Was 2006 a good year for movies? I don’t think so. Sure most of the big budget wide release pictures were perfectly fine, but they really failed to push the envelope.
Average is the word that springs to mind for most of the “good” movies I have picked this year, and hell even coming up with a Top 10 of movies I really enjoyed was difficult.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Munich and Jarhead came out in 2006 over here in the UK this list could have been even worse….
1. The Departed – Martin Scorsese
The Departed is one of the finest pictures of this decade. It is truly amazing. Sitting in the theatre back in October, I could feel “death” hanging over every minute of Scorsese’s masterpiece and an intense black cloud hung over every character and scene. This is a man’s man’s film, a fine edition to Scorsese’s catalogue, and one that I am going to revisit more times than I would probably like to admit in the coming years.
The biggest compliment I can give The Departed is that it’s the most entertaining Scorsese picture he has ever made. Not on par with Goodfellas and Taxi Driver, but I have a sneaking suspicion it may soon become the one I will watch the most times.
Great job Marty, I hope the Oscar comes to you this year!!
2. The Prestige – Christopher Nolan
The Prestige was the movie I was most looking forward to in 2006 and Christopher Nolan really didn’t let me down when it came to game time. Superbly directed with another fine performance from Christian Bale (although David Bowie stole the show for me), Nolan continues his cinema of obsession but this time on a much more frightening and deadly scale.
The Prestige is one bleak film,
Top Ten Movies of 2006
10. X-Men 3: The Last Stand – Brett Ratner
Much better than I thought it would be this time 12 months ago but still a big drop from Bryan Singer’s X-Men 1 and 2. Too many characters, weak plot and some actions from characters that I don’t agree with from a movie rushed into production. Still, an entertaining movie albeit with a watered down version of a killer X-Men story.
9. Mission Impossible III – J.J. Abrams
Wow, this movie was going a 100mphs but I think that was to it’s credit. It’s such a small plot that by having the non-stop action like it did you didn’t mind. Cruise is still the master, Hoffman was awesome and needed more screen time and Abrams did a good job of basically directing a 2 hour length episode of Alias here. When movies with problems entertain me as much as this, I gotta praise it rather than diss it.
8. Jarhead – Sam Mendes
Released this year in the UK, I really enjoyed Mendes’ spin on this genre. A different type of war picture, but one that I think carries an important message that you can definetly relate to our current problems with Iraq. Mendes didn’t quite make it a hat trick knockout of 5* movies, but I’m not complaining when a movie is this good.
7. V for Vendetta – James McTeigue
Again, released this year in the UK, V for Vendetta was (for the most part) a faithful adaptation of one of my favourite “non-superhero” graphic novels. Hugo Weaving nails V but Natalie Portman once again nearly ruins it with her weak acting. Some fine visuals, but a badly put together film from a first time director (especially pacing wise) but one that I never thought would be able to be made from an Alan Moore novel.
6. Munich – Steven Spielberg
First movie I saw this year and for a good 6 or 7 months it was right at the top. Spielberg has grown up here, and made a totally adult themed flick which had some of the most tense “Hitchcockian” scenes of film this year. Daniel Craig, Eric Bana and Geoffrey Rush were off the charts awesome and this is easily the best directed Spielberg film since Schlinder’s List.
5. Clerks II – Kevin Smith
The funniest film of the film year hands down and one that shows Kevin Smith growing not only as a storyteller but as a film-maker also. Probably the film I can personally relate to the most and IMO is galaxies ahead of the original movie.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Gore Verbinski
Loved it even more the second time. Not as good as the original but still much better than a Disney Pirate movie should have any right to be. Don’t like the direction they seem to be taking Jack Sparrow in, and Orlando Bloom is pointless for me in this series and Davey Jones isn’t as interesting as Barbosa but the movie is still lots of fun. Great adventure flick.
3. Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo del Toro
Del Toro’s best film to date and the only foreign movie I ended up seeing this year. Great cast, great story, some fucking incredible set pieces including the creepiest scene of the year and one of the most tense involving the Fascist Spanish captain.
2. The Prestige – Christopher Nolan
The movie I was most looking forward to in 2006 and one that didn’t let me down one inch. Superbly directed with another fine performance from Christian Bale (although David Bowie stole the show for me) and a movie that got me excited and at times in complete awe of what Nolan was presenting to us. If Sam Mendes struggled to make it a knockout 3, Christopher Nolan made it a knockout 4/4 (yes I really like Insomnia, go figure!)
Matt’s worst Movie of the Year
I only went to see this because my girlfriend has dreams of being a wedding planner. The movie is mostly “improvisational” which only enforced my view that movies are scripted for a reason. A quote from Robert Webb who is one of the actor’s who appeared in the movie says it all ” “I had a miserable time making it and I think the finished film is an underwhelming mess.”
The Rest of 2006
| The Good | The Bad | The Ugly |
| 16 Blocks | Devil Wears Prada | Cars |
| The Break-Up | Lucky Number Slevin | D.O.A.P. |
| Casino Royale | Scoop | Final Destination 3 |
| Da Vinci Code | Silent Hill | Fun With Dick and Jane |
| Deja VU | Starter For Ten | Miami Vice |
| Inside Man | Superman Returns | Nacho Libre |
| Lake House | World Trade Center | Night at the Museum |
| Over The Hedge | Poseidon | |
| Slither | Renaissance | |
| United 93 |
Movies I missed that might have made the list (others I didn’t see and not listed didn’t stand a chance e.g. You, Me and Dupree)
The Black Dahlia (read about that here), Borat, Crank, Children of Men, Flags of our Fathers, Little Miss Sunshine, Marie Antoinette, Monster House, The Queen, A Scanner Darkly, Snakes on a Plane, Stranger than Fiction, The Hills Have Eyes, Lady in the Water, Hollywoodland, Brick
Movies that didn’t get a fucking U.K. release in 2006
Apoclaypto, Blood Diamond, The Illusionist, The Fountain, Rocky Balboa, The Science of Sleep
Is their any movies that you think really shouldn’t belong on my list? Did I get it wrong with anything, either good or bad?
What’s your favourite film or top 10 list of movies you have seen in 2006? Do you think it was a good year for film?
Expect a 2007 preview article around New Year, it promises to be an exciting 12 months ahead.
12 Comments
Hmmmm…
X-Men 3 – like you said, too many damn characters, not enough development. Kelsey Grammar was a PERFECT choice for Beast, and he had about three minutes of screen time. I guess they needed to squeeze in a few more shots of Halle Berry overacting. As far as direction, Ratner should be hung by his balls for the idiotic “they’re standing on the Golden Gate bridge in the daytime and then they step off of the bridge and it’s night time” shot near the climax of the film. THIS IS A MAJOR HOLLYWOOD RELEASE. Retarded mistakes like this should never happen.
MI:3 – Better than the second film, which would have been a thirty second short if not for the 90 minutes of slow motion. Still, pretty pointless and oddly unexciting.
Jarhead – Cool film.
V for Vendetta – WAAAAAYYYY too stylized to really hit the gut, and way too much talking. Weaving creates a convincing character out of V, but like you said, Portman sucks. Nice British accent, bitch. I choked back by urge to laugh every time she spoke. Time for the world to face facts: Portman is a pretty girl, but not an actress. She should spread ‘em for Playboy and get the whole thing over with.
Munich – Didn’t see it.
Clerks 2 – REFUSE to see it. The first one was vastly overrated, and Kevin Smith has shown all of the creativity of a rotten, microwaved Hot Pocket. I give the cockroach credit for creating an entire career out of dick jokes and “indie street cred,” but this loser needs to get the boot. I saw the now-”famous” donkey show from the conclusion of this gargantuan waste of time, and I must say that it even LOOKS bad. And it is so poorly executed that there is no humor in it whatsoever. God, I wish Smith would get run down by a car. He’s probably reading this right now, since he is such an insecure, egomaniacal fucktard that he trolls message boards looking for shit about himself. KEVIN, you made a million dollars!!! Go away!!
Pirates 2 – I refuse to see films based on theme park rides. It only encourages bad behavior.
Pan’s Labrynth – Can’t wait to see it.
The Prestige – I can’t seem to get anyone to want to see this, which is bizarre. I will see it eventually. Nolan has a great cinematic mind.
The Departed – VASTLY overrated. Again, why oh why have a movie with multiple endings that you cannot see coming. All you do is blindside the audience, which works for shock value, but afterwards leaves them feeling duped. Also, Nicholson’s performance is LUDICROUS. No mob boss will ever act like that, unless he is playing the Joker in a Batman film. And this wasn’t a Batman film.
As for the rest…
I actually think United 93 belongs in the top 10. Brilliantly edited, and a totally gutsy movie in general. Same with Casino Royale – it’s much better than you’re crediting it.
DaVinci Code????? Good???? Try BORING.
The Lake House?????? Contrived claptrap, overly sentimental.
Can’t wait for Children of Men, and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about The Fountain.
Happy Holidays everybody!!!!!!!
How about “Brick” did you see that? Was that this year? Oh man I need to get out of the house, I don’t even know what year it is anymore.
I was suprised I didn’t agree with a lot of your list but it was a bad year for me going to the movies this year. So i’ll just trust you and take your word.
Ok lots to to talk back too.
Ray first….
Your so right about V. It was like the guy forgot to edit his own movie and I think that’s what I was getting at with the pacing. There was WAY to much talking and there are moments that are so difficult to sit through because of this.
I’ve never liked a Kevin Smith film but I thought he did a great job with Clerks II. I really did.
United 93 was a fine film but I can’t see me watching it again.
As far as The Lake House and The Da Vinci Code go, I thought they were fun. I like the book Dan Brown’s book, it was a really fun “fast food” book and I thought they brought that well on screen.
I tend to like overly sentimental romantic films, it’s one of my flaws i think!!
Children of Men only got a one week release mostly here so it was difficult to see which is probably what The Fountain will get. I still can’t believe I haven’t seen that movie yet, I feel like I have been waiting for it for ages.
Hey Will,
I forgot about Brick. I started watching ten minutes of it (which was really good) then I was interrupted by some visitors so I had to switch it off and I never got chance to watch it again before my Blockbuster expired.
I will endeavour to see it though sooner rather than later.
Yeah it was a bad year at the movies for me also. I saw twice the number of films in 2005 than I did this year.
My new year\’s resolution next year is to see a lot more movies.
Children of Men wasn’t THAT good anyway. It would, I’m quite sure, have gone into your “Good” category as opposed to the top ten.
I don’t really understand why you have V for Vendetta above Jarhead judging by your write ups.
And I sat down for the 3rd time and watched Pirates of the Caribbean (first one) last night, and loved it. I guess I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind or paying attention the first couple of times. Definitely going to get round to seeing the 2nd movie now.
You are probably write with what you saying about the Jarhead/Vendetta thing and I will tell you what is…
I like the graphic novel so much, I\’m begging for the film to suceed in bringing it to life. And it\’s so close in doing it.
Jarhead is a better made fim, however, Vendetta\’s best moments of pure geek satisfaction I prefer over Jarhead\’s more stable and solid film.
Same goes with X-Men 3 over United 93.
Well you got 5 months till Pirates of the Caribbean 3, plenty of time!
First of all to your reviews:
X-Men 3 – as you said not that good 1 & 2 but nevertheless entertaining
M:I-3 – it was much fun…I am a big fan of Tom Cruise and I really liked it, of course not that good as the first one (which is just great)
Jarhead – I liked this one, you’re becoming more and more nervous like the characters as nothing really happens, Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Cooper were good as always
V for Vendetta – haven’t seen it
Munich – I love this movie although I think Eric Bana wasn’t that convincing but all the other actors were great especially Daniel Craig
Clerks II – haven’t seen it
Pirates – I didn’t like it at all, I mean it was funny but the whole thing took a direction I don’t like at all not just the story but also the whole franchise…I loved Jack Sparrow after the 1st one but the second one…I am so sad that Johnny Depp after fighting successfully for years the whole Hollywood thing has lost and has become another of many puppets – a huge huge disappointment :(
Orlando Bloom, unfortunately for him, can’t act but as a girl I can say that his strength is his good looks, and Keira Knightley is so overrated
Pan’s Labyrinth – haven’t seen it
The Prestige – I love and adore Christian Bale he was brilliant (not his best but nevertheless brilliant as always) Hugh Jackman was a bit pal he just can’t keep up with Bale’s talent
Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors and I already looking forward to ‘The Dark Knight’
The Departed – I saw ‘Internal Affaires’ only a few weeks before watching this one and I have to say that ‘Internal Affaires’ was in a kind of way better it went deeper, it focused more on the main characters.
DiCaprio convinced me once more that he is one of the best of his generation, but it was Mark Wahlberg who stole the show- he is just amazing as Dignam and it would be so good if he would receive an Oscar Nomination (that would be one of the highlights of the years)
My favourite movies this year were the following: ( no particular order)
Casino Royale – one of the best action movies for years and Daniel Craig…amazing as well as Eva Green and Mads Mikkelsen
Breaking and Entering – Jude Law, Robin Wright Penn & Juliette Binoche in top form
The Prestige
The Departed
Little Children – Kate Winslet’s chance for an Oscar
Red Road – shocking with amazing performances
Hard Candy – Patrick Wilson was amazing
Adam’s Apples – one of the highlight of the year
Romanzo Criminale – one of the best of the year
The Wind That Shakes the Barley – sad, beautiful, true
Echo Park L.A – a feel good movie with a lovely story
Stay – I have seen it now twice and still want to see it again
Lucky Number Slevin – probably the best one
Shooting Dogs – the saddest movie I have ever seen
The New World – only one word: beautiful
Conclusion: for me personally it has been an amazing film year with great films and great performances
Loads of stuff I haven’t seen Luisa, look forward to seeing most of them. Heard nothing but great things about Romanzo Criminale.
The New World was so boring I thought, nice visuals but nothing else.
Wow, I would say that you and I have lots in common and yet we are completely different.
I thought Miami Vice was excellent. As was The Devil Wears Prada.
Munich was excellent. It was up for Oscars last year, so everyone forgot it is this year. Again, I think Spielberg struggles to end it though.
Hard Candy was a surprise favorite this year.
A Scanner Darkly was excellent.
Can’t say I agree with X-Men or Pirates, but right on with The Departed.
v for vendetta was awful, i’d go so far as saying it’s the worst movie of the year. Actually, lady in the water was maybe a bit worse, but whatever. it’s not so much the excess of talking, it’s the fact that everything they said was midnumbingly dumb. worst script ever, anyone? “are you, like, a crazy person?” suck my balls. nice bit of dystopia-lite for 14 year olds who still think anarchy is cool. freedom good, republicans bad. deep. complete scene fag film. bah.
natalie portman is the most untalented person alive. that is all.
Hey Piper,
For me, it’s quite depressing X-Men 3 was in my top ten which just shows me how bad 2006 was. If you look at the movies I haven’t seen though, there looked to be a lot of good stuff (such as A Scanner Darkly) so it probably wouldn’t be there if I got my ass to the cinema more.
Like I say my new year’s resolution is to see more movies in 2007!
Hey Brian,
I’m such a fan of the graphic novel, I’m desperate to like V for Vendetta the movie. There is still a lot of good stuff in the movie, and it’s damn enetertaining at times with some awesome set pieces.
They nailed some scenes absolutely spot on, especially with the “rose” scene and the prison scene with Natalie Portman.
Yeah I can’t stand Portman too. Star Wars, V for Vendetta…. please don’t make an appearance in Indiana Jones as well!!