Top 10 movies 2006

[The STE]

I looked back several pages and didn't see a thread, and there's no longer a search function, so here's a thread.

1: The Departed
The best (new) movie I've seen in 5 years. Erases any lingering Titanic-stink from Leo, and makes Mark Whalburg into a total badass. It's intense and funny in all the right places. Scorsese's best in a long time, and he's made some great movies since Goodfellas.

2: The Fountain
This one is all Hugh Jackman. Okay, that's not true, Aronofsky and Clint Mansell have a lot to do with why the movie is so great, but the real story is Jackman outshining all of his other performances combined. This would've made Jackman a star if he hadn't already done X-men. At least this one (should) put him in Oscar contention for the first time.

3: Akeelah and the Bee
Not a particularly stand-out movie at first. A surprisingly good child performance for once, Clint Howard as the principal, but then 2 things happen. Fishburne comes in to tutor Akeelah, providing the central relationship in the movie, and the movie itself starts ditching every pre-conceived cliché you can think of. It's both rare and fun to go into a movie thinking you can predict it plot point by plot point and then being surprised.

4: Hard Candy
Ellen Paige. Oh, Ellen Paige. It's amazing how much range Paige showed in this movie. Hell, both actors showed great range. And, like Akeelah and the Bee, Hard Candy avoided a cliché ending that is unfortunately prevalent in this type of movie nowadays.

5: The Notorious Bettie Page
Fascinating movie about a Bondage Porn model who became a born-again Christian, but never regretted any of it or thought ill of the pornography industry ("Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden. It's when they sinned that they put on clothes.") A couple scenes unfortunately fall in that zone where they hinder the movie a bit but probably shouldn't be left out, but Mol's performance, and the way Page interacts with various people in the business make the movie.

6: Clerks II
Well, THIS could've been a disaster. Instead, it's funny, poignant, and is admittedly a more satisfying conclusion to the Askewniverse than J&SBSB. And it's an instance where studio meddling actually paid off, in the form of Rosario Dawson. Though I'm not sure why Smith and co. thought she'd never do it. Has everybody for got that she was in Kids?

7: The Descent
The best possible response to the "horror movies are dead" argument. It's dark, atmospheric, it lets the story unfold at its own pace rather than just doing an 80 minute "chicks and monsters in a cave" Uwe Boll style movie. It's not as good as Alien, but the comparisons are apt enough.

8: Snakes on a Plane
I think the title still speaks well enough on its own.

9: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
A great 3-way sword fight, and some surprisingly good performances from Nighy and Jack Davenport, as well as another good turn from Depp.

10: Slither
In the same vein as Evil Dead 2; it's funny and gross and violent, and Nathan Fillion is great. This is one of those movies I could watch over and over again.