John DeFore's top 10 movies of 2005

By John DeFore
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Top 10 movies of 2005 (in alphabetical order):

"2046" — Of all this year's films, this one promises the most rewards after two, four or more viewings — a couple just to figure it out; who knows how many to relish its gorgeous images and thematic complexities?

"Brokeback Mountain" — I expected it to break my heart, and it didn't. But Ang Lee's impeccable touch and a startlingly good turn from Heath Ledger make the politics of sexuality mostly irrelevant and ensure that the story will haunt most viewers who take it for what it is.

"Broken Flowers" — Jim Jarmusch and Bill Murray are a match made in heaven. Possibly the year's most perfect film, in which every element contributes to the charmingly ambiguous end result.

"Capote" — It might have made the list solely on the strength of Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance, but "Capote" is much more than a mere acting showcase, offering a complicated look at the moral dilemmas underlying a landmark work of literature (and by extension, the problematic nature of writing about real-life subjects in general).

"The Constant Gardener" — Ralph Fiennes' performance boasted more layers than your average geological formation in the studio debut by "City of God" director Fernando Meirelles. Happily, this tale of love, loss and well-kept secrets had mysteries to match his performance.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" — Other films not on this list were more conventionally satisfying than "Good Night." But George Clooney's second feature as director hewed close to a personal (and, yes, political) vision without losing sight of the sensual qualities that make movies worth watching.

"King Kong" — The first few major action sequences contain some surprisingly weak effects shots. But once Kong takes center stage, the film does no wrong, offering jaw-dropping action, honest emotion and the most effective performance yet by an actor whose image is completely rendered in CGI.

"Match Point" — Yes, it gets extra points simply because it feels so good to love a Woody Allen film for the first time in what feels like forever but is really only about six years. But the tense and gorgeously acted "Match Point" would earn its place here even if its director weren't a beloved auteur who has been off his game for a while.

"Me and You and Everyone We Know" — The only film on this list that does not center on unresolved loss or frustrated longing — and, sadly, the only one whose motivating personality isn't male — Miranda July's feature debut has an innocence that makes even the most touchy subjects sweet.

"Oldboy" — Of all the new filmmaking voices to find an American audience this year, none was more bracing than that of Chan-wook Park, whose story of revenge boasted unforgettable images and a razor-sharp sense of irony. Too bad the American audience the film found wasn't larger.

Special mentions:

•Most overrated film: Three-way tie between "Hustle & Flow" (lousy but lauded), "Crash" (well-intentioned but unenlightening) and "Brokeback Mountain" (very good but wildly overpraised — this year's "Sideways" in more ways than one).

•Breakthrough actor: Terrence Howard, who appeared in two of the films above and a few others as well, and was the best thing in almost all of them.

•Breakthrough actress: Amy Adams, who played a caricature in "Junebug" and made it work.

•Musical discovery: Ethiopian instrumentalist Mulatu Astatqé, the king of road music in "Broken Flowers."

•Boy, it would've been nice to see these before deadline: "The New World," "Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada."

•Made me say "ouch" repeatedly, in a fun way: "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" (ouchy runner-up: "The 40 Year-Old Virgin").