(M) /Minority Report/ (Spielberg, 2002) A-

(Th) Bug (at the Barrow Street Theater; Written by Tracy Letts, Directed by Dexter Bullard) A- (Hot Naked Guy: A)

(M) *Million Dollar Baby (Eastwood, 2004) B-

(Th) Modern Orthodox (at Dodger Stages; Written by Daniel Goldfarb, Directed James Lapine) B-

(Th) Gem of the Ocean (at the Walter Kerr Theater; Written By August Wilson, Directed by Kenny Leon) A

(M) Weekend (Godard, 1967) C+

(M) The Aviator (2004, Scorsese) A

(M) /Gosford Park/ (2001, Altman) A

(M) Before Sunrise (1995, Linklater) A-

(M) *Kinsey (2004, Condon) B+

(M) *Hitler's Hit Parade (2004, Film Forum) B

(M) Citizen Ruth (1996, Payne) A

(M) *Meet the Fockers (2004, Roach) C+

SPOTLIGHT: MOVIES 2004

Yeah, I suppose I'm something of a traditionalist. I've always had the soul of a crochety old man. Oh, and I didn't see many current movies this year. Look, I'm from Israel. I'm sure Ray, Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, and Kinsey are all quite respectable. Maybe I'll even see them. So here are the five movies I felt were worth mentioning.

#1: House of Flying Daggers
#2: Sideways
#3: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
#4: A Tale of Two Sisters
#5: The Incredibles

Flawed Gem Honorable Mention: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, for keeping my eyes popping and my ass glued to the chair, despite the performance of a robot that looks just like Ms. Gwyneth Paltrow. A script would have been nice, too.

Disappointing:
I Heart Huckabees. Okay, okay, you're clever! Uncle! Uncle! (I'm sorry, Cory. I love you. Please don't hurt me.)

Finding Neverland: Sure, I cried a little, but seriously -- orphans, fatal diseases, and a cantankerous grandmother just waiting for the spirit of make-believe to be awakened? Fuck that, yo.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Good enough, but the version I had in my head before I saw it was way better.

Yeah, so I hardly saw any new movies. But I saw a lot of old ones! Like The Manchurian Candidate, which was incredible, and -- hey! Where are you going?! Come back! Oh, look, Fatal Attraction is on TV again. Mmm, rabbit.

SPOTLIGHT: MOVIES 2004

BEST FILMS

1) I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell)
2) Sideways (Alexander Payne)
3) The Aviator (Martin Scorsese)
4) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
5) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson)
6) The Corporation (Jennifer Abbott and Mark Achbar)
7) Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
8) Bom Yeoreum Gaeul Gyeoul Geurigo Bom (Ki-duk Kim)
9) Collateral (Michael Mann)
10) The Station Agent (Thomas McCarthy)

BEST PERFORMANCES

ACTOR Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Runner Up: Jeremy Davies, Dogville)

ACTRESS Laura Dern, We Don't Live Here Anymore (Runner Up: Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

SUPPORTING ACTOR William Hurt, The Village (Runner Up: Alan Alda, The Aviator)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS Naomi Watts, I Heart Huckabees (Runner Up: Meryl Streep, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)

SCREENPLAY I Heart Huckabees, David O. Russell

DIRECTOR The Aviator, Martin Scorsese

BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

Fahrenheit 9/11, Dogville, The Passion of the Christ

(TV) "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" (from The Twilight Zone) B

(TV) "16 milimeter Shrine" (from The Twilight Zone) B

(TV) "Walking Distance" (from The Twilight Zone) A

(TV) "The Lonely" (from The Twilight Zone) A-

(M) "*Stan Brakhage and Company" (at the Museum of Modern Art) A-

(M) *Shi Mian Mai Fu (2004, Zhang) B

(TV) Company (at the Donmar Warehouse; Directed by Sam Mendes) B

(TV) "Escape Clause" (from The Twilight Zone) A-

(TV) "The Hitch-hiker" (from The Twilight Zone) B+

(M) Network (1976, Lumet) A-

(TV) "One for the Angels" (from The Twilight Zone) B

(TV) "Where is Everybody?" (from The Twilight Zone) B+

(M) *Premieres: Short Films (Museum of Modern Art)-

"Happy Rebirth" (2004, Melhus) B-

"Hollywoodschnee" (2004, Jankowski) A-

"16mm Mystery" (2004, Strouse) A

"Body Double 4" (1996, Dellsperger) B-

"The Shoe and the Umbrella" (2004, Smith) A-

"The Simpson Verdict" (2002, Ezawa) A

"Body Code" (2003, Berry) B+

"Now Promise Now Threat" (2004, Chan) A-

Sports Night: The Complete Series, Disc 3. (from Sports Night) B

(TV) Sports Night: The Complete Series, Disc 2. (from Sports Night) B-

(M) /Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind/ (2004, Gondry) B+

(M) *Bringing Up Baby (1938, Hawks) A

(M) Control Room (2004, Noujaim) B

(M) The Terminator (1984, Cameron) B

Best Films of 2005

The following is, in alphabetical order, a partial list of the Best Films of 2005. (To be progressively updated.)

Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch)
Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney)
King Kong (Peter Jackson)
Munich (Steven Spielberg)
The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbauch)

(M) *Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. (2004, Silberling) A-