My Top 10 Films of 2006

Matt Damon once remarked in an interview that it would be a good idea if Oscars were given out a full decade after their release, as he felt that was the gap needed to make a determination on the best of that year. While this site clearly isn't the Oscars, it at least now has the benefit of something it didn't before: Hindsight.

So, now it's time to find out. In celebration of 10 Years of "Jeremy The Critic," my picks for the top 10 films of each year from 2006-2015 will be gradually revealed. Unsuccessfully cramming to see all the year's films before it's end has prevented me from compiling these so now it's make-up time. With apologies to ESPN, it's a little project I'll be calling "10 FOR 10," as I unload 10 Top 10's.

We'll find out which films survived the long trek, maintaining or increasing their standing in my mind, and which slipped, as the bloom comes off the rose for titles I may have originally raved about. Now, they'll all face the ultimate equalizer: FATHER TIME. A review is so often an immediate reaction to what you've seen, while a star rating counts for far less. This will be something else entirely.

Other than in the case of rare, tie-breaking situations, I'm not planning to rewatch anything, instead going with my gut in these rankings and selections. Some years I know exactly what's going to happen while others are still very much up in the air, but you can definitely bet on some surprises. I'm avoiding long, laborious explanations of each in favor of a choice review quote I feel says it all, accompanied with brief write-up where I reflect on how that year's list turned out. Let's get it going with what's unfortunately the weakest movie year of them all: 2006

                                                 2006

It feels like I'm just filling slots here, which is never good. The silver lining is that this will be followed by the strongest film year of the decade in 2007. Let's get the big questions out of the way first: Where's Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men, Borat or The Fountain? I initially gave the former four stars, but now I need to actually be reminded of its existence. The other two I waffled back and forth on because they just haven't stayed with me at all. Notes on a Scandal, Marie Antoinette, and to a lesser extent, Casino Royale, were weaker runners-up that just missed the cut. It's possible that with another viewing one or more of those could have snuck in. Or not.

I had two choices in approaching a year this weak: Stick with what I originally had (with some minor, necessary adjustments) since so few of them were rewatched, or just make a systematic countdown of the technically best, critically acclaimed films of the year. Hopefully you appreciate me going with the former since you could just look at a bunch of other lists for that.

The only surprise inclusion is The Night Listener, which I had rewatched shortly after Robin Williams' passing and discovered I underestimated it. Featuring one of the actor's quietest dramatic performances, the whole package (which features a thought-provoking, ahead of its time premise) proves more memorable than many of the aforementioned prestige dramas critics were drooling over. V For Vendetta, The Descent and Clerks II are all just fine but I'd be lying if I said any would make it in a stronger year (or in this case nine stronger upcoming ones). While its recent influence on Mr. Robot proves Vendetta's reach was perhaps greater than expected, the inclusion of Clerks II kind of bothers me since I have this strange feeling it (or any other Kevin Smith film) wouldn't hold up now. That it still got in should let you know how little I think of this year.

Stranger Than Fiction has aged really well, partly because Ferrell hasn't done anything like it since. Other than my top two, it might be the only film here I feel any kind of passion for. Time couldn't dilute United 93's immediacy and power, even if its a film to respect rather than admire. Best Picture winner The Departed is just kind of a given, with its inclusion feeling almost like a contractual obligation at this point. Iñárritu's constant presence and versatility throughout the decade only bolsters the already strong multi-character, cross-cultural Babel in hindsight.

The first true discovery of '06 was Brick, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and helmed by future Breaking Bad and Star Wars director, Rian Johnson. If ever there was a time to say I told you so, it's now, with both continuing to creatively explode ten years on. But the top spot goes to Todd Field's Little Children, the most masterfully acted and directed film of the year in my favorite movie sub-genre: Nightmare in American Suburbia. It carries that torch proudly by being the most frighteningly realistic and disturbing drama that year. Over time, it's left the deepest cut.


10. The Night Listener

"The big draw of this film isn't the mystery, but the underlying idea behind its premise. How trusting should we be? Can we accept anything at face value anymore? Something to think about in this digital age where we communicate with people daily, yet can never know for sure who they really are." - 1/13/07


9. V For Vendetta

"The relationship that develops between her and the masked man, his history, and his motives for destroying the government build the framework for an emotionally complex tale that also happens to be pretty gory at times." - 8/2/06


8. The Descent

"In a way, the movie is almost a throw back to the horror films of the seventies, where the main objective was to torture you with suspense, then pick and choose your openings to deliver just the right amount of thrills and gore. It's not what you show, but what you don't, and how." - 1/10/07

 

 

 7. Clerks II

"The original Clerks was an excellent first feature by a film student that changed the course of independent cinema in the 90's. This is a more mature effort by an accomplished filmmaker at a different place in his life with more things to show and prove." -12/9/06


6. Stranger Than Fiction

"Harold Crick is an I.R.S. agent stuck in what could be called a routine. In actuality, he leads a painfully boring existence, but that doesn't really occur to him. It wouldn't since those immersed in their routine rarely stop to consider if they're bored or not, or more importantly if they're even remotely satisfied or happy."- 3/2/07


5. United 93

When we're finally in the air, there's more waiting. It becomes clear these terrorists really don't have much of a plan. They keep looking at each other, wondering when it's the right time. They can never agree. The sloppiness of the situation only makes it scarier. There were points when I felt like screaming at the screen for them just to do it so it's over with." - 9/11/06


4. The Departed

"The dangerous, heart-pounding game between the two main characters and the visceral energy DiCaprio and Damon infuse in them is where the meat of the film lies, making it one of Scorsese's most psychologically complex works. This is a movie about choices. Both good and bad." - 2/19/07


3. Babel

"A tiny event halfway across the world can carry ripple effects that impact others in ways that may seem impossible on paper. It has happened and continues to everyday. Misunderstandings and communication breakdowns can cause a bad situations to escalate into worse ones. No matter what your reaction to Babel is, you're at least forced to admit you had one." - 2/24/07


2. Brick

"Gordon-Levitt does things in this movie few actors his age could reasonably be expected to pull off at this point in his career. At first, it's off-putting seeing this scrawny kid with glasses walking around like a brooding mini-Brando, beating the hell out of everybody. Yet it's a testament to his abilities that after a while we don't question it at all. He pulls it off, building his reputation as one of the best rising young actors of his generation." - 9/9/06


1. Little Children

"From the opening scene, with figurines rattling on a shelf as the sound of an oncoming train approaches, we're prepared for tragedy as these characters' lives threaten to intersect in the worst possible way for over two tension-filled hours. Rarely does a film get so many little details right and hide such small treasures for the viewer to discover. - 5/13/07

Top Ten Films of 2006
1. Little Children (dir. Todd Field)
2. Brick (dir. Rian Johnson)
3. Babel (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
4. The Departed (dir. Martin Scorsese)
5. United 93 (dir. Paul Greengrass)
6. Stranger Than Fiction (dir. Zach Helm)
7. Clerk II (dir. Kevin Smith)
8. The Descent (dir. Neil Marshall)
9. V For Vendetta (dir. James McTeigue)
10. The Night Listener (dir. Patrick Stettner)

Oscar Predictions

Looking forward to the show tonight as I have a feeling there could be some major upsets and the Best Picture race is arguably the toughest to call in years. So here they are along with my thoughts on the major categories:

Best Picture: Babel
The Departed is too violent for the Academy and if Goodfellas didn't win this won't. Little Miss Sunshine is too slight. The Queen is viewed as an excellent t.v. movie. Letters From Iwo Jima was lucky it got a nomination. This leaves Babel, which is exactly the kind of film the voters love to reward so they can pat themselves on the back for recognizing a serious issue film. It's a grand, sweeping epic that takes on social concerns and FEELS like a Best Picture winner. That goes a long way in a race like this. That said, it is really tight this year.

Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Stephen Frears (The Queen) and Paul Greengrass (United 93) stand absolutely no chance. Greengrass far less so. Mixed reaction to Babel will hurt Inarritu in this category. There isn't enough support behind Iwo jima for Clint to pull an upset. Scorsese finally gets his due. Look for a very long standing ovation and lots of emotion.

Best Actor: Forrest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
Voters have already forgotten about Will Smith's film and his performance. Gosling's nomination is reward enough, as is O' Toole's. DiCaprio should have been nominated for The Departed so he stands no chance. That leaves Whitaker who's powerful performance should make voters forget he directed First Daughter. One of the few locks of the night.

Best Actress: Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Unfortunately the lead acting categories are very predictable this year, but at least it guarantees everyone two correct in their Oscar pool. Kate Winslet will eventually win an Oscar but the support just isn't there for Little Children, which I hear is unbelievable by the way. Penelope Cruz can go home happy knowing her work was at least recognized. Meryl Streep's performance in The Devil Wears Prada is a supporting one. Judi Dench has the biggest chance to pull off an upset for Notes on a Scandal, but won't. Helen Mirren winning is the surest bet on the entire show as she's one every single critics award.

Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
I really, really hope I'm wrong. If you asked me the one thing I don't want to see on this Oscar telecast it's Murphy winning. This must be the ten millionth Eddie Murphy "comeback" where he gets our hopes up he'll become a real actor. Instead we all know he'll shove the Oscar in his closet and continue to waste his talent making Norbit 2 and The Nutty Professor 17. With his body of work this past decade how could the Academy possibly endorse him? I don't care how good he was in Dreamgirls. Unlike Murphy, Little Children's Jackie Earle Haley and Little Miss Sunshine's Alan Arkin are real comeback stories. Reward one of them. Please.

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
The Academy loves to recognize fresh blood in this category and it doesn't come any fresher than Hudson, making her acting debut. This should be an exciting acceptance speech if nothing else. Too bad Cate Blanchett won this a couple of years ago or she'd have a chance. Rinko Kukuchi deserves to win for Babel but will split votes with co-star Adriana Barraza. Abigail Breslin proabably won't join Tatum O'Neil as the youngest Oscar winner in history. Keep your eyes peeled for a shocking upset in this category. It's happened before.

The Other Categories:
Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed
Best Foreign Language Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Documentary Short: The Blood of Yingzhou District
Best Animated Feature: Cars
Best Animated Short: The Little Matchgirl
Best Live Action Short: Binta y la gran idea (let's see if I keep up my streak of missing this category like I do every year)
Best Original Score: The Queen
Best Original Song: "Listen" (Dreamgirls)
Best Cinematography: Children of Men
Best Art Direction: Dreamgirls
Best Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Best Film Editing: United 93
Best Sound Editing: Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Best Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls
Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette
Best Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth

Babel

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Gael Garcia Bernal, Rinko Kukuchi
Running Time: 142 min.
Rating: R

**** (out of ****)

When you stop to think about it, there's nothing more dangerous than being stuck in a country where you don't know the language or the culture. Babel knows this and milks the idea for everything its worth. Then it goes deeper than that to make a larger point about how we communicate, or rather don't, in today's world.
What happens is scary, but it's a different kind of scary than we're used to seeing in movies. The thrills and shocks come from the amazing stupidity and carelessness of the characters and the communication breakdown that permeates through the entire picture. The characters in this movie make bad mistakes and horrible judgement calls but they're realistic and not any I couldn't see someone making. I'm not sure what that says about the world we live in and to be honest I'm not sure if I really want to know. All the matters is that Babel had me thinking ...for a long time.

Within the first few minutes of the film we're already given the frightening image of two young Moroccan boys (one of which has a filthy habit of spying on his naked sister) playing with a rifle given to them by their father, a local herdsman. One takes a shot and hits a local tour bus carrying bickering married couple Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett). They're on vacation against Susan's wishes and one of the most interesting scenes involves them sitting at a Moroccan restaurant and having one of the coldest conversations I've ever seen a married couple have in a film. It's not so much what they say, but what they don't that makes such an impact.

Susan is hit with the bullet and is fighting for her life when Richard brings her to a nearby Moroccan village to stop the bleeding and wait for a helicopter to get her to a hospital. Meanwhile news reports cite that Susan was the victim of a terrorist attack, when in actuality it was just a couple of dumb kids playing around. In a way that's far worse, and the movie does a good job conveying that and making us almost wish it was a terrorist attack. At least that would be something we could wrap our minds around. Richard calls home to his Mexican housekeeper Amelia (Oscar nominee Adriana Barazza), who's looking after their two kids, tells her what happened, and says she needs to watch over them a little longer until he gets back. This is a problem. Amelia needs to be in Mexico for her son's wedding and has no idea what to do with the kids. It's at this point that she makes a stupid decision. A really, really stupid decision.

She hitches a ride over the border to the wedding with her livewire nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal) and bring the kids. What happens to them, or should I say what they cause themselves, is horrifying, made that much moreso by the fact it was completely preventable. The final and most effective link in this storyline arc is in Japan where deaf mute teenager Chieko (Oscar nominee Rinko Kukuchi in a heartbreaking performance) who lost her mother to suicide and has serious problems communicating with her father, uses her body as a desperate cry for attention when she thinks the whole world views her as a monster. How this relates to the other stories is more indirect but made clear later.

This movie has often been compared to the 2005 Best Picture winner Crash with its cross-cutting narrative structure and themes of culture clash. From the day it was released in theaters Babel has caused unprecedented arguments among critics and audiences. That it's caused such heated debate can only be seen as a compliment to writer/director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (21 Grams) and the story he crafted. I think a lot of people have major problems with the film because the characters aren't easily accessible or likable due to their incredibly poor decision making and ignorance.

They also may have thought the script took some liberties in portraying them and didn't effectively convey its intended message of miscommunication among other cultures of people. I thought it rarely stepped wrong and achieved a remarkable feat in telling four almost equally effective stories that never lost sight of the central theme of the film and contained some remarkable performances. Given the scope of what Inarritu chose to take on here there were a million different ways this could have gone wrong, but it doesn't.

The two most controversial storylines involve the Mexican housekeeper's ridiculous decision to take the kids over the border and the deaf Japanese teenager's cry for help that manifests itself sexually. Watching it I'm sure a lot of viewers thought no human being could possibly do something as stupid as what housekeeper Amelia does with those kids. Well, in real life nannies do insanely stupid things that put the welfare of the children they look after in danger. I've seen it.

As for what happens when they arrive at the wedding, I think Inarritu wasn't trying to portray Mexicans in a bad light as has been accused but rather show the events from the vantage point of two terrified children who have just stepped into a world that they, like us, have no clue about. Inarritu was making a point about how we view those from other cultures which is why the depiction seems on first glance to be so offensive and over the top. Another misunderstanding in a film full of them.

Although it seems like the storyline least related to everything else in the film Rinko Kukuchi's Chieko is the glue that holds the movie together and provides much of its emotional power. Of all the characters in the film, she's the one you feel the most sympathy for. She's uses her body because it's her last resort after being ignored and ostracized. In her mind, she has no other choice and she comes to this realization in the infamous restaurant scene. For people who complain there's too much gratuitous nudity in films they may be happy to know this film isn't an offender. When an actress is asked to expose herself physically and emotionally like Kukuchi does here it better be for good reason. Inarritu knows this and takes good care of her. What I liked most about this story is that the other characters know she's vulnerable, yet all refuse to take advantage of her.

In a spectacular scene we're taken into a Japanese dance club and for a couple of moments the music stops and we hear what Chieko would hear: nothing. Lights blaring, people moving but no sound. We're deaf and it's terrifying. In a film loaded with uncomfortable moments this one really stands out. So does the performance of Kukuchi, who if there's any justice will win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Believe it or not, I think of all the characters Brad Pitt's Richard was the one who acted the most sensibly given the circumstances. If you look back you'll see given how quickly everything happens and the massive sense of dislocation he must have been feeling he did all he could and handled the situation well. I also think in the minimal amount of screen time he had Pitt managed to deliver the best performance of his career thus far. Although I have to admit it was kind of distracting and unnecessary to age Pitt by giving him graying hair when we all know he's old enough to have two kids that age anyway. It seemed like they wanted to let us know he was giving a really serious, mature performance in case we didn't get the memo.

The way his relationship with his wife changes throughout the course the film is a sight to behold and all comes to fruition in one really powerful scene where Blanchett's Susan lets go of her anger and opens herself up to be helped. Blanchett spends most of the film on the floor bleeding to death, but she somehow even manages to even do that elegantly while continuing to prove her worth as one of the best working actresses today.

With its sweeping cinematography, tackling of cultural themes and globe spanning storylines this is the kind of epic that has Best Picture written all over it. As for the ending, it wasn't the storyline or image I would have picked to close on, but that's a minor issue considering some of the other disastrously inappropriate endings we've seen this past year. The idea behind the picture is one that should be explored more often in modern cinema because it's so relevant. A tiny event halfway across the world can carry ripple effects that impact others in ways that may seem impossible on paper. It has happened and continues to everyday. Misunderstandings and communication breakdowns can cause a bad situations to escalate into worse ones. No matter what your reaction to Babel is, you're at least forced to admit you had one.