And now, for Bob's end of the year movie awards

[handfulofdust]

The top five are all superb, but there's a pretty big drop off after that. I have a feeling I won't be remembering too many films outside of the top 5. Almodovar, Godard, and Yimou continue to astound, while Linklater creates the best sequel this side of Godfather II and Zach Snyder just kicks ass with a perfectly done movie. Eastwood surprises everyone while at the same time surprising no one, while Kaufman, Almenabar, Tarantino, and Ming-liang continue to do their thing. Maddin creates a curiosity of a film, probably the biggest surprise of the year for me. A solid year, if unspectacular, Yimou has meanwhile catapulted himself into the pantheon of directors that could be considered "the best in the world."

Top ten movies of the year, in order:

1. Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar)
2. Nortre Musique (Jean-Luc Godard)
3. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou)
4. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
5. Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder)
6. Cowards Bend the Knee (Guy Maddin)
7. Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang)
8. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)
9. Kill Bill Volume 2 (Quentin Tarantino)
10. The Sea Inside (Alenjandro Almenabar)

Yet to see: Dogville, Eternal Sunshine, Code 46, Tarnation, The Aviator

Best Performance: Bruno Todeschini (Son Frere)

Supporting Performance: Thomas Haden Church (Sideways)

Director: Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers, Hero)

Cinematography: Christopher Doyle (Hero)

Screenplay: Pedro Almodovar (Bad Education) - I haven't seen Eternal Sunshine yet, though, which seems to be a unanimous choice.

Art Direction: Stefano Maria Ortolani (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou)

Debut Feature: Primer (Shane Carruth)

Documentary: Bukowski, Born into This (John Dullaghan)