2006 Top Ten Lists - Time to Throw Down! (2 Viewers)

[Kristian]

1. Pan's Labyrinth



2. The Prestige




3. Superman Returns




4. Casino Royale




5. Rocky Balboa



6. V For Vendetta




7. Children of Men




8. Borat




9. Mission: Impossible III




10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

 

[Dustin Woods]

This is very likely a final list for me. The only other 2006 release I haven't seen that I think has a decent shot of landing on here is Little Miss Sunshine. Hopefully I'll be seeing that in the next week or so.

1. Children of Men
2. The Departed
3. V For Vendetta
4. United 93
5. A Scanner Darkly
6. Blood Diamond
7. The Queen
8. Babel
9. The Science of Sleep
10. Bobby

 

[Cory S.]

With a viewing of Pan's Labyrinth sometime today and The Good Shepard before the weekend is out, refusing to see Dreamgirls, waiting for DVD on Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, here is my Top Ten with some honorable mentions as of December 29th, 2006....

-The Fountain
-Children of Men
-United 93
-The Departed
-V for Vendetta
-The Prestige
-Miami Vice
-Superman Returns
-Casino Royale
-Pan's Labyrinth


Honorable Mentions of 2006

Rocky Balboa
The Good Shepherd
Clerks II
Borat Cultural Learnings...
Thank You For Smoking
Little Children

It's been an interesting year....
EDIT:

After seeing del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth this afternoon, I can safely say that it won't make my Top Ten but it's definitely the first on the Honorable Mentions list. It's the most imaginative film of the year, by far.
EDIT 2:

Well, I really wasn't expecting The Good Shepherd to make an impact on my list and yet here we are changing the list for probably the final time for 2006 after watching this stellar film on the beginnings of the CIA. I will need a second viewing to get all of the inner workings of this story. But, it has left an impact on me in a major way. Bravo, Mr. De Niro.
EDIT 3:

I promise, this is the final edit. But, if a film can't leave your mind for three days, I think it might need to reside in the Top Ten. And, that's what seems to be happening when I think of Pan's Labyrinth. del Toro's film just can't seem to leave my mind and I know it has nothing to do with it being fresh. The Good Shepherd has left my mind but I know I truly like that film and it will get repeated viewings in the future. But, Labyrinth is just something different. It's just more than I thought it was, having time to reflect on it. It truly is del Toro's best work. He may surpass it in the future, but it'll be a long time from now. That's how good, I think this film is.

 

[Bryan Ri]

This is always a tricky type of thread; do I list my favorites, or what I feel are the best of 2006. I'll go with my favorites for now, even though I haven't seen EVERYTHING I want to see yet...

1. Superman Returns- Everything I wanted to see in the Man of Steel's return to the big screen, and more.

2. The Departed- Great acting, great writing, and hopefully Best Directing

3. An Inconvenient Truth- Perhaps one of the most important movies of our time.

4. Kingdom of Heaven: Directors Cut- An epic movie, it's a shame it didn't see a wide release in theaters.

5. Rocky Balboa- Certainly the suprise of the year. The movie has a lot of heart, and I hope it's not looked over during the awards season.

6. Little Miss Sunshine- Great ensemble cast.

7. The Prestige- A fun movie from the very talented Chris Nolan.

8. V for Vendetta- WAY more than just a comic book adaptation. This one has aged very well for me in this short period of time.

9. Borat- Haven't laughed that hard in years.

10. Casino Royale- *braces for physical assault* The only Bond movie I've ever enjoyed.

 

[Nathan V]

Placeholder.

Tentative:

1. Apocalypto - A perfect film that works on many levels- an engaging story and thrill ride, a window into a lost world, a statement against the perils of organized religion, a revealing of the universal constants of humanity, an unprecedented exercise in action filmmaking, and the first film to truly reinvigorate the genre since the double whammy of Jaws and Star Wars and the introduction of the unintelligent action film. Special props to the "slow motion slide" scene.

2. Miami Vice: Director's Cut - The most innovative reinvention of storytelling grammar in 8 years. No exposition, no character development, minimal setup, and minimal resolution. The digital photography is also groundbreaking, exploring the possibilities of the medium like no film before.

3. The Departed - His most kinetic film since Casino. The cast reach new levels of performing ability, and Scorsese further reveals his greatness in his ability to create a gangster picture that manages to feel fresh, despite the pervasion of that market; this is partly due to the script's noticeable fascination with sexual repression, as well as the technical proficiency of everyone involved, all of whom work at such great heights that they cannot be copied, but only emulated. Thelma's razor-sharp editing is particularly mind-blowing.

4. INLAND EMPIRE - A monolith. 172 minutes of free-form Lynch. Liberated from the constraints of using professional film and video equipment, he shows us what is possible with a consumer-level camcorder and a lot of creativity. Don't be deterred by the substandard video quality or assume it's an amateur project- his use of the camera is, as expected, anything but amateur, and the sound design (by Lynch himself) is so staggeringly sophisticated there should be no confusion that you're watching a work by a three-time oscar nominee. The visuals are disturbingly unique, and take full advantage of the format- the many deeply unsettling close-ups and low light situations (most of the last hour of the film is in near-total darkness) would be impossible on film. The movie begins with what could be called a coherent plot, but very quickly devolves into a completely intuitive experience. Much more so than Eraserhead (the film of his this most closely resembles), or any other film, EMPIRE is the closest celluloid has come to depicting a pure nightmare- although it does have moments of odd humor, terrific music, and a very, very uplifting ending. If you let it, the film is magical, communicating feelings and ideas and emotions to us that could never be said in words or linear stories. Don't try to analyze this one. Let the film wash over you, and you'll know when it's over that you'll have seen something complete.

5. Babel - Inarritu exhausts his chosen storytelling format in the last of his tryptych of non-linear, emotionally devastating dramas. This one is global in scope and far-reaching in ambitions; a film that accurately describes the attitudes of the post 9/11 world. The Japanese club scene is one for the ages.

6. Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut) - Ridley surpasses his previous sword-n-sandal effort with the first epc of its type to have specific thematic underpinnings that are relevant to today's world. His creation of the world and execution of scenes is better than ever, and the cinematography is among the best I've ever seen.

(More later)


Regards,
Nathan

 

[Greg Layton]

Finalized Top 10

1. The Departed


2. Letters from Iwo Jima


3. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)


4. Borat


5. A Prairie Home Companion


6. V for Vendetta


7. The Last King of Scotland


8. Apocalypto


9. The Queen


10. An Inconvenient Truth


Honorable Mention:

11. Little Miss Sunshine


12. Bobby


13. Casino Royale


14. Flags of Our Fathers


15. Pan's Labyrinth


2006 films watched so far: 50+

 

[Simon Massey]

Final Top 10

1. United 93
2. Superman Returns
3. The Departed
4. Pan's Labyrinth
5. Casino Royale
6. An Inconvenient Truth
7. The Prestige
8. The Illusionist
9. Monster House
10. Mission Impossible III

Good Night and Good Luck would be Number 2 if it was released this year - I saw it in March but I think it was released in 2006 in US.

 

[Mario Bartel]

1. Babel
2. Blood Diamond
3. United 93
4. The Queen
5. Miami Vice
6. Tsotsi
7. Brothers of the Head
8. Devil Wears Prada
9. Road to Guantanamo
10. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos

 

[DavidJ]

Updated: My Top Ten

1. Children of Men
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. United 93
4. Blood Diamond
5. The Prestige
6. Casino Royale
7. Thank You For Smoking
8. Little Miss Sunshine
9. The Departed
10. Flags of Our Fathers

HM:
The Illusionist
Cars
Night at the Museum (It has its problems, but it was just such a good experience.)

 

[Chris Atkins]

1. The Lives of Others
2. The Fountain
3. United 93
4. Superman Returns
5. Pan's Labyrinth
6. Pursuit of Happyness
7. The Prestige
8. Amazing Grace
9. The Departed
10. Miami Vice

Honorable Mention: Flags of Our Fathers, Rocky Balboa, Akeelah and the Bee, Once in a Lifetime, The Queen, Casino Royale, Children of Men, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Last King of Scotland, Dreamgirls, The Illusionist, The Devil Wears Prada, Cars, World Trade Center, Little Miss Sunshine

Total 2006 Films Seen: 50

Still Want to See: Thank You for Smoking, Monster House, A Prairie Home Companion, Charlotte's Web, Snakes on a Plane, 16 Blocks, Invincible

 

[Tarkin The Ewok]

1) Cars
2) Superman Returns
3) Casino Royale
4) Mission: Impossible III
5) Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut
6) Eight Below
7) V for Vendetta
8) Glory Road
9) Snakes on a Plane
10) Jet Li's Fearless

Honorable Mentions, both of which I rated 3 1/2 stars: The Fountain, Inside Man

 

[ZacharyTait]

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

6.)

7.)

8.)

9.)

10.(tie) and

Films I still need to see:

The Prestige
Flags of Our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Babel
Little Children
Children of Men
The Fountain
Queen
Dreamgirls
Apocalypto
Last King of Scotland
Prarie Home Companion
Pursuit of Happyness
Akeelah and the Bee
Blood Diamond
Rocky Balboa
The Illusionist
We are Marshall
Stranger than Fiction
The Good Shepherd
The Lake House
Snakes on a Plane
The Notorious Betty Page
Winter Passing
Thank You for Smoking
Hollywoodland
The World's Fastest Indian
Pan's Labyrinth
Why We Fight
The Lives of Others
A Scanner Darkly
Notes on a Scandal
The Good German
Deliver Us from Evil
Borat
Cars
Hard Candy
Sherrybaby
Over the Hedge
The Proposition
Volver
Bobby
Half Nelson
Brick
Teristram and Shandy
Tsoti
Catch a Fire
Three Times
The Painted Veil
Perfume
Breaking and Enterting
Shortbus
Overlord
Man Push Cart
Inland Empire
Army of Shadows
Bubble
Death of Mr. Lazarescu
49 Up
L'Enfant
10 Items or Less

 

[Jose Martinez]

2006 Top Ten Favorite (Oscar eligible) Movies (as of Jan 14, 2007) that I've seen in a movie theater


01.Letters From Iwo Jima

02.Babel

03.United 93

04.Children of Men

05.Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

06.Curse of the Golden Flower

07.The Prestige

08.Flags of our Fathers

09.Little Miss Sunshine

10.Dreamgirls

11.Apocalypto
12.Little Children
13.The Last King of Scotland
14.A Prairie Home Companion
15.Pan’s Labyrinth
16.The Pursuit of Happyness
17.The Queen
18. Notes on a Scandal
19.Volver
20.Akeelah and the Bee
21. The Proposition
22.The Fountain
23.Casino Royale
24.Blood Diamond
25.Rocky Balboa
26.Jet Li’s Fearless
27.Eight Below
28.The Illusionist
29.V for Vendetta
30.Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby
31.We Are Marshall
32.The Da Vinci Code
33.Cars
34.Inside Man
35.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
36.Déjà vu
37.Lucky Number Slevin
38.Stranger Than Fiction
39.The Good Shepard
40.The Lake House
41.Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
42.Snakes on a Plane
43.X-Men: The Last Stand
44.The Notorious Betty Page
45.Thank You for Smoking
46.The Departed
47.Superman Returns
48.Nacho Libre
49.Marie Antoinette
50.Hollywoodland



Waiting to be seen
The Lives of Others

 

[Ron68]

1) Monster House
2) Superman Returns
3) Casino Royale
4) Blood Diamond
5) The Prestige
6) Stranger Than Fiction
7) Hollywoodland
8) Pirates Of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
9) V For Vendetta
10) Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby

Monster House was the all around best experience that I had at the theatres this year. Superman was the only one I saw twice and loved it both times. Casino was the most exciting movie, while Blood Diamond had the biggest emotioal impact on me but was a fairly uneven film.

The Prestige had a great ending but the characters weren't all that likable. Stranger had great characters but was a little too slow paced. The Ben Affleck scenes in Hollywoodland were the best part, I would have liked to seen more of this in the movie but it still was a really good one.

Dead Man's Chest was hurt by the way it ended, I thought there should have been a conclusion to the Davy Jones story and then hit us with the cliffhanger, like in Back To The Future, Part II. Pirates felt like 2 and half hours of filler but it was really entertaining. V was really good but the story didn't grab me like I had expected it to and Talladega was my favourite comedy of the year.

Overall, I found the movies this year to be pretty lackluster, even though I saw more in the theatres than before. I missed out on seeing The Fountain, The Departed and a few others that I wanted to see. I'm planning to see Rocky Balboa next week.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

1. superman returns
2. pirates of the carribean: dead man's chest

funny, because i hated both movies i was dragged to those movies, and did not care for either one, but they are the only ones i saw this year. i have tons i want to see, especially the fountain, thank you for smoking, and borat. i'm probably the only guy in america who dressed as borat for halloween and still have not seen the movie. chenquieh!

CJ

 

[Shad R]

1. Little Miss Sunshine
Funny, touching, well-cast, different from the norm...good!
2. The Departed
Just a great movie. Great dialogue, acting, directing all around.
3. Casino Royale
BEST...JAMES...BOND...EVER!
4. Borat
Funny as hell.
5. Clerks ll
It's OK, I'm taking it back.
6. Pirates 2
Cool flick.
7. Talledaga Nights
Good for a laugh, nothing more.
8. Inside Man
Intense, and well acted guessing game.
9. Over the Hedge
Pretty funny.
10.Snakes on a Plane
Best time I had at the movies this year. Cheering, screaming, laughing...awesome.

 

[Jose Martinez]

I think there should be a minimum amount of films to see (at the theater too) to post a top ten. I believe last year it was 25. Watching 10 films in a year and posting it as your "top ten" just doesn't cut it in my book but then that's just my .02 cents.

 

[streeter]

1. Children of Men
2. The Proposition
3. The Departed
4. Dreamgirls
5. Little Children
6. Letters from Iwo Jima
7. Stranger Than Fiction
8. Little Miss Sunshine
9. United 93
10. Brand Upon the Brain!

 

[Ray H]

I've seen a pitiful 18 films from this past year (I'll have to do some major catchup on rentals). Anyway, here they are ranked with some comments.

01. Casino Royale
This was at number 2 until recently. For whatever reason, I can't stop thinking about this film and usually this is the mark of a great movie. I love this film. There. I said it. I love Casino Royale. Best Bond ever.

02. The Departed
I love this as well. It's a joy to watch a master director at the top of his game. Well acted and well crafted, it's a gem and an awfully entertaining one at that.

03. The Prestige
Great film. This one had me thinking about it for days. I'm curious to see how it holds up to repeat viewings, but as is, it's an engrossing and fine picture.

04. Flags of Our Fathers
Not without its problems, but it's an emotional wallop. Great story told in an effective way.

05. Superman Returns
Again, it has its problems, but right after the first thirty minutes or so, the movie had me. It's quite somber in mood but it's a great homage to the original even if it's a bit clunky at times.

06. Borat
Hilarious film. I was somewhat disappointed with it though. I expected to love this film based off the early trailers and my earlier experience with the character, but I only liked it. Still, good movie. Funny as heck. And for that, it gets no. 6.

07. Inside Man
Well made heist movie. What more is there to say? It's just really entertaining and fun.

08. V for Vendetta
Cool movie.

09. The Fountain
An inspired and challenging piece of filmmaking. It didn't work as well for me as it did for others, but it's still a fascinating experience and I look forward to future viewings.

10. Cars
A really warm and fun movie. It feels a bit hokey in comparison to some of the other Pixar flicks, but it's all good.

11. The Da Vinci Code
12. The Queen
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
14. Miami Vice
15. Marie Antoinette
16. Scoop
17. Mission: Impossible 3
18. X-Men: The Last Stand

 

[ZacharyTait]

You must have really really like The Departed.