The Best and Worst of 2006

Here are my personal top and bottom six of 2006:

1. The Hidden Blade: A hauntingly beautiful meditation on honor, duty, and love, this film made me feel like I was witnessing something very special. I loved it, loved it, loved it.

2. United 93: The most terrifying movie of 2006, this picture eschews cheap melodrama in favor of a (relatively) clear-eyed portrayal of events as they unfolded on that day. Paul Greengrass took the time to make United 93 technically accurate as well as heart-wrenching, giving the film value as a record as much as a cinematic experience.

3. Borat: The biggest, most pleasant surprise of 2006, Borat combines sharp satire with broad humor and serves it with a disarming smile. I laughed, I thought, I laughed some more, I thought some more. Wow.

4. Running Scared: Another surprise. Running Scared is pulp film done right: fast, twisting, creative, and with a sense of the joy of filmmaking. Running Scared is violent, gentle, and scary; sometimes all at the same time. I watched it, then watched it again with the commentary track. What a treat.

5. A Prairie Home Companion: This film reflects the sardonic gentleness of its namesake radio program, combining humor and pathos in a moving and affirming package. It serves as a fitting bookend to the career of the great Robert Altman.

6. Slither: What a fun movie! Slither combines hilarious dialogue with scare monsters, leaving audiences shaking with laughter one moment and jumping with fright the next. Nathan Fillion, an actor still looking for his breakthrough role, anchors a cast doing great comic work and creating a fun time at the movies. I don’t know how well this will do in the home market, but I loved seeing it in the theater.


6. Apocalypto: Like ‘The Running Man’ and ‘Hard Target,’ this hunted-man picture keeps the pace up and the surprises coming. The movie hews so closely to the formula, however, that it bore no surprises. Apocalypto benefits from its exotic setting, but its setting is all that recommends it.

5. Superman Returns: A story in which the protagonist remains unchanged is not a story. It’s a vignette. Superman Returns gives us a two-hour long vignette trying to trick us into thinking its more through visual wizardry. The Spider-Man series taught that character comes first. Superman Returns skipped that class.

4. Little Miss Sunshine: This film made me feel sad and depressed. OK, so did The Bicycle Thief, but LMS lacked the technical virtuosity of that classic. This film garnered critical acclaim in 2006, but I guess I missed the bus.

3. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story: I respect this film’s attempt to do something unique in its adaptation of an unadaptable novel. Unfortunately, it failed. Tristram Shandy felt so clearly like an experiment that I couldn’t lose myself in it, and a film that holds its viewers at arm’s distance does not make for a good time at the movies.

2. Bubble: This slice-of-life drama tried to create art out of dull people doing uninteresting things. While there are art forms that can surely accomplish this, film is not among them. Ebert called Bubbler a classic, a masterpiece. I guess I missed the bus on this one, too.

1. Poseidon: Poseidon struck me as a movie for people who never go to movies. For those of us who do see the occasional film, it felt calculated and hackneyed, with obvious themes and an easily predictable mortality roster. I think of some of the movies on my Bottom Six as honorable misfires: at least their creators tried to stretch. Poseidon’s aggressive mediocrity seems doesn’t even let it take credit for trying. Additionally, Poseidon felt painful. In a movie about one bad thing happening after another, it was hard to feel anything other than dread. Boredom and dread: not a recipe for a good time at the movies.

48 Lines About 17 Movies

Long business trips often translate into many nights alone in hotel rooms. Here's a brief rundown of the pictures with which I passed the time.

OLDBOY. Every time I see this movie, I see something new. This time around, I focused on color composition. Once again, I came away dazzled.

MR. 3000. A mildly entertaining, by-the-numbers comedy about a Barry Bonds - like baseball player who learns an Important Life Lesson while trying to make a comeback.

DAZED AND CONFUSED. Linklater creates teenagers who actually think, talk, and act like teenagers. His slice-of-life picture gives us big moments disguised as small ones and small moments that feel right. This one's a winner.

BOILER ROOM. An indictment of get-rich-quick culture, BR boasts interesting characters, compelling situations, and terrific dialogue.

KISS KISS, BANG BANG. My wife put this on her queue, and I can't wait to see it again. I missed half the movie the first time because I was laughing so hard.

THE BEST OF YOUTH. Actually, it's an Italian miniseries that has been loosely redefined as a very long movie. Regardless of its length, this one made me lose track of time as I bonded with its characters and developed a keen interest in their respective life paths. I may purchase this one.

THE DA VINCI CODE. A reasonably entertaining adaptation of a reasonably entertaining book.

SYRIANA. This just in - the business of America is business.

RUNNING SCARED. The more I think about it, the more I like it. RS is a layered, sophisticated tale disguised as an over-the-top, ultraviolent cime picture.

SUPER TROOPERS. I don't understand why this isn't a cult hit of Lebowskian magnitude. It's riotously funny, particularly when viewed with a roomful of people.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI. This movie gets funnier every time I see it.

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. This mean-spirited film expects us to laugh at, not with its (alien) people. I hated, hated, hated it.

REMEMBER ME, MY LOVE. This domestic drama traces the lives of a nuclear family at a moment of profound transition. Interestingly, you wind up feeling the most for the one who almost tears everything apart.

VAN WILDER. I reasonably amusing college picture that pretty much coasts by on the Ryan Reynolds' charisma. Look for the inspired casting of Tim Matheson as the titular character's father.

MEAN STREETS. Early Scorcese featuring Keitel and DeNiro before the latter descended into schtick. Very nice.

REVENGE OF THE CREATURE. All gill-man, very little Amazon. This one did not capture my imagination.

TOUCH THE SOUND. Evelyn Glennie overcame deafness to become a professional musician. She uses her gifts to create music I don't care to hear.