This year attendance numbers were drastically down in movie theaters. That was the mantra being blasted at anyone who'd listen. When asked what was causing this, industry experts presented cases such as movie piracy, home movie theaters gaining in popularity, and if pressed enough, the waning quality of movies in general. If you looked hard enough or sampled enough of the releases, however, you would have seen a good number of entertaining and challenging films. These are some of the films that made Bostonist either laugh, think or leave the theater willing to spread word that there was something good (or fun!) to see.

1 Brokeback Mountain - Set aside the "gay cowboy" thing for a minute. Visually, Bostonist would say this was the best looking film this year. No special effects needed, no gratuitous cgi was used. The massive landscapes - snow topped peaks, wide shots of herds of sheep - were refreshing for a person who's lived in suburbia or a city their whole life. You can't walk out of this movie and not want to spend a week with such magnificence. Thanks goes to the cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto. As for the content - great acting from both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal was bolstered by Anne Hathaway and especially Michelle Williams. It was sad and tragic. Not a whole lot more can be said beyond the mountains of deserved praise film critics have heaped upon it.

2 Munich - Such a suspenseful and intense experience with conspicuous political statements don't come along quite so often. This year there were a few that worked - of course, Munich, and the Constant Gardener (which, in all honesty, should be in this list); and a couple that didn't - Syriana was too convoluted and too much of a hodge-podge of multiple locations and characters. Steven Spielberg broke out of a mini-funk (The Terminal?) this year with War of the Worlds, huge and action-packed, and topped it off with something closer to a political statement wrapped in entertainment's guise. It worked. It was intense, full of great characters, and threw the viewer into a complicated and unimaginable situation.

3 King Kong - It should be noted that for a movie probably filmed, for the most part, in front of a green screen, Kong looked incredibly pretty. Peter Jackson has a descerning eye for what looks right, and his pixel pushing hench-men at Weta worked their magic into what became an extremely immersive old-time New York City and Skull Island. Multiple suspenseful and fast-paced action scenes helped move this 3+ hour film along, however, a snip here or there to shorten it might have done some good - like maybe the man-eating larvae? Regardless, the task for Naomi Watts was a tall order - acting opposite an giant imaginary ape and selling it. She did that, and then some!

4 Batman Begins - Christopher Nolan took his turn at the Batman franchise and hit one out of the ballpark. Christian Bale was great as Bruce Wayne. Gotham was a gritty, cess pool of corruption. Rha's Al Ghul and the Scarecrow, two lesser known villains from Batman's rogues gallery, were great choices for antagonists. And the ending left an entire theater screaming for more. Yes, more Batman from Christopher Nolan! Please!

5 40 Year Old Virgin - Good comedies stand out because they're the ones that actually make you laugh. Bostonist has yet to meet anyone who has seen this movie and not loved it. Honorable mentions should go to Wedding Crashers and Waiting, both laugh-out-loud funny movies.

6 Heights - This film seemed to come and go rather quickly around here but Bostonist managed to catch it while it was showing at the Kendall. It's a look at a series of relationships in New York City that intersect inside an intricately staged network of family members, friends, and lovers. The handful of main characters all inhabit very unique and distinct personalities that propel the story towards a series of surprising revelations. It is an intelligent portrayal of how "real" people might somehow fall prey to their own cinematic twist as victims of their own design.

7 Everything Is Illuminated - It's still difficult to look at Elijah Wood and not think "Hobbit". We purposely avoided "Green Street Hooligans" because of Elijah Wood's casting as an aggro' soccer hooligan. It's unfathomable. Just look at him! This adaptation of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel is about a young jewish man searching for an old Ukranian village where his Grandfather's life began before escaping the Nazi's to flee to the United States. It's a sweet and sad story held together with comedy - most of which supplied by his hip-hop Ukranian tour guide Alex. Liev Schrieber made significant changes to the source to make it fit for the screen but didn't sacrifice quality in the process. Bostonist suggests that you read the book for additional back-story and context if you really like the movie.

8 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Shane Black, the writer and director of this film, is a lunatic. Bostonist attended a Boston Film Festival screening where he participated in a Q&A with the audience, and exhibited an eccentric personality that is translated quite well into movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. His most famous work was as the writer of all the Lethal Weapon movies, a franchise also showcasing two "buddies" with polar opposite personalities. This movie moves along hyper-fast with a ton of quick and frenetic humor, forcing the audience to stay alert for that next great payoff.

9 The Squid and the Whale - It's a miracle that Jeff Daniels could make it into a movie and make me forget that he's Harry Dunn. He did that and then some. He played a pretentious intellect and teacher - one half of a deteriorating marriage. This film showed how a divorce affected a family in 1980's Brooklyn. Based on real-life experiences of writer Noah Baumbach, we see how each member deals with the situation and how dynamics change within their family. It took an off-beat look at a situation so many people go through, and magnified the humor and irony of events that might not normally be seen in that light.

10 Four Brothers - The movie was a lot of fun. Sitting 5 seats over from Keith Foulke at the premiere helped. Walking to Felt for the after-party and mocking Jerry Greniere as he walked in the middle of a crowd of Entourage fans was the icing on the cake. I'll admit that this was no masterpiece but the capacity crowd at the Loews Boston Common helped make this one of the best movie-going experiences of the year. Everyone in that theater bolstered the fun with well timed reactions because John Singleton put together a good cast and made an enjoyable 2 hours of Good-guy v. Bad-guy mayhem,

And the 5 Worst, in short:

5 Domino - This was a mess. The two redeeming factors: David Silver and Steve Sanders.
4 Walk the Line - So incredibly overrated and boring. The movie in a nutshell: "Marry me June!", "NO!", "Marry me June!", "NO!", "Marry me June!", "NO!" ... x 10,000.
3 The Jacket - Wtf?
2 Bewitched - Painfully un-funny. Seen in a crowd peppered with laughing hyenas. Will Farrell should be ashamed.
1 Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo - Proof that over the top doesn't always work. So predictable; and disappointing as Bostonist considers the original Deuce Bigalow a comedic tour de force!

That last sentence might have ruined any little bit of credibility anyone might have thought Bostonist had.