A Prophet, The Hurt Locker and 35 Shots of Rum lead our favourite releases of the year. Jonathan Romney discerns a French resurgence and an unprecedentedly strong showing by women directors.
The Wire, HBO’s series about cops and the drug trade in Baltimore, inspires deep cult loyalty and critical plaudits. Kent Jones considers what makes it so much more than just good TV.
Brokeback Mountain, A History of Violence and The Holy Girl lead our poll in a year when a British horror film breached our top ten. Have the movies got richer, or are critical tastes diverging?
Sight & Sound contributors
Thursday 15 December 2005
Dazzling action and a fog of allusions can’t rescue this grandiose and badly acted movie, which grinds to an especially painful halt during its sulky teen romance, laments Andrew O’Hehir.
You know the drill: the effects are good, but the story’s a tangle of expository waffle. Andrew O’Hehir reports on the lost opportunity that is The Phantom Menace.