The cinematic highs and lows of 2005 The cinematic highs and lows of 2005 (January 06, 2006)

Jeanne Aufmuth's top flicks

10. Kung Fu Hustle A deep river of imagination flowed through Stephen Chow's indiscriminate fairy tale, a snappy, infectious homage to the ruthless kung fu films of yore.
9. Asylum Psychologically flawless and thoroughly uncompromising, this unsettling thriller spoke volumes about the dark side of obsession and quixotic madness while venturing to desire's hostile flipside relentlessly and without apology.
8. Grizzly Man This bleak monument to the colossal ego and extreme passion of environmentalist Timothy Treadwell enveloped astonishing beauty and pitch-black turmoil while raising the bar on documentary filmmaking.
7. Saraband Thirty years after "Scenes From a Marriage" galvanized moviegoers, Ingmar Bergman reunited his volatile lovers in a spare pas de deux of anguish and memories. A bitter pill of a tale from one of cinema's most enduring masters.
6. Crash Disenfranchised Los Angelenos dug deep into pockets of hatred, greed and frustration with poetically brittle words and racial tension in this smart and edgy drama rubbed raw by its own narrative anger.
5. Nobody Knows This spare, sensationalist Japanese drama of four innocent children abandoned by their mother was a harrowing and claustrophobic adventure in despair, and the most haunting import of the year.
4. Good Night, and Good Luck George Clooney's bold and incendiary case for journalistic integrity and fundamental American freedoms was a lean and mean history machine shot in glorious black-and-white.
3. A History of Violence David Cronenberg's dense and dirty thriller touched on dusky psychological nerves while maintaining an uncharacteristically easy accessibility. Tense, stagy and deliciously dark.
2. Capote A marvelously rich and absorbing biopic of Truman Capote, whose twisted brilliance pervaded every frame of Bennett Miller's debut feature. Philip Seymour Hoffman flawlessly captured the essence of one of literature's most flamboyant and controversial superstars.
1. Brokeback Mountain Director Ang Lee squeezed every ounce of urgency, shame and passion out of a private and provocative love between two cowboys. Its eloquent intensity tinged with delicate dignity was unforgettable and I couldn't shake the anguish of that brave and fractured love.

Jeanne Aufmuth's pans

5. Monster-in-Law Saccharine clichÈs and a leaden clunker of a script overshadowed any potential for laughs.
4. Stay A kinetic world of sharp edges and anxious emotion whose fractured affectations and irrational twists left me yearning for the parking lot.
3. Where the Truth Lies This seamy valentine to celebrity was merely a cinematic labyrinth of lewd and crude interludes.
2. Kingdom of Heaven It dripped with effort and atmosphere, but I was bored and more than a little perplexed by this unwieldy and lackluster period piece.
1. Elizabethtown Cameron Crowe's tribute to his own departed dad was a painful exercise in narrative desperation that left the sticky residue of bad impromptu theater.

Tyler Hanley's top flicks

10. Sin City It's a sin this unique and wildly inventive adaptation wasn't appreciated more. Maverick auteur Robert Rodriguez ("El Mariachi") brilliantly translates Frank Miller's gritty graphic novels, bringing a vibrant -- albeit violent -- world and some of the year's most memorable characters to life.
9. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Say cheese! After five years of toil and trouble on "Were-Rabbit," British animator Nick Park ("Chicken Run") finally provided his clay creations, Wallace and Gromit, with a feature-length outlet. The result was this funny, heartfelt gem that's all but a shoo-in for the Best-Animated Oscar.
8. March of the Penguins Life seems tough (bills, break-ups, etc.) until you see this humbling documentary about the majestic Emperor penguin. The power of parenthood is depicted with soulful simplicity, and Morgan Freeman's smooth-as-ice narration illustrates the too-often-overlooked bond between man and "beast."
7. Brokeback Mountain Two actors risked career and ridicule to play a pair of lovelorn cowboys in what became the year's most provocative picture. Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") all proved up to the task in visualizing Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer Annie Proulx's tale about a bond that defied religious and social standards.
6. Cinderella Man Another knockout performance from Russell Crowe punctuates this uplifting Cinderella story. James J. Braddock fought through doubt, injury and the Great Depression to provide for his family, a struggle strikingly realized by director Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind").
5. Kung Fu Hustle Director/star Stephen Chow ("Shaolin Soccer") does his idol -- the immortal Bruce Lee -- proud with a playful and imaginative martial-arts feast. Thanks to a quick-footed combination of comedy and action, "Kung Fu Hustle" knocks our socks off.
4. A History of Violence "Violence" was all about chemistry. Whether between fiery leads Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello or between director David Cronenberg ("Spider") and his talented crew, the explosive dynamics were unparalleled.
3. Capote Biopics are all the rage. Heck, last year's "Ray" winner, Jamie Foxx, is now a pop sensation. Fortunately, Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-worthy portrayal of author Truman Capote captures a slice of narrative history without the MTV hysterics.
2. Good Night, and Good Luck Who says George Clooney is just a pretty face? Here the aspiring storyteller directs an apropos clip of American culture. David Strathairn is tremendous as reporter Edward R. Murrow and the memory of the 1950s Red Scare hits theatre-goers in Manhattan, Moscow and Menlo Park.
1. Crash The best movie ever made about race relations in the modern world.

Tyler Hanley's pans

5. Herbie: Fully Loaded Some cars should stay in the garage.
4. Stealth This pale imitation of "2001: A Space Odyssey" never got off the ground.
3. Wolf Creek Only the most sadistic viewers could appreciate this barrage of brutality.
2. Son of the Mask A shining example of the benefits of cinematic contraception.
1. Guess Who Oh yeah, racism is hilarious.

Susan Tavernetti's top flicks

10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tim Burton and Johnny Depp went on a sugar-fueled bender of creativity, remolding everything in the beloved Roald Dahl classic from Willie Wonka to the Oompa-Loompas. Like kids turned loose in a candy store, they left their fingerprints all over the fantasy's edgy humor and quirky look.
9. Crash Paul Haggis looped interlaced stories over the Los Angeles roadways, forcing stereotypes of race, class and culture to collide in unforgettable ways. He smashed into bigotry head-on, but didn't notice the wreckage wrought by his unbalanced, negative depiction of Asians. Did you? At least Haggis encouraged thinking and talking about an important American issue.
8. March of the Penguins Already dressed for the Oscars, these flightless birds marched across Antarctica's ice to melt our hearts. French director Luc Jacquet and his team captured such majestic footage of their migration that the voiceover narration, which anthropomorphizes the subjects' survival instincts, gets a pass as poetic license.
7. The Squid and the Whale Noah Baumbach rummaged through his Brooklyn boyhood to find inspiration for this searing, and surprisingly funny, account of two brothers trying to stay afloat during their parents' marital battles. As the uber-competitive father, Jeff Daniels seethes and explodes against those daring to challenge his patriarchal authority. A low-key Laura Linney co-stars in this incredible ensemble piece, which qualifies as "the filet of the neighborhood" of indie releases.
6. 2046 If you're in the mood for Wong Kar-Wai, you'll find art cinema alive and well in "2046" -- the title of the protagonist's futuristic novel, the number of a hotel room, the year marking an end to China's promise to leave autonomous Hong Kong alone. Lensed by Christopher Doyle and demanding a big-screen presentation, the lyrical meditation on memory and romantic obsession will make you swoon in sensory pleasure.
5. Capote Philip Seymour Hoffman disappears in the Truman show, transforming into the flamboyant writer during the years he worked on "In Cold Blood." Bennett Miller makes an auspicious debut, directing scenes of mutual exploitation between Capote and the convicted murderers with subtlety. A history of violence doesn't come with more depth or shadings.
4. Look At Me/Comme Une Image What about French women who do get fat? AgnËs Jaoui's coming-of-age film observes self-image, relationships, success and celebrity through a feminist mirror. The perfect companion piece to Woody Allen's "Match Point," this sharp-witted satire is one of the most unpretentiously ambitious films to grace the cinema in years.
3. Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee directed the sweeping love story of a ranch hand and a rodeo rider who tried to wrangle a herd of sheep through the Wyoming wilderness and ended up wrestling with feelings for which they had no words. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal gave such heartbreaking performances that few moviegoers will know how to quit this tale of longing and loss.
2. Good Night, and Good Luck George Clooney earned two badges of courage: for releasing a black-and-white film and for sending a strong message about standing up against demagogues and national security acts that trample Constitutional rights. David Strathairn delivered a spot-on performance as Edward R. Murrow, whether fearlessly taking on Sen. Joseph McCarthy or exhibiting a weary distaste for celebrity puff pieces. Clooney proves that media "can teach, it can illuminate, it can even inspire."
1. Match Point Woody Allen is at the top of his game. The native New Yorker sets his 37th feature in London, where he pairs Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" with suspense and dark humor. Philosophical musings and cinematic skill coalesce in this accomplished drama that suggests luck -- not talent, hard work or determination -- separates winners from losers. Allen critiques Western civilization with consummate craftsmanship, making the intricate plot and elegant visuals seem effortless.

Susan Tavernetti's pans

5. Underclassman Marcos Siega gets an "F" on his first feature assignment, a derivative cop comedy that would be way too long even if it were a short.
4. Bride and Prejudice Don't mistake Gurinder Chadha's silly Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen's staple for Joe Wright's superb "Pride and Prejudice" starring Keira Knightley.
3. Unleashed Louis Leterrier's big-screen blood sport attaches feel-good family values to a spectacle of splatter, goading viewers to root for a kill. Jet Li's collared character may be called Danny the Dog, but the martial arts movie is the real mutt.
2. Mr. & Mrs. Smith "Brangelina" star power fueled this action-flick formula of high-tech gadgetry, explosions and sadistic domestic violence partnered with sexy playfulness. Armond White of the New York Press says it best: "You don't have to be Osama bin Laden to think that only a horrible culture would produce an 'entertainment' like 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith.'"
1. Last Days Gus Van Sant created a ghost story. Someone named Blake mumbles and stumbles around for 97 minutes: no details, no story, no reason to care about him. Is Kurt Cobain the man who wasn't there? Maybe if you fill in the blanks. But wait a minute. Aren't you paying to see this film -- not getting paid to make it?

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