By Graham H. Moes
Graybrook Institute Film Critic
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Cinderella
Man It went down for the count in the
first round at the box office, but director Ron Howard's
soaring tale of true grit and virtue triumphant in
Depression Era America packed a huge emotional punch for
those willing to give this sepia-toned "sports"
film a chance. Russell Crowe, filling the big gloves of
real-life boxer Jim Braddock, gives one of the best
performances of his still-rising career. Ditto for Renee
Zellweger, breathing life into the pillar-of-strength
image of wife and motherhood that defined a generation,
and Paul Giamatti, in a supporting role already reaping a
harvest of awards en route to a well-deserved Oscar. |
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Pride
& Prejudice
This umpteenth
version of the classic infused the familiar story with a
vitality and stark realism too often lacking in "Brit
lit" adaptations. Easily the best such attempt since
Zeffirelli's Hamlet (the Mel Gibson version).
Keira Knightley strikes just the right tone as the
independent-minded Lizzie without a trace of modernist
feminism on the one hand or overbaked BBC staginess on
the other. If not for my own manly "pride" in
touting a chick flick over a boxing film, this work of
extreme "Prejudice" could just as easily have
topped my list. |
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The
Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe C.S. Lewis' classic is right
up there with The Lord of the Rings and Harry
Potter in terms of built-in fan base, but fulfilling fan
expectations that here also include tricky theological
concerns seemed a near impossibility. Yet Narnia
realized the book's core imagery in a way both faithful
and fresh while taking the technical aspects a step
beyond even Rings at times. Moving, insightful
and sure to take its place alongside The Wizard of Oz
as an enduring family classic. |
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Crash Christ
said, "Let him without sin among you cast the first
stone." But as this film about race relations in
urban Los Angeles points out, every last one of us,
regardless of color, is hurling them as fast as we can,
wounding without realizing the fact much less
caring until those stones come crashing back down
through our own glass houses. The brilliance of this
meditation for discerning adults is how it reveals race
isn't even the problem, it's just an excuse to ignore the
bigger one the reality of human nature in a fallen
world. Screenplay by Million Dollar Baby scribe
Paul Haggis, who also directs, is the year's best by far.
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War
of the Worlds
Another cuddly
alien film from Steven Spielberg? ...Um, no. Spielberg
himself has said his personal view of the Great Unknown
has changed since Sept. 11. Whatever the change, we like
it. Can't speak to the home-viewing experience yet, but
on the big screen it was truly an awesome sight to behold.
Amidst rumors of his own outer space origins, Tom Cruise
played his first transitional role (as a father) with
earth-shattering intensity that easily sold the whole
exaggerated, effects-laden ride. All in all, out of this
world. |
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The
Great Raid
For daring to present
the military in a positive light during war time, The
Great Raid deserves an Independent Spirit Award
alone. Despite the low budget feel, this true story of a
U.S. commando raid on one Japanese POW camp in World War
II offers several killer performances, a gripping finale
and a rare moral clarity that, while it won't win any
awards from Hollywood, easily earns a place among my
favorites. |
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King
Kong A little long, a little self-indulgent,
but no other film this year better understood why we go
to the movies. Kong was a throw-down throwback
to the golden age of monster movies that reconfirmed
Peter Jackson as the king of big-canvas filmmaking. Equal
parts high adventure and high anxiety, fueled by
adrenaline and enough SPCA pathos to give Old Yeller
a run for its money, this story of an ape and his girl
raised the bar for multiple genres, then cleared it in a
single bound. |
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Batman
Begins Now you're getting a little crazy,
you say? (Hey, get your own list.) It isn't easy
resurrecting a franchise that died a slow death on life
support within recent memory. Director/co-writer
Christopher Nolan was the miracle man, not only reviving,
but reinventing the bat-man while simultaneously fleshing
out his origins in a plausible way and delivering the
most entertaining installment since Tim Burton's original.
Add to that Nolan's above-and-beyond amenity of infusing
real meaning into an action film...? Bat-tastic! |
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Walk
the Line "Different" is usually
one of the few prerequisites for this list. And while The
Man in Black's life story stuck too close to the generic
biopic playbook giving short shrift to
complexities like Johnny Cash's spiritual journey
Joaquin Phoenix's performance fit the bill. Standard
issue scenes of infidelity and pill popping soon faded,
but Cash's music sung entirely, amazingly by
Phoenix himself is still stuck in my head. As is
Phoenix's interaction with an equally effective and
ingratiating Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash. |
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Wallace
& Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
In a year marked by dark and heavier fare, the feature
debut of everyone's favorite clay-based life forms was a
welcome burst of full-spectrum color. While never quite
topping the genius of Nick Park's three W&G shorts (two
with Oscars), it was still the freshest breath of air of
2005. Runner-up in the fun-for-adults-too category goes
to Robots, another explosion at the fireworks
factory well worth your while. |
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