I know there were a bunch of blockbusters I really enjoyed, but they don't stand out for the obvious reasons.
Borat! Man, that guy is a comic genius.
.that scene at the dinner party where he went to the bathroom and then put what he did in a bag and showed it to the hostess was priceless!
Take that, wealthy dinner party set!
I really, really love movies. I hate that I've felt so "meh" this year about them.
2006 has been a pretty weak year for films.
I love movies too and I'd say that Little Miss Sunshine sticks out for me. I also enjoyed the Devil and Daniel Johnston.
Little Miss Sunshine!
!!
I'm not doing a top 10 on my blog because I wasn't able to get out to the movies enough this year.
But without a doubt, the very best movie I saw this year was UNITED 93. Director Paul Greengrass has a special genius for film atrocity, and he hit his zenith with this respectful, informative, cleansing film. I recommend everyone who avoided it (like I did at first) go see it.
It is a film that actually helped heal me.
Volver, or Casino Royale, in my book! I'd vote for "Sympathy for Lady Vengance" but that was originally released in 2005
Doondoondoon da doondoondoondoon.
Bagpipes. Rats. Jack.
Leo. "What's a lace-curtains muhfucker like you doin' in the staties?" BangBang.
Saw Stranger Than Fiction last night- liked that quite a bit. U.i.
cccee greyness represented very well.
Little Miss Sunshine was very sweet An Inconvenient Truth was very scary.
United 93 did nothing for me.
I must've been extra spacey that day.
I don't get out to the movies much, but "The Science of Sleep" was pretty damn good. Easily the best new movie I saw this year.
Lots of good movies last year, but the one that sticks in my head the most is the Illusionist. Absolutely gorgeous movie..
. well acted, well directed..
. pulled me in from beginning to end.
An Inconvenient Truth also gets my vote for being the most engrossing power point presentation I've ever seen.
I liked The Illusionist, too. Requieum, a German film that played at the Music Box and at the CIFF, was killer, too. I'd recommend Venus, which I believe is coming out at the end of this month.
I'm going with Nightmare...
The one where the kid finds out that he has two dad's as parents, realizes that they are more than "just good friends" and then he sets them on fire.
The Prestige puts the Illusionist to shame.
Casino Royale was freaking awesome and saved the Bond franchise.
Borat - very nice!
Cars was one of the best I saw.
I second the Departed.
I feel so underqualified to answer this. I think we saw something like one flick per month this year, and just a couple each month through Netflix. Even the TiVo-ed flicks from cable movie channels are going unwatched.
But boy, that 1997 was a good year for movies...
.
Most sadly unseen: Little Children (only showed downtown and Evanston, leaving a west suburbanite like me SOL)
Favorite Netflix flicks: Art School Confidential, Lucky Number Slevin, Inside Man
Suckage: Pirates, X-Men 3, Bettie Page
V for Vendetta was entertaining, not brilliant, in my opinion.
In the words of a buddy of mine: "Ah yes, the intellectually challenging and thought-provoking work of the Wachowski Bros.
Or; let's grind everything into metaphorical toothpaste and hope an actor speaks it impressively enough to fool undergrad film geeks into thinking it's stimulating and philosophically consequential as well as being kick-ass entertainment."
The Departed, The Departed, The Departed. Wow.
I loved it.
In no particular order, I'd say:
- The History Boys, and
But I still haven't seen Borat, An Inconvenient Truth, and Blood Diamond.
Beyond the Call.
A great documentary that opened in limited release. If it did well here and in SF, Landmark would put it in more theaters. I hope it does well- everyone should see it.
I saw lots more movies that ever before this year and the only one that really stands out as being crapsuck, not scary was Texas Chainsaw. I'm scared of scary movies, but I LOL'd a lot at this one.
I also LOL'd at Borat and Strangers with Candy, but those were meant to be laughed at.
Still need to see Little Miss Sunshine.
I loved The Departed. Who would have guessed that with such a heavy-duty cast, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg would be the scene-stealers?
The Illusionist was my favorite, and I hated the Prestige.
I also enjoyed Stranger Than Fiction, An Inconvenient Truth, and Little Miss Sunshine. I also forgot until just now about Friends With Money, which was excellent and just what I needed to see this year in my life.
Where is the love for Beerfest?
Of course I didn't see the vast majority of the movies the others are talking about, so perhaps Beerfest wouldn't seem so glorious had I seen all of those.
Little Miss Sunshine for sure!
I thought the Prestige was incredible but you can only watch it once. I was disappointed with the Departed and have no desire to see Borat. I'm waiting for Stranger than Fiction and Shortbus to come out on DVD.
I was also disappointed with The Last Kiss, the original version is awesome however.
I made a movie..
...
...
but none of you saw it. My cat's in it, and so are a whole bunch of puppets.
Be careful, Fluffy, I have this feeling that your movie may attract a crowd you do not want.
Oh - and my amateur vote goes to Thank You for Smoking. William H. Macy is golden.
I agree with Marilyn that United 93 was therapeutic. When I first started the movie I had a moment of panic, expecting to freak out by the end, but if not comforted, I felt stronger by the end.
I didn't see that many movies, either, although I was smitten with YouTube.
I'd nominate everything that didn't feature Zach Braff.
I saw fewer films this year than any other year in recent memory, thus the basis of my judgment is less informed this time around.
Nonetheless, my "best film of 2006" award goes to "Heading South," Laurent Cantet's film set in 1970's Haiti about the unmarried American women who go to a resort for "companionship" from local males.
The critics oohed over the depiction of older women's sexuality, but the class and race questions posed were much more interesting.
The Departed times a million.
Volver.
Almodovar is a genius.
Nothing really stood out for me as the best film of the year. Which isn't to say there weren't some great films.
Highlights from Oh-Six:
Idiocracy-A rather funny, but very harsh satire, by Mike Judge dumped by the studio, screened in a handful of theaters, and missed by too many people.
The Abominable Freedom-Great experimental short about sex, magik and, well, abominable snowmen shown at CUFF
Old Joy-Just a good film. Plain and simple, without being either.
..
I was suprised by the magic of "pan's labrynth" just this past week tho.
I'm suprised nobody has mentioned it. It was very good.
I really enjoyed "Brick" which I saw at CIFF in 2005, but was released nationally last spring.
Thankfully, "Casino Royale" did not disappoint. I have a feeling, though, that what I'll think is my favorite is one of a stack of movies I haven't seen yet (but plan to) like "Flags of my Father" "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "The Good Shepherd".
I missed plenty of movies and will catch up when they hit DVD.
Little Miss Sunshine was good, but far from great. I think I liked Thank You For Smoking the best.
I saw Idiocracy in an empty theater during its only screening of the day at 12:30 pm and without any doubt, it was my favorite movie of 2006.
Wait until Mid-January when it comes out on DVD and it WILL become the next Office Space cult hit. Thank god it is coming out on DVD because I don't know anyone else who has seen this film. (I'm surprised that it was mentioned already here at GB!
)
I didn't see that many movies until the end of the year. I thought Casino Royale was great, by way of the blockbuster movies. But like Leelah, The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D was my personal favorite.
Anyone who knows me knows that's a given.
Work has been crazy but I watched Thank You For Smoking Sunday night and thought it was the most enjoyable movie I saw this year. I also ate lunch at Subway today and it was good and I felt all healthy but now I am starving and am tempted to eat the cookies by the coffee maker.
I also kind of liked Grizzly Man. That guy reminded me a little bit of me. The self-delusional part anyway.
What was the best movie of 2006? What do you think of WBEZ's new schedule? How far did you go in school?
Ever thought about going back? Do you stay in town for the holidays? If not, where do you go?
Do you give to charities around the holidays? Which ones?
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