(no subject)
I guess, since Shannon did it, it's time for me to do my best movies of 2006 post, even though there are a few movies I haven't seen yet that I wanted to. Last night, Shannon and I went to an Oscar party at Workplay. Hardly anyone showed up, but it was great. Big screen. Free food. Good drink specials. And they were going to have a raffle, but since hardly anyone was there, they gave Shannon and I the best prize because we were dressed up and having fun. Dinner for 2 at Bottega! Amazing!
Movies I wanted to see last year that won't show up on my list: Last King of Scotland, Bobby, Letters From Iwo Jima, Fast Food Nation, The Queen, Marie Antoinette, Shortbus, Little Children, Volver, For Your Consideration. That's a lot of movies... but I saw a lot of movies so it's okay.
Here's my list in reverse order to build up suspense. To be honest, some of these could be easily switched around in my mind, but we'll just pretend this is definitive:
11. Children of Men - I have an 11 because I can. I went into this movie knowing nothing about it at all, and it definitely surprised me. The intense moments of this movie were very intense. Clive Owen did very well. I was disappointed with how a couple of the deaths played out though. And while I love Michael Caine, I don't really like him as an old hippie.
10. The Fountain - I found this movie beautiful and compelling. The combination of the three storylines in different time periods, into one, was done very well, and it wasn't overly confusing or pretentious. I liked this movie much more than Requiem for a Dream, Aronofsky's last movie. Hugh Jackman had a good year.
9. Half Nelson - A very underpraised movie, even though Ryan Gosling was up for best actor. The performances in this movie were excellent. That's what made this movie. I found that it didn't really end very well... it just fizzled out for me. But I really did enjoy it a lot.
8. Brick - I definitely need to watch this again, but I was so taken by the story of the movie. I've never really seen many (any?) old famous noir films, and this film somehow makes noir work in a high school environment. It sounds laughable, but the writing was so excellent.
7. Talladega Nights - I was going to put Stranger Than Fiction here, but I didn't. Will Ferrell was excellent in both. I enjoyed this movie much more than Anchorman as a whole. And it was even funnier the second time I saw it. Truly hilarious. John C. Reilly and Sacha Baron Cohen were great as well.
6. Prairie Home Companion - I haven't seen it in a long time, but this whole movie just made me smile. I've always loved PHC and Garrison Keillor. This movie definitely did justice to the radio show. The performances were excellent, especially John C. Reilly, Lily Tomlin, and Meryl Streep. I want to see this again soon.
5. Babel - The more I think about this movie, the more I realize how much I enjoyed it. While it was very unsympathetic towards its characters, it was just such an interesting view of not being able to communicate, whether it be in a foreign country or within your own world. I also found Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett's characters to be the least interesting.
4. Little Miss Sunshine - Funny and dark. I loved it. Steve Carrell was incredible. Abigail Breslin is a wonderful child actress. All the performances were solid. I laughed a lot.
3. The Prestige - Magic trick? No. ILLUSION! Two magic movies this year. This one was amazing. The Illusionist was just okay. I loved this. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale were incredible leads. Scarlett Johansson was excellent in her supporting role. And the team of David Bowie and Andy Serkis was bizarre and wonderful. I loved all the twists.
2. The Departed - It won best picture. And I feel that it deserved it. As I've been saying about all of these films, the performances were incredible. All of them. I was totally drawn in from the start. I enjoyed it even more the second time. The writing was top-notch.
1. Pan's Labyrinth - Perhaps the most ambitious movie of the year? It was beautiful. The setting was incredible, in the mountains, at the end of the Spanish Civil War. The special effects were very convincing and at times frightening. This movie was very creative, and I found the story to be captivating.
Movies I wanted to see last year that won't show up on my list: Last King of Scotland, Bobby, Letters From Iwo Jima, Fast Food Nation, The Queen, Marie Antoinette, Shortbus, Little Children, Volver, For Your Consideration. That's a lot of movies... but I saw a lot of movies so it's okay.
Here's my list in reverse order to build up suspense. To be honest, some of these could be easily switched around in my mind, but we'll just pretend this is definitive:
11. Children of Men - I have an 11 because I can. I went into this movie knowing nothing about it at all, and it definitely surprised me. The intense moments of this movie were very intense. Clive Owen did very well. I was disappointed with how a couple of the deaths played out though. And while I love Michael Caine, I don't really like him as an old hippie.
10. The Fountain - I found this movie beautiful and compelling. The combination of the three storylines in different time periods, into one, was done very well, and it wasn't overly confusing or pretentious. I liked this movie much more than Requiem for a Dream, Aronofsky's last movie. Hugh Jackman had a good year.
9. Half Nelson - A very underpraised movie, even though Ryan Gosling was up for best actor. The performances in this movie were excellent. That's what made this movie. I found that it didn't really end very well... it just fizzled out for me. But I really did enjoy it a lot.
8. Brick - I definitely need to watch this again, but I was so taken by the story of the movie. I've never really seen many (any?) old famous noir films, and this film somehow makes noir work in a high school environment. It sounds laughable, but the writing was so excellent.
7. Talladega Nights - I was going to put Stranger Than Fiction here, but I didn't. Will Ferrell was excellent in both. I enjoyed this movie much more than Anchorman as a whole. And it was even funnier the second time I saw it. Truly hilarious. John C. Reilly and Sacha Baron Cohen were great as well.
6. Prairie Home Companion - I haven't seen it in a long time, but this whole movie just made me smile. I've always loved PHC and Garrison Keillor. This movie definitely did justice to the radio show. The performances were excellent, especially John C. Reilly, Lily Tomlin, and Meryl Streep. I want to see this again soon.
5. Babel - The more I think about this movie, the more I realize how much I enjoyed it. While it was very unsympathetic towards its characters, it was just such an interesting view of not being able to communicate, whether it be in a foreign country or within your own world. I also found Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett's characters to be the least interesting.
4. Little Miss Sunshine - Funny and dark. I loved it. Steve Carrell was incredible. Abigail Breslin is a wonderful child actress. All the performances were solid. I laughed a lot.
3. The Prestige - Magic trick? No. ILLUSION! Two magic movies this year. This one was amazing. The Illusionist was just okay. I loved this. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale were incredible leads. Scarlett Johansson was excellent in her supporting role. And the team of David Bowie and Andy Serkis was bizarre and wonderful. I loved all the twists.
2. The Departed - It won best picture. And I feel that it deserved it. As I've been saying about all of these films, the performances were incredible. All of them. I was totally drawn in from the start. I enjoyed it even more the second time. The writing was top-notch.
1. Pan's Labyrinth - Perhaps the most ambitious movie of the year? It was beautiful. The setting was incredible, in the mountains, at the end of the Spanish Civil War. The special effects were very convincing and at times frightening. This movie was very creative, and I found the story to be captivating.