Film 2005

It's very nearly the end of the year so I thought I should bring my report of all the films I've seen this year. Attempting a review of every single one of them would be terribly time consuming and pointless so I've sorted them into four groups and tried to rank them based on my own response to each one - though it's almost impossible to compare some of them. My ratings have little to do with artistic merit or anything that people who know about films care about, just my own subjective response.
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All the films listed were seen at the cinema with the exception of Unleashed, which I've included because it was in the cineam this year even though I saw it later on DVD.
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Highly Recommended
Hotel Rwanda – A moving and inspiring film based on a true story
Millions – A very touching little film featuring two boys, some angels and a big stash
House of Flying Daggers – Possibly the most visually stunning film I’ve ever seen
Batman Begins – The best of the Batman films, really gives depth to the character
Unleashed – Jet Li proves himself to be a very good actor, not just a Kung-Fu master (DVD)
The Interpreter – Nicole Kidman is surprisingly believable as a UN interpreter
Kung-Fu Hustle – Hilarious martial arts comedy
Wallace and Gromit – Like Gromit, I don’t need to say anything about this one
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Worth a look
The Manchurian Candidate – Good tense thriller slightly tainted by apparent political bias at the start
Be Cool – John Travolta stars alongside Vince Vaughan and The Rock in a very enjoyable comedy
Bullet Boy – A gritty and very worthy film, best not to watch it if you’re feeling depressed
War of the Worlds – Over-hyped, of course, but worth it for the full-on cinematic spectacle
Crash – Interesting film, probably not as clever as it thought it was
Sideways – Nice scenery and soundtrack, not the fastest moving piece
Pride and Prejudice – Not as good as the BBC version but it’s a good story
The Wedding Crashers – A fairly brainless comedy, enjoyable nonetheless
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – A few annoying uses of words like ‘candy’
Hitchhikers Guide – Faithful to the feel of the book but not the story
Meet the Fockers – Another easy-watching comedy
Kingdom of Heaven – Slightly ridiculous as far as I can remember
Madagascar – It was good enough, some nice touches, not spellbinding I guess
Valiant – Featuring the voice of Ricky Gervais, he doesn’t spoil it, thankfully
The Man – I’d forgotten about this one. Luke Goss wasn’t very good but it wasn’t completely awful
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Not Recommended
Mickey-Bo and Me – It’s probably a good film. Everyone else loved it – I just found it annoying
Churchill, the Hollywood years – I enjoyed it the first time but watching again I was less impressed
Star Wars – Awful dialogue, slow moving for the first hour, we all knew what was going to happen anyway
Monster-in-Law – You won’t be disappointed, it really is as bad as it sounds
Mr and Mrs Smith – Seems to revel unnecessarily in the sound of guns being assembled
Team America, World Police – After the first 10 minutes it’s not worth watching
The Life Aquatic – Bill Murray just doesn’t do anything for me
The Dukes of Hazard – My main objection is the glorification of the Dukes’ lifestyle
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I’d rather poke my own eyes out than watch it again!
National Treasure – This is nothing but propaganda aiming to make Americans feel patriotic (as if they’re not patriotic enough!) at the expense of the British. Every existing copy of this film should be ritually burnt along with all other associated material. The cast and crew should expunge it from their CV’s and receive Electro-Convulsive Therapy to wipe it from their memories. (This may cause a certain amount of brain damage for some very talented people but it’s worth it)