In honor (or dishonor) of the Oscars this coming weekend, the Cinema Strikes Back team have each assembled their Top 10 of 2005 lists. Then, using our individual lists, we combined the votes and came up with our Top 5 of 2005 list for Cinema Strikes Back. As you can see, our tastes and those of the mainstream are not exactly in line - Grizzly Man is the only film that our list and the average critic’s list have in common (and which inexcusably failed to be nominated for Oscar, proving yet again that the voters have their collective heads up their … well, you get the picture). We each had slightly different criteria, but did not limit ourselves to films with a US theatrical release in 2005, since we tend to watch a lot of advance DVDs and festival screenings.

1. Election - Johnny To, Hong Kong
2. Grizzly Man - Werner Herzog, USA
3. Layer Cake - Matthew Vaughn, UK
4. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - Park Chan-wook, South Korea
5. D - Vishram Sawant, India

Our individual picks continue below:

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1. L4yer Cake (UK)
2. Election (Hong Kong)
3. History of Violence (USA)
4. The Descent (UK)
5. Match Point (UK/USA)
6. Capote (USA)
7. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (South Korea)
8. Bittersweet Life (South Korea)
9. Munich (USA)
10. 2046 (Hong Kong)

Best Documentary:
Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party (USA)

Best Short:
West Bank Story (USA)

Scariest Film:
The Descent (UK) - Released in the US summer 2006.

Best Horror:
Wolf Creek (Australia)

Coolest Action:
Tom Yum Goong (Thailand), SPL (Hong Kong), District 13 (France)

Note: Some of these I caught on DVD in 2005 and others at film fests at 2005. Many of these films have yet to be released in theaters in the US at the time of writing this. Many films like Old Boy and Kung Fu Hustle show up in my best of 2004 list (as that is when I saw them). I still have about 5 films from 2005 I need to see but couldn’t get to them in time for writing this.

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1. Grizzly Man, USA
2. Turtles Can Fly, Iran/Iraq
3. Sarkar, India
4. Nobody Knows, Japan
5. Election, Hong Kong
6. Layer Cake, UK
7. D, India
8. The Descent, UK
9. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, South Korea
10 G.O.R.A., Turkey
10.1 Serenity, USA
10.2 Sin City, USA
10.3 S.P.L., Hong Kong
10.4 Hit Man File, Thailand
10.5 Broken Flowers, USA

Worst Movie: Izo, Japan

Best Recent Movie To Surface on DVD in 2005: The War, Russia

Best Straight to Video: Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power, USA

Guilty Pleasure Favorites: Danny the Dog, UK/USA & B-13, France

Movies I haven’t seen from 2005 that could very possibly change the top 10:
Takeshis, Japan
Dead Man’s Bluff, Russia
Crying Fist, South Korea
Crimen Ferpecto, Spain

For full disclosure purposes, I have not seen all or even half of the films nominated for the Oscars, although I will probably check them out on dvd in the next few months as they start to trickle out.

Number of non-film festival releases seen in theaters: 4
Number of movies seen in 2005: 506.

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1. Grizzly Man – This absorbing, disturbing character study is even more
interesting if you have seen Burden of Dreams, which is
to Werner Herzog what Grizzly Man is to Timothy Treadwell.

2. Election – Johnny To combines his signature style and clockwork
precision with a more realistic plot. One of the best gangster movies
I’ve seen in recent years. (Read Charlie’s review).

3. Princess Raccoon – Seijun Suzuki has had a musical inside him all
these years – it just took old age to get it out. Colorful, witty,
charming, and altogether wonderful. (Read David’s review).

4. Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – I am a sucker
for claymation, but I can’t imagine this film failing to please. The
perfect film for viewers of all ages.

HONORABLE MENTION

5. D – A prequel to Ram Gopal Varma’s stunning Company, this
cold-as-ice story details the rise of a “business first” mobster in
India’s underworld. (Read Charlie’s review).

6. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance – My favorite of Park Chan-Wook’s
Vengeance trilogy. Visually superb. (Read Charlie’s review).

7. The Descent – The best albino cannibalistic humanoid underground
dweller movie ever, despite what I consider to be a bit of a misfire at the
end.

8. Serenity – Sometimes a movie doesn’t have to be brilliant or great,
it just has to be really, really good. One of the few sci-fi films of recent years that didn’t bore me to tears, and had genuinely likeable characters.

9. AV – This HK sex comedy about a bunch of friends who decide to
produce, direct and star in their own adult movie had the two things
every teen comedy needs and most lack – real humor and real heart.

10. The Bow – Kim Ki-duk is alternately infuriating and brilliant. So
is this film (and it won’t necessarily help him in the ongoing
misogyny debate), but it is undeniably an atmospheric masterpiece, with
inspired music and visuals.

(My list is by original release date in country of origin. Kung Fu
Hustle, and A Taste of Tea saw release before 2005, but if I were counting
them, they would be Numbers 4 and 5 respectively, rounding at the Best
at six movies. Crimen Ferpecto and 2046 would make my Honorable
Mention list.)

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1. Election: Haven’t been this surprised by a movie since Usual Suspects. More credibility than any gangster movie I’ve seen in years. The old “Uncles” make this feel totally real to me.

2. Vital: Tsukamoto is a weird dude, but he is bringing real artistry to the usual weird topics he seems to be obsessed with.

3. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance: Visually brilliant, absurd, surreal, funny but with heart at the same time.

4. Grizzly Man: ‘Nuff said probably. Truly a one of a kind story and Herzog is the only man that can do it justice.

5. Be Here To Love Me: Documentary about Townes Van Zandt. If you’re a fan of his music it’s more interesting but his story is compelling enough to make it a good movie. I was genuinely moved by it.

6. Double Suicide Elegy: From Japan. Somehow manages to make a story about suicide funny without being stupid. Toru Kamei is the virtually unknown director but shows great potential.

7. L4yer Cake: Exceeded my expectations. Daniel Craig has plenty of charisma. Plus it’s nice to see some good UK crime stories again

8. Serenity: As a fan of the TV series it was a great catharsis. I like that Whedon stuck to his guns and didn’t try to go Hollywood too much. Plus it’s just such a great world with the blending of sci-fi and western. The almost Dickensian phrasing (bad grammar mixed with flowery diction) flowing into cursing in Chinese is totally original.

9. The Baxter: A goofy romantic comedy created by Michael Showalter of the State and Stella. Sure it’s a bit sappy but one can’t help but have affection for the characters. Also Peter Dinklage (one of my favorite actors in the world) has a hilarious cameo as a gay wedding planner that just happens to be a little person. Also it was shot entirely in Brooklyn, New York, a plus in my book

10.The Place Promised in Our Early Days: Shinkai successfully made an anime film that stands up to the standards of art films in terms of character and maturity while executing brilliant visuals.

Honorable Mentions: If they came out in 2005 Oldboy and 2046. Actually Old Boy would be in my top 5 and the rest would be pushed down accordingly. I might like Lady Vengeance more though. Danny The Dog aka Unleashed: I don’t feel guilty at all about this one. Jet Li actually turns in a good performance, the fighting was shot with originality, and Bob Hoskins can’t miss playing a cockney gangster. My favorite movie I saw in 2005 was probably Last Life in the Universe but it came out in 2003.