Here's why "King Kong" was a 10-Best in our family: it provided a multi-generational laughfest. From the painful, awful ACTING of the early scenes (noted by a 23-year-old niece), to the painful, awful dinosaur scenes of the middle -- "Look at me running in front of the blue screen," said my 12-year-old son -- to the ridiculous, painful and awful middle-(will-this-ever-end) end ice frolicking scenes ("If they start making out, I'm leaving," I said. "No! If they start making out, it will finally give us a reason to stay!" said my 21-year-old nephew)-- what were you thinking, Stephanie? "I'm going to leave and go see 'Cheaper by the Dozen II' (didn't see that on your list), I'll meet you in the lobby," said another (smarter) 15-year-old niece. Good advice we all should have taken if some of us weren't sleeping (the 45-50-year-old crowd mostly), advice we all should have taken instead of enduring the mess, not the "10 Best," that was "King Kong." When another nephew said during the "thrilling" Empire State Building climax, "He doesn't die here because I saw his next movie when he fights Godzilla," we were too undone with laughing to watch (the usually wonderful) Jack Black deliver his killer wrap-it-up drama school line: "twas beauty that killed the beast." Come ON, Stephanie!!! What Peter Jackson hack bought you on this one???

Hooray for Thai cinema in 2005!

I do have one strong objection, however and that is Land of the Dead which was unbearably bad in my opinion. I am so surprised not only that you have praise for it but that it made it into the top 10. My dislike for it isn't a product of snobbery, either: I love zombie movies and was really enthusiastic about this one - until I had to sit through it. It was a throwaway of Dennis Hopper and John Leguziamo's talent. Yuck.

Bloated, and a waste of talent on both sides of the camera. I can't remember when I've been so bored by a film - perhaps it was the original "Rollerball." Damn you, Ebert and Roeper!!!

The Prize Winner of Defiance Whatever gets a slot on Steph's list of honorable mentions, but not Werner Herzog's unforgettable Grizzly Man? Well, true, Grizzly Man had no feminist message...

CB said "The Prize Winner of Defiance Whatever gets a slot on Steph's list of honorable mentions, but not Werner Herzog's unforgettable Grizzly Man? Well, true, Grizzly Man had no feminist message..."

What is the point, CB, to insinuate the reviewer didn't list Grizzly Man because she only listed feminist films? I didn't see a feminist film in the bunch. BTW, Grizzly Man was the incredibly boring tale of an incredibly self-centered and boring individual. It should be on anyone's top 10 list.

9

Sorry about the typo...

It shouldn't be on anyone's top 10 list.

That was one of the worst top lists imaginable.

And The Grizzly Man was a wonderful film.

Still Zacharek insists on ignoring and overlooking (even as anything notable) Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." You just didn't get it, did you, Zacharek?

"King Kong" but not "Brokeback Mountain"? Wow.

There are a good number of films on the list that I haven't seen but now look forward to, but where are some others: Brokeback Mountain, Syriana for a couple.

Great Stephanie. Now, please make a list of the 10 worst movies in 2005 and please, please, please include "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith."

I stopped bothering to read most Salon film reviews when I was snookered into seeing the Scooby Doo movie based on a Salon review (a million laughs!) You seem to value being contrarian above being reasonable. I'm not exaggerating when I say that a unfavorable Salon review provides compelling reason to see a film.

Worst Top 10 list ever!

eh, overall, not a very exciting year for movies.

Nothing has surpassed the 2002/2003 movie years yet for me:

Lost in Translation, Adaptaton, Mystic River, The Cooler, In America, Whale Rider, Monster, Thirteen, Cold Mountain, Capturing the Friedmans, The Fog of War, Big Fish, American Splendor, The Hours, About Schmidt,Y Tu Mamá También

(most of that from 2003, but Adaptation was the beginning of a long run of great aniticipation and payoff for great movies. I was on a nonstop high for 2 years being excited about movie after movie; lots of anticipation. I haven't felt that way since. Interest piqued here and there, but nothing like that nonstop fest of anticipation and great film.

Apparently some people just can't recognize movie magic when they see it and have to jump on some sort of hate train about King Kong. Maybe it isn't a film that stands up to a graduate seminar on story structure, but unless you are just blinded by hate, how could you not love that film?

From what I have heard of Brokeback Mountain it sounds like one of those well made dramas that gets released every year to a tizzy of high praise while in a few years it will just sit on the same forgotten dust heap of competant dramas along with The Piano, The English Patient, Out of Africa etc. All these movies are good, but can we stop acting as if it is some special achievement to create a good drama?

Kong on the other hand is a remarkable achievement for its ability to create a believable relationship between a human and a CGI character. It saddens me to no end to see so many dump hate on the film. If you really love film then it is almost impossible to watch King Kong and not be awed by the achievement in cinematic arts that it represents. For its ability to create a truly believable CGI character who interacts with a human it will go down as a major moment in motion picture history.

Stephanie stated, quite clearly, that this list was a "favorite" Top Ten, not a mythical (her word) "best". In perusing her choices and her Honorable Mentions, it is clear that she has seen a remarkably diverse range of films in 2005, most of which will never be playing in my little town. It's a joy for an ex-metropolitan dweller to be kept apprised of the cinematic situation, and I will always be grateful to Stephanie for her reviews, maddening though they may be at times.

So enough with the phony outrage, please! It's her list, not yours.