New Lists: Ray Pride, Andrea Gronvall, Peter Howell, Mick LaSalle, Geoff Pevere, Ruthe Stein, Michael Kleinschrodt, Jeffrey M. Anderson ..

The Top Twenty: Brokeback Climbs Past Violence... Johnny Cash Walks Into Top 20

The Updated Scoreboard
The Individual Lists
The List of Critics
The Worst

-	Distrib	Gross	Screens	Cume
The Chronicles of Narnia	BV	10.2	3627	202.2
King Kong	Uni	9.4	3853	152.5
Fun with Dick & Jane	Sony	6.5	3056	50.1
Cheaper by the Dozen 2	Fox	5.7	3211	41.3
Rumor Has It	WB	3.2	2815	18.3
Memoirs of a Geisha	Sony	2.9	1547	23.3
The Family Stone	Fox	2.8	2464	38.8
HP& Goblet of Fire	WB	2.3	2316	271.7
Munich	Uni	1.5	532	11
Wolf Creek	Wein	1.4	1761	9.8
Syriana	WB	1.4	1725	35
The Producers	Uni	1.3	978	7.9
Brokeback Mountain	Focus	1.2	269	11.5
Also Debuting
Match Point	DW	0.14	8	-
The Matador	Wein	.021	4	-

The Reeler's
Top 10 of Top 10 Lists of 2005
by S.T. VanAirsdale

While considering whether to assemble a Top 10 myself, I could not conceive a single reason you would care about one more list of movies. It DID occur to me, however, that I could pinpoint the 10 Top 10 lists I came across that reaffirmed to me how lousy an idea these things are in the first place. So here is The Reeler's first Top 10 List of Top 10 Lists--five today, five tomorrow, ranked from frustrating (10) to useless (5) to outright insulting (1) ...
Lists Worth Reading
The Top Ten Scoreboard
The List of Critics

_______________________________

The Hot Button
2005 Review: Best, Worst And What You May Have Missed

The truth is, 2005 was a fairly crappy year at the movies.

Every year, people seem to be shouting about how bad things were and every year I seem to come up with more than 30 movies that I really cherish. This year, 20 seemed like a bit of a reach. And I don't think that, even on that list, that there are 10 that I can imagine chewing on a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh time. And while many people are "one viewing and out" people, I am not. For me, true greatness is when I can find inspiration and excitement the seventh, fifteenth, twentieth time; when I can't switch that channel when it comes up on TV.
The Best of 2005
The Worst of 2005
Movies You Should Have Seen, But Didn't

_______________________________

The Ultimate DVD Geek
The Ten Best Of 2005
by Doug Pratt

DVDs are to movies as men are to apes. Most of the genetic material is the same, but the possibilities of intelligent design are greatly enhanced, significantly widening their potential. A movie does just one thing, and that becomes the starting point for a DVD, which can do so much more.

This isn’t just a movie on DVD, it is a profound resurrection of art that makes the potential of the format seem limitless.

________________________________

MCN DVD Wrap-Up
2046

Wong says in his commentary, he conceived 2046 as an echo to the frustrations and regrets that lingered from their tragically unrequited encounter in a Hong Kong boarding house. The intensity of that near-miss experience, which occurred in Room 2046, prompts the writer, Chow, to conjure a sort of purgatory where former lovers are allowed one last opportunity to work out their regrets and longings.More>>

Plus: 2046, American Pie Presents: Band Camp, The Brothers Grimm, Chicago: The Razzle-Dazzle Edition, Dark Water, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Four Brothers, Gilmore Girls, Yhe Great Raid, Must Love Dogs, November,
Penguins Under Siege, Toy Story 2, Tracy Takes On .., The War of the Worlds, The Yards

_______________________________

It's Oscartown, Jake
Access
by Kristopher Tapley

There has been a community of individuals embroiled in this world of Oscar prognostication for many years. Of course, the trades have cast their every expectant eye for a long time, while publications, most notably Entertainment Weekly, have consistently offered up their analysis once the season gets under way each year. But the practice of year-round coverage is an entirely different arena.

________________________

The Gurus have taken the holiday off when it comes to Best Picture, but we asked them last week how things were going with Best Actor and Best Actress. Not much has changed with the actresses, but there are a couple of new contenders for the fifth spot in the Actor race, Cindy & Flo.

The Charts >

_______________________

Digital Nation
by Gary Dretzka

It would difficult to calculate the odds in favor of a small, if universally acclaimed documentary – in this case, Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt– making a dent in the box-office tallies of such wildly hyped holiday releases as King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia or, even, Fun With Dick and Jane. Most bookies would make it a prohibitive underdog, and refuse to take wagers on its inevitable overshadowing by the holiday biggies.

____________________________________

20 Weeks To Oscar
It Ain't Broke ..
But You Still Better Fix It
by David Poland

Brokeback Mountain is the most beloved quality film in America. Accolades are coming around ever corner. It's not only good, it's revolutionary!

All of this is great… a dream. Unfortunately, when you wake up and look at the calendar, it's December 22, not March 6.

Oscar Chart Quiz
1. The most generally accessible of the big titles
2. The tide is turning...
3. It maybe too long, but there is some stnning work there that directors will appreciate
4. Pretty close to a lock
5. The one real movie star in basically, the lead role

_____________________________

Casanova has become one of the world’s most enduring modern myths. But he was also a real man – a spy, soldier, diplomat, writer and adventurer who became of model of living life to its absolute fullest.
Casanova
The Players
The Legend

________________________________

.

Updated throughout the day
Updated: 11:56 am

MCN Wishes You A Happy New Year

Cronenberg: Artist Of The Year

Pete Rainer On Malick

Malick Speaks After A Family Screening

Thomson Renoirs In The New Year

One Of Hollywood's Favorite Old Men, Patrick Cranshaw, Passes Away At 86 | See Him Here

Latest Reason For China To Launch WWIII
Pirated Memoirs Of A Geisha DVDs Flood China

The Sunday Times
Charles McGrath: Talking At The Movies
NYC's Stealth Dance Film Fest
Moerk On Some Creative Movie Posters
Obsessing On Typefaces At The Movies

Patterson On Filmmakers Coming To Britain To Make Movies About Britain
"British cinema is so half-assed these days that any infusion of foreign cynicism - or the outsider's simple clarity of vision - can only be a good thing."

The Chicago Film Critics Nominate

Australian Censorship

Mel Brooks Talks The Producers In England

LouLu Lifts The Lid On Life As A Critic

A Strong, Complex Piece About The Future Of Hollywood's Interests In China

In Memoriam: Remembering The Passages Of 2005

The Paper Of Record Records The Thoughts Of Six Random People... And Does A Little Reporting As Well... Including Reporting Misleading Christmas Weekend Numbers As Down Even Though December Is Up More Than 11 Percent So Far

Dave Kehr Wraps Up The Best In Film Vault DVD In 2005

The Blood Continues To Run Through The Hallways At Dreamamount... How Bad Will It Get And How Quickly?

The Oscar Nom Ballots Are In The Mail

It's Easier To Get Your Old College Pals To Finance Your Indie Film If They've Since Founded Google

From Munich To Mary Poppins For Spielberg?

Nic Cage & Tony Scott Among The Most Interesting "Winners" Of The Women Film Critics Circle Awards For 2005

Can Actors Who Sing Actually Sing?

Babe, If You're The Top, I'm The Bottom
The Reeler Rips Into 5 Top Tens Lists

indieWIRE picks Kings & Queen As Its Foreign Film Of The Year

It's Time To Make The Donuts In Heaven

MovieCityIndie Hits It's 1000th Entry!

More Blood Shed At Paramount Today... DreamWorksers Replacing Paramounters...

Slate Slideshows The Pixar Exhibit At MOMA

New Orleans Filmmaker Commits Suicide In Post-Katrina Despondency

Adapting Frank Miller's 300: The Video Blog

Whose Button Will Be Pressed Next?
The Latest Shoe Drops At Paramount... DW's Tharp Takes Distribution Reins Over As 33 Year Par Vet, Wayne Lewellen Exits

Aussies Celebrate The Wolf Creek Weekend

The Final David Edelstein Slate Movie Club, Starring 4 Old Media Writers, Starts Here... And Then Really Starts Here...

Is Spain Being Held Back By Dubbing?

Great To See - A Full Tribute To Vincent Schiavelli

"If he really wanted to make it a prayer for peace he should have listened to both sides of the story and reflected reality, rather than serving the Zionist side alone," Says The Planner Of The Munich Massacre Who Has Not Seen The Film

Hoop Dreams, Rocky Horror, French Connection, Toy Story, Fast Times, Sting, Santa, Raisin, Luke, Giant Among New Adds To National Registry Of Film

India Nervously Experiments With Varied Ticket Pricing

Trailer For The New Luc Besson

The Title Treatment - "Can I have two tickets to I Heart ... I Love Thingabees ... I Heart Heckerbees ... The one with Naomi Watts, thanks?"

Xan Brooks On The 12 Films You Should Have Seen In 2005

John Patterson Fantasizes About The New Year - "I demand, and I receive, cast-iron guarantees that Ron Howard, Tony Scott, Chris Columbus, Rob Marshall and Steven Spielberg will all take five-year directorial sabbaticals."

One of The Most Memorable Faces Of The Last Three Decades Passes At 57, Not In L.A., But In Sicily... Vincent Schiavelli

The Rumor That This Marriage Ended Because She Had A Bowel Movement He Didn't Sign Off On Are Untrue

Christian Groups Give Brokeback Mountain (Not Too Much Of) A Chance... Choose To Review Rather Than Boost The Box Office WIth Protests

Going To Jackson, WY To Indulge In The Latest Horrible Media Trend - Interviewing A Few People On the Way Out Of A Movie As A Lazy Imitation Of Internet Democracy - A Look At Brokeback Mountain

Whatever Happened To Atom Films?

What Will The Viacom Split Mean? (Not Too Much Is Clear, Apparently)

Edward Rothstein Deconstructs The Munich Argument... Decides He Isn't Buying

Nathan Lane Auditions "Brokeback: The Musical" On Letterman
Introduction (12m file) | The Show (13m file)
And If You Just Want To Hear It (2m file)

Xan Brooks Looks Forward To The Movies Of 2006

The Times Top Tens
The Man | T.S. Eloquent | Holden On

Chistmas Day Milestones
Laura Dern Marries | Argentina Brunetti Dies | Ownership-Challenged Winnie T. Pooh Turns 80

"When something important happens in one of Terrence Malick's films, chances are it occurs amid blades of grass."

2005's Six "Moments Of Significance" From AFI

John Patterson Envisions A 2006 Where His Wildest Dreams Come True

Angry Alien Delivers Its Latest "30 Second Movie... With Bunnies"... A Christmas Story

A Must-See Holiday PopUp Book From Nurun Ant Farm Interactive (Make Sure To Pull Tabs And Cursor Over Things For Sound Cues)
It's A Wonderful Internet

Emanuel Levy Looks At Musical Directors Past, With An Eye Towards James Mangold's Future

A Christmas Story's Ralphie Is All Growns Up, Now The Guy Behind The Guy Behind The Guy

Another Foreign Language Film Bites It On Technicality

The Wives Of Munich Speak
"I hope the movie will help us reach billions of people we haven't reached in the past 33 years."

Scott Bowles Asks 10 Oscar Questions

Religion At The Movies