Oscar run-up, part one

As with recent years, this year (by which I mean films which first saw domestic release in 2005) I tried to see as many films nominated for the main Oscar categories as I could. Or rather, I am trying, because I'm certainly not done. My usual Oscar preview will eventually appear in this space, maybe even before the show itself. Even if I don't see everything - and I can guarantee you I won't, because there's no way I could ever tolerate the behavior of one gender of characters in North Country - I will still do the preview, but I'd like to be as educated as possible, which only makes sense. That and I'm woefully behind on movies for the year; I didn't see anything in the theater between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Syriana, for crying out loud, a gulf of about two months right at what is usually a big viewing time for me.

On the other hand, it's hard to see too many movies theatrically while on a full work schedule, and anyway this hasn't been the greatest year for me. It was only Monday night that I finally saw an A+ film - last year I saw fully eight, and five of those were in the theater. This one was on DVD and it wasn't even in English - it's a Hungarian film called Kontroll, and I suggest you check it out.

More recent catching up, review-wise:

Syriana: 88
Review here.

Munich: 66
Review here.

Mrs. Henderson Presents: 61
Review here.

Transamerica: 43
Review here.

I had to really talk myself into Mrs. Henderson Presents - I only saw it because Judi Dench got an Oscar nomination (because she's Judi Dench, really), but even then I only saw it because it was the only thing playing within two hours when I got there. And even then I stood there for several minutes before deciding not to go home. Naturally, it was not the worst of the two movies I saw that particular day; that honor goes to Transamerica, which is not unwatchable but has a really repulsive deus ex machina near the ending. Also, it's kind of boring. Well, you can read the review.

Upcoming: Brokeback Mountain and Capote in the theater, and Crash, Hustle and Flow, and The Constant Gardener (plus a number of other 2005 movies that aren't Oscar-nominated). I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, here's my top ten for the year so far - that's a huge SO FAR on that one - which should give you some idea of how mediocre a year it's been so far. For comparison's sake, my lowest-rated film in last year's eventual final top ten (which no one has actually ever seen because a couple Netflix films made it in) was The Incredibles at 93/100.

1. Kontroll - 95
2. Murderball - 94
3. Syriana - 88
4. Good Night, and Good Luck. - 88
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 84
6. March of the Penguins - 73
7. Kung Fu Hustle - 72
8. Layer Cake - 72
9. Munich - 66
10. Star Wars - Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith - 64

When you've got a B- movie in your top ten, that's not a very strong year. It's worth noting that two screeners I saw through eFilmCritic, The Outsider and The Garth Method, would actually crack the top ten as it stands (at 9 and 10), but I'm not including anything that didn't see domestic release, especially since I'd be really depressed with this year's quality if the 9 and 10 spots don't change (so why bother putting something there now that no one else has seen).