Thanks to Images Cinema, the shrinking window between theatrical and DVD release dates, and the wonders of “long-tail economics” as epitomized by Netflix, I have by now caught up with most of the critically acclaimed films of 2005, so here I’ll compare my own ratings with the critical consensus expressed in the seventh annual critics’ poll conducted by the Village Voice.
For the record, I re-watched The Squid and the Whale when it came out on dvd and confirmed it as my personal pick as the best film of 2005. (Also enjoyed Noah Baumbach’s commentary, and interview with Phillip Lopate.) It does so much in eighty swift and concentrated minutes. And to me as a one-time Park Slope resident, would-be New Yorker writer, and infatuator of Laura Linney, it’s the greatest home movie ever, with an exquisite balance of wit and pain. But when I finally caught up with Terrence Malick’s The New World on dvd, I was equally enthusiastic, and might give that the nod for its greater scope.
If not excluded by its original release date or provenance as an Italian television series, my very favorite film of 2005 would be The Best of Youth, and I am happy to announce that I will be showing that six-hour masterpiece of family dynamics, and Italy’s passage through the past four decades, in a special presentation at the Clark over two days in September, Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th, starting at 1:00 p.m. each day..
So here’s a checklist of films of the past year ranked by hip critical consensus, with my own rating grade appended. You can find my mini-reviews by entering the title in the “Search This Blog” box at the top of the page, which now appears to function well. You should find something here to put in your Netflix queue.
I welcomed this Village Voice tabulation as a prompt to see a lot of films that otherwise would not have come to my attention, but my own taste is more aligned with the mainstream critics surveyed by Metacritic.com. Something about this list suggests a cadre of critics who say, in effect, “I’m so smart I don’t need to be entertained by a movie, I can occupy my mind with my own thoughts if you just throw some exotic or esoteric images on the wall of the cave. And then afterwards, I can discourse so cleverly about it that I am no longer bothered by the fact that the experience was much like watching paint dry.” You will see several *NR* ratings for films that I could not wrap my mind around, or that I felt compelled to fast forward through parts of. For those, I am willing to grant that I was not up to the challenge of watching attentively. (There are also a few that I will be adding ratings to over the next couple of weeks.)
1. A History of Violence *6*
2. 2046 *6+*
3. Kings and Queen *6+*
4. Grizzly Man *7*
5. The World *6+*
6. Tropical Malady *NR*
7. The Squid and the Whale *8+
8. Caché (Hidden) *8*
9. The Holy Girl. *NR*
10. Last Days *5*
11. Brokeback Mountain *8*
12. Café Lumière *6*
13. Good Night, and Good Luck *7+*
14. Nobody Knows *7*
15. The Intruder *NR*
16. Capote *6+*
17. Head-On *7*
18. Mysterious Skin *6+*
19. My Summer of Love *7+*
21. The New World *8+*
22. Saraband *6*
24. Paradise Now *6*
26. Keane
27. Me and You and Everyone We Know *6+*
28. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit *7+*
29. Match Point *6*
31. Munich *0*
33. Darwin's Nightmare *7-*
34. Junebug *7+*
37. The Beat That My Heart Skipped *6+*
38. The Best of Youth *9-*
40. Syriana *8*
41. Look at Me *7*
42. Broken Flowers *7*
45. The Constant Gardener *8-*
49. Turtles Can Fly *6*
51. Pride & Prejudice *7-*
52. The White Diamond *7*
58. Funny Ha Ha *6*
62. The 40-Year-Old-Virgin *7*
66. Crash *7-*
67. March of the Penguins *7*
68. Walk the Line *8*
71. Downfall *7*
75. Cinderella Man *7-*
76. Gunner Palace *6*
77. In Her Shoes *6+*
81. Hustle & Flow *7-*
82. The Aristocrats
87. Oliver Twist *6+*
88. Occupation: Dreamland *6+*
93. Murderball *7*
101. Nine Lives *7*
108. Serenity *5+*
110. The Ice Harvest *6*
118. Separate Lies *6-*
119. Where the Truth Lies
133. Duma *6*
134. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room *8*
The complete Village Voice poll results and collateral materials can be accessed at: http://www.villagevoice.com/take/seven.php?page=winners&category=1
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