Movie Review Of The Year - 2006

I managed to see a grand total of 52 films this year at the flicks (so one a week, sort of) and the odd one or two on TV and on flights around the world. Comparing my list to last year's I'm either getting less fussy about the films I do see and thinking they're better than they really are or else I'm being more picky about which films I'm going to see to cut out some of the dross.

Nevertheless, here with broad brush strokes are the films I saw this year at the flicks and how I'd categorise them according to how I'd recorded my votes for them on IMDB at the time.

Below Average:
Caché (Hidden) - Hehe, this turned out to be my lowest rated movie of the year. Yes, it's arty farty and French but that certainly didn't make it any good. I should have walked out during this movie as it was soooo boring but I never do that so ended up sitting through almost two hours of this slow, slow movie. It's well rated on IMDB though with 7.4/10 and a comment like "Disturbing, Stunning, Daring and Dark," but then would you trust anyone who capitalises words within their sentence. No, I wouldn't.

Above average (Though so average in so many ways too):
Match Point - Extra marks for Scarlet Johannsen looking lovely and for Woody setting a scene in Shepherd's Bush police station. Emotionally unengaging too much of the time though.

Underworld: Evolution - Kate Beckinsale in leather and enjoyable but a stupid storyline that could have been so much better.

Romance & Cigarettes - Nice idea but just didn't gel properly.

Brick - In two words, "over hyped."

A Scanner Darkly - Should have been good but the story was just not all that engaging and rotoscoping has been around in computer games for years.

Films I liked (I found these more enjoyable, on some level, than not):
Proof, Capote, Transamerica, Inside Man, La Grande séduction, Slither, Mission: Impossible III, The King, Poseidon, X-Men: The Last Stand, Thank You for Smoking, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Huo Yuan Jia (Fearless), Block Party, Little Fish, Miami Vice, Crank, The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, Starter for Ten, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Films I liked a lot (good story lines or just brilliant cinematic entertainment):
Memoirs of a Geisha, Jarhead, Walk the Line, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, The Proposition, Junebug, Once in a Lifetime, Banlieue 13, Superman Returns, Stormbreaker, Children of Men, The Black Dahlia, Little Miss Sunshine, Red Road, Borat, The Prestige, El Laberinto del Fauno, Stranger Than Fiction

And finally, my favourite films of the year (in no particular order):

Mirrormask - A weirdly wonderfully imaginative film by Dave McKean & Neil Gaiman. I just loved the dreamlike quality of this film, its subtle humour and the general warmth that emanates from the story.

Shooting Dogs -I'd thought that this could turn out to be the "Hotel Rwanda" that lost the race for release dates but in reality turned out to be a moving alternative take on the genocidal madness that occured in Rwanda in the 90s. A moving story, well told and excellently acted out.

Casino Royale - Bond reinvented the way that he was originally written. Cool and tough and downright dirty. An outstanding action movie that (apart from the slower last act) keeps you going from the beginning. Bond is back and he's good!

Munich -An excellent thriller. The intelligence of the script and the portrayal of paranoia in the spy world makes this stand out for me. It doesn't take sides but is powerful nonetheless.

V For Vendetta -Spectacular. I'd read the graphic novel a while back and whilst they can never truly capture the feeling someone would get from reading this, it's a bloody good try. A moody British feel to this movie and Natalie Portman's portrayal of Evey made this movie for me.

United 93 -Utterly moving, scary and touching at the same time. It's one of the movies that you walk out of with the audience stone cold silent. A powerful movie indeed.