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Ten Movies I Thought I Would Like But Didn't In 2005Jun 26 '06 (Updated Jul 03 '06) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Can I get a refund? Although some might disagree, I did find 2005 to be a pretty decent movie year. There were some good films, and some that were highly entertaining, if not “good” in the artistic sense. And then…there were these. While I avoid seeing films that I know I will hate (like oh, I don’t know, “Just Like Heaven), these ten are movies that I thought I would have enjoyed more than I did. Without further adieu, are my picks for the ten films I should have liked, but didn’t, really, in 2005. 10. Wedding Crashers - Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn star as divorce lawyers turned wedding-obsessed socialites who “crash” weddings on the weekend to get free drinks and pick up chicks. This wasn’t a bad film, exactly. However, it certainly didn’t live up to all the hype around it. Despite a few extra-raunchy jokes, this is basically a typical, predictable, romantic comedy film. There aren’t a lot of surprises here and I think the excellent cast was underutilized. Final verdict? Could have been funnier. 9. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - This is a modern day murder mystery with lots of twists and dark comedy. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang stars Robert Downey Junior and Michelle Monaghan. It isn’t so much bad as it is weirdly paced. The murder mystery aspect is well thought out, but the first hour of the film moves so slow I was barely awake to care how it all turned out. 8. Sahara The film is filled with the adventurous exploits of Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) and treasure hunter Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) as they try to find the source of a dangerous plague and uncover a Civil War ironclad in Africa. Although the setting is beautiful, there were just so many times the characters did or said things that seemed silly to me that it took me out of the story. I commented to my husband that the corrupt African officials were “the world’s worst bad guys.” The main characters take unnecessary risks, and the whole thing just seems silly. Additionally, I didn’t really buy the chemistry between the main characters. 7. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Wallace (Peter Sallis), an offbeat inventor, and Gromit, his much more sensible, speechless dog companion, are the operators of Anti-Pesto, a cleverly named humane pest control company. Their task is to rid the town of the vegetable-munching rabbits. The film is too short and feels like an inside joke that I just don’t get. While I smiled a couple of times, the movie never made me laugh and the story did not engage me. 6. Kingdom of Heaven - This is a Crusades story based around the adventures of blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom). There is fighting, religion, women, and stuff. Honestly, this film is so forgettable, I had to look up some reviews on it to remember I watched it. I guess that’s the problem. The characters don’t connect with the audience and there is nothing of substance to hang the fancy fight scenes on. It’s too bad, because the film just barely dances around some interesting political and religious themes. This concept had great potential, and it is a pity it was so poorly executed. 5. The Legend of Zorro - Zorro (Antonio Banderas) rides again, much to the dismay of his wife Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones). The action scenes in this film are so unbelievable they are almost comedic, particularly some nonsense that takes place atop a train. Additionally, I strongly suggest the couple attend marriage counseling because they have a pretty clear lack of communication Chicken Little - The movie enters the life of the adorable Chicken Little (voiced by Zach Braff) immediately after the unfortunate “sky is falling” incident. Guess what? It’s happening again. While the premise is cute, the plot goes completely amuck about the third of the way into the film. It turns out there is a full scale alien invasion in Oakey Oaks, and nothing ever makes sense after that. Additionally, the pacing of the film is odd as all the action stops for some overly touchy-feely song business at a couple of critical points. This is definitely NOT a cartoon classic. 3. ShopGirl - This is the story is Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes), a former Vermont girl who has moved to L.A. to work at Saks Fifth Avenue and pay off her student loans. The film details her depression and her romances with eccentric, immature Jeremy Kraft (Jason Schwartzman) suave, older businessman Ray Porter (Steve Martin). Nothing happens, really, as the repetitive soundtrack will tell you. Mirabelle and Ray talk about things and go out to eat, and then she is sad. That’s pretty much it. On the whole, this is a real downer, but maybe I just didn’t “get it.” 2. Memoirs of a Geisha - This is an adaptation from the popular book by the same name and tells the story of a young girl who is sold from her home to become a geisha. Memoirs isn’t so low on my list because it is very bad, but because it should have been very good. It is a major disappointment. Beautiful scenery doesn’t hide a rambling, aimless plot and the ending is just kind of icky. I love Asian culture and this film doesn’t do it justice even a little bit. 1. Prime - Rafi, (Uma Thurman) age 37, has just gone through a divorce from a nine year marriage. She has been dating a young man and later finds out he is the son of her therapist Lisa (Meryl Streep). The trailer for this film looked very funny, and I found out upon viewing the movie that this is because it shows all the funny moments the film has to offer. The film see-saws back and forth as the couple decides whether they should stay together or not. Yes we should! No we shouldn’t! Personally, I didn’t care, I just wanted them to make a decision. On the whole, this is too much of a sole-searching midlife crisis type of movie and not enough of a comedy for my liking. Plus, does anyone really care about a fourteen year age difference anymore when both people are over 21? This may actually be the most boring movie I saw all year. *Ready for something worth seeing? Check out my picks for the 10 Best Movies of 2005!  |
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