It's a little late to be posting my Best Films of 2006 List but I think I've finally seen everything that might actually qualify! Pan's Labyrinth, Notes on a Scandal, Babel and Letters from Iwo Jima are just a few of the recent gems I could've viciously shunned had I not waited til this point. Unfortunately, I must annouce that I did not see Date Movie or Little Man, so they were tragically and perhaps unfairly not considered.
Without further ado, here is the list in reverse order, of course:
Top Ten Films of the Year
10. (tie) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Johnny, Keira and Orlando return for another swashbuckling good time that starts slow but ends with a juicy cliffhanger and some of the niftiest swordfights, well, ever. Okay it's not a great movie, but if you aren't salivating for number 3 coming in May, you're full of shit.
10. (tie) United 93: Paul Greengrass' 9/11 interpretation of the hostage takeover of Flight 93 is about as gut-wrenching as movies get. The proceedings are courageously realist and situational, giving this film an added edge over its Hollywood cousin WTC.
9. Eight Below: You can't go wrong with a troop of adorable Huskies, apparently even with Paul Walker in the lead (luckily he takes off his shirt once). Eight Below is a spirited tearjerker about Arctic survival and contains a few of the best performances of the year. Too bad dogs can't win Oscars.
8. Notes on a Scandal: Oscar-bait has never been so deliciously sensational. When the ravishing new art teacher (Cate Blanchette) in a London school is tempted into a scandalous underage affair, witness and fellow Prof Judi Dench takes advantage like only a raging lesbian sociopath can. Watching these screen goddesses duke it out is a blast.
7. Babel: Definitely worthy of its praise, both as a timely examination of modern intolerance and a showcase of some rather haunting performances. I would've preferred if a few of the four inter-locked narratives ended on a more tragic note, but I guess concluding on a hopeful note can be a good thing too.
6. Pan's Labyrinth: A grim Fairy Tale set in post-WWII fascist Spain, Guillermo del Toro's fascinatingly creepy fable isn't for the wee ones. A little girl travels to live with her pregnant mom's cruel new hubby but decides rather to live in an imaginary world of twisting mazes, sentient mandrakes and sinister monsters with eyes in the palms of their hands. Why she prefers this bizarre nightmare is a mystery, but it makes for an uncanny narrative, both touching and disturbing.
5. Apocalypto: Mel Gibson may be a crazy anti-Semite, but he sure knows how to shoot an engrossing foreign-language action gore-fest. The Mayan vistas are breathtaking, but the thundering pace leaves little room to savour them.
4. The Descent: The slickest, scariest, smartest horror flick to hit theatres since The Ring, this dark subterranean saga teaches us there's only one thing scarier than a claustrophobic cave-in: devolved humanoid killing machines.
3. Letters From Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood's Japanese companion to Flags of our Fathers is the much stronger film of the two. Letters not only manages to give a haunting historical depiction of desperate measures and forced honor, as the severely short-handed Japanese futilely defend Iwo Jima, but it also allows us the chance to see war from a decidedly new perspective, giving it contemporary relevance during the attacks on the Middle East. Letters may be shot in another language, but the humanity and strength of courage at its heart are not lost in translation.
2. Children of Men: Set in a future where women are inexplicably infertile, this demoralizing dystopia is an absolute rush. Sure it leaves many questions unanswered, but that only makes the backdrop of chaos more harsh and engaging, as we follow the exploits of a few heroes frantically leading one bafflingly pregnant woman to survival.
1. The Departed: The potboiling race between the Boston mafia and police force to discover their respective undercover moles (Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon) is total popcorn fun and the writing and performances are pure delight.
Without further ado, here is the list in reverse order, of course:
Top Ten Films of the Year
10. (tie) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Johnny, Keira and Orlando return for another swashbuckling good time that starts slow but ends with a juicy cliffhanger and some of the niftiest swordfights, well, ever. Okay it's not a great movie, but if you aren't salivating for number 3 coming in May, you're full of shit.
10. (tie) United 93: Paul Greengrass' 9/11 interpretation of the hostage takeover of Flight 93 is about as gut-wrenching as movies get. The proceedings are courageously realist and situational, giving this film an added edge over its Hollywood cousin WTC.
9. Eight Below: You can't go wrong with a troop of adorable Huskies, apparently even with Paul Walker in the lead (luckily he takes off his shirt once). Eight Below is a spirited tearjerker about Arctic survival and contains a few of the best performances of the year. Too bad dogs can't win Oscars.
8. Notes on a Scandal: Oscar-bait has never been so deliciously sensational. When the ravishing new art teacher (Cate Blanchette) in a London school is tempted into a scandalous underage affair, witness and fellow Prof Judi Dench takes advantage like only a raging lesbian sociopath can. Watching these screen goddesses duke it out is a blast.
7. Babel: Definitely worthy of its praise, both as a timely examination of modern intolerance and a showcase of some rather haunting performances. I would've preferred if a few of the four inter-locked narratives ended on a more tragic note, but I guess concluding on a hopeful note can be a good thing too.
6. Pan's Labyrinth: A grim Fairy Tale set in post-WWII fascist Spain, Guillermo del Toro's fascinatingly creepy fable isn't for the wee ones. A little girl travels to live with her pregnant mom's cruel new hubby but decides rather to live in an imaginary world of twisting mazes, sentient mandrakes and sinister monsters with eyes in the palms of their hands. Why she prefers this bizarre nightmare is a mystery, but it makes for an uncanny narrative, both touching and disturbing.
5. Apocalypto: Mel Gibson may be a crazy anti-Semite, but he sure knows how to shoot an engrossing foreign-language action gore-fest. The Mayan vistas are breathtaking, but the thundering pace leaves little room to savour them.
4. The Descent: The slickest, scariest, smartest horror flick to hit theatres since The Ring, this dark subterranean saga teaches us there's only one thing scarier than a claustrophobic cave-in: devolved humanoid killing machines.
3. Letters From Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood's Japanese companion to Flags of our Fathers is the much stronger film of the two. Letters not only manages to give a haunting historical depiction of desperate measures and forced honor, as the severely short-handed Japanese futilely defend Iwo Jima, but it also allows us the chance to see war from a decidedly new perspective, giving it contemporary relevance during the attacks on the Middle East. Letters may be shot in another language, but the humanity and strength of courage at its heart are not lost in translation.
2. Children of Men: Set in a future where women are inexplicably infertile, this demoralizing dystopia is an absolute rush. Sure it leaves many questions unanswered, but that only makes the backdrop of chaos more harsh and engaging, as we follow the exploits of a few heroes frantically leading one bafflingly pregnant woman to survival.
1. The Departed: The potboiling race between the Boston mafia and police force to discover their respective undercover moles (Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon) is total popcorn fun and the writing and performances are pure delight.
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