The National Society of Film Critics is a 57-member group comprising critics from major newspapers and magazines across the U.S. Movies and DVD/videos in their first national release (some of which have yet to open in Chicago) are ranked by NSFC members for the poll on a scale of 100 possible points. The averaged ratings correspond to the following key: 100-81 = excellent; 80-61 = good; 60-41 = average; 40-21 = fair; 20-0 = poor.
The NSFC Web site, which contains more complete rankings of films and video past and present, as well as film descriptions, links to reviews by NSFC members, and the group’s history can be visited at http://nsfc.zap2it.com/nsfc/cda/index.jsp.
NSFC chairman: David Sterritt (Christian Science Monitor). Poll editor: Michael Wilmington (Chicago Tribune).
77 `The Holy Girl’: A subtle, mysterious and disturbing drama of eroticism and religious repression about an Argentine schoolgirl, Amalia (Maria Alche) and the doctor (Carlos Belloso) who molests her and flirts with her mother (Mercedes Moran). The doctor is furtive and ashamed; the girl, who decides to “save” him, winds up showing us instead the sometime dangers of organized piety and awakening sexuality. This second feature by the gifted writer-director Lucrecia Martel (“La Cienega”) was a 2004 Cannes Festival critical hit. (Spanish, with English subtitles.)
66 `Batman Begins’
Dir., Christopher Nolan
60 `My Summer of Love’
Dir., Pawel Pawlikowski
55 `The Perfect Man’
Dir., Mark Rosman
42 `The Deal’
Dir., Harvey Kahn
Movies now playing
82 `Howl’s Moving Castle’
Dir., Hayao Miyazaki
66 `Cinderella Man’
Dir., Ron Howard
66 `Rock School’
Dir., Don Argott
65 `The Sisterhood
of the Traveling Pants’
Dir., Ken Kwapis
62 `Madagascar’
Dir., Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
59 `Saving Face’
Dir., Alice Wu
49 `Mr. and Mrs. Smith’
Dir., Doug Liman
46 `Lords of Dogtown’
Dir., Catherine Hardwicke
45 `The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D’
Dir., Robert Rodriguez
43 `The Honeymooners’
Dir., John Schultz
On their way
71 `Heights’ (opens June 24)
Dir., Chris Terrio
70 `5×2′ (opens July 15)
Dir., Francois Ozon
65 `Me and You and Everyone We Know’ (opens June 24)
Dir., Miranda July
91 `Au Hasard Balthazar’: Robert Bresson’s most deeply personal work, one of the cinema’s great religious films, is the story of a donkey, Balthazar, who passes from owner to owner, suffering silently and submitting to an often cruel destiny, all shown with the supreme artistry and austerity that are Bresson’s hallmarks. The ending is one of the most beautiful in any film: a shattering evocation of the mysteries of life and grace. With Anne Wiazemsky. (Criterion Collection)
85 `Heaven Can Wait’
(Criterion Collection)
Dir., Ernst Lubitsch
85 `Kwik Stop’
Dir., Michael Gilio
80 `Jaws’ (widescreen
30th anniversary edition)
Dir., Steven Spielberg
80 `Signs of Life’
Dir., Werner Herzog
74 `Casino’ (widescreen
10th anniversary edition)
Dir., Martin Scorsese
73 `The Reivers’
Dir., Mark Rydell
72 `The Lightship’
Dir., Jerzy Skolimowski
71 `The Women’
Dir., George Cukor
63 `Edward II’
Dir., Derek Jarman
60 `The Nomi Song’ (widescreen)
Dir., Andrew Horn
55 `Hitch’ (widescreen edition)
Dir., Andy Tennant
50 `Prime Cut’
Dir., Michael Ritchie
Previously released DVDs
84 `My Man Godfrey’
Dir., Gregory LaCava
71 `Sling Blade’
(Miramax collectors series)
Dir., Billy Bob Thornton
68 `All the Right Moves’
Dir., Michael Chapman
60 `The Karate Kid’
(special edition)
Dir., John Avildsen
59 `Swimming With Sharks’
(special edition)
Dir., George Huang
