Re: 2006 Top Ten Lists - Time to Throw Down!
My current top ten (7/10/07), a work in progress:
- Stranger Than Fiction
- The Departed
- Joyeux Noel
- When the Levees Broke: a Requiem in Four Acts
- Borat
- Perfume: Story of a Murderer
- Children of Men
- Dreamgirls
- Monster House
- The Devil Wears Prada
and my current worthy runners up:
- Brick
- The Queen
- Babel
- The Prestige
- Apocalypto
- Clerks II
- Akeelah and the Bee
- The Proposition
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Twelve and Holding
- Flushed Away
- Shut up and Sing
- An Inconvenient Truth
- Pursuit of Happyness
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Pirates of the Caribbean
Twelve and Holding would be higher if the adult actors weren't so blah.
Pursuit of Happyness is too much of a feel bad film/story of Job for me to really get passionate about it.
Flushed Away clicked for me in a way Wallace and Gromit never quite did.
Pan's Labyrinth is thematically rich while playing with the classic 'three' tropes of fairy tales, but there's a slight frustration in moving between the two worlds I can't quite place my finger on.
Proposition was so self assured and superb I wish I had been more into the film. I think I would like it better a second time.
Letters from Iwo Jima I have a handful of issues, but now that I know the beats of the story I think the film will improve for me on a second viewing.
Akeelah and the Bee was a delight and never took a single misstep.
Clerks II sugar coated a lovely message about what it means to choose to not succeed, to choose to only drift along in the modern world. Toss in some interesting observations about relationships and love and despite the typical Smith coarse exterior you have quite a nice little movie.
Apocalypto was a great piece of pure action cinema. I was just confused by the end because I thought the film took place in 1000 AD not 1500 AD. I found it no more violent than Alien or Predator.
Devil Wears Prada has it all, fantastic script, great performances, wonderful editing. I'm especialy taken by Anne Hathaway whose generous performance graciously allows Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep to shine, but Hathaway still remains the beating heart of the film, our connection to that world. Hathaway's transformations are wonderful to watch. Because of her skill as performer we're willing to let her lead us completely down the road to the 'dark side' but still cheer in satisfaction when she comes back. yeah the movie is a bit fluffy, but so what? The film works.
Rocky Balboa is a writer's movie in many ways, there are several powerful speeches and quietly grand moments. I was surprised to see real character exploration going on. I think the film would have been stronger if it had been a three or five round exhibition, that way you don't need the injury for Rocky to realistically survive. The film hit my Dad much more strongly than it did me, and it was great to get to experience Rocky in the theatre with him again.
The Departed is so great and so entertaining it will probably rise to my top five on a second viewing. I love the dialogue. For pure entertainment this year, the film is second only to Borat. I'm so glad Mark Wahlberg is accumulating legitimate buzz for supporting. He had some of the best lines and moments of the movie. Waiting to look again at the ending. I do love that Rat though, perfectly captures the tone of the entire film.
Monster House took me back to the time I was ten. It so perfectly captured what it was for me to be that age, my friends and our neighborhood that I was instantly in love with the film from almost the first scene.
Brick has quietly moved up my list in the months since I've seen it. I'd have never expected to see it here right after watching it. But the film is so finely put together, so carefully crafted and honed, so sure of itself that I admire it more and more in retrospect. I'm really looking forward to a second viewing. I love the conceit of the film and Rian Johnson did a superb job.
The Queen was at the very top of my list for quite a while. Like Brick, the film is so well made, and never misses a step. Wonderful dialogue and incredible performances (Blair's wife is annoying though) and superb editing keep this film a constantly quiet delight.
Dreamgirls is almost as perfectly entertaining as Departed and Borat. It's a completely satisfying experience with superb songs and terrific performances. I'm getting tired of people slamming Jamie Foxx. Slam the way the role is written (likewise for Beyonce, but to a lesser degree) rather than the performer. Foxx's performance carries and stabilizes the entirety of the dramatic sections of the film. I truly don't understand some of the criticisms, where others see flat, I see nuance and a terrific quiet portrayal of a vile, vindictive, and ruthless man.
Perfume just connected straight into my brain. I work in post and the editing and sound design of the film took my breath away. The way they communicated the concept of scent through the cut is possibly my favorite cinematic experience of 2006. The script was excellent too, despite being light on the dialogue. Alan Rickman was either a bit over the top or miscast. I had a hard time believing him in the film. on the other hand Dustin Hoffman was a delight. and what a ballsy ending. I don't quite like the final coda, I think the film could have ended a little earlier but I understand it's necessity for the themes and character, but the rhythm of the film got a bit muddled following the big finale.
Borat - What can I say? Movies are about entertainment and Borat succeeds here better than any film in recent memory. the memory of my roomate literally bouncing in her seat because she was so overcome with laughter will be with me a long time. Having trouble breathing because I was laughing so hard is another. Add to that the film says a lot about our culture and negotiates our absurd race class and social boundaries and I'm hooked. This film is the reason I still try to see everything in the theater.
