09 January 2006

The 2005 List (Movies & TV)

I know, I know.. It's already 2006. This list is probably so last year. But, who cares... These are some of the best movies/tv shows that I saw in 2005, well, at least in my opinion. But bear in my mind that this list excludes some of the most talked about movies of 2005 such as Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, Syriana, Match Point and Capote among others. With that note I present you my....



15 FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2005

15. Janji Joni
Entertaining. Nicholas Saputra gave his best performance yet (..even better than Gie) in this film about film. The soundtrack was awesome and the scene about 7 bad habit of cinemagoers is excellent and right-on. Can't wait for the next Joko Anwar movie.

14. Hustle And Flow
One of the performance of the year by Terrence Howard. I like this movie because it is about hope and the hustle for a better life. Not as compelling as 8 Mile but definitely stands on its own.

13. The Devil Rejects
Rob Zombie's brilliantly executed follow-up to House Of 1000 Corpses reminded me of what a good horror movie is all about : never gave an assurance to the audience that everything is going to be all right. Unsettling at times, this is the horror movie of the year.

12. Virgin
A movie that I wish us Malaysian could make. Amazing story telling about a taboo subject and it's consequences. Hanny Saputra directs 3 amazing actress in this gritty tale about the darker side of teenage and adolescence life. One of Indonesia's best film of 2005.

11. My Summer Of Love
The movie reminded me of Heavenly Creatures. Pawel Pawlikowski has created the most provocative love story, about two people who will never forget each other, but not for anything like the reasons they initially imagine. Powerhouse performances by the two lead actresses. Adolescent love story at it's best.

10. Night Watch (Nochnoy Dozor)
Rare Russian masterpiece that is visually entertaining and never lets you down with it's fast-paced editing and storytelling. Can't wait for it's sequels, Day Watch and Dusk Watch. It has the promise of a great trilogy in the veins of The Matrix and Lord of The Rings.

9. The Constant Gardener
The last movie that I watched in 2005. Fernando Meirelles is fast becoming one of my favourite directors. I can't remember any other film that is able to be a thriller, a political statement and a haunting romance all at once. Ralph Fiennes delivers another great performance that echoed his heart-wrenching performance in The English Patient. Brilliant.

8. 40 Year Old Virgin
Frat pack movies are so freaking enjoyable. This is the best of them all yet. Steve Carell is so believable as the anti-hero (virgin) of the story that you couldn't help but sympathize with his pain. Great story, great characters and great humour. Check out the deleted scenes on the DVD. Those scenes alone are miles better than any 10 Prof Razak 'comedies'. There, I said it.

7. The Squid & The Whale
If Jeff Daniels doesn't earn an Oscar nomination for his performance in this movie than I'm pretty sure that the voters are Dumb and Dumber (..excuse the pun). Amazing performances by Daniels and Laura Linney makes this story about a dsyfunctional family seems very real and very..erm.. right. This movie gets under your skin. Poignant and observant, hilarious and achingly sad, often at the same time.

6. History Of Violence
It's David Cronenberg, man. I read somewhere that he is 'the only director that can tie up your stomach in knot with his movies'. And they were not joking. The movie is full of secrets, surprises and twists that makes it so thrilling to watch. I recommend you watch this movie without reading any synopsis, reviews or articles about this movie because the whole thrill comes from not knowing what to expect. Trust me, you'll enjoy it better.

5. Sin City
The visions of Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and Frank Miller are so incredible, you can't help but marvel at this cinematic glory. A movie of such high style, done in such a spirit of electrifying fun and creativity, that you just don't care about the violence anymore. The best and the most faithful comic book adaptation ever. Violence has never been so elegant.

4. King Kong
The action thrills. The landscapes soars. Peter Jackson's hairy spectacle is a marvel of technology and emotional depth, and his Kong takes his final leap with our hearts in his paw. It's cinema entertainment of the highest order.

3. Batman Begins
This is how I always imagine a Batman movie should be - dark, mysterious and gloomy. This is the only Batman film that comes closer than ever to Bob Kane's dark, original 1930's comic strip. Christopher Nolan did a wonderful job with this one. Movie cast ensemble of the year - Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Rutger Hauer, Michael Caine and of course, the always faboulous Gary F*ckin' Oldman.

2. Mysterious Skin
Those of you who know Greg Araki's previous films will either love or hate his work because of the surrealism and erotica (not sexual) in his movies. And this is by far, his most complete work to date. Much of the film was shot out of focus in garishly saturated colors, which add to the surreal effect of it's story. Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers a brave performance that will definitely makes people forget about his Third Rock From The Sun character. Disturbing and insinuating powerful movie.

1. Kung Fu Hustle
The first movie that I saw in 2005. In fact it was exactly at 12.01 am on the 1st of January 2005. It was myself, my girlfriend and my 3 close buddies. Fourth row from the front. GSC IOI Mall Puchong. We decided to celebrate new year by doing something that we enjoy doing since we were in secondary school, something that binds us together, something that we used to regularly do together, something that always comes up everytime we're having teh tarik and nasi kandar, something that we miss doing.... watch a Stephen Chow movie! And it was worth it. So freakin' worth it.

Needless to say, we are Chow Sing Chi's fanatics. So, enjoying this movie is not a very hard thing to do. Even if you're not familiar with Chow's work, you would probably enjoy this movie as much as we did. The trademark 'mo lei tau' style of comedy of him is still evident in Kung Fu Hustle. But in this movie, it's not all about the screwball comedy. It's the homage to those 70's Shaw Brothers movie. It's the magnificent (and violent) kungfu fight sequences. It's the jaw-dropping CGI. It's the Looney Tunes cartoon influence. It's the 70's spaghetti western influence. It's the comic book type storyline. It's... everything. And nobody is more capable of combining all of these things except for Mr Stephen Chow Sing Chi. And he does his job well.

You know, sometimes we forget the main and ultimate reason why we watch movies. Movies, films, motion pictures… they're entertainment. We go to cinema because we wanted to be entertained. And that is what Kung Fu Hustle is all about : riotously entertaining.


FAVOURITE TV SHOW OF 2005

CSI : Crime Scene Investigation
Miami was good. New York was crap. But no spin-off can beat the original Las Vegas crew. The season finale directed by Tarantino was one of the best thing on television last year. I have all 5 seasons on DVD. . and I'm waiting for season 6 to come out.

24
The most intelligently scripted series on television right now. The guys who wrote this story is pure genius. Season 4 has so many twist, turns and climax that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Gripping stuff. Plus, there's Elisha Cuthbert. :)

Rockstar INXS
Admittedly, I was not thrilled at first. I thought that INXS had sold-out by agreeing to do this reality series. But after hearing some good live music on the show, and seeing some great talents, I never missed an episode. I was actually rooting for Jordis Unga because I think she rocks, plus she's a babe too.

Desperate Housewives

Oh, this show is very addictive! So addictive that I had to download the whole season over the internet just because I couldn't wait to see what happens next. And needless to say, it was rewarding indeed.

The L Word
If you're unfamiliar with this show, it's because it was never shown on our TV. Maybe because of that L word. But I prefer to think that L stands for Love. Great stories and characters.

One Tree Hill
My guilty pleasure. I was hooked to the show after watching the first few episodes. Plus all three lead actresses are super-cute. Hehe.

Las Vegas
At first, I thought that this show was crap and has no story at all. But after few episodes and few interesting cameos, I kinda like it. Great TV.

Arrested Development
Intelligently funny. Brilliantly scripted. Plus it's that guy from 'Teen Wolf Too', man..!

Whose Line Is It Anyway?
The only show that can make me laugh like a hyena even when I watched it at 4:30 am in the morning. Those guys are comic geniuses.

4 comments:

Nazim Masnawi said...

Arrested Development. Ho! Ho! Any motherfucker yang ckp siri ni tak best should be burned in hell. In hell, I tell ya! Ya, BBC's The Office pun sama gak! Dedua rule! Fuck you all!

Edd Vedder said...

The office..! Lupa pulak aku kat David Brent and Co. Lagi satu ko penah tengok The Robinsons? Martin Freeman jugak berlakon.. damn funny man! British dry humor rawks..!!

..burn in hell everybody! muahaha!!

Nazim Masnawi said...

Nope, tak pernah tgk. Gua tgh tunggu Ricky Gervais' Extras pasni. Peh! Best ler list lu, dude. One question: Mana lu dpt Mysterious Skin huh? Mother ass!

Edd Vedder said...

haha.. biasa la Nazim. The power of internet downloading. Aku perasan tak ramai yg include Mysterious Skin dalam year-end list diaorang.. Maybe sbb film ni disturbing and unsettling to watch kot..

Satu benda, filem ini akan menjelaskan apa yang sebenarnya terjadi kepada golongan yang mengaku mereka diculik oleh UFO.. dan lepas tengok filem ni you'll never look at Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo the same way again..!

..haha! Cari weh filem ni..