2005 (Ist quarter)

Please use this thread to tell us about the 2005 releases you have seen so far. Feel free to make up your own rules and regulations.

*I'm only including official theatrical films (released between January 1st and March 31st).

*Undistributed/classic films seen theatrically and/or on video are omitted. Eligible 2005 direct-to-DVD releases are also not included.

*I consider 21 out of 28 films below to be average or above (films with the grade of C+ or better qualify).


In alphabetical order:

[4 NEW ADDITIONS after 3rd Quarter]

3rd Q list
_____________________

About Baghdad - Sinan Antoon & Adam Shapiro / U.S.

Grade: B

Assault on Precinct 13 - Jean-François Richet / U.S.

Grade: B-

Bad Guy (Nabbeun Namja) - Kim Ki-duk / S.Korea

Grade: B-

The Best of Youth (La Meglio Gioventù) - Marco Tullio Giordana / Italy

Grade: C+

Bride & Prejudice - Gurinder Chadha / U.K.

Grade: C+

Constantine - Francis Lawrence / U.S.

Grade: B

Dear Frankie - Shona Auerbach / U.K.

Grade: C+

Don't Move (Non Ti Muovere) - Sergio Castellitto / Italy

Grade: B+

Dot the I - Matthew Parkhill / U.K.-Spain

Grade: D

Downfall (Der Untergang) - Oliver Hirschbiegel / Germany

Grade: C

Fear X - Nicolas Winding Refn / Denmark

Grade: C+

Head-On (Gegen die Wand) - Fatih Akin / Germany-Turkey

Grade: B+

Hostage - Florent Emilio Siri / U.S.

Grade: D

In My Country - John Boorman / U.K.

Grade C+

Intimate Stories (Historias Mínimas) - Carlos Sorin / Argentina

Grade: B

The Jacket - John Maybury / U.S.-U.K.

Grade: C+

Machuca - Andrés Wood / Chile

Grade: B+

Millions - Danny Boyle / U.K.

Grade: C+

My Mother's Smile
(L'Ora di Religione: Il Sorriso di mia Madre)
- Marco Bellocchio / Italy

Grade: A-

Nobody Knows (Dare mo shiranai) - Hirokazu Koreeda / Japan

Grade: C-

Off the Map - Campbell Scott / U.S.

Grade: C

Oldboy - Chan-wook Park / S.Korea

Grade: C

The Ring Two - Hideo Nakata / U.S.

Grade: C

Schizo (Shiza) - Guka Omarova / Kazakhstan

Grade: B+

Sexual Dependency (Dependencia Sexual) - Rodrigo Bellott / Bolivia

Grade: C+

Steamboy - Katsuhiro Ôtomo / Japan

Grade: B

10 on Ten - Abbas Kiarostami / Iran

Grade: B

Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand) - Bahman Ghobadi / Iran-Iraq

Grade: B+

_________________________

[7 NEW ADDITIONS after 2nd Quarter]

2nd Q list
_________________________

I'll resist the urge to mention films that have no US distributor, but the best new film I've seen this year, Ingmar Bergman's Saraband, is scheduled to be released in June. I also recommend the Japanese film Nobody Knows, the Uruguayan Whisky, and the Iranian Turtles Can Fly. (Click on the pic below "Miami Intl Reviews" on the home page to read my comments). I liked Assault in Precinct 13 very much, my favorite action flick in quite a while. I'd rather watch Assault than Oldboy but most critics would disagree with me. Talking about critics, below you'll find the critical consensus according to metacritic.com. If a 2005 film you like is not listed, assume its score is below 71. Or go to the website and tell me off for being a poor researcher.

Best of Youth-88
Nobody Knows-88
Turtles Can Fly-85
Downfall-82
Sunset Story-80
Up and Down-79
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill-79
Look at Me-78
Head On-78
Intimate Stories-76
Millions-75
My Mother's Smile-75
Machuca-74
Oldboy-73
Nomi Song-72
Watermarks-72
Sin City-71
Gunner Palace-71
Off the Map-71

Saraband will be showing in SF International Film Festival!
;)

Is it necessary to watch the prequel to better appreciate the movie?

You must be referring to Scenes from a Marriage. Johan and Marianne, the couple from that film, appear in Saraband but the central characters are Henrik, Johan's son from his first marriage, and Henrik's daughter Karin. I wouldn't call Scenes a "prequel" and it's not necessary to watch it to appreciate Saraband. But of course it would enhance your experience to do so. Hey, it's BERGMAN! If you love film you should watch them all at least once.
By the way, as I wrote on my Miami Film Festival thread, the film opens commercially on July 8th, not June as I stated above.

Looking forward to seeing The Ballad of Jack and Rose, which opens tomorrow...which is technically 2nd quarter of 2005...but who's keeping track anyway. This is the third film from Rebecca Miller, I liked Personal Velocity, her last effort, and this one has Daniel Day-Lewis in it (her real-life husband), who's become a tour-de-force actor. Rebecca Miller is the daughter of famed playwrite Arthur Miller, for those who didn't know.

Also need to see Nobody Knows, and of course Sin City. And Todd Solenz Palindromes is opening here in May. Probably controversial, probably interesting, probably a very short run on the big screen. So be sure to catch it.

True, 1st quarter ends today, so I was hoping to find out what others watched in it.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose certainly looks interesting. I also liked Personal Velocity quite a bit. There are a few indie films out right now like Off the Map, Imaginary Heroes, the one with Joan Allen, but they just don't seem that appealing. If someone has seen them, please feel free to comment.

Palindromes has already garnered some scathing remarks in Film Comment. But I'm sure a few will come to its defense. All of your comments are probably on the mark.

I watched Up and Down today, only the second film directed by Jan Hrebejk to get distributed in the US and his first set in the present. I'm a fan of his Divided We Fall so I had high expectations. Again Hrebejk mixes humanist drama and dark comedy to produce a memorable experience for the viewer. The audience seemed quite pleased. Issues that arise include Prague becoming multi-cultural, the ways immigrants and natives exploit each other, racism, difficulties adapting to a capitalist economy, etc.

I've slacked in the theaters. Most films I've seen this year were techincally released last year, but I did catch Nobody Knows and Sin City which were both excellent, and Be Cool which was anything but.

Yeah, it seems like everyone has seen Nobody Knows except me and from the look of things it's getting good reviews. That means I'll probably end up being the one who'll focus on its flaws - if any.