My Top 12 (because 13 would be too many, and 11 too few)

I really, really hate “best of year” lists. To me, it takes away one of the truly wondrous things about moviegoing, which is the subjectivity of it - every film is a different experience, and every film is a different experience for everyone who sees it. To try and compare, say, a multi-textured and emotionally draining drama like “Crash” to an incredible roller coaster like “King Kong” is simply ridiculous. And yet, we live in a society of lists, ranking everything in the most arbitrary of ways. So, here, as a counterpoint, I present my list - not a top ten, not a “best of,” but simply a list of experiences I had in 2005 that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Please note, there are a ton of titles that have not yet graced these eyes yet (viewing Ebert’s Best of 2005, I am dismayed to note I have seen but 2 of his top ten). But for now, here are my list of 12, in alphabetical order. If you haven’t seen any of these yet, I really hope you will.

“Batman Begins” - The best Batman movie ever made (in live-action, at least, if not best period), and the one which comes closest to mining the complex psychological depths of the character. Christopher Nolan may have cut his teeth in Hollywood by making films which played with continuity and character, but here he crafts a lovingly realized Gotham which is like an amalgamation of reality and fantasy, giving his hero the freedom to do fantastic things, but still allows the audience to remain emotionally invested. A great ride.

“Crash” - Paul Haggis has established himself in the space of two films (the other being a little thing called “Million Dollar Baby”) as a creative force in Hollywood. Here he makes a powerful statement about race and racism, finding no easy answers, but simply and directly suggesting to his audience that maybe we should try to understand each other a little more.

“Everything is Illuminated” - Sometimes, when we go looking for our past, we aren’t prepared for the things we see in ourselves. Liev Schreiber’s film begins with charming human comedy and ends hauntingly, with a journey through the Ukraine and three unforgettable characters. Particularly excellent work from Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz helps bolster this little-seen but much-cherished film.

“Good Night, and Good Luck” - Timely and timeless, George Clooney’s black-and-white news drama remembers a time when commies were hiding everywhere and how that paranoia helped bolster a paranoid senator’s wild and unsubstantiated charges. The parallels to today’s world, and the task facing today’s news media, are scarier the more you reflect on them - even more so when McCarthy defenders came crawling out of the woodwork to try and discredit the film. An absolute must-see.

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” - As time passes, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the Harry Potter movies will become one of the most important and enduring fantasy series of all time. Each film thus far has superbly captured both the story and the feel of Rowling’s world, without sacrificing the elements needed to make a good film. This chapter is the best yet, as Harry took further steps into adulthood, faced the horror of Voldemort, asked out his first girl, and - most shockingly - turned PG-13.

“King Kong” - One of the great adventure films ever made, period. I was not among the die-hard fans of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, mainly because I felt the films lacked a human center I could care about. Well, that factor was present here, in spades. One of the most emotionally involving films I have ever seen, featuring the most incredible effects-created character ever, this is a film with tremendous beauty at its core. It is also (pardon me while I get out the list) a rip-roaring, full throated action film, an epic in every sense of the word, a remarkable creation of imagination, incredibly faithful and reverent of the original material while actually enhancing the story it tells, and simply terrific entertainment.

“Lord of War” - From the creator of “The Truman Show” and “Gattaca” came an examination of the soul of a man who is responsible for more deaths than he could possibly ever calculate - an arms dealer. Nicolas Cage, one of my favorite actors, plays gun runner Yuri Orlov as an ever-revolving series of both contradictions and self-assurance. He may never have confidence in who he is, but he always has confidence in what he does, until it hits closest to home - and even then, he can talk himself back into work. If I said this was my favorite film of the year, I wouldn’t be lying.

“March of the Penguins” - The poster sold this film as a story of the triumph of love, but I see it more as an examination of the tenacity of all living things to remain living - and this remarkable film, a tale of emperor penguins’ amazing breeding ritual, underlines that point. A film so unusual, entertaining and involving that even though it’s a nature documentary that was released in the summer against all the blockbusters, found a huge audience. But don’t let the fact that families went to see it in droves scare you - the film is an amazing experience for grown-ups, too.

“Murderball” - If any film deserved a far bigger audience this year, this was it. My going theory is that people took one look at the title, somehow thought it was a bad action flick like “Rollerball,” and gave it nary a thought. Too bad, as this was one of the most inspirational films in years, an incredible documentary about the high-speed, full-contact game of wheelchair rugby. Beyond being a fascinating film about a little-known sport, it’s also the thoroughly engrossing story of many memorable people, as well as an examination of the realities of living with a disability.

“Sin City” - The year’s most stunningly imaginative film on a visual level, Robert Rodriguez’s masterpiece of hard-boiled style brought Frank Miller’s incredible comic to life through a combination of live actors and frankly artificial settings to create a thoroughly realized world that was like film noir on steroids. If other comic films have tried to capture the feel of the page, Rodriguez captured the soul.

“Walk the Line” - Or, “why I can’t hate Reese Witherspoon anymore.” Two of the year’s most engrossing performances were turned in by Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Witherspoon as June Carter, in this thoroughly entertaining biopic based on Cash’s life. Like the previous year’s “Ray,” this film is an examination of the toll fame can take on someone who’s really not prepared for it, and how it is often when we are at our lowest that we truly learn who is on our side.

“Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” - The year’s best family film, and one of the most entertaining animated films in years, Aardman’s trademark heroes Wallace and Gromit finally graduate to feature-length in a film that practically bursts with the delight of its making. With the exception of Pixar, Aardman is easily the best animation studio going today in terms of not only consistent quality of its work, but also the consistent level of imagination in its creations. Like its predecessor “Chicken Run,” “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” is funny, exciting and a pure joy to experience.