espresso_addict wonders whether this has been a bad year for films. I haven't felt so, though there's a big hole in my viewing when I was feeling under the weather earlier in the year. Contemplating this question I bought January Empire magazine wherein - the top 25 films of 2005. Here they are, with my nano-verdict on those I have seen. My overall impression - nothing stands out as exceptional, but then I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain yet, and I enjoyed a good few of these.bold = seen and liked or loved, italic = seen and didn't like that much, other = not seen
25 - Kung Fu Hustle (Surreal martial arts with yummy Stephen Chow - good fight scenes - adored it)
24 - Hotal Rwanda (wish I had see - was scared of being upset)
23 - Everything is illuminated (might see - Frodo alert ladies)
22 - Cinderella Man (Russell Crowe - good fight scenes - otherwise very square - liked it OK)
21 - The Constant Gardner (will probably go see)
20 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (In retrospect I hate all that 'I love you son' stuff, some of it was OK)
19 - Night Watch (Russian horror - really wanted to see)
18 - Pride and Prejudice ( I know opinion was divided, I liked it)
17 - Team America (the sub-Thunderbirds spoof - dunno)
16 - The Descent (subterranean horror - kind of wanted to see)
15 - Friday Night Lights (American football movie, sounded a bit crap)
14 - Dig! (never heard of it)
13 - Million Dollar Baby (should have seen)
12 - Wallace and Gromit (fun)
11 - A History of Violence (not cronenberg's finest but pretty good)
10 - Serenity (talked about a lot already)
9 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (talked about recently)
8 - War of the Worlds (can't believe it was better than Serenity)
7 - Brokeback Mountain (oh, baby, I wanna see this, cowboys are my weakness as Chris Difford said)
6 - Downfall (should have seen)
5 - Sin City (loathed it)
4 - Revenge of the Sith (didn't like that much)
3 - crash (really wanted to see)
2 - Batman Begins (yes, good rebirthing of the franchise)
1 - Sideways (everyone said this was good, but I'm sick of seeing old white men shagging young cuties)
Not sure why Harry Potter isn't somewhere in here