Innocent (2005)

Andrew Davies isn't much of household name in the U.S., but he's the king of the BBC mini-series. His skillfully adapted scripts for Pride & Prejudice (the beloved Colin Firth version) and many, many more are peerless examples of classic novels done right–cunningly edited and shaped to let all the rich emotion and sharp intelligence spill over with zip and vigor. Bleak House is no exception; it's one of the best Dickens adaptations to date. The mini-series form allows Dickens' panoramic view, brimming with eccentric characters and complex turns of plot, to sprawl out without losing an iota of suspense or momentum. Two innocent young orphans (Patrick Kennedy and Carey Mulligan) are the potential heirs to a fortune, but their fates are snarled in a monumental legal battle known as Jarndyce and Jarndyce. But the heart of the story is another orphan, Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin), whose mysterious parentage proves to be intertwined with the fate of the Jarndyce wards and the aloof Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files). Dickens' story twines through an excoriating vision of the legal system to heartbreaking domestic drama to a murder investigation to near-Gothic horror, all broken into utterly delicious half-hour segments (after the hour-long opening episode). Martin is utterly beguiling, homely at one moment and luminous the next; Anderson's grippingly eerie and brittle performance will delight her fans. But to single out anyone seems absurd, because every character–from the vicious lawyer Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance, White Mischief) to the foppish parasite Skimpole (Nathaniel Parker, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries) to the simpering clerk Guppy (Burn Gorman)–is intricately drawn, all hitting a mesmerizing balance between caricature and stark emotional honesty. Bleak House demonstrates that humor, pathos, and social criticism can all be contained in one wonderfully entertaining package.

Andrew Davies isn't much of household name in the U.S., but he's the king of the BBC mini-series. His skillfully adapted scripts for Pride & Prejudice (the beloved Colin Firth version) and many, many more are peerless examples of classic novels done right–cunningly edited and shaped to let all the rich emotion and sharp intelligence spill over with zip and vigor. Bleak House is no exception; it's one of the best Dickens adaptations to date. The mini-series form allows Dickens' panoramic view, brimming with eccentric characters and complex turns of plot, to sprawl out without losing an iota of suspense or momentum. Two innocent young orphans (Patrick Kennedy and Carey Mulligan) are the potential heirs to a fortune, but their fates are snarled in a monumental legal battle known as Jarndyce and Jarndyce. But the heart of the story is another orphan, Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin), whose mysterious parentage proves to be intertwined with the fate of the Jarndyce wards and the aloof Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files). Dickens' story twines through an excoriating vision of the legal system to heartbreaking domestic drama to a murder investigation to near-Gothic horror, all broken into utterly delicious half-hour segments (after the hour-long opening episode). Martin is utterly beguiling, homely at one moment and luminous the next; Anderson's grippingly eerie and brittle performance will delight her fans. But to single out anyone seems absurd, because every character–from the vicious lawyer Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance, White Mischief) to the foppish parasite Skimpole (Nathaniel Parker, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries) to the simpering clerk Guppy (Burn Gorman)–is intricately drawn, all hitting a mesmerizing balance between caricature and stark emotional honesty. Bleak House demonstrates that humor, pathos, and social criticism can all be contained in one wonderfully entertaining package.

One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2005, Me and You and Everyone We Know is also one of the most original feature debuts you're ever likely to see. Winner of the Camera d'or Award for best first film at the Cannes Film Festival, it's an altogether charming display of talent for writer, director, and costar Miranda July, a performance artist making a promising transition to film. Her loose-knit tale of love and longing encompasses a large cast of quirky and memorable characters, foremost among them being Christine (July), a forlorn dreamer who falls in love with Richard (John Hawkes, from HBO's Deadwood), who's going through a traumatic divorce. Richard is desperate to be a good father to his seven- and 14-year-old sons, both of whom have experiences that push Me and You to an almost perverse level of audacity, but July handles their potentially troubling scenes with such delicacy and tact that they seem almost miraculously innocent. The whole film is like that: It never, ever goes where you think it's going to go, and every scene tingles with humor, affection and curiosity for its characters. As it turns routine days into joyous opportunities for discovery, July's remarkable film is not for all tastes, but if you're looking for something new, different, and defiantly out of the mainstream, this gentle comedy's for you. –Jeff Shannon

2005 released 2nd solo album from the son of CSN's Stephen Stills & French superstar Veronique Sanson. Stills explores the ties between the 2 cultures that nurtured his life- French songs and American rock. "My French culture has always been a part of my life but it was time for me to do something with it." The album is bilingual, with Stills singing for the first time in his mother tongue: French. "This allowed me to discover another side of myself," explains Chris, "recalling another culture in my art.". He composed the English material and collaborated for the French songs with native songwriters & composers: Philippe Djian who wrote the lyrics for 2 songs composed by Stephan Eicher ("La fin du monde" & "Demon"), Jean-Louis Murat ("Kitty Catty"), while ex-Alain Bashung lyricist Boris Bergman wrote "DeuxiŠme Chance". Ryan Adams lent a helping hand on "For You". Finally, "Fool for Love" was written by Chris, the album's producer Hod David and the phenomenal producer, Ethan Johns.

The three x-Dark Moor band members Elisa C. Martin (Vocals), Albert Maroto (Guitars), and Jorge Saez (Drums) released their debut with Dreamaker in 2004 "Human Device", an album that wasn't that far from what they had been doing in Dark Moor, and I was really wondering why they left Dark Moor anyway since the music was so alike. They said it was because of "different music directions", but we couldn't hear anything of that on the debut. But now Dreamaker has released their second album "Enclosed" and now I see why and now I understand why these three left Dark Moor, because this album ladies and gentlemen is very different from Dark Moor.

Yama no Att-chan. (山のアッちゃん。, "Att-chan of the Mountain(s)") is the second album released by Shonen Knife and is almost exclusively in Japanese. The album was named after Atsuko, their drummer, the honorific "-chan" being added. Thus the title a bit of a pun, since the drummer's name is, when rendered Japanese style, Yamano Atsuko.