2008 BEST MOVIES
The Reader
Sex & the City
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
Happy-Go-Lucky
Elegy
Vicki Christina Barcelona
Roman de Gere
Australia
Twilight - the first 35 minutes
In Bruges
Definitely Maybe
Stepbrothers
The Last Mistress
Ghost Town
Rachel Getting Married
2007 BEST MOVIES
Juno
Lust, Caution
Lars and the Real Girl
La Vie en Rose
Knocked Up
Broken English
Waitress
Black Book
Zodiac
The Namesake
Blades of Glory
The Page Turner
Grindhouse
Eagle vs. Shark
Live Free or Die Hard
Ratatouille
Once
Superbad
Rocket Science
The King of Kong
Across the Universe
The King of California
3:10 To Yuma
Control
Dan in Real Life
2006 BEST MOVIES
The Dead Girl
Inland Empire
The Painted Veil
The Lives of Others
Black Snake Moan
Sherrybaby
Half Nelson
Nacho Libre
Talladega Nights
Mutual Appreciation
The Queen
Joyeux Noel
The Pink Panther
Imagine Me & You
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Friends With Money
Mission Impossible 3
Jackass: Number Two
Babel
Marie Antoinette
Borat
Shut Up & Sing
Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny
Notes on a Scandal
Hollywoodland
And some good video picks:
LE MAGNIFIQUE - Austin Powers took more than one cue from this splashy, dizzy spy spoof that's as stylish as it is silly (a spy gets wounded in his fallopian tube). Jaqueline Bissett and Jean Paul Belmondo careen through the tropical proceedings with total panache.
NINE LIVES - This collection of short movies (each story shot all in one take) about the lives of nine Los Angeles women is hit or miss, but it still adds up to something meaningful in the end. Robin Wright Penn and Dakota Fanning are standouts.
And if you're feeling documentary-ish, have an Albert and David Maysles film festival. GIMME SHELTER is a bittersweet unfurling of one of the most profound moments in the history of one of the most profound rock bands of our era. And GREY GARDENS is a mother-daughter story that's bewitching and funny-sad to the core.
BEST OF 2005
Wedding Crashers (Steve made me add this)
Look at Me
Fever Pitch
Kung Fu Hustle
A Lot Like Love
Palindromes
Bride & Prejudice
Mysterious Skin
My Summer of Love
Heights
Lords of Dogtown
Me And You And Everyone We Know
Happy Endings
BEST OF 2004
Kill Bill vol.2
Triplets of Belleville
Goodbye Lenin!
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Woodsman
Closer
Million Dollar Baby
Anchorman
Mean Girls
The Mother
Dodgeball
Napolean Dynamite
Maria Full of Grace
Before Sunset
Stander
Mean Creek
Hero
Kinsey
BEST OF 2003
Spellbound
Lost In Translation
Swimming Pool
Raising Victor Vargas
Thirteen
Better Luck Tomorrow
Chaos
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Winged Migration
Blue Car
Bend It Like Beckham
L'Auberge Espagnole
BEST OF 2002
Far From Heaven
Y Tu Mama Tambien
The Cat's Meow
Hysterical Blindness
Bowling for Columbine
Adaptation
Orange County
Spirited Away
Monsoon Wedding
Me Without You
The Hours
About A Boy
CQ
About Schmidt
Blue Crush
24 Hour Party People
Mostly Martha
Frida
The Road To Perdition
Talk to Her
The Guys
13 Conversations About One Thing
BEST OF 2001
Amelie
Ali
Iris
Panic
Together
Donnie Darko
Mullholland Drive
Sexy Beast
The Claim
Gossford Park
Amores Perros
The Widow of St. Pierre
Riding In Cars With Boys
Monster's Ball
Moulin Rouge
Last Resort
Bread and Roses
Memento
Invisible Circus
The Pledge
The Man Who Wasn't There
Elling
BEST OF 2000
Charlie's Angels
Janice Beard 45wpm
Billy Elliot
Wonder Boys
Bring It On
Chicken Run
Wonderland
Erin Brockovich
Love & Basketball
Malena
Crouching Tiger
Girl On the Bridge
The Hurricane
Committed
The Cell
Gladiator
BEST OF 1999
Superstar
Run Lola Run
End of the Affair
Holy Smoke!
Ride With the Devil
Magnolia
Mansfield Park
Splendor
The Matrix
Go
Being John Malkovich
Man on the Moon
Thomas Crown Affair
The Insider
Toy Story 2
Talented Mr. Ripley