I'd be sort of sad if I had to start my annual year-end film detrius thread here.

You could squeeze Tropicana from those melons.

A not-at-all-divisive Scorsese bonbon?

also, re History of Violence and back to Safe as Film of the '90s, fuck a VV poll.

You do know this is basically sports to me, not aesthetics.

You're arguing that this is the sort of weak year an Inland Empire could manage to sneak up to the #1 slot. It's also the same year a movie with a "good but insubstantial" bloc could translate to said film showing up on a whole lot of lists.

I haven't seen a whole lot of IE reviews, but surely there'll be a whole lot more when it starts its big-city theater runs (next week?). The Times (I think Dargis) was rhapsodic over it.

Jump on Chereau's Gabrielle when it hits DVD shortly.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Feature: American Gun, The Dead Girl, Half Nelson, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth

First Feature: Day Night Day Night, Man Push Cart, The Motel, Sweet Land, Wristcutters: A Love Story

John Cassavates Award - Feature (Under $500,000): Chalk, Four Eyed Monsters, Old Joy, Quinceanera, Twelve and Holding

Director: Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine, Ryan Fleck - Half Nelson, Karen Moncrieff - The Dead Girl, Steven Soderbergh - Bubble

Actor: Aaron Eckhart - Thank You for Smoking, Ryan Golsing - Half Nelson, Edward Norton - The Painted Veil, Ahmad Razvi - Man Push Cart, Forest Whitaker - American Gun

Actress: Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson, Catharine O'Hara - For Your Consideration, Elisabeth Reaser - Sweet Land, Michelle Williams - Land of Plenty, Robin Wright Penn - Sorry, Haters

Screenplay: The Illusionist, Friends with Money, The Painted Veil, Thank You for Smoking, Sorry Haters

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine, Raymond J. Barry - Steel City, Daniel Craig - Infamous, Paul Dano - Little Miss Sunshine, Channing Tatum - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Supporting Actress: Melonie Diaz - Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Marcia Gay Harden - American Gun, Mary Beth Hurt - The Dead Girl, Frances McDormand - Friends with Money, Amber Tamblyn - Stephanie Daley

First Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine, Half Nelson, Wristcutters: A Love Story, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Conversations with Other Women

Cinematography: Four Eyed Monsters, Brothers of the Head, Pan's Labyrinth, Wild Tigers I Have Known, Man Push Cart

Foreign Film: 12:08 East of Bucharest, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Chronicle of an Escape, Days of Glory, The Lives of Others

Documentary: A Lion in the House, My Country My Country, The Road to Guantanamo, The Trials of Daryl Hunt, You're Gonna Miss Me

Wild Tigers I Have Known is dreary.

Will they be taking ads out for Catherine O'Hara?

http://www.thereeler.com/the_blog/critics_poll_revived_but_not_at_voice.php

Mr. Coy, if you don't email me where you are writing you are never getting that Airport 1975 tie-in book.

"when movie stars play common, working-class people, they ennoble and humanize average American life."

(DSN, I don't disagree with that AW statement at all, when the perfs are good)

Anyway, I'm sympathetic to Bobby (unseen) given the similarity of sneers given to Kramer /Lumet /Ritt lib-dramas of the past, by folx who marvel over the kinetic emptiness of Kill Bill etc.

People don't still sneer at that stuff today?

The Independent Spirit Awards appear to define all that is wrong with what passes for 'indie' now. Little Miss Sunshine? Really?

I meant that they still do, yeah (esp those who read Ms. 45 as the apotheosis of feminist filmmaking).

The NY Observer ran a story that "insiders" proclaim Dreamgirls is the Oscar frontrunner. Geez, the second-worst outcome to awarding Paul Haggis -- reverting to the big-screen Tonys.

Don't argue with it.

John Waters
1. UNITED 93 (Paul Greengrass)
2. JACKASS NUMBER TWO (Jeff Tramaine)
3. THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (Kevin Macdonald)
4. SHORTBUS (John Cameron Mitchell)
5. THE DEPARTED (Martin Scorsese)
6. SHERRYBABY (Laurie Collyer)
7. INSIDE MAN (Spike Lee)
8. SLEEPING DOGS LIE (Bobcat Goldthwait)
9. HAMILTON (Matthew Porterfield)
10. MARIE ANTOINETTE (Sofia Coppola)

Amy Taubin
1. ARMY OF SHADOWS (Jean-Pierre Melville)
2. SOUTHLAND TALES (Richard Kelly)
3. INLAND EMPIRE (David Lynch)
4. WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS (Spike Lee)
5. SHOOT THE MESSENGER (Ngozi Onwurah)
6. OLD JOY (Kelly Reichardt)
7. THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho)
8. IDEAS OF ORDER IN CINQUE TERRE (Ken Kobland; 2005) and LIBERTE ET
PATRIE (Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Mieville; 2002)
9. MUTUAL RECOGNITION [sic] (Andrew Bujalski)
10. FAST FOOD NATION (Richard Linklater)

James Quandt
1. COLOSSAL YOUTH (Pedro Costa)
2. SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
3. STILL LIFE (Jia Zhang-ke)
4. KODAK (Tacita Dean)
5. ARMY OF SHADOWS (Jean-Pierre Melville; 1968)
6. BAMAKO (Abderrahmane Sissako)
7. MAGIC MIRROR (Manoel de Oliveira)
8. I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE (Tsai Ming-liang)
9. WOMAN ON THE BEACH (Hong Sang-soo)
10. KRISTALL (Matthias Muller and Christoph Girardet)

Barbara London
1. TEKKON KINKREET (Michael Arias)
2. THE ROAD TO MOUNT WEATHER (Cliff Evans)
3. DIGITAL VIDEO EFFECT: "EDITIONS" (Seth Price)
4. 8 BIT (Marcin Ramocki and Justin Strawhand) [Shameless promotion:
This is receiving its second US screening at the Wexner Center on
Jan. 17 as part of a program I curated]
5. NO SNOW ON THE BROKEN BRIDGE (Yang Fudong)
7. STILL LIFE (Jia Zhang-ke)
8. THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP (Michel Gondry)
9. SHAN PIPE BAND LEARNS THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER (Bani Abidi)
10. REMEMBERING ARTHUR (Martin Lavut)

Jonathan Romney
1. CLIMATES (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
2. LES SIGNES (Eugene Green)
3. THE FAMILY FRIEND (Paolo Sorrentino)
4. SEHNSUCHT (Valeska Grisebach)
5. THE DEPARTED (Martin Scorsese)
6. MARIE ANTOINETTE (Sofia Coppola)
7. PAN'S LABYRINTH (Guillermo del Toro)
8. IT'S WINTER (Rafi Pitts)
9. GARDENS IN AUTUMN (Otar Iosseliani)
10. COLOSSAL YOUTH (Pedro Costa)

Close, but not quite. I called it an antithesis to feminist filmmaking.

I didn't care for Climates at all, tho it was kinda crazy.

Waters' #1 and 2 would make a felicitous doublebill. His list is the only one made up entirely of films that were commercially exhibited (at least in NY) in '06.

It's kind of like listing a bunch of [insert director here, probably someone with a Criterion box set] because (the editorial) you saw them for the first time this year.

It also helps that it looks like the worst year ever (again) for medium-to-widely released new films.

http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/full-court-press-for-half-nelson/

At the Gothams, there are just six, count ‘em, six, competitive awards. And by the time the evening had finally wound down, “Half Nelson” won half of them, including Best Feature, Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor...

Shareeka Epps, one of the young actors in “Half Nelson,” won the actor award, an honor she shared with Rinko Kikuchi for her role as a deaf Japanese teenager in “Babel.”

Ms. Kikuchi gave her own speech — through tears and in English. It included shout-outs to everyone connected to the production and of course, Mom and Dad. “It has been an incredible journey,” she said. “With this award I am very encouraged and ready for more.”

motion picture, drama
half nelson
the departed
flags of our fathers
the queen
the last king of scotland
babel
little children

motion picture, comedy or musical
little miss sunshine
thank you for smoking
the devil wears prada
stranger than fiction
venus
dreamgirls

motion picture, foreign language film
the lives of others
volver
changing times
water
syrian bride
apocalypto

actress in a motion picture, drama
penelope cruz, volver
helen mirren, the queen
judy dench, notes on a scandal
gretchen mol, the notorious bettie page
maggie gyllenhaal, sherrybaby

actor in a motion picture, drama
derek luke, catch a fire
joshua jackson, aurora borealis
forrest whitaker, the last king of scotland
ryan gosling, half nelson
patrick wilson, little children
leonardo dicaprio, blood diamond

actress in a motion picture, comedy or musical
julie walters, driving lessons
annette bening, running with scissors
meryl streep, the devil wears prada
toni collette, little miss sunshine
jodie whitaker, venus
beyoncé knowles, dreamgirls

actor in a motion picture, comedy or musical
joseph cross, running with scissors
aaron eckhart, thank you for smoking
sasha baron cohen, borat
peter o’toole, venus
will Ferrell, stranger than fiction

actress in a supporting role
abigail breslin, little miss sunshine
lily tomlin, prairie home companion
blythe danner, the last kiss
rinko kikuchi, babel
cate blanchett, notes on a scandal
jennifer hudson, dreamgirls

actor in a supporting role
donald sutherland, aurora borealis
adam beach, flags of our fathers
leonardo dicaprio, the departed
alan arkin, little miss sunshine
brad pitt, babel
jack Nicholson, the departed

motion picture, animated or mixed media
cars
ice age 2: the meltdown
happy feet
flushed away
pan’s labyrinth

motion picture, documentary
deliver us from evil
jonestown: the life & death of peoples temple
an inconvenient truth
the us vs. john lennon
leonard cohen: i’m your man
the war tapes

director
martin scorsese, the departed
clint eastwood, flags of our fathers
pedro almodovar, volver
stephen frears, the queen
alejandro gonzález iñárritu, babel
bill condon, dreamgirls

screenplay, original
andré téchiné, laurent guyot, pascal bonitzer, changing times
elena soarez, luiz carlos barreto, andrucha waddington, house of sand
guillermo arriaga, alejandro gonzález iñárritu, babel
pedro almodovar, volver
peter morgan, the queen
paul Laverty, the wind that shakes the barley

screenplay, adapted
william broyles, jr.; paul haggis, flags of our fathers
jason reitman, thank you for smoking
william monahan, siu fai mak, felix chong, the departed
todd field, tom perrotta, little children
garrison keillor, a prairie home companion
bill condon, dreamgirls

original score
gabriel yared, the lives of others
clint eastwood, flags of our fathers
philip glass, notes on a scandal
nathan Johnson, brick
hans zimmer, da vinci code
gustavo santolalla, babel

original song
“upside down”, curious george
"you know my name”, casino royale
“never let go”, the guardian
“till the end of time”, little miss sunshine
“love you i do”, dreamgirls
“listen”, dreamgirls

cinematography
house of sand
flags of our fathers
the black dahlia
a good year
x-men: the last stand
the fountain
curse of the golden flower

visual effects
flags of our fathers
pirates of the caribbean: dead man’s chest
x-men: the last stand
v for vendetta
the fountain
pan’s labyrinth
the da vinci code

film editing
x-men: the last stand
flags of our fathers
babel
miami vice
dreamgirls

sound (editing & mixing)
x-men: the last stand
flags of our fathers
babel
dreamgirls
the da vinci code

art direction & production design
marie antoinette
flags of our fathers
dreamgirls
pan’s labyrinth
v for vendetta

costume design
marie antoinette
the black dahlia
of the golden flower
dreamgirls
the devil wears prada

This means that National Board of Review will be announced in a couple of days, right?

the DiCaprio supporting thing is the usu guy-starring-in-2-movies strategy, cept here he's not nom'd for Blood Pudding

I wish I knew. Not literally, but I wish I knew. I guess people whose credentials didn't stack up to the standards of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc.

'the departed' is so much better than 'infernal affairs'.

I presume you don't think DiCaprio and Damon flat-out suck, then?

IA's form fits its content, while Scorsese pouring 150 minutes of his operatic naturalism on a blatantly dreamworld plot, hinged on the depth of two actors who can only get deep through lightness (as in Catch Me If You Can and Stuck on You), inevitably leads to ludicrousness. The jarring rat joke at the end suggests that the whole thing should've been done as a black comedy a la (the truly great) Prizzi's Honor.

The Dropkick Murphys count as a corny musical interlude.

they quote Freud to get laid?

1) Applause (1929)
2) The Big Trail (1930)
3) Blazing Saddles (1974)
4) The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916-17)
5) Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
6) Drums of Winter (1988)
7) Early Abstractions #1-5,7,10 (1939-56)
8) Fargo (1996)
9) Flesh and the Devil (1927)
10) Groundhog Day (1993)
11) Halloween (1978)
12) In the Street (1948/52)
13) The Last Command (1928)
14) Notorious (1946)
15) Red Dust (1932)
16) Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1971-72)
17) Rocky (1976)
18) Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
19) Siege (1940)
20) St. Louis Blues (1929)
21) The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
22) Tess of the Storm Country (1914)
23) Think of Me First as a Person (1960-75)
24) A Time Out of War (1954)
25) Traffic in Souls (1913)

Does anyone have a running list of movies they've outrageously neglected to induct yet?

I'm sure Fargo is relieved that it will no longer languish in obscurity and neglect.

Owen Gleiberman's #1: 007.

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1572278_1_0_,00.html

Robert Wilonsky

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2006-12-21/film/film.html

Jim Ridley

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2006-12-21/film/film2.html

hehe, I don't remember The Reeler doing this last year -- The Top 10 of Top 10 Lists (Part 2 tomorrow):

with their scepter-swinging nominations of the same 20-25 titles to the year's hyperbole canon, Top 10 lists reward a backloaded release calendar that all but buries dozens of worthy films that preceded their selections earlier in the year (many of which, it should be added, the most influential list-fetishists have not even seen). That it all amounts to so much hogcalling makes it even worse: Choose an authentically singular classic like Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! and you're a contrarian; rub one out in the brimming gallon jug marked L'Enfant and maybe that first freelance gig will arrive before April next year.

http://www.thereeler.com/features/top_10_of_top_10_lists_2006_part_i.php

(I don't mind the Slant pair's rhapsodies over IE, cept for the distressing Bjork mention.)

Since Armond voted for Chris Evans for Best Actor for London, and Ed Gonzalez declared CE a hot piece of ass in his review (Cellular indicated so), I need to get my hands on him...it. Who were the most arousing men of the year? I'm currently sticking with terminally ill Melvil Poupaud in Time to Leave.

jessica biel is the title character. jason statham is also in it. there's lots of cocaine use in place of a plot.

HAWT

i sorta fancied walid afkir (majid's son in cache) (which otherwise didn't hold up very well at all the second time i saw it).

ew.

Or I'm a racist.

http://www.thereeler.com/features/the_top_10_of_top_10_lists_2006_part_ii.php

http://www.producersguild.org/pg/awards_a/

(Actually, it might be my second-favorite of the BP nominees, but I haven't seen Eastwood's to know if Ed G. is going off on a mad Eastwood-lovefest again.)

FILM

BABEL - Alejandro González Iñárritu/Jon Kilik/Steve Golin
THE DEPARTED - Brad Pitt/Brad Grey/Graham King
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Andrea Calderwood/Lisa Bryer/Charles Steel
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Albert Berger/David T Friendly/Ron Yerxa
THE QUEEN - Andy Harries/Christine Langan/Tracey Seaward

Outstanding British Film of the Year

CASINO ROYALE - Michael G Wilson/Barbara Broccoli/Martin Campbell/Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Andrea Calderwood/Lisa Bryer/Charles Steel/Kevin Macdonald/Peter Morgan/Jeremy Brock
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Scott Rudin/Robert Fox/Richard Eyre/Patrick Marber
THE QUEEN - Andy Harries/Christine Langan/Tracey Seaward/Stephen Frears/Peter Morgan
UNITED 93 - Tim Bevan/Lloyd Levin/Paul Greengrass

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film

ANDREA ARNOLD (Director) - Red Road
JULIAN GILBEY (Director) - Rollin' with the Nines
CHRISTINE LANGAN (Producer) - Pierrepoint
GARY TARN (Director) - Black Sun
PAUL ANDREW WILLIAMS (Director) - London to Brighton

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for Achievement in Direction

BABEL - Alejandro González Iñárritu
THE DEPARTED - Martin Scorsese
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris
THE QUEEN - Stephen Frears
UNITED 93 - Paul Greengrass

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

BABEL - Guillermo Arriaga
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Michael Arndt
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo del Toro
THE QUEEN - Peter Morgan
UNITED 93 - Paul Greengrass

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

CASINO ROYALE - Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis
THE DEPARTED - William Monahan
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Aline Brosh McKenna
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Peter Morgan/Jeremy Brock
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Patrick Marber

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

APOCALYPTO - Mel Gibson/Bruce Davey
BLACK BOOK (ZWARTBOEK) - Teun Hilte/San Fu Maltha/Jens Meurer/Paul Verhoeven
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Alfonso Cuarón/Alvaro Augustin/Guillermo del Toro
RANG DE BASANTI (PAINT IT YELLOW) - Ronnie Screwvala/Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
VOLVER - Agustín Almodóvar/Pedro Almodóvar

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

CARS - John Lasseter
FLUSHED AWAY - David Bowers/Sam Fell
HAPPY FEET - George Miller

ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE

DANIEL CRAIG - Casino Royale
LEONARDO DICAPRIO - The Departed
RICHARD GRIFFITHS - The History Boys
PETER O'TOOLE - Venus
FOREST WHITAKER - The Last King of Scotland

ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE

PENÉLOPE CRUZ - Volver
JUDI DENCH - Notes on a Scandal
HELEN MIRREN - The Queen
MERYL STREEP - The Devil Wears Prada
KATE WINSLET - Little Children

ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE

ALAN ARKIN - Little Miss Sunshine
JAMES MCAVOY - The Last King of Scotland
JACK NICHOLSON - The Departed
LESLIE PHILLIPS - Venus
MICHAEL SHEEN - The Queen

ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE

EMILY BLUNT - The Devil Wears Prada
ABIGAIL BRESLIN - Little Miss Sunshine
TONI COLLETTE - Little Miss Sunshine
FRANCES DE LA TOUR - The History Boys
JENNIFER HUDSON - Dreamgirls

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music

BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla
CASINO ROYALE - David Arnold
DREAMGIRLS - Henry Krieger
HAPPY FEET - John Powell
THE QUEEN - Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY

BABEL - Rodrigo Prieto
CASINO ROYALE - Phil Meheux
CHILDREN OF MEN - Emmanuel Lubezki
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo Navarro
UNITED 93 - Barry Ackroyd

EDITING

BABEL - Stephen Mirrione/Douglas Crise
CASINO ROYALE - Stuart Baird
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
THE QUEEN - Lucia Zucchetti
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas/Christopher Rouse/Richard Pearson

PRODUCTION DESIGN

CASINO ROYALE - Peter Lamont/Lee Sandales/Simon Wakefield
CHILDREN OF MEN - Jim Clay/Geoffrey Kirkland/Jennifer Williams
MARIE ANTOINETTE - K K Barrett/Véronique Melery
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Eugenio Caballero/Pilar Revuelta
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Rick Heinrichs/Cheryl A Carasik

COSTUME DESIGN

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Patricia Field
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Milena Canonero
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Lala Huete
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Penny Rose
THE QUEEN - Consolata Boyle

SOUND

BABEL - José García/Jon Taylor/Chris Minkler/Martín Hernández
CASINO ROYALE - Chris Munro/Eddy Joseph/Mike Prestwood Smith/Martin Cantwell/Mark Taylor
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Martín Hernández/Jamie Bashkt/Miguel Polo
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Christopher Boyes/George Watters II/ Paul Massey/Lee Orloff
UNITED 93 - Chris Munro/Mike Prestwood Smith/Douglas Cooper/Oliver Tarney/Eddy Joseph

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

CASINO ROYALE - Steve Begg/Chris Corbould/John Paul Docherty/Ditch Doy
CHILDREN OF MEN - Frazer Churchill/Tim Webber/Michael Eames/Paul Corbould
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Edward Irastorza/Everett Burrell/David Marti/Montse Ribe
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - John Knoll/Hal Hickel/Charles Gibson/Allen Hall
SUPERMAN RETURNS - Mark Stetson/Neil Corbould/Richard Hoover/Jon Thum

MAKE UP & HAIR

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Nicki Ledermann/Angel De Angelis
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Jean-Luc Russier/Desideria Corridoni
PAN'S LABYRINTH - José Quetglas/Blanca Sànchez
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Ve Neill/Martin Samuel
THE QUEEN - Daniel Phillips

SHORT ANIMATION FILM

DREAMS AND DESIRES - FAMILY TIES - Les Mills/Joanna Quinn
GUY 101 - Ian Gouldstone (to view, click here)
PETER AND THE WOLF - Hugh Welchman/Alan Dewhurst/Suzie Templeton

SHORT FILM

CARE - Rachel Bailey/Tracy Bass/Corinna Faith (to view, click here)
CUBS - Lisa Williams/Tom Harper (to view, click here)
DO NOT ERASE - Asitha Ameresekere
HIKIKOMORI - Karley Duffy/Paul Wright
KISSING, TICKLING AND BEING BORED - David Smith/Jim McRoberts

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD

EMILY BLUNT
EVA GREEN
NAOMIE HARRIS
CILLIAN MURPHY
BEN WHISHAW

(Emily Blunt woz robbed)

http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=2310

http://www.amctheatres.com/promos/showcase/

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/20/oscar-predictions-what-would-ernest-borgnine-do/