Lists, 1/12.

Introducing his lists in the New York Observer, Andrew Sarris explains why he's, well, basically re-running last year's introduction to last year's lists.

Movie City News has the People's Choice award-winners, of course; David Poland's observations once again open the floodgates of commentary. And via MCN, Time's Richard Corliss on a few of 2005's great performances.

Dave Kehr comments on what actually goes on at these critics groups' voting sessions.

Collin Souter's best and worst at Hollywood Bitchslap.

At the Whine Colored Sea, Ben lists his "favorite 'old' films that I saw for the first time in 2005."

Picking up the Cinemarati countdown watch again with best first features and supporting performances and the big countdown itself: #6: King Kong (Vern explains) and #5: 2046 (lylee explains); #4: Capote (shimes explains; Filmbrain dissents).

At the IFC Blog, Alison Willmore lists her "favorite cinematic grand gestures, the ones that would look far sillier in real life but that, committed to celluloid, may well be the very thing film was made for."

Matt Zoller Seitz: Five death scenes "that really hit me." Comments ensue.

At least in terms of drawing a crowd, 2005 was a rotten year for women in front of the camera, realizes Sara Vilkomerson as she watches the comers and goers at the New York Film Critics Circle awards ceremony. Reese Witherspoon may be poised to become a box office draw, but:

Consider the other actresses receiving accolades this award season - Felicity Huffman from Transamerica, Woody Allen's latest muse, Match Point's Scarlett Johansson, A History of Violence's Maria Bello, Memoirs of a Geisha's Ziyi Zhang, Charlize Theron in North Country, perennial Oscar favorites Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench in Proof and Mrs Henderson Presents. The cumulative grosses of all those films, by the end of 2005, was $89,129,354.

Come on! The latest installment in the Harry Potter trilogy took in $101.4 million on its opening weekend alone.

What's more, "mainstream A-list actresses mostly landed with a resounding thud - or not at all - in 2005."

For the Independent, Sophie Morris selects the best period dramas on DVD.

Brian Darr: 20 films he'd like to see screen in the San Francisco Bay Area over the coming year.

Scott Tobias has seven suggestions for anyone looking to make a January flop.

Posted by dwhudson at January 12, 2006 9:20 AM