Friday, January 13, 2006

It was a very fine year


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

George Clooney and William Hurt in ?Syriana.? Courtesy Photo: Warner Brothers

All in all 2005 was a heck of a fine year on big movie screens. It's only at the very end of a year that we, like Auld Land Syne, can look back, nod or shake our heads (the intellectual's version of thumbs up and thumbs down, perhaps).

With three movie houses in the north end of the Wood River Valley, and another fourplex in Hailey, moviegoers here are both at an advantage and a disadvantage. We do get first run flicks but they generally don't linger long. The valley is also fortunate in having theater owners and managers who exhibit some movie savvy when booking.

Our disadvantage lies in the fact that with only these screens—11 in all—we don't get as many independent flicks, except during the Magic Lantern's twice yearly festival, and virtually no foreign movies. Documentaries are featured during another festival sponsored by the Magic Lantern. We also occasionally benefit from premieres since the valley is home or second home to many people in the film industry, including some producers.

Another thing the valley is rich in is movie lovers. Everyone agrees we've been lucky this year on the films offered. And everyone agrees the really good stuff opens in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago and then makes its way to Sun Valley sometime later. We also agree we don't like the pattern. Let's open them all in Sun Valley right off the bat. That way we wouldn't still be waiting for choice movies like "Brokeback Mountain," "The Squid and the Whale," "Breakfast on Pluto," "Cassanova," "The New World," "Caché" "Match Point," "Yes," "The White Countess," "Nine Lives," "Transamerica" and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," to name a few missing doozies.

Here then are some of the lists of valley residents, (with sincere apologies to the fellow who sent his list only to have our network eat it.)

Dana DuGan

Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer

Hailey

"Munich"

"Good Night and Good Luck"

"Crash"

"Walk the Line"

"Brokeback Mountain"

"Capote"

"Pride and Prejudice"

"Happy Endings"

"Kings and Queen"

"You and Me and Everyone We Know"

Honorable mentions: "2046," "Downfall" (2004) "Cassanova"

Keith Waller

Power Engineers

Hailey

"Syriana"

"A History of Violence"

"Broken Flowers"

"King Kong"

"Me and You and Everyone We Know"

"Walk the Line"

"Crash"

"Cinderella Man"

"Millions"

"Kung Fu Hustle"

Ben Benson

Magic Lantern Cinema employee

Hailey

"Beautiful Country"

"Good Night and Good Luck"

"Shop Girl"

"Millions"

"The Merchant of Venice"

"The Beat that My Heart Skipped"

"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"

"The Constant Gardener"

"An Unfinished Life"

"2046"

Honorable mention: "The Sea Inside" (2004)

John Pluntze

Retailer, tutor

Ketchum

"Cinderella Man"

"March of the Penguins"

"Munich"

"The Big Red One: The Reconstruction" (2004)

"Downfall" (2004)

"Lightning in a Bottle, Incident at Loch Ness" (2004)

"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"

"Lord of War"

"The Constant Gardener"

"The Great Raid"

Rick Kessler

Magic Lantern Cinema owner

Ketchum

"Crash"

"Upside of Anger"

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

"The Wedding Crashers"

"In Her Shoes"

"North Country"

"Capote"

"Cinderella Man"

"Beautiful Country"

"Walk the Line"

Laura Gvozdas

Sun Country Management

Ketchum

"Crash"

"Cinderella Man"

"Pride and Prejudice"

"The Constant Gardener"

"Walk the Line"

"Mad Hot Ballroom"

"The Wedding Crashers"

"Munich"

"Rent"

"King Kong"

Jeff Cordes

Idaho Mountain Express Sports Editor

Hailey

"Crash"

"Munich"

"Cinderella Man"

"Hustle & Flow"

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"

"Junebug"

"Syriana"

"Kung Fu Hustle"

"Fever Pitch"

Steve Bynum

Magic Lantern Cinema Manager

Hailey

"Me and You and Everyone We Know"

"Capote"

"Walk the Line"

"Brokeback Mountain"

"The Squid and the Whale"

"Junebug"

"Syriana"

"Crash"

"Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Were-rabbit"

"Pride and Prejudice"

Documentaries: "End of the Century," "Dig!"

Michael Ames

Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer

Ketchum

"Downfall" (2004)

"The Aristocrats"

"Capote"

"Grizzly Man

"Syriana"

"Crash"

"Munich"

"Good Night and Good Luck"

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

"The Merchant of Venice"

Linda Lubeck

South Central District Health Public Health Nurse

Hailey

"Capote"

"Cinderella Man"

"The Constant Gardener"

"Crash"

"Good Night and Good Luck"

"A History of Violence"

"Hustle & Flow"

"Junebug"

"Syriana"

"Walk The Line"

Let's add a special mentions for great lines. To wit:

"Do you know what you'll find in the dictionary next to the word idiot?" Perry asks Harry in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang."

"My picture?"

"No. The definition of the word idiot, which is what you are."




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