The Movie I Loved the Most in 2005

Hi. Have you read the ‘Pie at all this year? Did you perchance glance at my TIFF Diary? Or maybe check out the most bordering-on-embarrassingly-gushing review I’ve ever written? No? Then allow me to share with you that my absolute favorite film of 2005, the one I loved most of all, the one I wanted to marry, was the wonderfully charming Imagine Me & You. By far. Heads and shoulders above the rest. *sigh*

My Nine Other Most Favorite Films of 2005

• Brothers—Connie Nielsen’s best film ever!
The Constant Gardener—Who knew I’d ever like a Ralph Fiennes movie? (I blame the stellar supporting turn by the always-strong Rachel Weisz.)
• The Family Stone—A whole whack of terrific performances all at once!
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin—Steve Carell + Catherine Keener = SWEET! (literally and figuratively)
• Hustle & Flow—Sorry, Linda. But I really did find this one fascinating and surprisingly moving!
• Look at Me—the foibles of the French!
• Pride & Prejudice—I dreaded it going in and LOVED it despite myself!
• RENT—Never saw the stage version, but totally fell for the big-screen adaptation!
• Sky High—What? Excuse me. Please don’t snicker. It was great!

The Crap Movies of 2005 That Made Me Lose Faith in the Art of Filmmaking

In the spirit of a popular (but admittedly juvenile) game, I’ll replace one word of the films’ titles with the word “crap,” just because it’s silly and fun and always makes me giggle.

• The Pacifier—The Crap!
• Bewitched—Becrapped!
• The Bad News Bears—The Bad News Crap! (or, alternately, The Crap News Bears!)
• Be Cool—Be Crap!
• Lie With Me—Lie With Crap!
• 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous—50 Ways of Saying Crap!
• Stealth—Crap!
• Are We There Yet?—Are We Crap Yet?
• and, finally, Must Love Dogs—say it with me now: Must Love Crap!

Big, Fat Event Films Totally Worthy of Their Hype

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, King Kong, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Movies That Deserved Way More Hype Than They Received

Junebug, Mysterious Skin, The Island (which was much better than folks would have you believe!), Proof (ditto)

Movies Wholly Undeserving of Their Over-Hype

Holy Girl, My Summer of Love, Don’t Move, Me and You and Everyone We Know (again, sorry Linda!), The Weather Man

Word That Oddly No Longer Seems Like a Word

Hype.

Completely Unexpected Cinematic Delights

Heights (good performances, nice execution), Keira Knightley in The Jacket (oooh! dark, bitter and surprisingly effective!), the fact that I actually really liked a Jim Jarmusch film (Broken Flowers) and, even more astounding, that I didn’t hate Jessica Lange in it!

Good Grief, Don’t Tell Me I Now Like Tilda Swinton, Too!

Even though I usually find her creepy and weird, she kicked ass and took names in Constantine and Narnia…and I sat up and took notice.

Best Maggie Gyllenhaal Movie I Saw in 2005

The cleverly scripted and wonderfully realized Happy Endings.

Worst Maggie Gyllenhaal Movie I Saw in 2005

The meandering, dull and way disappointing Trust the Man. Bart Freundlich? You and I are officially OVER.

Glaring Truth I Could No Longer Avoid in 2005

That my unwavering support of, and admiration for, Maggie Gyllenhaal is also kind of officially over. Cheers, Maggs. No hard feelings. It was fun while it lasted.

So, Instead of Maggie, May I Direct Your Attention to…

…Miss Amanda Peet! Though her work in 2005 ranged from the disappointing (A Lot Like Love) to the barely-there (Melinda and Melinda, Syriana). Fingers crossed for 2006!

Who Says There Are No Great Roles For Women Anymore?

The Upside of Anger, Junebug, North Country, Transamerica, In Her Shoes

Oh, That’s Right, These People Say So…

Ice Princess, Beauty Shop, Must Love Dogs, Flightplan, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, The Perfect Man

Animated Films That Rocked!

Madagascar, Robots, The Corpse Bride, Howl’s Moving Castle… and the Wallace & Gromit movie, even though that one slipped past me. (But I just KNOW it was great!)

Documentaries That Rocked!

Murderball, The March of the Penguins, The Heart of the Game, The Devil & Daniel Johnston, Mad Hot Ballroom

Rock Movie That Rocked!

Rock School

Freakiest And Most Strangely Affecting Film I Saw in 2005

The digital video rage-a-thon Sorry, Haters!, which features Robin Wright Penn in a ridiculously raw performance, and boasts the most deliciously unexpected ending!

Favorite Movie-Related Moment of 2005

Working up the nerve to ask my first ever post-screening Q&A question of director Jamie Babbitt at TIFF! Of course, then I was mistaken for a man thanks to the dim lights and my chignon, but still. It counts!

Movies Featuring Ass-Kicking Gals Kicking Ass I’m Most Looking Forward To in 2006

(To be taken with a grain of salt, since last year’s list (of anticipated 2005 films) included the ultimately cringe-worthy Elektra)

• X3—please let it be as good as X2, please let it be as good as X2…
• Underworld: Evolution—Kate Beckinsale back in the PVC. ‘Nuff said.
• Tristan & Isolde—not so much for any ass kicking, but because it stars Sophia Myles (in what should theoretically be her breakout role), whom I cited in my Best of 2004 wrap-up for her little-seen but magnificent work in the completely unseen Thunderbirds.

Unreleased 2005 Movie Whose Release I Will Still Actively Avoid If It Hits Screens in 2006

The Fast and the Furious 3. I mean, honestly.