Lists, 1/2.

Agree or disagree with the reviews (and with so many varied voices, you're likely to do both often), you have to admire the always impeccable design decisions at Not Coming to a Theater Near You, particularly when it comes to their specials. The latest: "2005 in review." And the lists: Matt Bailey (a bit of TV, a bit of Clair Denis), Beth Gilligan (wild this year about Preston Sturges), Leo Goldsmith (lists, notes and moments, including, "Sitting behind Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and three red-robed Tibetan monks at a screening of War of the Worlds"), Chiranjit Goswami ("Fatigue aside, TIFF rejuvenated my enthusiasm for movies"), Jenny Jediny (mini-essays on ten films, five of them French), Ian Johnston ("film experience of the year": Heimat II) and Rumsey Taylor (a page devoted to Gates of Heaven).

Ten bests, ten worsts from Cole Smithey in the Boise Weekly.

"Whom can you trust?" asks Eric Childress at Hollywood Bitchslap: "It's the question Criticwatch has been asking from the beginning and it's the one we will be asking until the end of the Quote Whores as we know them. The countdown is on again for the Whores of the Year, a race that went down to the wire producing another Top 10 list and another year of disgrace. Remember these names. And when you think of them - think less. They certainly do when it comes to film."

Also: Peter Sobczynski and Jason Whyte's top tens.

Though he's unimpressed by them, Chuch Tryon does point to the Washington Post critics' top tens - Ann Hornaday, Stephen Hunter and Desson Thomson. More importantly, he contributes his own. If you've been reading Chuck, you won't be surprised to see that about half of them are docs.

The best films Peter Nellhaus saw in 2005 aren't listed but grouped - new, old, DVD, theater and so on - on a page where The Passenger and Mr and Mrs Smith coexist peacefully.

Aaron W Graham goes for Homecoming; via Dennis Cozzalio, who is too kind. Thanks, Dennis. Somehow, too, I missed Andy Klein, topping his ten in the LA CityBeat with Batman Begins. The Cincinnati CityBeat critics list 'em, too.

Gabriel Shanks: top ten, runners-up, worsts and honorable mentions.

Jeffrey Overstreet writes up his top ten, then lists another ten.

At Movie City News, Gary Dretzka selects his top ten DVDs.

Thomas Groh's 2005.

After Dark Film Festival director Adam Lopez picks ten top sci-fi, horror and fantasy films. Also at Twitch, X begins a review of the year in Korean TV dramas. Related: Darcy Paquet at Koreanfilm.org: "The beginning of this year's winter vacation has seen an unusually large number of big films hit theaters. Therefore there's been quite a slugfest at the box office."

Round-ups in the Boston Globe: Ty Burr and Wesley Morris, via They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?.

Patrick Goldstein presents the Los Angeles Times' "annual look at the bad behavior, bizarre moments and other dubious achievements from 2005 that make show business the capital of self-involved entitlement in America." Also, James Bates's predictions for the new year.

Brian Darr looks ahead to the year in film in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Parts 1 and 2.

Posted by dwhudson at January 2, 2006 6:33 AM