Best of 2006

[Kernan]

Top Ten Movies of 2006

2006 was a very interesting year in movies. At the box office Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest dominated but has that film series really entered into the consciousness in the Star Wars, Matrix, Indiana Jones way that great franchises do?

The Da Vinci Code was a temporary phenomena. The movie wasn't half bad, aside from Tom Hanks' hairstyle, but like Pirates the cultural cache was weak.

Did any movie really have that kind of cultural impact, that thing that resonates beyond the movie's life in theaters and initial release on DVD. The closest thing to a pop culture phenomenon was Borat which made it's impact more for its star and his persona than for anything he actually put on the screen.

As we sail through the awards season there are a number of big contenders. The top Oscar pick of the moment is Dreamgirls which has the kind of heart and guts that academy members love. As opposed to say The Departed which shows, literally, the kind of guts that the Academy doesn't so much love. The Departed will be in the Oscar conversation along with Dreamgirls but look for music to trump hardcore violence come February.

Another film with some academy buzz is United 93 which made an extraordinary impact on the culture as part of a tandem of 9/11 inspired movies. Along with Oliver Stone's flag waving, tear jerking World Trade Center, United 93 provided our most uncomfortable and disquieting moments in theaters in 2006.

As I wrestled with both of those pictures I simply could not find a way to recommend either film. United 93 was particularly well made. Director Paul Greengrass does an extraordinary job of recreating the horror and chaos of that day. The problem comes when trying to justify why anyone would want to watch the greatest american tragedy in history rendered so perfectly onscreen. Watching crowds line up with pop and snacks the Friday that film opened was a bizarre experience. People chomping popcorn as they watch 9/11 happen all over again is just far too surreal for me.

There were a number of interesting trends in theaters this year. As my generation has grown into our 30's the subject of arrested development has crept into the movie culture. All throughout 2006 movies about guys and gals in their 30's confronting actually having to be grown ups flourished.

The year began with the dull witted stoner movie Grandma's Boy which is only notable as the first film of the arrested development trend. That film was followed by The Benchwarmers, The Break-Up, Failure To Launch, You Me and Dupree all tackled the peter pan, perpetual child syndrome.

The Last Kiss with Zach Braff was the most telling and true of these pictures. Four friends staring down the barrel of lifetime commitments, kids and real jobs choose to either confront or flee their various situations. The film fails slightly by relying on a gimmicky resolution but The Last Kiss is likely to set the template for more arrested development stories in 2007 as Generation X continues to decide when to finally grow up.

Another 2006 trend that caught my eye was the large number of risky, ambitious pictures that aimed for big ideas and failed quite spectacularly. The Fountain is the most obvious example of a movie that aimed for epic story but fell prey to a weak kneed performance by Hugh Jackman. Darren Aronofsky, nevertheless, must be admired for his grand ambitions and gorgeous filmmaking technique.

Also on the grand ambition and major failure list is Chris Weitz's American Idol/President Bush satire American Dreamz. Grand ambition foiled in execution, Weitz aimed at a pair of big targets and somehow managed to miss both by a wide margin. There was alot of potentially good stuff in American Dreamz but it just never came together.

The worst of this lot of grand, ambitious failures is without a doubt, M. Night Shyamalan's Lady In The Water. This brutal fairy tale was boldly original and wildly out of the directors grasp. Lady In The Water joins All The Kings Men, Idlewild, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Children of Men and Sophia Coppola's opulant and forgettable Marie Antoinette as movies that ardently pursued grand goals only to find ambitious failure.

Before I launch into my list of the top 10 movies of 2006 there are a few movies that came up just short that I want you to check out....

Eight Below

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Clerks 2

Thank You For Smoking

Akeelah and the Bee

Mission Impossible 3

The Devil Wears Prada

The Illusionist

Hollywoodland

The Black Dahlia

Flags of Our Fathers

Babel

Dreamgirls

The Good Shepard

And now the top 10

10. Saw 3: The third entry in any series has pretty low expectations. Thus Saw 3 was an exceptional surprise. Writer Leigh Whannell has a twisted mind that he rends on the big screen with terrifying results. The thing that has made the Saw series so durable is that while being brutally violent the series has a philosophy and a point of view that appeals to the intellect in the same way the violence repels it.

9. Volver: Pedro Almodovar is a genius at quirky characters in unique stories. In Volver he has both quirky characters and unique stories in abundance. This ebullient family story that features not one but two prominent deaths, treats some dark subjects with a light breezy air that makes for a unique and wondrous filmgoing experience.

8. Little Children: This smart, sexy film actually fits part of one of this years big trends. Little Children examines the arrested development of both a man, Patrick Wilson, and a woman, Kate Winslet, through an affair that both are too immature to make more of. This story is combined with a character piece about a child molester that never fails to surprise and horrify before reaching a stunner of a finale.

7. Inside Man: Spike Lee steps away from his usual social commentary to make a genre film. But as is his talent, Lee doesn't just make a genre picture, he makes an examination of the souls and minds of the people who he traps within this twisty mystery thriller plot.

6. Little Miss Sunshine: There is only one word to describe this unique family road picture, delightful.

5. Stranger Than Fiction: Director Marc Forster continues a streak of exceptional work with this terrific romance with literary conceits. Don't think of this as just another Will Ferrell comedy, this is Will Ferrell with a brain and that is an important distinction.

4. The Descent: The best horror movie this decade, The Descent is an edge of your seat thriller that will having you watching through your fingers for most of its 100+ minute runtime. Director Neil Marshall is a rising star who takes the horror genre to an artistic level that you never expect from this formulaic genre.

3. The Queen: Helen Mirren. Helen Mirren. Helen Mirren. Enough said.

2. V For Vendetta: Political thrillers don't get more rebellious and ambitious than V For Vendetta. This unapologtically liberal take on freedom, censorship and the need for violent uprising and resistance is arguably the most ambitious movie of 2006. Few films were as bold and brave as V For Vendetta and even fewer were as entertaining.

1. The Departed: The number 1 movie of 2006 comes from, arguably, our greatest living filmmaker. Martin Scorsese is a master composer and violence is his symphony. In The Departed he writes a blood and guts concerto that only Quentin Tarentino may be able to match. Shocking, visceral, energetic and endlessly entertaining, The Departed blows away the competition. This is the best movie of 2006.
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Kernan

[iv3rdawG]

Here's mine which is also posted on my RT account:

10. United 93



An amazing film that gives us an inside look of what these people had to go through during their last 2 hours or so of their life. It's the first mainstream film that dares to take us back to 9/11 and showing us things that we needed to see.

9. The Departed



Another great mob film from Scorcese. With a load of great actors one firmly stands out and that is Leonardo DiCaprio. Giving an Oscar worthy performance, DiCaprio shows us that he is one of the great young actors. Along with great performances, the story is very well developed and the film has great pacing.

8. Blood Diamond



With another good film, Edward Zwick and Leonardo DiCaprio team up to make a great action/drama. With intense fire fights and great acting from Jennifer Connelly to Djimon Hounsou Blood Diamond makes for a great film.

7. Clerks 2



After the somewhat mediocre Jersey Girl, Kevin Smith goes back to his original roots with Dante and the gang and brings us Clerks 2. From Jay's Buffalo Bill dance to the "Pillow Pants" conversation Clerks 2 makes for one of the great comedies in recent years that mixes emotional elements with hilarious gags.

6. Borat



Clerks 2 may have had the emotional scenes that a lot of comedies have but Borat does not. Sacha Baron Cohen brings the Kazakhstani journalist to the big screen in his first major film. With great advertising Borat opened to a huge box office and made it not only a brilliantly funny comedy but a successful one.

5. V for Vendetta



"Remember remember the Fifth of November" With Sin City being released in the previous year, V for Vendetta had a lot to surpass and it is equally as great as Sin. With memorable performances from Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving V For Vendetta makes for a great film that really opens your eyes.

4. Little Miss Sunshine



When I first saw Little Miss Sunshine I was blown away by almost all of the cast's performances. From the little "super freak" Abigail Breslin to the suicidal Steve Carell, everyone gives great performances. With an equally heart warming story, Little Miss Sunshine is a great film.

3. Babel



The most nominated film at the Golden Globes, Babel shows us the lives of four different groups of people from all around the world. All which are compelling. Alejandro González Iñárritu does a great job at intertwining all of the stories.

2. Children of Men



From the man who brought us Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Y tu mamá también Alfonso Cuarón brings us one of the best films of 2006. Scenes that go on for five minutes at a time, amazing cinematography, and a great story, Children of Men is a film that should be seen by anyone who loves futuristic films and movies about what our world could become in the coming years.

1. El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)



We finally reach the number one film of 2006. El Laberinto del Fauno, which translates to Pan's Labyrinth, is filmmaking at it's best. Guillermo del Toro, who brought us The Devil's Backbone, Blade 2, and Hellboy now gives us his masterpiece. Leading the brilliant cast is twelve-year-old Ivana Baquero who plays Ofelia. Ivana brings such depth to her character it is amazing that she is only twelve. She should get a nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars along with the film being nominated for Best Picture. Scary at times and visually great to look at all the time. With brilliant visuals and a great storyteller telling us the story of this young girl in a horrible world, del Toro has made not only the best film I've seen this year but the best film I have ever seen.[/img]

[Kernan]

Iv3rDawG what do you think of what I said about the reaction to United 93, watching people line up with popcorn and pop to watch 9/11 happen again. For me, that image changed the way I watched that film. I think it is remarkably well made but I can't imagine why anyone would want to watch it.
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Kernan

[iv3rdawG]

I agree with you about the part of people buying refreshments and going to see it. But I think it is a film that if people are ready to see it they should. For me it's like The Passion. I saw it in theatres but I will not watch it again for a very long time. I haven't seen The Passion since its release a couple of years ago. The same will go for United 93. Just that aspect of the film doesn't make it not one of the best films of the year though. Although I totally understand where you are coming from.