HOME * REVIEWS * AWARDS & PREDICTIONS * MIDTOWN

LISTS * FILM FESTIVALS * ODDS & ENDS * LINKS * CONTACT

THE
TOP 5
PROJECT

WEEK NO. 25
Main Page (including links to all past Top 5 weeks)

THE TOP 5 FILMS OF THE 21st CENTURY:

view full results       see how points are awarded
Rank Film Points L #1
#1 Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001) 59 17 6
#2 In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000) 34 8 4
#3 Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) 28 7 2
#4 The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) 24 8 -
#5 Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000) 22 6 2
L=How many lists each film appears on             #1=How many number one votes each film recieves

It should have came as no surprise that David Lynch's über masterpiece, Mulholland Dr., took the pie this week for best film of the 21st Century. It sure came as no surprise to this critic (though I did vote it no. 1 on my list as well, so perhaps I am a bit biased). Lynch's film won hands down too, appearing on 17 lists and garnering 59 points for a runaway victory over all the competition - and there was quite a lot of competition, especially considering the slim parameters of just seven years of cinema. Overall, we had 41 participants this week (breaking the old record of 32) and a total of 105 different films voted for (also a record).

Coming in at second place was also no surprise here (although I did expect a bit more of a battle for the top spot from this one), as Wong Kar-wai's melancholy masterpiece (and also my number two vote getter as well) In the Mood for Love grabs 34 points - and third place went to Lars von Trier's Dogville (also my third place, hmmm...) with 28 points. Coming in fourth was Terrence Malick's The New World with 24 points and in fifth was Edward Yang's Yi Yi with 22 points.

One curiosity ended up happening this week. There ended up being a lot more votes for The Lord of the Rings that one would first take notice to. The first film recieved 3 points, the second 5 points and the third recieved 16 points. But then the trilogy as a whole recieved another 15 points. Altogether, I suppose a case could be made for the trilogy to come in second place with 39 points if all individual film votes were to be counted along with those votes for the trilogy as a whole. So if you want to argue go ahead. I personally do not see what all the fuss is about over these three films but everyone's tastes are different, which I suppose is why I like seeing all the individual lists for the Top 5 Project, and speaking of which, scroll down and there they are. See ya next week.

Individual lists:

Albert H. Muth
Auteurophile

  1. Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)

  2. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  3. The Return (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003)

  4. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  5. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)



Kent Jones
Editor-at-Large, Film Comment

  • Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)

  • Esther Kahn (Arnaud Desplechin, 2000)

  • The Intruder (Claire Denis, 2004)

  • Saraband (Ingmar Bergman, 2003)

  • A Visit to the Louvre (Huillet/Straub, 2004)

  • Woman on the Beach (Hong Sang-soo, 2006)

  • The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)

  • Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)



David Sterritt
Chairman, National Society of Film Critics

  1. Irreversible (Gaspar Noe, 2002)

  2. The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismaki, 2002)

  3. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

  4. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

  5. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)



David Ehrenstein
Film Critic & Entertainment Writer
Author, Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998

  1. La Commune (de Paris, 1871) (Peter Watkins, 2000)

  2. Star Spangled to Death (Ken Jacobs, 2004)

  3. Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell, 2006)

  4. Histoire de Marie et Julien (Jacques Rivette, 2003)

  5. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)



Jeffrey M. Anderson
Film Critic & Freelance Entertainment Writer
Las Vegas Weekly, Oakland Tribune

  1. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

  2. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

  3. Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003)

  4. Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002)

  5. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

Runners up: ABC Africa (2001, Abbas Kiarostami, Iran); Before Sunset (2004, Richard Linklater, USA); The Circle (2001, Jafar Panahi, Iran); Friday Night (2003, Claire Denis, France); Ghost World (2001, Terry Zwigoff, USA); I'm Going Home (2002, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/France); In the Mood for Love (2001, Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong); Memento (2001, Christopher Nolan, USA/UK); Mulholland Dr. (2001, David Lynch, USA); Mysterious Object at Noon (2000, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand); Punch-Drunk Love (2002, Paul Thomas Anderson, USA); Saraband (2005, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden); Spider (2002, David Cronenberg, USA/Canada); Spirited Away (2002, Hayao Miyazaki, Japan); The Story of Marie and Julien (2003, Jacques Rivette, France); The World (2004, Jia Zhang-ke, China); Three Times (2006, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan); Werckmeister Harmonies (2000, Bela Tarr, Hungary)


Christopher Null
Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Filmcritic.com

  1. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) - Nolan's masterpiece is a work of genius that I doubt he'll ever replicate again. What could have been a cheap gimmick (telling the story backwards) evolves into a mystery that combines a gritty story with a sleek sophistication in its storytelling. Just amazing.

  2. Match Point (Woody Allen, 2005) - I doubt Woody Allen's finest film in a decade (or more) will show up on anyone else's list, but I've giving it my vote in the hopes that it will be more fully appreciated.

  3. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004) - Easily the best animated movie I've ever seen. Seriously.

  4. Buffalo Soldiers (Gregor Jordan, 2001) - Another flick that no one else will pick, if they've even seen it to begin with. You might think Born on the Fourth of July or Coming Home are great anti-war movies, but you ain't seen nothin' till you've ogled Buffalo Soldiers. It's also the funniest military-themed movie since Dr. Strangelove.

  5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) - Everyone else will write something pithy about Sunshine's charms, so I won't repeat their efforts.



Erik Childress
Film Critic, efilmcritic.com

  1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)

  2. Cast Away (Robert Zemeckis, 2000)

  3. Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)

  4. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)

  5. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2001)



Rick Curnutte
Film Critic & Editor, The Film Journal

  1. Gerry (Gus Van Sant, 2003)

  2. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

  3. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

  4. Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr, 2000)

  5. In the Bedroom (Todd Field, 2001)



Laura Clifford
Film Critic & Co-Host, Reeling: The Movie Review Show

  1. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)

  2. Time Out (Laurent Cantat, 2001)

  3. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  4. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)

  5. The Secret Lives of Dentists (Alan Rudolph, 2002)



J.E. Snavely
Home Theatre Cinephile

  1. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  2. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)

  3. United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)

  4. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)

  5. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-03)



David Oppedisano
Film Critic and Researcher

  1. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)

  2. AI: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)

  3. Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002)

  4. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  5. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)



Peter Sobczynski
Film Critic, eFilmCritic.com

  1. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)

  2. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

  3. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  4. Kill Bill: vol. 1 & 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003/04)

  5. Greendale (Neil Young, 2003)

Runners-up (in chronological order):
High Fidelity (2000) Almost Famous (2000) Amelie (2001) Resident Evil (2002) Adaptation (2002) Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003) Lost In Translation (2003) May (2003) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) A History of Violence (2005)


Eric Enders
Film Critic, Out There in the Dark



  1. Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)

  2. Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

  3. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2003)

  4. Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2000)

  5. Mean Creek (Jacob Aaron Estes, 2004)



Film Prophet
Film Critic, FilmProphet.com

  1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)

  2. City of God (Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund, 2002)

  3. 21 Grams (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

  4. Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003)

  5. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)



Michael Parent
Film Student

  1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-03)

  2. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-04)

  3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (M. Gondry, 2004)

  4. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)

  5. The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)

    …and because six years of cinema deserves a Top ten:

  6. Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003)

  7. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)

  8. Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)

  9. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  10. Lost In Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

Runners up: Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, 2005), Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, 2003), Million Dollar Baby (C. Eastwood, 2004), 21 Grams (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2003), Crash (Paul Haggis, 2005), Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005), Downfall (Olivier Hirschbiegel, 2004), Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch, 2005), Vera Drake (Mike Leigh), Spider-Man 1 & 2 (Sam Raimi, 2001-2004), Sin City (Rodriguez, Miller & Tarantino, 2004), About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002), Sideways (A. Payne, 2004), Last Days (Gus Van Sant, 2005), C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2004), Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)


Adam Trovillion
Film Enthusiast

  1. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  2. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  3. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2000)

  4. Mullholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  5. Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002)



Jeff Cardarelli
Film Enthusiast

  1. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

  2. C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2005)

  3. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

  4. Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002)

  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002)



Lewis Tice
National Press Liaison, TLA Releasing

  1. Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000) - Gut-wrenching, emotional, darkly funny, brutal – director Iñárritu juggles multiple storylines that at first feel like they move in multiple directions but are united by a strong emotional core as the characters’ desperate search for happiness yields some devastating results.

  2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) - Always have been a big fan of Lee since The Wedding Banquet and here, he manages to direct some amazing, action set pieces, while continue the undercurrent of longing that seems to be so relevant in all his films.

  3. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001) - Confusing, hypnotic, sexy and terrifying – the first part of the film feels like what could have been a great television show (which it was originally planned for) but then the film’s tone dramatically shifts into a dark, dream-like fable about the machinations of the Hollywood dream. While living in LA, I always felt that there was a darker, seedier side to the film business and whenever I watch the film, it makes me think about that side of the business. Plus Naomi Watts is pretty amazing in it.

  4. Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2003) - A live action cartoon that incorporates colorful characters with creatively funny kung-fu sequences. If you mixed Bubsy Berkley, Shaw Brothers, Laurel & Hardy, Keystone Cops, and even the Little Rascals – you have the tone of Kung Fu Hustle but director Chow also infuses his characters with such sincere emotions, you’ll be rooting for them.

  5. Hedwig & the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001) - Perfect blend of music, monologues and twisted wit, makes Mitchell’s film an emotionally satisfying journey about a transsexual trying to find her/his identity. The music written by Stephen Trask & Mitchell fuel the movie along and incorporates pop, rock and ballads to a heady mix.



Matt Severson
Film Enthusiast

  1. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  2. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

  3. Talk to Her (Pedro Almadovar, 2002)

  4. The Gleaners & I (Agnès Varda, 2000)

  5. Late Marriage (Dover Koshashvili, 2001)



Kevin Cassidy
Film Enthusiast

  1. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  2. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

  3. Disco Pigs (Kristen Sheridan, 2003)

  4. Linda Linda Linda (Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2005)

  5. Swing Girls (Shinobu Yaguchi, 2004)



Billy Wilson
Film Enthusiast

  1. Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)

  2. Sin City (Rodriguez/Miller/Tarantino, 2005)

  3. The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004)

  4. A Walk to Remember (Adam Shankman, 2002)

  5. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)



Jesse Richards
Filmmaker

  1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  2. In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  3. The Man Without A Past (Aki Kaurismaki, 2002)

  4. Lost In Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

  5. What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-liang, 2001)

If I could've had six movies for this list, I would've included Wong Kar-wai's film 2046, which is incredibly beautiful and made me fall in love with Faye Wong yet again!


Chris Cathcart
Film Enthusiast

  1. Team America (Stone/Parker, 2004)

  2. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring (Kim Ki-Duk, 2003)

  3. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002)

  4. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  5. Punch-Drunk Love (P.T. Anderson, 2002)



Mathew Viola
Film Fanatic

  1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001) - Like An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Lynch’s mesmerizing film occurs entirely in the mind of his expiring protagonist. In “Betty’s” dying fantasy, the would-be starlet (re)casts herself as the heroine of a mystery story, the solution to which only leads her back to the sad, grim reality. In telling her tragic story, Lynch exposes the slimy underbelly of Tinseltown, whose glittery surface conceals a darker reality of shattered dreams, broken hearts and lost identities.

  2. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004) - As the steadicam follows the reunited lovers around Paris, and finally up to Celine’s apartment, Linklater and his actors, who once again deliver uncannily naturalistic performances, achieve a rare sense of intimacy. It’s as if we really were following these people around, eavesdropping on their private conversations. Even more remarkably, the rapport between Hawke and Delpy is so palpably authentic, so genuine and true, that the essence of romantic love seems to have been captured on camera. The concluding moments are among the most achingly romantic in cinema. Yet for all its romanticism, the open-ended conclusion leaves plenty of doubt about the future of their relationship. Are they really “soul mates” or is love just up to its old tricks? Stay tuned…

  3. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) - Miyazaki’s enchanting animated tale ties an Alice in Wonderland type fantasy to an exciting adventure story that touchingly celebrates courage, friendship, and personal identity. Brimming with imagination, populated by amazing creatures, and as richly animated as anything by Disney, it’s one of the few sheer delights of recent years.

  4. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000) - Employing a myriad of techniques that startlingly convey - visually, aurally and viscerally - the manic, fragmented, disoriented state of mind of the addict, Aronofsky brilliantly captures the subjective experience of drug addiction with harrowing authenticity. The concluding montage sequence is extraordinary: cutting back and forth between his four characters as their sad, tragic fates unfold, the sequence builds to an astonishing crescendo that would have impressed the Griffith of Intolerance.

  5. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005) - I think Haneke’s film works best as a self-reflexive acknowledgement of the director’s godlike role in manipulating his characters and the audience. For it’s Haneke, is it not, who’s really sending those surveillance tapes, and thus omnipotently manipulating the characters in the filmic universe of his own creation? Admittedly, this reading (substantiated by the fact that Haneke uses the same static, voyeuristic camera set-ups in the “real” film as we see on the surveillance tapes) reduces the film to something of a stunt, but it’s a provocative, formally inventive one, which is probably destined to be analyzed ad nauseam by stuffy film school professors everywhere (not that that’s a good thing).

Honorable mentions: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000), Chicken Run (Peter Lord/Nick Park, 2000), In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong, 2000), You Can Count on Me (Kenneth Lonergan, 2000), Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001), Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2001), The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001), Devils on the Doorstep (Wen Jiang, 2002), The Son (Jean-Pierre Dardenne, 2002), Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004), Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004), Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005), A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005).


Doug Pratt
DVD Critic, DVDLaser.com

With the exception of the Lord of the Rings films, the best 'movies' of the new century have actually been television shows. Free of the prudish restrictions on eroticism that have deadened feature films, TV series such as The Shield, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Carnivale, Rome, Nip/Tuck, Deadwood and so on, represent the richest and most exciting dramatic cinema being produced today. DVDs have also blurred the divisions between feature films and TV, but if the list must be restricted to theatrical movies, then here it is:

  1. The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)

  2. The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002)

  3. The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001)

  4. Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)

  5. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)



Jeff Vorndam
Film Enthusiast

  1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

  3. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  4. Code: Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000)

  5. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)



Kevin LaForest
Film Critic, Montreal Film Journal

  1. Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)

  2. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-03)

  4. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-04)

  5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)



Rod Armstrong
Film Critic, Reel.com

  1. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001)

  2. City of God (Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund, 2002)

  3. Head-On (Fatih Akin, 2004)

  4. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)

  5. The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Anh Hung Tran, 2000)



Jay Antani
Film Critic

  1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-03)

  2. The Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003)

  3. Together (Lukas Moodysson, 2001)

  4. About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002)

  5. The Corporation (Mark Achbar/Jennifer Abbott, 2004)

honorables: Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2002) Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004) Dirty Pretty Things (Stephen Frears, 2003) Infernal Affairs (Wai Keung Lau/Alan Mak, 2003) Nine Queens (Fabien Bielinsky, 2002)


Brian Leonard
Film Enthusiast

  1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001) - I don't consider myself a big fan of Lynch's "weird" films, but this one worked beautifully and terrifyingly, with an incredible performance by Naomi Watts to anchor it.

  2. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) - Long and slow? Sure. But hypnotically fascinating, and, in the end, the most moving of Malick's films.

  3. American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman/Robert Pulcini, 2003) - A near-perfect envisioning of Harvey Pekar's wonderful comics.

  4. The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006) - Scorsese's best in years, and I'm tempted to call it Shakespearean.

  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003) - A marvelous finish to a highly entertaining trilogy.

Honorable mentions for films released in 2000 (which I consider the last year of the 20th Century): Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe); Memento (Christopher Nolan); Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky); The Tao of Steve (Jenniphr Goodman); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee); You Can Count on Me (Kenneth Lonergan). (What a great year!)

Other honorable mentions: Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001); Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001); Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002); Gigantic (AJ Schnack, 2002); Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003); Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich, 2003); Matchstick Men (Ridley Scott, 2003); The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet, 2003); The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004); Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004); Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004); Capote (Bennett Miller, 2005); King Kong (Peter Jackson, 2005).


Graeme Donnelly
Film Enthusiast

  1. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  2. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)

  3. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)

  4. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  5. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-03)



Jason Mlinarsik
Film Enthusiast

  1. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

  2. The Best of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003)

  3. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  4. City of God (Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund, 2002)

  5. Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)



Lucas McNelly
Film Enthusiast

  1. The Best of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003)

  2. United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)

  3. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)

  4. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

  5. In the Bedroom (Todd Field, 2001)



La Shawn Banks
Burgeoning Film Enthusiast

  1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) - It makes me dizzy, drives me crazy and I can't take my eyes off of it.

  2. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) - He never lets us forget what is simple and beautiful and what we destroy.

  3. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2001) - Longing and loss are so deeply personified that I almost feel like I'm eavesdropping.

  4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) - If only breaking up could be so beautiful.

  5. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005) - Because no one quite knew what the hell they were watching. I dig that.



Stephen Cone
Film Enthusiast

  1. AI: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001) - Manages to make where we're going seem at once beautiful and terrible. Two 20th Century masters show us their probably-totally-accurate crystal balls.

  2. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001) - The first perfect film of the 21st century.

  3. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002) - A master reminds us that - despite the format - it's all about the gaze.

  4. Saraband (Ingmar Bergman, 2003) - See above.

  5. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) - Now more than ever, a reminder.

I was quite tempted to include Shortbus since, while not a perfect film, it seems to be nothing less than (in it's own, um, modest way) a jubilant call for a certain kind of cinematic revolution.

Lastly, I wish terribly that there was a Terence Davies film to put on this list.


Jesse Walker
Film Enthusiast and Managing Editor, Reason Magazine

  1. The Wire (various directors, 2002-2006)

  2. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  3. The Gleaners & I (Agnès Varda, 2000)

  4. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)

  5. Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette, 2004)

A dozen honorable mentions, listed alphabetically:
Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003) Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001) Mai's America (Marlo Poras, 2002) The Man Who Wasn't There (Joel Coen, 2001) The Office (Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, 2001-2003) Osama (Siddiq Barmak, 2003) The Saddest Music in the World (Guy Maddin, 2003) Sex and Lucia (Julio Medem, 2001) Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) Talk to Her (Pedro Almadovar, 2002) Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001) You Can Count On Me (Kenneth Lonergan, 2000)


Piet Suess
Director

  1. Werkmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2000)

  2. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

  3. I'm Going Home (Manoel De Oliveira, 2001)

  4. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)

  5. Esther Kahn (Arnaud Desplechin, 2000)



Mathieu Ricordi
Director

  1. Werkmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2000)

  2. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

  3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)

  4. The House of Mirth (Terence Davies, 2000)

  5. Esther Kahn (Arnaud Desplechin, 2000)

Comments: I'm still catching up to a lot of films, so this list has to be a rough draft at best. But I feel all of the works here (which were not as well recieved by critics as their previous films) share a common devotion to raw emotions and conceptual complexity that seems to come only in a filmmaker's later years. I think they will last.


Ricardo Luis Alvarez
Film Enthusiast

  1. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-04)

  2. Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (Steven Spielberg, 2001)

  3. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  4. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

  5. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

Honorable Mentions: Almost Famous, Before Sunset, Dancer in the Dark, Y tu mamá también and Punch-Drunk Love.


Jeanette "Doodlebug" Trout
Poet & Novelist

  1. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  2. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000)

  3. Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002)

  4. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)

  5. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)



Kevyn Knox
Film Critic, Essayist + Historian

  1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)

  2. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

  3. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

  4. Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003)

  5. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2000)

Runners-Up (in preferential order): Gerry (Van Sant), Russian Ark (Sokurov), Ten (Kiarostami), Atanarjuat (Fast Runner) (Kunuk), Yi Yi (Yang), Irreversible (Noe), Three Times (Hou), 2046 (Wong), Millennium Mambo (Hou), Y tu mamá también (Cuarón), The Triplets of Belleville (Chomet), The Wayward Cloud (Tsai), The Time of the Wolf (Haneke), Spirited Away (Miyazaki), Dancer in the Dark (von Trier), The Heart of the World (Maddin), The Day I Became a Woman (Meshkini), Primer (Carruth) and Room (Henry).

*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created


The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5 Kurosawa Films

e-mail me at kevynknox@thecinematheque.com with your picks for week #26,
no later than 6pm on Sunday, November 12, 2006.

HOME * REVIEWS * AWARDS & PREDICTIONS * LISTS * MIDTOWN * FILM FESTIVALS * ODDS & ENDS * LINKS * CONTACT