The guidelines are the same as always. I've seen at
least 100 movies from the year (102 to be exact). I go by U.S. box office
release to determine the year. If there was no U.S. release, then I stick with
what IMDB says for the year. I'll post all the movies I've seen from that year,
so you'll know the pool I'm working from (i.e. if you don't see a movie then
it's from a different year or I haven't seen it). Do let me know if there are
any holes I need to fill for that year.
This was the easiest top 10 for me to compile.
Instead of trying to get blind rankings through a bunch of head-to-heads, I
grouped the movies right away. 2006 has some remarkably bad movies, so I sorted
the movies into three columns: Maybe, No, and Hell No.
Hell No
Here's 10 movies I really loathe.
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals - I was taken aback by how thoroughly I rejected this movie.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make
Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - I hate nearly everything about this
movie.
Eragon - Incompetent fantasy. Not much else to say
about it.
Grandma's Boy - Honestly, this was more about the
humor not quite matching my own than it being horrendous.
Lady in the Water - When people complain about
Shaymalan and his twists, this is the movie they are talking about.
Miami Vice - Wow. I hated everyone in this movie.
Saw III - I physically can't do the Saw
movies. I find them sick.
Scary Movie 4 - The only thing worse than a Saw
movie is a lazy spoof of one. I despise this franchise.
The Pink Panther (2006) - This is a little harsh, because
I do love Steve Martin. I can't stand that Hamburger joke though.
Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj - I feel like, deep
down, everyone involved knew this was a bad idea.
No
I have nothing against these movies. I even like a
few of them. I wouldn't consider any of them a favorite for the year.
Accepted
An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder
Annapolis
Art School Confidential
Babel
Beerfest
Bobby
Broken
Cars
Click
Cocaine Cowboys
Crank
Eight Below
Employee of the Month
Failure to Launch
Flags of Our Fathers
Glory Road
High School Musical
Hollywoodland
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Jackass: Number Two
John Tucker Must Die
Just My Luck
Little Children
Lucky Number Slevin
Man of the Year
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Nacho Libre
Night at the Museum
Poseidon
Rocky Balboa
RV
School for Scoundrels
Snakes on a Plane
Superman Returns
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
The Benchwarmers
The Break-Up
The Da Vinci Code
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Good Shepherd
The Last Kiss (2006)
The Notorious Bettie Page
Unaccompanied Minors
Underworld: Evolution
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show
We Are Marshall
Wedding Daze
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Winter Passing
World Trade Center
X-Men: The Last Stand
You Me and Dupree
Runners Up
Conveniently, that left me with 20 in my Maybe
group. These were the 10 that I considered by didn't make the cut.
Brick - I'd like to watch this again to see if I can
keep up with it.
Casino Royale - The start of a new Bond era. Hard to
believe it was a dozen years ago.
Clerks II - Like most of Kevin Smith's work, it's
uneven but with moments of brilliance.
Idiocracy - One of the few movies that gets funnier
every time I watch it.
Mission: Impossible III - Phillip Seymour Hoffman as
a villain. Yes, please.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Its
greatest sin was having to live up to Curse of the Black Pearl. It's not
perfect but it's a big, fun popcorn movie.
The Descent - I've enjoyed seeing the reputation of
this small British horror movie grow over the years.
The Pursuit of Happyness - You know what? Will Smith
can be a really good actor as long as he's not trying too hard.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated - Terrific documentary
that effectively tears down the MPAA. If only more people saw this.
United 93 - Maybe it would be higher if I could ever
get myself to watch it again. Still the best and hardest to watch 9/11 film.
Top 10
Truly a remarkable documentary series that makes
Richard Linklater's commitment to
Boyhood
look like amateur hour. This is the seventh installment catching up with the
same people every seven years. With each new movie, it becomes more impressive
what they've documented.
9. V for Vendetta
I was the right age and mindset when this came out
to eat it up. I'm not sure how well it holds up now. I'm a little afraid to
watch it again and find out. It sure was fun back in 2006 though.
8. Pan's Labyrinth
I'm still not crazy about Guillermo del Toro, but
the visuals and storytelling in this are too good to ignore.
7. Little Miss Sunshine
I've never been able to pin down why this is so
watchable. It's an offbeat comedy. Great cast. Shaggy story. It goes to some
dark places. It all comes together to make something that just works.
6. Children of Men
It's funny tracing the arc of some movies. Children
of Men was pretty much a flop, only making back half its production cost in
the U.S. Almost as soon as it hit DVD, it was regarded as an overlooked gem
though. Just imagine if more people discovered it while it was still in
theaters. Would Clive Owen have finally made it into the A-list then?
5. The Prestige
The fact that this is the fourth or fifth movie (if
that) people mention when listing Christopher Nolan's films says it all about
why he is so highly regarded. It's fair to say that this is the movie that made
people realize he wasn't going away anytime soon. Memento was an indie
darling. Insomnia was fine. Batman Begins proved he could handle
himself in a big studio system. With The Prestige, he got a great cast
put together for an original screenplay and made a movie that looks way better
than you'd expect with a $40 million dollar budget.
4. The Departed
Yeah yeah yeah. I know. I need to see Infernal
Affairs, the Hong Kong movie this is based on. I'm told that it's better
than this. I also understand that there are a number of other Scorsese movies
that "deserved" a Best Picture Oscar more. That said, this is
DiCaprio vs. Damon, with Mark Wahlberg coming in hot, and to date, Jack
Nicholson's last really good performance*. Vera Farmiga too in an underrated
performance. Sure, this is Scorsese playing a song he's played many times
before, but he's jazzing it up and having a blast doing it.
*This Toni Erdmann remake has potential to
change this.
3. The Devil Wears Prada
This was my "Meryl Moment", when I
realized she was as great if not greater than her reputation. There is no
reason for Miranda Priestly to be this good of a character. It is incredible
watching Meryl work in this. This movie also introduced me to Emily Blunt and
is probably my favorite flavor of Anne Hathaway*.
*Ocean's 8 is steadily
rising though.
2. Thank You for Smoking
Aaron Eckhart hasn't been better. Fair or not,
everything I've seen him in since this I've looked at as "Nick Naylor as a
chef" (No Reservations) or "Nick Naylor as Two Face" (The
Dark Knight). I haven't been able to separate him from the character
because he slid right into it so comfortably. I love the cynical humor of the
movie. In addition to Eckhart, the casting has just the right mix of comedy and
comedy-adjacent people to pull off the tone.
I'm still really proud of my piece on this from last
year, but in a nutshell: It's my favorite movie of all time. It's why I will
give Will Ferrell infinite chances. I cry a little bit whenever I watch it
(normally a happy cry). It one of the few movies that if you don't like it, I
sincerely have no patience to listen to you explain why. Excuse me while I go
watch it again.
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