Many of the films I've been most anticipating this year - Rivette's "The
Story of Marie and Julien," de Oliveira's "A Talking Picture," Chabrol's "The
Flower of Evil," Van Sant's "Elephant" - I haven't yet seen, so this list is
highly incomplete. Nonetheless, if I had to make it today, here are my top 17
films + comments on the top 10.

1. Mystic River (Clint Eastwood)

I know of at least a few Eastwood fans who have argued persuasively and
interestingly against this film, but after three viewings I can't help but see
it
as a major work - Eastwood's greatest since "A Perfect World." Bill may be
right that much of the picture is carried by the performances, but on the other
hand you have something like the cross-cutting between Bacon, Penn, Linney, and
Harden during that astonishing final parade sequence... talk about great
filmmaking.

2. The Hunted (William Friedkin)

Friedkin sort of lost me during most of the '90s, but he rebounded with two
extraordinary films in the 2000s: "Rules of Engagement" (which Dan turned me on
to) and "The Hunted," an extraordinarily lean, compact film with the best use
of space (the film moves from forests to cities to waterfalls) of any film
I've seen this year.

3. Stuck On You (Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly)

It is the most heartening development I can think of in mainstream American
film of late that the Farrellys - who could have so easily cashed in and made
"There's Something About Mary" ten more times - took the road less traveled and
instead of repeating themselves, branched out into other directions, taking
the sentiment which underlies all of their work into the foreground of "Shallow
Hal" and this film. I'm not even sure that they make 'comedies' anymore;
whatever you want to call it, I can't wait to see where they go next.

4. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino)

It seems that the popular consensus on this film is that it's an "exercise in
style," but a potentially more fruitful avenue may be found in exploring its
decidedly feminist bent.

5. Anything Else (Woody Allen)

Allen's mise-en-scene has been revitalized by the use of 'Scope in this film;
and as inconsistent as the film may be from a screenplay standpoint, there's
at least three sequences which are as well directed as anything he's ever
done.

6. Looney Tunes: Back In Action (Joe Dante)

I loved what David said about how, in this film, "the REAL text is what would
ordinarily be the subtext of references to everything Joe has ever seen and
loved."

7. All the Ships at Sea (Dan Sallitt)

An immaculately written and directed film. And Edith Meeks gives possibly
the finest performance I've seen all year.

8. The Secret Lives of Dentists (Alan Rudolph)

Rudolph's depiction of growing distance and suspicion in a happy marriage
rivals that of "Eyes Wide Shut" (F.X. Feeney's comparison in Film Comment.)

9. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (McG)

In my review, I invoked Howard Hawks in this film's infectious spirit of big
stars making essentially a "home movie" (Thomson's description of "The Big
Sleep.")

10. The Singing Detective (Keith Gordon)

I haven't yet seen the Potter mini-series, so I have the advantage of
approaching this entirely as "a Keith Gordon film." It connects meaningfully
with
all of the other films of this highly underrated (and extremely visually
stylish) filmmaker.

11. Gigli (Martin Brest)

12. Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella)

13. In the Cut (Jane Campion)

14. Hulk (Ang Lee)

15. All the Real Girls (David Gordon Green)

16. New Guy (Bilge Ebiri)

17. Le Divorce (James Ivory)

Peter