Rewind: Top 10 of 2005

1. “Munich” - In 1993, Spielberg served up a furious one-two punch of “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List” that essentially blew everyone else out of the water. In 2005, he returned to the same powerhouse formula by releasing “War of the Worlds” and “Munich,” which enlightened my movie going experience in ways that few other filmmakers are capable of. His emotionally salient take on the cataclysmic events surrounding the 1972 Olympic games once again showed why he is the most fearless and versatile director in all of Hollywood.

Spearheaded by the finest performance of Eric Bana’s career, every second of this film throbs with implacable tension and I don’t think the final box office numbers come close to reflecting how deeply textured the material turns out to be. I’ve seen it three times now and happen to think it holds up quite nicely against the other top films of the decade, even if Oscar didn’t feel the same.

2. “A History of Violence” - For those of you who are familiar with my writing, you already know how much I admire the artistic, blood-spattered approach to picture making that David Cronenberg employs. He’s simply the best at taking the most vile and disgusting characters and somehow turning them into morally flawed human beings with whom the audience can sympathize.

Here, Viggo Mortensen plays Tom Stall, the owner of a small-town diner who carries a disturbing secret that comes dangerously close to tearing apart the only life his family has ever known. Virtuoso supporting work from Maria Bello and William Hurt takes the madness to a new level and sets the stage for a breathtaking final segment.

3. “Grizzly Man” - It’s sad, strange, and true. Werner Herzog’s beautifully painted portrait of neurotic oddball Timothy Treadwell takes the viewer inside the psyche of a man who had no limits on how far he was willing to go in the name of passion. The absence of any real judgment leaves you free to formulate your own opinion of his chilling demise, so regardless of how you feel, you’ll never forget him.

4. “Syriana” - Stephen Gaghan’s dense, intellectual exposé on the real winners and losers of the oil competition doesn’t really care if you understand all of the dialogue, because the fact that you’re listening is enough. It’s about as politically charged as a mainstream movie can get and is likely to have many viewers bored or disinterested long before the conclusion, but I found it fascinating in every sense of the word. Since oil prices appear to be the talk of the town at the moment, may I suggest revisiting this film for a more incisive look at what exactly we’re up against.

5. “The 40-Year Old Virgin” - Well, this is where it all started. This is where the hilariously uncouth brand of Judd Apatow comedy was born and, judging by last year’s tandem of “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” he doesn’t appear to going away anytime soon. Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, and Catherine Keener put the pedal to the floor throughout every laugh-out-loud moment of this film and help mold it into one of the funniest comedies of all time.

6. “Good Night, and Good Luck” - George Clooney’s political acumen is firing on all cylinders during this penetrating exploration of media duplicity yet it never feels as if we’re actually watching a movie. It’s as if someone left the door to the newsroom open and we’re given a first-hand glimpse of how backdoor politics are conducted. You’ll be astounded by the amount of lies, deception, and betrayal that go into orchestrating a popular newscast and the delivery of this film is as down-to-earth as any I’ve ever seen.

7. “Capote” - Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman captures every inch of idiosyncratic behavior possessed by the legendary author and went beyond mere impersonation every step of the way.

8. “The Aristocrats” - An acquired taste, but without a doubt one of the great exercises in over-the-top absurdity ever brought to the screen. Comedians Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette catch over a hundred of their closest friends telling their own version of the dirtiest joke ever and it quickly becomes a raucous celebration of the first amendment.

9. “Cinderella Man” - Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti (Should have won an Oscar) make a terrific on-screen team and Howard’s fight direction is inspired to say the least. Had Crowe not lost his temper with a cell phone earlier that year, he would’ve been giver further consideration.

10. “Crash” - Paul Haggis’s interlocking drama surrounding Los Angeles race relations has many stellar performances, but three years later it doesn’t pack the same punch as it once did. Although the Best Picture award is official, I don’t think the academy made the right decision.

Hancock

In many ways, Will Smith’s new film “Hancock” is the 2008 equivalent of Michael Bay’s inherently energetic scrap heap “Transformers.” It’s cluttered, clamorous, and complete with enough big budget brouhaha to find itself right at home amidst the mid-Summer mash-up we call July. It didn’t have to be this way. The studio wasn’t forced to abandon every ounce of hard-nosed badassery (Okay, so it’s not a word. Sue me.) in favor of a schmaltzy, Disney-esque narrative about reluctantly fulfilling your destiny, but sadly, that’s what becomes of this one following the halfway point. Not even Smith’s audacious, wisecracking charisma is able to salvage this sheer catastrophe of a screenplay and, when that happens, you know something is clearly out of whack.

Director Peter Berg (“The Kingdom”) has a unique premise that he’s not quite sure how to handle, so the frenzied plot progression ends up souring any feeling of delight generated by the mesmeric opening sequence. When a grizzled and whiskey-ridden Hancock is woken up by a young boy alerting him to a crime in progress, the film sets a very comedic tone and allows Smith to deliver some classic one-liners that almost make you forget that you’re watching a PG-13 superhero flick. His face is rough, his attitude is ornery, and public relations are visibly absent from his to-do list. He’s the perfect anti-hero, the kind of grumpy old boozer who would bring scotch to Sunday mass, because wine just doesn’t cut it.

Yes, Hancock is what many people would call an “a-hole,” but he doesn’t care as long they don’t say it to his face. No matter how many citizens he saves, his perception will never improve unless he opts for a complete personality makeover courtesy of Ray Embrey, played by Jason Bateman. Embrey’s plan is to send Hancock to jail and give Los Angeles a taste of life without the troubled superman around to save the day.

The energy Bateman brings to this role is more than the film deserves, because the script isn’t even close to living up to expectations. Then again, all three main characters are too skilled to fall victim to a putrid plot twist, so they do their best to weather the storm until the credits roll.

Hancock’s stint behind bars provides a few laughs, but mostly serves as a facilitator for future destruction of property. Since he has no real nemesis, Berg tries to highlight the internal struggle that consumes Hancock throughout much of the film, but even that loses steam in a hurry. His new and improved persona isn’t as interesting as the creators think it is and the scenes involving Charlize Theron are often too weird for words.

I love Charlize as much as the next guy, but was her involvement in the big picture necessary? My guess is that the writers wanted as many bombastic confrontations as they could fit and didn’t care how much talent they wasted in the process.

If Dickens wrote “A Tale of Two Cities,” then this is a tale of two films. One is a hilarious look at an alcoholic loner who is anything but your friendly neighborhood superhero and the other is an overblown clunker that never offers a hint of something we haven’t seen a hundred times before. As for which one prevails, I think I’ll let you decide.

- ** ½ out of 4