As the year winds down, it’s time to sum up the cinematic efforts for the last 12 months by picking the best and the worst releases. Let’s start with my traditional rant against a list of only 10 films. The best films of the year are those that move beyond mere entertainment, though there is certainly nothing wrong with that as evidenced by such flicks as THE PRESTIGE or CASINO ROYALE, which are sterling examples of well-executed escapism. The best, though, don’t just give us an excuse to munch on popcorn in a large, dark room with strangers. The best have a spark of special brilliance, be it the re-imagined world of high school in BRICK, or the assault on comfortable paradigms in BORAT or LITTLE CHILDREN (and that will probably be the first and last time anyone will see those films mentioned in the same breath). They are not just clever, they are scathingly brillian, as with LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN, or reveal depths to a story that we thought we knew, as with LETTERS FROM IWO JIM, THE QUEEN, and UNITED 93. They delight and instruct, to fill my quotient of pretentiousness for the week by quoting Aristotle, as in HAPPY FEET or A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, or CLERKS II, or they terrify, as with JESUS CAMP. And because we live in a (mostly) benevolent celluloid universe, there are always more than 10 that qualify. With that in mind, here are my picks for the best of 2006 (in no particular order)
BRICK
12 AND HOLDING
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
PANS LABYRINTH
WATER
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
UNITED 93
BORAT
HAPPY FEET
JESUS CAMP
THE QUEEN
THE FOUNTAIN
A SCANNER DARKLY
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
CLERKS II
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN
A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS
CHILDREN OF MEN
HALF-NELSON
LITTLE CHILDREN
Honorable mention to DREAMGIRLS for elevating the usual showbiz tale to new heights while introducing a star (Jennifer Hudson), and reviving one (Eddie Murphy).
Because it is only a >mostly< benevolent cinematic universe, there is the other kind of film to consider. That would be the worst of 2006 and at the risk of giving them more attention than they deserve, here’s my final shot at TRISTAN AND ISOLDE for messing with a legend and SHE’S THE MAN for messing with SHAKESPEARE and removing everything that made them timeless. UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION, SILENT HILL, and ANNAPOLIS for unforgivable dullness while being, at best, derivative. At THE DA VINCI code for taking a page-turner and turning it into a yawner (and for the last time, what’s with Tom Hanks’ hair?), A GOOD YEAR and LADY IN THE WATER for being self-indulgent, DOOGAL and BARNYARD for setting back animated filmmaking by 20 years at least, and FLYBOYS for not being able to get an exciting film out of World War I flying aces. And to round the list out, there’s NACHO LIBRE for being offensive without being funny, THE WICKER MAN for giving bees a bad name in order to make a ridiculous plot point. As for JACKASS 2 and BASIC INSTINCT 2, the less said the better.
Here they are, also in no particular order, included for their general ineptitude, crass attempt to cash in without delivering anything to justify the effort, rampant egotism, mistaking fixation with entertainment, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg that is cinema so bad that it can’t even qualify as a guilty pleasure. Ignoring the obvious splatter-fests that, to their credit really don’t try to be anything else, here is the summary of the worst that 2006 threw at us.
TRISTAN AND ISOLDE
UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION
ANNAPOLIS
DOOGAL
SHE’S THE MAN
BASIC INSTINCT 2
SILENT HILL
THE DA VINCI CODE
NACHO LIBRE
LADY IN THE WATER
BARNYARD
THE WICKER MAN
FLYBOYS
A GOOD YEAR
JACKASS 2
Honorable mention for APOCALYPTO, for thinking it was elevating slasher porn to a higher level when it was, in fact, glorifying it in a way that showed an unnerving relish for the bloodshed, not repugnance.
Your Thoughts?