Movie Ratings for 2005

The top films are ordered by preference, all else is ordered alphabetically. Eligibility is determined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' standards for films released in 2005 (http://www.oscars.org/78academyawards/rules/rule03.html) and limited to movies that I have seen during their premiere release in a first-run theater. I have taken to using Roger Ebert's system of dividing movie ratings into 9 categories, ranging from zero to four and incremented by one-half, with the distinction of naming each category and providing a suggestion of its importance.

4.0- The Best (See it as soon as possible. When the theater empties, go home and order the DVD.)

Broken Flowers
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Grizzly Man
The Squid and the Whale
Cache
Bad Education (La Mala Educación)
Sin City
Crash
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Match Point
Brokeback Mountain

3.5- Great (See it in theaters and buy the DVD.)

King Kong
A History of Violence
Good Night, and Good Luck
Jarhead
Tsotsi
Syriana
Capote
Batman Begins

3.0- Very Good (See it and buy the DVD if on sale or available in a good edition.)

2046
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The Aristocrats
Cinderella Man
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins (La Marche de L'empereur)
Murderball
Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith
The New World
Transamerica
Unleashed
Weather Man

2.5- Good (It is worth seeing more than once. Accept the DVD if it's given as a gift.)

The Brothers Grimm
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Ice Harvest
Inside Deep Throat
Kingdom of Heaven
Melinda and Melinda
The Producers
Robots
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds

2.0- Mediocre (See it if the opportunity arises. Accept the DVD as a gift, but don't give a gift in return.)

Four Brothers
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Wedding Crashers

1.5- Not Bad (It isn't a priority, wait for a wide video release. Politely decline any offers to receive the DVD.)

Saw II

1.0- Bad (See it on a rainy day, and only after exhausting any of the above choices. Avoid the DVD.)

Domino
Fantastic Four

0.5- Terrible (Seeing it is a mistake. Go to video stores and laugh at those who purchase the DVD.)

Bewitched

0.0- Poison (It will cause temporary loss of brain function, similar to a mild concussion. Nobody will release it on DVD, just ignore it if they do.)

Coming Soon

The Constant Gardener
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
North Country
Oliver Twist

78th Academy Awards

On January 31, 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Below is a list of all nominees, with my predictions in bold. I have not seen every eligible movie this year, and my predictions are an indication of the actual recipient, not the deserving recipient. The actual awards will be given during a televised presentation on March 5, 2006 and I will italicize the winners.

Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

Actor In A Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

Actress In A Leading Role
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightley, Pride and Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Actor In A Supporting Role
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence

Actress In A Supporting Role
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain

Directing
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Paul Haggis, Crash
Bennett Miller, Capote
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg, Munich

Original Screenplay
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, Crash
George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Good Night, and Good Luck
Woody Allen, Match Point
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
Stephen Gaghan, Syriana

Adapted Screenplay
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
Dan Futterman, Capote
Jeffrey Caine, The Constant Gardener
Josh Olson, A History of Violence
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, Munich

Animated Feature Film
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Art Direction
Good Night, and Good Luck
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride and Prejudice

Cinematography
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride and Prejudice

Costume Design
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride and Prejudice
Walk the Line

Documentary Feature
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight

Documentary Short Subject
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

Film Editing
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line

Foreign Language Film
Italy, Don't Tell
France, Joyeux Noel
Palestine, Paradise Now
Germany, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
South Africa, Tsotsi

Makeup
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Music (Original Score)
Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain
Alberto Iglesias, The Constant Gardener
John Williams, Memoirs of a Geisha
John Williams, Munich
Dario Marianelli, Pride & Prejudice

Music (Original Song)
'In the Deep', Crash
'It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp', Hustle & Flow
'Travelin’ Thru', Transamerica

Short Film (Animated)
Badgered
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
9
One Man Band

Short Film (Live Action)
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time Is Up
Six Shooter

Sound Editing
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds

Sound Mixing
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardro
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds

Visual Effects
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardro
King Kong
War of the Worlds