CINEMA SCOPE magazine (Canada)

Cinema Scope makes some people break out in hives, from Mark Peranson's famously cranky editorials to the extensive articles on avant-garde figures who remain obscure even in avant-garde circles (not to mention the Canadian way they date their issues so that "Winter 20XX" comes before "Spring 20XX"). Yet the magazine is unique in the English-speaking world, an unabashedly highbrow publication which nonetheless - unlike the dry-as-dust Cineaste and Film Quarterly - doesn't ignore style, humour and bolshie Attitude.

It also (since 2005) does annual Top Tens, serving as a handy snapshot of a Certain Tendency of world cinema. Long may it continue - both the mag and yes, even the Tendency...

2005

  1. THE CHILD (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
  2. THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU (Cristi Puiu)
  3. HIDDEN (Michael Haneke)
  4. LAND OF THE DEAD (George A. Romero)
  5. REGULAR LOVERS (Philippe Garrel)
  6. THE SUN (Alexander Sokurov)
  7. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (David Cronenberg)
  8. THREE TIMES (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  9. THE NEW WORLD (Terrence Malick)
  10. HOMECOMING (Joe Dante)

2006

  1. SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
  2. BLACK BOOK (Paul Verhoeven)
  3. COLOSSAL YOUTH (Pedro Costa)
  4. A SCANNER DARKLY (Richard Linklater)
  5. BORAT (Larry Charles)
  6. OPERA JAWA (Garin Nugroho)
  7. CHILDREN OF MEN (Alfonso Cuaron)
  8. THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho)
  9. INLAND EMPIRE (David Lynch)
  10. OLD JOY (Kelly Reichardt)

2007

  1. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson)
  2. ZODIAC (David Fincher)
  3. SECRET SUNSHINE (Lee Chang-dong)
  4. IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA (Jose Luis Guerin)
  5. PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant)
  6. PROFIT MOTIVE AND THE WHISPERING WIND (John Gianvito)
  7. MY WINNIPEG (Guy Maddin)
  8. GO GO TALES (Abel Ferrara)
  9. LA FRANCE (Serge Bozon)
  10. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu)

2008

  1. LIVERPOOL (Lisandro Alonso)
  2. BIRDSONG (Albert Serra)
  3. WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt)
  4. 24 CITY (Jia Zhangke)
  5. RR (James Benning)
  6. OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (Miguel Gomes)
  7. BALLAST (Lance Hammer)
  8. ITINERAIRE DE JEAN BRICARD (Jean-Marie Straub & Daniele Huillet)
  9. STILL WALKING (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
  10. THE HEADLESS WOMAN (Lucretia Martel)

2009

  1. POLICE, ADJECTIVE (Corneliu Porumboiu)
  2. EVERYONE ELSE (Maren Ade)
  3. TO DIE LIKE A MAN (Joao Pedro Rodrigues)
  4. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (Quentin Tarantino)
  5. SWEETGRASS (Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Ilisa Barbash)
  6. FANTASTIC MR. FOX (Wes Anderson)
  7. TRASH HUMPERS (Harmony Korine)
  8. ALAMAR (Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio)
  9. VINCERE (Marco Bellocchio)
  10. MOTHER (Bong Joon-ho)

Best of the 00s

  1. PLATFORM (Jia Zhangke, 2000)
  2. IN VANDA'S ROOM (Pedro Costa, 2001)
  3. LA LIBERTAD (Lisandro Alonso, 2001)
  4. LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF (Thom Andersen, 2003)
  5. 13 LAKES (James Benning, 2004)
  6. EVOLUTION OF A FILIPINO FAMILY (Lav Diaz, 2004)
  7. YI YI (Edward Yang, 2000)
  8. BLACK BOOK (Paul Verhoeven, 2006)
  9. MEMORIES OF MURDER (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)
  10. MULHOLLAND DRIVE (David Lynch, 2001)

2010

  1. UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
  2. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU (Andrei Ujica)
  3. MYSTERIES OF LISBON (Raul Ruiz)
  4. FILM SOCIALISME (Jean-Luc Godard)
  5. WINTER VACATION (Li Hongqi)
  6. THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA (Manoel de Oliveira)
  7. I WISH I KNEW (Jia Zhangke)
  8. MEEK'S CUTOFF (Kelly Reichardt)
  9. ATTENBERG (Athina Rachel Tsangari)
  10. THE GHOST WRITER (Roman Polanski)

(+ 10 Special Mentions: AURORA, CARLOS, CERTIFIED COPY, COLD WEATHER, CURLING, OF GODS AND MEN, LE QUATTRO VOLTE, EL SICARIO: ROOM 164, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, UNSTOPPABLE)

2011

  1. THIS IS NOT A FILM (Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb)
  2. THE TURIN HORSE (Bela Tarr)
  3. HOUSE OF TOLERANCE (Bertrand Bonello)
  4. DREILEBEN (Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf & Christoph Hochhausler)
  5. ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
  6. THE TREE OF LIFE (Terrence Malick)
  7. KILL LIST (Ben Wheatley)
  8. IT'S THE EARTH NOT THE MOON (Goncalo Tocha)
  9. SLEEPING SICKNESS (Ulrich Kohler)
  10. THE KID WITH A BIKE (Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne)

(+ Special Mentions: 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH, THE COLOR WHEEL, DRIVE, OUTSIDE SATAN, TAKE SHELTER, MARGARET, POLICEMAN, TARGET, TWO YEARS AT SEA)

2012

  1. LEVIATHAN (Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel)
  2. TABU (Miguel Gomes)
  3. HOLY MOTORS (Leos Carax)
  4. THE MASTER (Paul Thomas Anderson)
  5. DJANGO UNCHAINED (Quentin Tarantino)
  6. VIOLA (Matias Pineiro)
  7. THE LAST TIME I SAW MACAO (Joao Pedro Rodrigues & Joao Rui Guerra da Mata)
  8. DIFFERENTLY, MOLUSSIA (Nicolas Rey)
  9. NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS (Kleber Mendonca Filho)
  10. MOONRISE KINGDOM (Wes Anderson)

(+ Honourable Mentions: BARBARA, BESTIAIRE, COSMOPOLIS, IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, ROOM 237)