Top Six, 2006 (by lazerbug and skaboi37)
This year has been quite a year for theatrical releases. As always, there have been the terrible, the overlooked, the over-hyped, and the actually good. Xander and I have chosen our favorite six movies that were released this year (most of which were overlooked and/or actually good). We decided to use movies that we had both seen, so this may leave out a few other actually good movies that we didn't get around to.
Before the Top Six, some Honorable Mentions: Over the Hedge, V for Vendetta, Inside Man, Lucky Number Slevin, and Clerks 2.
6) The Illusionist: Of the movies about magic and illusion that came out this year, this was the one that Xander and I chose to watch. And it turned out to be a good choice: Edward Norton is a phenomenal actor; Jessica Biel is surprisingly talented; and Paul Giamatti plays the wannabe-believer gracefully and with joy. Aside from the illusions that Norton's character, Eisenheim, taunts his audiences with, the story is intriguing and as enigmatic as the magic of the characters in the story. Highly enjoyable, and definitely worth renting on DVD.
5) Casino Royale: One of Xander's top five Bond movies, Casino Royale is also one of the best overall movies of 2006. Yes, it's a great Bond film, but it is also an excellent action movie: all scenes are done without the help of CGI, making the actors (and/or their stunt doubles) extra excellent, and mixing intrigue with poker was a good choice as a release for this year. The Bond Girl is gorgeous in an interesting way, not to mention quite capable of stealing Bond's heart and then smashing it.
4) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Of course this is in the top six of 2006. There's just no question. It could have gone the way of bad sequels, but this movie avoided failure with strong plots that don't rely on Johnny Depp alone and with formerly secondary characters adding fresh appeal to the new story. The CGI effects were brilliant, especially those used to illuminate Davy Jones' crew, but they didn't overtake the movie; but the special effects didn't take away from the funny, idiomatic Jack Sparrow or the relationship between Will Turner and his father, Bootstrap Bill. Pirates 2 was an overall well executed movie.
3) For Your Consideration: As noted in my review, this movie is just great. It's hilarious in an off-the-beaten-path sort of way, and it doesn't force a faked ending down your throat. It's almost objective in its look at how competition can change people, for the worse and for the better--as these actors find themselves caught up in the Oscar race, the camera watches their transformation, and the audience is allowed to take whatever they want away from the movie in terms of morals and main point. The actors (who play the actors) are, of course, perfect for the newest Guest film, and their acting makes this movie worth buying.
2) The Science of Sleep: Xander and I fucking loved this movie. In fact, we felt so strongly about it that we chose not review it for this community (it would have been an A+, in my book). It's one of those movies that you absorb more than you watch--and because it's not a "movie" in the typical sense as much as an exploration of an idea/philosophy, it's difficult to discuss in "movie" terms. For me, I left the movie feeling like I'd just read a great work of literature that left me with impressions, ideas, and emotions, and, honestly, all I could do was cry. If nothing else, this movie was more influential in my personal life than any other that came out this year--and that's why I watch movies, to see things differently afterward. Boy, did I see things differently after this movie.
1) Little Miss Sunshine: Just go read my review. It's funny, touching, poignant, and funny again. That's why this movie is the best movie of 2006.
For reading, you get the bonus of a Bottom Four: the four most terrible, worthless, over-hyped pieces of crap the movie industry released to rot moviegoers' brains. (There are only four here instead of six because, well, Xander and I are awesome and we did not pay as much money in theaters to see terrible movies.)
4) Thank You For Smoking: I personally wasn't as annoyed with this movie as Xander was, but I respect his need to put it in the bottom tier of 2006's movies. This movie attempted to be witty, sarcastic satire of the smoking industry in this country, but it failed miserably with its useless kidnappings of unimportant people, death-by-nicotine-patch attempts, and unfocused storylines.
3) The Da Vinci Code: This movie fell into a couple of traps: 1) covering a bestselling book that was in itself a piece of crap; and 2) casting Tom Hanks as lead. The moviemakers tried to recover from these initial mistakes by casting Amelie's Audrey Tautou as the female lead, but she comes off as a wide-eyed idiot freaked out by some weird shit. None of it is convincing.
2) Date Movie: Uh, why did we watch this movie? Apparently because we thought it would be funny or at least mildly entertaining. We were very, very wrong.
1) Nacho Libre: I was the one who said we should see this; I now bear the burden of having forced us to sit through the worst movie of 2006. Luckily (sort of) for us, we only spent $3 apiece at the cheap theatre to have the urge to gouge out our ears and eyes at this stupid movie. The dialogue was terrible, obviously, and Jack Black cannot do any sort of accent. He just can't. His "Mexican" accent swayed from Irish to Italian to French with only hints of the Mexican feel it should have had. And since he's pretty much the only one who talks, it gets really damn annoying. I've forgotten everything else about this movie, it was that unexciting.
Before the Top Six, some Honorable Mentions: Over the Hedge, V for Vendetta, Inside Man, Lucky Number Slevin, and Clerks 2.
6) The Illusionist: Of the movies about magic and illusion that came out this year, this was the one that Xander and I chose to watch. And it turned out to be a good choice: Edward Norton is a phenomenal actor; Jessica Biel is surprisingly talented; and Paul Giamatti plays the wannabe-believer gracefully and with joy. Aside from the illusions that Norton's character, Eisenheim, taunts his audiences with, the story is intriguing and as enigmatic as the magic of the characters in the story. Highly enjoyable, and definitely worth renting on DVD.
5) Casino Royale: One of Xander's top five Bond movies, Casino Royale is also one of the best overall movies of 2006. Yes, it's a great Bond film, but it is also an excellent action movie: all scenes are done without the help of CGI, making the actors (and/or their stunt doubles) extra excellent, and mixing intrigue with poker was a good choice as a release for this year. The Bond Girl is gorgeous in an interesting way, not to mention quite capable of stealing Bond's heart and then smashing it.
4) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Of course this is in the top six of 2006. There's just no question. It could have gone the way of bad sequels, but this movie avoided failure with strong plots that don't rely on Johnny Depp alone and with formerly secondary characters adding fresh appeal to the new story. The CGI effects were brilliant, especially those used to illuminate Davy Jones' crew, but they didn't overtake the movie; but the special effects didn't take away from the funny, idiomatic Jack Sparrow or the relationship between Will Turner and his father, Bootstrap Bill. Pirates 2 was an overall well executed movie.
3) For Your Consideration: As noted in my review, this movie is just great. It's hilarious in an off-the-beaten-path sort of way, and it doesn't force a faked ending down your throat. It's almost objective in its look at how competition can change people, for the worse and for the better--as these actors find themselves caught up in the Oscar race, the camera watches their transformation, and the audience is allowed to take whatever they want away from the movie in terms of morals and main point. The actors (who play the actors) are, of course, perfect for the newest Guest film, and their acting makes this movie worth buying.
2) The Science of Sleep: Xander and I fucking loved this movie. In fact, we felt so strongly about it that we chose not review it for this community (it would have been an A+, in my book). It's one of those movies that you absorb more than you watch--and because it's not a "movie" in the typical sense as much as an exploration of an idea/philosophy, it's difficult to discuss in "movie" terms. For me, I left the movie feeling like I'd just read a great work of literature that left me with impressions, ideas, and emotions, and, honestly, all I could do was cry. If nothing else, this movie was more influential in my personal life than any other that came out this year--and that's why I watch movies, to see things differently afterward. Boy, did I see things differently after this movie.
1) Little Miss Sunshine: Just go read my review. It's funny, touching, poignant, and funny again. That's why this movie is the best movie of 2006.
For reading, you get the bonus of a Bottom Four: the four most terrible, worthless, over-hyped pieces of crap the movie industry released to rot moviegoers' brains. (There are only four here instead of six because, well, Xander and I are awesome and we did not pay as much money in theaters to see terrible movies.)
4) Thank You For Smoking: I personally wasn't as annoyed with this movie as Xander was, but I respect his need to put it in the bottom tier of 2006's movies. This movie attempted to be witty, sarcastic satire of the smoking industry in this country, but it failed miserably with its useless kidnappings of unimportant people, death-by-nicotine-patch attempts, and unfocused storylines.
3) The Da Vinci Code: This movie fell into a couple of traps: 1) covering a bestselling book that was in itself a piece of crap; and 2) casting Tom Hanks as lead. The moviemakers tried to recover from these initial mistakes by casting Amelie's Audrey Tautou as the female lead, but she comes off as a wide-eyed idiot freaked out by some weird shit. None of it is convincing.
2) Date Movie: Uh, why did we watch this movie? Apparently because we thought it would be funny or at least mildly entertaining. We were very, very wrong.
1) Nacho Libre: I was the one who said we should see this; I now bear the burden of having forced us to sit through the worst movie of 2006. Luckily (sort of) for us, we only spent $3 apiece at the cheap theatre to have the urge to gouge out our ears and eyes at this stupid movie. The dialogue was terrible, obviously, and Jack Black cannot do any sort of accent. He just can't. His "Mexican" accent swayed from Irish to Italian to French with only hints of the Mexican feel it should have had. And since he's pretty much the only one who talks, it gets really damn annoying. I've forgotten everything else about this movie, it was that unexciting.