Top 10 films of 2005

“Lord of War” (Andrew Niccol). Another gifted New Zealander wrote and directed this scathing satire starring Nicolas Cage as a gun-runner who makes a fortune selling Cold War weapons to homicidal dictators. As he acquires a trophy wife, misleads his conscientious brother and competes with a more seasoned dealer, Cage brings a cranky deadpan flair to an almost hopelessly amoral character.

“Mysterious Skin” (Gregg Araki). Araki’s eighth and strongest film is the most unsettling and memorable of the recent movies about child abuse. After a Little League coach molests them, two damaged boys grow up to lead entirely separate lives: one of them entrenched in comforting fantasy, the other acting out his frustrations through a dangerous street life.

“The Squid and the Whale” (Noah Baumbach). Who’d have guessed that a movie about a messy divorce could be so funny? Jeff Daniels delivers a career-best performance as a pompous writer, father and husband who can’t help putting his foot in his mouth. Laura Linney continues to astonish as the fed-up wife who sees a way out and takes it.

A second 10: “Broken Flowers,” “Crash,” “Downfall,” “Grizzly Man,” “Keane,” “Look at Me,” “Munich,” “Paradise Now,” “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” “3-Iron.”

MORE FROM YEAR IN REVIEW 2006

Year in review 2006 Section Front

Tuning out: Shows that said goodbye New Year's resolutions for TV characters Rolling Stones among biggest 2006 tours Best of the worst songs of 2006 Year in review 2006 Section Front   Add Year in review 2006 headlines to your news reader: