Author: Greg

It’s that time again, the time where everyman and his dog or cat or whatever breaks out a list of stuff that made 2005 memorable, and I’m no exception, after going overboard with dumbass categories last year I’m keeping it simple… Top 5 albums with 5 honourable mentions, and likewise with movies…

So without further adieu

Favourite CD’s of 2005

1. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise

Sure, it’s everyones darling right now, hyped by the independents, top of numerous lists but it’s a work of art dammit! I only got into this a few weeks ago having heard nothing of Stevens’ previous work and now I’m dying for him to do Georgia as one of the next few parts of his 52 states project.

Plus what’s not to love about an album with song names like “The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You’re Gonna Have To Leave Now, Or, ‘I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight…”

2. Weezer – Make Believe

Beverly Hills was a catchy song, one everyone should have been humming most of the summer, but the main reason I love this so is because of the song that follows it, “Perfect Situation,” which, in my mind, is a perfect song in every way imaginable, it’s a classic Rivers Cuomo pop hook with a bounce inducing rock vibe, it’s no surprise it’s the most played song on my iTunes/iPod.

Aside from that standout track, the rest is just so Weezer, follows on from the Blue and Green albums nicely…

3. Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams

To be perfectly honest, this cd could have been “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” and 13 remixes of it and I’d have loved it… But nooooo, Jack had to include great songs from start to finish like “Staple It Together,” “Do You Remember” and “Better Together.” It has a superb laid back vibe, lazy days strumming a 6 string and all those cliches.

It was good enough to make me get “Bushfire Fairytales” and make me wonder why the hell I had never heard of him before, had I really been living under a rock?

4. Coldplay – X & Y

“From the top of the first page, to the end of the last day” proclaims the opening track of perhaps the years most hyped album, and even though it’s cool to be hating on the ol’ Coldplay, I’m going to say I enjoyed this immensely, even more so following the concert at the end of September… Only a song or two makes this tumble to 4th position, “Fix You” is, in my opinion, a pretty weak song overall, and a horrific choice for 2nd single, but like I say, that’s only my opinion…

“Speed Of Sound,” “Square One” and “Talk” alone make this one of this years best, the rest is just solid filler.

5. White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan

Following on from the almighty “Elephant” was never going to be an easy task, so Jack and Meg keep the old formula of catchy short songs while busting out a few new instruments, classic example being “My Doorbell,” Jack, where did your piano playing come from? While this would probably have been one of the high “bubbling under” CD’s, seeing them live at Music Midtown pushes it up, they played nearly every song on here and it was just fantastic.

Plus I love the cover, Jack looks like some greasy mariachi, who else could pull that off? Awesome…

Bubbling Under: Death Cab For Cutie – Plans, Ben Folds – Songs For Silverman, Kanye West – Late Registration, Bloc Party – Silent Alarm, Lucinda Williams – Live At The Filmore

Favourite Movies of 2005

1. Serenity

I went in hoping it would be like a 2 hour episode of the show, but it was so much more involving, it now makes me think that it always should have belonged on the big screen, this had enough moments and sweeping visuals to rival anything that came out of LucasFilms in the last 30 years. Usually movies like this involving an ensemble cast (like Star Trek for instance) can get bogged down with far too many sub-plots just so everyone can get screen time, not this one… It’s direct and to the point… River knows a dark secret and The Alliance want to stop that secret getting out, and it’s 2 hours of action and suspence that wraps it all up… Plus it has kickass battle sequences, and enough of the dry wit that made Firefly so endearing, I dont know who gets the best lines, Mal, Jayne or Wash… They are all great.

Read my full review here

2. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I had a few reservations about this movie adaptation… The biggest one was Mos Def as Ford Prefect, now if you asked me who I’d have play Ford in the movie, I could have went down to the local Office Depot and written on every sheet of paper in there and still not reached Mos Def, but he plays the role very well. Another reservation was the position (or lack thereof) of Zaphod Beeblebrox’s second head, the teaser trailer didn’t show much, but it was very different, and also slightly annoying, but at least it wasn’t around for long.

Overall, it was a great adaptation of a very bizarre body of work and I think hardcore fans will love it, even though there are slight changes it’s not like the entire Hitchhikers universe has a solid base as each adaptation was different in someway. Everyone else will find it a surreal movie with great laughs, but they’ll miss out on all the in jokes, like the music at the start and a certain robot waiting in line on Vogosphere… But it’s all good.

Read my full review here

3. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Now I’ll say this only once, if you can, see this movie in IMAX, you’ll thank me for it as you can finally see the scope of the movie George Lucas made, it’s awesome… We watched Episode II right before leaving and the special effects in that looked dated after only three years (three loooooong years) but this holds up on the big, big screen… From the battle at the start (where more than a few interesting developments occur) to the showdowns between Anakin and Obi-Wan and Palpatine and Yoda, it’s all crystal clear, and just plain beautiful… And finally we get to see two proper jedis in their prime go at it for a decent amount of time, the scenes with Anakin and Obi-Wan are beautifully choreographed with lightsabers moving all over the place at amazing speed.

As with all the movies, the middle bit did seem to drag on a little longer than it needed, especially with the high action opening and endings, but there had to be a story in there somewhere. Personally I think this was as good as The Empire Strikes Back, but not better, nothing tops Empire in my book… Easily the best of the “Republic” trilogy (for lack of a better description).

Read my full review here

4. King Kong

It’s a long movie, it does drag for the first 20 to 30 minutes, but that aside it’s excellent, once they reach Skull Island it’s non-stop action involving a whole manner of creatures (including some that will make you squirm) and it doesn’t let up all the way to the finale on top of the Empire State Building. Of course the special effects take centre stage here, Kong looks fantastic (another great job by Andy Serkis), there is real emotion coming from the giant gorilla and I kid you not, the ending will leave you bawling… Naomi Watts is good as Ann Darrow, she has that damsel in distress screaming down pat but Jack Black is awesome as the slimy Carl Denham who looks to be for more comedic value at the start but shows his way of manipulating people and eventually Kong as the movie goes on.

Read my full review here

5. Batman Begins

It’s the usual Batman back story, Bruce Wayne see’s his parents killed by a mugger, he then vows vengeance on the evil of Gotham City, he spends his life travelling the world, learning the appropriate skills needed and when he’s old enough, he creates the Batman persona. The start of this film focuses on Bruce learning the mystic ways of the ninja off Ra’s Al Ghul, flashing back and forth to Bruce’s early life, once his training is complete, Bruce returns to Gotham to single handedly save it just as The Scarecrow arrives…

It’s a pretty cool movie visually, showing the origins of the Batcave, Batsuit, Batmobile and Batman’s relationship with Jim Gordon, played by a very un-Gary Oldman-like Gary Oldman, and is very close to the dark nature of Tim Burton’s Batman movies. It’s, again like Star Wars Episode III, recommended you see it in IMAX if possible, the halloucination scenes will most likely make you feel a little dizzy.

Read my full review here

Bubbling Under: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Crash, Sin City, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fever Pitch

So there you go…