Notable Movies of 2005 (spoilers)

1. Walk The Line:
Having absolutely no interest in Johnny Cash, country music or the Carter family, I was shocked that I was as into this movie as the die-hard fans, such as the group of middle-aged guys in the Harvard Square movie theatre who danced in their seats to Joaquin Phoenix's rendition of the Man in Black's famous songs.

My two favorite scenes illustrate Cash and June Carter's hard road to salvation and love. In one scene, Cash finally recognizes that he can best honor his brother's goal of doing good, not by being a minister, by singing to prisoners and others in words that they can understand and brandishing his guitar like a gun.

"Record Company Executive: Your fans are gospel folk, Johnny. They're Christians, and they don't wanna hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists, tryin' to cheer 'em up. Johnny Cash: Then they ain't Christians. " Cash's gospel was not about religion, but about the harsh and depressing reality of the world and tending to those who needed the most attention, not the ones who could pay for it. Black is the color of choice for mourners and ministers.

In another scene, at the end of a disastrous Thanksgiving family meal, Cash suffers another bout of self-loathing and poor judgment when he attempts to place his tractor in a better position and ends up reversing it into the lake. The Carter family fiercely tends to him and help him quit drugs by shooing away his drug dealer with several shotguns. March on Christian soldiers.

I was particularly impressed how June Carter's struggle was handled. Every awkward encounter with a fan emphasizes that June bore the brunt of her love for Cash and her knowledge that adultery is a sin. In addition, the sanctimonious patrons perfectly illustrate that it is as much of a sin to criticize without love.

2. Capote:
Can murder be defined as the violent act of taking of someone's life or effectively manipulating a person into giving the essence of what their life was? Whether recounting humorous stories at a cocktail party or intimate memories during a small town dinner, Capote soaks up attention then has an almost reptilian ability to redirect that attention to his prey in order to manipulate them in an effort to achieve his goal, i.e. to get more attention.

The only time that Capote simultaneously does and does not effectively read a room in a Kansas sheriff's office, decides to aggressively respond to the Kansas stares as if they were gaping at his fabulous fashion sense, not his overtly urbane homosexuality, and simply states "Bergdorf" while gesturing to his scarf.

Capote is another triumph for Hoffman. Kudos to Bennett Miller, the director, and Dan Futterman, writer and executive producer, who may be better known for his acting roles in Judging Amy, Will and Grace and Sex and the City, for bravely going behind the scenes for the first-time in a feature-length drama and creating an opportunity to make an intelligent and riveting movie.

3. A History of Violence:
Viggo Mortensen has bravely left his role as the hot door-opening hero, Aragorn, in Lord of the Rings, or the seductively anemic pretty boy in such films as A Walk On the Moon, 28 Days (the one with Sandra Bullock, not zombies...insert joke here, but be careful because I like Sandra) or A Perfect Murder. Mortensen can act! As Tom Stall, he effectively reveals the fractured persona of a small town diner owner who in the blink of an eye reveals the grimace of a cold-hearted killer, Joey.

I have always been a big fan of David Cronenberg, who effectively maintains the pacing of the movie. The underrated Maria Bello also does a magnificent job as the wife who closes ranks to defend her family before the outside world, but within the family realm, shows the dark side of their ever escalating role-playing.

Honorable Mention: Pride and Prejudice:
Aka Bronte's P&P. I still thought it was a satisfying portrayal, and by the last scene of the movie, I melted. I'm not made of stone.