The lists. 2003. 12/21.

Time runs not one but two movie lists in its Best + Worst 2003 section. Richard Corliss explains topping his with Return of the King: "This is as much a life achievement award - and an expression of gratitude for Peter Jackson's seven-year act of exemplary devotion to his quest - as a declaration that no one made a better movie this year." All in all, a fine list with a few mild surprises - Pirates, All the Real Girls - and the biggest: Divine Intervention.

Richard Schickel goes for Mystic River; his surprise entries: The Human Stain and Gloomy Sunday.

James Poniewozik, who needs to be given much, much more space to stretch his wit than Time usually allows, places The Office at the top of his TV list.

Meanwhile, AO Scott turns in a prologue of sorts to next Sunday's New York Times best-of's: "Think of this column, a partial roster of such work, not only as yet another end-of-the-year movie retrospective, but as an exercise in divination, a hopeful prophecy of the 10-best lists and Oscar tip-sheets of the future, and of reasons to keep going to the movies in years to come." Scott's looking forward to work from Fernando Meirelles and Peter Sollett, among other directors; Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley and Shia LaBeouf; and reserves special praise for Shohreh Aghdashloo. Scott's also been answering NYT readers' questions, and while we're at it, also in the paper:

Caryn James. "The final entry in the Lord of the Rings trilogy reveals once more that what the chick flick is to men, this trilogy is to women - or at least to a large secret society of us for whom the series is no more than a geek-fest, a technologically impressive but soulless endurance contest." That'd probably come as a surprise to Philippa Boyens.

Charles McGrath on how Cold Mountain helps reverse the "sepiafication" of the Civil War years promulgated by the likes of Ken Burns.

Katha Pollitt on Wellesley and Mona Lisa Smile: "The movie's depiction of the college is unfortunately on the mark."

Anna Kisselgoff: "Ballet has changed and so have movies that present an inside look at ballet companies." The occasion, of course, is Robert Altman's The Company.

Speaking of which. Nina Metz talks to Neve Campbell for the Chicago Tribune: "'[T]he thing with a broken rib is you can't breathe, because it's touching your lung. And you can't move and you can't sleep. So I was dancing eight hours a day, and then not sleeping, and then taking a lot of pain pills, and not breathing properly while I was dancing. So,' she says with considerable understatement, 'it was a challenge.'" And Michael Wilmington profiles Altman at 78.

But to get back to this business of lists, Joshua Klein selects the year's ten best DVDs: "The best DVD supplements cast a film in an entirely new light, and an illuminating and intelligent commentary track can be more effective than several discs of making-of footage." Say amen, somebody.

Posted by dwhudson at December 21, 2003 6:24 AM