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  The 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films Ranking (Previous Titles)  
  21st Century Home  Summary:  The 250 Films  The Top 50 Directors  Browse by Ranking:  1-50  51-100  101-150  151-200  201-250  Previous Titles  
     
     
 
° Listed below are films from the previous three versions (2009-2011) of the 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films listing. These titles are no longer on the main list.
         
About a Boy
Paul Weitz & Chris Weitz
2002, 101m, Col, Germany-USA-France-UK, Drama-Comedy
Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Isabel Brook, Sharon Small, Victoria Smurfit, Nicholas Hoult, Madison Cook, Jordan Cook, Nicholas Hutchison
"It's funny, moving and true, and it respects the audience's intelligence as much as the characters'. That combination, no matter the movie's label, deserves to be treasured." - Marc Caro, Chicago Tribune
Selected by Carrie Rickey, Richard Schickel, John Powers, Mike Clark, Thomas Doherty.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Atonement
Joe Wright
2007, 123m, Col, USA-UK-France, Drama-Romance-War
James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Patrick Kennedy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juno Temple, Peter Wight
"No two-hour film could ever capture all the riches of McEwan's masterly novel. But Wright and Hampton's Atonement comes tantalizingly close, while adding sensual delights all its own." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by Roger Ebert, Nathan Rabin, Keith Phipps, Peter Brunette, J.R. Jones.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Away from Her
Sarah Polley
2006, 109m, Col, Canada-UK-USA, Drama-Romance
Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson, Stacey Laberge, Deanna Dezmari, Clare Coulter, Thomas Hauff
"Rarely has love at any age been depicted so honestly on screen. For such a fully realized portrait to be created by a 28-year-old first-time director is even more remarkable." - Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Selected by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Roger Ebert, J.R. Jones, V.A. Musetto, Dana Stevens.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Ballast
Lance Hammer
2008, 96m, Col, USA, Drama
Michael J. Smith Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail, Ventress Bonner, Jimez Alexander, Jean Paul Guillory, Marcus Alexander, Marquice Alexander, Lawrence Jackson.
"A rock-ribbed sense of committed, personal cinema and a core belief in people being able to pull themselves out of misery supports Ballast, an extraordinary debut by editor-writer-director Lance Hammer." - Robert Koehler, Variety
Selected by Michael Atkinson, Amy Taubin, Chuck Stephens, Adam Nayman, Rob Nelson.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Bamako
Abderrahmane Sissako
2006, 117m, Col, France-Mali-USA, Drama
Aissa Maiga, Tiecoura Traore, Maimouna Helene Diarra, Balla Habib Dembele, Djeneba Kone, Hamadoun Kassogue, Roland Rappaport, Danny Glover, Elia Suleiman, Zeka Laplaine
"As demonstrated in his previous film, a plangent snapshot of subsistence called Waiting for Happiness, Sissako is a poet, and the filmmaking in this new picture is stuff of a deserving laureate." - Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Philip French, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Berenice Reynaud, Michael Sicinski, James Quandt.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Battle in Heaven
Carlos Reygadas
• Batalla en el cielo (original title)
2005, 97m, Col, Mexico-France-Germany, Drama
Marcos Hernandez, Anapola Mushkadiz, Berta Ruiz, Rosalinda Ramirez, David Bornstein, Brenda Angulo, Francisco Martinez El Gato, Omar Valentin Fernandez, Estela Martinez Tremari, Juan Soria El Abuelo
"Reygadas' radical rejection of filmmaking conventions is at first off-putting, but he's able to elicit remarkable performances from the cast of non-professionals while building tension that will hold viewers' attention." - V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Selected by Michael Atkinson, Peter Keough, J. Hoberman, Peter Brunette, Ed Gonzalez.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
The Beaches of Agnès
Agnès Varda
• Les Plages d'Agnès (original title)
2008, 110m, Col, France, Documentary-Biography
Agnès Varda, Andre Lubrano, Blaise Fournier, Vincent Fournier, Andree Vilar, Stephane Vilar, Christophe Vilar, Rosalie Varda, Mathieu Demy, Christophe Vallaux
"A captivating cine-memoir, impressionistic and surrealistic, surveying Varda's formidable career as a still photographer, filmmaker, documentarian, and life force." - Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Selected by Raymond Bellour, David Ansen, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Carrie Rickey, Berenice Reynaud.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Before Night Falls
Julian Schnabel
2000, 133m, Col, USA, Drama
Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, John Ortiz, Santiago Magill, Michael Wincott, Najwa Nimri, Alfredo Villa, Hector Babenco, Jerzy Skolimowski
"It's an horrific and tragic story, but somehow made beautiful through the care and attention of Schnabel's direction and Bardem's tender, unforgettable performance." - Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Selected by B. Ruby Rich, Peter Keough, Owen Gleiberman, A.O. Scott, Elvis Mitchell.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Sidney Lumet 
2007, 117m, Col, USA, Crime-Drama-Thriller
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan, Brian F. O'Byrne, Blaine Horton
"Compact, nasty, and altogether wonderful, a tale of brotherly greed and New York comeuppance that shows an old dog dusting off old tricks using new technology." - Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
Selected by Phillip Lopate, Peter Keough, Keith Phipps, Robert Koehler, Jeffrey M. Anderson.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Billy Elliot
Stephen Daldry
2000, 110m, Col, UK, Drama
Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Jamie Bell, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Mike Elliot, Janine Birkett, Adam Cooper, Patrick Malahide
"This delightful film, with its surprising depth charges of emotion, has the feel of a movie that's going to lodge itself in the public's affections for a long time to come." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by David Ansen, Peter Travers, Mark Caro, Paul Clinton, Charles Cassady Jr.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Blissfully Yours
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
• Sud sanaeha (original title)
2002, 125m, Col, Thailand-France, Romance-Drama
Kanokporn Tongaram, Min Oo, Jenjira Jansuda, Sa-gnad Chaiyapan, Kanitpat Premkij, Jaruwan Techasatiern
"Marks the emergence of one of the more original and promising new voices to hit the international cinema scene in recent years." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Selected by Phillip Lopate, Gilbert Adair, Paolo Cherchi Usai, Berenice Reynaud, Tom Charity.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Brick
Rian Johnson
2005, 110m, Col, USA, Mystery-Drama
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary, Noah Segan, Meagan Good, Emilie de Ravin, Brian J. White, Richard Roundtree, Lukas Haas
"A Big Sleep with underage bozos, a Maltese Falcon where the stuff that dreams are made of rests in the lockers of a well-worn high school, Brick is a remarkable oddity, audacious and engaging." - Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
Selected by Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, Mike D'Angelo, Mark Jenkins, Jeffrey M. Anderson.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Bright Star
Jane Campion
2009, 119m, Col, UK-Australia, Biography-Drama-Romance
Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Kerry Fox, Paul Schneider, Edie Martin, Thomas Sangster, Gerard Monaco, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Samuel Roukin, Amanda Hale
"Ms. Campion, with her restless camera movements and off-center close-ups, films history in the present tense, and her wild vitality makes this movie romantic in every possible sense of the word." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Selected by Pierre Rissient, Lizzie Francke, Michel Ciment, Tom Charity, Kenneth Turan.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Broken Flowers
Jim Jarmusch
2005, 106m, Col, USA-France, Drama-Comedy
Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Julie Delpy, Heather Simms, Brea Frazier, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Chloe Sevigny
"Funny, bittersweet, its understatement yielding surprising depth charges, Broken Flowers is a triumph of close observation and telling details." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by Ty Burr, Kent Jones, Chris Fujiwara, Edward Crouse, Donna Bowman.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Bus 174
Felipe Larceda & José Padilha 
• Ônibus 174 (original title)
2002, 119m, Col, Brazil, Documentary
Maria Aparecida, Captain Batista, Luanna Belmon, Claudete Beltrana, Luciana Carvalho, Coelho, Damiana, Yvonne Bezera de Mello, Julieta do Nacimento
"Tense, engrossing, and superbly structured, Bus 174 is not just unforgettable drama but a skillfully developed argument." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Selected by John Anderson, Stephen Hunter, Scott Tobias, A.O. Scott, Jason Anderson.
Amazon  Metacritic
         
 
         
Che
Steven Soderbergh
2008, 257m, Col, Spain-France-USA, Biography-Drama
Benicio Del Toro, Demian Bichir, Santiago Cabrera, Rodrigo Santoro, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Jorge Perugorria, Edgar Ramirez, Victor Rasuk, Armando Riesco, Unax Ugalde
"Che looks dazzling, whether the camera is weaving through a battle or trying to bore into Che's haunted soul. Del Toro stands up to Soderbergh's relentless scrutiny." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Selected by Amy Taubin, J. Hoberman, Patrick McGavin, Nathan Lee, Glenn Kenny.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Chuck & Buck
Miguel Arteta 
2000, 95m, Col, USA, Drama-Comedy
Mike White, Chris Weitz, Lupe Ontiveros, Beth Colt, Paul Weitz, Maya Rudolph, Mary Wigmore, Paul Sand, Gino Buccola, Annette Murphy
"Manages to be not only consistently droll but cumulatively poignant and even scary." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Selected by Nigel Andrews, Gerald Peary, Owen Gleiberman, A.O. Scott, Mark Caro.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Chunhyang
Im Kwon-taek
• Chunhyangdyun (original title)
2000, 120m, Col, South Korea, Romance-Drama-Musical
Hyo-jeong Lee, Seung-woo Cho, Sung-nyu Kim, Hak-young Kim, Jung-hun Lee, Ji-yun Choi, Hae-eun Lee, Kyung-yeun Hong, Sang-hyun Cho, Myung-hwan Kim
"Im Kwon Taek's exquisite Chunhyang brings to the screen one of Korea's most cherished folk tales, a timeless romance in which the lovers are challenged by differences in class." - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Jonathan Rosenbaum, David Sterritt, Chris Fujiwara, Ian Bernie, Tadao Sato.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Climates
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
• Iklimler (original title)
2006, 101m, Col, Turkey-France, Drama
Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Nazan Kirilmis, Mehmet Eryilmaz, Arif Asci, Can Ozbatur, Ufuk Bayraktar, Fatma Ceylan, M. Emin Ceylan, Semra Yilmaz
"This film paints a haunting portrait of existential solitude, one in which the images speak louder and often more forcefully than do any of the words." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Selected by J. Hoberman, Peter Brunette, Scott Foundas, Michael Phillips, Graham Fuller.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Code Unknown
Michael Haneke
• Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (original title)
2000, 116m, Col, France-Germany-Romania, Drama
Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic, Josef Bierbichler, Alexandre Hamidi, Maimouna Helene Diarra, Ona Lu Yenke, Djibril Kouyate, Luminita Gheorghiu, Crenguta Hariton, Bob Nicolaescu
"Haneke brings his usual dark sensibility to bear on the multifaceted story, expressing the fractured quality of modern city life through scenes that wander through a labyrinth of missing links and lost connections." - David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Selected by Robin Wood, Tom Charity, Mike D'Angelo, Mark Holcomb, Melissa Anderson.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Coraline
Henry Selick
2009, 101m, Col, USA, Animated-Adventure-Fantasy
Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane, Aankha Neal, George Selick
"This is a marvelous family story, tapping into all sorts of childhood dreams and nightmares involving Mommy, monsters and heroic youngsters. Selick's imaginative sets and puppets are in perfect pitch with Gaiman's fantasy." - Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
Selected by J. Hoberman, Jeannette Catsoulis, Todd McCarthy, Carrie Rickey, Michael Koresky.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
The Day I Became a Woman
Marzieh Meshkini 
• Roozi ke zan shodam (original title)
2000, 77m, Col, Iran, Drama
Fatemeh Cherag Akhar, Hassan Nebhan, Shahr Banou Sisizadeh, Ameneh Passand, Shabnam Toloui, Sirous Kahvarinegad, Mahram Zeinal Zadeh, Norieh Mahigiran, Azizeh Sedighi, Badr Iravani
"What you're not prepared for in Marziyeh Meshkini's astonishing debut film is the way its central image instantly leaps into the pantheon of world cinema with a rightness and an urgency that glue your eyes to the screen." - Jay Carr, Boston Globe
Selected by David Sterritt, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Michael Atkinson, Jay Carr, Robert Koehler.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
The Deep End
Scott McGehee & David Siegel 
2001, 100m, Col, USA, Drama-Crime
Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat, Raymond J. Barry, Josh Lucas, Tamara Hope, Jordon Dorrance, Heather Mathieson, Holmes Osborne
"Exquisitely made with a mesmerizing sense of style, it shows the wonderful things that can happen when traditional material is both handled with care and adroitly updated." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Richard Schickel, Kenneth Turan, B. Ruby Rich, David Ehrenstein, Jay Carr.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Dirty Pretty Things
Stephen Frears 
2002, 97m, Col, USA-UK, Thriller-Drama
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong, Zlatko Buric, Kriss Dosanjh, Israel Aduramo, Yemi Ajibade, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey
"This is a film that insinuates itself deeply into our awareness. It's that rare pulp story with something on its mind, an unnerving, socially conscious thriller with a killer sense of narrative drive." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by David Ansen, Philip French, Stephen Hunter, Ann Hornaday, Carla Meyer.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
The Duchess of Langeais
Jacques Rivette
• Ne touchez pas la hache (original title); Don't Touch the Axe (alternative title)
2007, 137m, Col, France-Italy, Drama-Romance
Jeanne Balibar, Guillaume Depardieu, Bulle Ogier, Michel Piccoli, Anne Cantineau, Marc Barbe, Thomas Durand, Nicholas Bouchaud, Mathias Jung, Julie Judd
"Jacques Rivette has brought the Balzac short story to screen as a superb chamber drama. His is a graceful work of austerity and formality that perfectly captures the chaos of repressed emotions that see beneath the rigid conventions of aristocratic society." - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Jonathan Romney, Graham Fuller, Melissa Anderson, Mike D'Angelo, Glenn Kenny.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
The Edge of Heaven
Fatih Akin
• Auf der anderen Seite (original title)
2007, 121m, Col, Germany-Turkey-Italy, Drama
Nurgul Yesilcay, Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Hanna Schygulla, Patrycia Ziolkowska, Nursel Kose, Ali Akdeniz, Aliye Alioglu, Asuman Altinay, Onder Cakar
"With impeccable skill, Akin has made a film roiling with cruelty but guided by tough political optimism. No, we can't all get along, but some us of are trying." - Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Selected by Dudley Andrew, Graham Fuller, Saul Austerlitz, Daryl Chin, J.R. Jones, Charles Taylor.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Faithless
Liv Ullmann 
• Trolösa (original title)
2000, 153m, Col, Sweden-Norway-Finland-Italy-Germany, Romance-Drama
Lena Endre, Erland Josephson, Thomas Hanzon, Michelle Gylemo, Juni Dahr, Philip Zanden, Therese Brunnander, Marie Richardson, Stina Ekblad
"82-year-old Ingmar Bergman takes one of the most painful, shameful episodes of his own life and, writing for director Liv Ullmann, transmutes it into magical, brilliant artistry." - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Selected by Richard Schickel, Manohla Dargis, Gerald Peary, Chris Chang, Stephen Holden.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
The Fighter
David O. Russell
2010, 115m, Col, USA, Biography-Drama-Sports
Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O'Keefe, Jack McGee, Melissa McMeekin, Bianca Hunter, Erica McDermott, Jill Quigg
"It's a film possessed of its own force, wit and style, and it builds to a rousing climax that absolutely pays off in crowd-pleasing fashion. It knows what it is, doesn't try to be what it's not, and hits you with drop-dead force. In short, it's terrific." - Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian
Selected by David Denby, Ty Burr, Andrew O'Hehir, Joe Morgenstern, Wesley Morris.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
The Five Obstructions
Jørgen Leth & Lars von Trier
• De Fem benspænd (original title)
2003, 90m, Col-BW, Denmark-Belgium, Documentary
Jorgen Leth, Lars von Trier, Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez, Jacqueline Arenal, Vivian Rosa, Alexandra Vandernoot, Patrick Bauchau, Marie Dejaer, Meschell Perezx
"Part of what hooks you to this movie is how Leth outsmarts his taskmaster, and how the two men have divergent, almost incompatible aesthetic ideals." - Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Selected by John Anderson, Kenneth Turan, Richard Corliss, Ron Stringer, Justine Elias.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Gomorrah
Matteo Garrone
• Gomorra (original title)
2008, 137m, Col, Italy, Crime-Drama
Toni Servillo, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale, Salvatore Cantalupo, Gigio Morra, Salvatore Abruzzese, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone, Carmine Paternoster, Antonio Aiello
"Part of what's bracing about Gomorrah, and makes it feel different from so many American crime movies, is both its deadly serious take on violence and its global understanding of how far and wide the mob's tentacles reach, from high fashion to the very dirt." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Selected by Piers Handling, Graham Fuller, Chuck Stephens, Robert Koehler, Jeannette Catsoulis.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Howl's Moving Castle
Hayao Miyazaki
• Hauru no ugoku shiro (original title)
2004, 119m, Col, Japan, Animated-Adventure-Fantasy
Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mitsunori Isaki, Yo Oizumi, Akio Otsuka, Daijiro Harada, Haruko Kato
"Howl's Moving Castle is one animated epic that has it all: poetic intensity, potent storytelling, vivid and surprising characters, and intoxicating powers of visual imagination." - Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
Selected by Sukhdev Sandhu, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kenneth Turan, Michael Wilmington, Tom Charity.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
I Heart Huckabees
David O. Russell
• I Love Huckabees (alternative title)
2004, 106m, Col, Germany-USA-UK, Comedy
Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, Angela Grillo, Kevin Dunn, Tippi Hedren
"A fresh, buoyant, mischievous and rather jolly meditation - if that's the word for a movie as divinely nuts as this one is - on the meaning of life in an unhappy world." - Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
Selected by Gavin Smith, David Ehrenstein, Glenn Kenny, Carina Chocano, Saul Austerlitz.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Into the Wild
Sean Penn
2007, 140m, Col, USA, Adventure-Biography-Drama
Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Brian Dierker, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Thure Lindhardt
"The beauty of Into the Wild, which Penn has written and directed with magnificent precision and imaginative grace, is that what Christopher is running from is never as important as what he's running TO." - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Selected by David Ehrenstein, Gerald Peary, Roger Ebert, Tom Charity, Thomas Doherty.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Iraq in Fragments
James Longley
2006, 94m, Col, USA, Documentary
Mohammed Haithem, Sheik Aws Al Kafaji
"Much as Emile de Antonio's neglected In the Year of the Pig (1968) may be the only major documentary about Vietnam that actually considers the Vietnamese, this film allows the people of Iraq to speak, and what they say is fascinating throughout." - Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Selected by Jeanine Basinger, A.O. Scott, Kenneth Turan, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Gary Crowdus.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Keane
Lodge Kerrigan
2004, 100m, Col, USA, Thriller-Drama
Damian Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Liza Colon-Zayas, Amy Ryan, John Tormey, Brenda Denmark, Christopher Evan Welch, Lev Gorn, Tina Holmes, Mellini Kantayya
"Lodge Kerrigan is one of the great, though largely unheralded, filmmakers of our time, and with Keane, his third feature, he finally shows himself to be in full command of his uncompromising talent." - Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Selected by Michael Atkinson, Jonathan Romney, Kevin Thomas, Leslie Camhi, Anthony Kaufman.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
King Kong
Peter Jackson
2005, 187m, Col, New Zealand-USA, Action-Adventure-Fantasy
Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis, Evan Parke, Jamie Bell, Lobo Chan, John Sumner
"Break out the popcorn and prepare to be blown away. King Kong is the most pulse-pounding and heart-stirring romantic adventure since Titanic." - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Selected by Frank Darabont, Michael Wilmington, Roger Ebert, Keith Phipps, Lisa Schwarzbaum.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Kung Fu Hustle
Stephen Chow
• Kung fu (original title)
2004, 98m, Col, Hong Kong-China, Action-Comedy-Crime
Stephen Chow, Yuen Wah, Qiu Yuen, Leung Siu Lung, Dong Zhi Hua, Chiu Chi Ling, Xing Yu, Chan Kwok Kwan, Sheng Yi Huang, Xiaogang Feng
"Gut-Bustingly funny moves are pretty rare, so hustle over to Kung Fu Hustle, actor-director Ste phen Chow's exhilaratingly hilarious and affectionate send-up of Hong Kong action flicks." - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Selected by Tom Charity, Adrian Martin, Dave Kehr, Nathan Rabin, Nathan Lee.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Land of the Dead
George A. Romero 
2005, 93m, Col, USA-Canada-France, Action-Horror-Thriller
Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, Eugene Clark, Joanne Boland, Tony Nappo, Jennifer Baxter, Boyd Banks
"One of the enormous pleasures of genre filmmaking is watching great directors push against form and predictability, as Mr. Romero does brilliantly in Land of the Dead." - Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Selected by Dave Kehr, Chris Fujiwara, Tom Charity, Scott Foundas, Mike D'Angelo.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Late Marriage
Dover Kosashvili
• Hatuna Meuheret (original title)
2001, 102m, Col, Israel-France, Comedy-Drama-Romance
Lior Louie Ashkenazi, Ronit Elkabetz, Moni Moshonov, Lili Kosashvili, Aya Steinovits Laor, Rozina Cambos, Simon Chen, Sapir Kugman, Livia Chachmon Ayaliy, Maria Ovanov
"So intimate and sensual and funny and psychologically self-revealing that it makes most of what passes for sex in the movies look like cheap hysterics." - Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
Selected by J. Hoberman, Chris Chang, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Alice Lovejoy, Leslie Camhi.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
The Magdalene Sisters
Peter Mullan 
2002, 119m, Col, UK-Ireland, Drama
Geraldine McEwan, Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh, Mary Murray, Britta Smith, Frances Healy, Eithne McGuinness, Phyllis MacMahon
"A stirring, emotionally galvanizing film, not only due to its shattering subject matter but thanks to Mullan's spot-on eye for casting and fluid, uncoercive style." - Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Selected by Owen Gleiberman, Michael Wilmington, Ty Burr, Gerald Peary, V.A. Musetto.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
The Man Who Wasn't There
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
2001, 116m, BW, USA-UK, Drama-Crime-Comedy
Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Gandolfini, Katherine Borowitz, Jon Polito, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub, Christopher Kriesa
"Most of the way this ranks with the Coens' most immaculately crafted work. Cain would have loved its dreamlike chills, and so will audiences nostalgic for the movies of half a century ago." - David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
Selected by David Sterritt, Kent Jones, A.O. Scott, Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Match Point
Woody Allen
2005, 124m, Col, UK, Crime-Drama-Thriller
Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brian Cox, Matthew Goode,  Emily Mortimer, Penelope Wilton, Ewen Bremner, James Nesbitt, Rupert Penry Jones, Alexander Armstrong
"The gloom of random, meaningless existence has rarely been so much fun, and Mr. Allen's bite has never been so sharp, or so deep. A movie this good is no laughing matter." - A.O. Scott, New York Times
Selected by Owen Gleiberman, Kent Jones, Molly Haskell, A.O. Scott, Phillip Lopate.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Miranda July 
2005, 91m, Col, USA-UK-Japan, Drama-Comedy
John Hawkes, Miranda July, Miles Thompson, Brandon Ratcliff, Carlie Westerman, Hector Elias, Brad Henke, Natasha Slayton, Najarra Townsend, Tracy Wright
"Performance artist Miranda July hits a grand slam as the writer, director and star of her first film. It's a moonbeam romance laced with startling wit and gravity." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Selected by Alice Lovejoy, Ed Park, David Edelstein, J.R. Jones, Nathan Rabin.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Michael Clayton
Tony Gilroy 
2007, 119m, Col, USA, Drama-Thriller
George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Michael O'Keefe, Sydney Pollack, Danielle Skraastad, Wai Chan, Alberto Vazquez, Brian Koppelman, Denis O'Hare
"At once spare and dense, chilly and thrilling, literate and visceral, it feeds in gray areas, teasing ambiguities and conundrums out of shadows and making strengths of inconclusiveness and uncertainty." - Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian
Selected by David Sterritt, Michael Atkinson, Saul Austerlitz, Peter Brunette, Mark Olsen.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Mysterious Skin
Gregg Araki 
2004, 105m, Col, USA-Netherlands, Drama
Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michelle Trachtenburg, Elisabeth Shue, Bill Sage, Jeffrey Licon, Lisa Long, Chase Ellison, Mary Lynn Rajskub, George Webster
"Explores both prepubescent and teen sexuality with an honesty that may make some people uncomfortable, which is a sign of its potency, and a badge of honor." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by David Ehrenstein, A.O. Scott, Kevin Thomas, B. Kite, Ed Gonzalez.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Of Time and the City
Terence Davies
2008, 72m, Col-BW, UK, Documentary
Terence Davies (narrator)
"It is a deeply personal piece of art that never descends into the confessional or the therapeutic, and a work of social and literary criticism that never lectures or hectors, but rather, with melancholy, tenderness and wit, manages to sing." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Selected by Piers Handling, Geoff Andrew, Phillip Lopate, Jonathan Rosenbaum, David Ehrenstein.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Paradise Now
Hany Abu-Assad
2005, 90m, Col, France-Germany-Netherlands-Israel, Drama-Crime
Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal, Arner Hiehel, Hiam Abbass, Ashraf Barhoum, Hamza Abu-Aiiaash, Lotuf Neusser, Mohammad Bustami, Ahmad Fares
"A powerful, poignant, provocative drama, it gets its strength from its dispassion, from an uncompromising determination to explain rather than justify or condemn, to put a human face on incomprehensible acts." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Leonard Maltin, Carrie Rickey, Kenneth Turan, Kent Jones, Daryl Chin.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Private Fears in Public Places
Alain Resnais
• Coeurs (original title)
2006, 120m, Col, France-Italy, Drama
Sabine Azema, Lambert Wilson, Andre Dussollier, Pierre Arditi, Laura Morante, Isabelle Carre, Claude Rich, Francoise Gillard, Anne Kessler, Roger Mollien
"Resnais employs all the tools of studio-bound moviemaking, silent-era to post-modern, in a way that is not only is consistently dazzling in a purely visual sense, but contains an empathy that lifts the picture to tragic heights even at those points at which it seems practically weightless." - Glenn Kenny, Premiere
Selected by Gilbert Adair, Bill Krohn, Peter von Bagh, Arnaud Desplechin, Richard Combs.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
The Proposition
John Hillcoat 
2005, 104m, Col, UK-Australia, Drama-Crime-Western
Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Tom Budge, Emily Watson, David Wenham, John Hurt, David Gulpilil, Leah Purcell, Noah Taylor
"Directed by John Hillcoat, this Aussie feature perfectly re-creates the charbroiled landscapes and cruel psychodrama of the old Sergio Leone westerns, with John Hurt particularly fine as a raging old mountain goat." - J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Selected by Andrew O'Hehir, Lisa Schwarzbaum, J.R. Jones, Graham Fuller, Sean Axmaker.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Phillip Noyce 
2002, 93m, Col, Australia-UK, Drama-Adventure
Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan, David Gulpilil, Ningali Lawford, Myarn Lawford, Deborah Mailman, Jason Clarke, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Wanganeen
"Noyce uses his Hollywood craft to unfold this primal, powerful story, he has an epic feel for the harshly beautiful Australian landscape and he gets wonderfully natural performances from the three girls." - David Ansen, Newsweek
Selected by Ty Burr, Ann Hornaday, Shawn Levy, James Berardinelli, Joe Morgenstern.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Ray
Taylor Hackford 
2004, 152m, Col, USA-UK, Musical-Drama-Biography
Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Regina King, Harry J. Lennix, Bokeem Woodbine, Aunjanue Ellis, Sharon Warren, Terrence Howard, Larenz Tate
"Bursting at the seams with music, Taylor Hackford's ambitious film provides a good sense of the pioneering entertainer's extraordinary journey and brings it to life with plenty of colorful detail." - Todd McCarthy, Variety
Selected by Owen Gleiberman, Michael Wilmington, Joe Morgenstern, Richard Corliss, Joel Siegel.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Reprise
Joachim Trier
2006, 107m, Col, Norway-Sweden, Drama
Espen Klouman Hoiner, Anders Danielsen Lie, Viktoria Winge, Pal Stokka, Christian Rubeck, Odd Magnus Williamson, Henrik Elvestad, Henrik Mestad, Rebekka Karijord, Sigmund Saeverud
"Reprise is kissed with the breath of French New Wave sensibility, sweet with verve and a love of forward movement. The mood of joy in the midst of youthful pain is enhanced by the freshness of the first-time lead actors." - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Selected by Gerald Peary, Chuck Wilson, Nathan Rabin, Mark Jenkins, David Fear.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Shattered Glass
Billy Ray
2003, 95m, Col, USA-Canada, Drama
Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey, Hank Azaria, Mark Blum, Simone-Elise Girard, Steve Zahn, Ted Kotcheff
"An astute and surprisingly gripping drama not only about the ethics of magazine writing, but also, more generally, about the subtle political and psychological dynamics of modern office culture." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Selected by Michael Sragow, Gerald Peary, Stephen Hunter, Mick LaSalle, Noel Murray.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Southland Tales
Richard Kelly
2006, 144m, Col, Germany-USA-France, Comedy-Drama-Science Fiction
Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Curtis Armstrong, Bai Ling, Cheri Oteri, Will Sasso, John Larroquette, Jon Lovitz, Wallace Shawn
"Funny, audacious, messy and feverishly inspired look at America and its discontents." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Selected by J. Hoberman, Kent Jones, Mark Peranson, Mark Olsen, Rob Nelson.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Spider-Man 2
Sam Raimi 
2004, 127m, Col, USA, Action-Fantasy-Science Fiction
Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Donna Murphy, Daniel Gillies, Dylan Baker, Bill Nunn
"The filmmakers smartly counter heavy drama with goofy comedy, mining a rich vein of humor in the juxtaposition of the mundane and the superheroic." - Nathan Rabin, The Onion A.V. Club
Selected by Michael Sragow, Roger Ebert, Mike Clark, Chris Kaltenbach, Peter Brunette.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Springtime in a Small Town
Tian Zhuangzhuang 
• Xiao cheng zhi chun (original title)
2002, 116m, Col, China-Hong Kong-France, Romance-Drama
Jingfan Hu, Jun Wu, Bai Qing Xin, Xiao Keng Ye, Si Si Lu
"This erotically charged drama may not be quite as great as the original, but it's an amazing and beautiful work just the same." - Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Selected by Chris Fujiwara, J. Hoberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kent Jones, Doug Cummings.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
The Station Agent
Thomas McCarthy
2003, 88m, Col, USA, Drama-Comedy
Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Paul Benjamin, Jase Blankfort, Paula Garces, Josh Pais, Richard Kind, Raven Goodwin, Michelle Williams
"Its charming story of the delicate intersection of three highly individual lives is the kind of completely personal yet universal film that the festival and the entire independent movement came into being to celebrate." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Selected by Jami Bernard, Peter Brunette, Ann Hornaday, Ruthe Stein, Megan Lehmann.
Amazon  Metacritic
         
 
         
Still Walking
Hirokazu Koreeda
• Aruitemo aruitemo (original title)
2008, 114m, Col, Japan, Drama
Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi, Shohei Tanaka, Kirin Kiki, Yoshio Harada, Ryoga Hayashi, Haruka Kato, Hotaru Nomoto
"Painful family issues are more likely to stay beneath the surface, known to everyone but not spoken of. Still Walking, a magnificent new film from Japan, is very wise about that, and very true." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Selected by Berenice Reynaud, Tom Charity, David Ansen, David Fear, Michael Koresky.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Syriana
Stephen Gaghan
2005, 126m, Col, USA, Thriller-Drama
George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Plummer, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Mazhar Munir, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Alexander Siddig
"Takes off with the lightning speed of a thriller, the gonzo force of frontline journalism and the emotional wallop of a drama that puts a human face on shocking statistics." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Selected by Carrie Rickey, Roger Ebert, F.X. Feeney, Cynthia Fuchs, Saul Austerlitz.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
A Time for Drunken Horses
Bahman Ghobadi
• Zamani barayé masti asbha (original title)
2000, 80m, Col, Iran, Drama
Nezhad Ekhtiar-Dini, Ameneh Ekhtiari, Mehdi Ekhtiar-Dini, Ayoub Ahmadi, Roujin Younesi, Kolssom Ekhtiar-Dini, Karim Ekhtiar-Dini, Rahman Salehi, Osman Karimi
"Presents us with characters of such humanity and dignity that it begins to seem obscene that until now we haven't exactly given all that much thought to the Kurds." - Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Selected by Gillies MacKinnon, Michael Atkinson, Robert Sklar, Jay Carr, Sam Adams.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Time of the Wolf
Michael Haneke 
• Le Temps du loup (original title)
2003, 113m, Col, France-Austria-Germany, Drama
Isabelle Huppert, Maurice Benichou, Lucas Biscombe, Anais Demoustier, Patrice Chereau, Beatrice Dalle, Olivier Gourmet, Daniel Duval, Maryline Even, Serge Riaboukine
"Haneke demonstrates profound insight into the essence of human behavior when all humility is pared away, raw panic and despair are the order of the day, and man becomes more like wolf than man." - Scott Foundas, Variety
Selected by Michael Atkinson, Manohla Dargis, Robert Koehler, Leslie Camhi, Saul Austerlitz.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Michael Winterbottom
http://www.tristramshandymovie.com/
• A Cock and Bull Story (alternative title)
2005, 94m, Col, UK, Comedy
Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Keeley Hawes, Shirley Henderson, Dylan Moran, David Walliams, Jeremy Northam, Benedict Wong, Naomie Harris, Kelly Macdonald
"This is not just a movie-within-a-movie, but a movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie, something that sounds unbearably arch but that is swift, funny and surprisingly unpretentious." - Dana Stevens, The New York Times
Selected by Leonard Maltin, Peter Keough, Molly Haskell, Sam Adams, Carina Chocano.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
12:08 East of Bucharest
Corneliu Porumboiu
• A fost sau n-a fost? (original title)
2006, 89m, Col, Romania-France, Comedy-Drama
Mircea Andreescu, Teodor Corban, Ion Sapdaru, Mirela Cioaba, Luminata Gheorghiu, Cristina Ciofu, Lucian Iftime, Annemarie Chertic, Petrika Sapdaru, Catalin Paraschiv
"This brilliantly caustic movie - easily the best in a burgeoning and fertile effort to come to grips with post-Soviet malaise in Central and Eastern Europe - offers living proof that when it comes to politics, comedy is the sincerest form of dissidence." - Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
Selected by Laurence Kardish, Michael Atkinson, Jeffrey M. Anderson, V.A. Musetto, Sam Adams.
Amazon  Metacritic
         

         
Under the Sand
François Ozon
• Sous le sable (original title)
2000, 96m, Col, France-Japan, Drama
Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart, Pierre Vernier, Andree Tainsy, Maya Gaugler, Damien Abbou, David Portugais, Pierre Soubestre
"A beautifully acted, carefully written meditation on one woman's grief, the enigma of imagination, the persistence of desire and -- let's face it -- the power of denial." - Bill Gallo, New Times L.A.
Selected by Dennis Lim, Chris Fujiwara, Desson Howe, Jessica Winter, Mike Rubin.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Va savoir
Jacques Rivette
2001, 154m, Col, France-Italy-Germany, Romance-Drama-Comedy
Jeanne Balibar, Sergio Castellitto, Marianne Basler, Helene de Fougerolles, Catherine Rouvel, Jacques Bonnaffe, Bruno Todeschini, Claude Berri, Attilo Cucari, Bettina Kee
"Va savoir doesn't so much flow as wander, trailing off into drama one minute, slapstick the next; it tries your patience, but ever so gently, masterfully." - Manohla Dargis, LA Weekly
Selected by David Sterritt, Chris Fujiwara, David Ehrenstein, Elvis Mitchell, Chris Chang.
Amazon  Metacritic
 
Where the Wild Things Are
Spike Jonze
2009, 101m, Col, USA, Adventure-Drama-Family
Max Records, Pepita Emmerichs, Max Pfeifer, Madeleine Greaves, Joshua Jay, Ryan Corr, Catherine Keener, Steve Mouzakis, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini
"Not since Robert Altman took on Popeye a generation ago, and lost, has a major director addressed such a well-loved, all-ages title. This time everything works, from tip to tail." - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Selected by A.O. Scott, Ed Gonzalez, John Powers, Peter Keough, Lisa Schwarzbaum.
Amazon  Metacritic
     
Plus, films that exited (and have not returned) from the January 2008 list: The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles), Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella), Junebug (Phil Morrison), A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater),  Lovely & Amazing (Nicole Holofcener), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell), The Others (Alejandro Amenábar), The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones), Whale Rider (Niki Caro), Bamboozled (Spike Lee), The Barbarian Invasions (Denys Arcand), The Quiet American (Phillip Noyce), Little Children (Todd Field), The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson), The Savages (Tamara Jenkins), Ali (Michael Mann), Cowards Bend the Knee (Guy Maddin), La Ciénaga (Lucrecia Martel), The Saddest Music in the World (Guy Maddin), The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev), Solaris (Steven Soderbergh), Lantana (Ray Lawrence), The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (Adam Curtis), Day Night Day Night (Julia Loktev).
 
     
     
     
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