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  1. #1
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    WorkShed's Top Five Lists

    Introduction:

    Hey, all. WorkShed here. I've decided to come up with a column of sorts, collecting a bunch of top five lists based on films and filmmakers. I'm stealing the format from Joblo.com (he has top ten lists, but I can't come up with that many). Hopefully you find them informative or even humorous. We shall see...
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    Top Five Films of 2005

    Let's start right off the bat with a critic's favorite list. What are my favorite films of 2005?

    5. Batman Begins



    Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is the first truly interesting take on the character behind the mask (okay, live action take, considering the Batman: Mask of the Phantasm still trumps it in heartfelt emotion). This film has the best looking Gotham City I have ever seen (the first time the train is shown, a tear nearly came to my eye). The filmmakers went full steam ahead in bringing a realistic portrayal to a superhero without any powers. Casting was nearly perfect save for one (you know who I'm talking about), and the characters were fully fleshed out (I couldn't have written Alfred or Gordon any better myself). They keep the razzle-dazzle CGI to a minimum and keep the film flowing smoothly. Also, is it just me, or does Liam Neeson look like a born asskicker? If Ducard and Qui-Gon Jinn were forced to battle, Ducard would have brought Qui-Gon to his knees, crying. Kneel before Ducard!


    4. Good Night, and Good Luck



    The use of silence in this film is absolutely haunting. Also, considering my hateful stance against censorship by political means, I found this to be the scariest film of the year. It's frightening to think of what happened during McCarthy's days and what had begun to happen now. People can be blinded by their fears of "The Others" whether that be homosexuals, communists, or Muslims. It is the job (no, the DUTY) of the media to report on the wrongs committed by their own government. As stated in the film, television can be used as a powerful tool to educate, but if it isn't, it's just a box, lights, and wires. A very moving drama.


    3. The 40 Year-Old Virgin



    Following Steve Carell’s work beginning from “The Daily Show” has been a blast. Through his great roles in Anchorman and the US version of “The Office” on NBC (which has gotten a lot better and has done a great job straying from the UK version), he has shown great comedic chops as an actor. This film proved to be no different. However, the best part of the film wasn’t Carell. It wasn’t the director. It wasn’t any of the actors. It was the script. Here was a script that was actually funny and worked to present realistic characters to care about. This is something that almost all recent comedies have avoided. However, Virgin delivers in spades. While it begins to get a little too crazy towards the end of the film, most of it stays grounded in real life settings and situations. “Steve Austin, you can stay.”


    2. Jarhead



    Definitely not a film for everybody. Bitingly funny, yet poignant. A war film without battle scenes. Men crying. Soldiers dealing with issues of abandonment from significant others. The loss of love. There’s some very heavy stuff here. It even takes shots at other Hollywood films, most notably Apocalypse Now which apparently has an anti-war message, yet is shown to the marines before they are sent into battle in order to pump them up (while shutting the film off before the anti-war message is presented). Mendes throws in some strong visuals (the charred bodies of the Iraqi refugees and the flaming oil fields) but leaves the storytelling to the actors. They deliver, especially Jamie Foxx. It’s amazing to see how far this actor has come. He is gifted when given the proper material. The film starts to stumble at the end, but the journey makes up for it.


    1. King Kong



    Okay, I’m cheating. But how awesome does this film look? The four-minute preview that was shown on NBC a couple of days ago sealed the deal. This is a realistic take on the classic story. Kong is an animal, but not a beast. This looks to be Jackson’s best work yet. I only wish that the Academy would be able to recognize Andy Serkis’s amazing physical talent and give the man a Best Supporting Actor nomination already! He deserved it in The Two Towers! Serkis owns Kong as a real, flesh and blood animal with true love under the gruff exterior. Amazing work.

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    Top Five Worst Films of 2005

    With the best must come the worst!


    5. Fantastic Four



    Here’s a superhero story that, like Hulk before it, is actually very boring. The script does a little too much tinkering with the origin story to try and make is a science versus big business metaphor that doesn’t work. Doom (his Doctor was taken away because he’s an executive now, SCARY!) is boring and his cache of weapons is ridiculous. Seeing him try to wield a rocket launcher by himself was plain laughable. The relationship between Reed and Sue was forced. The effects work was done much better in The Incredibles (an all-together better film with a similar premise). The only saving grace in the film is the banter between Johnny and Ben. Seeing The Thing get belted by a fireball from the Human Torch brings a smile to my face. However, the fun of the story is taken out and replaced with a hammy drama (Ben’s wife) that never works.


    4. The Ring 2



    I wanted to like this film, I truly did! I was a big fan of the tone and the mystery of the original film. I thought that by having the Japanese director of the Ringu series would be a good idea. I was wrong. The Ring pulls A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 move and creates a standard possession story that is not very convincing, but very laughable. Sure, it was intense when a mother tries to drown her child in order to save him, but it’s not enough. The characters are hollow. The mystery of Samara becomes more confusing and less interesting. Then there’s the deer scene…


    3. The Amityville Horror



    Family moves into spooky house. Spooky stuff happens. Samara from The Ring shows up. More spooky stuff happens. Ryan Reynolds is out of character when he’s shirtless for the ladies. A red balloon shows up and reminds me I hate clowns at the circus. Apparently there’s a torture chamber on the grounds, but wasn’t shown in the building’s abstract. I waited for the walls to bleed, but it never happened. The story also moved far too quickly to get a grasp of the situation or feel any true dread. Finally, the ending copped out far too many times (the axe “murder”). The film posed interesting questions (a step-father’s alienation with his step-children) yet never follows through.


    2. War of the Worlds



    Another film that I wanted to like but was horribly let down. It starts off wonderfully with a great alien attack, but things go downhill quickly. Since when do the scenes involving human panic without aliens (the van scene) beat out the attacks with the aliens (the whole basement section of the film)? Spielberg vomits 9-11 imagery with fallen planes and missing person posters on the screen and expects it to be subtle. Major deaths are proved unimportant by the end (it’s okay, the rich people survived!). Tom Cruise gets sucked up what looks like an alien rectum (okay, that’s a good part). Dakota Fanning has NOTHING to do but scream and cry. So much potential wasted.


    1. Wedding Crashers



    Here’s a film that has the worst pacing of any comedy I’ve ever seen and places it with horrible stereotypes (the gay son). Vaughn and Wilson look genuinely tired with the genre, yet continue their spree for the money train instead of look for better story fare. Walken is underused (he is a comic genius, just watch him on SNL). The film is nothing but standard cliché following cliché (how big of a cliché was the love triangle with Wilson?). I truly wanted my money back so that I could see 40 Year-Old Virgin again.
    Last edited by WorkShed; 11-30-2005 at 04:06 PM.

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    Top Five Arnold Films

    C’mon. It's Arnold. You know you love ‘em.

    5. Last Action Hero



    How great would it be to visit some of your favorite films. This film not only explores that possibility, but also uses it to throw some quick jabs at the studio-produced products, as well. Smarter than most give it credit for, most of the humor is threaded through Arnold. I have to give the guy some credit. Not only is he willing to dress up in a ridiculous costume to play Hamlet, but he looks awesome doing it. “To be or not to be? Not to be.” Great. Also, it’s great to see a celebrity poke fun at himself. His scenes as himself, playing against his real-life wife, Maria Shriver, stand out above most of the actions scenes, yet those are great too. Last Action Hero had some great action and some fun laughs. Plus, it contains a don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it double cameo with Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick dressed up from Basic Instinct and Terminator 2, respectively, IN THE SAME SHOT!


    4. Kindergarten Cop



    Awww, Arnold with the kids. But wait, it’s also Arnold with a SHOTGUN calling himself “The Party Pooper.” How could this movie get any better? Wait, you mean there’s a face-biting ferret in it, too?! This film has it all. Little kids and a love story for the women; gunfights for the men. This was one of my favorite films as a child and still stands up today. It also surprisingly contains kid actors that can actually perform. There’s some great scenes between Arnold and the kids. They’re believable and they’re still great today. The greatest scene of the entire film is Arnold’s first day as the teacher of the class. “It’s not a tumor!”


    3. True Lies



    Jamie Lee Curtis’s best role since Halloween and also one of the most underrated James Cameron films ever! It’s got Arnold fighting terrorists aboard a crazy fighter plane, shooting between buildings. It’s great and also holds some great laughs through his interactions with his family, a wife and daughter who both think he’s boring. Arnold also does some worthwhile acting, as well. This was also a fairly original storyline, until Mr. and Mrs. Smith came along and stole almost all its good parts. Tom Arnold stars as well and isn’t that annoying. Toasts all around!


    2. Predator



    This film is the tits. You don’t just watch it, it becomes you. The sound design still can’t be beat. It starts out as a hardcore war/terrorist film with all kinds of action, then turns on a dime into a sci-fi survivor flick. It also contains a beast so amazing that it even causes Arnold to run! He’s tiny up against this thing. This is the REAL Predator before he wusses out in AVP. Everything about this film still holds up today from story to visual effects. It’s all good, here, and he ain’t got time to bleed. “Get to the choppah!”


    1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day



    Okay, I’ll admit it. The first time I saw it, I shed a tear at the end. Seeing a machine, who was the personification of evil in the first film, create a believable relationship with a teenage boy is amazing. It’s almost like Old Yeller, except this time Old Yeller wields a mini-gun and fights a liquid metal android instead of a rabies-infected wolf. Almost like the same thing. Plus it has some great philosophical thoughts on changing the future and contains some great action moments that trumps those in films made over ten years later. Tons better than the third film in the series and still leaves with a hopeful ending.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by WorkShed
    With the best must come the worst!

    1. Wedding Crashers



    You're insane!
    This goes on my Top 5 best of the year. One of the funniest films I've seen in a LONG time.

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    I'm agreeing w/ JPB on this. Wedding Crashers was Hysterical.
    Other than that, Great column Workshed. Hope we see more.

    "Suddenly I heard a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. You heard me rapping, Right?"

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    Gee, one month to go and already best and worst of 2005?

    And you really should wait till you've seen a film to decide whether it's the best of the year. Otherwise it only counts as the best hype of 2005.

    (That's it. I'm putting my 'Oh my god it sucks' sig back up again till all the King Kong hype is over. )
    Last edited by editman; 12-01-2005 at 05:39 PM.

    "The idea was to be a symbol. editman could be anybody, that was the point."

    Trolls destroyed the Forum

    my DVD/blu-ray List

  8. #8
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    I feel fairly safe in making my predictions. Other than Kong, there's nothing really coming out in December. Save for Munich, but I don't think it'll be that great. If it is and I see it, then there will be a re-listing.

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    I really hope Jack Black's character in King Kong is a bit tongue in cheek... otherwise, as far as I've seen in the previews, I won't be able to take his character seriously at all.

  10. #10
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    Did you see one of the clips that they had with Naomi Watts on The Today Show? I think I put it in my latest post for King Kong Trailer thread... Oh, hell... I'll just repost it here...

    see 'Naomi Watts on Leno' in this post

    There's a great Jack Black scene near the beginning. I think this will be fun. Since I've been seeing clips, my hopes are even higher. That T-Rex battle royale will own all.
    Last edited by WorkShed; 12-02-2005 at 04:08 PM.

  11. #11
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    Just a few comments about your lists, Workshed.

    It seems that you set your mind about "King Kong", that it will be great. Probably you're right But it's almost 3hr long movie and a lot of things can go wrong... If I were you I would wait with my final decision till December 14th.

    I haven't seen "Jarhead" yet (I have to wait till 6th January 2006 ), but I think it will be on my Top 5 Movies of the Year too. Sam Mendes is a brilliant director and I love his movies.

    I also wait for new Clooney movie, glad you liked it. He really suprised me with his "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind".

    Now, I wouldn't put "War of the Worlds" on my worst list. I think Spielberg did a really good job on this film. As for 9-11 imagery, It won't suppose to be subtle. I liked his choice to show this story as realistic as possible.

    I must say that I liked this new version "The Amityville Horror". I jumped in my seat few times I liked it better than "The Ring 2", maybe because of Melissa George I think she was great and I will definitely remember her.

    Not much to say about your Arnold list. I agree 100% with top 3 positions. Don't know about "Kindergarten Cop", think I would change it to "Conan the Republican" sorry... "Conan the Barbarian"

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    Quote Originally Posted by WorkShed
    I feel fairly safe in making my predictions. Other than Kong, there's nothing really coming out in December. Save for Munich, but I don't think it'll be that great. If it is and I see it, then there will be a re-listing.

    Narnia will be awesome too, I think.

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    December Movies (US release)-

    Dec 2 - Aeon Flux
    Dec 9th - Narnia
    Dec 14th - King Kong
    Dec 16th - The Producers
    Dec 21st - Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (go golden raspberrys!) and Fun with Dick and Jane
    Dec 23rd - Munich and Memoirs of a Geisha --> Probably the two most oscar worthy films of the month
    Dec 25th - The New World

    Many more smaller movies too
    Our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us. - Matthew Mcconaughey - Interstellar

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    Okay, yes, I did jump the gun on my prediction without basing it on the actual film. I admit that. I did admit that. However, unless the stars re-align, I doubt that I will be changing my mind. Everything that I have seen and heard points to this film being a winner.

    editman, I'm not trying to start another Kong thread. I'm not. I'm conversing about my statements in the Top Five lists. You notice that I've left a majority of Kong comments in the Kong trailer thread, not here. If people start asking about other top five lists, I'll give them just as much attention.

    Wedding Crashers sucks.

    See?

    I'm not being aggressive. I'm not lording my views over everyone else, but they are still my views. I'm not going to modify the top 2005 list because I haven't seen Kong yet. Yes, some of it is built on hype, but I haven't really been paying attention to interviews but on the film clips themselves. I'm trying to base it on the film (from how much I am able to view at a time), and not on what Naomi Watts tells me the film is. I think that adds a level of legitimacy that some are not providing me (not that that's a bad thing, it's good to question sources).

    If I was so easily swooned by hype, I would have been like, "go see Aeon Flux because it's the new movie coming out and there's razor grass and Charlize Theron tells me to go see it so I will!" But I didn't. I based my thoughts on the scene presented on NBC earlier this week, not on interviews.

    But editman wants me to move on, so I won't discuss Kong in this thread until after I've seen the film.

    Moving on...
    Last edited by WorkShed; 12-02-2005 at 04:19 PM.

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    Top Five Films That Benefited By An Extended Cut On DVD

    Now and days, Unrated or Uncut is pretty much plastered over every other DVD. Most of the time it means nothing. However, in some cases, the new versions add more to a film than what was presented in the theaters. And I don’t mean just more minutes.

    5. Mallrats



    Sure it was a little long and started off poor, but it did offer Kevin Smith fans a chance to see what the film would have looked like if it was edited by Smith and not by a Universal editor. While there aren’t many drastic changes, the extended cut offers a wealth of alternate takes. Only Mallrats fans would be able to spot the changes, but they are there and they are abundant. I’m a big fan of some of the new takes. It allowed a new viewing experience for a fan of the original film that has seen it numerous times. Some of the changes made me laugh harder than I had when I saw the film the first time. It doesn’t really add much to the film as a whole, but it’s a great experiment in alternate versions of films that DVD affords us.


    4. The Frighteners



    This is one of my favorite films of all time and a lot of that has to do with a little trilogy of films called Back to the Future. Seeing Michael J. Fox on screen again is a delight. Purists will call on me, stating that the new cut isn’t exclusive to the DVD. And they are right. It was originally released on a four-disc laserdisc box set. Which is kind of funny now that they were able to port most of the features of the laserdisc into a single dual-sided DVD. However, I am just elated that I am able to see the extended version of the film, which I had been waiting to see for a long time. Do yourself a favor and pick up this version. Like Mallrats, it doesn’t add too much to the film, but it does help complete the story by adding more character moments between Frank and his ghost friends. Still a great ride and the pacing isn’t destroyed at all, like in some extended DVD releases. This film benefits with a new cut in that a whole new group of fans will be able to view it and enjoy it. It’s about time this film got its audience.


    3. The Chronicles of Riddick



    Universal made a big mistake in creating a PG-13 spin-off of an R-rated film. Not only was the intensity lacking in the theatrical release, but for some reason, Universal forced the director to cut out a lot of needed exposition. With a film this dense on new worlds, races, and history, a little dialogue explaining what is going on is standard. Star Wars did it and did it well. Without the Obi-Wan Kenobi “this is what The Force is and why it is important to the audience” scenes, the film would have been a failure. Which is a big reason why Riddick failed to drum up good critical and audience responses. The new cut of Riddick doesn’t make the film a masterpiece, by any stretch of the imagination, but it does answer a lot of burning questions that were in my mind during my theatrical viewing. I actually liked the film after seeing the R-rated cut. Universal should have taken the risk and released the film uncut.


    2. The Lord of the Rings



    I’m not on a Peter Jackson love-fest, though it may sound that way. It’s just that you can’t talk about extended DVDs without bringing up the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You just can’t. Not only did Jackson go in and add scenes, he added hours of scenes involving character and fairly significant plot points. A major thumbs up is in the addition of completed visual effects. Taking a cue from George Lucas’s Phantom Menace DVD deleted scenes, Jackson had his WETA team complete thousands of visual effects shots and re-instate new scenes into the film with new score by Howard Shore. We’re not talking about a few seconds, which would take about a day of work on any other DVD, we’re talking about a major undertaking which was being completed in line with the release of the next Lord of the Rings film. How these guys were able to do it and keep their sanity intact is beyond me. Most of the scenes work well with the films and add needed character moments (the cut scene with Boromir in The Two Towers screams to mind), but there are a few scenes that drag out a film (the Corsair ship skirmish in Return of the King is a big example). However, the good definitely outweigh the bad. One of the biggest epics in film history becomes more epic through DVD.


    1. Daredevil



    Anyone who has read my essay on the changes between the theatrical and the director’s cut of this film knows why it’s number one. There is so much character and so much plot that was removed from the theatrical cut, that it truly makes me feel that the studios think that audiences have no brain at all. After watching the director’s cut, I knew that I could never watch the theatrical cut ever again. Just seeing it brings too much pain of knowing what scenes are supposed to take place. It’s like watching Revenge of the Sith knowing that Padmé is off doing very important things that got cut out of the film, leaving her to be a crying, female stereotype (God, that was my third Star Wars reference in one thread!). It just hurts. Thanks to DVD, Daredevil is presented in the way that it should have only been seen. It’s a monument to the war between director and studio ideals. The director won.

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