TEN BEST FILMS
(roughly in order of preference)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind (US, Michel Gondry)
The Saddest Music in the World (Canada, Guy Maddin)
S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (nonfiction, Cambodia-France, Rithy Panh)
Crimson Gold (Iran, Jafar Panahi)
Son Frere (France, Patrice Chereau)
The Agronomist (nonfiction, US, Jonathan Demme)
Bad Education (Spain, Pedro Almodovar)
I Heart Huckabees (US-Germany, David O. Russell)
Distant (Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Deserted Station (Iran, Alireza Raisian)
SECOND TEN
Moolaade (Senegal-Fr-Burkina Faso,
Ousmane Sembene)
Ripley's Game (Italy-UK-US, Liliana Cavani)
Cowards Bend the Knee (Canada, Guy Maddin)
A Talking Picture (Portugal-Fr-Ital, Manoel de Oliveira)
Goodbye Dragon Inn (Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (S Korea-Ger, Kim Ki-duk)
Control Room (nonfiction, US, Jehane Noujaim)
Notre Musique (France-Switz, Jean-Luc Godard)
The Terminal (US, Steven Spielberg)
The Twilight Samurai (Japan, Yoji Yamada)
RUNNERS-UP
The Keys to the House (Italy-Fr-Ger,
Gianni Amelio)
Time of the Wolf (France-Austria-Germany, Michael Haneke)
Vera Drake (UK, Mike Leigh)
Reconstruction (Denmark, Christoffer Boe)
Los Angeles Plays Itself (nonfiction, US, Thom Andersen)
A Thousand Clouds of Peace? (Mexico, Julian Hernandez)
The Manchurian Candidate (US, Jonathan Demme)
Lost Boys of Sudan (nonfiction, US, Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk)
Maria Full of Grace (US-Colombia, Joshua Marston)
Strayed (France-UK, Andre Techine)
BEST LEAD ACTORS
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
John Malkovich, Ripley's Game
Leila Hatami, Deserted Station
Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Hossain Emadeddin, Crimson Gold
Fatoumata Coulibaly, Moolaadé
Denzel Washington, The Manchurian Candidate
Bruno Todeschini, Eric Caravaca, Son Frère
Paul Giamatti, Sideways
BEST SUPPORTING ACTORS
Mark Wahlberg, I Heart Huckabees
Laura Dern, We Don't Live Here Anymore
Isabella Rossellini, The Saddest Music in the World
Cate Blanchett, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Brad Bird (voice of Edna Mode), The Incredibles
Peter Sarsgaard, Laura Linney, Kinsey
Meryl Streep, The Manchurian Candidate
Esther Gorintin, Since Otar Left...
Phil Davis, Vera Drake
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Luc Montpellier, The Saddest Music
in the World
Ellen Kuras, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Distant
Aleksandr Burov, Father and Son
Jürgen Jürges, Time of the Wolf
BEST SMALL-ROLE ACTOR: Ruth Sheen, Vera Drake
BEST UNDISTRIBUTED FILMS
Checkpoint (nonfiction, Israel,
Yoav Shamir)
Koktebel' (Russia, Boris Khlebnikov, Aleksei Popogrebsky)
BEST (SHOT & PROJECTED ON) VIDEO
Persons of Interest (nonfiction,
US, Alison Maclean, Tobias Perse)
Welcome to Destination Shanghai (China, Andrew Cheng)
Spit It Out (nonfiction, US, Jonathan Skurnik)
THE B LIST
Vodka Lemon, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Sideways, Shaolin Soccer, Almost Peaceful, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Incredibles, Hero, Red Lights, Million Dollar Baby (first two thirds), I'll Sing for You, End of the Century: The Story of The Ramones, The Yes Men, Since Otar Left..., In the Realms of the Unreal, We Don't Live Here Anymore, Father and Son, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
"SAVE THE PIECES"
The Aviator, Code 46, Super Size Me, Troy, The Dreamers, The Raspberry Reich, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Kinsey
SHITE
Napoleon Dynamite, Dogville, Tarnation, Anatomy of Hell, Harry and Max
BEST REVIVALS/BELATED RELEASES
(seen by me for the first time and in a theater)
Fires on the Plain (Ichikawa)
The Battle of Algiers (Pontecorvo)
Hearts and Minds (Peter Davis)
Illusion Travels by Streetcar (Bunuel)
Senso (Visconti)
Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar-wai)
Gojira/Godzilla (Honda)
Fists in the Pocket (Bellocchio)
There Was a Father (Ozu)
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction (Fuller)
Privilege (Watkins)
The Lawless (Losey)
Naked Childhood; We Will Not Grow Old Together (Pialat)
The Clay Bird (Masud)
Mother Joan of the Angels (Kawalerowicz)
Raw Deal (Anthony Mann)
EXPLOITATIVE NARCISSIST OF THE YEAR: Jonathan Caouette, Tarnation
2004
LISTS
dan
mitch
sujan
chris m.
amy w.
kaci
donovan
bill w.
jeremy
