24 February 2020

Skandiewrap, or More Than You Wanted to Know

The Skandies origin story is rooted in my personal dissatisfaction. Just as the National Society of Film Critics was formed because a subset of NYFCC voters grew sick and tired of seeing their awards go to films and performances they considered unworthy, I launched what would become the Skandies (it had no name at all for the first few years) in response to a lame annual USENET poll that generally rubber-stamped each year's Oscar nominations. The whole idea was to find people who'd look beyond the most obvious candidates, which is why I still tend to get bent out of shape on the rare occasions when our results reflect consensus so closely as to seem all but unnecessary.

This was one of those years. Not across the board, by any means—our Actress and Actor winners, Lupita Nyong'o and Adam Sandler, were ignored by AMPAS, and we found room for a few "nominees," like Parasite's Jo Yeo-jeong and The Souvenir's Tom Burke, who weren't part of the awards conversation in any meaningful way. But the correspondence between our favorites and Oscar's reached a record high: 21 out of 35, eclipsing the previous zenith of 15. Some would argue that this speaks less to a lapse of good taste on our part and more to a shifting Academy membership that's slowly making their taste less awful (though they'll still automatically hand a statue to anyone who e.g. plays Judy Garland in a biopic). That's fair enough, and I'd probably concur were I more enthused about Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, Parasite, Marriage Story and I Heard You Paint Houses, all of which I consider quite good but comfortably distant from great. Or if I'd seen Brad Pitt, Laura Dern or Al Pacino do anything genuinely arresting or unexpected, rather than just snugly inhabit roles that they could play in their sleep. (The overwhelming love for Pitt particularly bewilders me—Tarantino often coaxes actors out of their comfort zones, but Cliff is standard-issue Brad Pitt cool. I accept that I'm in the minority, though. At least he's actually good, not an abomination like he is in Ad Astra.) I forever fret that even the August Voting Body lazily chooses favorites from among the year's usual suspects, rather than seeking out the overlooked and underappreciated. Still sad, 13 years later, that Helen Mirren won Actress for The Queen (yet again), when we came so tantalizingly close to crowning Gretchen Mol instead for a sublime performance that got zero traction anywhere else.

Anyway, it's what it is, as Joe Pesci says (in a performance that even I consider magnificent, and that would have won had Pitt landed in Actor, as he clearly should have). Sometimes my strong opinions are my own—I managed to nudge a fair number of voters into watching Light of My Life, and almost everybody liked it (ranked 29th out of 239 on the average rating list), but only a couple agreed with me that it was among last year's ten best. Had considerably less success browbeating people into tackling La flor—13+ hours is pretty daunting, even in the bingewatch era—but at least the handful who did take a look helped me score some recognition for Pilar Gamboa and Episode II's finale, neither of which I'd expected to place. (Llinás just missed in Director, too.) Nemes László fared much better than I'd anticipated, as did In Fabric's Fatma Mohamed. Joker and Jojo Rabbit were almost entirely ignored. We're not mindless Gurus o' Gold zombies yet. Still pretty vital, in fact, for a group that's been kicking around for a quarter century now, and whose core membership sees AARP applications looming. Harvey Weinstein was on top of the world when I began this.

Okay, on to the number-crunching. (Many of you will want to check out at this point.) (Assuming you didn't check out long ago, that is.) (Which seems like a fair assumption, because otherwise how could you have read that sentence?) (Anyway.) What follows are the stats I used to send out to voters (via snail mail!) back in the '90s, which I still maintain for my own obsessive amusement.

NOTE: The layout below is not optimized for mobile. Some of it (the Directors' Gallery at the bottom in particular) will be gobbledygook unless you're on a laptop/desktop.



HIGHEST AVERAGE RATING (1996–2019)
(includes only films receiving a minimum of ten votes)

01. 3.65 The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
02. 3.61 Being John Malkovich (1999)
03. 3.61 A Separation (2011)
04. 3.58 Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
05. 3.57 In the Company of Men (1997)
06. 3.56 Secrets & Lies (1996)
07. 3.53 La Promesse (1997)
08. 3.52 Yi Yi (A One and a Two…) (2000)
09. 3.50 From the Journals of Jean Seberg (1996)
10. 3.49 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

It's nearly impossible for new films to make this list, due to a significant uptick in voter stinginess with high ratings since the '90s. Here's how it looks for the last decade:

01. 3.61 A Separation (2011)
02. 3.49 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
03. 3.48 Margaret (2011)
04. 3.46 Nocturama (2017)
04. 3.46 Phantom Thread (2017)
06. 3.45 The Tree of Life (2011)
07. 3.44 Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019)
08. 3.43 Certified Copy (2011)
09. 3.41 Holy Motors (2012)
10. 3.41 O.J.: Made in America (2016)

Tarantino knocks out of House of Pleasures.



LOWEST AVERAGE RATING (1996–2019)
(includes only films receiving a minimum of five votes)

01. 0.20 Date Movie (2006)
01. 0.20 America (2014)
03. 0.50 Collateral Beauty (2016)
04. 0.58 Miss March (2009)
05. 0.60 Dragonfly (2002)
05. 0.60 The Last Face (2017)
07. 0.61 The Roommate (2011)
08. 0.67 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
09. 0.67 The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) (2015)
10. 0.70 Beastly (2011)
10. 0.70 Left Behind (2014)

Nothing new here, either. Lowest was Serenity with 1.05—not even close. Cats got a comparatively respectable 1.60, for the record.



MOST DIVISIVE FILMS (2019)
(std. deviation >= 0.75; minimum two votes 3.5 or higher, two votes 1.5 or lower)


  • Jojo Rabbit (1.06)
  • The Beach Bum (0.83)
  • Booksmart (0.82)
  • The Lighthouse (0.80)
  • A Hidden Life (0.79)
  • Her Smell (0.76)
  • Synonyms (0.75)

    Honey Boy didn't qualify, as it was more like it or hate it than love it or hate it, but had a higher standard deviation (1.08) than any of the above. So did Aquarela, weirdly.



  • BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
    (lowest-ranked film seen by at least 75% of respondents)

    1996: Twister (1.80)
    1997: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (2.33)
    1998: He Got Game (2.59)
    1999: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (2.18)
    2000: Nurse Betty (2.31)
    2001: Vanilla Sky (2.20)
    2002: Storytelling (2.03)
    2003: The Matrix Reloaded (2.29)
    2004: The Village (2.30)
    2005: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2.49)
    2006: Little Miss Sunshine (2.52)
    2007: Ocean's Thirteen (2.52)
    2008: Milk (2.83)
    2009: The Hangover (2.35)
    2010: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2.71)
    2011: Midnight in Paris (2.47)
    2012: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2.37)
    2013: American Hustle (2.50)
    2014: Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2.44)
    2015: While We're Young (2.67)
    2016: Knight of Cups (2.52)
    2017: The Shape of Water (2.48)
    2018: A Star Is Born (2.68)
    2019: Joker (2.44)

    As the AVB grows older, fewer and fewer films are being seen by 75% of us. Hence the shift toward Oscar nominees in recent years. This really should have gone to The Laundromat, but too many voters (myself included) who once would never have missed a Soderbergh film skipped it. (I actually dumped it from my TIFF schedule due to toxic word of mouth, plus the knowledge that it would soon be on Netflix anyway. But then I didn't even bother on Netflix.)



    PASSIONATE MINORITY AWARD
    (lowest average among top 20 films in Picture voting)

    1996: Dead Man (2.94)
    1997: Crash (2.52)
    1998: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (2.68)
    1999: The End of the Affair (2.96)
    2000: Requiem for a Dream (2.73)
    2001: Amélie (2.71)
    2002: 8 Women (2.79)
    2003: The Good Thief (2.81)
    2004: I ♥ Huckabees (2.84)
    2005: Oldboy (2.68)
    2006: Manderlay (2.69)
    2007: Once (2.79)
    2008: Funny Games (2.83)
    2009: A Serious Man (2.83)
    2010: The Exploding Girl (2.75)
    2011: Shame (2.63)
    2012: Damsels in Distress (2.76)
    2013: Spring Breakers (2.72)
    2014: Goodbye to Language (2.64)
    2015: The Assassin (2.73)
    2016: Knight of Cups (2.52)
    2017: Downsizing (2.50)
    2018: You Were Never Really Here (2.86)
    2019: Midsommar (2.80)

    Second consecutive year in which even the least-liked film to place was widely enjoyed.



    DAMNED WITH FAINT PRAISE
    (highest-ranked film by average rating not to place in Picture voting [10+ voters] )

    1996: Get on the Bus (3.29)
    1997: Forgotten Silver (3.36)
    1998: The Kingdom II (3.14)
    1999: My Name Is Joe (3.18)
    2000: Erin Brockovich (3.14)
    2001: No Man’s Land (3.19)
    2002: Roger Dodger (3.14)
    2003: The Weather Underground (3.18)
    2004: Bright Leaves (3.16)
    2005: Howl's Moving Castle (3.15)
    2006: The Devil and Daniel Johnston (3.18)
    2007: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (3.25)
    2008: The Duchess of Langeais (3.20)
    2009: Night and Day (3.07)
    2010: Another Year (3.21)
    2011: Senna (3.07)
    2012: The Imposter (3.10)
    2013: Drug War (3.17)
    2014: National Gallery (3.25)
    2015: The Look of Silence (3.28)
    2016: I Am Not Your Negro (3.18)
    2017: Ex Libris (3.06)
    2018: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (3.10)
    2019: Apollo 11 (3.13)

    And we're back to a documentary winning this category. Also of note: high averages for the relatively little-seen Styx (3.19), For Sama (3.17), Give Me Liberty (3.14), Midnight Family (3.14), and "I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians" (3.10). I had actually predicted Styx to place in Best Picture—it was the only one I got wrong, with its spot taken instead by The Image Book (which I had at #22).

    Oh, I just realized that I forgot to reveal Atli Sigurjónsson's predictions, which he sent me privately before the daily countdown kicked off. As usual, he, too, got it very close. Here are both his and my predictions, with the film's actual placement noted parenthetically. (Kind of a random place to put this information, but oh well.)

    ATLI

    01. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (1)
    02. Parasite (2)
    03. I Heard You Paint Houses (5)
    04. Uncut Gems (3)
    05. Marriage Story (4)
    06. Transit (6)
    07. Knives Out (9)
    08. Her Smell (8)
    09. Under the Silver Lake (11)
    10. Little Women (7)
    11. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (10)
    12. Climax (13)
    13. A Hidden Life (12)
    14. Pain and Glory (19)
    15. Dragged Across Concrete (16)
    16. The Souvenir (17)
    17. The Image Book (18)
    18. Atlantics (did not place)
    19. Diane (did not place)
    20. In My Room (20)

    He missed Midsommar (#14) and Ash Is Purest White (#15).

    MOI

    01. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (1)
    02. Parasite (2)
    03. I Heard You Paint Houses (5)
    04. Marriage Story (4)
    05. Uncut Gems (3)
    06. Her Smell (8)
    07. Knives Out (9)
    08. Under the Silver Lake (11)
    09. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (10)
    10. Little Women (7)
    11. Transit (6)
    12. Climax (13)
    13. In My Room (20)
    14. Midsommar (14)
    15. A Hidden Life (12)
    16. The Souvenir (17)
    17. Pain and Glory (19)
    18. Ash Is Purest White (15)
    19. Styx (did not place)
    20. Dragged Across Concrete (16)

    I missed The Image Book (#18). And my system, while obviously quite accurate, doesn't factor in which voters generally apportion points equally vs. which voters like to heavily weight their top choices. That's how e.g. I ended up way off in In My Room—it appears near the top of several voters' top 10 lists, but those particular folks weren't likely to give it much more than an average 10 points. (On the flip side, Transit voters were more ardent than I'd expected. Atli got that one dead-on.)




    DAMN THE REVIEWS, FULL SPEED AHEAD
    (lowest average among films seen by at least 10 respondents)

    1996: Twister (1.80)
    1997: Batman & Robin (1.28)
    1998: The Avengers | Stepmom [tie] (1.50)
    1999: Jawbreaker (1.14)
    2000: Pay It Forward (1.41)
    2001: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (1.26)
    2002: Scooby-Doo (1.08)
    2003: Bad Boys II (1.60)
    2004: Exorcist: The Beginning (1.21)
    2005: Undead (1.29)
    2006: The Hills Have Eyes (1.65)
    2007: Smokin' Aces (1.64)
    2008: Jumper (1.54)
    2009: Gigantic (1.00)
    2010: The Last Airbender (1.05)
    2011: Vanishing on 7th Street (1.55)
    2012: This Means War (1.50)
    2013: Gangster Squad (1.29)
    2014: That Awkward Moment (1.45)
    2015: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (1.79)
    2016: Zoolander 2 (1.60)
    2017: The Assignment (1.77)
    2018: Vice (1.67)
    2019: Serenity (1.05)

    Lowest-rated film seen by so many voters since The Last Airbender.



    SELECTION COMMITTEE ON CRACK
    (lowest average for a film that screened at the New York Film Festival)
    (post-expansion: Main Slate only, plus "Special Event" world premieres)

    1996: Flirt (2.20)
    1997: Kiss or Kill (1.79)
    1998: Voyage to the Beginning of the World (1.80)
    1999: Dogma (1.89)
    2000: Before Night Falls (2.31)
    2001: La Ciénaga (1.95)
    2002: In Praise of Love (1.95)
    2003: Chi-Hwa-Seon: Painted Fire (2.19)
    2004: Free Radicals (2.08)
    2005: Palindromes (2.15)
    2006: Rolling Family (1.83)
    2007: The Go Master (1.93)
    2008: Married Life (2.25)
    2009: The Windmill Movie (2.13)
    2010: Hereafter (2.05)
    2011: We Are What We Are (1.64)
    2012: Hyde Park on Hudson (1.69)
    2013: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1.92)
    2014: Child of God (2.00)
    2015: The Princess of France (2.42)
    2016: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2.10)
    2017: My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (1.96)
    2018: Wildlife (2.29)
    2019: A Faithful Man (2.08)

    Also unloved: Ray & Liz (2.20), Synonyms (2.33), Motherless Brooklyn (2.43).



    ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY)
    (suggested by Alex Fung; lowest average for a film that received a 4-star rating

    1996: The Stupids (2.30) | Bryan “Frankenseuss” Theiss (ret.)
    1997: Kissed (2.46) | Alex Fung
    1998: Psycho (2.11) | Erik Gregersen (ret.)
    1999: Twin Falls Idaho (2.28) | Milton Lawson (ret.)
    2000: Beautiful People (2.29) | Keith Collins (ret.)
    2001: The Road Home (1.88) | Erik Gregersen (ret.)
    2002: In Praise of Love (1.95) | Jeremy Heilman
    2003: Gigli (1.92) | Jeremy Heilman
    2004: The Passion of the Christ (2.18) | Victor J. Morton
    2005: The Brothers Grimm (2.29) | Bilge Ebiri
    2006: The Fountain (2.21) | Peter Reiher (ret.)
    2007: Southland Tales (1.88) | Dave Cowen; Jeremy Heilman
    2008: Jellyfish (2.36) | Daniel Waters
    2009: 12 (2.29) | Bilge Ebiri
    2010: Somewhere (2.41) | Nictate (ret.)
    2011: A Serbian Film (1.81) | Daniel Waters
    2012: Alps (2.43) | Don Marks
    2013: Maniac (2.50) | Jeremy Heilman
    2014: Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (2.43) | Victor J. Morton
    2015: The Tribe (2.43) | Daniel Waters
    2016: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2.10) | Jeremy Heilman
    2017: Song to Song (2.24) | Jeremy Heilman
    2018: The 15:17 to Paris (2.07) | Jeremy Heilman
    2019: Jojo Rabbit (2.25) | Jeff McCloud

    Kind of can't believe this is McCloud's first time here.



    MAJOR FESTIVAL PRIZE WINNERS: OUR VERDICT

    Cannes Palme d'Or

    1995: Underground (#15, 1997)
    1996: Secrets & Lies (#2, 1996)
    1997: Taste of Cherry (#15, 1998)
    1997: The Eel (did not place)
    1998: Eternity and a Day (did not place)
    1999: Rosetta (did not place)
    2000: Dancer in the Dark (#10, 2000)
    2001: The Son's Room (did not place)
    2002: The Pianist (did not place)
    2003: Elephant (did not place)
    2004: Fahrenheit 9/11 (did not place)
    2005: L'Enfant (The Child) (#6, 2006)
    2006: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (did not place)
    2007: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (#1, 2008)
    2008: The Class (did not place)
    2009: The White Ribbon (did not place)
    2010: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (#9, 2011)
    2011: The Tree of Life (#1, 2011)
    2012: Amour (#6, 2012)
    2013: Blue Is the Warmest Color (#8, 2013)
    2014: Winter Sleep (#15, 2014)
    2015: Dheepan (did not place)
    2016: I, Daniel Blake (did not place)
    2017: The Square (did not place)
    2018: Shoplifters (#19, 2018)
    2019: Parasite (#2, 2019)

    Venice Golden Lion

    1995: Cyclo (#14, 1996)
    1996: Michael Collins (did not place)
    1997: Fireworks (Hana-Bi) (#5, 1998)
    1998: The Way We Laughed (N/A, not theatrically released during window of eligibility)
    1999: Not One Less (did not place)
    2000: The Circle (did not place)
    2001: Monsoon Wedding (did not place)
    2002: The Magdalene Sisters (did not place)
    2003: The Return (did not place)
    2004: Vera Drake (#6, 2004)
    2005: Brokeback Mountain (#3, 2005)
    2006: Still Life (#18, 2008)
    2007: Lust, Caution (did not place)
    2008: The Wrestler (#13, 2008)
    2009: Lebanon (did not place)
    2010: Somewhere (did not place)
    2011: Faust (did not place)
    2012: Pieta (did not place)
    2013: Sacro GRA (N/A, not theatrically released during window of eligibility)
    2014: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (did not place)
    2015: From Afar (did not place)
    2016: The Woman Who Left (did not place)
    2017: The Shape of Water (did not place)
    2018: Roma (#4, 2018)
    2019: Joker (did not place)

    Back to normal.

    Sundance Grand Jury (Dramatic)

    1995: The Brothers McMullen (did not place)
    1996: Welcome to the Dollhouse (did not place)
    1997: Sunday (did not place)
    1998: Slam (did not place)
    1999: Three Seasons (did not place)
    2000: Girlfight (did not place)
    2000: You Can Count on Me (#3, 2000)
    2001: The Believer (did not place)
    2002: Personal Velocity (did not place)
    2003: American Splendor (#20, 2003)
    2004: Primer (#10, 2004)
    2005: Forty Shades of Blue (did not place)
    2006: Quinceañera (did not place)
    2007: Padre Nuestro (did not place)
    2008: Frozen River (did not place)
    2009: Precious (Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire) (did not place)
    2010: Winter's Bone (#2, 2010)
    2011: Like Crazy (did not place)
    2012: Beasts of the Southern Wild (did not place)
    2013: Fruitvale Station (did not place)
    2014: Whiplash (#20, 2014)
    2015: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (did not place)
    2016: The Birth of a Nation (did not place)
    2017: I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (unreleased, placed 5th in the Undies)
    2018: The Miseducation of Cameron Post (did not place)
    2019: Clemency (did not place)



    Most Appearances in Top 20 (Actors)
    (ties for number of appearances broken by average placement)

    01. Tilda Swinton (16)

    1. Julia
    4s. Michael Clayton
    4s. Snowpiercer
    5. The Deep End
    5. We Need to Talk About Kevin
    7. Only Lovers Left Alive
    9s. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    11. I Am Love
    12s. Burn After Reading
    12s. Suspiria
    13s. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
    14. A Bigger Splash
    16s. The Dead Don't Die
    18. Female Perversions
    19s. Thumbsucker
    19s. Trainwreck

    02. Philip Seymour Hoffman (15)

    1s. The Master
    3s. Charlie Wilson's War
    5. Capote
    6. Synecdoche, New York
    6s. The Talented Mr. Ripley
    6s. Almost Famous
    10s. Magnolia
    10s. 25th Hour
    11. Doubt
    12. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
    12s. State and Main
    15s. Happiness
    15. Owning Mahowny
    18. A Most Wanted Man
    19s. Mission: Impossible III

    03. Isabelle Huppert (15)

    1. Elle
    2. The Piano Teacher
    2s. 8 Women
    4. Gabrielle
    8. Abuse of Weakness
    8. The School of Flesh
    8. Things to Come
    12. White Material
    13s. I ♥ Huckabees
    13s. Amour
    15. La Cérémonie
    17. Time of the Wolf
    17. In Another Country
    19s. Claire's Camera
    19. Home

    04. Julianne Moore (11)

    1. Far From Heaven
    3s. Boogie Nights
    6. Still Alice
    8s. Magnolia
    11. The End of the Affair
    13s. The Big Lebowski
    15s. An Ideal Husband
    16s. A Single Man
    16. Gloria Bell
    19. Savage Grace
    19. The Kids Are All Right

    (Was also the Actress winner for Safe in 1995, when the survey employed Oscar-style voting.)

    05. Scarlett Johansson (10)

    1s. Ghost World
    1s. Her
    2. Lost in Translation
    2. Under the Skin
    4. Marriage Story
    5s. The Horse Whisperer
    6s. Match Point
    12. Lucy
    15. Girl With a Pearl Earring
    19s. Jojo Rabbit

    Swinton finally unseats Hoffman (who has a bit of a disadvantage now [sobs]). Moore and Johansson knock out Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet.



    Most Films Landed in Top 20 (Directors)
    (again, ties broken by average placement)

    01. Joel [& Ethan] Coen (10)

    1. Inside Llewyn Davis
    2. No Country for Old Men
    4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
    5. The Man Who Wasn't There
    6. Fargo
    7. A Serious Man
    10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    11. Burn After Reading
    12. The Big Lebowski
    12. True Grit

    Did not place: Intolerable Cruelty; The Ladykillers; Paris je t'aime [segment]; Hail, Caesar!
    Ineligible: Everything prior to FargoTo Each His Own Cinema [segment]

    02. Martin Scorsese (8)

    1. The Departed
    2. The Wolf of Wall Street
    4. Silence
    5. I Heard You Paint Houses
    7. Kundun
    9. Gangs of New York
    14. Shutter Island
    19. Hugo

    Did not place: Bringing Out the DeadThe AviatorShine a LightPublic SpeakingLiving in the Material World; Conjuring the Rolling Thunder Re-vue
    Ineligible: Everything prior to KundunMy Voyage to ItalyThe Concert for New York City [segment]; Lady by the Sea: The Statue of LibertyA Letter to EliaThe 50 Year Argument

    03. Richard Linklater (8)

    3. Before Sunset
    3. Boyhood
    4. Before Midnight
    7. Everybody Wants Some!!
    9. The School of Rock
    12. A Scanner Darkly
    15. Waking Life
    18. Bernie

    Did not place: subUrbia; The Newton BoysTapeBad News BearsFast Food NationMe and Orson WellesLast Flag Flying; Where'd You Go, Bernadette
    Ineligible: Everything prior to subUrbiaInning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach

    04. Lars von Trier (8)

    1. Breaking the Waves
    1. Dogville
    7. Melancholia
    10. Dancer in the Dark
    13. The House That Jack Built
    17. Nymph()maniac Vol. I
    19. The Five Obstructions
    20. Manderlay

    Did not place: The KingdomThe IdiotsThe Kingdom IIThe Boss of It AllAntichristNymph()maniac Vol. II
    Ineligible: Everything prior to Breaking the WavesD-dag

    05. Quentin Tarantino (7)

    1. Inglourious Basterds
    1. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
    2. Kill Bill Vol. 1
    4. Kill Bill Vol. 2
    4. Grindhouse
    8. The Hateful Eight
    9. Django Unchained

    Did not place: Jackie Brown
    Ineligible: Everything prior to Jackie Brown

    Scorsese moves from 5th place into 2nd, Tarantino knocks out Paul Thomas Anderson.



    Where Are They Now?

    New-ish category! Actors who've had at least two appearances in the top 20, but haven't made the cut in the past ten years. We used to like them. What happened? (Actors who die will be removed a year following their last eligible performance.)

    Note: The two-nod minimum, which is meant to keep this list manageable (as there are many, many actors who've shown up only once, most of them in no way notable), also eliminates some big names that one might expect to be here: Dustin Hoffman, Meg Ryan, Winona Ryder, etc.

    Each actor's most recent Skandie appearance is in [brackets]. New additions are in bold. Removed because they finally placed again this year: Nobody! (Though we saw belated reappearances from several actors who'd only placed once until now, including both De Niro and Pacino.)

    • Joan Allen [2005: The Upside of Anger]
    • Mathieu Amalric [2008: A Christmas Tale]
    • Daniel Auteuil [2005: Caché (Hidden)]
    • Alec Baldwin [2006: The Departed]
    • Eric Bana [2005: Munich]
    • Sacha Baron Cohen [2006: Borat Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby]
    • Kathy Bates [2002: About Schmidt]
    • Thora Birch [2001: Ghost World]
    • Helena Bonham Carter [2007: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]
    • Michael Cera [2007: Superbad Juno]
    • Don Cheadle [1998: Out of Sight]
    • Maggie Cheung [2006: Clean]
    • Julie Christie [2007: Away From Her]
    • Patricia Clarkson [2005: The Dying Gaul]
    • Jennifer Connelly [2003: House of Sand and Fog]
    • Paddy Considine [2005: My Summer of Love]
    • Chris Cooper [2007: Breach]
    • Kevin Costner [2005: The Upside of Anger]
    • Brian Cox [2002: 25th Hour]
    • James Cromwell [1997: L.A. Confidential]
    • Penélope Cruz [2008: Vicky Cristina Barcelona]
    • Joan Cusack [2003: The School of Rock]
    • John Cusack [2000: High Fidelity]
    • Claire Danes [2005: Shopgirl]
    • Jean-Pierre Darroussin [2004: Red Lights]
    • Hope Davis [2003: The Secret Lives of Dentists American Splendor]
    • Judy Davis [1998: Celebrity]
    • Catherine Deneuve [2008: A Christmas Tale]
    • Johnny Depp [2003: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Once Upon a Time in Mexico]
    • Zooey Deschanel [2006: Failure to Launch]
    • Emmanuelle Devos [2008: A Christmas Tale]
    • Cameron Diaz [2001: Vanilla Sky]
    • Illeana Douglas [1996: Grace of My Heart]
    • Robert Downey, Jr. [2008: Iron Man Tropic Thunder]
    • Minnie Driver [1997: Grosse Pointe Blank Good Will Hunting]
    • Robert Duvall [2003: Open Range]
    • Aaron Eckhart [2008: The Dark Knight]
    • Anna Faris [2008: The House Bunny]
    • Vera Farmiga [2009: Up in the Air]
    • Bridget Fonda [1998: A Simple Plan]
    • Jodie Foster [2002: Panic Room]
    • Morgan Freeman [2004: Million Dollar Baby]
    • Jennifer Garner [2007: Juno]
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt [2009: (500) Days of Summer]
    • Olivier Gourmet [2003: The Son]
    • Pascal Greggory [2006: Gabrielle]
    • Maggie Gyllenhaal [2006: Sherrybaby Stranger Than Fiction]
    • Jackie Earle Haley [2009: Watchmen]
    • Marcia Gay Harden [2003: Mystic River]
    • Ed Harris [2005: A History of Violence]
    • Ian Holm [2002: Esther Kahn]
    • Danny Huston [2004: Birth]
    • Vlad Ivanov [2009: Police, Adjective]
    • Catherine Keener [2007: Into the Wild]
    • Rinko Kikuchi [2009: The Brothers Bloom]
    • Val Kilmer [2005: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]
    • Greg Kinnear [2002: Auto Focus]
    • Frank Langella [2008: Frost/Nixon]
    • Jude Law [2004:  Huckabees]
    • Valérie Lemercier [2007: Avenue Montaigne]
    • Tony Leung [2005: 2046]
    • Laura Linney [2007: The Savages]
    • Alison Lohman [2009: Drag Me to Hell]
    • Sergi López [2006: Pan's Labyrinth]
    • Kelly Macdonald [2007: No Country for Old Men]
    • Anthony Mackie [2009: The Hurt Locker]
    • Tobey Maguire [2002: Spider-Man]
    • John Malkovich [2008: Burn After Reading]
    • Rose McGowan [2007: Grindhouse]
    • Ian McKellen [2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]
    • Helen Mirren [2006: The Queen]
    • Alfred Molina [2004: Coffee and Cigarettes]
    • David Morse [2003: The Slaughter Rule]
    • Samantha Morton [2008: Synecdoche, New York]
    • Peter Mullan [2001: The Claim]
    • Bill Murray [2004: The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou]
    • Thandie Newton [2002: The Truth About Charlie]
    • Jack Nicholson [2002: About Schmidt]
    • Timothy Olyphant [2009: A Perfect Getaway]
    • Haley Joel Osment [2001: AI]
    • Clive Owen [2009: Duplicity]
    • Gwyneth Paltrow [2009: Two Lovers]
    • Joe Pantoliano [2001: Memento]
    • Rebecca Pidgeon [2000: State and Main]
    • Sarah Polley [1999: Go]
    • Jérémie Renier [2009: Lorna's Silence]
    • Christina Ricci [2007: Black Snake Moan]
    • Julia Roberts [2009: Duplicity]
    • Mickey Rourke [2008: The Wrestler]
    • Ludivine Sagnier [2008: A Girl Cut in Two]
    • Jason Schwartzman [2009: Fantastic Mr. Fox]
    • Campbell Scott [2003: The Secret Lives of Dentists]
    • Kristin Scott Thomas [2008: I've Loved You So Long]
    • Chloë Sevigny [2000: American Psycho]
    • Tony Shalhoub [2001: The Man Who Wasn't There]
    • Michael Sheen [2008: Frost/Nixon]
    • Shu Qi [2006: Three Times]
    • Imelda Staunton [2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]
    • David Strathairn [2008: My Blueberry Nights]
    • Hilary Swank [2004: Million Dollar Baby]
    • Billy Bob Thornton [2003: Bad Santa]
    • Stanley Tucci [2009: Julie & Julia]
    • Maribel Verdú [2006: Pan's Labyrinth]
    • Emily Watson [2002: Punch-Drunk Love]
    • Naomi Watts [2008: Funny Games]
    • Sigourney Weaver [1999: A Map of the World]
    • Forest Whitaker [2006: The Last King of Scotland]
    • Tom Wilkinson [2007: Michael Clayton]
    • Ray Winstone [2006: The Proposition The Departed]
    • Evan Rachel Wood [2006: Down in the Valley]
    • Jeffrey Wright [2005: Broken Flowers]
    • Steve Zahn [2007: Rescue Dawn]
    • Renée Zellweger [2003: Cold Mountain Down With Love]



    And finally. Back when I started the survey, I remember looking forward to the time, a decade or so later (i.e. now), when there'd be tons of accumulated data to wade through. In particular, I was excited about the prospect of being able to compare how various films from major directors had been received over the years. Granted, that process isn't exactly definitive—the AVB has mutated over the years and even the diehards tend to be stingier with their star ratings than they were back in the mid-'90s. But perhaps my favorite task after receiving the averages is updating my Directors' Gallery, plugging this year's films into various post-'94 oeuvres. Here are the entries that saw additions this year—every filmmaker who's ever placed in the Director top 20. 2019 films are in bold. Numbers in parentheses indicate how the film placed in Best Picture that year, if applicable; if the film title is in parentheses that means it received fewer than 10 votes and hence the result is a bit less meaningful. N/A (not applicable) means it was eligible but didn't even get five votes and so didn't make the main list.

    Pedro Almodóvar

    Talk to Her (12)                          3.21
    All About My Mother                       3.11
    Volver (14)                               3.00
    Pain and Glory (19)                       2.96
    Julieta                                   2.90
    Live Flesh                                2.88
    Bad Education                             2.87
    The Flower of My Secret                   2.75
    Broken Embraces                           2.65
    The Skin I Live In                        2.62
    I'm So Excited!                           2.21

    Olivier Assayas

    Irma Vep (5)                              3.48
    Summer Hours (3)                          3.23
    Carlos (6)                                3.21
    Clouds of Sils Maria (9)                  3.16
    Personal Shopper (5)                      3.05
    Late August, Early September              2.88
    Something in the Air                      2.82
    Les Destinées                             2.79

    Clean                                     2.78

    Non-Fiction                               2.52

    demonlover                                2.45
    Boarding Gate                             2.35
    Paris je t'aime*                          2.24

    * segment of an omnibus film

    Ari Aster

    Midsommar (14)                            2.80
    Hereditary                                2.69

    Noah Baumbach


    Frances Ha (3)                            3.32
    Marriage Story (4)                        3.25
    The Squid and the Whale (6)               3.21
    The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) 3.04
    De Palma*                                 3.00
    Mistress America (19)                     2.94
    Margot at the Wedding                     2.92
    Greenberg                                 2.84
    Mr. Jealousy                              2.72
    While We're Young                         2.67


    * with Jake Paltrow

    Joe Berlinger

    Paradise Lost (7)                         3.58
    Metallica: Some Kind of Monster           3.06
    (WHITEY: U.S.A. vs. James J. Bulger)      2.88
    (Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory)              2.71
    (Crude)                                   2.58
    (Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2)          1.13
    Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil...      N/A
    Hank: 5 Years From the Brink              N/A
    Intent to Destroy                         N/A
    Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru          N/A

    Under African Skies                       N/A

    Bong Joon-ho


    Parasite (2)                              3.37
    The Host                                  3.19
    Memories of Murder (9)                    3.16
    Mother (5)                                3.11
    Snowpiercer (13)                          3.03
    Okja                                      2.73
    Tokyo!*                                   2.37

    * segment of an omnibus film

    Danny Boyle

    Trainspotting (11)                        3.19
    Millions                                  2.93
    28 Days Later                             2.90
    T2 Trainspotting                          2.82
    127 Hours                                 2.76
    Sunshine                                  2.74
    Steve Jobs                                2.62
    Slumdog Millionaire                       2.42
    (Yesterday)                               2.36
    (A Life Less Ordinary)                    2.22
    The Beach                                 2.08
    (Trance)                                  1.88

    Kenneth Branagh

    Hamlet (9)                                3.29
    (A Midwinter’s Tale)                      2.83
    (Cinderella)                              2.75
    (All Is True)                             2.42
    Thor                                      2.39
    (Murder on the Orient Express)            2.11
    Love’s Labours Lost                       2.10
    Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit                 2.05
    Sleuth                                    1.40

    Nuri Bilge Ceylan


    Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (12)         3.10
    Winter Sleep (15)                         3.00
    Distant                                   2.93
    The Wild Pear Tree                        2.88

    Climates                                  2.84

    Three Monkeys                             2.58

    J.C. Chandor

    All Is Lost (14)                          3.22
    A Most Violent Year                       2.84
    Margin Call                               2.74
    Triple Frontier                           2.50

    Claire Denis

    Beau travail (6)                          3.15
    Friday Night (14)                         3.09
    35 Shots of Rum (10)                      3.02
    White Material (19)                       2.93
    (Nénette et Boni)                         2.92
    High Life                                 2.91
    Trouble Every Day (13)                    2.88
    Bastards                                  2.84
    Let the Sunshine In                       2.63
    The Intruder                              2.23

    Brian De Palma

    Femme Fatale (19)                         3.02
    Mission: Impossible                       2.50
    Passion                                   2.46
    Snake Eyes                                2.35

    The Black Dahlia                          2.32

    Domino                                    2.25

    Mission to Mars                           2.17
    Redacted                                  2.07


    Clint Eastwood


    Million Dollar Baby (9)                   3.06

    Letters From Iwo Jima                     2.82

    Mystic River                              2.81
    Sully                                     2.74
    Changeling                                2.70
    Richard Jewell                            2.64
    Space Cowboys                             2.63
    American Sniper                           2.58
    Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil   2.57
    The Mule                                  2.54
    Invictus                                  2.53

    Flags of Our Fathers                      2.52

    Gran Torino                               2.46
    Blood Work                                2.35
    Absolute Power                            2.32
    True Crime                                2.31
    Jersey Boys                               2.21
    The 15:17 to Paris                        2.07
    Hereafter                                 2.05
    J. Edgar                                  2.04


    Robert Eggers

    The Witch: A New-England Folktale (12)    3.10
    The Lighthouse                            2.62

    Asghar Farhadi

    A Separation (2)                          3.61
    The Past                                  3.00
    The Salesman (19)                         2.96
    Everybody Knows                           2.54

    Greta Gerwig

    Little Women (7)                          3.10
    Lady Bird (12)                            3.07
    Nights and Weekends*                      N/A

    * with Joe Swanberg

    Terry Gilliam


    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (18)       2.68
    The Man Who Killed Don Quixote            2.55

    The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus       2.30

    The Brothers Grimm                        2.29

    Tideland                                  2.21

    (The Zero Theorem)                        2.11

    Jean-Luc Godard

    The Image Book (18)                       2.92
    Notre Musique                             2.67
    Goodbye to Language (12)                  2.65
    Film Socialisme                           2.59
    In Praise of Love                         1.95
    (For Ever Mozart)                         1.58


    James Gray


    Two Lovers (12)                           3.13
    The Lost City of Z (18)                   3.04
    The Immigrant (19)                        2.94
    We Own the Night                          2.82
    The Yards                                 2.78
    Ad Astra                                  2.63


    Todd Haynes

    Far From Heaven (4)                       3.37
    Carol (2)                                 3.35
    I'm Not There (10)                        2.92
    Dark Waters                               2.71
    Wonderstruck                              2.47
    Velvet Goldmine                           2.43

    Werner Herzog


    Grizzly Man (1)                           3.40
    (Little Dieter Needs to Fly)              3.10
    Encounters at the End of the World        3.09
    The Bad Lieutenant--PoC:NO                2.91
    My Best Fiend                             2.85
    (The White Diamond)                       2.83
    Cave of Forgotten Dreams                  2.73
    Rescue Dawn                               2.73
    (Into the Inferno)                        2.67
    Lo and Behold                             2.66
    Into the Abyss                            2.64
    (Wheel of Time)                           2.57
    My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done         2.53
    (Meeting Gorbachev)                       2.50
    (The Wild Blue Yonder)                    2.25
    Invincible                                N/A
    Queen of the Desert                       N/A


    Hong Sang-soo


    Right Now, Wrong Then (11)                3.24
    Woman on the Beach (13)                   3.10
    Night and Day                             3.07
    The Day He Arrives                        3.05
    On the Beach at Night Alone (16)          3.03
    Oki's Movie                               2.88
    Grass                                     2.85
    Hotel by the River                        2.83
    In Another Country                        2.82
    The Day After                             2.80
    Woman Is the Future of Man                2.79
    Claire's Camera                           2.66

    Peter Jackson

    Forgotten Silver                          3.36
    The Two Towers (7)                        3.33
    The Return of the King (5)                3.26
    The Fellowship of the Ring (11)           2.96
    The Frighteners                           2.93
    They Shall Not Grow Old                   2.93
    King Kong                                 2.83
    The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug       2.50
    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey         2.24
    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 1.92
    The Lovely Bones                          1.80

    Jim Jarmusch

    Paterson (2)                              3.37
    Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (18)    3.03
    Only Lovers Left Alive (9)                3.03
    Dead Man (13)                             2.94
    (Gimme Danger)                            2.83
    Coffee and Cigarettes                     2.70
    Broken Flowers                            2.56
    The Dead Don't Die                        2.55
    (Year of the Horse)                       2.42
    The Limits of Control                     2.34

    Jia Zhang-ke


    A Touch of Sin                            3.00
    Ash Is Purest White (15)                  2.92
    The World                                 2.89
    Still Life (18)                           2.88
    Mountains May Depart                      2.59
    24 City                                   2.50
    Unknown Pleasures                         2.45

    Rian Johnson


    Knives Out (9)                            3.06
    Brick (7)                                 2.99
    Looper (14)                               2.95
    The Brothers Bloom                        2.83
    Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi   2.83

    Neil Jordan

    The End of the Affair (20)                2.96
    The Butcher Boy                           2.86
    Michael Collins                           2.85
    The Good Thief (18)                       2.81
    Byzantium                                 2.78
    Ondine                                    2.65
    Greta                                     2.42
    Breakfast on Pluto                        2.32
    In Dreams                                 1.91
    The Brave One                             1.72

    Jennifer Kent

    The Babadook (8)                          3.19
    The Nightingale                           2.62

    Harmony Korine

    The Beach Bum                             2.74
    Spring Breakers (18)                      2.72
    Trash Humpers                             2.57
    (Mister Lonely)                           2.39
    julien donkey-boy                         1.95
    (Gummo)                                   1.75

    Ang Lee

    Brokeback Mountain (3)                    3.40
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2)        3.32
    The Ice Storm (11)                        3.13
    Life of Pi                                2.79
    Ride with the Devil                       2.73
    Lust, Caution                             2.71
    Taking Woodstock                          2.38
    Hulk                                      2.34
    Gemini Man                                2.32
    Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk           2.10

    Mike Leigh

    Secrets & Lies (2)                        3.56
    Vera Drake (6)                            3.26
    Another Year                              3.21
    Topsy-Turvy (9)                           3.18
    All or Nothing                            3.02
    Mr. Turner                                2.98
    Happy-Go-Lucky (12)                       2.97
    Career Girls                              2.83
    Peterloo                                  2.80

    Richard Linklater

    Before Sunset (3)                         3.43
    Boyhood (3)                               3.36
    Before Midnight (4)                       3.33

    Everybody Wants Some!! (7)                3.23

    The School of Rock (9)                    3.16

    A Scanner Darkly (12)                     2.97

    Waking Life (15)                          2.86
    Bernie (18)                               2.85
    Tape                                      2.77
    The Newton Boys                           2.75
    Me and Orson Welles                       2.70
    subUrbia                                  2.63
    Where'd You Go, Bernadette                2.59
    Bad News Bears                            2.50
    Last Flag Flying                          2.46

    Fast Food Nation                          2.28


    Terrence Malick


    The Tree of Life (1)                      3.45
    The New World (2)                         3.14
    The Thin Red Line (13)                    2.95
    Voyage of Time                            2.95
    A Hidden Life (12)                        2.84
    To the Wonder (9)                         2.83
    Knight of Cups (20)                       2.52
    Song to Song                              2.24

    James Marsh


    Man on Wire (16)                          3.19
    Project Nim                               3.00
    (Shadow Dancer)                           2.70
    Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980     2.58
    The Theory of Everything                  2.22
    The King                                  N/A
    King of Thieves                           N/A
    The Mercy                                 N/A
    Wisconsin Death Trip                      N/A

    Fernando Meirelles


    City of God                               2.98
    The Constant Gardener                     2.52
    (The Two Popes)                           2.38
    Blindness                                 1.79
    360                                       1.60

    Sam Mendes

    American Beauty (16)                      2.97
    Skyfall                                   2.93
    Road to Perdition                         2.82
    1917                                      2.69
    Revolutionary Road                        2.65
    Jarhead                                   2.44
    Spectre                                   2.29
    Away We Go                                2.19

    Takashi Miike

    Audition (6)                              3.22
    First Love                                3.09
    13 Assassins                              3.03
    Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai             2.80
    Dead or Alive                             2.79
    (Blade of the Immortal)                   2.75
    Ichi the Killer                           2.74
    The Happiness of the Katakuris            2.73
    Gozu                                      2.61
    The City of Lost Souls                    2.56
    Yakuza Apocalypse                         2.54
    Three…Extremes*                           2.47
    Sukiyaki Western Django                   2.32

    The Great Yokai War                       2.25

    (One Missed Call)                         2.20
    (DOA: Final)                              2.17

    * segment of an omnibus film

    Roberto Minervini

    (Stop the Pounding Heart)                 3.17
    The Other Side                            2.91
    (What You Gonna Do When…World's on Fire?) 2.36

    David Robert Mitchell

    It Follows (15)                           3.00
    Under the Silver Lake (11)                2.90
    The Myth of the American Sleepover        2.66

    Errol Morris

    Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (4)          3.42
    The Fog of War (11)                       3.24
    Mr. Death                                 3.10
    Tabloid                                   3.00
    Standard Operating Procedure              2.98
    Wormwood (17)                             2.97
    American Dharma                           2.64
    The Unknown Known                         2.64
    (The B-Side)                              2.56

    László Nemes

    Sunset                                    2.97
    Son of Saul                               2.85

    Gaspar Noé

    Irreversible (1)                          3.12
    I Stand Alone                             2.94
    Climax (13)                               2.81
    Enter the Void (11)                       2.78
    Love                                      2.41

    Jafar Panahi


    Offside (11)                              3.25
    Crimson Gold (11)                         3.20
    (The Mirror)                              3.20
    The White Balloon                         3.14
    This Is Not a Film                        3.00
    Jafar Panahi's Taxi                       2.84
    The Circle                                2.70
    3 Faces                                   2.67
    Closed Curtain                            2.63


    Jordan Peele

    Get Out (7)                               3.14
    Us                                        2.88

    Alex Ross Perry

    Her Smell (8)                             2.90
    Listen Up Philip                          2.77
    The Color Wheel                           2.63
    Queen of Earth                            2.63
    Golden Exits                              2.58
      
    Christian Petzold

    Phoenix (6)                               3.24
    Transit (6)                               3.17
    Barbara                                   3.00
    Jerichow                                  2.82
    (Yella)                                   2.29

    Carlos Reygadas


    Silent Light (3)                          3.41
    Our Time                                  2.73
    Post tenebras lux                         2.73
    Battle in Heaven                          2.47
    Japón                                     2.35

    Robert Rodriguez


    Grindhouse (4)                            2.93
    Frank Miller's Sin City* (10)             2.74
    Spy Kids                                  2.71
    Machete+                                  2.61
    The Faculty                               2.60
    Alita: Battle Angel                       2.54
    Spy Kids 2 The Island of Lost Dreams      2.50
    Once Upon a Time in Mexico                2.44
    From Dusk Till Dawn                       2.43
    (Spy Kids 3D: Game Over)                  2.06
    Machete Kills                             2.00
    (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For)*           1.88
    Shorts                                    N/A
    Spy Kids: All the Time in the World       N/A

    * with Frank Miller
    + with Ethan Maniquis

    Raoul Ruiz

    Time Regained (14)                        3.00
    Mysteries of Lisbon                       2.95
    (The Wandering Soap Opera)*               2.67
    (Night Across the Street)                 2.33
    (Klimt)                                   2.20
    Shattered Image                           2.20
    (Genealogies of a Crime)                  2.17
    Three Lives and Only One Death            N/A

    * posthumously, with Valeria Sarmiento

    Josh & Benny Safdie

    Uncut Gems (3)                            3.21
    Heaven Knows What                         3.02
    Good Time (9)                             2.91
    Daddy Longlegs                            2.25
    Buttons*                                  N/A
    Lenny Cooke                               N/A
    The Pleasure of Being Robbed              N/A

    * with Alex Kalman

    Céline Sciamma

    Portrait of a Lady on Fire (10)           3.14
    Girlhood                                  2.92
    Tomboy                                    2.73
    (Water Lilies)                            2.67

    Martin Scorsese

    The Departed (1)                          3.42

    The Wolf of Wall Street (2)               3.27
    Kundun (7)                                3.22
    Silence (4)                               3.22
    I Heard You Paint Houses (5)              3.20
    Shutter Island (14)                       3.05
    Gangs of New York (9)                     3.01
    The Aviator                               2.96
    Hugo (19)                                 2.93
    Conjuring the Rolling Thunder Re-vue      2.85
    (Public Speaking)                         2.79
    Bringing Out the Dead                     2.52
    Shine a Light                             2.50
    Living in the Material World              N/A

    Steven Soderbergh

    Out of Sight (1)                          3.37
    Traffic (5)                               3.24
    Erin Brockovich                           3.14
    The Limey                                 2.99
    Contagion                                 2.96
    (Gray’s Anatomy)                          2.94
    Ocean’s Eleven                            2.93
    The Informant!                            2.92
    Solaris                                   2.86
    Haywire                                   2.85
    Logan Lucky                               2.77
    High Flying Bird                          2.76
    And Everything Is Going Fine              2.75
    The Girlfriend Experience                 2.72
    Magic Mike                                2.70
    Schizopolis                               2.70
    Bubble                                    2.66
    The Good German                           2.66
    Full Frontal                              2.63
    Side Effects                              2.59
    Ocean's Thirteen                          2.52
    Ocean’s Twelve                            2.52
    Unsane                                    2.40
    Che                                       2.35
    Eros*                                     2.15
    The Laundromat                            1.83

    * segment of an omnibus film


    Paolo Sorrentino

    The Great Beauty (15)                     3.00
    (Loro)                                    2.94
    This Must Be the Place                    2.91
    Il Divo                                   2.74
    Youth                                     2.46

    Peter Strickland

    The Duke of Burgundy (3)                  3.22
    In Fabric                                 3.05
    Berberian Sound Studio                    2.72

    Quentin Tarantino

    Inglourious Basterds (1)                  3.46
    Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (1)         3.44
    Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2)                      3.21
    Kill Bill Vol. 2 (4)                      3.16
    The Hateful Eight (8)                     3.13
    Django Unchained (9)                      3.09
    Grindhouse* (4)                           2.93
    Jackie Brown                              2.90

    * (feature-length) segment of an omnibus film

    Thomas Vinterberg


    The Celebration (14)                      3.24
    Far From the Madding Crowd                2.79
    The Hunt                                  2.61
    (The Commune)                             2.60
    (The Command)                             2.30
    Dear Wendy                                2.14
    It’s All About Love                       1.77

    S. Craig Zahler

    Bone Tomahawk                             3.18
    Dragged Across Concrete (16)              3.06
    Brawl in Cell Block 99 (11)               3.00

    Zhang Yimou


    Hero (5)                                  3.15
    Shadow                                    3.11
    Not One Less                              3.03
    House of Flying Daggers (20)              3.00

    Curse of the Golden Flower                2.65

    Coming Home                               2.56
    (Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles)     2.50
    The Great Wall                            2.46
    (Happy Times)                             2.44
    (The Flowers of War)                      2.42
    (A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop)        2.19
    The Road Home                             1.88


    3 comments:

    Scott Tobias said...

    This is incredible. That's all I've got.

    md'a said...

    I do this every year (despite not being a robot). Is this the first time you've seen it?

    Scott Tobias said...

    I've seen it. I'm just wowed by the data points this year for some reason. Particularly: THE LAUNDROMAT as Soderbergh's worst film. (Which I declared to be the case at TIFF.) And I laughed heartily at how poorly Sundance winners have landed. Don't think Minari is gonna make it, either, despite the kind notices.