A is for: Animals. Those furry friends whose habitat we are slowly destroying and which we place between two sesame-seed buns, are no longer being used as silly animated characters – they are the fascinating subject matters of documentaries (March of the Penguins) and intelligent movies for children (Duma).
B is for: Blogs. Becoming an influential source where cinephiles get their movie info – this medium as become an influential media source with some pretty sharp authors out there on both the West & East coasts with a vast supply connected to IndieWIRE’s community.
C is for: Clooney. The actor. The filmmaker. The producer. The visionaire. His Good Night. And, Good Luck. and his role in Syriana demonstrated that sometimes magazine cover celebrities can actually make a statement via studio and independent projects. Way to go Section 8!
D is for: Dirty Jokes. 9/11 and the Holocaust aren’t the sensitive issues they once were with the release of The Artisocrats and Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic. The folks at the MPAA cringed and moviegoers were left wanting more.
05 gave us a double dose of Sarah – yum yum.
E is for: Enron. Magnolia pictures’ Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
was not only a solid documentary – but it was an entertaining one. Proof the documentary films are increasingly worth the trip to the theatre instead of Wallmart.
F is for: Farmiga & Forty Shades of Blue. Two indie films which were overlooked by some, but not by all. Vera Farmiga stars in Debra Granik’s Down to the Bone and Ira Sachs film Forty Shades of Blue is a must see, in part thanks to the performance by Dina Korzun.
Actress Dina Korzun shined in 40 Shades.
G is for: Green. Not the color of money – but the overly used, not-yet-perfected green screen technology which was prevalent in just about all major studio production using SFX. While it cuts down in costs, and certainly took an interesting direction in (Sin City), there are some weaker moments found in highly anticipated films such as SW3:Revenge of the Sith
and King Kong.
H is for: Hoffman & Huffman. Kudos go to key performances from Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) in roles which most publicists would consider career suicide, but lucky art-house crowds will bath in.
I is for: Italians. The film world was blessed by the likes of Fellini, Antonioni and Monica Bellucci. IONCINEMA.com was blessed by this year by the likes of Ambrosino, Pagliuca and Paolillo. Make that 4 with Aussie correspondent Samuel Hilton who likes his pasta. Looking forward 2006 with you guys!
J is for: July. Not the month, but for Sundance sweetheart Miranda July whose Me and You and Everyone We Know was a better summer treat than a week’s supply of Gelato.
K is for: Katrina. (kidding) Kar Wai. Finally, we got to see Wong Kar Wai’s 2046, but the director that will be remembered in 05 is ….see “L” below.
L is for: Lee. Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain has garnered plenty of awards – but he should start reciting his acceptance speech for Oscar night.
M is for: Malick. The very special director gives us a X-mas present this year with The New World. Avoid watching this on your Ipod or some bootleg copy of it on your DVD player.
N is for: New alliances. Just like in the media world, the entertainment industry is seeing more consolidation – MGM and DreamWorks got swallowed up. No more Fine Line. No more United Artists. No more Newmarket.
O is for: Oldboy. Past the niche point, Asian cinema (South Korea at the forefront) is finding more and more audiences thanks to the likes of Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) & Kim Ki-Duk.
If you see this man – RUN!
P is for: Politics. While documentary filmmakers were quick to question politics of the government it appears as if feature films headed by studios are also getting into the game as well. Prez. Bush, do you know where the exit doors are located?
Q is for: Quebec. The French province had another stellar year at the box-office and the rest of Canada still has no clue on how to make a movie profitable.
R is for: Remakes. The year began with Assault on Precinct 13 and ended with Fun With Dick and Jane. More than ever (with the exception of The Beat That My Heart Skipped and perhaps Pride & Prejudice), producers and studios continue to rely on this non-bankable trend which isn’t helping movie theatre patrons.
S is for: SPC. Sony Pictures Classics gave us a stellar year: – everything from Capote, Saraband, 2046, Junebug, Cache (Hidden) and an awesome reprint of Antonioni’s The Passenger. Pedro Almodóvar gets the royal treatment in 06.
T is for: Trailers. Internet is full of them and unfortunately, movies studios aren’t creative enough with them. Stop the practice of giving away entire plot points and the only laughs before audiences actually pay ten-plus bucks to see the movie.
U is for: Users. Thanks to the thousands who have supported the site through the years. Hopefully we can keep on getting better.
V is for: Video Games made into films. Simply put: these films are horrible. Plea to studios: re-invent the genre! Cross your fingers Halo fans.
W is for: Weinstein. Like them or hate them. The bros. have disbanded with Mickey Mouse and have instantly created their own mecca. Unfortunately, while they can pick out some interesting worthwhile films, they also haven’t let go of their old ways. Case example: renaming movies for North American audiences. The Promise became Master of the Crimson Armor. Yeesh.
X is for: X-rated. The MPAA and their backwards system of rating films gave Atom Egoyan’s Where the Truth Lies the stamp of non-approval. While this film got stunted at the box-office, countless other films seem to infiltrate the psyche of America. More killing and more Daisy Duke on the menu.
Y is for: Y-Chromosome. This year we saw top-notch performances – names like Fiennes, Hoffman, Howard, Ledger, Strathairn, Mortensen and forgotten names like Eric Bana, Bill Murray, Tom Wilkinson.
Z is for: Zandt. Like Justin mentioned, instead of make-believe, see the real thing. Margaret Brown’s Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt is a documentary that does just that.
Look for my TOP 10 films of the year – exclusively in February of 2006.
