Hey kids. I’ve decided to give you the gift of my presence once again on this site. Aren’t we all so special (Sorry, I’m kind of a asshole). Anyway, I’ve been watching quite a few movies lately and I decided to go ahead and make my top ten movies of 2005.
As in any good list, there has to be some sort of criteria. Here is what I used for this list. First and foremost, I base my opinions on how much I enjoyed the film and that alone. Second, I am only counting movies that have been released in 2005 (I.E. it’s not just movies I first saw in ‘05, they had to have been released in ‘05). Third, if a movie was in the running for an Oscar this past March, it’s not eligible to be on the list. Last of all, I decided not to decipher between genres, but I do still have a bias towards certain genres. So, if my list excludes all the horror films that have come out, it’s because I don’t like that genre. Not that the movies aren’t good. So, without further ado, here’s the list.
10. Kicking and Screaming – Not a very good movie at all, but I did laugh out loud a couple of times. This is enough to hold off Carla Gugino naked in Sin City, but not by much. The movie plays out like any other kid sports movie…ever. Will Ferrell and Mike Ditka do add a little bit of originality, but not enough to make this a good movie. Its just unfortunate that I’ve only seen 12 movies this year. Otherwise this one would be off the list.
9. The Jacket – This movie was advertised to the public as a horror flick. That’s just stupid. It was clearly a sci-fi movie. Too bad the general public likes horror movies more than they like sci-fi. Anyway, this movie plays out similarly to the Butterfly Effect, but surprisingly not as well done. It makes no sense to me, Adrian Brody vs. Ashton Kutcher…Brody wins; Kiera Knightley vs. Amy Smart…Kiera Knightley wins by a landslide. Even with some good Kiera Knightley nudity, the movie doesn’t stand up to Butterfly Effect. This movie could have been a lot further up on the list, but it just didn’t play well enough for me.
8. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Growing up I was a huge fan of Red Dwarf. A British TV show, based on a book, set in a sci-fi universe that is a comedy. So, coming into this movie, I was expecting it to at least give me a little taste of what I used to get in Red Dwarf, but alas, I was disappointed. The laughs were few and far between and the plot was anything special.
7. Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Going into this movie I had heard some good things about it. Specifically that it was a fun and entertaining action movie. So, I figured, I like fun; I like entertainment; this should be the thing for me. Unfortunately, the movie was extremely predictable (as in anyone who saw the TRAILER can predict to you the entire plot). Besides that, the feel of the movie was off a little bit for me. I’m not sure of what it was, but I didn’t click with it.
6. Fever Pitch – This movie had all the makings of a classic. No, I’m not being sarcastic. The movie is based on a novel by Nick Hornby (His other novels include High Fidelity and About a Boy). So, that alone should make the movie good. In addition to that, the movie was directed by the Ferrelly brothers (Their other projects include There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber). So, that should make the move even better. And last of all, it’s about baseball (My favorite sport). The movie turned out okay, but I found it unrealistic. Seriously, if I had season tickets to the Oakland A’s and my wife was going to leave me over them, I would be going to the next home game with out her. Call me romantic or what ever you want, there’s just some things about me women can’t change regardless of the ultimatum.
5. Batman Begins – I was actually mildly entertained at this movie. This says a lot for the movie because a) I don’t like Batman, b) I don’t like horror movies, and c) I can’t stand how saggy Katie Holmes’ eyes are (eww). The film did have a lot of horror film type moments through out it. But overall, I was somewhat entertained.
4. Hitch – Here’s another movie that could have been better. Honestly, the whole Will Smith part of the movie was pretty yawnable , but Kevin James holds up the movie. If the movie were completely center around Kevin James, it would have been closer to number one on my list.
3. Unleashed – One of the best surprises this year. I thought the film premise look decent. Then I read a couple of reviews and they said it was good. So, I decided to give it a chance. The movie does an amazing job of intertwining action, drama, and a little bit of comedy. I could actually see this at #2 on my list, but I decided to leave it at #3 instead. Oh well, my by year’s end I will switch things up.
2. Star Wars: Episode 3. The Revenge of the Sith – I’m a Star Wars fan. This movie is good as a movie on it’s own. I liked this movie. I’m not going to try and explain why to anyone who isn’t a Star Wars fan out there. They’ll just have to watch it and find out for themselves. I do want to note that this is the first prequel that made really added on to the legacy of the originals. The continuity is great.
1. The Longest Yard – I was blown away by this movie. I’ve been a huge Sandler fan since Happy Gilmore (I didn’t like Billy Madison the first time I saw…but I have since realized how good it is). This movie takes everything funny about Adam Sandler and some how takes the comedy to the next level. I believe the reason why this movie achieves that higher level is entirely because of one man, Kevin Nash. I am convinced that he is one of the greatest actors today. I first started to understand this while he was with World Championship Wrestling (WCW to those in the know). Yes, he used to be a wrestler, but everyone knows that the reason wrestling is popular is because of the storylines and the characters. Kevin Nash was great in his character and quickly became my all time favorite wrestler. He also showed some of his acting chops in The Punisher. He played the Russian. Once again, I was impressed. But his performance in The Longest Yard is up there with the greats; Brando, Bogart, Murray, etc. The Longest Yard made me laugh harder than I’ve laughed since Super Troopers. That’s why it number one.
So there you have it. Let the list bashing begin.
Posted by Mikey 
