[Lucien21]

So what has been you movie highlight of 2006?

Best Movies? (See Below)

Best Scene? <---- (Personally it's the Shuttle/plane rescue in Superman returns. Hair on back on neck stands up everytime. Shame about the rest of the film)

Funniest Movie?

etc.

[Lucien21]

Based on UK release dates.

My Favourite movies of 2006 are:-

1.El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth):- Spain, 1944. Young Ofelia is taken by her pregnant mother to live with her Fascist commander stepfather in a remote town. There she meets a faun (Jones) who tells her that if she performs certain tasks she will become queen of a magical land.

It's Spain 1944 and the Fascists have won the Civil War with only small pockets of resistance in the mountains. Into these mountains comes a little girl Ofelia and her pregnant mother (recently married to the fascist captain of the area) reading a bunch of fairy tale books. A meeting with a fairy takes her to a Labyrinth where a faun tells her she is a princess of the underworld and has to complete 3 tasks to return to her father the king.

Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Devils Backbone) has woven a mesmerizing film that is part war movie and part fantasy (Reminded me of Mirrormask with echoes of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz to name a few influences). Reality and fantasy collide in what is defiantly not a kids movie. There are some real world scenes of torture and violence mingled with some fantastic monsters (the creature with the eyes in his hands for instance) Superbly acted by all involved but especially the little girl and the Fascist captain (What a bastard he is).

Is it all Reality or Fantasy? make up your own mind in what is IMO the best film of the year.

A Gothic Masterpiece.

2.Perfume: The Story of a Murderer:- Born in Paris, in the Eighteenth-century, unwanted child Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) is odourless but with a super-refined sense of smell. Later becoming apprentice to master perfumer Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), he develops an obsession with bottling female scent. Following his nose to perfume capital Grasse, he finds that the key to unlocking the secret lies with murder...

Based on a Best Selling Novel, which I havn't read so no idea how close the movie version is to the source material. How do you film a book about smell? They certainly gave it a good try.

Ben Whishaw is brilliant as the creepy serial killer Grenouille and Rachel Hurd-Wood is absolutely stunning as the object of his ultimate scent. Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman make cameo apperances to good effect. John Hurt's narrative voice over is perfectly pitched and occasionally funny. The movie is a feast on the eyes bringing 18th centaury France to life in all its stench and beauty.

My only misgiving was the outrageous ending, but it kind of worked for me. The movie is weird, wonderful and utterly brilliant.

3.Brick : - After receiving a panic-stricken phone call from his terrified ex-girlfriend Emily (de Ravin), high-school loner Brendan (Gordon-Levitt) sets out to infiltrate the illicit cliques she left him for, aided by sidekick Brain (O'Leary) and the mysterious Laura (Zehetny).

A Raymond Chandler inspired crime story set in a High School where all the teens speak in the 40’s crime speak reminiscent of Sam Spade et all. A film that will take more than one watch to fully grasp the intricacies of the plot (or to just understand what they are saying) patience however rewards you with a wonderfully complex film, with superb acting by its star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Well worth seeing twice.

4.Stranger Than Fiction :- An IRS auditor becomes the subject of his own narration. Everywhere he goes he hears his life being commentated to him, which has a profound impact on his life.

Once again a funny man tries a straight movie in a Kaufman-esque story that blurs reality and fiction. Jim Carrey has successfully done it more than once in Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine and now it's the turn of Will Ferrell. Will's character Harold Crick is an IRS auditor who is as boring as his job. Has a strict routine to his day, no real friends and no life.

Then one day he starts to hear an English woman narrating his life as he says it's "About me. Accurately... and with a better vocabulary." When the voice says he is going to die. Harold’s life and routine is thrown asunder. Kay Effiel (Emma Thomson) is a writer of Tragedies who has writers block and can't seem to kill off the character in her first novel in 10 years.

Harold Crick is that character.

IMO this is a very good movie about the nature of reality. I enjoyed it although I did have a couple of problems. I didn't completely get the romance part. I know why he would fall for the rebellious baker character, but I didn't quite buy that she falls for him. I also wasn't sure about the ending. It was a good ending, but maybe it should have stuck with the original ending. The self sacrificing in the name of art ending.

But overall I really enjoyed it and hope Will Ferrell does more of this stuff and less Bewitched.

[Lucien21]

5.The Departed: - The Boston police department manages to place young cadet Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) deep undercover in the city’s Irish-American gangland, run by the violent Frank Costello (Nicholson). But gangster Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has also signed on to join the police force, planning to leak information back to Costello.

This film was just crammed full of big names. A Martin Scorcese movie, Jack Nicholson as a crime boss, Leo Decaprio and Matt Damon as 2 cops, Alec Baldwin, Mark Whalberg, Martin Sheen etc
Leo and Matt 2 cops, one deep undercover with Jack and the other a cop on the take.

In reality it's a remake-ish of "Infernal Affairs" a Hong Kong action movie from a few years ago translated into Irish Cops and Gangsters in Boton.As you would expect Jack Nicholas steals the show, hamming it up as the baddie who is a complete psycho.

I loved it. It was cool and I was completely shocked by some parts of the ending.

6.A Scanner Darkly:- Anaheim, California, the near future. Bob Arctor (Reeves), an addict to the drug Substance D, is actually an undercover cop out to bust the D network. Bob’s bosses, who don’t know his cover story, order him to spy on himself, causing his grip on reality to be shaken by his schizoid way of life.


Twisted tale of addiction and drug use in a big brother style future where you are being watched all the time. Loved the way they rotoscoped the actors to make it look like animation although I doubt the movie would have worked if it was shot normally.

Probably the most faithful adaption to a P K Dick novel ever filmed. Hilariously funny at times and Robert Downey Jr, in particular, was fantastic.

7.Thank You for Smoking:- Nick Naylor (Eckhart) is the chief spokesman for cigarette-industry giant Big Tobacco. He’s a fast-talking king of spin who can twist even the most unsympathetic audience around his finger. But can he deal with a crusading senator’s (Macy) campaign to have every fag packet labelled ‘poison’, while also doing right by his own impressionable son (Bright)?

Who knew America could make such a great satire.

It was hilarious from Rob Lowes movie agent (EGO ) to the performance of Aaron Eckhart at the talk show I was busting a gut. I esp liked the bit when on a "what does my parent do" day at his kids school he cross examine this little girl who said her mommy said smoking was bad. - Is your mommy a doctor? no. She's hardly a credible witness then. :lol:

Funniest piece of American satire sine "American Psycho" although the death count is higher from smoking

8. Munich:- After eleven Israeli athletes are murdered by a Palestinian terror group at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a hit squad is instigated by Israel’s secret service agency to track down those thought to have organised the atrocity. But alongside their achievements, the team will come to question the morality and effectiveness of their fateful mission.
Man this film was fantastic. Bana was brilliant as the family man turned assassin. He's also a fantastic chef. The acting was superb throughout I thought.

The scene with the PLO agent on the stairs and then the look they give each other later was priceless. I was also nice to see that speech on the stairs mirrored by Bana's mother in the movie showing that both sides are after the same thing, a place on earth for their people to live. I'm sure the political side of it will be endlessly discussed, but I thought it was handled pretty well without being overly biased.

Of course how much is fiction and how much is fact is debatable, but this is Spielberg at his best and for once he doesn't put in a soppy ending to highlight that the events in the movie have never ended. Especially as it takes place in Brooklyn with the twin towers in the background.

A must see.

9. United 93:- September 11, 2001. Four planes are hijacked by extremist Muslim terrorists. As the world watches, two are flown into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon. But final plane United 93 never reaches its target, crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. This is a reconstruction of those events, and an account of how the passengers took the decision to fight back.

This is a stunning movie filmed with hand held cameras really puts you in the middle of the events. Take a ring side seat and watch the chaos unfold as the story flicks between the plane and various FAA, air traffic control and Military installations trying to understand what is going on and come to terms with the unfolding disaster.

It never once delves into sentimentality, you never see background on any of the characters (In fact you never really get to hear their names). No flag waving, no Bruce willis type heroes, just simple people scared and desperate to save their life. Although I did think they overdid the ending with the attempt to take back the plane.

A Harrowing and compelling piece of cinema.

[Lucien21]

10. Casino Royale :- Newly-promoted to the 00 section, James Bond (Daniel Craig) thwarts a scheme of shady financier LeChiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). LeChiffre stages a high-stakes poker tournament in Montenegro, hoping to recoup his lost money, and M (Judi Dench) has Bond enter the game, intent on bankrupting his opponent. He is teamed with Vesper Lynd (Green), a treasury official who holds the purse-strings on Bond’s table stakes.

I was sceptical about Daniel Craig when I first heard about his appointment. But No more. His name is Bond James Bond. He pulls it off with style.

Bond is grittier, harder and certainly more dangerous than in the previous outings. M calls him a blunt instrument and that is what he is. The Free Running section, the airport and that Aston DBS (:drool) were superb. It sagged slightly in the middle and could possible do with some trimming, but by far the best bond movie in recent times.

Pierce who I say.

(I did miss the gadgets and Q though)

11. Capote :- It’s 1959, and celebrated author Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) decides to make his next project the shocking murders of the Clutter family in a small, conservative Kansas town where nothing usually happens. Then, researching his project, the author becomes fascinated with one of the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.).

12. Syriana :- US access to dwindling Middle East oil resources is a multi-billion-dollar problem that affects everyone: financial brokers (Damon), CIA officers (Clooney), corporate lawyers (Wright), and even poor Pakistani immigrants like Wasim Khan (Munir) who travel to Saudi Arabia seeking work, and find only the teachings of radical Islam...

13. V for Vendetta:- In the not-too-distant future, Britain has become a fascist, totalitarian state, its population cowed and apathetic. But the nation receives a wake-up call when mysterious masked terrorist "V" (Weaving) blows up the Old Bailey and calls for the citizens to rise up against their oppressors.

14. Clerks II :- When the Quick Stop where he has worked for a decade burns down, Dante finds new employment at bovine-themed fast food joint Mooby’s, along with his old buddy-cum-bugbear Randal. A year on, he’s only 24 hours away from a whole new life.


15. MirrorMask :- Helena is the 15 year-old daughter of circus entertainers. After her mother McKee) takes ill, she finds herself in a magical world, where she embarks on a quest to find the missing MirrorMask, save the Dark Lands and get home. (Not Neil Gaiman best work , but still interesting)

[lumi]

Nothing that I went to see this year stood out as very good, but I did skip out on most movies that got high praise.

Movies that I saw and liked: The Inside Man, Pirates 2, Clerks 2, Casino Royale, Miami Vice, and Borat. Each of those, except for PotC, could have my favorite scene of the year. Borat and Clerks were both really funny, and I couldn't choose which made me laugh the most.

I was disappointed with A Scanner Darkly. It was basically a short version of the book, and I was bored. Lucky Number Sleven tried too hard to be slick, and the story didn't hit me.

[lumi]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

12. Syriana :- US access to dwindling Middle East oil resources is a multi-billion-dollar problem that affects everyone: financial brokers (Damon), CIA officers (Clooney), corporate lawyers (Wright), and even poor Pakistani immigrants like Wasim Khan (Munir) who travel to Saudi Arabia seeking work, and find only the teachings of radical Islam...

If this had come out this year in the US, I'd vote it as the best I saw this year. I had trouble following the story at times and remembering which old guy was which, but I really liked the Middle East storylines.

[Aj_]

I didn't get to see many films this year. The must see films for me were:

1. The Black Dahlia
2. A Scanner Darkly
3. The Departed
4. Lucky Number Slevin
5. Munich

Miami Vice was good, Clerks 2 didn't disappoint me as a fan of the first movie, and I have promised myself I'll see Syriana sometime next year.

[rlpw]

From Lucien

1.El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth):- Spain, 1944. Young Ofelia is taken by her pregnant mother to live with her Fascist commander stepfather in a remote town. There she meets a faun (Jones) who tells her that if she performs certain tasks she will become queen of a magical land.

It's Spain 1944 and the Fascists have won the Civil War with only small pockets of resistance in the mountains. Into these mountains comes a little girl Ofelia and her pregnant mother (recently married to the fascist captain of the area) reading a bunch of fairy tale books. A meeting with a fairy takes her to a Labyrinth where a faun tells her she is a princess of the underworld and has to complete 3 tasks to return to her father the king.

Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Devils Backbone) has woven a mesmerizing film that is part war movie and part fantasy (Reminded me of Mirrormask with echoes of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz to name a few influences). Reality and fantasy collide in what is defiantly not a kids movie. There are some real world scenes of torture and violence mingled with some fantastic monsters (the creature with the eyes in his hands for instance) Superbly acted by all involved but especially the little girl and the Fascist captain (What a bastard he is).

Is it all Reality or Fantasy? make up your own mind in what is IMO the best film of the year.

A Gothic Masterpiece.

Saw a few promos for it in the US but I guess it never released in theaters here (Of course I am in the middle of nowhere) and wanted to see it. Guess I need to look it up and see if it is on netflixs yet

6.A Scanner Darkly:- Anaheim, California, the near future. Bob Arctor (Reeves), an addict to the drug Substance D, is actually an undercover cop out to bust the D network. Bob’s bosses, who don’t know his cover story, order him to spy on himself, causing his grip on reality to be shaken by his schizoid way of life.


Twisted tale of addiction and drug use in a big brother style future where you are being watched all the time. Loved the way they rotoscoped the actors to make it look like animation although I doubt the movie would have worked if it was shot normally.

Probably the most faithful adaption to a P K Dick novel ever filmed. Hilariously funny at times and Robert Downey Jr, in particular, was fantastic.

Robert Downey Jr. and drugs go together like bacon and eggs.

7.Thank You for Smoking:- Nick Naylor (Eckhart) is the chief spokesman for cigarette-industry giant Big Tobacco. He’s a fast-talking king of spin who can twist even the most unsympathetic audience around his finger. But can he deal with a crusading senator’s (Macy) campaign to have every fag packet labelled ‘poison’, while also doing right by his own impressionable son (Bright)?

Who knew America could make such a great satire.

It was hilarious from Rob Lowes movie agent (EGO ) to the performance of Aaron Eckhart at the talk show I was busting a gut. I esp liked the bit when on a "what does my parent do" day at his kids school he cross examine this little girl who said her mommy said smoking was bad. - Is your mommy a doctor? no. She's hardly a credible witness then. :lol:

Thank you for reminding me to see that

13. V for Vendetta:- In the not-too-distant future, Britain has become a fascist, totalitarian state, its population cowed and apathetic. But the nation receives a wake-up call when mysterious masked terrorist "V" (Weaving) blows up the Old Bailey and calls for the citizens to rise up against their oppressors.

One of the best comic to movie pics ever. Sort of an apology for that Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen crapola.

14. Clerks II :- When the Quick Stop where he has worked for a decade burns down, Dante finds new employment at bovine-themed fast food joint Mooby’s, along with his old buddy-cum-bugbear Randal. A year on, he’s only 24 hours away from a whole new life.

Still not as good as the first

15. MirrorMask :- Helena is the 15 year-old daughter of circus entertainers. After her mother McKee) takes ill, she finds herself in a magical world, where she embarks on a quest to find the missing MirrorMask, save the Dark Lands and get home. (Not Neil Gaiman best work , but still interesting)

Well it was sorta written for a child audience like Neil and the fabulous Dave McKean did in three youth books (Coraline, The Day I Traded my Dad for Two Goldfish, Wolves in the Wall. There is talk of making Coraline a movie also but...)

Dave McKean steals the show with his visualization of world in MirrorMask. I have loved his stuff though since the Signal to Noise graphic novel.

[Melanie68]

I hardly saw any movies this year. I often don't take time to go to the theater and I haven't been in much of a movie watching mood. A movie has to really interest me before I'll head out to see it. Also, the times that I see the most movies are when I'm dating someone and I tend to feel kind of self conscious when I go alone (and it reminds me of the fact that I'm single.). I certainly haven't seen enough to make a top 10 list.

I loved Casino Royale, Pirates of the Carribean 2 (although it isn't in the same league as other movies), Mirrormask (saw this on DVD), Capote. I can't think of what else I've seen in the theater. I really, really want to see Pan's Labyrinth and Perfume: Story of a Murderer. Both of them are in limited release so you haven't missed Pan's yet rlpw. It'll likely get wider release in 2007.

The coolest scene would have to be a tie between the water wheel scene in Pirates and the early chase scene that ended in the African Embassy in Casino Royale.

I'm sure I may have seen more movies but it's late and I can't think of any more right now.

[seebaruk]

For pure fun, and an amazing cinema atmosphere, you couldn't beat Snakes On A Plane. Another good one was Severance, especially the knife-in-the-arse scene, ouch!

[RLacey]

I'll let you know what my favourite films from 2006 are once I've actually seen more than one or two films from this year. So by the end of 2008 I should be ready .

[Phantom]

Originally Posted by rlpw

Saw a few promos for it in the US but I guess it never released in theaters here (Of course I am in the middle of nowhere) and wanted to see it. Guess I need to look it up and see if it is on netflixs yet

It will be released this week in the US, so I guess it technically still counts as 2006 release, even for US residents .


Anyway, I was about to start a rant (as I did on another forum) about most people completely ignoring the best movie of 2006, but I guess I'll have to keep it to myself since the first post already mentions it .

In my opinion, Pan's Labyrinth is BY FAR the best movie of 2006. No other movies this year come close to it. Here's my complete top 5:

1. Pan's Labyrinth: see first post . One of the best (adult horror) fantasy movies ever made. A true classic that will attain a massive cult following, mark my words.

2. V For Vendetta: I just love the plot, the themes and the cinematography.

3. Perfume, Story of a Murderer: excellent movie based on one of my favourite books ever.

4. Lucky Number Slevin: the Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang of this year. Cool, slick, funny, exciting. I love it.

5. The Departed: Scorsese delivers again.


Favourite acting performance: Frank Costello by Jack Nickolson in The Departed. Wow.

Funniest movie: Thank You For Smoking

[Melanie68]

I believe they do those limited releases to get a 2006 release date for the Academy Awards. A January movie gets forgotten by the next awards show whereas the December movies are fresh in people's minds.

[SCRUGAtes13]

i'm not sure what the best films that were released this year are but i do know that irreversible, closer and city of god were three amazing films (if not amazingly violent ones) that i have seen this year for the first time.

[Orange Brat]

Here's a list of all the movies that came out in 2006: http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/index2006.php

Below are my top 10 (in order), bottom 10 (only listed four because I liked everything else I saw), everything in between, and what I want to see but haven't for various reasons (time, opportunity, etc).

Top 10:
Little Miss Sunshine, The Prestige, Rocky Balboa, The Departed (Remake), V for Vendetta, Brick, Lucky Number Slevin, Silent Hill, Casino Royale, Feast

Honorable Mentions:
The Hills Have Eyes (Remake), Hard Candy, A Scanner Darkly, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Descent, Saw III, The Fountain, Apocalypto

Bottom 10:
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Devil Wears Prada

The Middle:
Hostel, Slither, 16 Blocks, The Sentinel, Mission Impossible III, La Science des Rêves (The Science of Sleep), The Da Vinci Code, The Omen (Remake), Superman Returns, Lady in the Water, Clerks II, World Trade Center, The Illusionist, Snakes on a Plane, Hollywoodland, The Black Dahlia, The Good Shepherd, Thank You for Smoking

Pending:
Tsotsi, The Notorious Betty Page, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, The Proposition, Poseidon (Remake), Miami Vice, The Quiet, Crank, The Wicker Man (Remake), Flyboys, Tideland, The Grudge 2 (Remake), All the King's Men (Remake), A Good Year, Marie-Antoinette, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D, Babel, Night of the Living Dead 3-D, Bobby, Blood Diamond, Dreamgirls, Black Christmas (Remake), Southland Tales, The Good German, The Woods, Pan's Labyrinth, Perfume: Story of a Murderer

[Squinky]

Here are my 2006 favourites, in no particular order. A disproportionate number of them are obscure indie films, because, well, I lived near an indie film theatre for most of the year.

The OH in Ohio
Conversations with Other Women
Little Miss Sunshine
American Dreamz
The Science of Sleep
The Lake House

[Spiwak]

I still haven't seen everything from this year that I want to so I'll hold off on posting a list for now.

[Ninja Dodo]

Most surprisingly awesome: Children of Men

Also really enjoyed: Casino Royale

Very entertaining, but not quite as sharp as the original: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

[Dasilva]

DOA: Dead or Alive, best movie of the year.

*runs*

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

Very entertaining, but not quite as sharp as the original: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

I was really disappointed in it. It was overly long and suffered from middle film syndrome.

It's the only film of the year that I walked out of the second time I went to see it.