Al's Top Rated Films: 2005

Frank Miller's epic graphic novel inspired crime thriller definitely takes my top spot for the 2005. Excellent story the follows three different and somewhat correlating stories in the dark, ominous, and rainy Basin City—a massive grotesque thug who's looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, an honest cop who makes it his life purpose to protect an 11-year-old girl into adulthood, and a the struggle for control between Old Town (the city's red-light district) and the police, which takes a dangerous turn when a corrupt detective is murdered. Brilliantly shot, great writing and dialogue that matches comic book dialogue perfectly; fantastic cinematography, and top-notch performances from Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, Jaime King, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy, Carla Gugino, Devon Aoki, Benicio Del Toro, Alexis Bledel, Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Marley Shelton, Rutger Hauer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Powers Boothe, Tommy Flanagan, among others. Partly directed by Quentin Tarantino and visually stunning throughout. Personal classic indeed.

Superb music biopic from James Mangold on the life of legendary country musician, Johnny Cash. Great story as it follows his early life during the Great Depression on an Arkansas cotton farm, his time in the air force when he gets more interested in music, his marriage and family troubles, his relationship with the gorgeous and famous June Carter and all the drama that follows it, drug and alcohol addiction, to his eventual rise to superstar fame. This film definitely made me a bigger Johnny Cash fan than I already was. Joaquin Phoenix delivered a fantastic performance as Johnny Cash...my favorite role from him yet. Reese Witherspoon also delivered one of her all time best Oscar winning performances as June Carter. Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Dallas Roberts, Waylon Payne, and many others had great supporting roles.

Incredible and inspiring biopic from Roger Donaldson, about New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent 25 years rebuilding and modifying a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which lead him to winning the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week in 1967, at the ripe old age of 68. Beautifully done story all around. Anthony Hopkins just keeps getting better as he ages. He delivered one of his all-time best performances. Christopher Lawford, Aaron Murphy, Chris Williams, Paul Rodriguez, Patrick John Flueger, Bruce Greenwood, and many others had great supporting roles.

Fantastic crime drama and partial biography from Bennett Miller that follows American novelist and magazine writer Truman Capote (1924-1984), and tells the story of how he came to write one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary true crime novels of all time—In Cold Blood (1966). The story recounts the events of the brutal murder of an innocent small-town Kansas family in 1959. The eccentrically famous author dives deep into researching the case, and has great empathy for death row suspects Richard "Dick" Hickock, and especially Perry Smith, who he's come to find shares a history similarly horrible as his own. He does all he can to find the proper legal representation for them over a stressful 4 year stretch that finds him nearly reaching his breaking point. Philip Seymour Hoffman arguably delivers his greatest performance—if not the most challenging—of his entire career. He transformation was fantastic. Clifton Collins Jr. and Catherine Keener (playing famous author Nelle Harper Lee) also had a great starring roles. Bruce Greenwood, Bob Balaban, Mark Pellegrino, Chris Cooper, Allie Mickelson, and several others had nice roles among a solid supporting cast.

Outstanding start to Christopher Nolan's superb Dark Knight trilogy. Great origin story that follows the murder of Bruce's parents, his relocation to central Asia where he trained with assassins among the League of Shadows, to his reappearance in Gotham City as he fights to clean up the city's crime as the head of Wayne Enterprises. I'd have to say these are easily my favorite Batman movies to date. Christian Bale brings Bruce Wayne to new levels, and delivers one of his greatest performances. Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe, Linus Roache, and others had great roles among the supporting cast.

Incredible sports biopic from Ron Howard about Great Depression era boxer James J. Braddock, and the challenges he overcame to become the heavyweight champion of the world. He was once expected to be the next greatest prizefighter in the late 1920s; but by the early 1930s, he was beaten and washed up. When financial stresses hit hard among him and his family, he decides to start fighting again, makes an unbelievable comeback, and faces a supposed indestructible opponent for the heavyweight championship. Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, and Paul Giamatti all delivered arguably the best lead performances of their careers. They were all fantastic. Great supporting cast throughout.

Fantastic revenge drama set in a future British dystopian society, and follows an underground freedom fighter named "V" who rescues and hides a young woman who becomes an enemy of the state. They form a special bond and friendship, and work together to overthrown the violent and fascist government. Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman both deliver phenomenal lead performances. Arguably the best of their careers. Great dialogue and writing with awesome action. Awesome film from DC Comics. Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Roger Allam, Sinéad Cusack, Natasha Wightman, and others had great supporting roles.

Excellent historical biopic from George Clooney on the career of CBS broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. The story is set in 1958, after the extremely controversial Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin (among other politicians) had instilled fear in the American public over potential threats of Communism, and would recklessly label people as Soviet spies and sympathizers—sometimes ruining their careers and family life in the process. Despite pressure from military and other government influence, journalist Edward R. Murrow and the news team at CBS make bold moves to expose the hypocrisy and lies of Senator Joseph McCarthy, and eventually takes him down in most glorious fashion. David Strathairn is one of my favorite supporting actors, and it was fantastic to see him lead the way with a superb starring performance. He's one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels, Frank Langella, Alex Borstein, Tate Donovan, Matt Ross, and Dianne Reeves also had excellent supporting roles.

Excellent crime mystery/thriller from Fernando Meirelles that follows a British diplomat named Justin Quayle who instantly falls in love with a combative and idealistic Amnesty International activist named Tessa Quayle while giving a lecture in London. When he must move to Kenya for his job, he takes her with him, and they get married and live a happy life. Tessa loves Africa, and continues her activism work with the help of a Belgian doctor and activist named Arnold, while also carrying Justin's child. When she gets too close to a controversy surrounding a new drug named Dypraxa that involves greedy business moguls and corrupt politicians, she's mysteriously murdered. Now it's up to Justin to unlock the secrets of the work she's hidden from him and solve her murder before the same killers murder him. Excellent story all around with nice levels of drama, romance, thrills, mystery, and revenge. Ralph Fiennes arguably delivers his best lead performance to date. Rachel Weisz's Oscar-winning starring role was also on of her best. Danny Huston, Pete Postlethwaite, Richard McCabe, Hubert Koundé, Bill Nighy, Donald Sumpter, Archie Panjabi, Gerard McSorley, Sidede Onyulo, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent drama/romance/western that follows two troubled young men named Ennis and Jack who both find work on a sheep farm in Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming, 1963. As time goes by, they develop a complex intimate relationship. When summer is over and the job is done, Jack wants to live with Ennis full-time, but Ennis is reluctant and battles with overwhelming guilt over his feelings for Jack. Nonetheless, they split up, marry different women, and start families. 4 years later they will meet up again, which immediately revives their secretive relationship that ends up spanning 20 years. Some people may pass on this movie just for the subject matter, which is a shame. If you're a fan of excellent film-making, a unique and powerful story, and fantastic performances; this film has it all. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal both deliver fantastic lead roles. Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Linda Cardellini, Randy Quaid, David Harbour, Anna Faris, and others also delivered excellent supporting roles.

Gripping drama set in 1989 and tells a fictionalized story of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States—Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines—where a woman is subjected to a wide array of mental, physical, and sexual abuse by her male co-workers and superiors while working as a coal miner in the Eveleth Mines in Minnesota. Charlize Theron delivered one of her greatest performances of her career. Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Jeremy Renner, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Sissy Spacek, Rusty Schwimmer, Michelle Monaghan, Thomas Curtis, and several others had great supporting roles.

Excellent sports biopic about high school basketball coach Ken Carter—who made winners out of a losing team in the poor area of Richmond, California, in 1999. After they start to win, his controversial methods are met with scrutiny from parents and faculty when he benches the entire team for failing to uphold written and signed contracts, which says they must hit a 2.3 grade point average, and attend all of their classes—if they want to continue playing basketball. Very well made drama, and a very inspiring story overall. Samuel L. Jackson delivers one of his very best lead performances. Rob Brown, Robert Ri'chard, Rick Gonzalez, Nana Gbewonyo, Antwon Tanner, Channing Tatum, Ashanti, Texas Battle, Octavia Spencer, and Denise Dowse all had very nice supporting roles, along others.

Excellent music and fashion inspired comedy drama from Julian Jarrold set in Northampton, England, and follows a man named Charlie Price, who's idealistic father and family shoe business owner passes away. Charlie has never been interested in the business or shoes, but feels he must save the company to honor his family. When the business starts to falter after making the same old kind of shoes, Charlie meets a drag queen named Lola, and is inspired to diversify his business by creating and marketing flashy and extremely sturdy boots for largely built drag queens. Great story all around, which speaks of many topical social issues pertaining to the LGBT community, and more. Joel Edgerton delivered one of his finest lead performances. But it was Chiwetel Ejiofor's fantastic performance as Lola that really blew me away. He is already one of my favorite actors, and he just added another layer of complexity to his persona. Sarah-Jane Potts, Jemima Rooper, Nick Frost, Linda Bassett, Ewan Hooper, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent historical war drama and biography from Sam Mendes on the life of Anthony "Swoff" Swofford. The story starts just before the Gulf War in 1989, and tracks Swofford's time through boot camp and then to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield after becoming a skilled sniper. The story focuses on the mental state of Swofford and several other soldiers as they are hungry to see some action, but actually spend their entire time in Saudi Arabia without killing anyone, or even shooting their weapons. It also focuses on the strain of being away from their family and loved ones. While the Gulf War wasn't as bloody or didn't last as long, the psychological drama can be just as damaging for some soldiers. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a fantastic lead performance. Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx also had great starring roles. Evan Jones, Brian Geraghty, Jacob Vargas, Laz Alonso, Chris Cooper, Scott MacDonald, Brianne Davis, and many others has great supporting roles.

Excellent sports biopic from Bill Paxton that follows a poor and gifted young amateur golfer named Francis Ouimet, who rises to the top of the game and earns a spot on the 1913 U.S. Open for an opportunity to play his idol and 1900 U.S. Open champion, Englishman Harry Vardon. Inspiring story with great characters all around, and great action shots on the greens. Shia LaBeouf and Stephen Dillane both delivered excellent lead performances. Matthew Knight, Josh Flitter, Elias Koteas, Marnie McPhail, Peyton List, and others had great supporting roles.

Excellent crime thriller from Wes Craven that follows a young hotel manager named Lisa Reis who's taking the red-eye flight back to her home in Miami after attending the funeral of her grandmother. She meets a charming and attractive man named Jackson Rippner in the terminal, and has drinks with him in the bar while their flight is delayed. To her surprise, Jackson and her have been assigned seats together when they board the plane. Things start off innocently until she asks what he does for a living. Through a playful series of questioning, she finds out that she's being kidnapped by Jackson, who will kill her father if she doesn't help him assassinate an important politician that's staying in the hotel she manages. Wes Craven's direction really made this a fantastic thriller, and turns out to be one of his finest films. The cast was excellent as well. Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams both deliver a couple of their best lead performances, and have great chemistry together. Jayma Mays, Brian Cox, Angela Paton, Laura Johnson, Suzie Plakson, Jack Scalia, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama/thriller from David Ayer set in the gritty streets of South Central Los Angeles, and follows an aggressive and psychologically troubled ex-Army Ranger named Jim Luther Davis who meets up with his best buddy Mike Alonzo. While Jim is working to become a cop and work for the L.A.P.D., he has no issues drinking and driving, doing drugs, or committing much more disturbing crimes with his worrisome friend by his side. When his dreams of becoming a cop fail, he's accepted to start training for work at a U.S. Homeland Security branch. His position threatens his future with his beautiful Mexican fiancé, which sets off a chain reaction of horrifying and deadly events. Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors, and he put everything he had into his character like he usually does, and delivers a fantastic lead performance. Freddy Rodríguez also delivered an excellent starring role. Eva Longoria, Tammy Trull, Chaka Forman, J.K. Simmons, Terry Crews, Michael Monks, and others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent crime drama/mystery, and the first of 9 films in the ongoing Jesse Stone saga based on Robert B. Parker's original novels. This story follows a police chief of the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts, as he investigates the rape of a high-school girl, and also a series of random murders committed by kill-happy big city folks who videotape their crimes. Tensions rise when they end up targeting Jesse, his girlfriend, and others who are close to him. Why this movie is a formulaic crime drama, it is an excellent one. The premise, story, writing, acting, and casting is all done great. It's no wonder why the series is so popular. Tom Selleck delivered one of his best lead performances. Jane Adams, Reg Rogers, Polly Shannon, Viola Davis, Alexis Dziena, Kohl Sudduth, Stephen McHattie, Shawn Roberts, Mimi Rogers, and others had great supporting roles.

Hilarious satirical comedy/drama that follows the chief spokesperson and lobbyist for Big Tobacco, who has a knack for defending the cigarette industry when they come under attack. Things take a turn when a liberal senator launches an anti-smoking campaign, which becomes difficult for him to be a role model to his 12-year old son. Aaron Eckhart delivered one of his best lead performances. He was excellent. Maria Bello, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, Robert Duvall, and others had great supporting roles.

Hilarious comedy about two fun-loving best friends who crash random weddings to meet women. But the Cleary wedding proved to be different than all the rest, after one of them instantly falls in love with the maid of honor; forcing them to keep their fake personas going further as he tries to build a relationship on a pile of lies. Owen Wilson & Vince Vaughn are a great duo, and both deliver a couple of their best performances. Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, and Will Ferrell also had great parts among a solid supporting cast.

Hilarious action-packed crime comedy/thriller from Doug Liman that follows a construction executive named John Smith who's married to a tech support consultant named Jane. They've ended up in marriage counseling after 6 years together simply because they are keeping secrets from each other and have become bored with their day-to-day routine of lying. In reality, they are both leading double lives as extremely skilled assassins who work for competing contract-killing firms that are recruited by government organizations. When both of their respective firms task them to kill a DIA prisoner named Benjamin "The Tank" Danz, they end up nearly killing each other, then must face the fact that they must work through their deadly problem, or kill each other like their agencies have instructed them to do. Solid story, great comedy, awesome action, and a great cast all around. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie both delivered excellent lead performances and had great chemistry together. Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody, Kerry Washington, Michelle Monaghan, Keith David, and many others had very nice supporting roles.

Great crime drama from John Singleton that follows 4 adopted brothers who return to their Detroit home to investigate the murder of their adoptive mother, who was one of the most loved and caring individuals in the entire community. After learning the incident was not a random shooting and that she was setup to be murdered by killers contracted by a crime kingpin named Victor Sweet; the brothers are bound and determined to get their revenge. Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André 3000, and Garrett Hedlund all deliver excellent lead performances. Terrence Howard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Charles, Sofía Vergara, Fionnula Flanagan, Taraji P. Henson, Barry Shabaka Henley, and several others had very nice supporting roles. It also has one of the finest R&B/Funk soundtracks throughout.

Excellent action-packed sci-fi adventure from Joss Whedon that is based on the TV series Firefly (2002) that I have personally never seen. It didn't really matter, because this film would be a ton of fun for anyone who watches it. The story takes place 500 years into the future, and follows a rebellious crew aboard the ship Serenity who must stop an evil assassin from capturing a woman named River Tam, who possesses the ability to read people's thoughts and see situations unfold before they happen, on top of being bonafide killer. Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, and Sean Maher all deliver excellent lead performances. David Krumholtz, Ron Glass, Michael Hitchcock, Sarah Paulson, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Excellent fantasy adventure based on C.S. Lewis' classic novel from 1950. Set in World War II, the story follows 4 kids as they travel through a mysterious wardrobe and into the magical land of Narnia, where they meet all sorts of unique speaking animals and other creatures. When the young brother in the group betrays his siblings after making an agreement with the evil White Witch, they are forced to go to war with the White Witch's army with the help of a kingly lion named Aslan and his army. Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, and Anna Popplewell all delivered great roles as the children. Tilda Swinton was superb as the White Witch. Liam Neeson, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Kiran Shah, and several others had great supporting roles.

Excellent hip-hop inspired crime drama that follows a Memphis pimp in his 40s who's running out of time to do something worthwhile with life, and decides to channel his effort to become a rapper with the help of a his friends and prostitutes. The direction of the music is pure southern crunk bangers with conscious street raps, which is done very well, even if it isn't my favorite style of hip-hop. Terrence Howard delvers an excellent a complex real-life portrayal of a hustler and pimp. Easily the best role I've seen from him. Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, DJ Qualls, Ludacris, Paula Jai Parker, Elise Neal, and Isaac Hayes all have very nice roles among the supporting cast.

Great historical drama/biography from Terrence Malick set during the exploration of Virginia in 1607, and follows the life of Pocahontas (aka (Matoaka), as her and the Native American Powhatan tribe witness the arrival of 3 English ships and a colony of men who plan to settle in the area. Among the Englishman is a man named Captain John Smith who ends up being captured by the Powhatan tribe. When they are about to kill him, Pocahontas convinces the tribe to spare his life. They soon deeply fall in love as he lives there for a period of time and makes friends with many Powhatans. But they eventually want him to leave and take the Englishman back to where they came from. When neither side will concede, it breaks out in a deadly war. Pocahontas is later sold to the Englishman after betraying the Powhatans, which begins her tale living amongst the English for the rest of her life. Great story with an inventive use of cinematography. The film moves a bit slowly, but makes up for it with excellent acting. Q'orianka Kilcher and Colin Farrell both deliver excellent lead performances. Christian Bale also had a great starring role. Christopher Plummer and August Schellenberg has great supporting roles among many others.

Very funny comedy/romance from Judd Apatow about a 40-year-old electronics store shipping clerk who plays video games and has a sweet collection of action figures. When he starts dating a single mother, the hilarity of the increasing pressure to take that next step to lose his virginity becomes even more difficult. Steve Carell and Catherine Keener both delivered great lead performances. Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, and several others had nice supporting roles.

Solid and very funny sequel to Get Shorty (1995). This time we see ex-mobster Chili Palmer movie away from movie, and entering the music industry after discovering a young singer named Linda Moon. Meanwhile, he's being threatened by the Russian mafia and a group of gangsta rappers, which all leads up to an epic Aerosmith concert. John Travolta delivered a great lead performance. The great supporting cast is what really makes the film: Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Dwayne Johnson, André 3000, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, James Woods, and many others had very nice roles.

This was the best of all the Star Wars prequels, and really delivered where the previous two films failed. Nice story set 3 years into the Clone Wars, which follows Anakin as he plays sides between the Jedi Council and Chancellor Palpatine. Definitely the best ending/conclusion of the three films. Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, James Earl Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Christopher Lee, and others had nice performances.

Solid action/adventure and King Kong adaptation from Peter Jackson. Nice story set in 1933 about an enthusiastic film producer who recruits a New York City Vaudeville actress, and assembles a team to finish his film on the infamous Skull Island—where they run into a horrific 25-foot tall gorilla who lives on the island, and puts them all in risk. The film is well done and the cast does a fine job, but I honestly felt the lead casting of Naomi Watts and Jack Black could have been better/different. Adrien Brody was good among a solid supporting cast.

Nice comedy that follows the young dinner staff at Shenaniganz restaurant as they play plenty of pranks and games while getting into other antics throughout the day. Ryan Reynolds delivered a good lead performance, and much of the supporting cast is solid. It really isn't one of the better films for the genre/style, but is still very entertaining. I'd have to say I feel The Slammin' Salmon (2009) is a MUCH better similar movie in my book.

Very nice crime drama that follows a 32-year-old woman who's spent 4 years getting clean from heroin addiction, and struggles with many close people in her life that are also addicted to the drug. She desperately wants a $40,000 loan to open her own business, but with her spotty history and lack of collateral, she's unable to get one. Through an act of desperation, she entangled in a drug deal tp raise the money, which has disastrous consequences. Cate Blanchett is one of my favorite actresses, and while she gave a great performance along with Hugo Weaving, the story depressing and just wasn't that interesting. Sam Neill, Martin Henderson, and Noni Hazlehurst also had solid roles among the supporting cast.