Sorry for the late edition of this best of list and it is not totally complete yet. It is taking me awhile to see all the movies I had wanted to see. It did not seem like the greatest year for movies but a few stick in my mind. Compared to the past few years this years top pick was fairly easy to make.
A Scorsese masterpiece and normally I am not a big fan (ie Gangs of New York). The movie tells the story of Howard Hughes in his genius and his madness. It captures his time in early movies through his takeover of TWA and the flight of The Spruce Goose. Leonardo DiCapro plays Howard Hughes and strangely looks like him even without makeup. He plays Hughes masterfully and would have had the oscar but for Jamie Foxx's uncanny portrayal of Ray Charles. Cate Blanchett won an oscar for her portrayal of Kate Hepburn. She had Miss Hepburn down to a'T'. I forgot she was an actress and believed she was Miss Hepburn. Parts of it brought me back to "Philadelphia Story" and "Bringing Up Baby." It is a must see film.
This movie is a story of the horrors that occurred during the genocide in the small country of Rwanda in Africa in the early 1990's. The story follows one man who runs a popular hotel in the country. He takes in onto himself to shelter hundreds of refugees in his hotel protecting them from the massacre occurring outside the hotel gates. Don Cheadle plays the manager and in any other year he would have had an oscar for his powerful performance. If you want to learn something about what occurred during this horrible time watch this movie. If not watch this movie. It is is a must see.
This movie is about an actor that goes home after many years to deal with what he left behind. Basically that is the plot of Garden State without giving anything away. Zach Braff (yes he is in Scrubs) wrote, directed,and acted (as the lead) in this little movie that could with great skill and a wonderful eye. It is part romantic comedy, part social commentary, and part autobiographical (so I hear) all rolled into one. Zach capitalizes on much of the emotional baggage that he personally and his generation are going through. It is very much The Graduate of a new generation. One image at the end in particular reminds me of that movie. A coincidence? I think not.
This movie also features Natalie Portman as a quirky but lonesome girl who shows that she can act when light sabers are not involved. Peter Sarsgaard who plays Braff's old underachiever friend gives a great performance as the unlikely hero of the movie. If you are up for the summer movie season's less flashy cousin and want to think a little bit, this is a must see.
This movie is about Ray Charles' life what can I say more. It is an average musicians life story. Drugs, women and success. Throw in genius and you have Ray Charles. What makes this movie so good is Jamie Foxx who plays Ray Charles. We was Ray Charles and thus won the oscar for it.
Director M. Night Shamalan continues to impress me and the Village is no different. It is hard to talk about it without giving anything away so I will not. If you are looking for a plain and dumb horror movie look somewhere else, it is not one. I did jump out of my seat once though. Go into it without any assumptions and you will enjoy a good movie.
The first truly new movie of the year that I have gone to see. This is definitely a thinking man's movie, and Jim Carrey is in it strangely enough. If you are looking for the normal Jim Carrey, that one took a vacation for this movie. He only showed up for a few seconds halfway through. This is a good example of a dark comedy (the best being M*A*S*H). It was an intriguing look into the mind of one man, fighting to keep the memories of his girlfriend that at the beginning he wanted to forget. &nbps; It was a strangely heartwarming movie that makes you think about all the things you wish you could forget.