About a month ago I watched Ebert & Roeper's year in review show and was somewhat surprised to find I had seen most of their favorite movies from the past year. You can see previous years' lists here. As you can tell, I probably only see ten decent movies in an entire year, but here is my humble list:

Batman Begins - The story actually manages to overshadow the action. Bateman makes the best Batman.

Broken Flowers - Bill Murray being Bill Murray like only Bill Murray can. Jeffrey Wright adds the comic relief.

Capote - PSH should walk away with the Oscar. And a great movie, too.

Crash - A ton of semi- to totally annoying actors (basically everyone but Don Cheadle), all pulled together by a great vignettes that make you forget how mediocre Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, and Ryan Phillippe actually are.

Everything is Illuminated - One of those sparse dramas that fills in the many gaps with awkward humor, kind of like Broken Flowers.

The 40 Year Old Virgin - On first viewing it's as funny as Wedding Crashers, but it doesn't age quite as well.

Me and You and Everyone We Know - Easily the most interesting film I saw all year.

Munich - A great action movie dressed up as a great political thriller. Eric Bana instantly becomes one of my favorite actors.

Star Wars Episode III - Wasn't blown away by the first two, but this one lives up to the originals.

The Squid and the Whale - From Life Aquatic co-writer Noah Baumbach, it's a biting '80s dramedy that has a little more of a Royal Tennenbaums feel because of the dysfunctional family angle. Jeff Daniels plays a lit professor whose only solace is his pointles intellectualism.

Syriana - A Middle Eastern Traffic, albeit more confusing.

Wedding Crashers - Funniest movie of the year, and perhaps of the decade. Gets the edge over Old School because Owen Wilson is prominently involved, and because Rachel McAdams is more likable than Ellen Pompeo.

*******

Oscar nominees.

*******

Courtesy of Foon, it's David Hasselhoff embarrassing himself like he never has before.