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1. The Descent - Solid horror movie. Decent characters, a genuinely creepy atmosphere, some pretty nasty looking baddies, a relative lack of horror cliches and attempts to make horror "fun", and a pretty un-Hollywood ending. Sounds good to me.
2. Lady Vengeance - Perhaps this shouldn't be here as it wasn't a Hollywood movie but whatever... A great one-of-a-kind plot that is, first and foremost, a tragedy but also has some good bits of dark humor, and some terrific, visually-engaging directing. What can I say? Chanwook Park rules!
3. Hard Candy - Definitely a different kind of horror movie. For the most part, an original plot (though I couldn't help but think of Audition while watching), great acting, suspenseful, and a pretty cringe-worthy surgery scene that's done without a single drop of onscreen blood.
4. The Prestige - Perhaps the most original film of the year. Never seen anything like it before. Great acting, especially from Bale, solid directing, and a original plot that continuously had me guessing yet gave me the satisfaction of guessing the first twist before there were even any hints.
5. Hostel - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. "It sucks." Take a moment to laugh at my expense. I'm ashamed to admit I'm one of the few people who genuinely enjoyed this movie. The plot was original and, while perhaps the execution could have been better, the idea was certainly disturbing. As much as the characters seemed unlikeable, they were at least somewhat developed, which is more than I can say for 98% of the horror movies that came out this year. And, of course... Miike!!!
The Worst:
1. Silent Hill - I didn't get it. Seriously. The plot was convoluted at best, the writing/dialogue was horrendous and, at times, acted out terribly, and while the atmosphere was pretty on-the-money in terms of looking like game, it was spoiled by lame special FX and cheap-looking monsters.
2. Pulse - This was basically a copy of the original movie, which barely made any sense, with the exception of the ending, which got a considerably Hollywood treatment. The acting was bad, the characters were stupid, and the "scares" were cheap and tired.
3. Stay Alive - About the same as Pulse with the exception of it not being a remake.
4. The Hills Have Eyes - Another old-school horror flick given the Hollywood treatment, this one complete with MTV style editing and cheap scares. Perhaps worse would be taking the original protagonists and making them into moronic stereotypes with bad actors filling their shoes and other memorable characters from the original being completely downplayed or changed entirely.
5. Can't think of a fifth movie I've seen that particularly offended me. Can't dock anything I haven't seen no matter how bad it looks. I feel like I was fortunate enough to avoid most bad movies this year. Everything else not listed above was either forgetable, only mildly amusing, or was good but I simply didn't feel like listing it above.
Running Scared The Descent Click Happy Feet The Last Kiss Little Miss Sunshine Marie-Antoinette Minis First Time The Devil Wears Prada An Inconvenient Truth
The Worst of 2006 Date Movie Employee of the Month The Grudge 2 Lady in the Water Nacho Libre Phat Girlz See No Evil Silent Hill Wicker Man Let's go to Prison
Hey look everyone! It's Kevin Revie! I haven't seen out of the woodwork in ages. Anyone want to know who this "A-List" legend of the boards is, check out Simply Noir or Simply The Godfather. Classics in their own rights, and Kevin plays a part in both. Welcome back!
Okay guys I know I've already posted but I just have to change my "good list":
The Departed - Saw it today and this is by far one of the best Scorsese movies. Actually, I think it's my favourite of his since GoodFellas. I really loved this.
Transamerica
Apocalypto - Again, saw it only today and my god was this movie a real treat. It works as a historical epic, a love story, an adventure story and, possibly works best as a really good chase movie. As someone said above, Mel Gibson may have some personal problems but he was undoubtedly born to be a filmmaker.
Colour Me Kubrick
The Omen
Just thought I'd repost. I only saw the other two today and my god I was just blown away by the both of them.
I also want to give a shout out to Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.
I'm not sure if this qualifies as a 2006 movie or not, but the DVD was released in 2006 and that's when we first saw Donner's version so that is definitely very high on my list of Best of '06 movies because it's just so wonderful.
I didn't go to the cinema very much last year but the best film I saw in 2006 was Casino Royale, and the worst movie of ALL TIME never mind 2006 was definately Aeon Flux. Don't know if that last one was released in 2006 or earlier but it still sucked beyond belief.
the worst movie of ALL TIME never mind 2006 was definately Aeon Flux. Don't know if that last one was released in 2006 or earlier but it still sucked beyond belief.
I actually didn't have a major problem with this one. It had some wild visual moments, a decent backstory, an interesting problem, and while it had its share of contrivances which includes the almost cruel reasoning behind the villain's actions as well as the almost super human abilities of the girl. Beyond these minor problems, I thought it was a pretty decent and creative film.
My reason for that is that they replaced Michelle Rodriguez for Charlize Theron lliterally like 2 days before filming. The production company said Michelle wouldn't be able to lead a film by herself and the box office sales would suffer.
Well Charlize really changed that around huh? What did that film make at the box office, $2 million? And what did it cost to make? Probably like $50 mil at least.
Plus they totally screwed over the director Karyn Kusama with creative control. She said in an interview that there were some days that she wan't even allowed in the cutting room because the producers thought they "knew" what was good for the film.
So that film was just destined to be sloppy. That's what it seemed like to me. It was a good story, but it didn't look like anyone was proud of the final result.
The Good: 1. Pan's Labyrinth 2. Hard Candy 3. The Descent 4. Running Scared 5. The Screwfly Solution (masters of horror) 6. Haven 7. Hamiltons
The Bad: 1. Jackass 2 2. Black X-Mas 3. When A Stranger Calls 4. The Grudge 2 5. Superman Returns 6. Nacho Libre
I'm not at all looking forward to the Halloween remake in '07 Thanks alot to Texas Chainsaw '03 and Dawn Of Te Dead '04 for being so great and successful and launching this big remake craze.....
Aeon Flux, to me, moved at a monotonously slow pace the whole way through and didn't even succeed in delivering dramatic impact at the end. After the first quarter mark, it already felt like it was just dragging along for no reason. There was no tension to it. It was like the most boring Grand Prix race, only with ultramodern cars and an audatious studium.
Now, I absolutely hate people talking during movies, but towards the end I just sat texting people and talking to my friends in the audience! I didn't care about the characters because the entire film seemed like it was created for no other reason but to let the designers exercise their creativity.
It looked okay (even though I think they went a bit overboard with the colours and set designs) but that was about it for me. I got the feeling that some parts were just thought up and thrown in with no organic reason behind it, except to look a little weirder on screen.
I just think it was a silly film that should never have been made, and I think the box office figures agree with me LOL!
Lonesome Jim Feast United 93 Thank you for Smoking Casino Royale
Well and seeing how many of you count The Descent, I guess I should too, even though I think I got it on DVD in late 2005...
But I didn't see that many films this year. hell, I still need to see these:
Brick Three Burials of Melquidas Estrada Hard Candy The Departed The Prestige The Fountain Stranger than Fiction The Proposition
THE WORST:
Well, Prime and Firewall were really bad. But I didn't expect anything from either. I was very disappointed in V for Vendetta but it wasn't a terrible film in itself. Just not that good. Aeon Flux and Domino sucked pretty bad too. Domino is from 2006, right?
"The Flux capacitor. It's what makes time travel possible."
This one is a little late, but I usually like writing these so, January 31st be damned, here we go:
BEST:
1.) CHILDREN OF MEN What Cuaron and company did with this simple novel (check it out, it's a real page-turner) is absolutely nothing short of mind-blowing. Though the first half hour or so is a bit slow, once things take off (and Clive starts beating people down with everything from car doors to car batteries... all while wearing flip-flops mind you), things REALLY take off. The cinematography is absolutely amazing and should, without a doubt, be taking home its award. Easily the best film of the year.
2.) LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE This one is amazing for a few reasons, most notably the casting of Steve Carrell. Carrell has been something of an enigma lately, with just about everything he's involved with turning into comic gold. However, here, he really shows that like Bill Murray before him, he can easily channel a dramatic side as well and really help carry an entire picture. Of course, that's not to say the rest of the cast isn't great either, though everyone is boosted by a very solid script from first-timer Michael Arndt and music video directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
3.) PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Okay, so maybe this wasn't everyone's favorite. But for my money, this blows the all ready great original out of the water and is probably one of the most entertaining flicks I've ever seen. There was not a single second of this one where I felt bored (this is a special feat too, considering its arguably too long running time). Johnny Depp of course gets a special nod for creating one of the most memorable film characters in quite some time. While everyone else did a wonderful job, there is no doubt that the bulk of this film's sucess lies solely on Depp's shoulders.
4.) CLERKS II I was very fortunate and suprised to see this when I did. I was expecting another Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back, but instead, Kevin Smith really stepped up to the plate on this one. While it may help that I had a very similar conversation to the Dante/Randal jailhouse back-and-forth the night before I saw this, there is no denying that Smith was able to really get some heart out of these characters as well as show that he has not only grown as a writer but also as a very talented director as well. My only real beef: where the hell was Brodie!?
5.) CASINO ROYALE I have three here that are just scratching at this number on my countdown: Rocky Balboa, The Prestige and, of course, Bond's comback. But holy God! While the pre-release buzz around this one mostly centered around how much Daniel Craig was going to suck (I was rootin' for him), the real surprise here was director Campbell and his screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis. Purvis and Wade are responsible for some of the worst Bond films in recent memory and Paul Haggis is... well, Paul Haggis. However, the three of them threw together a great script and Campbell really pulled off all the stops to bring Bond, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. And of course, Craig proved that he could kick anyone's ass and still look cool as hell in a tuxedo.
WORST:
1.) TURISTAS I saw this one on a free screening. That's the only reason I saw it. I swear. This one was sh*tty for a whole mess of reasons, it's biggest problem being that due to poor lighting as well as some very shotty hand-held work, it was extremely difficult being able to tell exactly what the hell was going on at any given moment (especially in the final twenty minutes). Add in some drab performances, a dissapointing lack of T&A and a very unoriginal script, and you get the worst film of 2006.
2.) BLOODRAYNE Congrats Mr. Boll. You finally made a film that did not make the #1 spot on my worst-of list. However, I would certainly not call that a win. This one was just boring really. The only highlight really came in the form of an oddly placed Billy Zane who was just entertaining based on the fact that any second, you expected him to just take a bite right out of the props he was holding at any given moment. And let's not forget that very memorable jailcell escape scene involving a visibly intoxicated Madsen, some guy you've never heard of and the stupidest guard on the planet. Good Lord. Why, Guinivere Turner, why!?
3.) LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN To quote Ebert, I hated, hated, hated, hated this movie! From beginning to end, this one reeked of pretention, starting with its nauseating title. One of my friends (who actually liked it) made a very good point while coming out of this one; she said it was like a two hour long episode of Gilmore Girl. And I can't think of any other better way of describing this overtly convulted, aren't-we-so-clever Tarantino wannabe.
4.) X3: THE LAST STAND Okay, so I'm sure there were worse films made this year (keep in mind, I'm not a paid critic, so I usually only see movies I think I'll like). However, this one makes the list based largely on its dissapointment factor. Interestingly, as I wrote in my actual review when this one released, I don't blame director Ratner as much as I blame Fox and the backwards scheduling they gave this one. I think there's a very good movie in here somewhere, it just didn't have the time to create itself. Instead, we got this half-baked effort that packed in so many characters, that many were reduced to just being a glorified extra (Angel, I'm looking your way). A shameful way to end this trilogy. Here's hoping for the Wolverine flick though.
MOST OVERRATED:
V FOR VENDETTA Let me say right off the bat, I did enjoy this one quite alot. I thought first timer McTiegue really did a great job and is well on his way to throwing together a nice little career for himself. However, the pre-release for this one before it finally went wide in 2006 was gigantic, with some early critics calling this one the first great film of the 2000's. Come on, now. Was it cool? Absolutely. Was it going to change the way I voted? Not in the least.
MOST UNDERRATED:
SILENT HILL To me, 2006 marked the year that a video-game adaptation was made that I loved without reservations. While I did give a favorable review to 2005's Doom, I still saw it as just a well pieced together trashy action flick. Silent Hill, on the other hand, was a real winner to me and proved that a good adaptation could be created. While it was far from perfect, it is one of the first films in a long time that has kept me up. Even if this was one big exercise in style over substance, it was a hell of a style even if I never did play any of the source material.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order):
SUPERMAN RETURNS SLITHER THANK YOU FOR SMOKING THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP THE PRESTIGE ROCKY BALBOA SNAKES ON A PLANE TALADEGA NIGHTS
Okay, so this year was not jam-packed with movie viewings for me the way 2005 was (still haven't seen either Pan's Labyrinth or The Departed damn it!). However, it wasn't bad either and the ratio of crappy films (as far as I saw anyway) compared to a year ago is much lower. Be that as it may, there's still '07 to look forward to... what with Ghost Rider... and Norbit... and other... stuff... crap.
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