Publication Date: Friday, January 6, 2006

Heroes and Villains of 2005

by Jeanne Aufmuth and Tyler Hanley

Heroes of the Year:

Charlize Theron as Josey Aimes ("North Country") Josey stood for women the world over when she took on sexual harassment in the Minnesota coal mines with a singular vengeance.

Christian Bale as Batman ("Batman Begins") Bale embraced the Dark Knight and transformed Bruce Wayne from a two-tone icon of the printed page to a haunting cinematic superhero.

David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow ("Good Night, and Good Luck") Murrow bravely used a journalistic javelin to combat Sen. Joe McCarthy's persecution of all things Red.

Gromit ("Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit") The silent, clay canine showed selfless courage and rescued his cheese-loving companion time and time again.

Julianne Moore as Evelyn Ryan ("Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio") A woman who raises 10 kids on a budget while standing by her alcoholic man is eligible for sainthood in our book.

Mark Zupan ("Murderball") A tragic car accident left Zupan in a wheelchair for life, but even 15 hours in a lonely ravine couldn't deter this quad-rugby warrior.

Matt Dillon as Sgt. Jack Ryan ("Crash") A racist cop who redeemed himself at the 11th hour in the face of tragedy and misfortune.

Stephen Chow as Sing ("Kung Fu Hustle") Suffering through beatings, bandages and snake bites ultimately transformed Sing from hustler to hero.

Tony Jaa as Ting ("Ong Bak: Thai Warrior") Schooled in the ancient Nine Body Weapons, Ting utilized his Muay Thai skills to salvage a village's prized talisman along with vast cultural pride.

Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall ("A History of Violence") The hero of the moment protected his family at all costs while keeping close tabs on a shady past.

Villains of the Year:

1972 Olympic Terrorists ("Munich") Is there anything more villainous than assassinating Olympic hopefuls who compete in the name of athletic peace and grace?

Cillian Murphy as Jackson Rippner ("Red Eye") His impish grin and twinkly baby blues masked a Satanesque bent and a Machiavellian plan for catastrophe.

Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine ("Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith") McDiarmid devolved from Chancellor to Emperor with dastardly aplomb, proving to be the catalyst in creating cinema's most recognized villain -- Darth Vader.

Jane Fonda as Viola Fields ("Monster-in-Law") Viola carried motherly disapproval to toxic levels by trying to poison, harass and otherwise humiliate her son's fiancee.

Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom ("Fantastic Four") The "Nip/Tuck" charmer brought sinister appeal to Marvel Comics' classic evildoer.

Nick Stahl as That Yellow Bastard ("Sin City") Despicable characters don't get much worse than this foul-smelling, spoiled and sadistic pedophile.

Sen. Joseph McCarthy ("Good Night, and Good Luck") McCarthy backtracked America with his witch-hunt paranoia of Communist infiltrators.

Tilda Swinton as The White Witch ("The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe") Swinton managed to one-up the Wicked Witch of the West and Hannibal Lecter while swaddled in soft and deceptive virginal white.

William Hurt as Richie Cusack ("A History of Violence") A comic East Coast accent belied the ugly betrayal of a bloody brotherhood.

You as Keiko the Mother ("Nobody Knows") The lowest blow: a mother of four permanently abandoning her children to pursue a flimsy pipe dream.