Favorite movie of 2005: I put off making this list for a week because Crash arrived from Netflix last Friday. Crash has appeared at the top of a number of “best of 2005” lists (including Roger Ebert’s), so I figured I ought to see it before rendering my verdict. Well, I watched it last night, and my verdict is: whaa? Best film of 2005? I mean it was good ‘n’ all, but it depicts Los Angeles as being about the size of a basketball court and inhabited by a little over a dozen citizens, such that every event in the city will necessarily involve at least two of them. Plus, every moment where I thought “Wow, the writing in this film is excellent” was matched by at least one moment where a snippet of dialogue or “plot twist” brought me to the brink of eye-rolling. It might be the best 2005 film I saw all year (if only because I saw so few), but I enjoyed both Batman Begins and Grizzly Man more.
Favorite Older Film That I saw In 2005: Sideways, followed closely by Kung-Fu Hustle.
Biggest Cinematic Disappointment: Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Great story, great director, great star, great child actor, great first 30 minutes … then it all goes pear-shaped.
Favorite Fiction Books Read: Thanks to the Booklist 2005 Project, I read a lot of amazing stuff this year. Top five:
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Dainielewski. Possibly my favorite book of the last decade.
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- Oracle Nights by Paul Auster
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- Murder On The Leviathan by Boris Akunin (I am currently reading the other Erast Fandorin novels, and will review the trilogy as a whole sometime in 2006).
Favorite Non-fiction Books Read:
- The Wisdom Of Crowds by James Surowiecki
- The Professor and the Madman : A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
- Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate–The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff
Book I Expected to Hate and Wound Up Liking Quite a Bit: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (will review soon).
Favorite Albums of 2005: Honestly, I’m just not passionate enough about music to have “favorites,” but the three 2005 albums I listened to the most often this year were:
- Fischerspooner, Odyssey
- Brazilian Girls, Brazilian Girls
- Death Cab For Cutie, Plans
Favorite Boardgames of 2005:
Favorite Boardgames of 2005 Caveat: I still haven’t played Caylus.
Favorite Flash Games of 2005:
- Motherload — holy smokes, addictive!
- Nanaca Crash — totally stupid but, Christ, I couldn’t stop playing it.
Favorite Interactive Fiction Game Played in 2005: All Things Devours.
Only Interactive Fiction Game Played in 2005: Well, okay: All Things Devours … but it was really good.
Did you see the Squid and the Whale? I think it’s still playing somewhere in Seattle. Definitely my favorite of the year. And possibly the best, too.
you are much kinder to crash than i. i remember reading that opening line (“…we crash into things just to feel…” or whatever), and thinking, wow, that’s some silly voiceover to put into a film. and then when i saw it, and saw that it was dialogue – that this is something that some one is actually supposed to be saying to someone else -, i was even more blown away by the inanity of it.
it’s interesting because i found myself engaged by the film – never bored – and feel like i should give it more credit (a “good and all, but…”), but ultimately, i found the entire thing too eye-rolling.
I saw a link, and it said Grow: Cube. And suddenly three hours had passed, and all my plans for Sunday morning had gone off the rails and into the ravine and burst into flames and finally dissolved in a shower of exotic particles.
Thanks, or possibly I hate you.
I also loved the Squid and the Whale (produced by wes anderson)….
did you ever play diplomacy?
As a devout wine connoisseur I hated Sideways. What is all the hype about?
Totally agree with you on “The Professor and the Madman.” :)
What, pray tell, is the origin of “…it all goes pear-shaped”?
No one’s quite sure about the origin of ‘pear-shaped’.
Have to agree on the Squid and the Whale. It got top honors on my best of 2005 list as well. Click here to read more.
With so many references to “My Humps”, I was expecting to see Black Eyed Peas on your favorite album list. Check it out :)
I agree with _House of Leaves_. As soon as my friend is done and I get it back, I’m reading it a second time.
I’m so happy to see Lakoff on the list. I urge you to read Moral Politics – changed my world.
My favorite movie of the year was Howl’s Moving castle.
Also enjoyed Batman Begins. Didn’t see Crash though.