Ken Lowery

First, a brief list of movies unseen by me, but which might have broken their way into this list, and are worth seeing by you: Pan’s Labyrinth, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Half Nelson, The Descent, The Proposition, United 93, The Bridge

10. Idiocracy -- Chances are you didn’t hear about Mike Judge’s latest film. That’s because 20th Century Fox tried to bury it. It wasn’t the funniest movie of the year (that was Beerfest… no, really), but it was just as scathing as Borat and far more intelligent than the few people who saw it gave it credit for. It hits DVD soon; give it a shot.

9. Tristram Shandy: A smurfin & Bull Story—Humor so dry it chapped my lips right there in the theatre. A film about a film of a book that’s almost a biography but never quite gets on with telling itself. Definitely not for everyone, but I spent the rest of the night after the screening giggling like a fool.

8. This Film Is Not Yet Rated—I always thought those MPAA boxes describing the offensive stuff in a movie did a better job of advertising than the trailers. A fascinating (though sometimes slightly incoherent) study of the special interest group that controls distribution of the most popular artform in America. If you like movies enough to read Ten Best lists (and clearly you do), you’ll come away from this one a wiser person.

7. Stranger Than Fiction—I was wary of this one. I kept hearing about how “original” the concept was, but it’s something I’ve seen in any medium you care to name.

6. Thank You For Smoking—A hell of a way to make your debut for writer-director Jason Reitman, son of Ivan. This witty, acerbic, blackly humorous satire is ostensibly about how the tobacco industry sells its wares, but it could just as easily be about any industry that puts on a good face while turning a profit over the death of its customers. Aaron Eckhart manages to be both sympathetic and a complete bastard, which is a feat harder to achieve than you might think.

5. A Prairie Home Companion—We lost a legend this year in Robert Altman, and it’s hard to imagine a more appropriate final film. Crash, Babel, Love Actually—these and other modern films have tried to capture Altman’s magic, but none have been able to without coming off strained or clunky. A Prairie Home Companion showed that Altman never lost his touch, not even at the end.

4. Who Killed the Electric Car? -- It’s been a great year for documentaries, and I’m not the kind of guy who says that lightly. I went into Electric Car fully expecting a snoozefest, and walked out wide-eyed and invigorated. An Inconvenient Truth is without a doubt the biggest documentary of the year, but Electric Car is a necessary companion piece. Gore shows you the global trends, and Car’s filmmakers show you how those trends operate on a national, state, and local level.

3. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan—Oh, the controversy. What’s amusing to me is all the self-appointed defenders of the heartland claiming Borat is unfair to Red State America (wherever that is). Watch closely. Anyone in Borat who comes off like a jackass digs their own grave. And that is Sacha Baron Cohen’s genius: he knows exactly how to put people out of their comfort zone as quickly as possible. Squirm-inducing, but good comedy should be.

2. Casino Royale —Not just a good Bond movie, but a good movie. I know it sounds impossible, but here’s a Bond film where you’re just as interested in the dialogue and character interaction as you are in the (admittedly breathtaking) action sequences. Daniel Craig is a great James Bond.

1. The Departed -- Oh, Scorsese, we’re so glad to have you back. I’ll just quote from my original review: “[T]his is modern noir at its finest: two people in a dangerous dance around each other, holding onto whatever shred of ethics they can while the whole house of cards crumbles underneath them.” Tense, funny, intelligent, surprising—The Departed exhausts the adjective factory in my head. Allow me to trot out that most offensive of critic clichés: The Departed is why you go to the movies.

Ethan Nahte

BEST:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Riding Along For Thousands Of Miles
Happy Feet
Casino Royale
The Ant Bully
Man Of The Year
Fly Boys
Brick
Failure To Launch
Eight Below

WORST:

Marie Antoinette
Big Momma’s House 2
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift
Snakes On A Plane
Stick It
Aquamarine
Barnyard
Mission Impossible 3
The New World

Liz Thompson

1. Brick - A film noir classic for our time based on a high school with many secrets. I loved the twists and over-the-top dialogue. Plus, the end had my mouth hanging open. I don’t think my mouth has hung open in a movie in YEARS. I am a little upset that the golden globes didn’t give it any attention, because this is the absolute best acting and story this year.

2. The Departed - Martin’s finest movie in years! I knew going in how a gangster movie would end but it wowed me and kept my attention. The action and acting were superb as well as the dialogue and story.

3. Little Miss Sunshine - I don’t usually laugh outloud in a theater, but I did for this one. It was so sweet and funny and I will never forget it. Why wasn’t this movie adorned with nominations? This was the best comedy this year!

4. The Illusionist - I loved the story of this movie. It was beautiful and surreal.

5. Blood Diamond - I loved the story of this movie too. It made me sit and think about family and what we do for them.

Damon Swindall

10. The Proposition – This is exactly what we need, a new western.  Granted this film does have a bit of a spin from the traditional style since it takes place in the 1880’s Australian outback instead of America.  Written by goth musical legend Nick Cave (!) the film centers around an Irish family of outlaws and the deal made with the police to let the two younger brothers go free if one of them (Guy Pearce) can kill the eldest by Christmas Day (9 days away).  This received a way too brief limited art house run, when the Eastwood, Leone and Peckinpah fans would have eaten it up.  The film is dark and gritty with many surprises; I can only hope people will find this now that it has made its way to DVD. 

9. Brick – Talk about an inventive film!  Rian Johnson breaks onto the scene with his first film set in a modern day high school and the mystery of murder and drugs which surrounds the students.  The story itself is not what makes this movie the gem it is, but the way Johnson set current day characters and cinematography with the classic style of Film Noir.  The actors speak in the standard Noir dialogue of the 40’s which you may think would get old, but it never does.  Taking the lead character by the suspenders is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who made his way into my top 10 list with Mysterious Skin last year.  Maybe I should just reserve a spot in 2007 for his next film since he seems to know how to pick them. 

8. Snakes on a Plane – Ok, so I know this is probably not making anyone’s list this year, and you are all probably wondering why I’ve put it on mine.  I have reasons.  You cannot deny the impact this film had on pop culture over nearly the past two years.  From fan sites on the internet from day one, to fake trailers, shirts in Hot Topic (and other stores of the like) it edged its way in as a film without the need of the typical kind of promotion.  All of this is based on a name that was so ridiculous, yet so informative to the flick’s plot.  Not only is the move better than expected, although it is not the best film, the feeling you get when watching it is what makes it so special.  This is like a good old fashioned drive in movie people used to enjoy, but now able to relate to a whole new audience.  With the combination of a drive-in cheese factor, Samuel L. Jackson, the internet phenomena and snakes on a motherf—kin’ plane (!) this film slithered its way into the top 10.

7. Hard Candy – This indie-thriller received an all too short art house run about a guy who takes an underage girl back to his apartment, they have a few drinks and things begin to go very awry.  Ellen Page (X-Men: The Last Stand)plays the “innocent” young Hayley with an astonishing performance which deserves to be seen.  Not a film for the squeamish, things progress down a very dark road, but it does give an effective look into the dark world of child molestation keeping the story fresh and surprises coming from every corner. 

6. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer – The German director of Run, Lola,Run, Tom Tykwer, makes an English speaking film which takes place in 18th Century France.  This is no ordinary thriller, but more of an adult fairy tale about a boy who grows up with an absurdly keen sense of smell and dreams of capturing the most beautiful scent in the world.  Not only is the film masterfully crafted from every single aspect – wonderful script, beautiful score, tremendous cinematography and some of the most effective lighting seen in a long while – but the cast is tremendous in relating this far-out-tale to the screen.  There are definitely some pretty vile moments, and tons of nudity so even though this is a fairy tale of sorts, be sure leave the kids at home.

5. Pan’s Labyrinth – Just in time for the end of the year this gets a very limited release so it may be considered for an Oscar, and as it should.  Guillermo del Toro, best known for Hellboy takes this film to follow up his exceptional foreign language Spanish Civil War ghost story, The Devil’s Backbone (2001), around the same time period, though it goes in a bit of a different direction.  The picture follows a young girl who goes with her pregnant mother to live with her new military stepfather in a rural area.  In her dealings with fascist Spain and the new father she didn’t like she dealts with things the way she knows how – through fairy tales.  These tales are a tad on the violent side, and very graphic, but the make-up FX are some of the best (especially on the Pale Man and Pan the satyr).  The visuals are not the only strong points of the film, del Toro managed to create another great film chronicling a very difficult and important time in Span but put a nice genre spin on it as well.

4. The Descent – This British horror import was actually released in 2005, but did not make it over the pond to America until this summer.  The second outing by Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers) truly shows he has the chops to scare the living crap out of anyone.  On a low budget Marshall created a high fright factor with the tale of a group of adventurous women spelunking in an unexplored cave system.  As if the sweat inducing claustrophobia were not enough, about halfway through the film they are greeted by something which is now hunting them.  Not only is this gem the best horror film of 2006, but it is a forerunner for the top horror film made in the last decade!

3. The Departed – Finally, after doing some documentaries and movies about pilots Scorsese has come back to his bread-and-butter.  The world of organized crime has seemed so empty until recently when he brought us this wonderfully paced film centering on the Boston police trailing some notorious characters in the Irish mob.  Even though this is just an American remake of an Asian film (Infernal Affairs) it manages to captivate the audience and give them the typical Scorsese fare, along with some nice twists and turns in power. 

2. Apocalypto – Mel Gibson definitely has not had an easy public life as of late.  He swore up and down while making The Passion of the Christ he had no ill feelings towards the Jewish community, and then he went on a full out anti-Semitic assault during his DUI fiasco a few moths ago.  The man may be mad, but if so he is a mad genius.  Apocalypto is a beautifully shot film with a story of a tribe full of people most of us could never relate to, yet he captured them in a way where we can.  Sticking with an indigenous cast and using their raw talents only adds to the enjoyment of the film.  Sure things run on the graphic side, but coming from a man who made the crucifixion of Jesus Christ into an exploitation film would you expect anything less?

1. United 93 – Everyone remembers September 11, 2001 as a day our nation took a great hit due to heinous acts of terrorism.  That same day one of the planes, United flight #93, never made it to the target as the passengers fought back to try and save the lives of many others.  Yes, is it still rather soon so anyone who sees this is destined to have a very emotional experience in the theatre.  This is not the only film this year to come out about these tragic events, but director Paul Greengrass did one thing to ensure a better overall tone – casting unknowns.  Having all of the actors unrecognizable gives a more realistic, documentary-like feel and only adds to the heart wrenching power the film possesses.  A highly important, must see film!

Stefan Halley

This year I decided to do something different with my ‘Best of’ list.  Instead of picking the critical choice, I’m going to go with the films I enjoyed the most.  We all know that you’ve seen The Matrix much more than you’ve seen The English Patient or American Beauty.  More critics should do lists like this.  It would be much more honest.

Best of:

10. Crank – For pure eye candy adrenaline action film, Crank gets it right.  It’s loud, fast paced and who care if it doesn’t make any sense, everything happens so fast you won’t have time to ponder it.  This is a great action film.

9. Feast – It’s a shame that this only came out for one weekend and disappeared.  It’s one of the best horror films of the year.  Brilliantly paced, extremely gooey and damn funny, Feast knew what it was doing and masterfully handled it.  I can’t wait to see what the director does next.

8. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer – I should have figured that if it’s a Tom Tykwer film, it’s going to be interesting.  Perfume is no exception.  Part horror, part drama, part fable, Perfume defies simple categorization and does it perfectly.

7. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang – After writing some of the biggest hits of the 80’s, Shane Black takes a stab at directing and creates one of the most fun movies of the year.  Instead of feeling like warmed over crap from the 80’s, Black brings the clichés back and makes them feel fresh.

6. V for Vendetta – Now this is how to adapt a comic book.  Hands down the best comic book movie of the year.

5. Unknown White Male – This simple documentary about a man trying to find out who he is after suffering total amnesia is a must see.  Sure this kind of thing may happen on soap operas every week but to see how someone deals with it in real life is fascinating.

4. 13(Tzameti) – I didn’t know what to expect when I started watching 13. What I got is one of the tensest films I’ve ever seen.  Russian Roulette has never been used like this before.

3. Brick – I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it and have seen it a couple of times on DVD.  The blending of the Chandleresque speaking patterns with high school drama is great.  The movie gave me hope that the rest of the year wouldn’t suck.  It was false hope.

2. Casino Royale – Hands down the best Bond film ever.  I never thought a Bond film would make my top ten list and never thought it would be #2.  I can’t wait for the next one.

1. Hard Candy – This movie haunted me well after it was over.  It could have been the violent cat and mouse game that the two lead characters played or it could have been the castration scene.  I don’t know what it was but I can’t quit thinking about it and watching it.

Honorable Mention:
District B13, Night Watch, World Trade Center, Lady Vengeance, Over the Hedge, Devil Wears Prada, Stranger Than Fiction, The Proposition

Worst of :

1. Basic Instinct 2
2. Silent Hill
3. Friends With Money
4. Turistas
5. The Da Vinci Code
6. Poseidon
7. Nacho Libre
8. Pink Panther
9. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
10. Date Movie

Honorable Mention:

Miami Vice, Nacho Libre, Freedomland, Beowulf and Grendel, The Covenant, Firewall, The Guardian, Just My Luck, Lucky Number Slevin, Pulse, R.V., Stay Alive, Ultraviolet, Underworld: Evolution, When a Stranger Calls, The Wild

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