The Best of 2005: Movies

As 2005 is closing, it's time to recount the movies that mattered to me in the past year. This is, of course, an incomprehensive list as I did not watch all the movies that were released. I might see Munich before the year ends, so that may be added to the list.

Batman Begins.
After Joel Schumacher devastated the Batman franchise with the release of the ultra campy Batman & Robin, salvation comes in the form of acclaimed director Christopher Nolan. Together with writer David Goyer, Nolan envisioned a dark and realistic retelling of the caped crusader's origins. The result is a smart and thrilling action movie starring the brilliant Christian Bale as the tortured protector of Gotham City. This is a comic book movie done right.

The Constant Gardener.
This is a beautifully shot movie that sheds light on the dire condition in Africa and, more importantly, what different people do about it. Ralph Fiennes gives a wonderful performance as a tepid diplomat that has to go through a revelatory journey when his wife died in mysterious circumstances. Fernando Meirelles, director of City of God, crafts a movie with stunning images of the poverty stricken Africa nations.

Kung-Fu Hustle.
By far, the funniest movie I've seen this year. (Good) slapstick comedy is a dying breed. The last time I remember enjoying a slapstick is the Jim Carrey's classics, the Ace Ventura movies and Dumb and Dumber. Stephen Chow manages to craft a hilarious and inspired slapstick by tapping into the old Looney Toons animation with its surreal and violent comedy.

Sin City.
This is film noir on steroids. It's not really an adaptation, but rather, a translation of Frank Miller's series of graphic novels. Using digital effects to emulate the black and white panels from the book, Directors Robert Rodriguez and Miller has created a truly unique looking beast. Mickey Rourke's once in a lifetime performance as the giant hustler with a heart of gold, Marv, is worth the price of admission alone. The stellar cast, the innovative art direction, and the hardcore ultra violence cap off a fantastic film.

A History of Violence.
Director David Croenenberg crafts a truly ingenious study on violence. The violence in this movie, which is plenty, is portrayed in realistic details. Fights are finished with just a few, crucial blows. You could see the gruesome and unattractive part of violence, be it a broken nose, a burned face, or a bullet wound. Violence is also shown as main cause of problems in a peaceful small town family. But when the hero takes up the fight to the bad guys, brutally pummeling them with inhumane beating, you couldn't resist the temptation to cheer for him.

Serenity.
See my review on a previous post for a lengthy review. The short version: It's how a sci-fi movie should be.

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.
This is really a three episode story arc of the animated series Family Guy that was released straight to DVD. But this is so unbelievably hilarious, I just have to put it on the list. The best character in Family Guy, Stewie, gets the center stage and that's a good thing. A lot of the joke depends on your knowledge of pop culture reference, but if you know them, it's priceless.

Good Night, and Good Luck.
Somebody give David Strathairn an Oscar for his performance of Edward Murrow. His mannerism, his voice, his speech pattern, his posture, the way he looks at the camera, they all portray a man you would trust on giving you the truth on the news. Murrow's speech at the beginning and the end of the movie is brilliant. Director George Clooney has made a fantastic picture that pleads the press to stay unswayed in their journalistic integrity.

Syriana.
Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, this is a film in Traffic's mould, a collection of seemingly separate stories that interweave in a complex web. While Traffic is about the drug smuggling business, Syriana is about the inner workings of the oil industry. We see how oil companies, Arab states, the CIA, powerful Washington law firms, corruption, and terrorism play a part in the game. You might not get how everything is connected, as it is meant to be complicated. But the important thing is, you will see how the different players are desperate to control the quickly disappearing resource.

King Kong.
Kong is a special achievement in special effects. There are moments where you just forget your suspension of disbelief and think somewhere in the world a 25-feet tall gorilla exists and he could act wonderfully. Naomi Watts shows why Kong is crazy for her Ann Darrow. With her sad, glistening eyes and blond hair, she looks like the glamorous leading ladies from Hollywood's golden age. Despite the hectic and unrelenting action, Peter Jackson manages to establish a connection between a giant gorilla and a human girl, a major improvement from the original 1933 movie. The scenes of Kong and Ann’s interaction are warm, funny, and touching. That relationship gives a heart to this thrilling action movie.

Up, Up, and Away

I never reviewed a trailer before, let alone a teaser trailer. But the teaser to Superman Returns is just so damn good.

http://supermanreturns.warnerbros.com/trailer.html

The visual direction is beautiful. Since the movie is a direct continuation of the first two Superman movies (the good ones), you might recognize the imagery of Smallville and the Kryptonian crystal designs. Meanwhile, Metropolis looks stunning with its art deco look.

But the creme de la creme is the audio. Marlon Brando's wise voice boldly explains the reason Superman exists in earth, while the theme amplifies the grandeur of the speech tenfold. The theme really makes the trailer stand out, creating a heroic and inspiring nuance.

This teaser made me incredibly excited. I Can't wait for 2006.

They couldn't get a better title

New York garage rockers The Strokes released the debut single of their third record, First Impressions of Earth. It's called "Juice Box," I kid you not. The title might fit some lame Euro-pop/disco one hit wonders that sells a song based on a catchy hook, preferrably also repeating the title over and over again. It won't fit this song. Why? Because this is a brilliant and unbelievably cool song. Don't believe me? Check it for yourself.

Quicktime

Real

Right off the bat, that is one wicked bass line. It feels like the soundtrack of a high octane spy action thriller. It doesn't feel like the straight rock of Is This It? or the New Wave influences of Room on Fire; it's a new beast. In fact, you're can't be sure if it's a Strokes song when Julian Casablancas starts the first verse. But when he screams, "Why won't you come over here?" at the top of his lungs, it all comes together. Speaking of Casablancas, his vocals in just this song has more spirit and enthusiasm than the entire Room on Fire combined. He's not singing like it's 4 AM and he's ready to fall asleep any second now.

"Juice Box" is on the radio right now. An allegedly controversial video is coming soon. First Impressions of Earth will be released January 2006.

The Grand Space Opera

The best space movie in years came out not too long ago. Nope, it's not Star Wars. It's a movie with a modest budget (for a sci-fi action movie) of $45 million called Serenity.

"Sereni-wha??" you might say. The movie might be a little obscure. It defies the norm of the contemporary action movie (no young and impossibly sexy cast, tabloid scandal fodder star, oversaturation of advertisements, flashy CGI, oh-so-cool bullet time slow motion, 11th hour twist, etc.) Its strength lies in the most important ingredient of any movie: the writing.

Serenity is the brainchild of writer/director Joss Whedon. Whedon is best known for his television work. He created the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, both of which, in this critic's mind, are two of the best written series of its time. Serenity also started as a television series called Firefly. The series, cursed from day one by its horrendous treatment from Fox, is a short lived one because of low ratings. Normally, a cancelled show is dead as the Dodo; resurrecting it needs the foulest alchemy, wicked voodoo, and pure miracle. And a miracle it received. Hardcore fans, the self-proclaimed "Browncoats," bought a staggering number of the DVD boxset. The numbers allow the powers-that-be to greenlight a continuation of Firefly in the form of a feature length movie.

The story revolves around the ragtag crew of the spaceship Serenity. The captain, Mal, is a former rebel that fought and crushed by the Alliance, a group of planets that want to "civilize" others under their semi-totalitarian grip. Now Mal leads life as an outlaw, leading his band of misfits to raid Alliance banks and transport illegal cargo, while avoiding the Alliance and the Reavers, a pack of space-faring inhuman cannibals. Two of the cargo are the siblings Simon and River Tam, who happen to have mysterious ties to a deep conspiracy within the Alliance. The Tams have a secret so dangerous, the entire Alliance is gunning for Serenity, dead or alive.

That's all you need to know to get things going. In fact, the first ten minutes of the movie establishes the setup I just described succinctly and appealingly. The main cast, each with their own unique characterization and mannerism, are also introduced early in the movie. There's no need to watch the whole season of Firefly to understand the movie.

All of the original cast from Firefly returned for Serenity. None of the actors in the movie are household names. But what the cast lack in star power, they compensate with screen presence, charisma, and genuine acting skills. Whedon has a knack for casting. He always found the right actors for his characters: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz. He did it again this time with Nathan Fillion. Fillion's portrayal of Mal is incredibly fun to watch. He oozes charm and charisma with every line he delivers (the southern tinged accent helps). He's the modern day Han Solo, the lovable and noble rascal that you'll follow to the grave. Fillion is incredibly important because Mal's character arc forms the structure of the story.

The character Mal is one of the many examples of Whedon's strong writing. Whedon, as those that are familiar to his shows know, excels at dialogue. While contemporary action movies are plagued with cheesy one-liners, Serenity's dialogue is in a league of its own. The playful banter between characters is smart, witty, and lightning-paced. The wisecracks are funny. The serious moments are emotionally charged. Most importantly, nothing seems forced. The dialogue does what it needed to do: to define a character and move the story forward.

Speaking about the story, it flows effortlessly from one plot point to the next. There is one or two convenient plot device regarding the character Mr. Universe, but it's not too jarring to be distracting. The story also packs emotional punches; the Reaver moments are terrifying, the revelation is powerful, the deaths (I'm not telling) are heartbreaking, and the ending is satisfying. The special effects are surprisingly pretty well done for the budget. There are no epic battles (there is a pretty large space battle near the ending, but it's too chaotic to notice details) a la Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but the relatively low scale action scenes are still exciting and thrilling to watch.

Bottom line, Serenity is the sci-fi movie you have to watch this year. It's not Star Wars; it's better.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to the inaugural post of The Imaginaut. To start off, a little history regarding the blog. The Imaginaut is created as a channel for me to talk about matters pertaining to movies, music, novels, and comic books. These are subject matters that are near and dear to me. If there is one common denominator between them, it's the fact that a certain degree of imagination and creativity is needed in order to construct a product in each medium. Thus, I think it's only appropriate that I name this blog The Imaginaut, for what am I but an explorer of the vast and wonderful world of imagination.

As of this first post, the settings of this blog is at the bare minimum. I am using a predefined template. It will be awhile, I think, before I meddle creating a customized template; I like the template fine and I am not in the mood of designing layouts. Visual and functional improvements to the blog will occur in slow progression.

In the next few days, or weeks if I don't feel like it, expect reviews of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, the sci-fi movie Serenity, and the new Franz Ferdinand album.