Lights, Camera, Action!

I was surprised at the amount of films that I actually liked in 2005. Maybe I have just lowered my standards or maybe some of these filmmakers and studios are putting out better projects. I'm no Roger Ebert so if you don't like these picks put that thumb...up your ass! I have also added my favorite TOONS of the year and TV show. Here we go...

1) Batman Begins- I had high hopes for this one. I lost interest after Batman Returns (and that one wasn't even that good). When I heard that Chris Nolan was directing it I got goose bumps. I love "Memento" & "Insomnia" and I knew he would take Batman towards the Dark Knight direction. Christian Bale was an excellent choice for the caped crusader. Bale is a better Bruce Wayne then Batman with that being said he is still the best Batman of the movies. Freeman, Oldman, Caine & Neeson...yeah, not much more to say there. These guys do a superb good of playing their characters well without overacting. I even liked how the relationship with Katie Holmes wasn't forced. Some of the parts with the Scarecrow were really weird and frightening. I REALLY hope they don't replace ANY members of the cast/crew for future films in this sequence. Hell...I'd wait another 5 years for a Batman movie this good. This film was inspiring.

2) Star Wars 3 Revenge Of The Sith- I'm such a Star Wars geek. It was really HARD for me not to put this as number one. As much as I wanted to I couldn't. If Lucas could have somehow edited a lot of the Anakin/Padme "romance" pieces out of it...It could have been number one. There was no chemistry between these two. I don't get it. You get a chance to mack Natalie Portman and you can't make it believable. I don't know about that. The space battle at the beginning was tits and the film REALLY takes off at the part when Mace Windu and Co. go to take out Palpatine. Ian M. should get an Oscar nod for Palps. He was one of the best villains that I remember seeing on screen for awhile now. So manipulative and shady...it was great. Ewan kills it as Kenobi as well. I hope the Star Wars TV show won't suck.

3) Sin City- Robert Rodriguez is one of my heroes. He (along with Frank Miller) might have made the most faithful adaptation of a Comic Book film yet. I remember walking out of this movie feeling a little bit weird about what I just saw. It wasn't a happy film and stirred a lot of emotion in me. I love it when I get rocked by a movie like this one. The digital effects are sooo fresh and as ground breaking to me as TRON was. Sin City 2? You know they are going to green light that sucka. Awesome stuff.

Honorable Mentions: King Kong (Kong was long), Serenity (Original & brilliant), Wedding Crashers (Dead on comedic timing and FUNNY as hell), Cinderella Man (Giammatti is the BEST actor working today...hands down), Harry Potter 4 (My favorite Potter so far), Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (A fresh twist on the Gene Wilder "you get nothing" version), Hotel Rwanda (Cheadle rocks...another REALLY good actor) Narnia (The books are so great and this film was good), Kung Fu Hustle (it surprised me! Different and cool) & Corpse Bride (An instant classic...my daughter says that Madagascar was the best Kids Film this year, that Melman!).

Best Toons

1) Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Fast Food Items (Master Shake, Frylock & Meatwad) fight Monsters, Aliens, and Etc in New Jersey! Season 4 is the crown jewel. I am SOFA KING.

2) Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends: McCracken strikes again! Foster's is a place for imaginary friends to go so they won't be forgotten when kid's grow up. The main theme for this show is VERY catchy and when I watch this series I just end up feeling good at the end of it. It's time to use your imagination.

3/4) TIE! Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 2 & Spongebob Squarepants: Clone Wars 2 is better then the first volume and Spongebob Squarepants will go down as one the five best TOONS EVER! The new episodes I saw in 2005 did not disappoint. We are talking as good as old Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes. It is that good.

Best TV Show
LOST- This is the ONLY TV show that I watch religiously. Science vs. Faith, Light vs. Dark, Good vs. Evil. What happened to Oceanic Flight 815? Why did it crash on that island? Danger and mystery loom behind every corner in this MIND FUCK of a show. The Cast is spot on and the writing keeps me coming back week after week to see what will happen next. I'll call my shot right now...I don't think they survived the plane crash. I think they all died and are stuck in purgatory (I.e. LOST from heaven or hell). I have been wrong before though. Oh yeah...one more thing...Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain) is doing an Episode.

Creativity and Originality are great things. Embrace them...PEACE- DAGO!