10. The 40-year-old Virgin
*The title pretty much sums it all up for this raunchy but sweet adult comedy. Steve Carell is so great, and so willing, that he even agreed to have his own real chest hair waxed off in the now famous impromptu scene that was shot in one take. He is so hopeless that it’s cute, but always awkward. And his friends, well, they’re dirty, but they are damn funny. Under the slapstick comedy, however, there is something even better tucked away, and that’s the fact that the film has a heart. In all its unusual sexual humor there really is a sweet and kind message to anyone who ever felt ashamed or self-conscious about themselves in their life. And to make matters better, the whole thing ends in song and dance. Now tell me that doesn’t lift your spirits just a bit…
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen
Director: Judd Apatow
Runtime: 116 minutes
9. Crash
* What makes this film so incredible is its vast collection of characters in this drama involving racial issues in Los Angeles. Several different stories occur that all intertwine in either the slightest or most intimate way. It is a superb cast with stunning performances in all directions, particularly by Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, and Thandie Newton. It is powerful and emotional as racial stereotypes clash with good judgment, which consequently has the potential to change everyone’s life involved, either for better or worse.
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Matt Dillon, Terrance Howard, Thandie Newton, Sandra Bullock, Ryan Phillippe, Don Cheadle
Director: Paul Haggis
Runtime: 122 minutes
8. King Kong
*King Kong is everything a big box office blockbuster should be. Giant ape? Check. Damsel in Distress? Check. Mysterious island? Check. Stampede of dinosaurs? Check. Handsome writer that saves the day? Well, almost. Chase sequence through busy New York streets? Check! Oh and how could I forget; man-eating bugs? Check check check! The film is adventurous and even a bit mysterious, but deep down it is ultimately a sad tale that touches upon imperialism and speciesism in a world governed by selfish pursuers. Naomi Watts is so graceful that she charms and befriends Kong and there are several instances between the two of them where they understand each other and truly care for the other’s well being, and it is beautiful. While melancholy at times there are also heart-pumping scenes and even wonderfully gruesome ones (Did I mention man-eating bugs?) that makes King Kong a well-rounded film with a balance of different emotions and amazing special effects.
Starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Andy Serkis, Colin Hanks
Director: Peter Jackson
Runtime: 187 minutes
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
*With longer tresses and deeper voices the teen cast of the Harry Potter series wonderfully captures teenage angst and awkwardness in the fourth installment. Although fast-paced and the darkest of the four films, it has such wonderful and funny moments, such as all that comes with the Yule Ball (i.e. dance lessons, the struggle to ask for a date, and the heartbreaking youthful jealousy between Ron and Hermione). The depiction of Voldemort is also brilliantly executed with the help of Ralph Fiennes playing the devilish villain. The story itself is great with the Triwizard Tournament, which brings in new international characters and new relationships. Harry Potter is still a typical melodrama at the core, but the fourth film truly starts to move away from that image with a more intricate plot and involved characters. The film is fun, scary, hilarious, and moving all at once and is a fantastic family feature and fan favorite.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Mike Newell
Runtime: 157 minutes
6. Memoirs of a Geisha
* Above all, this film is a visual masterpiece. With its Japanese setting, the film is rich and vibrant with beautiful colors and kimonos. It is also accompanied by an original score by the brilliant John Williams which I would consider is some of his best work in recent years. The story is also enticing as a wartime drama that follows Ziyi Zhang as an orphan that soon learns the way of life as a geisha in a tale that is full of destruction and creation.
Starring: Ziyi Zhang, Li Gong, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Watanabe
Director: Rob Marshall
Runtime: 145 minutes
5. Brokeback Mountain
*Beyond the expected controversy revolving around this film, it is so much more than a “gay cowboy movie” as most of the public puts it. This is a film that I believe to have all the right elements. Great performances all around, a melancholy soundtrack, striking scenery, and a story that provokes a range of emotions and faces issues of debate not only in the 1960s when the film took place, but also presently. Both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal give fearless performances as cowboys that fall in love but have no place in society where they can show their affection. Although a drama, it really is a tragedy due to the unforgiving world that they live in where they cannot be themselves. It is an authentic and raw story that closely examines human needs and the reality that some people have to unfortunately face and cannot escape.
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway
Director: Ang Lee
Runtime: 134 minutes
4. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
*Although I have a strong bias with the Star Wars series because of childhood (and adult) obsession, Revenge of the Sith is by far one of the greatest conclusions to a trilogy and is also one of the most emotional and tragic stories to reach the screen. This was also the time for actors Hayden Christensen and Ian McDiarmid to shine. And they did. Christensen rose to new heights with Episode III and fully captured the angst and confusion that Anakin Skywalker is trying to battle against but unfortunately cannot escape. McDiarmid also plays the Supreme Chancellor and Emperor with such evilness and ease. Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, surpasses both performances and has been the driving force in all three prequels. His Obi-Wan is uncanny in respect to Alec Guinness’ portrayal in the originals. Especially in this last one, McGregor fully embodies the significant change in character that can be seen in the Obi-Wan of the original trilogy. As well as performances, what this film has are great and profound moments: Yoda versus the Emperor, Padme’s hopelessness, R2-D2 saving the day in the first fifteen minutes, the Wookie rebellion, and most of all the light-saber duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin that ends with the former painfully deserting the latter with sorrow and disappointment to say the least.
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Ewan McMregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid
Director: George Lucas
Runtime: 140 minutes
3. Pride & Prejudice
*What caught my attention almost immediately with this film was the authenticity in the portrayal of 19th century life in England. Unlike the BBC miniseries which gave a rather stage-like and prettied up adaptation to the Jane Austen novel, this version feels real. Beyond the surface, the film is witty and charming. Keira Knightley gives such a natural and believable performance as Elizabeth Bennet whereas Matthew Macfadyen could have added a bit more charm to his Mr. Darcy, yet he still captures the stubbornness quite well. The whole Bennet family provides much of the comic relief with Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blehtyn as Mr. and Mrs. with opposite interests for their daughter yet their characters compliment each other with ease. Although it is a classic story yet again retold, it is a timeless story nonetheless. With beautiful music accompanying it, Pride & Prejudice is a whimsical but gentle love story between two unlikely souls. Perhaps that is why it is so wonderful, even if you know the story, with these characters you are more than willing to relive the significant moments in which I think this cast has done perfectly.
Starring: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen
Director: Joe Wright
Runtime: 127 minutes
2. North Country
* In this film, Charlize Theron yet again proves that she has an immense rage when it comes to playing characters. Regarding a class-action suit against sexual harassment in a mining company, this drama (and courtroom drama) provokes many emotions from the pitiful relationship Theron’s character has with her father and her stubborn son, to the painful situation Francis McDormand is in, along with the tragic events that the women at the mining company have to endure, and the hope that Woody Harrelson brings to Theron’s family. What is ultimately so powerful are the attempts at redemption that Theron takes on to make the lives of her family better and the moments from her past that are painfully resurrected. With strong performances all around, North Country encapsulates the story of a heroine who seems to have done everything wrong with her life, but tries to selflessly achieve what others could not.
Starring: Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean
Director: Niki Caro
Runtime: 126 minutes
1. The Constant Gardener
* This emotional thriller captures such a powerful story involving a diplomat investigating his wife’s mysterious death that is entangled around a pharmaceutical company using Africans as guinea pigs with a new product. But what is even more thrilling than the engaging plot is the developing love story between Ralph Fiennes’ character and his late wife, played wonderfully by Rachel Weisz, as he uncovers more about her risky research behind the drug company. The look, the feel, and the performances are absolutely stunning. There are beautiful shots of the landscapes of Africa that are juxtaposed with dark images of industrialized Europe. Simply put, this is a beautiful film, both visually and emotionally, that captures not only the corruption within wealthy corporations and the extremes to which they will go, but also the never ending love that a man has for his wife, even after leaving this world, and the extremes to which he will go to preserve her revealing investigations and what he will ultimately do to be closer to his one true love.
Starring: Raplh Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Runtime: 129 minutes
Honorable Mention
Broken Flowers
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Walk the Line
Bride & Prejudice
Roll Bounce
Mad Hot Ballroom
