A Very Good Year

Spectacular 2006 Filled with Numerous Cinematic Delights

It took a little while, but 2006 turned into an extremely good year for movies. Putting together this year-end recap, there were a good seventeen different pictures I would have been more than happy to put on my top ten list. In the end, I decided upon thirteen that absolutely had to be a part of any best-of discussion, while another fifteen were good enough in my mind to earn a second look.

That’s 28 movies big, small and somewhere in-between that warranted significant attention, and even after that there were still another 29 worthy of an honorable mention. That’s 57 motion pictures, and after 160 or so reviews (I haven’t actually counted, but that’s a pretty close estimate) that’s certainly a ratio of hit-to-miss I’ll take any day of the week.

The year itself was an intriguing curiosity. Filmmakers took some real chances in 2006, movies taking on some mighty big political issues and doing it with style, grace, humor, excitement and intellectual wherewithal. It was also the year Hollywood finally took on the ghost of 9/11, both Peter Greengrass (United 93) and Oliver Stone (World Trade Center) looking at that horrific day in their own personally idiosyncratic way.

For me, this past year slowly morphed from one I was ready to forget to one I will treasure as long as I am in this business. While the first two-thirds of 2006 had their highlights (V for Vendetta, United 93, The Descent, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Akeelah and the Bee, The Devil Wears Prada and A Prairie Home Companion – amongst others – all were released before September), they were unfortunately few and very far between.

But than came September and it was brilliance (The Queen, Volver, Babel) or near-brilliance (The Departed, Borat, The Prestige) seemingly every single weekend. The year became a film lover’s dream, a symphony of cinematic excellence ranging from the action packed (Casino Royale) to the chilling introspective (Little Children) to the magnificently emotional (Children of Men). Some, like Happy Feet or Flags of Our Fathers were relatively easy to categorize, while others like Perfume – A Story of a Murderer, The Fountain and Pans Labyrinth defied almost any attempt a summarization.

It wasn’t all wine and roses, of course. As always, there were too many lackluster sequels (Big Momma’s House 2, Basic Instinct 2, Final Destination 3), unfunny comedies (Failure to Launch, Date Movie, Click), misguided family flicks (Eight Below, Barnyard, Night at the Museum) and horrifically awful suspense pics (When a Stranger Calls, The Omen, Silent Hill). Big-time filmmakers like Brian De Palma (The Black Dahlia), Steven Soderbergh (The Good German), Richard Linklater (A Scanner Darkly, Fast Food Nation) and Robert De Niro (The Good Shepherd) took big chances and fell flat on their faces, while things that seemed like a good ideas on paper (Ridley Scott’s A Good Year, Steven Zaillian’s All the King’s Men, Terry Zwigoff’s Art School Confidential) proved to be nigh unwatchable.

The year’s biggest films (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand) were also some of its biggest disappoints in regards to entertainment value, while niche pictures like The Nativity Story proved even a captive audience stays away if the movie isn’t any good. Films that the buzz said were going to be massive hits (Snakes on a Plane) weren’t, while films nobody had the first clue about (Borat) turned into word of mouth sensations.

All in all, 2006 has been a fun year. The following are the ten best (well, thirteen best – I couldn’t narrow it down any further) and worst films I saw last year, my own musings and remembrances added afterwards for good measure.

TOP TEN

1.     Children of Men
Without question the best film I saw this year. Thought provoking, moving, suspenseful, dynamic, superbly filmed and expertly directed, here is a science fiction adventure set in a future that feels suspiciously like today. It is a prescient commentary on who we are as a planet and where we might be going if we’re not too careful. But, beyond the social commentary, there was no more edge-of-your-seat, pulse-pounding entertainment this year. All that combined together makes Alfonso Cuarón’s latest an unqualified masterpiece.

2.     United 93
Too soon? I’d say not soon enough. Peter Greengrass’ examination of unasked for heroism on a day that will live in eternal infamy, this movie made me feel things I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to experience. Yet the picture is remarkably cathartic, a release of pent-up emotions and ennui left over from that dark day, and by the time the passengers of United Flight 93 stood up as one to make their presence known I couldn’t help but let out a tearful cheer watching them do it.

3.     Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima
Clint Eastwood’s remarkable double-bill looking at both sides of the WWII battle of Iwo Jima is one of the most historic cinematic achievements of our time. Rarely does a great filmmaker get the opportunity to challenge audiences in such a way, especially one as lauded and admired as Eastwood. Yet, instead of sitting on those laurels, at almost 80 he is still taking chances and making pictures that boggle the mind. Both are fantastic, but the Japanese language Letters is the true stunner here, and also the one most impossible to forget walking out of the theater.

4.     Pan’s Labyrinth
Guillermo Del Toro’s adult gothic fairy tale is one of the most exhilarating and visually stunning things I’ve seen in ages. A profound morality play pitting innocence and sadism one against the other, this sublime adventure is a picture that lives on in memory long after the curtain closes. Sergi López’s portrait of fascist evil is one of the most chilling of its kind, while young Maribel Verdú gives the child performance of the year.

5.     The Queen
Helen Mirren already has the Oscar in the bag, but she alone is not what makes Steven Frears’ latest such a marvel. This depiction of the events leading to Queen Elizabeth’s historic television appearance after the death of Princess Diana is one of the best political procedurals since “All the President’s Men,” while Michael Sheen is every bit as good as the newly elected Tony Blair as his much more lauded costar.

6.     The Descent and The Hills Have Eyes
Good horror made something of a comeback this year, and these two balls-to-the-wall entries were a big reason why. Sure the majority were still trash, but both Neil Marshall’s kinetically masterful spelunking original and Alexandre Aja’s terrifying remake set a bar so high no other 2006 horror film came even close to matching them. These were out-of-nowhere winners, pictures so good – and so scary – they made me remember why I love being scared.

7.     Volver
Another masterpiece from Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar, Volver reminded the world why Pénelope Cruz is a star. This surreal and funny melodrama of death, family, ghosts, murder and culinary exactitude was an absolutely flawless funhouse full of warmth, charm and surprising humor. There was no better cast of women assembled for any movie this past year, and watching Cruz, Carmen Maura and the rest make such sublime music together was one of the purest joys I had in all of 2006.

8.     The Fountain and V for Vendetta
Wow. Two utterly different sci-fi adventures that took chances and went directions few other features dare. One was a ten-century love story told through a prism that would have made Stanley Kubrick proud, the other an action-packed adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel brought to the screen by the Wachowski Brothers. Together they make for absolutely unforgettable entertainment, sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions going far beyond the norm. Kudos to Warner Bros. for having the guts and the vision to finance both of them.

9.     Casino Royale
The year’s best action film was the one I said for over a year was going to be s**t all because they cast the wrong actor as James Bond. But this reinvention of Ian Flemming’s classic spy proved, not only to be the best film in the series since One Her Majesty’s Secret Service, that guy I said was going to be terrible turned out to be the best 007 since Sean Connery, More, super-suave (and droolingly sexy) Daniel Craig has the potential to be even better than the iconic giant who started it all. Talk about being forced to eat crow; I’ve had so much of it after getting the call on this one wrong I’m pretty sure I’m starting to grow feathers!

10. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Hands down, one of the best concert films of all time. More Michel Gondry’s examination of comedian Dave Chappelle’s hip-hop block party right in the heart of Brooklyn, New York turned out to be one of the most profound, emotionally affecting social commentaries of the entire year. From the reunion of The Fugees to the funnyman conversing with area residents about health care and children’s centers, there was so much passion on display I was touched to my very core. A remarkable achievement, one I could watch ten times over and not grow tired of experiencing.

A SECOND FIFTEEN (in alphabetic order)

Akeelah and the Bee – Young Keke Palmer steal the show (and your heart) as an inner-city girl studying to become the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. Laurence Fishburne and Angela Basset costar in this inspirational and emotionally spellbinding winner.

Babel – Alejandro Conzález Iñárritu’s fantastic journey into communication, tragedy, loss, triumph and despair touches so many chords it’s impossible to know where to begin. Rinko Kikuchi upstages her more famous costars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (to name only two) with a performance of raw visceral power so good it cuts to the bone.

Borat – The more I think of this reality-infused comedy the more I can’t stop shaking my head. No picture better documented who we are as a country and why the state of things are traveling in the direction in which they are. Lawsuits aside, Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy is more perceptive, honest and uncomfortably terrifying than just about anything else made last year.

The Departed – Martin Scorsese’s return to form. This critical darling (a remake of the equally wonderful Infernal Affairs) is force of nature, a burly, brawny, violent and shockingly profound examination of duplicity and double-cross. Without question the best ensemble of any picture this past year.

The Devil Wears Prada – The best comedy to come out of a major Hollywood studio in 2006, this adaptation of the acclaimed novel may not have the teeth of its parent but it’s laugh to minute ratio was so high I could have cared less. Meryl Streep understandably stole the film, but Stanley Tucci and surprise Golden Globe nominee Emily Blunt sure gave her a run for her money.

Half Nelson – A drama that just gets better each time I watch it, this emotionally complex story of a teach and his student is the one film in all of 2006 I under-appreciated on initial view. Ryan Gosling and newcomer Shareeka Epps give performances so good they should be required viewing for any acting class.

Happy Feet – George Miller’s animated marvel of dancing penguins and ecological survival was a true joy start to finish. To say I loved it would be an understatement, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if this, not Pixar’s Cars, is the one to walk away with gold come Oscar night.

An Inconvenient Truth – Too bad Al Gore wasn’t as funny, straight-shooting, personable and emotional running for President as he was in his groundbreaking global warming documentary, for if he was it goes without saying he’d probably be the one in the White House right now. That said, this entertaining and eye-opening documentary is a warning even the most pigheaded individual has to sit up and take note of.

Little Miss Sunshine – A road trip for the ages, this independent gem about a dysfunctional family traveling via VW bus to a pint-sized beauty pageant stole and broke my heart in almost equal measure. A gem of a motion picture, next to The Departed it was also the film with the best ensemble of any movie of last year.

Notes on a Scandal – Judy Dench delivers a mesmerizing performance as a little old lady who just wants a friend, and if she has to cover up a little for a teacher sleeping with one her pupils than so be it. This movie sent chills up and down my spine that still haven’t gone away.

Perfume – A Story of a Murderer –Tom Tykwer’s adaptation of the cult novel of the same name is an almost indescribable wonder that boggles the mind and captures the imagination like almost nothing else. Beautiful and scary all at the same time, the filmmaker creates a dreamscape impossible to forget.

A Prairie Home Companion – Robert Altman’s final masterpiece, this live action reworking of Garrison Keillor’s long-running NPR radio program is an unabashed musical delight. Keillor and Streep’s warbling of “Gold Watch and Chain” might just be one of my favorite moments in all of 2006, while the film itself proves without a shadow of a doubt how much the cinematic giant Altman will be forever missed.

The Prestige – Christopher Nolan’s dueling magician saga proved to be cold and heartless for some, but to me this was one of the best bait, switch and switch again movies of last year. The final moments are a perverse delight, both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman delivering tightrope performances so good the viewer never knows who to root for until its much too late.

Quinceañera – Wonderful independent drama from directors Richard Glazer and Wash Westmoreland full of life and emotionally moving vitality. Newcomer Emily Rios proves to be a real find, her talents so rich and multifaceted here’s hoping she gets a career equal to her brilliance on display in this fantastic gem.

Superman Returns – Bryan Singer brings the Man of Steel back to life in this high-flying comic book adaptation that won me over with its passion, heart and energetic soul. A fitting homage to the 1978 original as well as a fantastical adventure for today, the movie re-launched the franchise and proved without a doubt in the right hands this character still makes us believe a man can truly fly.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in alphabetic order)

49 Up, Blood Diamond, The Break-Up, Cars, Curse of the Golden Flower, Dreamgirls, Factotum, Find Me Guilty, Flushed Away, Flyboys, The Heart of the Game, House of Sand (Casa de Areia), Inside Man, Invincible, L’Enfant, The Last Kiss, Little Children, Miami Vice, Miss Potter, Monster House, Nanny McPhee, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Rocky Balboa, Running Scared, Shortbus, Slither, Stranger than Fiction, Thank You for Smoking, Water, Who Killed the Electric Car?

1.     Deck the Halls – So painful to sit through I thought I might die sitting there in the movie theater trying to make it to the end. As comedies go, this one might just be one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

2.     Ultraviolet – How did this movie get made? Who thought it was a good idea? It’s like those commercials with the guy working for a bunch of monkeys, because the only way to think this sci-fi monstrosity got greenlit is to imagine it was some hairy simian was the one to authorize it.

3.     The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning – Pointless sadism. There was no reason for this prequel to exist, enjoying it an exercise in utter blood-soaked futility.

4.     Basic Instinct 2 – At one point MGM had the idea to kill this sequel before it was filmed. Sharon Stone sued them and, instead of paying her the promised salary, they went ahead and made it. Wow. Who knew Hollywood actors actually sued movie studios in order to commit career suicide?

5.     Material Girls – Speaking of career suicide, Hilary Duff is making a good go of doing the same herself. Making a movie with her sister was a mistake in itself, but making it so terrible it’s almost unwatchable compounded it to a level beyond all rational comprehension.

6.     Little Man – The Wayans boys strike again, managing to craft a film even more horrifically awful than White Chicks. Dang, and I thought that was pretty much impossible. Shows what I know I guess.

7.     Big Momma’s House 2 – Martin Lawrence gender-bending in a fat suit wasn’t very funny the first time around, even less so a second time.

8.     Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School – A great ensemble cast is wasted in a ponderous independent drama so turgid watching paint dry would be more exciting. A waste of time that, horror of all horrors, makes dancing about as distasteful as eating a fistful of pushpins.

9.      Date Movie – Alyson Hannigan has been one of my favorite talents ever since she burst on the scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This movie is so bad it makes me rethink why I ever fell in love with her in the first place. That just makes me sad. Very, very, very sad.

10.  Click – Adam Sandler reaches another low with a hit comedy that almost nobody liked. Makes you wonder, how many box office smashes can one person make that the majority of the people who see them think they’re terrible?

 
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS (in alphabetic order)

A Good Year, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, All the King’s Men, American Dreamz, Art School Confidential, Barnyard, The Black Dahlia, The Covenant, Crossover, The Da Vinci Code, Employee of the Month, Eight Below, Eragon, Failure to Launch, Feast, Final Destination 3, Firewall, Freedomland, The Good German, The Good Shepherd, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, Idlewild, Just My Luck, Old Joy, Man of the Year, Marie Antoinette, The Nativity Story, Night at the Museum, The Omen, The Pink Panther, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Poseidon, The Promise, The Protector, Pulse, Running with Scissors, RV, Saw III, The Science of Sleep, Silent Hill, Step Up, Stick It, Strangers with Candy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Tristan & Isolde, Unaccompanied Minors, We Are Marshall, When a Stranger Calls, X-Men: The Last Stand, You, Me and Dupree, Van Wilder 2: The Rise of the Taj, Zoom

BETTER THAN THEIR REP (in alphabetic order)

16 Blocks, Accepted, The Break-Up, Don’t Come Knocking, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Find Me Guilty, Flyboys, The Fountain, The Grudge 2, The Hills Have Eyes, The Holiday, Imagine Me & You, John Tucker Must Die, The King, Lady in the Water, Last Holiday, The Last Kiss, Miami Vice, Open Season, Running Scared, Scoop, She’s the Man, Take the Lead, Trust the Man, Turistas

WORSE THAN THEIR REP (in alphabetic order)

Apocalypto, Eight Below, The Good Shepherd, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas), The Last King of Scotland, Old Joy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, A Scanner Darkly, The Science of Sleep, Something New, Strangers with Candy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, World Trade Center

IMAGES IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET

Japanese soldiers blowing themselves up in Letters from Iwo Jima, Natalie Portman getting her hair shaved in V for Vendetta, random people running the Philadelphia Art Museum steps during Rocky Balboa’s end credits, A preening Mrs. Puddleduck making herself presentable in Miss Potter, the Queen of England staring down a stag in The Queen, Leonardo DiCaprio’s demise in The Departed, the Jolly Roger rising from the water in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Clive Owen alone in a boat in Children of Men, a captive cave diver rising from a pool of blood to exert major payback in The Descent, the beautiful awe-struck face of Hugh Jackman as he takes in an exploding star in The Fountain, a naked Rinko Kikuchi attempting to make intimate contact in Babel, the appearance of Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth, a sea of candy-colored shoes in Marie Antoinette, a piece of cellophane turning into a massive blue ocean in The Science of Sleep, Pénelope Cruz preparing to sing a song in Volver, a woman unwillingly donating her organs in Turistas, the playroom from Hell in Running Scared, a man stalking a prostitute by her scent in Perfume – The Story of a Murder, the Mayan pyramids in all their glory in Apocalypto

GREAT LINES

“That’s all.” – The Devil Wears Prada

“Are you watching closely?” – The Prestige

“It’s not about how hard can you take a punch, but how hard you can take a punch and keep moving forward.” – Rocky Balboa

“Remember, remember the fifth of November.” – V for Vendetta

“F**k a lot of women.” – Little Miss Sunshine

“For you it’s ‘bling-bling,’ here it is ‘bling-bang.” – Blood Diamond

“Ohhhh… so it’s a girl house.” – Monster House

“I wanna go fast!” – Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

“Hi! I am a Borat.” – Borat

“Do whatever it takes. It’s that simple. You can’t fail if you don’t give up.” – The Last Kiss

“Second chances are rare. You should really try and take advantage of them.” – Half Nelson

“Let’s Roll!” – United 93

HOLY CRAP! THAT SHOT WAS SO COOL!

Tony Jaa running around in circles beating up bad guys in a tracking shot so unbelievable you’d swear it was faked. – The Protector

Clive Owen running though an exploding battlefield, hiding behind buildings, dodging this way and that all while trying to find the pregnant woman he has sworn to protect. – Children of Men

Josh Hartnett running up the stairs to save his partner Aaron Eckhart only to see him fall to his death splitting his head on a fountain in a shot so wildly imaginative it could only have been worked out by Brian De Palma – The Black Dahlia

A symphony of beautiful women all getting ready in unison for the arrival of the Emperor, the colors, costumes and sets literally popping right off the movie screen. – Curse of the Golden Flower

GREAT PERFORMANCES GUARANTEED TO BE FORGOTTEN BY OSCAR

Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta, Ken Takakura in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Blythe Danner in The Last Kiss, Gong Li in Miami Vice and Curse of the Golden Flower, Bill Nighy in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Stanley Tucci in The Devil Wears Prada, Emily Rios in Quinceañera, Sergi López in Pan’s Labyrinth, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in The Prestige, Shauna Macdonald in The Descent, Maggie Gyllenhaal in World Trade Center, Trust the Man and Stranger than Fiction, Paul Giamtti in Lady in the Water and The Illusionist,  Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson, Fernanda Montenegro in House of Sand, Matt Dillon in Factotum, Rufus Sewell in Tristan & Isolde, Emma Thompson in Nanny McPhee, Vera Farmiga in Running Scared, Vin Diesel in Find Me Guilty, Jessica Lange in Don’t Come Knocking, Sook-Yin Lee in Shortbus

GREAT PERFORMANCE IN A LOST CAUSE

Samuel L. Jackson in Freedomland, Cate Blanchett in The Good German, Oscar Isaac in The Nativity Story, Albert Finney in A Good Year, John C. Reilly in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia, Anthony Hopkins in All the King’s Men, Zooey Deschanel in Failure to Launch

BEST TRAILERS

The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, The Fountain, Little Children, Little Miss Sunshine, Marie Antoinette, The Omen, The Prestige, Stranger than Fiction, Superman Returns

DESERVING OF DEFENSE

Lady in the Water – This movie was nowhere near as turgid or as awful as the majority of critics would have you believe. Unusual, yes, and definitely not a cup of tea people are at all used to, but as adult fairy tales go this one captures your imagination delicately, almost beautifully. M. Night Shyamalan has an ego the size of Everest and deserves to be torn down a peg or two, but the assault should have happened for his last film, the freakishly awful The Village and not for this one. For me, the vocal browbeating the filmmaker took was decidedly unwarranted, and even if you didn’t like the picture I can guarantee there were far worse things out there in 2006 more worthy of unmitigated vitriol than this.

IN RETROSPECT

I normally don’t do this, but two pictures from last year have been gnawing away at me for quite some time now and I feel like I need to admit somewhat of a mistake. I’m talking about Michael Mann’s Miami Vice and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, two films I had wildly differing opinions of that didn’t deserve either my extreme praise or my unabashed scorn.

Miami Vice is a good movie. Solid, workmanlike, but on second viewing the seams show and the script’s inadequacies can’t help but start to add up. Don’t get me wrong, I still like it, but my July review made the film sound like it was the best suspense action film of the year. It wasn’t, not even close, and even the Gong Li is sensational and that crackerjack assault on the trailer park is fantastic, this one is second tier Mann at best.

As for Marie Antoinette, I didn’t get into what Coppola was trying to do my first time through. I felt it was pretty but empty, a glossy surface-level view of a time and place deserving of more insight. The thing is, on repeat viewing the film crafts an intoxicating spell almost impossible to resist. There is a youthful exuberance to it, a disassociated angst I didn’t quite catch last October. Sure it still has problems, and my original statement about it being emotionally empty still holds true, but there is more to this picture than meets the eye and I was wrong for not talking about in my review.

GREAT START – BAD FINISH

Man of the Year had one of the best initial half-hours of any movie from all of last year, and then it crashed and burned so spectacularly you just had to shake your head in disbelief. The Good Shepherd had my fascinated for about fifteen minutes, and then it turned into a slow moving funeral dirge of a motion picture that left me knowing as little about its subject at the end as I did at the beginning. The Science of Sleep was eye-popping and absolutely mesmerizing, mesmerizing that is until the point when you realized Michel Gondry didn’t have anything close to a story to latch all of his visual wonders upon.

STICK TO YOUR DAY JOB

Beyoncé can sure as heck sing but she’s not much of an actress, and The Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie Ferg can pretty much say the same thing. Luckily it’s the former talent on display for the first one in Dreamgirls, while both girls struck out in their (mostly) non-singing roles in both The Pink Panther and Poseidon.

OSCAR LOCKS

Helen Mirren for The Queen, Forrest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland and Jennifer Hudson should probably all start working on their acceptance speeches right now, while Happy Feet looks like its going to dance its way to gold in the Animated Film category. Martin Scorsese looks to have the directing award wrapped up, the same thing for cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki with his work in Children of Men. As for Best Picture, if you believe the pundits it’s a two horse race, the singing and dancing Dreamgirls going up against the foul-mouthed gangsters of The Departed. My gut tells me it’s Scorsese’s year, but don’t count out the girls wearing the sequined dresses.