hope spurs us on and keeps us fighting when little seems of worth. Within LWW, I’ve always felt a tossup between Lucy and Edmund, as to who reflects the book’s greatest wish for mankind more: Lucy’s staunch faith or Edmund’s receipt of undeserved grace. Maybe one (or both) is more of a hero than Aslan, as far as the book is concerned.