Top Ten Movies I saw in 2006

It is highly unlikely that I will see another movie in the 2006 calendar year. And even if I do, how likely am I to see something that will break into the top 10? Not so very. It hasn’t been a great year for movies. There are at least two on the list that I saw in 2006 but were made long before.

With that in mind, here is my my current Top Ten:

10. Nacho Libre

9. The Devil Wears Prada

8. Word Play

7. Inside Man

6. Tsotsi

5. The Confederate States of America

4. The Fallen Idol

3. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party

2. Little Miss Sunshine

1. The Departed

October Movie Report Card

Infamous – 70. Occasionally funny and engaging. Out of its depth when wrestling with BIG QUESTIONS.

Flags of Our Fathers – 45. Excessive Absence. (Mine. From the theater after the 90 minute mark.)

Marie Antoinette – 70. Occasionally funny and engaging. Out of its depth when wrestling with BIG QUESTIONS.

Running With Scissors 75. Fairly good screen translation. Excellent Bening, insufficient Baldwin.

The Departed

So…bloody…good! Plus, Marky Mark and Matty D have a girl fight!

The Science of Sleep

I feel like I just ate too much cotton candy. Either go high or stay home.

The Black Dahlia and The Last Kiss

I unwittingly had a self-curated mediocre film festival this weekend.

Quinceañera

I had no idea when I saw Quinceañera yesterday that it was a big 2006 Sundance winner (Grand Jury and Audience Awards). I’d originally gone thinking I could show the film, which is mostly in English but has some Spanish in it, to my classes.

That ain’t happening.

Drug use? Check. Sex? Check. Profanities? Check.

I will say this: if I decide to quit my job and go out with a bang, I will indeed show it.

Hollywoodland

The actresses in Hollywoodland lift do the heavy lifting. Diane Lane is excellent as Toni Mannix and even Robin Tunney, who I hated when she was on
Prison Break, is great as Leonore Lemon, George Reeves’ erstwhile fiance. Okay, it’s hard not to love Bob Hoskins as Diane Lane’s husband. For the sake of argument we’ll call him an honorary actress. Bennifer was fine but dull. Perhaps that’s what the real George Reeves was like? And, while I usually love the pointy proboscised Adrien Brody, something about him as a private dick just didn’t quite wash.

Who killed George Reeves? The filmmakers are coy, yet if you pay close attention it’s easy to figure out whodunnit: the Kennedys.

Son of Movie Bingier

Well, only 37 hours left before the end of Labor Day weekend. Can the pussies at Movie Binge see the nine movies left on their list? I mean, there are only six of them, poor things. Must be rough.

Working alone, despite the limitation of a summer break from American theaters, I have seen twenty. Ergo, I win. Hurts, don’t it, people who don’t know I challenged them!

The Illusionist

Pretty good movie. Plus, one of the joys of being me is that I am quite gullible (though also condescending: when someone told me the word wasn’t in the dictionary, I assumed they’d spelled it wrong) and therefore easily tricked by twists and turns in a movie. And, lots of Giamatti. Definitely see it, especially if it’s rainy. (The day, that is.)

Monster House

Clearly a meditation on the end of the runaway housing market. (Hint: it won’t be with a whimper.)