This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2005

Fewer Hollywood films than ever for me this year. I need to rent some obvious garbage just cuz there must be SOMETHING worse than Batman Begins.

Early cream o' crop, roughly in order:

The Joy of Life
2046
The White Diamond
Saraband
Kung Fu Hustle
L'Esquive (Games of Love and Chance)
Private

Schultze Gets the Blues
Chain
Grizzly Man
Los Muertos The Ice Harvest
Rize
Tony Takitani
Mysterious Skin

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Tropical Malady
Cinevardaphoto
Gabrielle
A State of Mind
Midwinter Night's Dream
Head-On

Machuca
War of the Worlds
Clean
Save the Green Planet
Junebug
The Best of Youth
The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Good :
Primer
Last Days
Vital
Howl's Moving Castle
Land Of The Dead
2046

Harmless :
Willy Wonka
The Brothers Grimm

so many! my piece is due next friday so next week i'm going to press screenings of brokeback mtn & capote (still not out here, that one) even though i'm not reviewing them, just for possible top 10 purposes.

i'd also like to see the constant gardener, kiss kiss bang bang, & good night & good luck before deadline!

VERY GOOD:
the taste of tea (won't count for my list as it only festival-screened in montreal this year... but best movie i saw this year by far)
war of the worlds
squid vs. whale
la niña santa

GOOD:
syriana
kung fu hustle
sin city
batman begins
zorro
the devil's rejects
zathura
deuce bigelow 2
primer
hustle & flow

WORST:
elektra
star wars
casanova
be cool
the pacifier
racing stripes

2046
The Aristocrats
Broken Flowers
*Capote
Crash
*Grizzly Man
*A History of Violence
Howl's Moving Castle
Hustle and Flow
Kings and Queen
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Where the Truth Lies

i can't possibly choose a best-of yet (too much i didn't see) but the filmGOING experience of the year for me by far was the NYUFF showing of a family finds entertainment (which culminated in a guerrilla musical performance by the cast with all sorts of funky props, including a MASSIVE BALLOON STRUCTURE!!!) (the movie itself is hysterically art-wacky and all the better for it)

kinda enjoyed:
mr. & mrs. smith (but i still think it would have been better with will ferrell in brad pitt's role)
land of the dead

wish had been better:
jarhead

disliked:
thumbsucker
that stupid cameron diaz toni colette one

wish i'd seen/still have to see:
grizzly man
howl's moving castle
oldboy
rize

Nobody Knows
Mysterious Skin
Hana & Alice
Kung Fu Hustle
Batman Begins
A Bittersweet Life
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Downfall
Corpse Bride
Mind Game
Crying Fist
Danny The Dog
Wedding Crashers
AV
Seven Swords
Howl's Moving Castle
2046
3 Iron
Clean
War Of The Worlds
Me And You And Everyone We Know
Gunner Palace
Layer Cake
Be Cool
House Of Fury
Assault On Precinct 13
Tropical Malady
Sin City
Crash
Hell On Wheels
1735km
Grizzly Man
Initial D
Rebound

After M&M, I bet it will be even longer until you see another Woody.

haha, i just watched that this afternoon! i didn't think it was terrible, but it was probably a failure. a not altogether uninteresting one, though. and i actually thought radha mitchell's perf. was quite good.

John Waters

1. Last Days
2. Palindromes
3. A History Of Violence
4. Grizzly Man
5. Saraband
6.Mysterious Skin
7. The Aristocrats
8. Broken Flowers
9. Head On
10. 2046

Amy Taubin

1. A History Of Violence
2. 2046
3. The Holy Girl
4. The Intruder
5. Blue Movie
6. Last Days
7. No Direction Home
8. Funny Ha Ha
9. Police Beat
10 Robert Beavers and Owen Land Retrospectives

Caught Funny Ha Ha on IFC (?) awhile back lead actress was especially good and the film OK, but it also featured a couple indie geek-hunk males (all emotionally crippled, obv) right up my alley.

Shmoly Girl!

(x=pst)

Which ones? This year's harder than last year for me. Nothing sticks out as being easy VV slam dunks like Sunset and Sunshine.

Eat my opinion!

2046
A History of Violence

Not slam dunks, no; and it depends how Malick is received.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/reverseshot/archives/006454.html

A History of Violence -- probably #1, the Wong has a significant contingent of "it's no ITMFL"-ers... the only other major contender is:
Grizzly Man
The Squid and the Whale
The New World
Tropical Malady
2046
Match Point
Brokeback Mountain
Kings & Queen
Last Days

There are so many well-reviewed mainstream crowd-pleasers that I don't know which ones could break through: Kung Fu Hustle, 40 Year Old Virgin, even... Red Eye? Such is this year I almost think the Wallace and Gromit movie could sneak into the top 10, and probably will in the place I gave to Kings and Queen (on the guess that a FC cover story is enough to put it over the top).