Top Ten Lists

Damien
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Re: Top Ten Lists

Post by Damien »

Roger Ebert:

1. “A Separation”
It is specifically Iranian, but I believe the more specific a film is about human experience, the more universal it is. On the other hand, movies “for everybody” seem to be for nobody in particular… “A Separation” will become one of those enduring masterpieces watched decades from now.

2. “Shame”
3. “The Tree of Life”
A film of vast ambition and deep humility, attempting no less than to encompass all of existence and view it through the prism of a few infinitesimal lives. Terrence Malick’s film begins with the Big Bang that created our universe, and ends after the characters have left the realm of time. In between, it zooms in on a moment, surrounded by infinity.

4. “Hugo”
In the guise of a delightful 3D family film, Martin Scorsese makes a love letter to the cinema… Without our quite realizing it, Hugo’s changing relationship with the old man becomes the story of the invention of the movies, and the preservation of our film heritage. Could anyone but Scorsese have made this subject to magical and enchanting?

5. “Take Shelter”
6. “Kinyarwanda”
7. “Drive”
The director, Nicolas Winding Refn, peoples his story with characters who bring lifetimes onto the screen–in contrast to the Driver, who brings as little as possible. “Drive” looks like one kind of thriller in the ads, and it is that kind of thriller, but also another and a rebuke to most of the movies it looks like.

8. “Midnight in Paris”
9. “Le Havre”
10. “The Artist”


11. Melancholia
12. “Terri”
13. “The Descendants”
14. “Margaret”
15. “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
16. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″
17. Trust
18. “Life, Above All”
19. “The Mill and the Cross”
20. “Another Earth”

Those are my top 20, leaving out documentaries, which I will list later. To include them on the same list would be ranking oranges and apples. There were many other excellent films in 2011, some fully the equal of some of these. Alphabetically:

“13 Assassins,”
“Another Earth,”
“Beginners,”
“Boy Wonder,”
“Certified Copy,”
“The Future,” ”
The Guard,”
“Higher Ground,”
“I Will Follow,”
“J Edgar,”
“The Last Rites of Joe May,”
“:Le Quattro Volte,”
“Margin Call”
“Meek’s Cutoff,”
“Moneyball,”
“Mysteries of Lisbon,”
“My Week with Marilyn,”
“The Princess of Montpensier,”
“Rango,”
“A Screaming Man,”
“Silent Souls,”
“Tyrannosaur,”
“Queen to Play,”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,”
“The Whistleblower.”
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
mayukh
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Re: Top Ten Lists

Post by mayukh »

I found Bridesmaids pretty abhorrent. Fundamentally, it doesn't have any insight into how human beings even interact. It's all so contrived – I didn't believe anything those characters were doing for a second (ie the engagement party microphone back-and-forth scene). Loathsome.

Kristen Wiig is a talented comedienne, but she isn't made for movies. Her mannerisms are too distracting. They come at the disservice of the character.
Damien
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Re: Top Ten Lists

Post by Damien »

ITALIANO wrote:Seems like Bridesmaids is a masterpiece. Too bad - I had carefully avoided it when it opened in Italy, and now I'll have to find it...
I only saw bits and pieces of it while my beloved was watching it on pay-per-view, but believe me, Marco, if you see it you will (justifiably) think even less of American taste than you already do.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Damien
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Re: Top Ten Lists

Post by Damien »

FILM COMMENT ANNOUNCES 2011 BEST OF YEAR LISTS
“THE TREE OF LIFE,” “UNCLE BOONMEE” AND “MELANCHOLIA”
ARE 1-2-3 FOR FILMS RELEASED DURING THE YEAR

“THIS IS NOT A FILM,” “THE TURIN HORSE”
AND “ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA”
TOP THE UNRELEASED FILMS LIST


NEW YORK – December 16, 2011– Film Comment‘s annual end-of-the-year survey of notable film critics, journalists, film section editors, and past and present contributors was released today with Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES and Lars von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA taking the top spots among films released in 2011. Among films that made appearances at film festivals or special screenings worldwide, but haven’t received stateside distribution as of yet, Jafar Panahiand Mojtaba Mirtahmasb’s THIS IS NOT A FILM, Béla Tarr’s THE TURIN HORSE and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA received the top rankings.

Offering arguably the most comprehensive assessment of the year in film, Film Comment received responses from more than 120 participants including (in alphabetical order): Nico Baumbach (Film Comment), David Edelstein (New York Magazine), Roger Ebert, Scott Foundas (Associate Program Director, Film Society Lincoln Center) Larry Gross (screenwriter, WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, 48 HOURS), Kent Jones (filmmaker, A LETTER TO ELIA), Glenn Kenny (MSN Movies), Robert Koehler (Daily Variety), Karina Longworth (LA Weekly), Guy Maddin (filmmaker, KEYHOLE), Leonald Maltin (Entertainment Tonight), Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter), Don McMahon (Artforum), Rex Reed (NY Observer), Jonathan Rosenbaum, Paul Schrader (filmmaker, ADAM RESURRECTED), Amy Taubin (Film Comment) and Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times).

Film Comment’s Top 10 Films Released in 2011 are; 1.Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE, 2. Apichatpong’s UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES 3. Von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA, 4. Asghar Farhadi’s A SEPARATION, 5. David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD, 6. Raúl Ruiz’s MYSTERIES OF LISBON, 7. Abbas Kiarostami’s CERTIFIED COPY, 8. Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK’S CUTOFF, 9. Martin Scorsese’s HUGO, and 10. Lee Chang-dong’s POETRY.

The rankings of other films making strong showings during the awards season are Alexander Payne’s THE DESCENDANTS (#15), Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (#18), Jeff Nichols’ TAKE SHELTER (#19), Steve McQueen’s SHAME (#21), Nicolas Winding Refn’s DRIVE (#22), Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST (#27), and Bennett Miller’s MONEYBALL (#38).

Film Comment’s survey also gives a ranking of films that have screened and made notable appearances at film festivals throughout the year. The Top 10 Unreleased Films in 2011 are 1. Panahiand Mirtahmasb’s THIS IS NOT A FILM, 2. Tarr’s THE TURIN HORSE, 3. Ceylan’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA, 4. Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne’s THE KID WITH A BIKE, 5. Julia Loktev’s THE LONELIEST PLANET, 6. Gerardo Naranjo’s MISS BALA, 7. Joseph Cedar’s FOOTNOTE, 8. Ben Wheatley’s KILL LIST, 9. Ulrich Koehler’s SLEEPING SICKNESS and 10. Ruben Östlund’s PLAY.

THE TREE OF LIFE, which begins “encore screenings” today at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center was the subject of a Film Comment cover story this year. MELANCHOLIA and UNCLE BOONMEE both screened at the New York Film Festival (MELANCHOLIA this year and UNCLE BOONMEE in 2010). All but one of the films in the Unreleased Films category screened at this year’s NYFF. (The exception being Wheatley’s KILL LIST.) Additional films from the lists that were featured on Film Comment covers were A DANGEROUS METHOD, THE DESCENDANTS, MEEK’S CUTOFF and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.

Film Comment editor Gavin Smith said, “Film Comment’s annual Best Films lists offer a comprehensive look at the year in film by combining the viewpoints of most of the magazine’s staff and contributors as well as many of America’s most influential film critics, writers and minds. And our annual addition of the unreleased films list (via film festivals and exhibitions throughout the year) offers a unique look ahead for the coming year in film for cinephiles and film enthusiasts, as well.”

“Smith + Foundas: The Conversation starts here…” will be available at filmlinc.com today with the Film Comment editor and FSLC Senior Programmer discussing the 2011 Film Comment Best of Year lists.

The lists of films and poll participants can be found on Filmlinc.com and in the January/February issue of Film Comment which hits newsstands January 10.

THE COMPLETE FILM COMMENT 2011 BEST-OF FILMS LISTS

RELEASED 2011
1. TREE OF LIFE
Director: Terrence Malick

2. UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

3. MELANCHOLIA
Director: Lars von Trier

4. A SEPARATION
Director: Asghar Farhadi

5. A DANGEROUS METHOD
Director: David Cronenberg

6. MYSTERIES OF LISBON
Director: Raúl Ruiz

7. CERTIFIED COPY
Director: Abbas Kiarostami

8. MEEK’S CUTOFF
Director: Kelly Reichardt

9. HUGO
Director: Martin Scorsese

10. POETRY
Director: Lee Chang-dong

Rankings #11 - #20
11. FILM SOCIALISME, Director: Jean-Luc Godard
12. LE HAVRE, Director: Aki Kaurismäki
13. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU, Director: Andrei Ujica
14. LE QUATTRO VOLTE, Director: Michelangelo Frammartino
15. THE DESCENDANTS, Director: Alexander Payne
16. NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT, Director: Patricio Guzmán
17. A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, Director:
Edward Yang
18. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, Director: Woody Allen
19. TAKE SHELTER, Director: Jeff Nichols
20. MARGARET, Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Rankings #21 - #30
21. SHAME, Director: Steve McQueen
22. DRIVE, Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
23. CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, Director: Werner Herzog
24. TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, Director: Tomas Alfredson
25. TO DIE LIKE A MAN, Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
26. THE INTERRUPTERS, Director: Steve James
27. THE ARTIST, Director: Michel Hazanavicius
28. TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS, Director: Radu Muntean
29. AURORA, Director: Cristi Puiu
30. WEEKEND, Director: Andrew Haigh

Rankings #31 - #40
31. THE SKIN I LIVE IN, Director: Pedro Almodóvar
32. CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH, Director: Lu Chuan
33. CONTAGION, Director: Steven Soderbergh
34. OF GODS AND MEN, Director: Xavier Beauvois
35. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, Director: Sean Durkin
36. BRIDESMAIDS, Director: Paul Feig
37. THE TRIP, Director: Michael Winterbottom
38. MONEYBALL, Director: Bennett Miller
39. THE ARBOR, Director: Clio Barnard
40. THE FUTURE, Director: Miranda July

Rankings #41 - #50
41. INCENDIES, Director: Denis Villeneuve
42. SUPER 8, Director: J.J. Abrams
43. UNITED RED ARMY, Director: Koji Wakamatsu
44. ROAD TO NOWHERE, Director: Monte Hellman
45. TABLOID, Director: Errol Morris
46. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, Director: Rupert Wyatt
47. TERRI, Director: Azazel Jacobs
48. J. EDGAR, Director: Clint Eastwood
49. JANE EYRE, Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
50. PINA, Director: Wim Wenders


UNRELEASED 2011
1. THIS IS NOT A FILM
Director: Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb

2. THE TURIN HORSE
Director: Béla Tarr

3. ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

4. THE KID WITH A BIKE
Director: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

5. THE LONELIEST PLANET
Director: Julia Loktev

6. MISS BALA
Director: Gerardo Naranjo

7. FOOTNOTE
Director: Joseph Cedar

8. KILL LIST
Director: Ben Wheatley

9. SLEEPING SICKNESS
Director: Ulrich Koehler

10. PLAY
Director: Rüben Ostlund

Rankings #11 - #20
11.POLICEMAN, Director: Nadav Lapid
12. THE COLOR WHEEL, Director: Alex Ross Perry
13. TWO YEARS AT SEA, Director: Ben Rivers
14. ALPS, Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
15. GOODBYE FIRST LOVE, Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
16. 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH, Director: Abel Ferrara
17. DREILEBAN, Director: Christoph Hochhäusler, Christian Petzold & Dominik Graf
18. THE RETURN, Director: Nathaniel Dorsky
19. THE DEEP BLUE SEA, Director: Terence Davies
20. WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Director: Andrea Arnold

Rankings #21 - #30
21. CORPO CELESTE, Director: Alice Rohrwacher
22. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST, Director: Joachim Trier
23. THE STUDENT, Director: Santiago Mitre
24. ATTENBERG, Director: Athena Rachel Tsangari
25. ELENA, Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev
26. YOU ARE NOT I, Director: Sara Driver
27. WORDS OF MERCURY, Director: Jerome Hiler
28. CRAZY HORSE, Director: Frederick Wiseman
29. FAUST, Director: Alexander Sokurov
30. SEEKING THE MONKEY KING, Director: Ken Jacobs

Rankings #31 - #40
31. DISORDER, Director: Huang Weikei
32. PSYCHOHYDROGRAPHY, Director: Peter Bo Rappmund
33. PATIENCE (AFTER SEBALD), Director: Grant Gee
34. GREEN, Director: Sophia Takal
35. WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN, Director: Nicholas Ray
36. KILLER JOE, Director: William Friedkin
37. DAMSELS IN DISTRESS, Director: Whit Stillman
38. SLOW ACTION, Director: Ben Rivers
39. BONSAI, Director: Cristian Jimenez
40. MICHAEL, Director: Markus Schleinzer

Rankings #41 - #50
41. A SIMPLE LIFE, Director: Ann Hui
42. TAKE THIS WALTZ, Director: Sarah Polley
43. HORS SATAN, Director: Bruno Dumont
44. DARK HORSE, Director: Todd Solondz
45. CURLING, Director: Denis Côté
46. ALMAYER’S FOLLY, Director: Chantal Akerman
47. 20 CIGARETTES, Director: James Benning
48. POLISSE, Director: Maïwenn
49. WITHOUT, Director: Mark Jackson
50. THE INNKEEPERS, Director: Ti West


Film Society of Lincoln Center
Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, theFilm Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, currently planning its 50th edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award—now named “The Chaplin Award”—to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. The Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational programs and specialty film releases at its Walter Reade Theater and the new state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.
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ITALIANO
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Re: Top Ten Lists

Post by ITALIANO »

Seems like Bridesmaids is a masterpiece. Too bad - I had carefully avoided it when it opened in Italy, and now I'll have to find it...
Sabin
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Top Ten Lists

Post by Sabin »

I don't see that we've done this one this year, but here it is from LS and OG. Pleased to see A Separation and Beginners on both their lists, as well as films topping their respective lists that both of disagree on.


Owen Gleiberman
1. The Tree of Life
2. The Descendants
3. Bridesmaids
4. A Separation
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. Beginners
7. Rampart
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love
9. The Trip
10. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Worst
1. I Melt with You
2. Battle: Los Angeles
3. Carnage
4. Another Earth
5. Bad Teacher

Lisa Schwarzbaum
1. Melancholia
2. Bridesmaids
3. The Artist
4. Hugo
5. A Separation
6. The Descendants
7. Pina
8. Moneyball
9. The Interrupters
10. Beginners
Worst
1. I Don’t Know How She Does It
2. Sucker Punch
3. Jack and Jill
4. Larry Crowne
5. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, pt 1
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