Life's our oyster and we're gonna suck that bitch down with a champagne chaser.



  • Behavioral Therapist
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  • BS Psychobiology/ French, UCLA




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Monday, January 02, 2006  
The Top Tens of 2005
An end to one year (a particularly shitty one) comes the lists we all look forward to in our superficial world: the top 10 movies and TV shows of the past year. I compiled these lists based on entertainment value, ingenuity and pure quality in story, plot, characterization etc.

The movie list is, in a sense, incomplete because I was not able to see movies like Capote, Cinderella Man, Good Night and Good Luck and A History of Violence, which could have potentially made the list. However, out of the movies that I did see in 2005, these are the movies I enjoyed the most. There was a battle in the top 3 but I did my best to give credit to those movies. It was a year filled with geek-hyped movies and a few made the list partially because I am in fact a geek and also that those movies happen to be awesome. Enough suspense, here is the list.

Top Ten Movies of 2005

10. STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH

At number 10 is one of those geekified, hyped movies of the year I mentioned above. It's not Shakespeare, that's for certain, but we're not seeing this movie for the profound commentaries on society. We're seeing it for the action, the lightsabers, the spaceships and what the hell, let's see the birth of Darth Vader and the twins. It was just a fun time at the movies.

9. KING KONG

Peter Jackson's accomplishments up until this movie are astounding enough but what he does with the giant ape who had a heart is pretty breathtaking. Not only are the special effects alone astounding, but how the audience actually feels for the poor monkey, the monkey created by a mouse and a keyboard, is an accomplishment on its own.

8. SERENITY

This is one of those great movies that no one, except fanboys, sees in theaters but may find an audience on DVD. It combines great sci-fi themes with western themes. No matter if you're familiar with Joss Whedon's Firefly television series (thanks Fox) or not, this is just great entertainment.

7. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

Say what you will about cutting a lot of material from the book, this is a fantastic adaptation of yet another Harry Potter book. This happens to be my favorite book in the series, but the movie is not only so much fun but is a great cinematic experience with emotion, action and a storyline derived from great source material backing it up.

6. BROKEN FLOWERS

Some people have said that Bill Murray's other movie Lost in Translation had no plot. For those looking for a slap you upside the head storyline to follow for an hour and half, no it didn't. It was about people and the dead lives they lead and the people they meet who eventually revitalize their lost selves. This film, also with Bill Murray, shows a man in similar circumstances but with a wholly different journey that is pretty funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Broken Flowers and Lost in Translation both display the eccentricities and subtleties of human behavior and deviate from the formulaic Hollywood narrative, which should be reason enough to see them and love them.

5. THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN

A handful of people have known that Steve Carrell was a genius since his days on The Daily Show, but with his debut on The Office and this film, hopefully more people will realize it. This movie utilizes some crude humor a la Old School but doesn't rely on it. At it's core is a sweet love story that doesn't alienate every male in the audience.

4. SYRIANA

Yeah it has a complicated plot and yeah it's political, but if you're awake enough to actually pay attention to the dialogue and the intersecting storylines, you find a very intricate story that is not only fascinating but a little revealing about our own world. Oh wait, it is a fictional film...

3. CRASH

Here's another one of those "thinkin'" movies. Crash could've turned into a one-dimensional, blacks vs. whites race movie but it didn't. It is a movie about prejudice and the prejudice that exists in everyone's lives from whites to blacks to latinos to middle-easterners and to people separated by sexual orientation, money and appearance. When a movie leaves you as a, hopefully, somewhat better person, it's a damn good film.

2. BATMAN BEGINS

All right, in any other self-respecting movie watcher's list, the last two movies on this list would be in these top two spots. I'm not self-respecting though so my top two are going to be uber-geek films...damn good ones though. Batman Begins is not by any means a comic book movie. It is a superhero film but one that transcends the likes of Spider-Man and X-Men. Batman doesn't have any superpowers of any sort. He uses psychology and fear against his enemies and it's pretty scary. By going to Batman's dark roots, the story transcends the typical superhero movie formula. Plus, no more bat nipples. Thanks for revitalizing this franchise, guys.

1. SIN CITY

You would be hard-pressed to find a more unique looking film than Sin City in the past decade. However, if the movie relied solely on the look, it would've failed. With that look come extraordinarily dark stories portrayed by the talents of Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen and Bruce Willis. I never thought I'd be praising Bruce Willis for his performance but I am. The movie just begs you to watch it with its insanely beautiful visuals and even with its sometimes gruesome scenes of violence. For its story, its characters and its groundbreaking visual style, Sin City earned the top spot on my list.

Honorable Mentions

MAD HOT BALLROOM

The movie was just damn cute (yeah, I said it) and was a great documentary about a few kids doing something they'd never thought they'd be doing.

THE COMEDIANS OF COMEDY

Another documentary, this time following four comedians as they go on tour, focusing on how they formulate their style of off-beat stand-up.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Pacino just belongs on every year's best movie lists in some form. Hoo-aaaah!


For the next list, more time was taken to consider potential candidates because, by their nature, television shows linger for much longer than movies. One episode can make or break any given show. There are several shows that couldn't make the list but they are not any lesser shows, this was just a good year for TV. To those naysayers who may guffaw at the top spot on this list, have an open mind and try the show. It is not a sci-fi show but is a solid drama with great characters, plot, suspense and action that happens to be set in a sci-fi background. And with that, here it is.

Top Ten TV Shows of 2005

10. NIP/TUCK

Last year, this show was at the top spot on my list. This year, Nip/Tuck went kinda nuts and become sorta predictable but it doesn't change the fact that this is fantastic escapist entertainment which never fails to shock and awe.

9. ROME

HBO just knows how to make great shows. This time it concurs the realm of period pieces. With rich characters, great pacing and plotting and tight dialogue, Rome doesn't turn into some PBS documentary but becomes a great storytelling device that tells the story we all know about Caesar and the going-ons of the ancient Romans.

8. ENTOURAGE

A chunk of guys want the life of Vince Chase, the main character in Entourage. He's a successful actor who's got the girls, the money and the life. But really, the other chunk of guys want to be Vince's entourage. This show follows what Vince's cronies do with Vince's money and how they use his life to improve their own, to hilarious conclusions.

7. WEEDS

This show could've been one-note. A suburban mom, down on her luck, resorts to selling pot to support her family. But when she encounters rival dealers, a snoopy housekeeper, and has to deal with her terrorist 8-year old son and her horny 15 year-old son AND her stoned brother-in-law, it is anything but one-note.

6. HOUSE

Dr. House is a guy you love to watch but would never want to be treated by. Some people criticize the show for having a standard formula but the show doesn't use the formula of "sick patient ---> weird symptoms ---> wrong treatment---> revelation ---> right treatment" as a crutch. It uses it as a backboard for the main characters to develop and to show us just how crazy House really is.

5. SIX FEET UNDER

Fans of the show knew that this would be its last season and were eager to see how it would end. It ended by leaving grown men degraded into weeping, blubbering children. It resolved all loose ends in a somewhat clean way which is all we ask for when a show has to end.

4. RESCUE ME

Dennis Leary's Tommy Gavin is a heroic asshole. He's an all-star firefighter and saves people's lives everyday but he can barely save his own. When he finally gets a hold on things and brings his family back together, something else tears him apart, which is where we found him at the end of this season.

3. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

On this week's episode, Ron Howard, the show's narrator, repeated numerous times, "Please, tell your friend's about this show." In any other circumstance, this would be pathetic self-promotion but in the case of this brilliant show, Mr. Howard and the writers are right. WATCH THIS SHOW AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS!! You will not find a funnier show on television, cable or non. I pray to the Showtime Gods to pick this fantastic show up.

2. LOST

No other show frustrates you more but pulls you back in episode after episode, cliffhanger after cliffhanger. Right when the show answers a couple questions, it raises twenty more. You look for clues in every flashback and in every leaf on the beach. And that's what makes the show so damn watchable and wonderful.

1. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

Before you sound the geek alarms, just, for the love of all that is good in this world, have an open mind. This is a strong drama at its core, with it bringing a great sci-fi backdrop. You find yourself caring about what happens to each of the characters and what motivates each of them. (Dr. Baltar: is he completely insane or is he actually an instrument of god?) This show is not just a piece of entertainment but is a piece of art, as many movies and television dramas strive to be. I may be overhyping it but that's how much I love it.

Honorable Mentions

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER- for reviving the traditional sitcom genre,

EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS - for bringing respect to UPN

THE OFFICE - for successfully bringing the spirit of the British version and creating its own spirit

GREY'S ANATOMY - for being so trashy and yet so utterly watchable

CARNIVALE - for being such a great show that no one watched

THE 4400 - I wasn't able to watch season 2 which aired this year, but it's a damn good show

FAMILY GUY- for coming back


In any case, it must be said, especially for myself, that these objects of entertainment should be used for only that: entertainment. However, you must understand that these objects, especially the TV shows, are very dear to some of us and so when one is urged to at least try to watch one episode of one of these epic shows, one should at least entertain the proposition for the greatest of care has been taken in selecting these shows into one's seasonal roster.

I'm a bit long-winded, I know... I'm being semi-ironic you see. These things aren't important... at all, but dag nabbit, I love them.

The second half of season 2 of Battlestar Galactica premieres this Friday at 10 on Sci-Fi Channel.
1:58 AM
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