Oh dear. I just realized that I forgot Stranger than Fiction. I guess I’d put that on my list ahead of A Scanner Darkly, which bumps out Marie Antoinette.
It was a pretty disappointing year for movies, I think. That said, I was very impressed by:
X-Men 3 - Great action sequences and interesting character development; a worthy addition to the series.
The Queen - Boring title (why not something like H.M., EIIR, Her Majesty, or Buck House?) but a brilliant exploration of leadership in crisis, as well as duty, tradition, and the disconnect between elected officials and a long-insulated, out-of-touch monarchy. Helen Mirren should definitely take home an Oscar for her turn as Her Majesty.
Little Miss Sunshine - I liked this much more than I thought I would. A great character study, funny situations, an acid critique of our celebrity culture and even an apt reference to Proust. Whodathunkit?
Casino Royale - The only movie all year I saw twice. Probably the best Bond since Connery, and in some ways even better. A well-crafted, intriguing, entertaining spy flick.
I was disappointed or underwhelmed by POTC2, Happy Feet, Cars, and Superman Returns, among others that I’ve long forgotten.
I just had a look at the Top Grossing Movies of 2006 and could only find these that I enjoyed:
Casino Royale
Borat
The Departed
Inside Man
Little Miss Sunshine
Invincible
The Prestige
Thank You For Smoking
Lucky Number Slevin (**The Wrong Man ** in Australia)
Babel
and I think I am being kind there.
I could find many more that really disappointed, in fact there are several that I could not bother finishing on DVD.
Until I looked back I hadn’t realised what a crappy year it had been except for cartoon fans.
And Children Of Men which isn’t on that list.
I’m kind of surprised, am I the only one who thought United 93 was one of the top 10 movies of the year?
You might be the only one who saw it.
Yeah. A real stinker.
I wouldn’t put any of the comedies from 2006 in the same league as 2005’s “40 year old Virgin” or “Wedding Crashers”.
There was nothing as good as Crash, Brokeback, or Capote.
Nothing as suprising as In Her Shoes (a great movie) or Constant Gardener or Hustle and Flow.
Nothing as COOL as Sin City.
No franchise entry as good as Sith, or Batman Begins (although I haven’t seen POTC II, yet).
I liked a few movies this year, but The Departed is the only thing that I really see holding up.
Borat will persist, too.
I know I haven’t seen everything, and Children of Men has me anxious, but I’m calling '06 a pretty weak one.
I saw it. It was good, but forgettable.
1.) Casino Royale just about the best Bond film, ever, and certainly my favorite of the year.
2.) An Inconvient Truth Al Gore, movie star! 
3.) The Quiet Humbert Humbert meets his match. It needed boobies, however.
4.) Inside Man I never found Jodie Foster all that appealing as an actress until this film. There’s talk of a sequel, I hope they don’t do it, since Follywood will screw it up.
5.) Superman Returns dude was really creepy in how much he sounded like Reeves at time and it featured a cameo by Sir Richard Branson, so it’s got to be good!
6.) A Scanner Darkly it left out some of the elements of the book that I would have liked to have seen in the movie, but it captured the addled state of hardcore drug users perfectly.
7.) X Men 3 a light, frothy souffle of a movie that was okay so long as you didn’t think about it too much.
8.) This Film is Not Yet Rated not quite the scathing look at the MPAA I was hoping for, but hopefully it’ll wake Follywood up to how crappy they are.
9.) Clerks II not as good as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but definately funny as hell.
10.) Children of Men the story was weak, but the atmosphere was top-notch.
I don’t necessarily think that 2006 was a great year for films, because I’ve had so much trouble remembering the films I’ve seen. (Which is why I listed Children of Men since I saw it this year, but technically it was released last year.)
I should have also mentioned Infamous, a wry, often funny, well-made period piece about Truman Capote and the writing of In Cold Blood. The guy who played Capote was very good, as was Daniel Craig in a very un-Bond-like role as one of the killers.
Hoodwinked! was released in Los Angeles in December 2005 (presumably to qualify for Oscar nomination), and opened nationwide in January 2006.
Since I don’t see many movies, I give what I call a “Film of the Year” award to the movie I saw in the theatres that 1) I believe represents an extraordinary achievement in cinematic art and 2) that I enjoyed the most. This year, the award goes to Cars. Pixar keeps on topping itself with each new film.
I saw 24 new films this year… of those:
- Rocky Balboa. Such a pleasant surprise, it earns its place at #1.
- Pursuit of Happyness
- United 93
- Marie Antoinette
- Akeelah and the Bee
- The Departed
- Blood Diamond
- Stranger than Fiction
- Casino Royale
- The Illusionist
Some that entertained me in one fashion or another:
- Ice Age: The Meltdown
- Devil Wears Prada
- Everyone’s Hero
- Hollywoodland
- Superman Returns
- Da Vinci Code
- Monster House
- V for Vendetta
- Eight Below
Completely forgettable:
- Charlotte’s Web
- Cars
- X-Men
- MI:3
Don’t get the love for 'cause it was really boring and completely driven by the insanely stupid decisions of the characters on the screen, every single one of whom should’ve known better, and wasn’t even helped by the presence of naked Asian beauty:
- Babel
I’ve seen hundreds of movies this year (though not all theatrical releases), but each of these moved me - to tears, laughter, horror, whatever. But really, that’s all I ask for in my moviegoing experiences. Something to react to and think about. I may be forgetting some, but maybe that just mean they shouldn’t really be on the list…
- Half Nelson - I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again- give Gosling the damned Oscar already (and Shareeka Epps, too). Makes Freedom Writers look like an afterschool special. Not that that’s a feat.
- Brick - Just plain weird and stylized fun, with a kickass soundtrack. Levitt is really one of the best young actors around.
- The Departed - Violent and message-free (and surprisingly funny), probably why I saw it twice.
- Borat - Ehh, what can I say? I burned 1000 calories laughing throughout.
- Hard Candy - One of the strangest cinematic experiences I’ve ever had. Nothing like seeing a theatre full of terrified, vulnerable men. Ellen Paige is just amazing. Damned Canadians.
- Jesus Camp - Scary as hell, with some sweetness thrown in (which just made it sadder).
- Inside Man - Tome, the perfect heist movie. Leaving the theatre, I noticed that everyone was smiling and nodding and looked thoroughly satisfied.
- Alone With Her - this is probably the least known of the bunch. Watch it. Even if you want to turn it off after 20 minutes, keep watching. You will be shattered by the end credits
- Snakes on a Plane - See: Borat. Though booze may have been a factor, this was exactly the movie I hoped it would be, and more. Like a Frankenstein of every bad action movie ever made. Spectacular.
- Jackass 2 -Again, see: Borat and Snakes on a Plane. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me throw up in my mouth a little.