Movies seen in 2005

Submitted by spoky on Mon, 01/03/2005 - 10:26
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  • December
  • Laurel Canyon : ***
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire : ***1/2
  • The Seven Samurai : ****
  • Miller's Crossing : ***1/2
  • Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events :***1/2
  • The Royal Tenenbaums : ****
  • November
  • Gangs of New York : ***1/2
  • Annie Hall : ***
  • Bringing Up Baby : ***1/2
  • October
  • Serenity : ***1/2
  • A History of Violence : ****
  • Open Water : **
    I understand that the whole concept of this movie is that they were stuck out in the ocean, but I really felt that the movie was just a whole lot of nothing. I kept waiting for it to end, but it seemed to just keep going and going with nothing interesting ever happening.
  • September
  • Breathless : ***1/2
    Maybe I was expecting too much, or maybe I have already seen to many movies that may have been influenced by this, but I didn't find this Godard "masterpiece" all that masterful. Don't get me wrong it was a very good movie which I enjoyed quite a bit, but not really a masterpiece.
  • Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story : ***1/2
    Yes, there were some jokes that just didn't work, but I was generally amused throughout the entire film.
  • Jersey Girl : ***
    A very predictable film but not that bad despite that. I must say that I was a little disappointed not to see Jay and Silent Bob show up in a cameo (they probably would have blended in nicely in the video store for example). It just doesn't seem like a Kevin Smith movie without seeing them at least once, maybe they were there and I just missed them.
  • Being John Malkovichl: ****
    A rewatch of one of my favourites. I think everything about this film is simply great.
  • The Barbarian Invasions : ****1/2
    This one took a few tries to actually watch. The first time we got it with The decline of the American Empire but a friend of ours ended up coming for the weekend and we only got to watch the first one. The second time we where less then two minutes in when something came up and we had to stop watching, but I finally got to see it the third time around and what a wonderful film. Having seen the first movie definitely helped put some context on the characters at first but ultimately unnecessary as I think this film stands quite well on its own and surpasses its prequel in leaps and bounds.
  • The terminal : **1/2
    Not that much to this one. Entertaining enough, but Tom Hanks didn't really sell his role to me.
  • Without a paddle : **
    Could have been better, but I didn't really expect that it would be. At this price movies like this are worth watching just to be sure I am not missing anything.
  • Million Dollar Baby : ***1/2
    A good movie but that ending just seemed drag on and on.
  • August
  • The Butterfly Effect : ***
    I was quite surprised to enjoy this one as much as I did as I had heard so many bad things. We watched the director's cut with someone who had seen the theatrical version, who said the ending was not how they remembered. So we watched the original ending and all agreed that while much more morbid the director's ending choice made for a much better movie.
  • A man apart : **
    Not that good. The actors all mumbled, it seemed like there was no real resolution and the action parts were not interesting enough to make up for the rest of the film.
  • Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! : ***
    Surprisingly enjoyable. Not a masterpiece of cinema by any means but an entertaining little film.
  • Le déclin de l'empire américain : ***1/2
    Quite good. I have seen most of this a couple of times before when I was younger, but I think I was too young then to truly enjoy it. I watched it again in preparation for The Barbarian Invasions which I hope to find at least just as good if not better.
  • Shaun of the Dead : ***1/2
    Very good and very funny.
  • Being Julia : ***
    Not a bad film but Annette Bening was most definitely the best part. Without a great performance in the role of Julia this would have been a below average film as there really wasn't anything else to it.
  • Anything Else : ***1/2
    I found myself laughing quite a bit during this one. There were of course some bits that didn't quite work but overall a very enjoyable film. I really should look into viewing more of Allen's work because I have a feeling that I would most likely enjoy his more famous stuff at least.
  • July
  • The Circle : ***
    A good movie but for some reason I found the plight of the first woman more interesting then that of the second woman, so the film lost a bit for me when the transition occurred.
  • The Station Agent : ****
    I really liked this one, I thought the characters interactions were all very well done and I loved the way the friendships progressed through the film.
  • The Village : ***
    Not a bad film. My attention wasn't fully on the movie due to the circumstances that I watched it in, so there may have been bits of detail that I missed.
  • Ray : ***1/2
    Makes me want to seek out more of Ray Charles music, he put out some good stuff and I am sure that the movie just dipped my toes in the water. The movie itself was quite good (though perhaps a bit to long).
  • Just Married : **1/2
    Just your average romantic comedy that had its share of funny and flat jokes.
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou : ***1/2
    Not my favourite of Anderson's work (I think I favour The Royal Tenenbaums but it has been a while since I have seen Rushmore) but still quite a good movie. I have a feeling that this is one of those movies that my appreciation would increase with subsequent viewings.
  • June
  • Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason : **
    I quite liked the first Bridget Jones movie I thought it was a particularly good romantic comedy, but this sequel seemed totally unnecessary.
  • Lost in La Mancha : **1/2
    I think this might have fallen into the over hyped trap. I realize that I am not the biggest fan of the documentary genre, but I was hoping for something a little bit more entertaining based on what I had heard.
  • Levity : ****
    Surprisingly good. I had heard nothing at all about this when it popped into the Newly acquired DVD list at my library, I put it on my hold list because Hunter, Freeman and Thornton are all actors I usually enjoy and promptly forgot about for a few months. I picked it to watch the other week simply because I was getting other films in the vicinity of L (Lexx and Lost in La Mancha). Think it was one of the best films I have seen in sometime. I am not quite sure I could describe what it is I enjoyed so much, I guess I just liked how it all went together. A very pleasant surprise.
  • The Manchurian candidate : **
    I haven't seen the original which I understand is quite good, but this version was not that good, even Denzel who I usually find to be the best part of almost any film he is in seemed surprisingly sub pare.
  • Rebecca : ***
    I enjoyed this one, though at times it felt a little bit dated. I haven't watched enough old movies in my life and fortunately this one still makes me want to more.
  • I, Robot : **1/2
    An okay movie, but not one that inspires much in the way of comment. I have a feeling that I would much prefer the book if I ever get around to reading any Asimov.
  • Revenge of the Sith : ***1/2
  • Attack of the Clones : ***
  • The Phantom Menace : ***
    I don't think that these movies are quite as bad as there reputation alludes. Yes there is some pretty bad dialog and yes there is some pretty bad acting, but both of those qualities where present in the original three as well. The truth of the matter is (for me anyway) that despite their many faults these are very fun and entertaining movies and they impressively mesh together into a complete story that leads quite nicely into the next series. I for one will happily watch these new three over and over just as I have done with the originals.
  • Irreversible : ****
    This is one of those movies that travels backwards in time and I think it could have been much better traveling forward. The shifting camera was very disconcerting at the beginning of the film,
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    I think it was supposed to symbolize that Marcus was on drugs while searching for the rapist, since the camera became steady in the scenes before the drugs were taken, but since we don't know about that at the movie's start it made it hard to get into. Played in the correct order the twirling camera would have had some context and I doubt I would have had a problem with it.
    That said this is still a great movie!
  • Mean girls : **1/2
    An average comedy with only the occasional truly funny moment and scattered chuckles.
  • May
  • Raising Helen : **1/2
    I was expecting a romantic comedy with just a touch of family to tie in the premise, based on the previews I had seen so I was glad that the majority of the film concentrated on the family issues and the romantic plot was very much secondary it would have been a much worse film the other way around. That said there still wasn't much to pull this above average.
  • Hope Springs : **1/2
    Charming enough romantic comedy but nothing that really stands out as remarkable.
  • Envy : **
    This movie had the potential to be a whole lot funnier then it was. There were a few funny moments but not enough to make a funny movie.
  • Spanglish : ***
    I enjoyed this film. Sandler continues to impress me with his acting ability.
  • Elephant : **1/2
    I found that this movie underwhelmed me. I didn't hate it by any means but I was a little bit disappointed. Most likely it was the victim of expectations that were set much too high.
  • The last samurai : ***
    An enjoyable movie that I quite liked right up until the ending.
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    Everything after the final battle seemed unnecessary and detracted from my enjoyment of the movie. I think I would of preferred an ending where Cruise's character died, rather then the bit with the emperor.
  • Wasabi :***1/2
    I thought this was a very fun movie, it was also my favourite performance by Jean Reno since The Professional .
  • Ladder 49 : ***1/2
    I was surprised by how much I liked this movie.
  • Spring, summer, fall, winter-- and spring :****
    A great film that I truly enjoyed.
  • Hotel Rwanda :****
    What can I say this is a great film well deserving of all it's praise.
  • April
  • Dickie Roberts former child star : ***
    One of the things I quite like about getting movies out of the library is I am willing to get movies that I probably wouldn't pay money to rent on the off chance that they are better then I expect them to be. This is just such a movie. By no means a masterpiece or even a great movie but surprisingly good.
  • Boxing Helena : *1/2
    I had thought that I heard good things about this movie, but I can no longer remember where or who so I don't have anyone to blame. The first half was particularly terrible to the point that I almost turned it off. It got somewhat better but I don't think I would have missed much if I had.
  • Aladdin : ***1/2
    This was my favourite non Pixar Disney film for a long time now, and still is a very enjoyable film, I am not sure if I could still say it is my favourite some of the others are too clouded in my memory to fairly judge them, but Aladdin is definitely a contender.
  • Laws of attraction : ***
    This was literally not the film I thought it was. When I put it on hold after seeing it pop up in the newly acquired DVDs list at my library I thought it was The Rules of Attraction which I vaguely recall hearing was an okay movie. So I was quite surprised when I picked this up as I barely remember seeing the previews for it and had heard nothing else about it (which I did not take as good sign). Fortunately it was a half decent movie that I enjoyed.
  • He loves me, he loves me not : ****
    A great movie, that was very well executed. It was enjoyable enough for the first half and I thought I figured out most of what was going on and then ...
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    they rewind the film and show me a much better twist then I was ever expecting. Before they go back to the start I was pretty sure that the Angélique was the one who caused the miscarriage and was breaking up her "Lover's" marriage, but they did a wonderful job hiding the fact that her affair was entirely one sided and only in her head.
    I love it when a film can surprise me the way this one did.
  • Hidalgo : **1/2
    An okay movie that I enjoyed enough well watching. I found that it did drag a bit at times but I am pretty sure that this was intentional to advance the impression of a long distance race, but I am glad they decided to include the mid race adventure because just the race by itself could have been pretty boring.
  • Bambi : **
    I am sorry to say that Bambi just didn't hold up to my childhood memories. There wasn't really much of a story; there wasn't a whole lot of humour; and the animation itself wasn't all that spectacular. Hopefully it will still appeal to children since my wife bought it now so we would have it for our future kids and unlike all of the other Disney films we have I don't think I would ever choose to watch this one myself.
  • Antwone Fisher : ***1/2
    I very much enjoyed this film. The story was told very well and I thought that Derek Luke did a fantastic acting job, as did Denzel Washington, but he almost always does anyway.
  • And starring Pancho Villa as himself : ***
    The story is the most remarkable thing about this movie. The movie itself was enjoyable, but the true story behind it, going into battle not to fight but to record it, definitely takes a certain combination of bravery and stupidity that I do not possess. Of course news reporters do this all the time and have been doing it for a number of years now, but I am sure it was relatively uncommon thing to do in the early 1900's. I would of hated to have been one of those cameramen sent out into the battle then or now.
  • Hitch : ***
    Much better then I anticipated, I was quite surprised to find myself enjoying this as much as I did.
  • March
  • Princess Mononoke : ***1/2
    I do love all of Miyazaki's films that I have seen and would happily watch any of them over again. This is no exception and my second viewing of Princess Mononoke still presents a wonderful film that all should try to see.
  • The Notebook : **1/2
    A fairly average movie that takes a long time to reach the obvious conclusion. Enjoyable enough to sit through once but I don't expect I would do so again.
  • The Banger Sisters : ***
    Much better then I ever expected it to be, but I must admit I wasn't really expecting much to begin with so I was pleasantly surprised.
  • The Forgotten : *1/2
    I didn't really enjoy this one. The premise itself wasn't that bad but the execution of it was terrible, and the ending was horrible.
  • Analyze that :**1/2
    Some funny stuff here and a lot that fell flat makes for a mediocre comedy. I am not upset that I have seen it but not something I would recommend or wish to see again.
  • Collateral :***1/2
    I very much enjoyed this right up to very end.
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    The last infective shoot out on the subway, then Vincent sitting down and dying from earlier inflicted wounds seemed just a little too anticlimactic for me
    . Otherwise a very good movie.
  • Finding Neverland : ****1/2
    I thought that this was a great film, I truly enjoyed every minute of it. Definitely my favourite of the 2004 movies I have seen, and the best so far on the list for this year (2005). The acting was superb and the interactions between the kids and Depp was fantastic.
  • February
  • Ararat : ****
    I quite enjoyed this one the story was very interesting and I liked the way they worked the movie within the movie I thought it was very well done.
  • The Big Bounce : ***
    Enjoyable enough. Owen Wilson definitely has some sort of charm or charisma going for him that makes him an enjoyable actor to watch, it is his presence that pulls the movie up I am not sure how many other actors could have pulled off the same role.
  • The Joy Luck Club : ***1/2
    A much better film then I was expecting. I was expecting a sappy "chick flick" (which it is). But I found the stories of each of the eight women to be very interesting and entertaining, admittedly some of the plot lines were weaker then others but over all this was an enjoyable film I would happily watch again sometime.
  • The Borne Supremacy ***1/2
    I like the first one a little bit then this, but then again the first time I watched the Borne Identity I probably would have rated lower then I rated this one, it was my second watch of the first one that increased my appreciation of it, so the same may be true of the supremacy as well.
  • Citizen X ***
    The end was stronger then the begriming with this one, there was something about the first twenty or thirty minutes that had me worried that I picked out a bad film. But somewhere along the way it all seemed to fall into place and turned into a good movie.
  • The Company ***1/2
    I quite enjoyed this one. There was one or two plot lines that I lost somewhere along the way but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the film. The ballet sequences were all very beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the ending
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    where Ry (the main character we are following) falls during her solo dance. Her failure made the movie seem more real to me then if she had succeeded
  • Bubba Ho-Tep : **
    I was disappointed in this. For some reason I was expecting a great action comedy but instead got a mediocre film which contained only a few humorous moments in and amongst some terrible monologues.
  • Sideways : ***1/2
    A very good movie that I am sure would get bumped up to great on subsequent watches as my appreciation is only growing over time.
  • Duplex : **1/2
    This was a fairly average film. Nothing really stood out and I think a lot more could have been achieved with the premise but I didn't hate it and I laughed a few times.
  • The Iron Giant : ****1/2
    A great movie. One of my favourite animated features. I can't see how anyone could not enjoy this film.
  • Evelyn : ***
    This was pretty good and I enjoyed it but much like the last film set in Ireland that I saw, there was nothing here that I found to be exceptionally good or bad.
  • Nights of Cabiria : ***
    This was pretty good and I enjoyed it. I still would like to see more of Fellini's work since he is such an acclaimed director. So far I have seen this and 8 1/2 which I liked more then this but I don't think either really stood out for me.
  • January
  • Les triplettes de Belleville : ***1/2
    This is a movie that I am appreciating more as time passes. The lack of dialogue threw me off a bit at the start, as it was not what I was expecting, but I soon realized that dialogue was not really needed to tell the story. Very enjoyable and I think subsequent watches would probably push it up to four stars.
  • The Magdalene Sisters : ***
    A good movie which I enjoyed, but nothing really stood out that I feel like commenting on. It's movies like this one that tend to throw me off the writing of mini reviews. I want to write the review because I personally prefer the lists with reviews in them, but when I have nothing to say but "good movie, I enjoyed it", it seems like it almost isn't worth the trouble. I will push on though and if I end up with more "good movie, I enjoyed it" comments then anything else then at least you will know that the movie was good and I did enjoy it.
  • Shrek 2 : ***
    I liked this better the second time around. Still not as good as the first but not that far off either. Puss In Boots is by far the best part.
  • American Splendor : ****
    What a great movie! I had never read or even heard of the American Splendor comic before but I found this movie to be fascinating. The inclusion of the real Harvey Pekar added a great realism to the film and really pushed home the fact that the comics and the film are in fact stories of his life, and not just fictionalised accounts.
  • Dark Blue : ***
    This was an alright movie that I bumped up to a good movie for giving me an ending that I didn't anticipate, I always like it when a movie throws you a surprise or two.
  • Following : ****
    I thought this was a great movie. My only real complaint was that I found the jumping around of the timeline a little bit hard to follow at first, but by the end I think I can see why the time shifting was done I am not sure if it would have been as good without it.
  • Office Space : ***
    A good movie. I can see the appeal, and how it could become a cult favourite, and I probably would have been one of the hordes of admirers had I seen it in '99 without hearing all the hype. As it is though I still think it is a good movie, and I am glad I finally saw it.
  • Shadowlands : ***
    A good movie if you can make it through the first thirty minutes or so, it just seemed to take forever to get going we actually stopped watching around the thirty minute mark because something else came up and at that time neither my wife or I were that impressed. When we got back to it, it seemed to turn into a much better movie. It even made my wife all teary eyed, but she's got a soft spot for "based on a true story" movies.
  • Meet The Fockers : ***
    I thought that this was a good movie. They did tend over use some jokes especially the Focker name, but for the most part I was amused.
  • The Ladykillers (2004): **1/2
    This was a pretty average movie. Nothing really stood out as particularly bad or good. I am interested to see the original as I have heard that it is a much better movie. I guess I must have liked this one enough to want to see it done again a bit better.
  • Stuck On You : **1/2
    This movie is probably better then it has any right to be, but not quite as good as it could have been. It is much better then I expected from the previews I had originally seen and not quite as good as I had extrapolated from the reviews. Not a movie to see again but not something I am sorry to have watched either.
  • Before Sunset : ***1/2
    I think I saw this too close in time to its prequel. Having just finished watching Jesse and Celine spend a night together it didn't quite feel like nine years later to me. Still a very good movie with all the wonderful qualities of the first one, I just wish I had seen the first one years ago, I think it would have increased my appreciation of this one.
  • Before Sunrise : ****
    A 90 minute conversation between two people I don't know, couldn't get more interesting. The dialogue was entertaining, the whole mood of the film was engrossing. It made want to wander around European Cities at night (not sure how safe that is, but I wanted to nonetheless).
  • Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy : *1/2
    Not really that much good about this movie, there was barely enough laughs to make it bearable. Quite the disappointment after having just viewed the wonderful and funny Elf.
  • Elf : ***1/2
    Elf was amazingly quite good. Not consistently funny but I found there where a lot more jokes that hit then missed. Even if you don't generally like Will Ferrell (I find him to be very hit or miss) I thought he did a great job with this character.
  • Camille Claudel : **1/2
    This movie started out quite good I was interested in the characters and their relationships, but about two thirds of the way in I started becoming less and less interested in the outcome. If it had managed to keep my interest all the way through I would say this was a very good movie. As it stands it was just average.
  • Along came Polly : **
    A romantic comedy that is not particularly funny does not make a great movie. The outcome was never in question and the ride was passable at best. I usually expect more comedic moments from Ben Stiller but this time there was hardly any. And Philip Seymour Hoffman who I usually quite enjoy was absolutely terrible in this one.
Author Comments: 

I have decided this year to once again attempt the unprompted review of the movies I see. We shall see how far along I get before it falls by the wayside once again. In an effort to think more critically about each movie, thus prompting me to also write a review, I have decided to take on a star rating out of five as well.

***** Master piece
**** Great
*** Good
** Passable
* I should have known better

Cloned From: 
Movies seen in 2004
Rushmore01/11/2005

Nice you liked Elf!! i Love Elf! but i also Love Achorman...:( Anchorman, would you say it deserves another viewing? at least for your listology buddy (no pun intended) Rushmore??

spoky01/11/2005

Unfortunately I think repeated viewings of Anchorman would more likely lower my esteem for the film rather then increase it. Perhaps if I hadn't seen it just after seeing Elf I might have liked it a little bit more, but the two movies just don't compare in the quality of the comedy.

Rushmore01/12/2005

You do have a point. Elf is more Friendly and the humour is less "right At You" which is great and you could say that Anchorman is abit like "seen one, seen em' all" kind of comedy genre but i loved it, Better than Dodgeball in my view. Elf, you Are right is great, really funny. it has heart.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[answering the phone]
Buddy: Buddy the Elf! What's your favorite color?

lukeprog02/22/2005

I enjoy Ferrel, usually, but I didn't like Elf. I also couldn't understand why critics thought it was a good movie - much as I'm feeling about Hitch right now.

That quote by Buddy is damn funny, though.

SA03/21/2005

Ferrell isn't really my favorite actor, but I thought he was very good in "Melinda and Melinda".

Btw, nice list spoky. Keep it up. Glad you liked "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" so much. Watched "Before Sunset" a couple of months back, and thought it was great. Also good to see you liked "Finding Neverland". Loved it as well.

spoky03/22/2005

Ferrell is always hit and miss for me, even within the same movie I often find him both absolutely hilarious and painfully unfunny.

I am glad you like my list it is always nice to hear a complement. I may not fly through the movies as quickly as some on this site, but I think I manage a good pace and I am surprising myself with the continued reviews. In the past they would have dried up already, so it is nice to know they get the occasional reader.

jim03/22/2005

I really should have mentioned before now how happy it makes me that you're writing up reviews for everything rather than waiting for requests. Hope you keep at it!

spoky03/23/2005

I promise to do my best, I figured that at least you were reading since you requested more reviews in the past then anyone else.

Rushmore05/02/2005

Dickie Roberts is a great film. spade is a comic mastermind, have you seen him in Joe Dirt?

spoky05/04/2005

I don't think I would go quite as far as great, but definitely good! I don't think I have not seen any other movie with Spade as one of the main actors except his voice in The Emperor's New Groove . I do remember him being funny on Saturday Night Live most of the time.

lbangs09/14/2005

I am very happy to see somebody else love The Barbarian Invasions, a film so many seem not to enjoy nearly as much as I do.

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs