apparently I can't call myself a blogger (not that I do that stuff) unless I post a top-ten list of 2006 of some sort, so here goes, my 10 favorite movies from the year :
1. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
a bleak dystopian film that somehow manages to be the most current major film released this year despite being set 30+ years in the future, this would deserve a top-3 finish from a technical standpoint alone (see: the amazing tracking shots). But there's also some terrific acting, starting with Clive "the man" Owen and Michael "no less the man" Caine, all the way to the smallest supporting roles, and a tremendous spirit throughout the movie that had me more inspired than I've felt in a long while.
2. Half-Nelson (Ryan Fleck)
not an "easy" film by any means, this featured the best acting performance I saw this year in Ryan Gosling's phenomenal portrayal of a drug-addicted schoolteacher.
3. The Departed (Martin Scorcese)
Marty's back baby! Whisky for everyone, on me. Oh, and LEO! is now officially a man.
4.Babel (Alexandro Inarritu)
a very ambitious take on the bonds human forms with their kin and others, I thought this was the best out of Inarritu's trilogy, after Amores Perros and 21 Grams. And I definitely love those movies.
5.The Puffy Chair (The Duplass Brothers)
a very good relationship movie, which in itself is no small feat, considering all the stinkers that genre has seen. The actors feel really real, as opposed to movie real (yes, a lot of people do say dude very often, I know I do), with great, assured directing.
6. The New World (Terrence Malick)
as a huge fan of Malick's dreamy visuals, I'm not one to be bothered by the length his last two movies have had. No one shows the inner life of humans through shots of nature like this guy, and the last 10 minutes of the film were a perfect illustration. I am not afraid to say this moved me quite a bit.
7. United 93 (Paul Greengrass)
not that I feel that it isn't too soon for a major movie picture about 9/11, but if there's gotta be one, this is it. I was at the edge of my seat for pretty much the entire thing, dreading what was about to come up, but completely unable to look away. People who say this is just another "rah-rah we will win" completely missed the point IMO. This movie showed what 9/11 revealed before all the rethoric and politics took over : people are capable of as much courage as stupidity and ignorance. It's not important to talk about them as heroes or martyrs, as those are labels that have been so branded about they've almost lost their meaning. No, these are simply people who tried to do what they thought was right at the time.
8.Inside Man (Spike Lee)
great directing by Spike Lee, to show us that this man really can do a great film when he wants to (and hasn't written the script).
9.The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Ken Loach)
Ken Loach hasn't lost his activist touch, and thankfully he keeps finding subjects that motivate him, but also great actors (Cillian Murphy, one word: wow)
10.The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry)
cute story, and great visuals, but I still wish Gondry would let the writing to others
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