Remember When Bush Was The Worst President Ever?

Jesse Walker now takes us back to the year 2005.   He admits his top twenty is the same as it was ten years ago--Gen Z grew up without Jesse changing his mind.

If you want to see his full comments, check them out at:

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-year-of-levees-ive-told-you-my.html

TOP TEN

1. Caché

2. Live and Become

3. Corpse Bride

4. The Dying Gaul

5. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

6. Deadwood 2

7. Hustle & Flow

8. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

9. Noroi: The Curse

10. Veronica Mars

Cache is one of Michael Haneke's best films (faint praise, as I'm not a fan).  Maybe not top ten material, but top twenty.

I didn't really go for Corpse Bride.

The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit would probably make my top ten.

Hustle & Flow might make the lower rungs of my top twenty.

Horror may be my least favorite genre, but Noroi was okay--maybe top twenty.

Still haven't see 2, 4 and 8.  And 6 and 10 are TV shows.

Honorable mentions:

11. Paradise Now

12. Sin City

13. Grizzly Man

14. The Thick of It

15. Nine Lives

16. Batman Begins

17. Forty Shades of Blue

18. Happy Endings

19. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

20. Rize

Sin City demonstrates it's a mistake to be too faithful to a graphic novel. Grizzly Man has stuck with me--might make my top ten. Batman Begins is okay (not a big fan of the Batman movies).  I enjoyed Happy Endings, but not top twenty.

The rest I have failed to see in the twenty years I've had the chance.

Other films that make my top ten or twenty:

Crash (I saw it once twenty years ago and I don't care about the backlash, I liked it)

Downfall (got to be the most viewed film ever with Hitler in it, but not for the reason the creators expected)

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (he's now 60--time for a sequel?)

A History Of Violence

Howl's Moving Castle

The March Of The Penguins

The Squid And The Whale

The Wild Parrots Of Telegraph Hill

Junebug

Layer Cake

The Nomi Song

Other films I liked:

Hitch, The Matador, The New World, Sky High, Transamerica, The Producers, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Sahara, The World's Fastest Indian

Other films of note:

The Wedding Date, Guess Who, In Her Shoes. The Family Stone, Jarhead, Lords Of Dogtown, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Syriana, Cinderella Man, Coach Carter, Fun With Dick And Jane, Assault On Precinct 13, The Honeymooners, War Of The Worlds, Bewitched, Saw II, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, Kingdom of Heaven, Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic ,he Island, Red Eye, Four Brothers, The Skeleton Key, Flightplan, Serenity, The Pacifier, Bride And Prejudice, The Upside Of Anger, Hostage, The Aristocrats, Broken Flowers, In The Realm Of The Unreal, Capote, The Corpse Bride, Brokeback Mountain, Walk The Line, In Good Company, The Jacket, Fever Pitch, Melinda And Melinda, Kung Fu Hustle, The Interpreter, Madagascar, Kicking And Screaming, Unleashed, Just Like Heaven, Zathura, The Ice Harvest, Elektra, 2046, Match Point, Munich, Good Night And Good Luck, Chronicles Of Narnia, Fantastic Four, Chicken Little, Monster-In-Law, Are We There Yet?, The Dukes Of Hazzard, Cheaper By The Dozen 2, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, Herbie: Fully Loaded, The Amityville Horror, Yours Mine And Ours, Memoirs Of A Geisha, Hide And Seek, Diary Of A Mad Black Woman, Racing Stripes, Just Like Heaven, Boogeyman, The Legend Of Zorro, Must Love Dogs, Transporter 2, Rumor Has It, The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl in 3D, The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, Beauty Shop, Derailed, Hostage, The Ringer, Dreamer, Because Of Winn-Dixie, Me And You And Everyone We Know, Just Friends, House Of Wax, Get Rich Or Die Tryin', The Fog, Hoodwinker, Rent, Doom, XXX: State Of The Union, Elizabethtown, Aeon Flux, Dark Water, Ice Princess, Two For The Money, Prime, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, A Lot Like Love, Man Of The House, Valiant, Cursed, Into The Blue, North Country, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Son Of The Mask, Rebound, The Perfect Man, Waiting..., The Gospel, The Greatest Game Ever Played, The Cave, Casanova, In The Mix, Domino, The Great Raid, Cry Wolf, An Unfinished Life, The Man, Mad Hot Ballroom, Ladies In Lavender, Kings and Queen, The World, Tropical Malady, The Holy Girl, Last Days, Cafe Lumiere, Nobody Knows, The Intruder, Head-On, Mysterious Skin, My Summer Of Love, Saraband, The Power Of Nightmares, Paradise Now, Pulse, Keane, Memories Of Murder, Darwin's Nightmare, Good Morning Night, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, The Best Of Youth, The Century Of The Self, Look At Me, Breakfast On Pluto, Innocence, Turtles Can Fly, Palindromes, Pride & Prejudice, Tony Takitani, The White Diamond, The Devil's Rejects, 3-Iron, The Time We Killed, Funny Ha Ha, My Mother's Smile, A Tout De Suite, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Whisky, Wolf Creek, Mondovino, Yes, The Weeping Meadow, Gunner Palace, Chain, Land Of Plenty, Machuca, Shopgirl, Three Dancing Slaves, Oliver Twist, Dallas 362, Occupation Dreamland, The Oil Factor, Murderball, Dolls, Garcon Stupide, Heights, The Ballad Of Jack And Rose, The Far Side Of The Moon, Happy Here And Now, The Joy Of Life, Nine Lives, The President's Last Bang, Rize, The Dying Gaul, Proof, Travellers And Magicians, The Brothers Grimm, The Memory Of A Killer, Separate Lies, The Syrian Bride, Lord Of War, The Weather Man, Where The Truth Lies, The Baxter, Loggerheads, The Ninth Day, A Talking Picture, Tell Them Who You Are, Throw Down, The White Countess, Cronicas, Exorcist Prequel (either version), Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room, Perfect Crime, The Prize Winner Of Defiance Ohio, She's One Of Us, New York Doll, The 3 Rooms Of Melancholia, Another Road Home, Boys Of Baraka, In Satmar Custody, Terror, Wall, The Untold Story Of Emmett Louis

Looking Back To Thirty Years After Back To The Future

It's December, which means we reopen the blog and let Jesse Walker tell us his top ten.  Ten years ago.  He won't tell his top ten films for 2025--too early--but he's had time to think about 2015, so merrily we roll along. (We'll soon be getting to 2005, 1995, 1985 and so on.  Stay tuned.)

Here's the URL if you want the original:

https://jessewalker.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-year-of-escalator-when-december.html

1.  The Americans 2

2.  The Leftovers 2

3.  World Of Tomorrow

4.  Anomalisa

5.  BoJack Horseman 2

6.  The Hateful Eight

7.  Kaili Blues

8.  The Second Mother

9.  Bone Tomahawk

10. 66 (Old) Movie Dance Scenes Mashup

I haven't kept track, but this may be the first time that none of the films on Jesse's top ten would make my top twenty.

It's not as bad as it sounds, though.  First, he includes television shows, which I don't think should be on film lists. (Haven't seen The Americans, loved the second season of The Leftovers, didn't go for BoJack Horseman.)

World Of Tomorrow is one of the best things to come out of 2015, but it's a short, which I also don't think should be included on such a list (even though it's one of three parts which, together, are arguably a feature). 66 (Old) Movie Dance Scenes Mashup is also a short.

And I haven't seen Kaili Blues, The Second Mother or Bone Tomahawk.

So that leaves Anomalisa and The Hateful Eight.  I consider them minor works by talented filmmakers (Charlie Kaufman and Quentin Tarantino) that are okay at best.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11.  The Revenant

12.  Florida Man

13.  Better Call Saul

14.  A Magical Substance Flows Into Me

15.  Mr. Robot season_1.0

16.  The Lobster

17.  Veep 4

18.  Weather Service

19. Thailand Moment

20. The Forbidden Room

Liked 11 a lot.  Haven't seen 12, 14, 18 (don't even know what 18 is), 19 or 20.  13, 15 and 17 are TV shows.  16--finally, a film that would make my top ten (though I didn't see it until 2016).

Here are some other films that might make my top ten or twenty

Ant-Man

Faults

Inside Out

Korla

Man Up

The Martian

Room

Tangerine

The Walk

What We Do In The Shadows

When Marnie Was There

Other films of note:

Wild Tales, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey Of Richard Stanley's Island Of Dr. Moreau, Mad Max: Fury Road, A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence, Deep Web, Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation, The End Of The Tour, Mistress America, Blind, Brooklyn, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, He Never Died, Mustang, The Brand New Testament, The Fencer Still Alice, Kingsmen: The Secret Service, Focus (the first half is really good), An Honest Liar, The Wrecking Crew, Danny Collins, While We're Young, Can't Stand Losing You, Furious 7, Ned Rifle, Ex Machina, Alex Of Venice, The DUFF, Dior And I, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Welcome To Me, Iris, McFarland, USA, Cobain: Montage Of Heck, Sunshine Superman, Tomorrowland, I'll See You In My Dreams, Love & Mercy, Live From New York!, Dope, A Poem Is A Naked Person, Trainwreck, 7 Chinese Brothers, Best Of Enemies, Sir Doug And The Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove, What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, Bajranji Bhaijaan, Listen To Me Marlon, Mr. Holmes, Doomed!, Straight Outta Compton,  People Places Things, Meru, San Andreas, American Ultra, Gueros, Grandma, Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine, Sicario, The Intern, The Death Of "Superman Lives" What Happened?, Mississippi Grind, Drunk Stone Brilliant Dead: The Story Of The National Lampoon, Steve Jobs, All Things Must Pass, Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, Very Semi-Serious, Creed, The Good Dinosaur, The Peanuts Movie, Hitchcock/Truffaut, The Big Short, Sisters, Youth, Amy, Beasts Of No Nation, Daddy's Home, Taken 3, The Wedding Ringer, Son Of A Gun, Jupiter Ascending, Deli Man, Run All Night, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Insurgent, Get Hard, True Story, Dior And I, Far From The Madding Crowd, Hot Pursuit, Pitch Perfect 2, Survivor, Spy, Results, Theeb, Entourage, Jurassic World, Paul Blart Mall Cop 2, The Overnight, Ted 2, The Tribe, Terminator Genisys, The Wolfpack, Aloha, Irrational Man, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Cop Car, Call Me Lucky, Cartel Land, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Z For Zachariah, A Walk In The Woods,  A War, Queen Of Earth, 4Got10, Black Mass, Vacation, Everest, Gravy, Northern Soul, Goodnight Mommy, Meadowland, Experimenter, Bridge Of Spies, Rock The Kasbah, Our Brand Is Crisis, Burnt, Pixels, Trumbo, Spectre, Spotlight (Best Picture Oscar Winner), Maze Runner Scorch Trials, Entertainment, Boy And The World, The Night Before, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 2, Carol, Unfinished Business, Embrace Of The Serpent, Fifty Shades Of Grey, Cold Deck, Minions, Secret In Their Eyes, Blackhat, Legend, Son Of Saul, Dreams Rewired, Love The Coopers, Joy, Krampus, 45 Years, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Concussion, Point Break