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Tom Ronca - 2006-07-19 11:02:03 As for the book, thanks for trusting my judgment. Sometimes the McSweeney's aesthetic can get old fast, but this Hodgman fellow is the master of it. My excuses for the extreme tardiness of this: Well, two, count �em, two separate doozeys of a cold, and two trips out of L.A. within a month of one another; plus the usual obstacle of my own laziness. In addition, I had to re-think my whole approach to list-making this year as will become clear as you read on; but -- TAH DAH!!! Here it is -- My 2005 year-in-film review: TOP TEN FAVORITES OF 2005 I�m not saying best ... I�m saying favorite. 1.) 2046 -- Some critics chided this film for its�supposed lack of focus and resolution; what movie were they watching? I don�t think I�ve seen a film that more tightly centers on the issue of unrequited and unresolved love; and its lingering effects. Chris Doyle�s photography also makes this the prettiest movie of last year as well. 2.) THE AMERICAN ASTRONAUT -- I think this film is about 90% of the reason I decided to go ahead and send this e-mail this late into the year. It made just about nobody�s 10 best list, possibly because it never got an �official� theatrical release; but it did debut on DVD this year, and that�s good enough for me. Without a doubt, the best all-dancing, all-singing, sci-fi, cowboy-space opera musical revue you�ll ever see. Starring and directed by Cory McAbee of �The Billy Naylor Show�, it just might be the film that my mind has wandered back to most often over the course of �05. It, uhh... resonates, in some weird way with me and with a good proportion of those that I�ve exposed it to. I�m not sure I can really explain where this film is coming from, but the website -- -- gives some idea of its� aesthetic. But don�t worry about explanations; just do yourself a favor and add this to the Netflix cue right now, pardner. 3.) BATMAN BEGINS -- Just when I gave up all hope of there ever being a decent comic-book to film adaptation (and none of the previous live-action Batman efforts even come close), lo-and-behold Chris Nolan (�Memento�) swings in and saves the day! Adolescent? Uhh, yeah, sure; but with a mature edge to it. By keeping the whole concept relatively grounded in reality, Nolan delivers round one of a franchise that could be the best since - dare I say it!! ... Bond (you know, the good ones, that starred Connery). A lot of people I know dismissed this right off the �bat� (sorry; had to) as just another bloated-budget Tinsel Town actioner, but really shouldn�t have. The Hollywood formula has its� merits when done right, and nobody did it righter last year than Mr. Nolan. 4.) THE CALL OF CTHULU -- Am I allowed to include on this list a film that not only has no theatrical distribution, but can only be seen by ordering it online. Well, who�s stopping me!?! Made and distributed by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, this shot on DV movie is a more-or-less straight-forward adaptation of the story of the same name by H.P.L. The filmmakers, who had a very limited budget, opted to make the film as a silent, as if shot in the period when the story was written, the late 1920�s. This Guy Maddin-meets-Roger-Cormen style complements Lovecraft surprisingly well, and may be the best cinematic adaptation of his work thus far. The trailer and other info re: the film can be seen here: 5.) A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE -- David Cronenberg makes this year�s most intelligent and understated meditation on violence and its� repercussions. Some critics complained that the film left off at the beginning of its� third act; I thought it simply ended at the point that would be most thought-provoking. You be the judge. 6.) LAYER CAKE -- The year�s best crime thriller, starring soon-to-be-Bond Daniel Craig. 7.) MAREBITO -- There were a couple of good Japanese Horror imports this year (Asia and especially Japan seem to be the only regions on earth where they still know how to make a decent horror films these days, i.e., it should feature someone older than 18), Kiyoshi Kurosawa�s �Pulse� (AKA �Kairo�) and the anthology film �3 ... Extremes� come to mind, but this shot in 8 days wonder from Takashi Shimizu (�The Grudge�) is the one that stuck in my brain. Starring Shinya Tsukamoto (Director and star of �Tetsuo the Iron Man�), the story concerns a fear-obsessed freelance cameraman investigating an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo. That�s all the set-up you�ll get from me. Should see a region 1 DVD release sometime in 2006. 8.) ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW -- This one made enough 10 best lists that I feel I don�t need to discuss it too much here; the fact that it didn�t make everyone�s ten best list is a crying shame. Hands down, the best drama of the year, and not whatever you expect it to be; whatever that may be ... 9.) OLDBOY -- I actually saw this two years ago, but it only got it�s official American theatrical release this year. A man is imprisoned without explanation for 15 years; then just as suddenly and inexplicably, he is released. Understandably, he�s pissed and wants to get revenge on those who imprisoned him. Chanwook Park�s great revenge thriller consistently surprises and thrills; and has an unexpectedly stunning, even moving ending. Don�t wait for the forthcoming bad American remake; just see the original. 10.) PALINDROMES -- Maybe because this was released in the first quarter of 2005, everyone forgot that it was around; I didn�t. Todd Solondz seems to specialize in making films that not only challenge the viewer, but also just downright confound him. Well, confounded I may be, but I appreciate it, all the same. Some Honorable Mentions: THE ARISTOCRATS -- not great filmmaking, but great social anthropology; and funny as all get out (if a bit gross at times) 3-IRON -- I still don�t quite know what to make of this one. It stayed with me though. WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT -- Gotta� love W & G! TEN FILMS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON MY TEN BEST LIST (IF I HAD TIME TO SEE THEM) Hey, I had a very busy year and just didn�t have time to see everything ... for once. 1.) CACH� -- Having seen Michael Haneke�s �Funny Games� and �The Piano Teacher� I think they alone qualify this for potential inclusion on a ten best list; maybe I�ll find out when it comes out on DVD. 2.) CAPOTE -- Everybody says the movies great. Everybody says Philip Seymour Hoffman�s acting is great; so apparently is Catherine Keener�s. I�ll let you know. 3.) THE CONSTANT GARDENER -- Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Fernando Meirelles directed �City of God�. �Nuff said. 4.) DOWNFALL -- I had my fill of HItler this year at work (worked on a Hitler doc this past Fall ...). But this was supposed to be really good. 5.) THE FORTY YEAR OLD VIRGIN -- I passed on this when it opened because it looked ... dopey (quite frankly); but on a year that was light on comedies (or at least good ones) everyone I know who saw this says it was really funny. And no, I don�t qualify for the title role on at least two counts ... 6.) BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- The ad campaign for this seemed dreamed up by the team that writes �Tiger Beat�, but supposedly the film itself is quite good. I�ll find out ... eventually. 7.) THE SQUID AND THE WHALE -- Included only because it seems to have made it onto so many other ten best lists; In all honesty, I don�t know if I have any interest in seeing this whatsoever ... 8.) TONY TAKITANI -- An unknown quantity from Japan that made it onto many of the more discerning ten best lists out there. Based on a story by Haruki Murakami. I really did mean to see this one in the theaters, but I think it played a week and then it was gone. 9.) WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL -- A doc. about a guy who looks after some feral birds in San Fran. Unanimously praised by everyone I know that�s seen it. What can I tell you? It�s in the Netflix cue ... 10.) THE WORLD -- Set at a �World�s Fair� type theme park in China, the trailer for this looked great, and the film itself made it onto many other ten best lists. I�m curious. THE TEN MOST UNDESERVING FILMS OF 2005 In a year when both Martin Lawrence and Rob Schneider released films, could the following really be the worst movies of the year? No, but they all sucked; and shouldn�t have! 1.) AEON FLUX -- The animated show upon this was based was the best thing of its� sort since McGoohan�s �The Prisoner� TV series. But you know, with a little white wash, and some extraordinarily dull writing, even the most compelling ideas can be made sleep-inducing. What should have been an Sci-fi action-adventure with political overtones becomes a 90+ minute fashion show; but even Charlize Theron�s slinky outfits don�t substitute for a good story. 2.) BROKEN FLOWERS -- This made it onto a surprisingly large number of ten best lists this year, but it never came together for me (and I�m a fan of Jarmusch�s work); maybe the critics were just focusing on the soundtrack, which has all these great Ethiopiques tracks on it? -- 3.) THE CORPSE BRIDE -- I was hoping for another �Nightmare Before Christmas�; instead I got something that wasn�t much better than �Rudolph�s Shiny New Year�. Not terrible, just ... disappointing. 4.) CRASH -- Without a doubt, the most overpraised movie of the year. Don�t get me wrong, the intentions of this film are good, absolutely, but ... good intentions do not a good movie maketh, so sayeth me. Director and screenwriter Paul Haggis hammers his oh-so-good intentions at the audience every time he gets half a chance to; and I guess if you like stock characters who spout lines of dialogue that sound more like �letters to the editor� than actual human discourse, you�ll like this. Trust me, there are worse films than �Crash� on this list, but none more full of themselves. 5.) A DIRTY SHAME -- John Waters latest comedy has a few chuckles here and there but on the whole just feels like an overlong SNL sketch. You�d be better off renting �Female Trouble� again, I think. 6.) FANTASTIC FOUR -- I suppose it just boiled down to a question of balance; since Chris Nolan showed us the right way to do a comics adaptation with �Batman Begins�, I guess Tim Story had to step in and refresh our memories on the wrong way once more. This movie sucks ass. 7.) THE PRODUCERS -- Okay, I�ll admit it - I haven�t actually even seen this musical remake of the original comedy. But I�ve seen the trailer; are the other 88 minutes going to be any less painful? 8.) SIN CITY -- Technically - amazing. Morally - reprehensible. And ultimately just no fun. Movies like this are supposed to be fun, right? 9.) STAR WARS III: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH -- I have to agree; it�s the best of the three �prequels�. And it did accomplish a cinematic first: The only movie in the history of film to be highly praised because it didn�t suck AS MUCH as its� two predecessors! 10.) WAR OF THE WORLDS -- Regarding this treatment of H.G. Wells classic novel, I�ll just leave you with my thoughts as I exited the movie theater: �I just paid 11 bucks to see Tom Cruise yanked out of a huge alien asshole ...� There, that�s it; my take on movies 2005. If you didn�t see it listed, it either wasn�t good enough, or bad enough. Thanks,
Tom R.
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