Yearly Consensus 2000 (Deadline Sep 9, 9pm PST)

[Spinal]

Submit your five favorite films and five favorite performances from this year and in a week I will give you a top ten in both categories. IMDb dates will be used.

The point system is as follows

1st Place-5 points
2nd Place-4 points
3rd Place-3.5 points
4th Place-3 points
5th Place-2.5 points

10.5 pts will be required to make either list.

There will be no restrictions on short films.

There will be no distinction made between male and female performances.
There will be no distinction made between lead and supporting performances.
Voice acting can be considered a performance.


I would like to be able to count votes as they come in. This means that if you change your vote, you need to make a new post. Please quote your old list and then add your new list so that I can easily track the changes. I will not be looking for edits. Once you make a post, consider your vote cast.

You may begin now.

BJO-SGeb7yE

[Melville]

1. In the Mood for Love
2. Requiem for a Dream
3. Outer Space
4. Werckmeister Harmonies
5. Vertical Ray of the Sun

A Time for Drunken Horses or George Washington could just as easily go in the number 5 spot. All among my favorite movies.

Other HMs: The Heart of the World, Chuck & Buck, Shadow of the Vampire, You Can Count on Me, Best in Show, Code Unknown

1. Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator
2. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
3. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
4. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
5. Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire

HMs: Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me; Jared Leto, Requiem for a Dream

[EyesWideOpen]

1. Battle Royale
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
3. In the Mood For Love
4. Cast Away
5. Almost Famous

[Spinal]

1. Dancer in the Dark
2. Yi Yi
3. Songs from the Second Floor
4. Together
5. The Heart of the World

1. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
2. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
3. Bjork, Dancer in the Dark
4. Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
5. Sergi López, With a Friend Like Harry

[Pop Trash]

1. Dancer in the Dark
2. Yi Yi
3. Songs from the Second Floor
4. Together
5. The Heart of the World


Scandinavia much? ;)

[Robby P]

In the Mood for Love
You Can Count on Me
Shadow of the Vampire
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Memento

Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
Ed Harris, Pollock
Christian Bale, American Psycho
Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me

I'd be disappointed if Ben Kingsley didn't win this.

[B-side]

1. Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky)
2. Sincerely, Joe P. Bear (Matt McCormick)
3. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)
4. American Psycho (Mary Harron)
5. Memento (Christopher Nolan)

1. Christian Bale - American Psycho
2. Björk - Dancer in the Dark
3. Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
4. Tony Leung - In the Mood for Love
5. Gael GarcÃ*a Bernal - Amores perros

[Pop Trash]

I'd be disappointed if Ben Kingsley didn't win this.

True, but his performances lately have been a little ho-hum. Plus, seeing him cavorting around with trophy wives (or whoever they are) at every awards show doesn't help much.

I'm on Team Ruffalo.

[Pop Trash]

1. You Can Count on Me
2. Together
3. George Washington
4. High Fidelity
5. Traffic

6. American Psycho
7. Requiem for a Dream
8. Memento
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
10. Battle Royale

Perfs:
1. Mark Ruffalo, YCCOM
2. Christian Bale, American Psycho
3. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
4. Laura Linney, YCCOM
5. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast

[Adam]

1. Together
2. Songs From the Second Floor
3. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. The Circle
5. You Can Count On Me

1. Christian Bale, American Psycho
2. Russell Crowe, Gladiator
3. Laura Linney, You Can Count On Me
4. Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
5. Tom Hanks, Cast Away

[Pop Trash]

2. Sincerely, Joe P. Bear (Matt McCormick)


Wow. Haven't thought about this in awhile. Did you ever see McCormick's recent feature film? It was dismissed for being typical indie/quirky but I'm still curious.

[Russ]

1. In the Mood for Love
2. Songs from the Second Floor
3. The Heart of the World
4. The Beaver Trilogy
5. Requiem for a Dream

1. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
2. Crispin Glover, The Beaver Trilogy
3. Sean Penn, The Beaver Trilogy
4. Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
5. Patrick Warburton, The Emperor's New Groove

[Weeping_Guitar]

1. Wonder Boys
2. In the Mood for Love
3. Almost Famous
4. Gladiator
5. High Fidelity


1. Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys
2. George Clooney, O' Brother, Where Art Thou?
3. Russell Crowe, Gladiator
4. Tom Hanks, Cast Away
5. Kate Hudson, Almost Famous

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Requiem for a Dream
2. Traffic
3. Sexy Beast
4. Memento
5. Dancer in the Dark

1. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
2. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
3. Vincent D'Onofrio, The Cell
4. Björk, Dancer in the Dark
5. William H. Macy, Panic

[elixir]

Great year.

1. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (Jonas Mekas)
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)
3. Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
4. The House of Mirth (Terence Davies)
5. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr)
----------
6. George Washington (David Gordon Green)
7. Code Unknown (Michael Haneke)
8. Hamlet (Michael Almereyda)
9. Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky)
10. The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin)

1. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
2. Maggie Cheung, In the Mood for Love
3. Gillian Anderson, The House of Mirth
4. Juliette Binoche, Code Unknown
5. Sabine Timoteo, L'argent, l'amour, l'argent

Most anticipated viewings: Eureka, O Fantasma, Come Undone, The Circle, In Vanda's Room, Vertical Ray of the Sun

[Watashi]

1. You Can Count On Me
2. In the Mood for Love
3. Dancer in the Dark
4. Yi Yi
5. The Emperor's New Groove

6. Almost Famous
7. Memento
8. Unbreakable
9. Requiem for a Dream
10. Battle Royale

1. Björk, Dancer in the Dark
2. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
3. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
4. Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count On Me
5. Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire

[dreamdead]

1. In the Mood for Love
2. Yi-Yi
3. Werckmeister Harmonies
4. Eureka
5. You Can Count on Me

HM: The House of Mirth, Emperor's New Groove, George Washington, Memento, Requiem for a Dream, Vertical Ray of the Sun, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

1. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
2. Maggie Cheung, In the Mood for Love
3. Wu Nien-jen, Yi-Yi
4. Mark Ruffalo, YCCOM
5. Laura Linney, YCCOM
6. Requiem for a Dream soundtrack

[Dukefrukem]

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2. Gladiator
3. Requiem for a Dream
4. Memento
5. Battle Royale

[Dead & Messed Up]

1. Unbreakable (2000)
2. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
3. Almost Famous (2000)
4. Uzumaki (2000)
5. High Fidelity (2000)

1. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
2. Vincent D'onofrio, The Cell
3. Christian Bale, American Psycho
4. Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
5. Fred Willard, Best in Show

[Boner M]

1. Outer Space
2. Yi Yi
3. Eureka
4. In the Mood For Love
5. In Vanda's Room

1. Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me
2. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
3. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
4. Maggie Cheung, In the Mood For Love
5. Danny Huston, Ivansxtc.

[Bosco B Thug]

1. The House of Mirth
2. Battle Royale
3. Dancer in the Dark
4. The Beaver Trilogy
5. You Can Count on Me

Almost: Sexy Beast, Werckmeister Harmonies

Shame not having seen Yi Yi, but it is a strong year.

1. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
2. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
3. Christian Bale, American Psycho
4. Mark Ruffalo, YCCOM
5. Laura Linney, YCCOM

[Gizmo]

1. Memento
2. In the Mood for Love
3. Requiem for a Dream
4. American Psycho
5. Traffic


1. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
2. Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
3. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
4. Christian Bale, American Psycho
5. Kate Hudson, Almost Famous

[Grouchy]

1. Battle Royale
2. In the Mood for Love
3. Dancer in the Dark
4. La Comunidad [Common Wealth]
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

[Yxklyx]

1. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson)
2. Memento (Christopher Nolan)
3. The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin)
4. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)

1. Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast
2. Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
3. Tony Leung - In the Mood for Love
4. Christian Bale - American Psycho
5. Renée Zellweger - Nurse Betty

had a hard time choosing #5 performance.

[baby doll]

Films:
1. Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
2. Platform (Jia Zhang-ke)
3. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai)
4. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr)
5. Devils on the Doorstep (Jiang Wen)

Runners-up: The Circle (Jafar Panahi), Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (Michael Haneke), The Day I Became a Woman (Marziyeh Meshkini), Faithless (Liv Ullmann), George Washington (David Gordon Green), Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse (Agnès Varda), The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin), In Vanda's Room (Pedro Costa), Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky), Songs From the Second Floor (Roy Andersson), The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Tran Anh Hung), The Yards (James Gray).

Performances:
1. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
2. Donald Holden, George Washington
3. Lena Endre, Faithless
4. Wu Nien-jen, Yi Yi
5. Agnès Varda, Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse

2000 movies I haven't seen but want to:

La Commune (Paris, 1871) (Peter Watkins)
Esther Kahn (Arnaud Desplechin)
Eureka (Shinji Aoyama)
O Fantasma (João Pedro Rodrigues)
Hamlet (Michael Almareyda)
Oh! Soo-jung (Hong Sang-soo)
El Valley Centro (James Benning)
West of the Tracks (Wang Bing)

Just awful, I don't know why people like this movie: Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku)

[Bosco B Thug]

The Day I Became a Woman (Marziyeh Meshkini), Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse (Agnès Varda) Aw. I won't change my list, but if I had remembered that these were 2000, I may have sacrificed YCCOM. Excellent films, surprised no one threw in the latter yet.

[baby doll]

Aw. I won't change my list, but if I had caught that these were 2000, I may have sacrificed YCCOM.Well, at least I made you feel guilty.

[Bosco B Thug]

Well, at least I made you feel guilty.
Guilty about not retaining dates, not about Battle Royale. ;)

[B-side]

Wow. Haven't thought about this in awhile. Did you ever see McCormick's recent feature film? It was dismissed for being typical indie/quirky but I'm still curious.

I haven't. That's still the only film of his I've seen.

[Lazlo]

1. The Princess and the Warrior
2. You Can Count on Me
3. High Fidelity
4. Traffic
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

1. Mark Ruffalo - You Can Count on Me
2. Benicio Del Toro - Traffic
3. Jennifer Connelly - Requiem For a Dream
4. Tom Hanks - Cast Away
5. Franka Potente - The Princess and the Warrior

[baby doll]

I'd be disappointed if Ben Kingsley didn't win this.I've always thought that Kingsley's acting in Sexy Beast wasn't all that hot as a performance per se, but rather, it was seeing Kingsley doing something radically different than what he's known for that made his work here noteworthy. That is, if Kingsley hadn't won an Oscar for playing Mahatma Gandhi, we wouldn't be talking about his work in Sexy Beast. (Incidentally, I think Ray Winstone is being shortchanged in the voting here, as he provides a necessary contrast with Kingsley's performance.)

[Thirdmango]

I easily have enough to vote, but seeing some of these lists it reminds me of some movies I need to watch (In the Mood for Love) so I'll vote probably around sep. 9th.

[baby doll]

True, but his performances lately have been a little ho-hum. Plus, seeing him cavorting around with trophy wives (or whoever they are) at every awards show doesn't help much.I don't know what this has to do with anything.

[soitgoes...]

1. The Heart of the World (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4JmeXXRmZg) (Maddin)
2. Dancer in the Dark (Trier)
3. Wonder Boys (Hanson)
4. Yi yi (Yang)
5. Devils on the Doorstep (Jiang)

HMs: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, In the Mood for Love, Happy Times, Outer Space, You Can Count on Me, Best in Show, The Gleaners and I and The Vertical Ray of the Sun

1. Björk, Dancer in the Dark
2. Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love
3. Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me
4. Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys
5. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream

Awesome year for Chinese language films.

[Derek]

Ridiculous year. One of the strongest top 5's ever.

1) As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (Jonas Mekas)
2) Code Unknown (Michael Haneke)
3) Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr)
4) Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
5) In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)

6 Eureka (Shinji Aoyama)
7 Hamlet (Michael Almereyda)
8 You Can Count on Me (Kenneth Lonergan)
9 Vertical Ray of the Sun (Anh Hung Tran)
10 Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson)
11 Platform (Jia Zhang-ke)
12 The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin)
13 Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)
14 Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (Hong Sang-soo)
15 High Fidelity (Stephen Frears)
16 Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson)
17 Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky)
18 Esther Kahn (Arnaud Desplechin)
19 O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen)
20 Best in Show (Christopher Guest)

Performances:

1) Mark Ruffalo - You Can Count on Me
2) Summer Phoenix - Esther Kahn
3) Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
4) Tony Leung - In the Mood for Love
5) Nien-jen Wu - Yi Yi

[Spinal]

Ridiculous year. One of the strongest top 5's ever.



Truth.

[Llopin]

1. Werckmeister Harmonies
2. Yi Yi
3. Eureka
4. The Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors
5. High Fidelity

1. Naomi Fujiyama, Kao
2. Christian Bale, American Psycho
3. Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Monday
4. Fernando Ramallo, Krámpack
5. Xun Zhou, Suzhou River

[Melville]

No other votes for Joaquin Phoenix? The movie wasn't very good, but he was awesome in it.

[baby doll]

No other votes for Joaquin Phoenix? The movie wasn't very good, but he was awesome in it.He was better in The Yards, which also happens to be a very good movie.

[Spinal]

Kinda disappointed with the Bale lovefest going on here.

[dreamdead]

Kinda disappointed with the Bale lovefest going on here.

Indeed. A perfectly dandy performance, but its rendering of a skin-deep person remains caught at that level since the film doesn't go beyond that...

Incidentally, I switched my performance vote to Wu Nien-jen of Yi-Yi, so I'm just noting that change in case Spinal is already collating...

[Spinal]

Indeed. A perfectly dandy performance, but its rendering of a skin-deep person remains caught at that level since the film doesn't go beyond that...

Incidentally, I switched my performance vote to Wu Nien-jen of Yi-Yi, so I'm just noting that change in case Spinal is already collating...

Got it. Thanks.

[ContinentalOp]

1. In the Mood for Love
2. You Can Count on Me
3. Brother
4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
5. Animal Factory

1. Ben Kingsley- Sexy Beast
2. Willem Dafoe- Animal Factory
3. Mark Ruffalo- You Can Count on Me
4. Maggie Cheung- In the Mood for Love
5. Tony Leung- In the Mood for Love

[B-side]

Indeed. A perfectly dandy performance, but its rendering of a skin-deep person remains caught at that level since the film doesn't go beyond that...

Disagree entirely. The film goes well beyond that, and Bale's performance is as sharp and nuanced as they come.

[StanleyK]

Films:

1. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, �gnes Hranitzky)
2. In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong)
3. Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan)
4. The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin)
5. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson)

Also very good: For the Birds, O Brother, Where Art Thou?



Performances:

1. Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love)
2. Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love)
3. George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

[baby doll]

Disagree entirely. The film goes well beyond that, and Bale's performance is as sharp and nuanced as they come.He's definitely fun to watch (it was, as they say, "a star-making performance"), but nuanced? The character is presented in such extreme terms that the script precludes even the slightest bit of shading (not necessarily a bad thing, as it suits the film's purposes).

[B-side]

He's definitely fun to watch (it was, as they say, "a star-making performance"), but nuanced? The character is presented in such extreme terms that the script precludes even the slightest bit of shading (not necessarily a bad thing, as it suits the film's purposes).

A performance can be nuanced without a character necessarily being so.

[baby doll]

A performance can be nuanced without a character necessarily being so.Would you care to explain?

[B-side]

Would you care to explain?

The character of Patrick Bateman may be a "surface" character -- and intentionally so as the film is a satire of 80s excess and corporatism -- but the manner in which Bale exudes a cold sexuality and macabre humor is nuanced.

[Raiders]

1. Werckmeister Harmonies
2. Esther Kahn
3. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
4. The House of Mirth
5. George Washington

6. The Heart of the World
7. In the Mood for Love
8. Together
9. Code Unknown
10. The Gleaners & I
11. You Can Count on Me
12. Yi yi
13. Hamlet
14. The Way of the Gun
15. Songs from the Second Floor
There's probably 10 more films I would consider near-great from this year as well. It helps that I've seen more from this year than any other.

Performances
1. Summer Phoenix, Esther Kahn
2. Danny Huston, Ivansxtc.
3. Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me
4. Juliette Binoche, Code Unknown
5. Gillian Anderson, The House of Mirth

[Boner M]

2. Danny Huston, Ivansxtc.
Knew I was forgetting someone. Editing my ballot.

[Ivan Drago]

This year gets better the more and more I think about it.

1. Memento (Christopher Nolan)
2. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai)
3. Requiem For A Dream (Darren Aronofsky)
4. Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan)
5. Timecode (Mike Figgis)


6. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku)
7. Quills (Phillip Kaufman)
8. American Psycho (Mary Harron)
9. Shadow of the Vampire
10. The Emperor's New Groove (Mark Dindal)
11. X-Men (Bryan Singer)
12. Digimon: The Movie (Hosoda/Yamauchi)
13. Remember The Titans (Boaz Yakin)


Favorite Performances:

1. Ellen Burnstyn (Requiem For A Dream)
2. Willem Dafoe (Shadow of the Vampire)
3. Christian Bale (American Psycho)
4. Maggie Cheung (In The Mood For Love)
5. Bruce Willis (Unbreakable)

[Thirdmango]

1. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku 00)
2. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Coen Bros. 00)
3. Together (Lukas Moodysson 00)
4. In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai 00)
5. Snatch (Guy Ritchie 00)

1. Tony Leung (In The Mood For Love)
2. Maggie Cheung (In The Mood For Love)
3. Guy Pearce (Memento)
4. Bruce Willis (Unbreakable)
5. George Clooney (O Brother)

[Marley]

Is there a master list somewhere containing all the years?

[Yxklyx]

Is there a master list somewhere containing all the years?

What do you mean? These are IMDB dates so when you look up the film in IMDB it's year listed there - this is the original release date.

Here are the results from the 2005 Consensus on RT:

http://yxklyx.com/me/movies/depository.html

and my easy to refresh page lists lots of films by year:

http://www.yxklyx.com/me/movies/masterfilmlist.html

[Spinal]

If someone has the time to tally this and present it, feel free.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

What do you mean? These are IMDB dates so when you look up the film in IMDB it's year listed there - this is the original release date.

Here are the results from the 2005 Consensus on RT:

http://yxklyx.com/me/movies/depository.html

and my easy to refresh page lists lots of films by year:

http://www.yxklyx.com/me/movies/masterfilmlist.html

I think he meant of the Match-Cut consensus lists by year. There's a Match-Cut wiki (http://match-cut.wikispaces.com/) accessible from the main page, just above the Cinema Center subforums.

[Thirdmango]

Edit: OH right I can just look at all of the posts. I will present this one if I have ability to this weekend which is likely.

[Marley]

I think he meant of the Match-Cut consensus lists by year. There's a Match-Cut wiki (http://match-cut.wikispaces.com/) accessible from the main page, just above the Cinema Center subforums.

Yes, this. Thanks.

[Spinal]

If someone would like to take over the Yearly Consensus project, feel free. I've had changes in my life that make it more difficult for me to put the time in to put these together.

[StanleyK]

If someone would like to take over the Yearly Consensus project, feel free. I've had changes in my life that make it more difficult for me to put the time in to put these together.

Has anyone taken you up on this? I think I can do it.

[Yxklyx]

Has anyone taken you up on this? I think I can do it.

In earlier days we had different people do each year - maybe that would work better as it would be less of a commitment for each person. So perhaps make a thread looking for takers and people respond with their desire to do such and such a year, etc...

[StanleyK]

In earlier days we had different people do each year - maybe that would work better as it would be less of a commitment for each person. So perhaps make a thread looking for takers and people respond with their desire to do such and such a year, etc...

I don't think it would be a problem for me to do all the years. I got plenty of free time right now.

[StanleyK]

Well, I'll go ahead and do this year if you don't mind.

[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#10

Kate Hudson - Almost Famous

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#9

Laura Linney - You Can Count On Me

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#8

Björk - Dancer in the Dark

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#7

Willem Dafoe - Shadow of the Vampire

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#6

Maggie Cheung - In the Mood for Love

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#5

Christian Bale - American Psycho

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#4

Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#3

Mark Ruffalo - You Can Count On Me

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#2

Tony Leung - In the Mood for Love

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[StanleyK]

Favorite Performances of 2000

#1

Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream


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[StanleyK]

1. Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream)
2. Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love)
3. Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count On Me)
4. Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast)
5. Christian Bale (American Psycho)
6. Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love)
7. Willem Dafoe (Shadow of the Vampire)
8. Björk (Dancer in the Dark)
9. Laura Linney (You Can Count On Me)
10. Kate Hudson (Almost Famous)

Closest:
George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)


Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream - 61 (15)
Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love - 54 (13)
Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count On Me - 42 (11)
Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast - 39 (9)
Christian Bale, American Psycho - 37.5 (10)
Maggie Cheung, In the Mood for Love - 27 (7)
Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire - 24 (7)
Björk, Dancer in the Dark - 20.5 (5)
Laura Linney, You Can Count On Me - 11.5 (4)
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous - 11 (4)
George Clooney, O Brother Where Art Thou? - 10 (3)
Wu Nien-Jen, Yi-Yi - 9 (3)
Summer Phoenix, Esther Kahn - 9 (2)
Tom Hanks, Cast Away - 8.5 (3)
Michael Douglas - 8 (2)
Russell Crowe, Gladiator - 7.5 (2)
Vincent D'Onofrio - 7.5 (2)
Danny Huston, Ivansxtc. - 6.5 (2)
Gillian Anderson, The House of Mirth - 6 (2)
Juliette Binoche, Code Unknown - 6 (2)
Bruce Willis, Unbreakable - 5.5 (2)
Naomi Fujiyama, Kao - 5 (1)
Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator - 5 (1)
Benicio Del Toro, Traffic - 4 (1)
Crispin Glover, The Beaver Trilogy - 4 (1)
Donald Holden, George Washington - 4 (1)
Jennifer Connelly, Requiem For a Dream - 3.5 (1)
Lena Endre, Faithless - 3.5 (1)
Guy Pearce, Memento - 3.5 (1)
Sean Penn, The Beaver Trilogy - 3.5 (1)
Ed Harris, Pollock - 3.5 (1)
Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Monday - 3.5 (1)
Frances McDormand, Almost Famous - 3 (1)
Fernando Ramallo, Krámpack - 3 (1)
Gael GarcÃ*a Bernal, Amores perros - 2.5 (1)
Sergi López, With a Friend Like Harry - 2.5 (1)
William H. Macy, Panic - 2.5 (1)
Franka Potente, The Princess and the Warrior - 2.5 (1)
Sabine Timoteo, L'argent, l'amour, l'argent - 2.5 (1)
Agnès Varda, The Gleaners and I - 2.5 (1)
Patrick Warburton, The Emperor's New Groove - 2.5 (1)
Fred Willard, Best in Show - 2.5 (1)
Renée Zellweger, Nurse Betty - 2.5 (1)
Xun Zhou, Suzhou River - 2.5 (1)

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#10

The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin)

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The Heart of the World was quite good.

I love silent era films, and am a sucker for the low-budget yet very effective SFX used back then, and Guy Maddin really captured the style and feeling. Much better than most other modern silents I have seen.

It doesn't really say anything new about industrialism or the constant battle between science and religion, but it does it all with such style and skill I couldn't help but really enjoy it.

-megladon8

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#9

Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/songs-from-the-second-floor-screenshot.jpg



I am filled with shame that it took me so long to see Songs from the Second Floor. How can a film be simultaneously this absurdly funny and this painfully sad? It's like Tati meets Beckett. Sheer genius.

-Spinal

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#8

Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/slice_battle_royale_01.jpg



Someone mentioned Battle Royale, the greatest movie ever made in the history of cinema?

-number8



Battle Royale works as a slap in the face for teenagers too used to conformist cinema. It makes them wonder how they'd react when put into a life-or-death scenario.

-Grouchy

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#7

Memento (Christopher Nolan)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/Memento6.jpg



A deliriously entertaining, fiendishly clever, emotionally devastating, and finally, existentially shattering masterpiece, and one of my favorite movies. I like those Batman movies just fine, but they don't measure up to this.

-Rowland


Sample IMDB threads:

this movie really mess with your mind
(Spoiler) What are the possible explanations for Memento? Part 1 of 6... (thread by sdckapr)
The REAL meaning behind the movie and(!) why sdckapr is wRong *spoilers*
Why sdckapr is wrong #3 (the Occam's razor thread)
Why sdckapr is wrong #4
Metaphorical video of sdckapr
sdckapr v Icecutter
Only saw half of it; what happened at the end?

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#6

Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/dancer-in-the-dark-bjork.jpg



Director in the Dark: A Lars von Trier Essay (http://www.match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=1016)

-DrewG


Sample IMDB threads:

Need to have seen the first two?
Lars Von Trier is probably laughing
Far less graphic than Titanic
Executed a WEEK after sentencing? for a woman? for one murder?
SIMILAR SAD MOVIE recommendations
Similar 'everyone is an idjut' movie recommendations

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#5

Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/requiem2.jpg



Aronofksy uses a hyper-subjective style (e.g. by strapping the camera to the characters' chests, splitting the frame to show the mental distance between two characters, violently shaking the image when a character screams) to evoke the characters' subjective states of mind, thus "literalizing their subjectivity" in the film's form, as you say, but what is post-modern about that? It seems like high modernism, a la the stream-of-consciousness writing of the '20s and '30s. The author disappears behind the subjectivity of the characters. Requiem provides a semblance of objectivity by repeatedly flashing between its various characters, thus giving us something like a birds-eye-view of them, but the fugue of despair that it creates with this method is no more postmodern than the large-scale picture of human interrelationships presented in something like Ulysses. The ever-more-rapid cuts between the characters reveals an overall picture of the increasing similarity between the subjects' subjectivity as they slide into utter despair, but each scene is completely rooted in its subjective form. That's pure modernism, not postmodernism. I'm a huge fan of that kind of evocation of subjectivity via form, but it's hardly a "challenging" approach at this point (though admittedly it never seemed to take off in film as much as it did in literature).

-Melville


Sample IMDB threads:

We are not responsible for these drug addicts
Did anyone else feel differing degrees of sympathy for the characters??
Should I feel bad for these junkies? Nah...not one bit
Marion didn't really have it that bad...
this film was kinda... fun?

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#4

You Can Count On Me (Kenneth Lonergan)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/youcan.jpg



Aww, You Can Count On Me was really great. It does a surprising amount cinematically, and the screenplay gets more and more intricate as it goes along. I didn't think it would pull it off, but the personal drama evolves to be very nicely entwined with grander commentary about what people will do to satisfy their sense of control and/or worldview, and we see horizons widen for both the brother and sister. Linney got the Oscar nom (and she's very good), but Mark Ruffalo I found the most impressive and most convincing. He's really fantastic here.

-Bosco B Thug


Sample IMDB threads:

The same guy who made this wrote Rocky + Bulwinkle?????
Am I missing something? What was the point of this story?
what a bitch
what a bitch
Heh. I gave it 1 star :) (He sounds so satisfied with himself...)
so what did they use to say to each other as kids?

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#3

Werckmeister Harmonies (�gnes Hranitzky, Béla Tarr)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/PIC18.png



Yeah, the film is very much about the dichotomy of the chaos of the world (the prince, the children, the mob) and those who try to add a controlling order to it (this includes politics). Hence Tarr's overwhelming display of contrasts between light and dark and his overstuffing the film with shadows and bright rays of light. I love how the opening, composed by Valuska, evokes Pythagoras and the harmony of the universe and the film ends not only with Valuska forced to rid himself of his own awareness of the world's chaos, defeated, but that the ultimate image is of the mystery of the whale exposed as a lifeless, beaten and ugly corpse. Nothing mystical, nothing magical. It makes the prince and the whale, these mythical figures that come into town and apparently rabble chaos and uprising, but ultimately exposed as the only ones to blame are those who so easily bought into the anarchy, which is really itself another attempt to put a controlling structure on life.

-Raiders

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#2

Yi Yi (Edward Yang)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/yi-yi-city.jpg



Edward Yang’s tender, heart-rending Yi Yi is an epic whisper, a soft-spoken masterpiece that carefully observes the core members of the Jian family in the wake of the wedding of the family’s black sheep and an accident that puts the grandmother in a coma. Shot almost entirely in medium and long shots with minimal camera movement, Yang allows the separate yet interrelated stories to come to life organically and mysteriously, always in tune with his characters humanity yet respectfully distant, providing them with an indelible inscrutability and a sovereignty upon which their creator does not impinge. And yet, despite this, what Yang does show us is so full of compassion and an innate curiosity about and concern for the human condition that the result is not merely a fully realized portrait of family but, perhaps unwittingly, a treatise on modern existence and human relationships. Lavish praise, I know, but this is unquestionably one of the most important films of the new millennium so forgive me for getting a little carried away.

The family’s patriarch, NJ, anchors the film in several ways - as the head of the family, the embodiment of Yang’s belief in human decency amidst inherent imperfections, and as a parallel to the changes his two children go through (Tin-Tin, a teenager coping with the thrills and disappointments of first love and Yang-Yang, a 9-year old struggling to comprehend his feelings towards an older female and developing a unique brand of artistic expression). As NJ attempts to cultivate a working relationship with brilliant and personable Ota, the president of a company his company is considering purchasing, he fights the shallow short-sightedness of his co-workers who lean towards a less expensive imitation called Ato who also happens to be run by, much to the chagrin of NJ’s boss, a large-breasted woman. NJ and Ota’s burgeoning friendship embodies Yang’s perspective that communication, both personal and professional, is becoming diluted, rendered secondary amidst the speed with which the modern world moves and changes. It is this quandary that every character meets down the line, resulting in an array of comic and tragic outcomes.

As one can tell from the film’s title, the reversal of the business name and many of the characters names (there’s also a Li-Li and Min-Min), doubling, repetition and reflections play a critical role in the film. Even Yang-Yang’s obsession with taking pictures of the back of people’s heads in effort “to show them what they can’t see� is explicitly linked to Yang’s thesis on the dual nature of our lives – the possible outcomes vs. the actual ones, what we see vs. what we don’t, our ideals vs. the reality of putting those ideals into practice, the real vs. the fake and so on. This theme is coded is nearly every aspect of the film, from its structure to its visual scheme. Characters are often shot through glass windows with faint reflections of what opposes them in a deceptively subtle attempt to capture what is both in and out of the frame, using the camera to embody this duality and the depth of reality not captured in a typical shot. The faint “reflected reality� overlying reality itself is also indicative of the motif of doubles and repetition, most notably through NJ’s encounters with an old flame where he discovers another possible path his life could have taken. In a remarkably bold and humane gesture, Yang doesn’t allow NJ to wallow in regret and instead, and fortunately without going so far as to suggest divine forces or predestination of any form, presents his characters as the totality of their experiences and these other possibilities not as missed opportunities, but rather opportunities to examine ones own happiness and self-worth on the path to a better understanding of ones place in the world.

If I make the film seem oppressively structured or remote and inaccessible, I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Yang is a true humanist and the emotions of his characters are never obscured by his formalism, only enhanced and enlightened by it. It nothing short of a minor miracle that a film so carefully structured and pieced together can also seem so realistic and flow so naturally, almost casually at times. It is the rare work of art that is equally potent emotionally and artistically, never bending one at the will of the other, instead using art to elucidate the human experience and vice versa.

-Derek

[StanleyK]

Favorite Films of 2000

#1

In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong)

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/In-the-Mood-for-Love.jpg



Well, I finished watching In the Mood For Love about 20 minutes ago.

I don't know what to say, really. It's hard to put what I'm thinking into words, but I will try.

If this film is an indication (I havent seen any of his other films yet, something that will absolutely have to change after tonight), Wong is a master of atmosphere.

The entire film seemed drenched in a mood somewhere between resignation and desperation.

Both Chow and Chan seem to represent the pathetic nature of unhappiness - they both seem happier when playing pretend. The use of 'rehearsals' got me more than once, especially the one where Cheung was asking her husband if he had a mistress. Well played, Mr. Wong, well played.

The use of the color red was so stark and prevalent, it was almost a character in itself. There were so many shots (oh, and did I mention that the cinematography was ridiculously great?) that had the camera move behind a red curtain or divider and it was like a filter - showing the life the two WISH they could have instead of the life they were actually leading.

Another great thing about the film is that refuses to take a side on the moral question at hand. There's a ripple of what it was like in 1960s Hong Kong society, and despite the fact that these two people were already being victimized by cheating spouses did not automatically mean they should consummate a fling of their own - even after they realized that they were in love.

It lets each viewer decide whether loyalty to one's spouse in a somewhat repressive society should win out over obvious real love.

And the ending...oh dear God, Wong, you magnificent bastard.

The performances were strong throughout, as well. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Jeung before but he was incredibly understated in this, and its a great credit to him and Wong that he is able to convey so much emotion without saying a damn thing.

Cheung is almost Leung's equal, and Wong goes to great length to make her the sexual symbol of the film. The camera almost makes love to her shapely form when it focuses on her walking down a hallway or down a street. Not that I'm complaining at all () but its quite telling that just shots of Cheung walking is as sexy as this film needs to be.

In short, it's a staggering work that I am really glad I saw.

-Fezzik

[StanleyK]

1. In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong)
2. Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
3. Werckmeister Harmonies (�gnes Hranitzky, Béla Tarr)
4. You Can Count On Me (Kenneth Lonergan)
5. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)
6. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)
7. Memento (Christopher Nolan)
8. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku)
9. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson)
10. The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin)

Close:

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (The Coen Brothers)
Together (Lukas Moodysson)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)
High Fidelity (Stephen Frears)
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (Jonas Mekas)
Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky)

In the Mood for Love - 68.5 (17)
Yi Yi - 33.5 (9)
Werckmeister Harmonies - 30.5 (8)
You Can Count On Me - 29.5 (8)
Requiem for a Dream - 29 (8)
Dancer in the Dark - 25.5 (7)
Memento - 25 (7)
Battle Royale - 21.5 (5)
Songs from the Second Floor - 19 (5)
The Heart of the World - 17.5 (5)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - 16 (5)
Together - 15.5 (4)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - 14 (4)
High Fidelity - 14 (5)
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty - 13.5 (3)
Outer Space - 13.5 (3)
Traffic - 12 (4)
Unbreakable - 11.5 (3)
The House of Mirth - 11 (3)
Eureka - 10 (3)
Almost Famous - 9.5 (3)
Wonder Boys - 8.5 (2)
Gladiator - 7 (2)
American Psycho - 6 (2)
The Beaver Trilogy - 6 (2)
George Washington - 6 (2)
Devils on the Doorstep - 5 (2)
The Princess and the Warrior - 5 (1)
Code Unknown - 4 (1)
Esther Kahn - 4 (1)
Platform - 4 (1)
Sincerely, Joe P. Bear - 4 (1)
Brother - 3.5 (1)
Sexy Beast - 3.5 (1)
Shadow of the Vampire - 3.5 (1)
Cast Away - 3 (1)
The Circle - 3 (1)
La Comunidad - 3 (1)
Uzumaki - 3 (1)
The Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors - 3 (1)
Animal Factory - 2.5 (1)
The Emperor's New Groove - 2.5 (1)
In Vanda's Room - 2.5 (1)
Snatch - 2.5 (1)
Timecode - 2.5 (1)
Vertical Ray of the Sun - 2.5 (1)


Last Consensus: (http://www.match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=418)


1. In the Mood for Love (Wong)
2. Requiem for a Dream (Aronofsky)
3. Werckmeister Harmonies (Tarr)
4. Memento (Nolan)
5. Yi Yi (Yang)
6. You Can Count on Me (Lonergan)
7. Dancer in the Dark (Trier)
8. American Psycho (Harron)
9. Almost Famous (Crowe)
10. Songs From the Second Floor (Andersson)

Near misses:
The Heart of the World (Maddin)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (A. Lee)
Unbreakable (Shyamalan)
Wonder Boys (Hanson)
Traffic (Soderbergh)

[B-side]

I like you including quotes from the posters here. Keep it up.