Top 10 Films of 2006

This is over at The Gravy, but I'm putting it on here and special Facebook edition (pretty much designed for whoever to post their own list, a la the all-too-popular trend of doing Top 5's for EVERYTHING).

It’s hard for me to really imagine someone saying it was a bad year for movies. I guess you would’ve had to either a) never gone to the movies, b) had a very bad internal screening system in which you only saw bad movies, c) didn’t have an open mind, or d) just not been on the lookout for the really good stuff. Of my top 10, I think only two weren’t (or will never be) major releases at one point or another. I saw 78 theatrical releases this year, and these were the ones that stood out. And beyond these, there are many, many other movies I really, really liked that I hate not being able to put on here…The Proposition, Dreamgirls, Children of Men, The Good Shepherd, Conversations With Other Women, Crank, Beerfest, The Break-Up, Inside Man, Thank You For Smoking, Letters From Iwo Jima. In all fairness, there was a lot of mediocrity, but the stuff that was great was incredible. And really, if the only good films this year were the ones on this list, you’d have enough of a case for 2006.

But I do have to give special shout-out to ROCKY BALBOA for being the movie with the biggest heart in the world this year (seriously, it’s a really, really great movie and everyone everywhere should see it), and to SNAKES ON A PLANE for being the dumbest, funnest thing ever.

10. BRICK – Reinventing the teen movie is fun. So is reinventing film noir. Doing them both at the same time when you’ve never made a movie before in your life? That’s outstanding. Writer/director Rian Johnson has his work cut out for him next time out.

9. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – I went in fully expecting to hate this movie, and then look what happened. Everyone in the cast is fantastic, and it takes what I think most people would’ve never expected to be interesting ever again (the dysfunctional family on a road trip) and makes it great.

8. THE DEPARTED – Everybody expected this to be a footnote in Martin Scorsese’s career, and it may just finally win him the Oscar (I can only hope). What a cool, cool movie. You can point out specifics all you want, but everyone in the cast is absolutely fantastic, and any awards this gets are entirely deserved.

7. CLERKS II – Totally. I love this movie up and down. Kevin Smith, thankfully, gave us at least one more go-around with what he does best – the most vulgar stuff in the world with a heart to match it.

6. A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION – Proving nothing is too cheesy for me, I guess, at least when it comes from a really genuine spot. This ended up being Robert Altman’s last film, and man it couldn’t have been more fitting (if a film could ever be). The whole ensemble is fantastic, especially (of all people) Kevin Kline.

5. PAN’S LABYRINTH – Hardest film in the world to describe, but especially after seeing it again, I’m convinced it’s an instant classic. Writer/director Guillermo del Toro is in the big leagues now.

4. THE PRESTIGE – Christopher Nolan is so good. So good. He should put Christian Bale in every movie he makes from now on. This movie just attached itself to me and will not let go. Are You Watching Closely?

3. MARIE ANTOINETTE – This movie is pure joy. I love every ounce of it. Kirsten Dunst really came into her own for this, and it’s exhilarating to watch her glide through Sofia Coppola’s vision of this awesome story. And the music…the soundtrack’s been pumping pretty constantly for the past three months now. I’m gonna be writing a lot more about this one after the DVD comes out.

2. UNITED 93 – It’s hard to really say I love this movie, even though I do. It’s really hard to explain what’s so effective about it, but I think it mainly has to do with bringing back all those emotions we felt on that day. All the fear, anxiety, hope, everything. I really felt like all that was behind me until I saw this. No politics, no propaganda, no Taliban, no Iraq, no Bush. Just people from all walks of life, on every side, trying to grapple with this unbelievable event. Certainly the most important film of the year.

1. THE FOUNTAIN – Shocking. I know. I probably don’t have anything left to say about the movie, but I’ll be talking about it for years. To me, the best films are the ones that reach the furthest and get there. Darren Aronofsky reached further than probably anyone’s dared since Kubrick made 2001. And he got there.

Onto 2007! Before too long, I’ll have a “What To Look For In The First Half of 2007” article up. I’m gonna start writing more straight-up articles here about movies and TV to get in the practice of it. They’ll be separately labeled so if you’re just interested in my shorter musings on pop culture, college life, and the weather, you’ll know when to skip posts.