these are my thoughts.
my top 10 favorite films of 2005 --
(keep in mind, these are just my personal favorites. i'm sure there were plenty of films i didn't see and therefore will be left off this list... in fact, i know for a fact that i didn't get to see most of the more critically acclaimed films that came ot this year. so... deal with it?)
10 - hitch
shut up shut up, i know it's super cheesy and everything but i think it's cute and a lot of it is true. and i love love love kevin james.
09 - wedding crashers
i still maintain that the 40-year-old virgin was a better film, but not much can beat out vince vaughn getting near-raped by the creepiest 'mo this side of ted from queer eye. "that painting was a gift, and i'm taking it with me!"
08 - the 40-year-old virgin
this film somehow managed to be a romance while maintaining the grossout fun of american pie. and it is because of the duality that it beat out wedding crashers on this list.
07 - the ringer
i'm pretty sure that i'm giving this movie more credit than it deserves, but it earned this spot on the list because i originally thought i'd never see it because it would make fun of disabled people. but then i read some stuff about it and decided to see it and really really liked it. it was sweet. and funny. and i didn't think it was disrespectful; rather, it was uplifting. props to this movie for rising above what it could easily have been - a movie that got laughs at the expense of special olympians, rather than by the hand of special olympians.
06 - batman begins
i went into this movie expecting to like it, but not as much as i ended up liking it. i thought it was extremely well-done. and cillian murphy was effing creepy and i will never understand why anyone wants to make out with him.
05 - elizabethtown
okay, yes, so cameron crowe can have a tendency to ramble on. and yes, this film could certainly have been split into two different ones with two different storylines. that considered, i think i would have liked both films. i liked the story, i LOVED the music, and the whole road trip "map" idea was fantastic - i kind of ganked it when i made my friends' christmas presents. i think the fact that i really liked this movie even though i really hate kirsten dunst means something, right?
04 - the sisterhood of the traveling pants
this book-to-movie transition could have been done really poorly, but i thought it was done really well, in large part due to excellent casting - i especially love alexis bledel and america fererra.
03 - rent
we've all been waiting for this movie for years, and i thought it was great. it is true that i have never seen it live, though, so unlike everyone else i had nothing to compare it to. i could take it at face value as a film with great characters and great music. i was pleasantly surprised at rosario dawson - i'd always been apathetic about her before but between this movie and...
02 - sin city
... this movie, i really appreciate her as an actress. i thought this movie was amazing. just totally enthralling and well-done and creative. often times movies with such a large collection of well-known stars can suck hardcore (mars attacks, anyone?) but i thought everyone in this film was great.
01 - brokeback mountain
by far, the best film of the year. i loved everything about it. everytime i hear the song from the movie i want to cry. i really hope heath ledger wins some sort of award for making his words punch their way out of his mouth. and i hope everyone one day can find the scent of a shirt so powerful.