Movie Recap for November 2005: Good Night and Good Luck

Welcome one and all to my November movie recap. Below is a recap of all the movies I saw during the month, in the order in which I saw them. There were a bunch of good movies this month, but there were those on the flip side too. On to the list!

Best of the Month: Good Night and Good Luck
Worst of the Month: Elizabethtown

1. Good Night and Good Luck. This was an amazing film. It has a concise script that doesn't get distracted by anything outside of its purview. Excellent performances, especially from David Straithairn anchor this tale of the McCarthy era. ****
2. Elizabethtown. Overlong and Over dull. Kirsten Dunst was the one bright spot in this Cameron Crowe misfire. **
3. Chicken Little. Not as good as a Pixar film, nor the recent non-CG films, but this was still an enjoyable romp. ***
4. Capote. Excellent biopic of an odd man during the defining moments of his career. Be sure to look for Philip Seymour Hoffman's name come Oscar time. ***.5
5. Jarhead. A new look at the first Gulf War through the eyes of Gen-X. Hurry up and wait. Very good. ***
6. The Weather Man. The second Nic Cage film in a row that while being high in quality, is sadly soft at the box office. This was a dryly humorous look at some fractured relationships. ***
7. Zathura. Surprise, surprise. I actually liked this one, more than I had expected. Despite being like Jumanji, I think it is the better film. ***
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A solid ***, but not the masterpiece some have said it to be. It is all set up to move two feet. ***
9. Walk the Line. Mediocre film raised to a higher standard by the incredible performances from the leads. I would not be surprised to see them come Oscar time. ***.5
10. The Ice Harvest. The holiday season is here, and here is the first dry dramedy of the season. Christmas can bring out the worst in people. ***
11. Derailed. Mediocre thriller that doesn't really go far enough. The bright spots were seeing Aniston on the big screen, and The RZA in a wonderful supporting role. **.5
12. Just Friends. More enjoyable than it had any right to be. This was a silly little movie that is dumb as all get out, but I found myself liking it all the same. ***

That is all for this month. Looking forward to what December will have to offer.