Ten of the Best

Ten films to look out for, including new releases from Bill Murray, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen and Todd Solondz.

Jan  5 2005

With New Year's Eve now but a distant, drunken memory, and Christmas seeming like a lifetime ago, it's now time to get serious about cinema again. The Time Out team is therefore proud to present our pick of ten of the best films released in early 2005:

'Million Dollar Baby'
Release date – January 14
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this restrained drama about a reluctant boxing trainer and his spunky charge (Hilary Swank). Subverts both expectations and the classic sports film format.

'Sideways'
Release date – January 28
Alexander Payne's ('About Schmidt') subtle, endearing movie follows two middle-aged, unexceptional men (one of whom is an oenophile, played by Paul Giamatti) as they embark on a road trip through California. Expect Oscar attention.

'La Nina Santa'
Release date - February 4
'La Nina Santa' ('The Holy Girl') is Lucrecia Martel's fine follow-up to the acclaimed 'La Cienaga' and is again set in that same provincial town, largely at a hotel where a conference of ear, nose, and throat specialists is taking place.

'Duck Season'
Release date – February 11
This agreeably droll first feature covers a momentous few hours in the lives of a couple of 14-year-olds in the projects of Mexico City and is both perfectly paced and beautifully played by the young cast.

'Head-On'
Release date – February 18
The winner of the Best Film prize at the recent European Film Awards, this kinetic and gritty drama leads us from a Turkish community in Germany to the city of Istanbul, all the time following the (mis)fortunes of two screwed-up lovers, Cahit and Sibel.

'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
Release date - February 18
Wes Anderson returns with this typically eccentric tale of an internationally famous oceonographer (the titular Zissou) and his efforts to hunt down the elusive Jaguar Shark. Bill Murray stars.

'The Woodsman'
Release date – February 25
Kevin Bacon plays a recently released, convicted paedophile in this measured, intelligent drama. An impressive cast includes Bacon's wife, Kyra Sedgwick, and Mos Def.

'Melinda and Melinda'
Release date – March 25
Woody Allen returns to form with this well-structured, Manhattan (funny that) comedy starring Will Ferrell, Radha Mitchell and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among others. Woody stays behind the camera.

'Bullet Boy'
Release date – April 8
A punchy British drama, this realist tale stars Ashley Walters (So Solid Crew's Asher D) as a young man caught up in a cycle of gun crime in London's East End. Credible and important.

'Palindromes'
Release date – April 22
The scourge of New Jersey, Todd Solondz ('Happiness') returns with a lower budget, daring film that takes the abortion debate as its target.