What is a BEST film? I’d say its not just the “best-made”, or else you’d be seeing titles like “City of God” or “Babel” dominating the list. When I say BEST, I’m mostly speaking very personally – movies that I know have affected me in some way because its really a combo of EVERYTHING GREAT; thoughtful filmmaking, sensitive writing in characters and dialogue, appealing to eye, appealing to the soul, and repeatable viewing without loss of greatness (though that last category is flimsy when it comes to movies like “Requiem for a Dream,” which only has a repeat viewing appeal for sadists).

2000-2009: A DECADE IN FILM

#25: BEST IN SHOW, 2000

Christopher Guest mockumentaries / movies are arguably the greatest series of comedies starring a 100% all-around solid ensemble full of some of today’s best living actors, not even just comedically. But BEST IN SHOW specifically – about a seriously intense dog competition and its unbelieveable dog-owner competitors – may be the most unforgettable, with RIDICULOUSLY HYSTERICAL performances from Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Begley Jr… and yes I did just name-drop the entire cast because they are superbly skilled in making you pee incessantly. #25: Best in Show.

#24: THE RING, 2002

Not so much one of the scariest, but without a doubt one of the most genuinely disgustingly creepy movies ever made… Thanks to a big bang of a beginning starring Amber Tamblyn’s decomposing face (not to mention the most blatant but still great opening discussion of “that video tape that kills you when you watch it”), the movie positively snowballs into a massively weird creation of gritty images, dark cinematography, a terrifying little girl villain, a fragile abusive dad in the form of Brian Cox, and a seriously great & career-making leading performance from Naomi Watts. The rest of the Japanese horror remakes don’t even exist because this one is SO gorgeous and SO much better than its original (“Ringu”), a rare feat. #24: The Ring.

#23: MEAN GIRLS, 2004

This decade for teen movies very much sucked dick – that stale trend flew WAY out the window after the infamous Late ’90s Teen Movie Massacre (thank you, “She’s All Fat”) – but then in comes TINA FEY, one of God’s greatest creations. Not only does she reinvigorate the genre, but she actually makes one of the most time-sensitively realistic “period pieces,” I guess you could call it. The new wave of bitchiness in PMS-ing teen girls across the country (globe?) was PERFECTLY packaged in this glossy, almost borderline-R-rated comedy with jokes about blowjobs, plus gross youth-obssessed moms, a brilliant map of the new millenium lunchroom, and trying to fit in after growing up as Eliza Thornberry. TIM MEADOWS ALERT! #23: Mean Girls.

#22: CECIL B. DEMENTED, 2000

Oh, John Waters. Always the romantic. He made this liiiittle underground movie – that made my list JUST in time – about a bunch of young twentysomething renegade filmmakers (led brilliantly by D-Lister Stephen Dorff, plus Adrian Grenier, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and maybe Michael Shannon?) who kidnap a Hollywood A-Lister, played superrrrrbly by Melanie Griffith – I think she’s playing Drew Barrymore – to be the star in their perverted, Satanic, violent home movies. Poetry at its best. #22: Cecil B. Demented.

#21: BRIGHT STAR, 2009

Veering away from the comedic and the bloody, one of the rarest movies to be released this decade, that we moviegoers are truly, truly blessed to be able to experience, is Jane Campion’s BRIGHT STAR. John Keats, poet and brilliant, sensual, sensitive thinker, lived a quiet and tormented life, showcased through Campion’s painfully beautiful camerawork and lathered some otherworldly acting – mainly Ben Whishaw’s John Keats, Abbie Cornish as his sweetie, and surprisingly, Paul Schneider as the character most likely to be written by Jane Austen. Seriously, this a treat; a very small, excruciatingly lovely gift from above. #21: Bright Star.

#20: 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, AND 2 DAYS, 2007

Here’s a cold, cold movie. Those who saw it said it was without a doubt one of the best of the year, perhaps one of the greatest indie foreign dramas ever released in America – and everyone else kinda let it flow past their radar, even though it was up for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film (which is almost disrespectful, because the Globes are a piece of shit). The time period is the early ’80s; setting: Romania. One girl tries to set up a back-alley abortion for her sadly-doomed friend, and as you can imagine, everything terrible occurs. But it’s not just shocking – it’s really emotionally powerful from every corner. And it’s unforgettable. #20. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days.

#19. SNOW ANGELS, 2008

Some more snow for ya: one of those emotional, painful dramas about love, life, loss, and death in an unnamed wintery small-town setting, but what makes SNOW ANGELS seriously stand out from the rest is how character driven it is, and how great those characters are. Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, and Michael Angorano are three corners of a well-knit triangle, and with supporting help from Nicky Katt, Amy Sedaris, and Olivia Thirlby, you know everything’s gonna explode. It goes from peaceful to blaring, from endearing to horrifying, in a mood shift that is extremely masterful. The drama becomes a mystery, one that’s hard to shake off and is very, very clastrophobic. #19: Snow Angels.

#18: [REC], 2007

Hooray for Spanish horror! Spain is quickly becoming a superb import for creative horror movies, taking Japan’s dethroned slot. But this one – above Pan’s Lab, above The Orphanage – takes the cake. Those of you who’ve seen “Quarantine” have already seen [REC]; they’re the EXACT same movie, almost shot-for-shot, remade in America a year or two later. But for the sake of artistic integrity, we’ll say the title at hand is the superior. Half-zombie movie, half-haunted house movie, we are literally brought into the movie and are not allowed to part with it until the simultaneously gruesome and super intelligent final frame. Nightmare? Here you go. #18: [REC].

17. WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, 2001

Probably one of the greatest cult-classic comedies of all time for me, up there with Spinal Tap and Clue — I’m just gonna spout off a couple names here, try to catch up: Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Michael Ian Black, Janeane Garofalo, Molly Shannon, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Ken Marino, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Judah Friedlander, Joe Lo Truglio, CHRISTOPHER MELONI! Unstoppably quotable with extreme non-sequiturs, genius toiler humor, swift comic timing, great random little kid extras at the camp, and the fact that every.fucking.scene is a necessary piece of David Wain’s dream comedy masterpiece. #17: Wet Hot American Summer.

16. THE OTHERS, 2001

Dark, dusty, supernatural thrillers with Nicole Kidman and Fionulla Flannagan facing off like some medieval fencing match are always truly divine. For years, THE OTHERS has been my “sick movie” – one of the only ones that can fully entertainment while I’m bed-ridden from one illness or another because its really that kind of movie. It’s so dimly-lit, and beautifully shot, and the music by Alejandro Amenabar (also the writer and director, clearly a man who knows what he’s doing) is so haunting, and the characters are all so depressed and silent, especially Nicole’s two kids and the house’s roaming ghosts… The movie would’ve already been perfect even before the twist ending, but that ending, holy shit. I’m tremblin’. #21: The Others.

YOU HAVE REACHED THE TOP FIFTEEN. Urinate, and promptly return.

15. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, 2000

It hurts to even type the title. It hurts you to even read it. Any image from this movie is permanently, now and forever, seared into the brain of the watcher. I know people who might even cry from mentioning the title. And to this day I still say that schools would be wise to incorporate this movie into its Anti-Drug Education classes, and drug use would legitimately decrease by 45%. But this movie really isn’t about the drugs – it’s about the addiction. Heroin, prostitution, diet pills, television! It’s like a circus of torture. “Asssss to asssssss….” #15: Requiem for a Dream.

14. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, 2007

I am squealing just remembering my very first (of two) theater experiences with this MASTERFUL and DELICIOUS musical tale of blood and guts and a lot of heart. The first thing that gets to people is how the actual show – which is was purposely offensive comedy, over the top to make every fragile British theater attendee quiver in their knickers – is “so much better” than this Tim Burton movie adaptation – which is superbly dramatic and pensive, with some drops of the original’s dark comedy here and there. The character of Mrs. Lovett, played BEAUTIFULLY by the one and only Helena Bonham Carter, was toned down from a loud, boisterous bitch to a painfully quiet and sad woman with nothing but love for our dear Sweeney lead, with the uncomparable, stoic Johnny in the barber’s shoes. I would die for this movie, and I commend Burton on his most lush to moviegoers this decade. #14: Sweeney Todd.

13. SAVED, 2004

As I said before, the ’00s are not the best for teen movies, a genre I truly treasure but really hasn’t truly seen the light since Heathers and Fast Times… the ’90s brought us a few gems, namely Clueless and Mallrats… and then it was a deserted, gem-less wasteland. Until the year of 2004 brought us the big teen satire – Mean Girls – and the ultimate, more-than-just-a-teen-movie eye-opener, SAVED. Here we have a pregnant girl, fighting for her gay boyfriend’s soul, while friends become enemies and pastors become Nazis. On the small scale, new relationships blossom and old relations sour for Mary (a warm Jena Malone, who has inexplicably become the poor man’s Kristen Stewart when it should DEFINITELY be the other way around). And on the big scale, the world of all these religious freaks is ripped at the seam when Mary’s babyfulness causes a moral earthquake. SAVED, which at heart is comfortably formulaic (an uncertain lead character living in a microcosm of characters that reflects society), is truly one of the greatest comedies about harsh teen life. #13: Saved.

12. BIRTH, 2004

IMDb lists Birth as a Drama-Romance-Mystery-Thriller, but like many movies that share those keywords, you really have no idea what the hell you’re watching. And yet you cannot tear your eyes away. Though it’s difficult to describe, I will attempt: A woman is visited by a 10 year old kid who says he is her husband, who died 10 years ago. Of course she doesn’t believe him, but then things happen and our entire world, perspective, and thought is flipped fifty ways. Explicitly controversial for various reasons, I’m still completely in love with this movie and have been since the opening frame. It’s Nicole Kidman, of course, in perhaps her most subtly stupefying performance, with odd shades of “Rosemary’s Baby”, in how it’s a Manhattanite dealing with creepy husband / child issues. You will not regret seeing this. #12: Birth.

11. ANTICHRIST, 2009

Lars Von Trier is a son of a bitch, but he’s technically (and I do mean ‘technically’ in technical terms) one of the greatest living directors. And he knows it. And that’s okay because I swear to you it is true. There’s a reason more than one of his films is on my Best of ’00s (you’ll get to the other a little further down) – he knows precisely what to say, how to use a camera, and how to use a camera in order to say something. In ANTICHRIST, the best movie of 2009, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe take a trip to a cabin in the woods. And from there, HELL IS MADE TRUE AND REAL TO THE VIEWERS EYES. I will say no more. But bring a vomit bag. And an extra bladder. And prepare to have your brain erased of any previous cinematic viewings. #11: Antichrist.

10. BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON, 2006

A mockumentary is hard to do, and here, it is done right, more so than any Christopher Guest or Rob Reiner classic. Because here, folks, we have the creation of a new sub-genre: THE HORROR MOCKUMENTARY. Every so often an indie horror gem comes along and shocks the world (there’s usually one per year, but usually they suck dick), and this was 2004′s. A grad-school camera crew follows around this guy, Leslie Vernon, who says he will be the next greatest horror icon. Now, you need to understand, this takes place in a world where Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers are real men who did real crimes, like Dahmer and Bundy and all the greats. And while this may be pretty low-budget, the script is SO FLAWLESS and the acting is SO CONVINCING that this might as well be a true documentary on some crazy fucking guy. And that’s why BEHIND THE MASK is so, so lovable. #10: Behind the Mask.

9. CHILDREN OF MEN, 2006

It’s that big apocalyptic future movie of the decade, up there with superfantastic decade-definers like Clockword Orange, Blade Runner, and The Matrix. And CHILDREN OF MEN, directed by genius of geniuses Alfonso Cuaron, is by far the bleakest and the coldest and the scariest. Known for its minutes-long shots full of explosions and deaths and horrifying panaromas of deserted urbanscapes, this movie is a true film, giving us a hero (who is in his 30s in the late 2020′s, which means he was 20ish in 2010, which means he is ME – yes I am Clive Owen, suck it) who is so half-assed and yet so determined to fight for the good that we cannot help but put ourslves in his place, and positively die while watching all this potentional future unfold before us. I can comfortably say CHILDREN OF MEN will stand the test of time among all the dystopian classics. #9: Children of Men.

#8: THIRTEEN, 2003

Now, this is definitely a very personal choice, not only because I was thirteen years old at its release – a movie about a lost teen girl crumbling slowly under the cruel influence of others – but mostly because director Catherine Hardwicke uses her flawless actors and AWESOME cinematographer to really, seriously get in the minds of our protagonist and her supporting cast members. Evan Rachel Wood, in maybe her only great performance ever, emotionally strips to below her skin. And don’t even get me started on Holly Hunter, the pro; as Mel, the essential Lifetime Channel mom, she crumbles even further than Evan Rachel’s Tracy, the daughter. This is an example of taking a small topic (teenage influence) and turning it into a giant opera of sorts, exploring every single nook and cranny of the idea possible. #8: Thirteen.

#7: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, 2004

Some say this is honestly the best movie of the past decade, and I mostly agree. This order isn’t really a step-by-step order of worst to best. It’s a collection. With an erection. So yes, ETERNAL SUNSHINE is very much one of the best movies of the decade. You take two absolutely fab leading actors, both of whom may or may not reach career peaks with this genius mindfuck romantic-comedy-drama (Kate Winslet: maybe, Jim Carrey: yes). Charlie Kaufman’s worship-deserving script, plus Michel Gondry’s David Lynch-esque visual style, plus Jon Brion’s part-frightening and part-heartwarming musical score… all these things and more are now a piece of my soul because of ETERNAL SUNSHINE. And you love it too. So much love for this never-dying modern classic. #7: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

#6. NOTES ON A SCANDAL, 2006

This is one of the most fantastically dark, poisonous, passionate British suspense-dramas to hit theaters in recent memory. I have a theory that I could literally survive on this movie and this movie alone for years on end, feasting on its deeply sensual undertones and lush mystery of two women with an evil little secret. NOTES ON A SCANDAL is a caramel-covered candy for anyone with a sweet tooth of cruelty and lesbian tones, a strange but satisfying combo. Judi Dench is screamingly great, and Cate Blanchett is at her most pathetic and vulnerable – which is so weird to see from the same actress who did the strongest Katherine Hepburn ever (next to Kristen Wiig). Save this one for a gloomy night that may or may not include some chocolate and wine and lust. #6: Notes on a Scandal.

#5. GINGER SNAPS, 2001

Teenage girls, plus werewolves, plus a Halloween dance, plus some unbelievable one-liners that would put Diablo Cody to shame, plus the greatest slow-motion walk down a high school hallway ever. EVER. And you get GINGER SNAPS, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. It’s also horrifying (and masterfully done so), and disgusting. It’s literally about a girl whose menstrual cycle coincides with her werewolf transformations, and her poor ugly sister who has to clean up the mess. It’s some sort of beautiful, and it’s just too good to be true. #5: Ginger Snaps.

#4. MY SUMMER OF LOVE, 2004

It’s The Virgin Suicides of the 00′s — so you already know it’s a big fat winner. MY SUMMER OF LOVE is the sort of movie that hardly says anything, and is simultaneously saying too much for your heart to bear. It’s a story about two girls, who are possibly lesbians, and may be manipulating one another. And that’s all you need to know. Plus plenty of wine, shrooms, the setting of the Irish countryside, abudant use of Edith Piaf, and a magical, mysterious original score by the most sensual of Goldfrapp, not to mention the unbelievably well-written three lead characters. Here you have it, folks: a how-to guide on how to make the most sensual, frothy film you may ever watch. #4: My Summer of Love.

#3: MYSTERIOUS SKIN, 2005

Gregg Araki is arguably the greatest gay-centric director currently in the biz. His “Teen Wasteland Trilogy” full of fags, dykes, bi’s, tri’s, trannies, etc spanned the gritty indie realm known as The ’90s. It was him and Larry Clark (Kids, Bully) who made a name for themselves in making movies about kids getting (and generally being) very, very fucked up, mainly through sex and drugs and all sorts of countercultural phenomena. But then Araki came back with MYSTERIOUS SKIN – this gorgeous, subtle, horrifying drama-mystery that can only be described as elegant rawness (I read that phrase somewhere and it has stuck with me ever since). Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet play two disturbed and confused young-adult-boys, piecing their lives back together after their childhoods shit all over them. It’s brutal, it’s brave, and it is wholly beautiful. #3: Mysterious Skin.

#2: DONNIE DARKO, 2001

I’m not surprised that almost all of my top choices are huge mysteries. I guess that’s because ambiguous movies are so easy to love and pour yourself into (because, basically, you make the meaning based on any assortment of factors). And DONNIE DARKO is the fucking king of ambiguous mysteries. It’s Jake Gyllenhaal in his most doe-eyed role, plus sister Maggie, and a superbly mysterious Jena Malone, plus Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore (in perhaps her most retarded performance) as the hapless teachers who fall at Donnie’s feet in wonder, and Patrick Swayze as the greatest motivational speaker of all-time… It’s time travel sci-fi psychobabble. It’s a debate on therapy and medicine, as well as school teachings. It’s a dark comedy with jokes about Smurfs having sex and rat shit. It’s a pitch-perfect, heaven-sent puzzle for anyone who loves to dream and live in mysteries. And it’s unlike anything else ever made, besides some Lynchian puzzles. #2: Donnie Darko.

#1: DANCER IN THE DARK, 2000

As I said before, Lars Von Trier knows what he’s doing at all times in every sense of what a director’s job is supposed to be. So here, he presents us with a woman going blind. She’s simply going blind, and she’s trying to prevent her son from succumbing to the same fate. So we watch her, we watch as she struggles and struggles and struggles to get through each day, silently crying and hoping for the best. Though, of course, in a Lars Von Trier work of art, that’s not what she gets. What her gradual blindness does offer her, though, is a chance to live her life as she sees — everything becomes a musical number. Why? Because life is a musical. Life is music. Everything is beautiful. But then, of course, society steps in, and everything gets UGLY. Bjork plays Selma, one of the most ingenious characters of the 21st century — she also choreographs every gorgeous number in DANCER IN THE DARK, definitely, completely the greatest film I have ever seen as a human being. #1: Dancer in the Dark.

Honorable Mentions

• 2000: American Psycho (dir. Mary Harron)
• 2000: Amores Perros (dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
• 2000: Memento (dir. Christopher Nolan)
• 2001: Amelie (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
• 2001: The Anniversary Party (dir. Alan Cumming & Jennifer Jason Leigh)
• 2001: Mullholland Drive (dir. David Lynch)
• 2001: Storytelling (dir. Todd Solondz)
• 2002: The Hours (dir. Stephen Daldry)
• 2002: Minority Report (dir. Steven Spielberg)
• 2002: Punch-Drunk Love (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
• 2003: The Dreamers (dir. Bernardo Bertolucci)
• 2003: Finding Nemo (animated, dir. Andrew Stanton)
• 2003: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
• 2003: Love Actually (dir. Richard Curtis)
• 2004: Closer (dir. Mike Nichols)
• 2004: Garden State (dir. Zach Braff)
• 2004: I Heart Huckabees (dir. David O. Russell)
• 2005: Brokeback Mountain (dir. Ang Lee)
• 2005: Nine Lives (dir. Rodrigo Garcia)
• 2005: Pretty Persuasion (dir. Marcos Siega)
• 2005: Sin City (dir. Robert Rodriguez)
• 2005: Transamerica (dir. Duncan Tucker)
• 2006: For Your Consideration (dir. Christopher Guest)
• 2006: Little Children (dir. Todd Field)
• 2006: Monster House (animated, dir. Gil Kenan)
• 2007: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (dir. Sidney Lumet)
• 2007: Grindhouse (dir. Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino)
• 2007: La Vie En Rose (dir. Olivier Dahan)
• 2007: Love Songs (dir. Christophe Honore)
• 2007: Zodiac (dir. David Fincher)
• 2008: Milk (dir. Gus Van Sant)
• 2008: Repo! The Genetic Opera (dir. Darren Lynn Bousman)
• 2008: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (dir. Woody Allen)
• 2008: Wall-E (animated, dir. Andrew Stanton)
• 2009: Coraline (animated, dir. Henry Selick)
• 2009: Drag Me to Hell (dir. Sam Raimi)
• 2009: Where the Wild Things Are (dir. Spike Jonze)

by Ross Jacob Tipograph

This week's NYFCS Selection

FILMOGRAPHY:

-DIRECTOR-

>>SHADOWBOXER (2005)

Crime-Romance-Drama. A female assassin with terminal cancer deals with juggling her profession and her lover, who is also her stepson.

CAST: Helen Mirren (“The Queen”), Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire”), Mo’Nique (“Precious”), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“500 Days of Summer”).

TRUST THE CRITICS

• “Waltz-like rhythm… Richly textured… Magnificently rendered by Daniels… Yet another gutsy Mirren performance.” -Robert Koehler, VARIETY

|||

-PRODUCER-

>>MONSTER’S BALL (2001)

Drama-Romance; A prison guard falls in love with the wife of the last inmate he executed.

CAST: Halle Berry (Best Actress win for this feature); Billy Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade”), Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”)

TRUST THE CRITICS

• “One of those rare movies in which even people glimpsed only for a moment or two seem to have lives that ramify beyond the screen, as if the story were being witness rather than dramatized.” -A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES
• “Mesmerizing… Invites a myriad of responses and reactions.” -Kevin Thomas, L.A. TIMES

EVERY LITTLE STEP (release: October 13)

Documentary – Follows the audition process of Broadway hopefuls as they try out for, and then perform in, the 2006 revival of classic musical “A Chorus Line”

Why do these Broadway documentaries enchant us so? Perhaps it is because we have an insatiable hunger for watching other human beings succeed or fail in a time or dire strength. Fictional movies do the same thing, except these are real humans – not characters in a script – putting their time and energy into succeeding. The documentary delves into the lives of the hundreds of hopefuls putting their sanity on the line for a part in arguably one of Broadway’s greatest shows. Although there is no specific actor to be spotlit in this post, this film most definitely deserves a look.

The last documentary to succeed in this vein was 2007′s “ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway” which chronicled the sweat-drenched rehearsal process of four hits-to-be: Wicked (which won the Tony for Best Leading Actress), Avenue Q (Best Musical), Caroline or Change, and Rosie O’Donnell’s short-lived Taboo. Our film of topic, however, focuses entirely on A Chorus Line and all those involved.

TRUST THE CRITICS

• “A movie as layered and enthralling as its subject.” – OWEN GLEIBERMAN, Entertainment Weekly
• “For Chorus Line fans, the documentary is a sensation.” – JESSE OXFELD, Village Voice

For those who enjoyed: “Mad Hot Ballroom,” “ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway”

Comedy/Drama – 1970′s set dramedy about the humorously dark sides of marriage, divorce, and first love in Long Island, NY

A comeback is defined through the impact an artist’s work has on the community after a prolonged, publically-noted absence. Alec Baldwin, who, after an embarrassingly public divorce of the ages with actress Kim Basinger, faced a few years relatively hidden from the spotlight, has come back with a most valiantly loud bang. Not only was his true return to form on the silver screen in 2003′s “The Cooler” rewarded with an Oscar nomination, but his recent TV work has really splashed him back onto the front pages. As Jack Donaghy on Tina Fey’s NBC brainchild comedy 30 Rock, Baldwin has continued to garner Golden Globes and Emmy award wins, including his most recent Best Actor in a Comedy win at this past week’s Emmy ceremony.

In this film, which won the International Critics’ Choice Award at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, Baldwin plays the patriarch of a crumbling family. The feature was then released earlier this year, in April 2009, with a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles.

OTHER CAST: Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”); Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People,” “Kinsey”); Jill Hennessy (TV’s Crossing Jordan)

TRUST THE CRITICS

• “The sterling ensemble… Baldwin, Hutton, Nixon… make Lymelife worth seeing.” – ANDREW SARRIS, New York Observer
• “Lymelife is well told and superbly acted… It’s a pearl among zucchinis.” – JOHN ANDERSON, Newsday

For those who enjoyed: “American Beauty,” “The Ice Storm”

EASY VIRTUE (release: September 15)

Romantic Comedy – 1920′s period piece about British/American culture clash

As you may have heard and observed, Kristin Scott Thomas is quite the revelatory actress these days. Just last year she stunned audiences globally with her emotionally-drenched performance in the foreign feature “I’ve Loved You So Long”, not to mention her memorable performances in “The English Patient,” “Gosford Park,” and “Mission: Impossible.”

For this feature, which was released earlier this year in limited theaters after stints at the Toronto and Tribeca Film Festivals, Ms. Scott Thomas has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress by both the London Critics Circle and the British Independent Film Awards.

OTHER CAST: Colin Firth (“Love Actually,” “Bridget Jones’ Diary”); Jessica Biel (“The Illusionist”)

TRUST THE CRITICS

• “The dialogue has an edgy wit… Jessica Biel will surprise some with her skill” – ROGER EBERT, Chicago Sun-Times
• “A rare vintage of laughs tinged with heartache” – PETER TRAVERS, Rolling Stone 

For Those Who Enjoyed: “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”