Top 10 of 2006: Movies

Today we finish our top 10 lists with movies. On one hand I haven’t seen that many flicks this year. On the other hand a lot of them have been so marginal that I don’t think they deserve to be on any kind of top 10 list (Superman, Pirates 2, For Your Consideration etc). Also as I wrote about last week in my Golden Globes column I’m hopelessly behind on my award quality movies so this list could change over the next few months but enough with the excuses let’s get on with the list.

10. (tie) Little Miss Sunshine- I think it says something that this might be the most overrated movie of the year and yet it still lands at number ten. If you separate this movie from the Oscar hype and the over the top critical praise you still have a nice little movie. The cast shines especially Steve Carell and Toni Collette. The script however reads like most dysfunctional family black comedies, and you get the feeling you’ve seen this all before. Still it is funny and well acted and while it doesn’t leave you with a lasting impression it was still a top 10 viewing experience for me.

10.(tie)Cars- Pixar continues to make the best animated movies around. While Cars doesn't live up the benchmark that The Incredibles sets it still succeeds on many levels. If it out does The Incredibles anywhere it's in the always improving visual sense. From the race track to the beautiful waterfall scene these animators are always breaking new ground. My one complaint is that I've always admired Pixar for casting voices based on the visual characters but this time it feels like they created the images around the actors especially Paul Newman. Anyway if that's my only complaint (other then the fact that the stupid movie made me a tad watery at the end) then this surely belongs among the years best.

9. Match Point- I’ve never been a huge Woody Allen fan. Except for Hannah and her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors I’ve usually thumbed my film snob nose at him. Match Point now makes 3 Allen films I really enjoyed. A big part of this has to be due to the fact that Allen changed up his formula a bit. No New York and no him can go a long way. Scarlet Johansson is a goddess in this flick and the tensions both sexual and violent are exasperating to the audience.

8. V for Vendetta- When I heard the Matrix guys were adapting the classic graphic novel I threw up a little in my mouth. Those guys really lost me with the last two Matrix films. Happily V brings back fond memories of the first Matrix and their debut film Bound. Granted the two didn’t direct V but from all accounts they pulled all the strings on set. Natalie Portman gives another performance that will further devote legions of geeks to her around the world while Hugo Weaving gives a performance that makes you think the mask actually shows emotions.

7. Dreamgirls- I'm not exactly a fan of the modern musical film. I loved Moulin Rouge but that was mostly because it was completely different then anything I'd seen before and the songs were all pop standards. Then we had the god awful experience of Chicago . So it was with extreme trepidation that I went to see Dreamgirls today. Happily I can give it a very positive review. Jennifer Hudson was so good that for the first time in my life I actually thought American Idol might be worth checking out. Eddie Murphy shines in his 20 years too late Truman Show role and Beyonce, well she's hot and she doesn't stink it up too bad. The first hour kind of dragged and felt a little misguided but the last hour was a fast and furious finale full of the best music of the movie.

6. Brick- Wow. That was the only word I had to describe my reaction after watching Brick. The camera work, the lighting, the dialogue, the performances, pretty much everything in this movie took my breath away. It’s a complete movie going experience and my surprise of the year. The film noir in high school device does not come off as cheesy or out of place because everything in the film gives itself so completely to it.

5. Bubble- As we sit and wait for Steven Soderberg’s next two big Hollywood productions (The Good German, Ocean’s 13), he gave us a gem of a small film this last year called Bubble. Perhaps better known for its release (it was out on DVD, cable, and theaters all in the same day) the film itself is a gem. Shooting in a small town on the Ohio/West Virginia border, Soderberg used locals to fill in his cast and the result is spectacular. Running under 90 minutes the film draws you in to these people’s lives and holds you there even after the credits are done running.

4. Inside Man- There was time when Spike Lee could do no wrong. Lately however he had made a string of self indulgent craptacular flicks. Inside Man put a stop to that and some. The heist movie comes with some of the standard twists but Lee puts his own spin on them. Clive Owen gives what I believe to be one of the best performances of the year, while Denzel turns in his usual quality when working with Lee. I’ll take this flick as a sign Lee’s back on his game and if his rumored Rodney King riot project is up next, count me in.

3. Snakes on a Plane- Come on, if you’ve ever read this blog in the last six months you knew this would be on here somewhere. For me SoaP hits at #3 because of the complete experience that it was. I saw it opening night and those memories will stick with me forever. It was like going to see the new Star Wars flick but without the incredible let down. This film delivered as there were a ton of mutherfuckin’ snakes on that mutherfuckin’ plane. The DVD roles out sometime in January and I’m already thinking about some kind of SoaP viewing party.

2. Borat- I finally saw this flick Saturday night and I can't stop thinking about it. My side literally hurt during the film but it's the construction of the film that stays with me. It's amazing how a movie with such a simple construct can stir such complicated emotions. I think I was more grossed out by my fellow Americans ignorance then I was by naked man wrestling.

1. Clerks II- This was truly the best flick I’ve seen all year. After viewing it a couple of more times on DVD I think this might edge up to number 2 on my list of Kevin Smith’s best. Never have dick and fart jokes fit so well with a tale of love between friends. You might laugh, but I believe the restraint Smith shows in this film is what seals it. He dialed down the cameos and those that were there were underplayed. He scaled back his “let’s do a big action as a metaphor for the moral” ending and just left it to what he does best two talking heads.