WCBE's "It's Movie Time" critics butt heads over the year's Top 25 picks and their Academy Award Choices...By Clay Lowe & John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time"
Most of the year's box office block busters may be missing from "It's Movie Time's" John DeSando and Clay Lowe's list of Golden Oldies, but then why would anyone expect these two old curmudgeons to be in tune with what's hip at local multiplexes?
If "Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings," "The Mummy Returns,"
"Pearl Harbor," "Ocean's Eleven," "Jurassic Park III," and "Planet of the Apes" are nowhere in sight on their year-end list of favorite flicks, what on earth did they do with all those free passes producer Richelle Antczak gave out to them?
Truth is, more often or not, they were hunkering down (in plain brown trench coats) deriving guilty pleasures from sipping decaf coffee, munching fat free muffins, and soaking up the rays of light bouncing off the screens of their favorite art house cinemas.
Agreeing (begrudgingly) to rank only his first five favorites of the year, DeSando selected: "The Royal Tenenbaums," "The Man Who Wasn't There," "Moulin Rouge," "No Man's Land," and "Memento."
Surprisingly, three of DeSando's films also appear on Clay's top five list, but as might be expected, in differing order.
DeSando left his list of Academy Award choices with Clay, then headed back to Delaware to finish up reading last week's Sunday "New York Times." Though he did shout as he drove out of sight that the next twenty films on Clay's list seemed to look right. So, here they are:
1. "Moulin Rouge"
2. "The Royal Tenenbaums"
3. "No Man's Land"
4. "Sexy Beast"
5. "In the Mood for Love"
6. "The Man Who Wasn't There"
7. "Gosford Park"
8. "Lantana"
9. "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
10. "Mulholland Drive"
11. "Memento"
12. "Shrek"
13. "Ghost World"
14. "Donnie Darko"
15. "Italian for Beginners"
16. "Amores Perros"
17. "Under the Sand"
18. "Vanilla Sky"
19. "Himalaya"
20. "Bread and Tulips"
21. "With a Friend Like Harry"
22. "Anniversary Party"
23. "The Princess and the Warrior"
24. "Suzhou River"
25. "Kandahar"
Academy Award Choices:
Only fools fall in love or attempt to second guess either box office oddsmakers or the rank and file voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Nevertheless, here are Clay and John's favorite pics from the list of those nominated.
Best Foreign Language Film:
"No Man's Land"
Best Picture:
"Moulin Rouge"
Best Actor:
Russell Crowe ("A Beautiful Mind")
Best Actress:
Nicole Kidman ("Moulin Rouge")
Best Supporting Actor:
Lowe: Ben Kingsley ("Sexy Beast"), DeSando: Jim Broadbent ("Iris")
Best Supporting Actress:
Kate Winslet ("Iris")
Best Director:
Lowe: Robert Altman, "Gosford Park", DeSando: David Lynch, "Mulholland Drive"
Best Writing Directly for Screen:
Lowe: "The Royal Tenenbaums", DeSando: "Memento"
Best Writing Previously Published:
Lowe: "Ghost World", DeSando: "In the Bedroom"
Best Animated Feature:
Lowe: "Shrek", DeSando: "Monsters, Inc."
Best Animated Short Film:
"For the Birds"
Best Documentary:
"Promises"
NPR Film Critic and Commentator, Bob Mondello's Top 19 Picks (Note: He's much more in tune with the common folk than "It's Movie Time's" snobbish critics.)
1. "Shrek"
2. "Lord of the Rings"
3. "Memento"
4. "Amores Perros"
5. "Divided We Fall"
6. "Amelie"
7. "L.I.E."
8. "In the Bedroom"
9. "Black Hawk Down"
10. "No Man's Land"
11. "Startup.com"
12. "Ghost World"
13. "The Visit"
14. "Moulin Rouge"
15. "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
16. "The Day I Became a Woman"
17. "Gosford Park"
18. "The Man Who Wasn't There"
19. "Apocalypse Now, Redux"
Clay Lowe and John DeSando co-host "It's Movie Time" heard Thursday nights at 8:01 p.m. and Friday afternoons at 3:01 p.m. on WCBE.