Film fans' favorites
Cinema buffs from around the area weigh in with their choices for the best movies of 2005.

Will Schmenner is the motion-picture curator and programmer for the Block Cinema, at Evanston's Block Museum of Art.

The Academy Awards have become so coveted that late December is awash with good movies, Oscar contenders and strategic marketing. But good movies deserve to be released throughout the year. I'm going to do my part to mention a few movies not from December.

Hollywood is learning from its old self. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" combined honest drama and comedy, something goofy skit-based comedies from the last decade have largely failed to do. And "Goodnight, and Good Luck" is a modest movie so well-executed that it is a joy. Who knew Hollywood still could still make a smart little B-picture?
The best movies I saw all year were three short films by Olivio Barbieri -- a fine-arts photographer. I hope they become more widely shown.

As far as foreign movies go, Wallace and Gromit's return ("Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit") was a refreshing reminder that foreign movies don't need to be obscure. Zhang Ke Jia, the director of "The World," continues to get much well deserved attention. There is no better movie window into the economic upheaval that is changing China's cultural landscape than Zhang Ke Jia's careful character studies.

This year was a great year for classic Asian cinema. A fantastic retrospective on Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu toured North America. Ozu is one of the masters of cinema. Everyone should see a few of his movies. 2006 promises to be another good year for Asian cinema with a Mikio Naruse retrospective touring North America as well as a classic kung fu retrospective that features "The Five Deadly Venoms." If you like kung-fu movies, you need to spend some time with the Deadly Venoms.

Patrick Gonder, an English and humanities instructor at College of Lake County, runs the college's foreign film series.

There are a good number of films that deserve praise this year -- from independent fare such as "The Squid and the Whale" to mainstream crowd-pleasers like "King Kong" and "Batman Begins" -- but there are two films that should be singled out, due in part to the lack of attention they have received: "A History of Violence" and "The Constant Gardener."

Directed by David Cronenberg, "A History of Violence" is as spare, economical and deadly as a switchblade; not a frame is wasted in this disturbing and provocative meditation on the nature of male anger. While succeeding as a tense, political thriller, Fernando Meirelles' "The Constant Gardener" may be one of the saddest and most beautiful love stories I have ever seen. These films feature my two favorite performances of the year: Maria Bello in "A History of Violence" and Ralph Fiennes in "The Constant Gardener."

Milos Stehlik is the director of Facets Multi-Media in Chicago, which shows art films and rents and sells video. www.facets.org.

1. "Three Times" (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
2. "The Child" (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
3. "Saraband" (Ingmar Bergman)
4. "Holy Girl" (Lucretia Martel)
5. "Nobody Knows" (Kore-eda Hirozaku)
6. "The Ice Harvest" (Harold Ramis)
7. "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (Jacques Audiard)
8. "Capote" (Bennett Miller)
9. "The World" (Jia Zhangke)
10. "The Best of Youth" (Marco Tullio Giordano)
Best Revivals: "The Conformist" (Berolucci), "The Passenger" (Antonioni) and "Army of Shadows" (Jean-Pierre Melville).
Best New Discovery: "Le Pont des Arts" (Eugene Green).
Most Memorable Non-Screen Experience of the Year: Trying to find the ostensibly disappeared Charlotte Rampling in the shops along Telluride's Colorado Avenue.

Why is "Three Times" my No. 1 film when few have heard of it and fewer have seen it? It is, by far, the most perfect film, a work of art beyond criticism, no matter what anyone else thinks of it.

The best place to watch a movie is still a movie theatre, in the dark.

Patricia Brett Erens, an adjunct professor of communications at Dominican University in River Forest, is the author of the books "Issues in Feminist Film Criticism" and "The Jew in American Cinema." She recently directed the film "Waiting for the New York Times."

I am reluctant to pick the top 10 films of 2005 because these lists look foolish two years later, so I'll go with my favorites:

1. "Ballets Russes" -- A love letter for all those who love dance.
2. "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" -- A charming story of three adolescents coming of age during the Cultural Revolution.
3. "Brokeback Mountain" -- Finally, a gay film that can touch everyone.
4. "The Constant Gardener" -- A devastating political thriller about Africa, without the heavy-handedness of a documentary.
5. "A History of Violence" -- Makes viewers confront not only violence in America, but also on the screen.
6. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" -- The film you love to hate. Despite celebrity hype, the chemistry oozes off the screen.
7. "Shopgirl" -- A sleeper that grew in meaning as the days passed.
8. "Ushpizin" -- Confirms that Israeli cinema has come of age and a felicitous look at a seldom seen segment of Israeli society.
9. "The Weeping Meadow" -- A breathtaking epic by Theo Angelopolos, about contemporary Greek history.
10. "Wedding Crashers" -- Great belly laughs.

Tim O'Connor is co-owner of the Catlow Theatre in Barrington.

Top 10 best films that played at the Catlow in 2005, in no particular order:

" Good Night, and Good Luck" -- George Clooney's brief look at integrity is one of those films that everyone should see.
" Millions" -- The most underrated release of 2005. A real gem.
" Broken Flowers" -- Bill Murray in Buster Keaton mode just keeps getting better and better.
" Sideways" -- A road picture for the 21st century.
" Walk the Line" -- Two words: Johnny Cash!
" March of the Penguins" -- People lined up for this one.
" Wedding Crashers" -- Two lovable louses stole hearts onscreen and off.
" The Aviator" -- Who says money brings happiness?
" Meet the Fokkers" -- Great cast delivers more laughs than the first one.
" Raiders of the Lost Ark" -- A return to the big screen. People are still begging for more classics here.

Barbara Scharres is director of programming of the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. www.siskelfilmcenter.org.

I'm not a fan of 10-best lists, and I'm afraid I don't agree with the concept very much. What I can contribute is a list of 10 films that I recommend your readers try to catch up with. With the exception of "Kung Fu Hustle," all of these played at the Film Center in 2005.

In alphabetical order:
" Electric Edwardians: The Films of Mitchell & Kenyon" (Great Britain, Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon)
" Ferpect Crime (El Crimen Ferpecto)" (Spain, Alex de la Igesia)
" Gilles' Wife" (Belgium/Luxembourg, Frederic Fonteyne)
" Kung Fu Hustle" (Hong Kong, Stephen Chow)
" A Rider Named Death" (Russia, Karen Shakhnazarov)
" Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" (United States, Andrew Douglas)
" The Weeping Meadow" (Greece, Theo Angelopoulos)
" Whisky" (Uruguay, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll)
" A Wonderful Night in Split" (Croatia, Arsen-Anton Ostojic)
" The World" (China, Jia Zang-ke)
" The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till" (United States, Keith Beauchamp)

Rob Pileckis is production supervisor at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. He runs the center's movie series and has directed independent films.

I think it was director Otto Preminger who once defined a great movie as having three good scenes and no bad ones, while a former film instructor of mine said that a great movie is simply a good story well told. My litmus test is a bit more pragmatic: a great movie is that flick you keep getting sucked into every time it appears on cable (even if you own the DVD).

Here are 10 2005 film releases (in no particular order) that I'm sure I'll find myself glued to all over again:

" Capote"
" The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
" Downfall"
" Good Night, and Good Luck"
" King Kong"
" Kung Fu Hustle"
" March of the Penguins"
" Murderball"
" Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"
" Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

Normann Pokorny of Skokie is a first assistant director in the Chicago film industry, working primarily on commercials, but also on features, including "Save the Last Dance" and "Light It Up."

The best movie I saw in 2005 was "Batman Begins." Christopher Nolan's respectful vision of the Dark Knight's genesis plunges a syringe of adrenaline into the heart of this franchise, a franchise seemingly left for dead after the last installment, "Batman and Robin."

" Batman Begins" is a detailed psychological profile of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the exploration of his darkest fears, and his indefatigable search for identity. The character's struggle against the duality of his nature has been examined before, but somehow, in this film, we seem to feel it more deeply. To me, this film's realistic approach help offset its comic book nature and propel it to a more accessible level. Supporting characters such as Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman), Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) and even Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) help achieve this goal.
This search for self-realization seems a basic human drive. This film, I think, inspires one to dig a little deeper into one's self.

Dana Olsen, a Wilmette resident, is a screenwriter whose films include "George of the Jungle" and "The 'burbs."

Call me a relic, but I get more excited about rewatching the great older films as they become available on DVD than I do about many of the latest theatrical releases. Fortunately there's a video store near me (Video Adventure) that pays attention to films made prior to last summer, and a whole bunch of really great titles finally showed up on disc this year, including two of my all-time favorites from the '60s, the searing L.A. noir crime drama "Point Blank," starring Lee Marvin and directed by John Boorman, which I've seen probably 20 times; and from the Criterion Collection, Robert Bresson's "Au Hasard Balthazar," which is just exquisite. Everyone should see a Robert Bresson film.

Nick Thompson is an independent director, producer and screenwriter from Rolling Meadows. His most recent film is "Unknown."

In no particular order, Nick Thompson's best films of 2005.

" The Ice Harvest" -- Directed by Harold Ramis, "The Ice Harvest" offers dark comedy in exchange for comfort in a thriller that levels with "Fargo." The film exhibits a small-scale story about chaos that surrounds a seemingly well-planned crime.
" War of the Worlds" -- Sure, the end wrapped up everything in a big bow, but nonetheless the film depicts realism and preys on insecurities we have about higher beings, while also offering out-of this world performances by the entire cast.
" King Kong" -- Though too long, Peter Jackson's "King Kong" exhibits modern filmmaking in its finest form. From unbelievable special effects to incredibly charismatic performances from Naomi Watts and Jack Black, "King Kong" surely demonstrates a brilliant form of filmmaking.
" A History of Violence" has a precisely distinct filmmaking style. Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello's performances have an implicit realism to them that brings us into their complicated life, making the film a well-rounded work of art.

Nat Dykeman owns Dog Ear Music & Movies in Libertyville and runs the Lake County Film Festival.

1. "Oldboy" (Chan Wook-Park) -- A South Korean masterpiece comparable to David Fincher's films. Dark, twisty and sometimes brutal. (The film will show at Lake County Film Festival in April.)
2. "Four Eyed Monsters" (Susan Buice & Arin Crumley) -- An evolutionary step as much as film, FEM mixes art-film visuals into an intriguing relationship narrative. Almost singlehandedly starting a video podcasting movement and pleasing audiences at film festivals, no studio has picked it up. (2006 Lake County Film Festival.)
3. "Reel Paradise" (Steve James) -- A documentary about an American family running the world's most remote theater.
4. "Crash" (Paul Haggis)
5. "Murderball" (Henry Alex Rubin & Dana Adam Shapiro) -- An engaging and uplifting documentary about quadriplegics playing wheelchair rugby.
6. "Sin City" (Robert Rodriguez)
7. "King Kong" (Peter Jackson)
8. "Walk the Line" (James Mangold)
9. "The Dry Spell" (John Dowdle) -- No movie has made me laugh as much as this film-festival favorite. Unfortunately, no studio has picked this up, either.
10. (tie) "Syriana" (Stephen Gaughan), "Good Night, and Good Luck" (George Clooney) -- Two important films about American politics today, even though the former is set in a fictional county, and the other is set in the '50s.

Brian G. Ross is senior regional publicist for Landmark Theatres, which runs the Landmark Century in Chicago and Renaissance Place in Highland Park.

I look at films from a different angle than most. Not so much an entertainment value but how they make me feel, how they touch me and hopefully impact others. My picks this year are a far cry from most of the highly respected critics across the land. Being involved with independent, foreign and art films in the exhibition industry I haven't had the opportunity to watch many block busters this year so those listed below are my personal highlights of 2005.

" Downfall"
" The Beat That My Heart Skipped"
" The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"
" 2046"
" Layer Cake"
" Millions"
" Kontroll"
" Brothers"
" Murderball"
" Grizzly Man"
" Oldboy"

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