Untitled Document

2005 Movies

First Descent. (12/29/05). Snowboarding movie. Good. Fills in some holes in development of sport in last decade and popularity worldwide. Good snowboarding footage. Recommended.

Rumor Has It. (12/28/05). A Jennifer Aniston vehicle. Passable entertainment, no more. Recommended.

Havoc (DVD only). (12/19/05). Stars Anne Hathaway. Raw, raunchy film about stupid rich white kids in L.A. acting like gang members. Hathaway seeks out a real gang and bizarre complications ensue. Shoestring production but some good acting. Expect a strong reaction, pro or con. By the writer of "Traffic" and "Syriana." Recommended.

The Family Stone. (12/16/05). I liked this movie and so did the audience.Sarah Jessica Parker's performance is grating but fits. Claire Danes steals her scenes, as does Luke Wilson. There is a heavy dose of smaltz, but the movie works enough to recommend.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. (12/10/05). Have zero expectations, go with it, and laugh your head off. Recommended.

Syriana. (12/09/05). A disappointment. Wooden performance by Damon. Memorably bad photography in one two-shot scene (only speaker in focus). Poor direction. Does not approach "Traffic" in quality. Toss up.

The Squid and the Whale. (12/07/05). Painful, awkward coming of age (vis a vis parents) story. Bad music. Am reversing my original negative recommendation. Too much of this movie sticks to dismiss it. Recommended.

Derailed. (12/06/05). Difficult plot makes for negative movie experience. Almost walked out twice. Decent acting, but not recommended.

Pride and Prejudice. 12/02/05). Liked it a lot. Guess it helps not to have read the book. Recommended.

Capote. (11/30/05). Faithful adaption of biography of writer of "In Cold Blood." Hoffman is perfect in role. Not especially entertaining. Mild recommendation.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. (11/22/05). Worth addition to series. Entertaining, faithful. Recommended.

Walk the Line. (11/19/05). Wonderful. Pulls you in from the first shots of J. Phoenix. Good music, good acting. May see a second time. Highly recommended.

Prime. (11/17/05). Better than expected, which says what exactly? Lovely to look at Uma for so long. Some humor. Mild recommendation.

Dreamer. (11/13/05). Good story, too many Hollywood script changes leading to too many obstacles to overcome. Still, pleasant enough. Mild recommendation.

Good Night and Good Luck. (11/05/05). Accomplishes what it sets out to in fine fashion. Recommended.

Shopgirl. (11/04/05). A stark, shockingly lonely film with occasional powerful moments. Stunning performance by Claire Danes. A few shots of Silver Lake area of L.A. Recommended.

North Country. (10/21/05). Well acted, realistic portrayal of northern Minnesota mining town, but not especially enjoyable to watch. Recommended.

Elizabethtown. (10/20/05). Probably the worst Cameron Crowe film. Starts awkwardly, hits its stride occasionally, suffers from Orlando Bloom in lead. Good music. Recommended on DVD.

Two for the Money. (10/18/05). Despite good acting, silly plot and not enough there to merit a movie or a recommendation.

In Her Shoes. (10/7/07). Really liked the movie. Well acted and directed, good script. Very nice movie experience. Highly recommended.

A History of Violence. (10/5/05). There is a reason "violence" is in the title. What is there is well done. Two excellent supporting roles. High body count. Marginal recommendation.

Broken Flowers. (9/28/05). Some interesting moments, many more flat ones. Bill Murray phoned it in. Not recommended.

The Forty Year Old Virgin. (9/19/05). Has its moments and is sweet, still not recommended. Too many mediocre movies.

Lord of War. (9/18/05). Well acted, well made, thoroughly unpleasant and unenjoyable movie. Not recommended.

An Unfinished Life. (9/10/05). A very good small movie. It doesn't aim too high and achieves its modest goals. The only way to not enjoy this movie is to have high expectations. Recommended.

The Constant Gardener. (9/7/05). Good movie. Lovely African scenery. Well-acted. Recommended.

My Summer of Love. (7/24/05). Offbeat, memorable coming of age story of two college age women. Delightful treatment of born-again character played by Paddy Considine (of "In America"). Recommended.

Must Love Dogs. (7/23/05). Decent chemistry between Diana Lane and John Cusack, good supporting cast, better writing than expected, but not enough screen time for Cusack and a disappointing Hollywood ending. Recommended.

You and Me and Everyone We Know. (7/22/05). A real mix. Flashes of brilliance and unacceptably dirty subplots. Good acting throughout. Impressed by Miranda July. Recommended with extreme caution.

Wedding Crashers. (7/17/05). Worked for me. Laugh out loud funny. Raunchy. Highly recommended.

War of the Worlds. (7/14/05). Bad movie. Dumb plot, needless bloodshed, false resolution at end. Do not go to this movie.

Batman Begins. (7/10/05). First half excellent. Second half drops off, but less badly than Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Highly recommended.

Mad Hot Ballroom. (7/5/05). Documentary about ballroom dancing competition among 5th grade public school students in New York City.High recommendation.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. (6/29/05). Good documentary on company. Recommended.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith. (6/25/05). First half better than second, which degenerates into shoot-em up with a few witty lines. Recommended but not worth a special trip to a big screen.

Comme une image. (Look at me.) (6/23/05). Tres bon! Good script, excellent acting by music teacher, overall enjoyable French film. Recommended.

The Perfect Man. (6/17/05). Saw this movie after hour long drive resulted in sold-out showings of Mr.and Mrs. Smith. Walked out several times on any pretext (popcorn). Not recommended.

The Longest Yard. (6/14/05). Minimal expectations may account for positive review. Basic football/prison movie. Entertaining. Recommended if you like football movies or prison movies.

Police Beat. (6/9/05). Local Indie production filmed in Seattle. Misconceived from beginning (the main character's interior monologue, primarily heartsickness over his girlfriend's absence on a 5 day camping trip with another man, is in Senegalese, with English subtitles.) Huh? Some humor, spotty sound, occasional continuity issues. Somewhere between bad and not embarrassing. Not recommended unless you are thirsty for Seattle scenery and/or are related to cast or crew.

Layer Cake. (6/9/05). Not quite as good as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," but close. Recommended.

Millions. (6/8/05). Sweet, eccentric in parts, humorous, light. Borderline recommendation.

Cinderella Man. (6/4/05). Solid boxing film. Recommended only for boxing fans.

Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith. (5/25/05). Interesting primarily because it leads to familiar ground. 30 minutes too long, but recommended for original Star Wars fans.

Melinda and Melinda. (5/15/05). Better than the last few Woody Allen films? Haven't seen them. Good to have Will Ferrell playing Woody's part. Radha Mitchell satisfying in lead. Some clever dialogue but also dragged. Close, but not recommended.

Kingdom of Heaven. (5/14/05). Even Russell Crowe could not have saved this film. Too bloody, lacked a female star. Above drivel, but not recommended.

Crash. (5/13/05). Loved this film. As good as "Traffic." Highest recommendation.

The Interpreter. (4/22/05). Well acted, pleasant diversion shot inside U.N. complex. Recommended.

Living Life. (4/21/05). Written, directed and financed by a high school kid (and his parents), this movie never should have been made. The lead actor has negative chemistry with the lead actress. The acting is spotty with two memorably bad (but short) scenes. The "father" appears unaffected by the events in the movie. The grandfather can act. The real problem is that nothing worth making a movie about happens. Not recommended. (Great boom operator.)

The Upside of Anger. (4/1/05). A fine movie, but not all that pleasant to watch. Four daughters are memorable; plot is too. Barely recommended.

The Ice Princess. (3/26/05). Coming of age story with implausible athletic plot and typical Disney structure. Worked for me. Recommended.

The Wedding Date. (2/19/05). Nice cast, weak script, nice try, but not quite. Not recommended.

Meet the Fockers. (2/17/05). One wonders why one is watching this sequel, but it is funny enough to recommend.

Hitch. (2/15/05). Funny, enjoyable romantic comedy especially after drinking wine. Recommended.

Hotel Rwanda. (2/13/05). A good, entertaining movie that tells an awful story well. Cheadle and Okonedo deserve their Oscar nominations. Highly recommended.

Million Dollar Baby. (2/5/05). Very good, but overrated. Eastwood is wooden, Swank is good, Freeman is himself. Will not win the Oscar. [Wrong!] Recommended but not a movie to see twice.

Assault on Precinct 13. (01/29/05). Unrelenting, mindless violence, appalling body count, good acting. I enjoyed it but most people won't.

Postmen in the Mountains. (01/26/05). Chinese, 1999. Gentle, slow paced, lovely scenery. Might be too quiet for some. Recommended.

Coach Carter. (01/21/05). Overly long, sappy in parts. Enjoyable only if you are a real basketball fan. Otherwise, not recommended.

In Good Company. (01/17/05). Enjoyable. Good love story. Highly recommended.

The Aviator. (01/01/05). Well made movie, good cast. Not entertaining. Not recommended.