Best movies of 2005

U.S. release date: April 22, 2005


After a craptacular day at work that left me feeling mad at the entire world, I decided I needed to blow off some steam. Instead of going out & beating people about their heads & shoulders, I decided to go watch a pair of movies where the main characters did just that. My choices then, watched back-to-back in the theatre, were Unleashed and Kung Fu Hustle. The latter was by far the better of the two, but because they worked together to cheer me up each will forever hold a special place in my heart.

U.S. release date: Oct. 28, 2005


Three tales from three Asian directors: Fruit Chan's "Dumplings", Chan-wook Park's "Cut", and Takashi Miike's "Box". All disturbing in their own right, but "Cut" is by far my favorite of the 3 shorts & it reinforced my appreciation for Chan-wook Park's directing style after I'd watched Oldboy.

Dude, you look like a man-o-lantern.

Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, (Pinot)'s a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It's, you know, it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... ancient on the planet.