Ones That Got Away
As seems to happen every year, there's a clutch of movies that make it to theatres, but for one reason or another (didn't come to town, was in town for a week, etc.), I didn't see.
The list is composed of movies that I wanted to see, so as to not include stuff that didn't sound remotely interesting or that I didn't mind catching on DVD. In a year full of movies like Paradise Now and The Aristocrats playing to near-empty (and at times empty save for one person) houses, there are plenty of great flicks that slipped through the cracks for me and most of America.
Mondovino
As much as wine's popularity surged after Sideways hit big with mainstream and arthouse audiences alike, it's slightly surprising this allegedly fascinating doc about the business of wine making, bottling, and delivering didn't get the kind of release or notice as other docs did later on in 2005.
The Beautiful Country
Bai Ling, recently more famous for singing badly on VH1's "But Can They Sing" along with the likes of Morgan Fairchild and Joe Pantoliano, apparently gives a fantastic turn in this "now it's here, now it's gone" release from earlier in the year. From what I hear, sumptuous visuals meshed with a fascinating immigrant story made this a Terrence Malick movie without the Malick.
Me & You & Everyone We Know
One of the many notable directorial debuts of 2005 had heaps of acclaim before most people even saw it. Now available on DVD, Miranda July's film focuses on the difficulty in interpersonal connection in the modern world. An unemployed shoe salesman (John Hawkes) meets a lonely performance artist (Miranda July) and finds himself completely engrossed in someone he barely knows.
Breakfast on Pluto
Neil Jordan's latest sees Cillian Murphy taking his third "off-beat" type role in as many movies (Batman Begins, Red Eye). Murphy plays Kitten Braden, a foster child who leaves behind small-town Ireland for big city life in London. Kitten becomes a cabaret singer and meets all manner of people in 1960s/70s London, with the turbulence of the times and terrorism swirling around her. Supporting turns by fantastic actors such as Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, and Stephen Rea make this one I was sorry not to see while home.
Last Days
I heard extremely mixed notices on this pseudo-bio-slice-of-life/death Kurt Cobain piece from Gus Van Sant. I'll never really forgive the waste that was the 1998 Psycho remake, but Van Sant still completely won me over with Good Will Hunting and Drugstore Cowboy and a few other films to the point that I'll give him a chance no matter what might not come out quite right. Oddly, as much as I like Gus, I've still not seen Gerry or Elephant, though I'd very much like to very soon.
This list may be shorter than expected, but the reason is that other films belong to a list to be posted on Thursday, The Unseen: Movies You Didn't Know You Missed in '05.
Come back for thoughts on Ushpizin, (Green Street) Hooligans, The Comedians of Comedy, Where the Truth Lies Hustle & Flow, Dear Frankie, The Great Raid, Prozac Nation, Dominion: A Prequel to the Exorcist, Tarnation, Saint Ralph, and Little Manhattan. I'd have posted all of these today, but the list goes and goes, and I find myself continuing to add to it.