Posted on 12/29/2006 11:25:58 PM PST by L.A.Justice
The most striking distinction between the prestige pictures of 2005 and those of 2006 involves an unmistakable effort on the part of Hollywood to step back from in-your-face leftist politics.
Last time, radical message movies like “Syriana,” “Munich,” “Broke Back Mountain,” “North Country,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” and “Paradise Now” dominated many year end “best” lists. This time, even Oliver Stone stayed away from political preaching with his compelling 9/11 melodrama “World Trade Center.” Some of the better movies of 2006 certainly touched on significant contemporary issues (“Blood Diamond,” “The Queen,” “United 93,” “The Last King of Scotland” and others) but they did so without aligning themselves with a partisan point of view. This year, documentaries (“An Inconvenient Truth,” “Shut Up and Sing,” “Who Killed the Electric Car?”, “Jesus Camp”) did the cinematic dirty work of promulgating leftist messages, while major movies returned to their traditional role of engaging the emotions and providing an artistic (rather than hectoring) experience for the audience.
Herewith, my list of the Ten Best of the Year, in ascending order of excellence---
10. BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN- Sure, it’s crude and rude and occasionally mean, but it’s also hilarious – providing more raucous, uncontrollable laughter than any comedy of recent years. The lawsuits and complaints that followed release of this startlingly original effort only underlined the unprecedented comic genius of Sacha Baron Cohen, who also happened to create one of the year’s most vivid, engaging and fully realized characters.
9. FLYBOYS. The fact that nobody saw this rousing, richly entertaining, crowd-pleasing gem helps to explain the shameful lack of broader recognition. Director Tony Bill showed extraordinary devotion, dedication and flair in re-telling the true story of the Lafayette Escadrille – the volunteer American pilots who fought for France before our own country entered World War I. In addition to creating a dozen endearing, indelible characters, the film provides the most thrilling scenes of aerial combat ever captured on film.
8. LASSIE. Not only the best family movie of the year, but one of the great dog movies of all time. Peter O’Toole makes a memorable appearance in this lovingly crafted retelling of the original 1930’s tale of “Lassie, Come Home,” in which a courageous Collie successfully traverses hundreds of miles of gorgeous highlands scenery to reconnect with her master, the young son of an unemployed coal miner. Among female stars this year, only Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep showed more emotional range than this intelligent, complex and luminous Lassie—an incomparably charismatic canine super star.
7. THE DEPARTED. You expect great performances from a Martin Scorsese film but you can’t necessarily count on a smart script or taut pacing or a satisfying plot. This triumph, however, delivers on all counts and represents one of his finest efforts since MEAN STREETS some thirty years ago. The twisty, complicated story keeps you guessing till the very end about fates and intentions of its dazzlingly diverse characters, played by the distinguished likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen.
6. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Clint Eastwood’s heart-breaking vision of the Japanese side of one of the great battles of World War II, this subtitled battlefield classic exceeds the acknowledged excellence of its American-perspective counterpart (”Flags of Our Fathers”). Through directorial alchemy and consistently capable performances, Eastwood makes the suicidal intensity of the doomed Imperial defenders look believable, if not comprehensible. Far from a whitewash of a fanatical enemy, the film highlights both the best (with a compassionate commander played by the great Ken Watanabe) and the worst of the Japanese militarist traditions.
5. APOCALYPTO. If his drunk-driving arrest and its accompanying comments hadn’t rendered him radioactive among his colleagues, Mel Gibson would be heavily favored as an Oscar nominee both for Best Picture and Best Director. From its opening shot, “Apocalypto” grabs you by the neck and plunges a syringe full of undadulterated adrenalin into your blood stream as one of the great chase movies of all time. The recreation of Mayan savagery of 500 years ago challenges every notion of political correctness in the interest of breathtaking, unforgettable historical recreation. Gibson deserves kudos not only for the emotional satisfactions of his stirring tale but for capturing the singular, sci-fi strangeness of ancient Mesoamerican civilization.
4. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS. Leave aside the spelling error in the title (based on a real-life graffiti quirk on a San Francisco wall in the ‘70’s), because this heart-tugging classic makes almost no errors in its captivating story telling. Will Smith will win an Oscar nomination for his performance as Chris Gardner, a frustrated salesman who copes with abandonment by his disapproving wife (Thandie Newton) and a painful spate of homelessness with his son (played by Smith’s irresistible off-screen seven-year-old son, Jaden). This true story ultimately affirms fatherhood, faith, hard work, optimism and the American Dream while inspiring free-flowing affection for its heroic characters.
3. THE QUEEN. This filmic passport into the private world of Queen Elizabeth II provides such an unblushing, intimate glimpse of the aging monarch that you almost feel like a guilty spy. Helen Mirren’s performance qualifies as one of the indubitably great achievements by any actress in any film: she not only imitates Elizabeth’s speech, appearance and mannerisms with altogether uncanny accuracy, but seems to capture her richly appealing essence and her noble, ultimately selfless soul. Michael Sheen also captures the essential decency of Tony Blair, highlighting his eminently useful, constructive role as the new Prime Minister who helped to save the monarchy in the turbulent week after the death of Princess Dianna. “The Queen” counts as one of those rare films where you sincerely, passionately regret the end of the picture, because you’re suddenly separated from the admirable, fully-realized human beings with whom you just shared an unforgettable experience.
2. UNITED 93. It took five years before Hollywood offered a serious cinematic treatment of the darkest day in recent history, and it took a British director (the superb Paul Greengrass) to recreate the experiences and emotions of 9/11 without the slightest hint of political bias or ideological axes to grind. The scenes of Air Traffic Controllers struggling with unimaginable realities, and of Air Force officials trying to respond to unprecedented multiple hijackings, emphasize the well-intentioned, fatal and totally predictable confusion that afflicted the only Americans who could have counteracted the implacable terrorist murderers – who are also brought to life here with conviction, complexity and suprirsing humanity. Among contemporary films, only “The Passion of the Christ” can rival “United 93” in delivering overwhelming emotional impact with a story whose conclusion we all know in advance.
1. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Hysterically funny, deeply touching, occasionally shocking, this wildly original ensemble comedy highlights film’s amazing ability to create an on-screen family that seems as demented, demanding and endearing as your own eccentric relatives in real life. Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette take this seven-year-old daughter (the amazing, Oscar worthy Abigail Breslin) on an ill-fated road trip to participate in a tacky kiddie beauty pageant. Along the way, Collette’s suicidal gay brother (Steve Carell) and teenaged, vow-of-silence son (Paul Dano), interact with the porn-and-drug addicted grandpa (Alan Arkin). Despite salty elements that make the film appropriate only for adults, “Miss Sunshine” conveys an unmistakable pro-family message: the members of your clan may count as maddening and dysfunctional, but you ultimately need and love each other as irreplaceable, essential and life-giving. The vivid, vibrant characterizations provide enough fully-realized, expertly rendered individual portraits to populate a half-dozen excellent movies: concentrated in this spell-binding, laugh-out-loud adventure, there’s an overflow of rewards and abundant “Sunshine” (through some tears).
HONORABLE MENTION: “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Babel,” “Barnyard” (Best animated film of the year), “Blood Diamond,” “The Devil Wears Prada.”
AND NOW (as they say in Monty Python land) for something completely different….
THE TEN WORST OF 2006---
… in ascending order of awfulness
10. PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (never before in Hollywood history have so many Oscar winners and nominees collaborated on a film that offers so little to its weary audiences— an crushingly dull, utterly empty farewell to the late director Robert Altman)
9. JACKASS NUMBER TWO
8. THE HILLS HAVE EYES
7. ALEX RIDER: OPERATION STORMBREAKER
6. THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT
5. LADY IN THE WATER
4. JESUS CAMP
3. THE GOOD GERMAN
2. LARRY THE CABLE GUY: HEALTH INSPECTOR
1. DECK THE HALLS—Even worse, more tasteless than Danny DeVito’s appearance on ABC’s “The View” --- one of the very worst Christmas movies ever made.
May the New Year bring us better news, more compelling politicians, and more entertaining movies……
I live near a dollar theater multiplex.
I used to go there a lot because only the popular (usually good) movies play there (very much later than the release).
I have not seen a single movie there or in a regular theater all year. This is the first time I've done that in about 30 years.
I think the movies this year were really lame, so much so, that I would not even spend a dollar to see one.
What baffles me about movie makers is HOW they can make a bad movie in the first place! How is that possible? If you think about it, either they know they are making a bad movie and don`t care and/or are doing it strictly for the money, or they actually just don`t read the script or plan it out beforehand. If they are actually attempting to make a good movie, then why would anyone in their right mind film a script like Howard the Duck or Gigli?? What could possibly motivate someone to read those scripts and say "Oh, this is too good. We have to make this." I don`t get it at all.
Speaking of movies, has anybody seen "The Good Shepherd" (about the history of the CIA as seen through the eyes of one of its spooks)?
I was bored during Cars! I could not stand it. I though Flags of our Fathers was pretty boring too. I loved the Departed and feel it should be ranked number one movie. Hopefully it will win the Oscar!
Haven't seen any of these except Helen Mirren's Elizabeth, which I thought was absolutely excellent. I'm wondering a little about Clint Eastwood's handling of Flags of Our Fathers/Letters From Iwo Jima; he seems to have gone a bit PC in his old age, and I'm very much hoping he hasn't used the films as an occasion to bash the US - especially the utterly magnificent Marines of WWII's Pacific theater - and ennoble the Japanese in some sort of multi-culti New Age revisionist turnaround.
I actually liked Cars... I was bored at the beginning, but since the McQueen guy got lost, I really enjoyed it... it has many beautiful songs as well...
Well, I let the IMDB help me out here. I found nearly 10,000 "movies" released in 2006 after excluding tv and direct to video. When I added the criteria to show only movies that received 500+ votes (whatever that is), the number dropped to 261, which I'm scanning. I don't think I saw anything that nobody would vote on, so I should be good. According to that list, I've seen:
Cars
Ice Age 2: the Meltdown (seems a lot longer ago)
The Illusionist
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
World Trade Center
We're hoping to see Happy Feet today.
Soooooo still more kids movies that adult ones, but that's okay, because I like kiddie movies (usually). And all of these were in the theaters, not on TV.
I couldn't tell you what I haven't seen that I would like to.
As for ranking them: sorry, but World Trade Center is in a class of its own and I won't make comparisons. Let's put that one on the side.
That leaves:
TS
I've heard it said that they sometimes deliberately make bad films just for "tax purposes". Maybe that explains pretty much everything that gets released!
I liked The Prestige, but it doesn't seem to be making anyone's Best Of list. Agree on Lady in the Water. I think that killed M Night's career. I saw it just a few nights ago, and I thought it ludicrous.
Then you must not have seen Flags of Our Fathers. I looked forward to seeing it and was very disappointed.
The early shots looked as though they were taken from a stage play, the characters were poorly developed (I didn't really care for any of them) even though a lot of time (too much) was taken developing them. 23,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima and the movie showed what, three? Four? I felt cheated on the action sequences.
Why he chose to make this a depressing movie instead of a heroic one is beyond me. Save your money and rent Sands of Iwo Jima.
If someone wanted to do a "farewell" to Robert Altman (I am assuming a tribute to him), then maybe they could have taken steps to get some of his films out on DVD. Films that were released once on VHS and are long since out of print. Films like The Wedding....After rewatching it it did drag a bit and it wasn't as good as I remembered from so long ago, but it's still better than so much of the dreck that gets a nice enhanced DVD release.
I don't understand why more people haven't mentioned "The Prestige" as well. Its one of the few movies I've seen that might actually be better than the book.
I like this reviewer's take on The Prestige novel, and this is a good comparison of the film to the novel, which discusses how the novel improves on the book. Hilarious and vicious reviews-BTW, the DVD will be available in February.
Yes, I saw the good shephard and Tedy is right, it was torture. Not only was it boring and the acting poor. Most importantly Medved would have included it in his list of leftists trying to influence culture/attack the right.
Basic plot -- Yale Sull & Bonesmen create and run CIA to make money. The Cold War was an evil CIA plot to profit from the military industrial complex and build power.
Includes a scene of an 'innocent' Russian spy being waterboarded (just like the 'innocents' in Gitmo!) and at the end IMHO suggests the CIA was responsible for 9/11.
I saw Happy Feet w my sister and 4-1/2 yo nephew about a month ago. I was excited about seeing it as I love penguins and have a collection of them that friends and family have given me over the years. I thought the animation was good and enjoyed the music, dancing and some of the dialogue was funny. I was put off by what I perceived as a liberal attempt to include their 'bias' in parts of the movie (those bad humans are doing commercial fishing and starving penguins and other creatures; and, the reference towards the end of taking the case before the U.N. - please).
By the name and the clips I saw, I thought it would be a 'happy', fun movie. My nephew got scared during a couple of parts (he sat on my sister's lap and covered his eyes); and, I've heard others say that they and others had to leave the theater, because their children were scared.
You got that right. For me, it was the worst. Mileage varies for different people.
I've already got the Blu-Ray disc pre-ordered.
bump.
Best list should include: Dreamgirls and The Good Shepherd.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.