Best Movie of 2005

[Cody]

These are all movies getting "buzz" as best picture nominations. Which one was your favorite? And which one on this list did you just hate?

[Cody]

I know its Cliche to say Brokeback Mountain, but this was the best movie I saw this year. It was amazing. The scenery was incredible as well as the acting. I thought it was going to be difficult to watch (being that I'm a straight man) but I came out of the movie completly in awe at the story.

I didn't really care for Star Wars. George Lucas took 3 movies that could have been amazing, and made them suck. He has a lot of talent, but not when it comes to directing, he should leave that to his partner steven speilberg (Indiana Jones).

[addboy]

I thought King Kong was very well done. Peter Jackson stayed faithful to the original while adding the amazing features and graphics that we have today. The love story was very believable, although very long. And it was the ultimate "big" movie, big bats, dinos, gorillas, and bugs!! A movie to allow your imagination to roam free.

[joss]

Well, Chronicles of narnia isn't on the list so I'll go for my second fav, Harry Potter.

Star Wars was excellent as well. And so was Crash. I didn't see any of the others.

[addboy]

Narnia should be on there! Awesome movie.

[Cliff]

I've only seen three of these, so I can't really vote with any authority, sadly.

[Cody]

I guess this board isn't the movie going type, I assumed they would be. 2 votes for Batman Begins? I mean it an ok movie, but not really compared to others. Narnia? Harry Potter? Movie of the year? Again, its an ok movie, but not best picture material. I didn't think they would get any votes!

has anyone seen the not-big-budget movies listed? Capote? Brokeback? Crash? Munich? Good night and Good Luck?.......if you are skipping these movies to see Harry Potter and Narnia you are missing out on some great Cinima, IMO. To each his own though

[matt]

I'll throw in a dark horse...A History of Violence.

[Dragavan]

King Kong, Batman Begins, Harry Potter, and Narnia (yes it should be on there) were all great movies (I can't say about Brokeback Mountain since I haven't seen it). Each one was very well done in what they were doing. Choosing ONE bests movie is very hard because the reasons each one deserve it don't really compare...

Oh. Who am I kidding... Batman wins... He's freakin' Batman... and done right. No pointless artistic gothic style gone mad, no neon street gangs, no lame story, no Shoemacher. Just a good Batman story and looks, feels, and sounds like Batman... How can you complain?... It was freakin' Batman!!!

King Kong was an amazing recreation with special effects to boot. A true spectacle that says we never need to remake King Kong again. I couldn't believe it was 3 hours long, it seemed to fly by for me since it was so packed... But Batman would still kick his giant ape ass.

Harry Potter was the best of the franchise so far, as far as making a cohesive movie that is. It was missing a lot of important Harry Potter information, but told one tale of the universe very well and the big scene with Mr. evil bastard Tom "Voldermort" Riddle at the end was amazing... But had some issues when it came to explaining everything you are going to need to know within the larger arc of the franchise... And Batman would kick his little magic ass.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the most faithful novel adaptation I have ever seen. I was blown away. They took the novel I loved as a kid and made it truly live. Special effects were incredible but didn't make you think "Hey, I'm watching special effects" the whole time. In fact I was thinking "Wow, they found a talking Beaver" half the time. I hope they do the other 6 novels and keep it just as faithful. This was amazing... all I can really say. I loved it... But batman would still kick all their furry animal asses.

So, needless to say, I voted for Batman... even though Batman could kick his ass.

[Dragavan]

cody1234 said:

I guess this board isn't the movie going type, I assumed they would be. 2 votes for Batman Begins? I mean it an ok movie, but not really compared to others. Narnia? Harry Potter? Movie of the year? Again, its an ok movie, but not best picture material. I didn't think they would get any votes!

has anyone seen the not-big-budget movies listed? Capote? Brokeback? Crash? Munich? Good night and Good Luck?.......if you are skipping these movies to see Harry Potter and Narnia you are missing out on some great Cinima, IMO. To each his own though

I actually take offense to much of what you said here... This actually sounds a lot like the same movie snobbery you get from a lot of critics and award shows like the Oscars. It doesn't have to be a drawn out drama or epic or indy art film to be good. Those can be good, but they aren't the only good movies made.

What makes a movie good is if it does what it set out to do the best that it could. Comedy, drama, documentary, action, thriller, or even gay porn western... It doesn't matter. Did it tell the story it wanted to? Did it make the point it wanted to? Was it Fun? Did it make you think? Did you keep talking/thinking about hours, days, or even weeks after you saw it? There are many things that make a good movie (in my opinion) and all of these fit the criteria.

And, frankly, I think these movies (the Narnia, Batman, Kong) have done what they set out to much better than some of the more "dramatic" fare this year. Yes, I am a movie fan and see a lot of movies. I love cinema of all kinds and watch way more than I should. I own hundreds of DVDs and watch every special feature. I care about all facets of movie making, but I don't judge them all according to one master list of what it takes to be a great movie. You can't do that and be fair to every style and genera.

Ray, Star Wars (original), Memento, Narnia, Babe, Batman Begins, Nightmare before Christmas, Blazing Saddles, Captain Blood, Beauty and the Beast, Sin City, etc. are ALL great movies that did what they set out to do amazingly well. I praise them all very highly, but not for the same reasons. You should think about doing the same.

[Jeremy]

Star Wars all the way...Lucas brought the series back to where it is supposed to be.

That being said,

I must agree with Dragavans post...

I have seen most of the other movies on the list (though admittedly not all) and I must say that your post Cody seemed very patronizing and pretentious. I voted for Star Wars because of all of the films, I believe it is the best. When the members of the academy vote for best picture, they give their one opinion. Those thousands of One Opinions are added up and the "Best picture" is decided.

I have seen many films over the years that I thought should have won best picture. That is why going to the movies is a choice. You go see what you want to see. Many of the people on this board have similar tastes in films which explain why certain films get more votes on this board.

I go to see films a lot. In fact, my plan was to become a director throughout much of my school life. I found something else that I enjoy doing, and so I have decided to set that goal aside, but I still am active in film activities. I attend the Newport Beach Film Festival and screen several movies that are excellent. However they don't have the distribution to get nominated even though there are times that I think they are better than the movies that are nominated for best picture.

Have you seen End of the Spear? It is an excellent movie and I think that it should be nominated for the 2006 academy awards. All this to say that just because people didn't vote for the movies you wanted them to, don't put them in a box and say they "aren't the movie-going type."

so ummm....Yeah


::Steps off soap box::

[FrodoFreak87]

Well I've only seen thre of 'em.
King Kong, Star wars and March of the Penguins.
(and yes cody, I am the movie going type, I love movies and if I could I would go to the movie theater at least twice a week. sadly two things stand in my way 1: the cost of a ticket 2: parents, I can't drive yet and I can't watch R rated movies.)

Anyway I guess I'll vote for March of the Penguins, because it doesn't have any votes.
I did like all three of the movies I saw, but there ewere also things about them that bugged me.

March of the Penguins: A wonderful storie about the penguins. I really liked it and it was beautiful to watch.

Star WArs: This was my favorite of all the star wars movies, the old ones were ok, the first two new ones were horrible, but I enjoyed this one. The problem with this is the diologe(sp?) it got pretty bad in some places, it was like this in all six of them.

King Kong: It was a pretty good movie, except it was 3 hours (make sure you go to the bath room first!!) and I think the dinosar and bug scenes went a little long. but other than that it was good.

So anyway my vote is for March of the Penguins!!
close second king kong
third star wars.

[matt]

I actually enjoyed Return of the Sith, mostly due to McGregor's kick-ass performance. The melodramatic Emperor, less impressive.

[Jack]

I voted for Walk The Line.

[Cody]

I'm not pretentious. I just don't understand Star Wars, Narnia, and Harry Potter. They are not very good movies, entertaining, but I wouldn't see them again. I happen to like all types of movies, one of my favorite movies this year was Wedding Crashers, and Walk the Line.

You really can't make a stand and be critical of me when you haven't seen all the movies listed. Go and see all the movies listed, then come back and argue your point. I promise that Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Narnia will not be your favorites. You obviously haven't seen Brokeback since you refered to it as a "Gay cowboy porn" (which is offensive), you would know that it actaully has little to do with that. Don't come in here and call me pretntious when you have no basis for your arguement.

I assumed that most everyone here had seen most of these movies. Also, when I say I "think" and "IMO" I am not being critical of you, I am simply stating how I feel.

Thank you for voting, this was supposed to be a fun conversation