Paolillo: Year in Review

A is for: Aja, Alexandre. His High Tension didn’t perform too well, and the story itself had some flaws. But the directing was quite stunning and remarkable. Let’s hope his 2006 titles (The Hills Have Eyes and The Waiting
) live up to the expectations…

B is for: Burton, Tim. In a few months he smashed the box office twice with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
and The Corpse Bride. All while still being faithful to his own vision…

C is for: Carpenter, John. With remakes of The Fog and Assault on Precinct 13 falling flat and The Thing miniseries in production, we want back, behind the camera, the author of Halloween, They Live and In the Mouth of Madness. Give us back one of the most influential and underestimated American filmmakers.

D is for: Downey Jr., Robert. After years of scandals and bad movies, he’s finally back on track! In 2005, he’s been working with directors such as George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck), Steven Shainberg (Fur), Richard Linklater (A Scanner Darkly), Curtis Hanson (Lucky You
) and David Fincher (Zodiac). Not bad!

A stellar year in 05’ and more to come in 2006.

E is for: “Everything. Everyone. Everywhere. Ends.” 2005 marked the final season of Six Feet Under, simply one of the most beautiful series ever aired on the small screen.

F is for: Foreign language. While the Academy struggles with obscure rules (Cache and Private), in 2005 foreign films proved to be stronger than ever. Perhaps, US companies should stop remaking foreign films and start releasing the originals in a decent way (Nine Queens vs Criminal, Infernal Affairs vs The Departed.)

G is for: Gay Globes. Philip Seymour Hoffmann nominated for a gay writer, Heath Ledger nominated for a gay cowboy, Cillian Murphy nominated for a transvestite, Felicity Huffman nominated for a male-to-female transsexual and Johnny Depp dressed as Faye Dunaway nominated for Willy Wonka. The Golden Globes this year are actually quite pink…

H is for: Haggis, Paul. He pulled an Academy Award for the intense screenplay of Million Dollar Baby and debuted as a director with the relentless Crash, hands down one of the best films of the year. Now, that is a real discovery…

I is for: Independents. In 2005, while big Hollywood movies overall struggled, tons of (semi) Independent movies ruled. And it’s the 1st year in Globes history that all 5 pictures nominated for best drama were independently financed for a budget under $30m.

J is for: Jesus is Magic
, but the real wonder is Sarah Silverman, a true force of nature. Sassy, harsh and politically incorrect, she finally made it into the spotlight.

K is for: King Kong
. Whether you love it or not, 2005 will also be remembered for the big comeback of the most human beast in the history of cinema…

L is for: Ledger, Heath. Who could predict that the star of the tacky A Knight’s Tale would have become a fine actor? Ignoring Casanova , he was even quite good in Brothers Grimm
, and in Brokeback stole the scene from arthouse fave Gyllenhall. Plus, Candy has yet to be released!

M is for: Murphy, Cillian. He dominated the summer box office with his evil characters in Batman Begins and Red Eye , and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his innocent and naïve transvestite in Breakfast on Pluto. That’s being versatile!

Next up for the young actor is Boyle’s Sunshine.

N is for: New York. Thanks to the brand new studios at the Brooklyn Navy and the long awaited film break introduced by the New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Pictures and TV development, the city of King Kong and Spiderman is once again a huge movie set, attracting more and more productions to town.

O is for: Out of sight. Who did we miss more in 2005? My very personal list includes a new film from Jane Campion, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter Weir, Todd Haynes, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Fincher and Coppola (both Sofia and Francis), but luckily some of them will have films ready for 2006!

P is for: Political movies. After years of silence, 2005 saw the comeback of politics in American movies. Good Night and Good Luck,
Syriana, Lord of War and Munich are great examples of a cinema who dares take a stand and make some controversial statements. Finally.

Q is for: Quote of the year: “You poop into my butt hole and I poop into your butt hole… back and forth… forever” (Me and You and Everyone We Know ). Its symbol ))<<>>(( is printed on t-shirts. The chat sequence is already cult. Easily the most creepiest and hilarious line of 2005.

R is for: Raspberry Awards. While the official nominations have yet to be cast, here are my Razzies for 2005. Worst film: Fantastic 4. Actor: Jake Gyllenhall (the only flaw in Brokeback Mountain
). Actress: Jessica Alba (Fantastic 4
and Into the Blue
). Director: ex-aequo Lasse Hallstrom (An Unfinished Life
) and (sigh) Roman Polanski (e
Oliver Twist).

S is for: Spielberg, Steven. While directors take years to start a small production, the Spielberg Enterprise, in less than six months, wrapped and released a 132M$ budget sci-fi colossus about aliens invading Earth, and a controversial historical, yet intimate movie about the weight of revenge. Chapeau.

T is for: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. It didn’t get the Palm d’Or but was the talk of the Festival de Cannes 2005, where it won for best actor (Tommy Lee Jones, also director) and best screenplay (Guillermo Arriaga, author of Inarritu’s Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and the upcoming Babel).

Tommy Lee Jones’ debut gets a February 2006 wide release.

U is for: Umebayashi, Shigeru. The soundtrack of 2046, if possible, is even more powerful and haunting than the score of In the Mood for Love.

V is for: Vader, Darth. I’m not a fan of Star Wars, but how to deny that 2005 was also the year where it all ended (or began?). In Episode III Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the Dark Side of the Force, and by a cool mask. The rest is history…

W is for: Weinstein Company. In a few months, the two brothers sold Miramax to Disney and have already released 3 titles with their brand new company. It’s too soon to judge whether they’re going in the right direction, but we have to give them credit for their entrepreneurial attitude and their incredible ambition.

X is for: X-rated and extra footage. While theatrical releases aim for an R and a less-than-3-hour length (giant ape apart) in order to screen in multiplex and do more shows as possible, DVD, amongst ultimate collections and never-seen-before footage, is becoming a total different movie experience. Yet is this trend going overboard?

Y is for: Why? Why Memoirs of a Geisha , set in Japan, features Chinese actresses speaking English? Why Jonze and Fincher have such a hard time in getting a greenlight, and Michael Bay and Kevin Smith don’t? Why horror films are always about annoying teenagers getting lost? And why should they live?

Z is for: Ziyi Zhang. The beautiful Chinese actress seduced us twice this year, with 2046 and Memoirs of a Geisha. And she’s in the running for a Golden Globe.

Top Ten films seen this year:

01) Crash
02) Paradise Now
03) Hidden
04) Manderlay
05) Buongiorno, Notte (thou technically it’s 2003)
06) 3-Iron (thou technically it’s 2004)
07) Me and You and Everyone we Know
08) Syriana

09) Brokeback Mountain
10) Far Side of the Moon (thou technically it’s 2003)