I'm thinking of making my last year's misapprehension and trumped up rage over the 2005 Best American Poetry anthology being published in September, which in turn caused me to publish my Best Movies of 2005 list in October, an annual event. Thanks to those who cleared up my years-long misreading of the situation. Ahem. Here goes:
The Best Movies I've Seen in 2006 So Far: The Megastore List.
Best 2005 films I saw in 2006: Nine Lives, Brokeback Mountain, Munich.
Best movie of only esoteric interest if you weren't raised in the religious tradition of my people: States of Grace
Best Movie with Murderous Male Posturing as the Main Source of Comedy: The Matador. It really was funny.
Best Historical Movie with a Romance as Its Main Analytic Device: The New World
Best film to help you see a current political situation more clearly: Paradise Now
Best Tommy Lee Jones vanity project that, for the most part, redeems itself: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Best music movie of the year: Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Best Spike-Lee-as-a-hired-gun-movie: Inside Man
Best satire: Thank You for Smoking
Best re-release: The Conformist
Best female sensibility in charge of a movie: Friends With Money
Best re-invention of a genre picture: Brick
Best animated film, best drug film, best Robert Downey Jr. performance: A Scanner Darkly
Best documentary: The Heart of the Game
Best small-ish picture (also: Best Australian picture) Look Both Ways
Worst excuse for a documentary nonetheless redeemed by stellar music: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Best non-formula comedy: Little Miss Sunshine
Best sports movie: Invincible
Best French movie featuring a grey flannel horse: Science of Sleep
Best small picture: Half Nelson
Best epic picture: The Departed
A pretty respectable list so far. Not as good as the greatest year in memory, 1999, which featured American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, Election, The Iron Giant, Go, The Matrix, Magnolia, Fight Club, The Sixth Sense, Three Kings, Sleepy Hollow, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Topsy Turvy, Run, Lola, Run, The Insider, Princess Mononoke, The End of the Affair . . . but still a pretty good list.
I want to believe you HTMS, but I don't think even you can convince me that New World is good. I just can't do it.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with you about Friends with Money, Inside Man, Brick, The Matador.
What about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? Also a good reworking of an old genre. And I aso loved Junebug, which we just saw. But that's _old_ baby.
Also I recommend Final Cut with Robin Williams. Weird, but in a good way.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? Awesome, but sooooo last year, baby.
ReplyDeleteNew World was weird but good. Flawed but good.
I have seen exactly zero of these movies. oh dear. Sounds like we'll be doing some DVD renting when when you come in December!!
ReplyDeleteMy woeful movie attendance is nearly equaled by my woeful TV attendance.
ReplyDeleteOh I did see Brick, however. I found it very amusing.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Conformist many years ago and liked it, but thought it pretty pretentious, even back then. Brick I'm halfway thru and kind of liking/hating it...will blog about it later, I think. A worthy list, I agree.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing better this year. I've seen four of the movies on your list (Half Nelson, Little Miss Sunshine, Brick, and Friends with Money). Paradise Now is sitting on my kitchen table and some day soon I'll find the time to watch it.
ReplyDeleteI've seen one film on the list--Paradise Now. Pathetic movie watching on my part, Stunning film. If I were to do a film list it would have to be films from two years ago as I basically only watch stuff off Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI've added to my queue: "Little miss sunshine," "States of Grace," and the "heart of the game." I already had "scanner darkly" on there because a student really wants me to see it.