With Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and The Feast Of The Holy Innocents behind us, here beginneth... Movie Week!!! I've seen fewer films this year than any in almost a decade, but a nice clear schedule means a great home stretch!
First order of business... The MCN Critics Scoreboard is up! The annual Movie City News tally of critic Top Ten lists for the year, which will continue being updated well into January. (See the bottom of this post for links to previous editions.) I'm thrilled to see A SERIOUS MAN, UP, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, AN EDUCATION and (500) DAYS OF SUMMER in the top thirteen - all favourites of mine this year. Liked INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS as well. Interested to see if THE ROAD will climb now that it's in wide release.
That list in hand, it's time to figure out what's on local screens and freshen up my Videomatica queue. Playing on big screens in Vancouver right now (that I haven't seen) are...
FANTASTIC MR FOX
SHERLOCK HOLMES
AVATAR (Imax)
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS
INVICTUS
ME AND ORSON WELLES
UP IN THE AIR
PRECIOUS
A SINGLE MAN
BLIND SIDE
BROKEN EMBRACES
are all playing in town. And if you're using this post to plan your own viewing, here are other films you'll want to consider...
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
AN EDUCATION
THE ROAD
...all favourites of mine this year.
As for the home screen, OF TIME AND THE CITY is on top of my DVD player - yes!! Terrence Davies!
Topping the Videomatica queue are...
HURT LOCKER (bombs under Iraq)
DISTRICT 9 (aliens vs South Africa)
SUMMER HOURS
IN THE LOOP
BRIGHT STAR
35 SHOTS OF RUM (Claire Denis)
ANVIL! (the real Spinal Tap)
THE COVE
ADVENTURELAND
TWO LOVERS
BAD LIEUTENANT (Herzog)
topping my Videomatica queue (though Hurt Locker won't come in until Jan 12, Bright Star Jan 19, and Bad Lieutenant (Herzog) Feb 22. No sign of WHITE RIBBON (Haneke! - alas, I missed its theatrical run), CRAZY HEART, MESSENGER, LIVERPOOL or POLICE ADJECTIVE, but I'll keep watching.
And - Big Big Fun! - this being the end of the tenth year of movies since 1999, time to dig in on an end-of-the-movie-decade list! Delicious. I've got an idea for a combined list of all the critic picks of the past ten season, drawing on the Movie City News tabulations back to 2003, and similar tallies pulled together for the preceding years. In the meantime, here are links to those individual lists...
MCN
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Ron Reed
2002
2001
Alex Fung
2000
PS Alex Fung actually did critic compilations for 2001 and 2002, but the links are all dead. Lost in the ever-shifting cyber sands of the internet. And those lists are needed. So I'm going to launch a safari in search of Mr Fung, a cinematic list-making pioneer. I know he's out there somewhere. . . .
2 comments:
The White Ribbon hasn't had a theatrical run in Vancouver yet. It did play the VIFF, but it doesn't open in Canada (specifically, Toronto and Vancouver) until January 15. Hope that helps!
Yes, I believe I even had a ticket for White Ribbon but couldn't attend. January 15! Great news. Thanks, PTC.
Post a Comment