Category Archives: 2005

2005, Acceptable Trash, Chick Flick, Comedy, Detective

Miss Congeniality II (2005)

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From NetFlix:

After her triumph at the Miss United States pageant, FBI agent Gracie Hart
(Sandra Bullock) becomes an overnight sensation — and the new ‘face of the
FBI.’ But when the pageant’s winner, Cheryl (Heather Burns), and emcee Stan
(William Shatner) are abducted, Gracie springs into action with the help of
skeptical, businesslike agent Sam Fuller (Regina King). John Pasquin directs
this girl-powered buddy flick.

Every now and then it is important to watch “acceptable trash”. At the very least I got a few good laughs from the movie. Enough said.

But I get a kick out of seeing TV actors appear in movies, to wit:

  • Regina King was ‘Sandra Palmer’ in 9 episodes of ’24’
  • Enrique Murciano is ‘Danny Taylor’ in ‘Without a Trace’
  • Ernie Hudson was in ‘Bones’
  • Diedrich Bader was in ‘CSI’
  • Elisabeth Rohm is ‘Serena Southerlyn’ on ‘Law and Order’
2005, Musical, Unusual, Vulgar

Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

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From NetFlix:

From the Coen brothers and John Turturro comes this twist on the not-so-ordinary tale of adultery and salvation. Nick (James Gandolfini) engages in a torrid extramarital affair with a younger woman, Tula (Kate Winslet), while his wife, Kitty (Susan Sarandon), grows ever more enraged by his behavior. As her world crumbles around her, Kitty grapples with her husband’s infidelity, but will Nick ever realize the magnitude of what he’s done?

This is one wierd film as follows:

o It is a musical. Yes, you get to hear James Gandolfini and Susan Sarandon sing.
o You get to see firemen etc dance in the street.
o It is exclusively about sex.
o It is one of the most vulgar movies I have ever seen.
o It has a happy-sad serious ending despite all the preceding nonsense.

You have to really like strange and different films to tolerate this kooky film.

2005, Danish, FilmReview, Foreign Language, Unusual

Chinaman (2005)

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From NetFlix:

    In this poignant Danish tale, hapless plumber Keld (Bjarne
    Henriksen) finds his world crumbling when his wife of 25
    ears (Charlotte Fich) walks out on him. The dejected Keld
    soon falls into a routine of eating at the neighborhood
    Chinese grill, where he befriends the owner — who offers
    Keld a sizable sum to wed the restaurateur’s sister
    (Vivian Wu) in a marriage of convenience. Will love bloom
    despite the language barrier and clash of cultures?

NetFlix lists the title as Kinamand which is  Danish for Chinaman.

 Chinaman is S L O W,  whisper quiet, and feels like an independent film.  Not only
is the plumber Keld hapless, he is practically inert. I did not  find this film boring,
but  then I like independent films and can afford the time to be patient.  If you have
limited time I would rather you see Hidalgo or “Son of Rambow”.  But the film
has  a charm of its own. I was surprised by the ending.  It was also unusual
to  hear a Dane practising his Chinese.

OK if you have the time,

2005, Unusual, Violent

Beowulf & Grendel (2005)

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From NetFlix:

In an adventure imbrued with blood and tragedy, the legendary Norseman Beowulf (Gerard Butler) must command an army across the seas of ancient Northern Europe to conquer the evil troll Grendel. Anticipating his epic crusade against the wrathful monster, the warrior must arbitrate his emanating notoriety and his relationship with the enchanting Selma amid a time of barbaric turmoil and transformation with the emergence of the Christian faith.

There are at least two movie versions of the story. When the 2007 movie came out I decided to plough thru the actual Anglo-Saxon saga of Beowulf. Seamus Heaney produced a version that had Old English on the left side and his English translation on the right side. Frankly, I was a bit bored by the classic saga. It’s fairly straight-forward: man meets monster, man slays monster, man goes back home. So I can see why the movies spiced it up a bit.

I suppose if you are bound and determined to watch a Beowulf film,
this is the version I will put on the list. This version gives the monster
Grendel a personality and a psychological reason for why he slays
the warriors. In fact, he is portrayed as a victim.

This version is very earthy. Both versions portray the warriors as being
very crude. Their language, the topics of their discussions, and their
personal hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. But it all seemed to make
sense. And why wouldn’t a warrior culture devoted to killing, drinking,
and womanizing be a tad crude ?

But if there is any movie with Gerard Butler (this Beowulf) that I would
recommend, that would be “Dear Frankie” which is slightly different
from Beowulf.

2005, Could Be Sad, Feel Good For All, Musical, Several languages, War

Joyeux Noel (2005)

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From NetFlix:

Inspired by a true story, this heartwarming tale unfolds on Christmas Eve, 1914, in the midst of World War I. As the French, Scottish and German soldiers prepare to open their presents, a momentous event occurs that changes the destinies of four people: an Anglican priest, a French lieutenant, a world-class tenor and his soprano lover. Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann, Guillaume Canet, Gary Lewis, Dany Boon and Daniel Bruhl star.

I found another description:

In 1914, World War I, the bloodiest war ever at that time in human history, was well under way. However on Christmas Eve, numerous sections of the Western Front called an informal, and unauthorized, truce where the various front-line soldiers of the conflict peacefully met each other in No Man’s Land to share a precious pause in the carnage with a fleeting brotherhood. This film dramatizes one such section as the French, British and German sides partake in the unique event, even though they are aware that their superiors will not tolerate its occurrence

At first my reaction was, “This film is just too goody-goody”. But eventually the film got to me. It is a very musical film and features a folk-tune called “I’m Dreaming of Home” which is sung several times.

You will not regret seeing this film.

1001BeforeDie, 2005, Could Be Hard To Watch, Feel Good Not For Children, Redemption, Violent

Crash (2005)

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From NetFlix:

A 36-hour period in the diverse metropolis of post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles is the theme of this unflinching drama that challenges viewers to confront their prejudices. Lives combust when a Brentwood housewife and her D.A. husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple all converge. Director Paul Haggis’s Best Picture Oscar winner stars Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon and Jennifer Esposito.

Recommended in “1001 Films to See Before You Die”, this film seems to be the gold-standard for films that offer multiple seemingly independent threads that ultimately come together before the film ends. Sometimes those relations are a bit forced.

Racial predjudice (and whether it can be overcome) is the theme of the film. I have reviews that rave and reviews that rant about how well this theme is treated. At least it is not a boring film. What I remember most is the heroic car scene with Matt Dillon.

1001BeforeDie, 2005, Could Be Sad, Gay theme, Not Feel Good, Western

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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From NetFlix:

Two sheepherders — Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) — meet and fall in love while working together near Wyoming’s Brokeback Mountain in 1963. Over the next 20 years, their lives take different courses: Jack becomes a rodeo cowboy while Ennis remains a ranch hand. Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid and Michelle Williams co-star. Ang Lee directs screenwriter Larry McMurtry’s adaptation of a short story by E. Annie Proulx.

Whether you have or have not yet seen this film (recommended in “1001 Films to See Before You Die”), I urge you to read the short story by Annie Proulx of the same title. It was a “Best American Short Story” for its year of publication. When I started reading the short story in the “Best” book , I did not know what it was about. By the time I was finished I was stunned. I had never read anything like it. I prefer the short story to the film which really adds nothing. But who would have suspected that 4 years after the film one of its stars, Heath Ledger, would be dead by apparent suicide.