5 things i liked in 2005: Big Flickers

Garden State

I hate Zack Braff with the power of the heart of the sun. He stars in one of the best shows on the cathode ray nipple then has the inconsideration to write, direct and star in one of my favourite films of the year. Garden State is packed full of great dialogue and thousands of little ideas that flutter through the film like snowflakes. Plus any film that references The Shins is pretty cool in my books.

The Cooler

If Ocean's Eleven is Vegas' glitz, glamour and bright lights then The Cooler is the grimy back alley where the dumpsters and dreams lie battered in the shadows.

Spiderman 2

It was big, it had a solid story, a strong cast, wit and a sense of fun. Sam Raimi shows that sequels can still be done well.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

My favourite scriptwriter, Charlie Kaufmann, gets together with my favourite film clip director, Michel Gondry, to make a film unlike any other. How could i not love it? Only a team as good as them could make jim carrey unsuck.

Kill Bill 2

The Long Island Iced Tea of movies. Tarantino took several distinct spirts and distilled them into a picture designed to burn your retina and knock you on your arse.

Etre Et Avoir

A doco focussing on a one teacher school in rural France. It is an absolute delight of a film. The opening with the tortoises and the scene with the photocopier just about killed me.

Special mentions:

Two films i haven't seen yet but I know will knock at least one, if not two, of the films out of this list.

The Incredibles - Brad Bird can do no wrong. Go see The Iron Giant now.

I Heart Huckabees - Robert Altman is Dead, All hail David O Russell.