So many movies but so little space

The star of 'Capote' did an Academy-Award-rate job.
By CHRISTY LEMIRE
Associate Press
There were too many great movies to choose from in 2005 and only 10 spots on my best-of list. After much soul-searching and paring, here's what I came up with -- the absolute best of the best.
1. "The Squid and the Whale" -- There isn't a false note in this darkly funny story about married writers who are divorcing, and how the split affects their sons. Writer-director Noah Baumbach's film, loosely based on his own '80s adolescence in Brooklyn, is poignant and observant, hilarious and achingly sad, often at the same time. Jeff Daniels is perfect as the pompous patriarch whose glory days have long since passed; he gets excellent support from Laura Linney as his wife and Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline as their confused kids.
2. "Capote" -- They should just give Philip Seymour Hoffman the Oscar now and get it over with. The longtime character actor gives the performance of a lifetime as Truman Capote during the writing and researching of "In Cold Blood." Hoffman doesn't just look and sound like him -- in Bennett Miller's film, he manages to embody a famous figure fully without devolving into caricature, something it could have been easy to do in portraying someone as well-known for his idiosyncrasies as his brilliance.
3. "Syriana" -- Mind-bogglingly complicated yet full of small, pivotal moments, writer-director Stephen Gaghan's multilayered look at oil, power and manipulation in the Middle East demands more than one viewing. Don't be daunted by the subject matter; this is a meaty, intelligent film that truly has something to say, and will reward your perseverance. The flawlessly chosen ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt and an unrecognizable George Clooney as a veteran CIA officer.
4. "Good Night, and Good Luck" -- Speaking of Clooney, he also proves himself surprisingly confident behind the camera, directing for only the second time. His depiction of Edward R. Murrow's on-air battles with Sen. Joseph McCarthy is a marvel of precise vision, shot in crisp black and white, set in only a few rooms at the CBS News headquarters and anchored by David Strathairn's measured, dead-on performance. Totally relevant today, even though it takes place a half-century ago.
5. "Murderball" -- This documentary about quadriplegic rugby players is fast and furious, and it's touching without trying hard to be. It strikes the perfect tone throughout, without an ounce of condescension or heavy-handedness. The athletes are hard-core competitors and complete characters, joking about sex and the idiotic way in which they're often treated, and they allow us into their homes and lives with trust, dignity and grace.
6. "Crash" -- Paul Haggis delivers a knockout punch that rivals the one he leveled with his Oscar-nominated "Million Dollar Baby" script. As director and co-writer, he weaves a tale of disparate, disconnected Los Angeles residents whose paths cross over a 36-hour period. The encounters expose their prejudices and frailties, but Haggis judges none of them and offers no easy answers; rather, everyone is to blame equally, simply for being human and imperfect. The excellent ensemble cast includes Terrence Howard, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle and rapper Ludacris.
7. "The Upside of Anger" -- Joan Allen gives a tour-de-force performance as the wealthy mother of four daughters coping with her husband's disappearance, and Kevin Costner does his best work in more than a decade as the alcoholic ex-ballplayer who becomes her unlikely ally. Like "American Beauty," it rips the veneer off genteel upper-middle class life to expose the angst and insecurity, all the while maintaining a dark sense of humor -- only it isn't nearly so self-important.
8. "Broken Flowers" -- Bill Murray does more with one eyebrow, raised in faint bemusement, than most actors can do with their entire bodies. In Jim Jarmusch's relaxed road trip pic, Murray's middle-aged lothario half-heartedly searches for the teenage son he never knew he had, and we learn about him -- and he learns about himself -- through his wildly unpredictable reunions with various ex-girlfriends. Jarmusch, in his typical subtlety, allows us to interpret the journey for ourselves.
9. "Tell Them Who You Are" -- Mark S. Wexler's documentary about his father, veteran cinematographer Haskell Wexler, works as a warts-and-all look at a colorful, cantankerous character; as a study of movie history and methodology; and as a who's who of Hollywood, including interviews with everyone from Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier to Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas. But mainly it works as a portrait of a father-son relationship that's awkward, volatile, uneven and always painfully real.
10. "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" -- Astonishingly elaborate yet undeniably cute, five years in the making yet utterly timeless, Wallace and Gromit finally reach the big screen in their first feature film, and it's a complete delight. The result is very much of the unique W & amp;G universe, featuring the sweetly clueless, veddy British inventor Wallace and his best friend, the silent Gromit, who's the brains of the operation.
Honorable mention: "Dear Frankie," "King Kong," "TransAmerica," "A History of Violence," "Grizzly Man," "The Producers" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."
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