Monday, January 02, 2006

2005 Year End Roundup

Herewith a quick reference to the best films that I have seen and reviewed in the past year. The first list constitutes my “best of the year” so far. The second list ranks older films I watched or re-watched over the course of the year. The grade of *7* is my threshold of recommendation, so the 2005 list contains anything graded *7-* or better. For the older films, it takes a *7+* to make the list. The month after the title indicates under which 2005 monthly archive my review can be found in the links column at the right.

New in 2005:

*8+*: The Squid and the Whale. Dec.

*8*: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. June
Syriana. Dec.
Walk the Line. Nov.

*8-*: The Constant Gardener. Oct.

*7+*: Bearing Witness. June
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. Nov.
Good Night, and Good Luck. Nov.
Grizzly Man. Oct.
Junebug. Sept.
Mad Hot Ballroom. Oct.
My Summer of Love. July

*7*: Broken Flowers. Sept.
Look at Me (Comme une image.) Sept.
Millions. Dec.
Murderball. Dec.

*7-*:
Brothers. June
Crash. Sept.
Pride and Prejudice. Dec.

Not yet seen: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Cinderella Man, A History of Violence, Match Point, Munich, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, etc.

Not likely to see: Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter & Goblet of Fire, King Kong.


Retrospective through 2004:

*9+*: Hoop Dreams. [1994] May

*9*: All About Eve. [1950] June
Days of Heaven. [1978] Mar.
Thelma and Louise. [1991] Apr.
The Straight Story. [1999] Mar.
Ararat. [2002] July
Vera Drake. [2004] Jan.

*9-*: All That Heaven Allows. [1955] Jan.
Aviator. [2004] Feb.

*8+*: The Philadelphia Story. [1940] Mar.
The Lady Eve. [1941] Jan.
Once Upon a Time in the West. [1968] Apr.
A Room with a View. [1986] Apr.
Waking Life. [2001] Jan.

*8*: The Little Foxes. [1941] Feb.
The Yearling. [1946] Jan.
Panic in the Streets. [1950] Oct.
Casque d’Or. [1952] Feb.
Umberto D. [1952] Aug.

Divorce -- Italian Style. [1962] July
Grey Gardens. [1976] Feb.
Philadelphia. [1993] Mar.
Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud. [1995] Jan.
Lilya 4-Ever. [2003] Nov. (or Dec.?)
Since Otar Left. [2003] Mar.
Bride and Prejudice. [2004] Mar.
Sideways. [2004] Jan.

*8-*: All the King’s Men. [1949] Oct.

The Trial of Joan of Arc. [1962] Sept.
Carnal Knowledge. [1971] Jan.
Late August, Early September. [1998] Mar.


*7+*: Queen Christina. [1933] June
Bringing Up Baby. [1938] Jan.
Born Yesterday. [1950] Feb.
Gimme Shelter. [1970] Feb.
Down by Law. [1986] Nov.
Tampopo. [1986] May
Black Robe. [1991] Jan.
Lovers on the Bridge. [1991] Jan.
Paradise Lost: Child Murders at Robin Hood Woods. [1996] Nov. (under HBO)
Kirikou and the Sorceress. [1998] Sept.
Devdas. [2002] July
Being Julia. [2004] May
Born into Brothels. [2004] Apr.
Bright Leaves. [2004] July
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. [2004] Feb.
Festival Express. [2004] Oct.
Finding Neverland. [2004] Feb.
In Good Company. [2004] Dec.
Million Dollar Baby. [2004] Feb.

No comments: