Codename M Makes a similar list

Firstly, V did not ‘cave in’ to a tradition to make a list, she’s been itching to do this! I hope she does more ‘cos I love all that stuff. I would like to include The Machinist but I can’t just duplicate V’s list even though she cheated and did it first..

Matching V’s 5 top films of 2005, not in any particular order! :

Sin City

Have to utterly agree with this. One of a kind film, very bold and experimental and pulled it off masterfully. It truly is a comic book brought to life – yes comic books are like that these days! I’d love to see similarly experimental adaptations so faithful to the source for books like Preacher and Hellblazer – oops too late on that one!

Batman Begins

A really admirable attempt with some failings (in my opinion) already mentioned on this blog. Definitely the king of Batman films and shows some of the darkness of the character which will hopefully be expanded on.

The Descent

Very decent, low budget horror film. Excellent photography, good acting and characterisation, plenty of subtext themes simmering violently between all the (entirely female) characters. Long before the supposed ‘monsters’ appear the tension this film generates is huge and a credit to a talented low budget filmmaker.

History of Violence

Maybe the only truly ‘adult’ film released to cinemas this year. Cinema goers were left whooping it up like it was Rocky when it actually more resembled Last House on the Left. I do think it had failings in the way it portrayed unrealistic violence - kind of a quandary for this film and the point it was supposed to be making as I saw it. It was OK.

Ring of the Nibbelung

Lastly I give you a great treat! A TV movie! Made in 2004 but crippled for release to 2005 and even then retitled on TV and DVD at best.
OK, this is an epic saga based on a 1000+ year old Norse saga that inspired Wagner’s opera.It involves dragons, Vikings, Pagan gods…
Due to legal wrangles with Lord of The Rings etc. you will most likely see this as the crappily titled ‘Sword of Xantan’, even though it had the ring title first by about 1000 years…
This film is a European co-production, which usually means it’s crap. In this case though we have an absolute stunning jewel. It had a relatively large TV budget and a cast including Max Von Sydow and Julian Sands as relatively minor characters.

Quite stunning and as much fun and entertainment to see as any of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Kristanna Loken (T3) is exceptional as the badass queen of Iceland equalling any man with her double edged battle axe! The fights are brutal and not ‘Errol Flynn’ style in this film!
This is truly a film I wish I had seen in the cinema and should be released as such.