Best of 2005

One of the best of its year.

An outstanding and almost otherworldly documentary.

One of the best films of its year. Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson give incredible performances in this unsettling film.

Nick Frost is in it. Need I say more?

Solid follow up to the incredible Dogville. Not quite as good, but just barely misses the mark.

A stunning western set in the Australian outback in the 19th century. Visually amazing.

A film noir set in suburban modern day high school. Sounds off-putting, but it works beautifully.

It's hard to pick a favorite in Park Chan-Wook's revenge trilogy, but this one holds a special place in my heart. A wonderfully twisted, fun and exciting ride.

Another great film from Sam Mendes.

Gripping and disturbing film by Gregg 'Doom Generation' Araki. Excellent performances all around, but a standout for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Michael Haneke's slow, creepy and tense thriller.

A brilliant documentary for the patient man.

Wow. This film was funny, disgusting, disturbing, disgusting, inventive, disgusting...you get the idea. Highly recommended for those that can stomach it.

Rob Zombie's best film to date, this captures the atmosphere and look of 70s road/exploitation flicks and runs with it. Amazing use of classic 70s rock on the soundtrack.

Another great Cronenberg film. A great companion piece to Todd Fields' 'In the Bedroom.'

Wallace and Gromit is a favorite, and this film is no exception.

Excellent film, the first English language film from the director of 'City of God,' adapted from the novel by John LeCarre.

Damn near perfect telling of the journey of Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granado in the 1950s. Exquisite location cinematography only further enhances the beauty of this film. Highly recommended.

Excellent and revealing documentary. One of the best of its year.

I was very impressed with this zombie outing. I felt it had some good characters and interesting ideas.

Beautiful and haunting, certainly not the feel good movie of the summer.

A deserved showcase for Cillian Murphy.

Excellent, and not your usual Woody Allen by any means.

Liev Schreiber's adaptation is a strange and wonderful film experience.

A film to see for the performance of Felicity Huffman. She's a knockout.

An interesting look at the 70s porno hit 'Deep Throat' that also takes a look at the social climate surrounding the film leading to both its success and condemnation.

Brooding noir with a delightfully sadistic payoff is also an excellent study on the extremes of human nature. Not for the faint of heart, but the less you know about this going in, the better the ride. Highly recommended to fans of slightly more subversive cinema.

Pierce Brosnan has never been better, and the film flows so well...I recommend it to anyone willing to go for something a bit different.

Genuinely claustrophobic and intense.

A clever little film that takes the original propaganda film and turns it into a campy, hilarious musical.

A good little horror flick. Critically lambasted, and I don't see why. I thought there was some good tension built throughout, and some genuinely creepy moments.

Strange little film, but I liked it.

An inventive take on H.P. Lovecraft. Probably the best adaptation to date.

This is one funny lady. Crass, lewd and roll on the floor hilarious.

Full of great imagery and wonderment. The direction was slightly uneven, the rest of the film made up for it.

Good character piece from Noah Baumbach, who is very hit or miss for me.

Strange little film, but it grabbed me. Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, sometimes both at the same time with some of the most deplorable characters in recent cinema. It's a hard one to take in some ways, but it's worth the journey.

Miike for kids! A fun diversion about a war among the monsters of the world starring Chiaki Kuriyama (Gogo of Kill Bill).