So it's past 2006, I know, and here I am posting a best of list that references a year we are no longer living. It's not my best moment, for it spotlights my procrastination among other vices, but nonetheless I feel compelled to mark my opinion in cyberspace. For those few of you still meandering to this piddling site, this is for you too, if you're interested.
I had a hard time narrowing the list in 2005 as well, though this time I left it to 11.
Of the films released in 2006, I saw 54. I whittled my Netflix cost to $2.88 a rental throughout the year, which I am happy with. It's a little more than half the cost of renting one DVD at Blockbuster.
I will list the full list of films I saw at the bottom of the post, so you can see that this ranking is based on a selection missing some of the major films released toward the end of the year. Living in Chicago, ahem Chicagoland, I don't get the opportunity to see every film like real critics on the coasts, so I do the best I can. There may be updates to this list, if I see a 2006 film that warrants it. As for now, though, here are my favorite films of 2006:
11. Babel - I really loved Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film "21 Grams" though I admit to being completely confused during the first half. That led me to be very excited for this film, especially after it got the director the Best Director prize at Cannes in May. By all accounts, it worked very well. It is very well acted, especially by Adriana Barraza, who I hope gets nominated for an Oscar. The only real complaint I have is that though it was interesting, beautifully filmed and well acted, the Tokyo story is connected to the larger story so loosely, it did not resonate with me. That said, the current breed of Mexican and South American directors are some of the best and most creative working today (Inarritu, Cuaron, Meirelles, etc.).
10. Lucky # Slevin - I easily disregarded this film when it came out last Spring, as a cloying rip-off of better films in the crime genre in the Tarantino mold. I also do not like Josh Hartnett, so I avoided this. I caught it on DVD, and I am very glad I did. It is not actually a rip off, but a valid entry in the genre. The script is tight and smart, funny and layered. Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman are terrific and very fun to watch. Hartnett is the best he's ever been (read: not annoying) and Lucy Liu was surprisingly substantial. This was a very surprising film.
9. Miami Vice - I had very low expectations of this movie. I had heard all the bad press about the filming of it, and am predisposed not to take Colin Farrell seriously. Michael Mann is a director I generally like and this film was hit all the right marks. It was atmospheric; Miami hasn't looked so alluring or real since "Out of Sight." The story was smart enough and not diluted. The action scenes and the cinematography were great. And any inclusion of Cuba -- somewhere I am dying to go -- gets my attention.
8. V For Vendetta - Never a comic book fan, I had no point of reference for this film. I love Natalie Portman, and was curious about how a character that never takes off his mask would work. The writing was so sharp, and the film appropriately gloomy. I was impressed.
7. Down in the Valley - This was one of those that came and went in the spring and no one noticed. I caught it on DVD. Edward Norton plays a man in the valley near LA (San Fernando?) drifting through life in the slow, langourous way of a cowboy. He meets Evan Rachel Wood and they instantly fall in love; the conflict comes in the form of David Morse, ERW's cop father. Norton ingratiates himself into her and her family's lives to a very dangerous degree. This was some of my favorite writing of the year; it's a little long, which keeps it this low on my list. Norton is typically excellent, and makes this character better than it would be by anyone else. The film moves slowly, but it's melodic not boring. Definitely worth a look.
6. Children of Men - The trailer for this could be my favorite film of the year; I was so anxious for this that I think the film suffered for it. I expected something a little more uplifting or inspiring than such bleakness. Nonetheless, everything else I thought was top-notch. The filmmaking on display here is tremendous. The acting is wonderful, especially by Clive Owen and Michael Caine. I accept the sci-fi premise readily; but I want to know more about this pregnancy. How? Why her? As for the technical aspects, well, there is nothing better this year. The cinematography will be studied in perpetuity and the set decoration is incredible. Cuaron, I said earlier, is one of the best directors working today, and I will see anything he attaches his name to. One of the best films of the year, if only a little disappointing. I blame the marketers.
5. Hard Candy - This is a fixed study of paranoia, of control, of vengeance. Comprising of two actors only, it is not surprising this was written by a playwright. Ellen Page (who?) is electrifying and what she does here is so intense. There is one scene that is the most terrifying thing I've seen in years. I don't want to spoil the fun. Everyone should jump this to the top of your queue. You may not like it (my cousin Ray did not) but it's definitely a conversation piece.
4. The Prestige - Christopher Nolan is an excellent director, and after reading the Devil in the White City, I'm fascinated by anything turn of the (19th) century. Hugh Jackman was really great and Christian Bale was equally compelling. Michael Caine is great in everything, pretty much. Scarlett Johanson was underused, but good. The set pieces and the look of this film are wonderful. A visual feast.
3. The Departed - This is one of the few films in which you notice the editing, and it is what really makes this film so good. The story is so dense with twists and turns and plot, that without such a quick pace, it would be three hours long and feel it. Nicholson reigns supreme -- just turn the camera on and let the man work. Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon really turn in great performances here, as do Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and even Mark Wahlberg. Sheen, especially, makes his screen time memorable. Scorcese is owed an Oscar, and if he gets it for this, it will be for a film he actually deserves it for, instead of the Academy's habit of giving awards for people for films they don't deserve them for (Pacino in Scent of a Woman) because they're long overdue.
2. Casino Royale - I am no Bond enthusiast. I've seen the Brosnan films, and a handful of the Connery installments. This, in my opinion, is the best Bond film. Maybe that's a comment based on a generational divide, but the old Bond films are just so campy or uneven. Royale is expert from the beginning, and Daniel Craig proves all the naysayers wrong with his turn. Connery will always be the best Bond, but Craig is a close second. I already can't wait for the next one.
1. Half Nelson - I loved this film and I didn't expect to. Until this performance I disliked Ryan Gosling. He is excellent here, and deserves to be nominated for an Oscar. He plays a high school history teacher with a cocaine addiction; he also coaches girl's basketball and establishes a protector role of one of the girls on the team. The story is so nuanced, well-written, beautifully filmed; the camera never lingers too long on a scene and Gosling really inhabits the character. Rent this when it comes out on DVD; it's my favorite film of the year.
These are the films I saw this year, in the order of their theatrical release:
Grandma’s Boy; Bubble; Imagine Me & You; Firewall; The Pink Panther; Date Movie; Running Scared; 16 Blocks; Dave Chappelle’s Block Party; Thank You For Smoking; V for Vendetta; Inside Man; Basic Instinct 2; Lucky Number Slevin; On a Clear Day; Hard Candy; The Sentinel; United 93; Down in the Valley; Mission: Impossible 3; The Da Vinci Code; The Break Up; A Prairie Home Companion; The Lake House; Wordplay; Superman Returns; Strangers With Candy; Pirates of the Caribbean 2; A Scanner Darkly; The Groomsmen; You, Me and Dupree; Clerks II; Little Miss Sunshine; Miami Vice; World Trade Center; Half Nelson; Accepted; The Illusionist; I Trust You To Kill Me; The Last Kiss; Feast; The Queen; The Departed; Flags of Our Fathers; The Prestige; Running With Scissors; Babel; Stranger Than Fiction; Casino Royale;
Déjà vu; The Holiday; The Pursuit of Happyness; The Good Shepherd; Children of Men.
Superlatives of the year:
Just Plain Awful: Date Movie
Not as Good as the TV Show: Strangers With Candy
Missing Many Pieces, and Much Common Sense: Superman Returns
Underwhelming: The Last Kiss
Creepy Impersonation: The Queen
Annoying: Flags of Our Fathers
Overhyped: Little Miss Sunshine
Too Heavy With Needless Stuff: The Good Shepherd
A Disservice to the Book: Running With Scissors
Should Have Been Better: Stranger Than Fiction
Gave Me A Headache: A Scanner Darkly
Unintentionally Hilarious: Firewall
Strange: Bubble
Waste of $8: Dave Chappelle's Block Party
I'm Embarrassed to Admit I Liked It: Basic Instinct 2
Unnecessary Haircut: The Davinci Code
Sad-Bastard: On a Clear Day
Can you figure out my taste yet??? Here's to 2007!
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