The Best of 2006

I know, I know. Here we are half-way through 2007, and now I'm doing a best of 2006 list. I'd like to say that it was because I wanted to see other movies on DVD from last year that I hadn't seen yet. Or, that I wanted to let the movies marinade in the juices in my head before I made my final decisions, but, honestly, I've just been lazy, procrastinating for months before now.

I know its early yet this year, and that most of the good movies have not been released yet, but 2007 has a long way to go before it will compare to last year. 2006 was a very good year for movies. When creating my Top Ten there were many tough decisions to be made. Therefore, there were a number of very quality selections that will be disappointed to not be able to end up on Nick's Top Ten, the most prestigious of movie lists. However, I could not take any more than 10. Those are my rules, and they are set in stone.

By now, the reader will be anxious to know what my criterion were when making my selections. Let me assure you they are long and complicated, much too complicated for the average reader, let alone movie-goer understand, so I will save you the enormous exposition that it would require to do so. Instead I will finally give you all what you have been waiting for; my list. So, without further ado, here, in descending order, are the Ten Best movies of 2006, as selected by me.

10. The Queen
9. The New World
8. Letters From Iwo Jima
7. Children of Men
6. Apacolypto
5. The Departed
4. The Prestige
3. Pan's Labyrinth
2. Little Miss Sunshine
1. United 93

Comments:
1, 2, & 3 - United 93, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth

The top 3 movies were all extremely worthy of being selected as the year's best movie, and in other years "Sunshine" and "Pan" would easily be number one. Each movie was very different in purpose and tone. United 93 was one of the most immediate and terrifyingly realistic movies ever made. (see my previous review) Its purpose was clearly not to entertain, but to enlighten the viewer to the heroism of the passangers of the doomed flight on September 11th. The director, Paul Greengrass, pulled off a feat of magnificent proportions, and probably should have won best director, if it were not for the sentimental pull for Scorsese to win his 1st. "Little Miss Sunshine" on the other hand was made to simply entertain, and it did that superbly. It is an independant comedic masterpiece, small in scale, but big in laughs, and balanced nicely with touching realism. As different as those two are from eachother, "Pan's Labyrinth" is that much different from either of them. I am planning on reviewing this movie soon, but am having trouble deciding from what angle to take on it, because there is so much going on cinematically and thematically. It is a fantasy fairy-tale, and the fairy-tale aspects of it are magical, beautiful, and terrifying. It is an adolescent coming of age movie. It is a rousing tale of the oppressed fighting to the end against evil tyranny. And it is also a war movie, brutal and bloody. The wonder of it is how the director Guillermo del Torro is able to blend it into one seemless whole. It is a haunting movie that will leave an indellible print in your mind.

4 - The Prestige
"The Prestige" at number 4 might be a suprise, but it is the kind of movie that I love. A time shifting complicated plot the leads to one of the best suprise endings since "The Sixth Sense." It rewards the viewer on multiple views as the plot uncovers clues and hints that could not have been picked up on the first view.

5. The Departed
Scorsese at his best ( actually, 3rd or 4th best, which is still pretty damn good). I enjoyed his previous movie, "The Aviator" but it was great seeing Scorsese get back to the vulgar streets. A crime plot where rats are infiltrating the Irish Mob of Boston, while the Irish Mob has an inside guy within the inner sanctums of the Police. Awesome performances all around, I mean who was the best? Nicholson, yes. DiCaprio, oh yeah him too. Mark Wahlber, beleive it or not, yes. Matt Damon, excellent, the list goes on and on. Directed with style and passion by one of the greats at the top of his game.

6. Apocalypto
Say what ever you want about Mel Gibson. He can make some fucking kick-ass movies. This is a historical epic, yes, but really is simply a big, exciting, bloody, fun, exhilirating action movie which happens to be set in Ancient Maya.

7. Children of Men
A dark look at the future of mankind. In the not-so distant future the world has pretty much dissintigrated into a bleak place. The world is hopeless, literally, as mankind has been unable to procreate for the last eighteen years. Until there is a glimmer of hope. A glimmer that many different people want to get there hands on. There are many great aspects of this movie, but what really stands out is the cinematography. The movie is full of long, single take shots, that must have taken meticulous preperation to pull off. There are two scenes in particular which are simply jaw-dropping. The first is when the car of the protagonists are being chased down by a gang of ruffians. The point of view for the entire scene is shot the entire time from within the car, swirling around from the front to the back to the front again, with no cuts. It actually seems physically impossible to shoot this scene, but it is obviously not. (And you can tell there are no special effects or camera tricks). The second is a very long tracking shot that follows Clive Owen as he walks his way through the decrepit refuge camp turned battle field. The scene lasts at least 10 minutes without one cut or wash. Nothing but the camera following along, simple enough, yeah right. When watching this scene think about the coordination and timing that it must taken to get all the parts in the exact right place at the exact right time, and then think about the work it would have taken to re-shoot this scene had something gone wrong.

8. Letters From Iwo Jima
Clint Eastwoods second movie about the World War II battle. This companion piece to "Flags of Our Fathers" tells the story of the Japanese soldiers defending the island. A point of view not often shown in American movies. The better of the two, however, both were very good and while not as good, stand up with Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Had I put both movies together it, as I've seen done by less prominant reviewers (Peter Travers) than myself, it may have moved up a spot or two. But they were released seperately and are technically different movies.

9. New World
This is a movie that came and went with little fanfare released really early last year. This was only director Terrence Malicks fourth feature film, yet he is not new on the scene, his first feature being 1973's "Badlands." This movie tells the story of Jamestown, America's first successful Brititsh Colony, and specifically the legend of John Smith and Pocohantis. It is more like poetry than moviemaking, taking its time to meander through the forrests of pre-colonization Virginia. This is not a movie for all viewers. Malick does not direct for the masses, and his methods require patience. If you saw his last movie, "The Thin Red Line," which I thought was excellent, you should know the style to expect. However if you do remain patient and let yourself get immersed in the beauty of the film it will mesmerize and greatly reward your patience.

10. The Queen
A fictionalized account of the weeks after Princess Diana's death as experienced by the Queen Elizabeth. It is anchored by the undeniably perfect performance of Hellen Mirren as the Queen, for which she rightly won the best actress award.

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Growing up is hard enough but when your parents decide to separate it can make things even worse. The Berkmans seem like a pretty normal 80s Brooklyn family at first but the closer you look the more complicated (ie f'd up) things get. Jeff Daniels is the fillet of the acting world as Benard, the college English professor. Coming from a divorced household I can only assume that writer/director, Noah Baumbach, is writing from personal experience. Despite how twisted the story gets I really connected with this film and think it is an independent classic.

4 stars out of 5

Interstate 60 (2002)

O.W. Grant is a mysterious little man with red hair and a pipe shaped like a monkey head that grants people one wish. Neal Oliver makes a wish hoping for some direction in life after college. He is sent on a mission to deliver a package down the non-existent Interstate 60.

Honestly, how cheesy does that sound? This is one of the few movies available on Netflix's new streaming movie feature. Look for a "Watch Now" tab on the top of your page. Inside you will find all of the movies that are available to instantly stream to your PC. Your account may not be enabled but this is the long term direction for Netflix and it will only be a matter of time. If you have your PC connected to your TV then this is a pretty slick setup. The full screen video looked as good as a normal DVD and sound was decent stereo. Even with a critical eye there was no skipping or slowdown. For every one dollar you spend with Netflix each month you get one hour of movie streaming.

Back to Interstate 60, I actually couldn't help but like this movie. Even more surprising is the cast: Michael J Fox, Gary Oldman, Ann-Margret... Not worth a trip to the video store but if you have Netflix and want to try out the streaming feature, this is one of the better options.

3 stars out of 5

Creative Screenwriting Magazine

I stumbled upon a podcast from fellow blogger Creative Screenwriting Magazine about Are We Done Yet?, a film I recently reviewed. It is a Q&A session with the writer, Hank Nelken, and focuses mainly on process of screen writing. It is interesting to hear how this particular script grew and ultimately changed. While I don't have any interest in working in Hollywood, I do find it fascinating to see how the business operates. To listen for yourself, use the Odeo player below or download it right from the source using the link above.


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Hard Candy (2005)

Hayley (Ellen Page) is your typical 14 year old girl. She likes hanging out with friends and playing on the Internet. One day she meets Jeff, a 32 year old photographer, online and they decide to meet up. Is this the biggest mistake of Hayley's life?

I loved this film and would recommend it to anyone that likes a small independent movie. Ellen Page is outstanding, keep an eye on her in the future. I don't want to say anything else for fear of spoiling it.

4 stars out of 5

Dark City (1998)

I really cannot remember what sparked my interest in this movie or motivated me to add it to my Netflix queue. But this sci-fi film came in the mail with me knowing nothing about it... I forgot that it was even coming in the first place. When I sat down to watch it, I soon found out that I had rented a gem.
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Much like The Matrix, this is a dark and stylistically awesome movie in which the viewer must struggle to piece together what is or is not real. How The Matrix could turn into a phenomenon while Dark City was almost instantly forgotten (or never part of one's consciousness - like me), doesn't seem to make a lot of sense because both are excellent... science fiction at its finest. However, I'm going to end with Matrix comparisons there because Dark City is its own movie and one that is too good to have to be put up head to head with another.
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The movie begins in complete confusion with our hero John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) waking up naked in the bathtub of a dingy hotel room with a dead woman laying nearby. John doesn't remember anything at all, he doesn't know who he is let alone if he's a murderer. But John hasn't necessarily lost his memory like Guy Pierce in Memento; this is a different case. His only link to knowledge comes from the handicapped yet frightening psychiatrist, Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) whose allegiances cannot be trusted. John also turns to his wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly), who doesn't know what to believe or what to do anymore, but her love is the only thing in the movie that doesn't change at some point. Even with knowledge from the doctor and love from his wife, John can't avoid the police led by Inspector Bumstead (William Hurt) who wants him on charges of muder that he knows nothing about. But much worse for John is being on the run from a group of terrorfying aliens known as The Strangers. These aliens aren't just evil for the sake of being evil like Aliens or Independence Day. They have their own motivations for what they do.
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The Strangers are a dying race. Running out of options on what to do for survival they turn to humans. Their studies are all in hope of making themselves a little human themselves. They have the appearance of a human albeit a gaunt and hairless appearance reminiscent of the iconic vampire in Nosferatu. To find out what humans think they use their god-like mind powers to set up something that resembles a giant experiment with the human race. But why must they concentrate on poor John Murdoch so much? I don't want to say too much but John is very unique and seems to have skipped a few rungs on the evolution ladder. The Strangers' time is running out and John seems to be the key for their survival.
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I could spend 10 blog entries trying to explain all there is to Dark City's hour and a half, but it's best you just watch, a couple times perhaps, to take in all there is to offer. But in only one viewing it is easy to admire the look and acting in Dark City. Rufus Sewell (I don't know who he is either... but he does look like Joaquin Phoenix) is able to convey all of John's confusion and fear in his eyes as he tries to sort out the strange events that keep happening to him. And as he learns more and more, you can see him become a little more confident but still pretty uncertain about the world around him.
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And the look of Dark City is astonishing. While being a great looking sci-fi movie, it has film noir seeping all over it making it stand out as something unique. The alleys are dark, the shadows are long, and hats hide the eyes of every antagonist. Every character is literally a creature of the night. For being almost a decade old, the effects hold up nicely. The mind powers of the Strangers look great and the long shot that follows an incredible twist will knock you out. So Dark City is a sci fi/lm noir that is worth seeing on the look alone but has substance that will add so much more to the experience. A wonderful surprise for me.
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4 out of 5 stars
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(note: For DVD commentary junkies like me, Roger Ebert provides a very interesting one. Only after I saw the movie did I find out that Dark City is on Ebert's list of "The Great Movies.")

Blades of Glory (2007)

Will Ferrell stars as Chazz Michael Michaels, the sexiest man in figure skating, who gets thrown out of the sport for inappropriate behavior during a medal ceremony. Due to a loophole he get back to the world of skating by entering pairs competition. The formula is similar to Dodge Ball complete with wacky humor and physical gags--again we get the pleasure of seeing a bare chested Ferrell strut around on screen. Overall I really enjoyed the film. Jokes did not always hit the mark but a couple of laughs made it all worth it. If you have seen the preview then you have a pretty good idea of what you will get.

3.5 stars out of 5