1. The Departed
2. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
3. United 93
4. L’Enfant
5. Pan’s Labyrinth
6. Casino Royale
7. Hidden (Cache)
8. Munich
9. Red Road
10. Children of Men
It was a strangely mixed bag this
year when it came to film, according to the Close-Up Film
writers. About two-thirds thought it an exceptionally good
year for film whilst the others through it somewhat mediocre.
Interestingly, it was roughly the same split between those
who thought Borat was the best film they’d seen all
year and those who thought he should stick it up his Kazakhstan.
Oscars big contenders – Brokeback
Mountain and Walk
the Line – failed to chart in our poll, and it seemed
just about everyone has forgotten Crash, the surprise winner
in the best film category, and Capote, the film which won
Philip Seymour Hoffman the Best Actor Oscar. In fact, of
the leading Oscar contingency, only Spielberg’s Munich registered in our top ten. However, Oscar’s biggest
oversighted filmmaker – Martin Scorsese – is
held in high esteem by our team with The
Departed our number
one film.
Social issues were to the fore. United
93 and Munich both served as sensitive and serious portrayals
of real-life events which are just too horrific to comprehend,
and which celebrate the reluctant heroes. Borat and Hidden,
meanwhile, in very different ways, forced us to question
ourselves on racial issues. Children
of Men presented us
with a not-too-distant future dystopia. Andrea Arnold’s
Red Road was also disturbing in that it forced us to look
at aspects of society most of us would rather ignore.
James Bond, however, in the shape
of Daniel Craig, makes a creditable appearance at number
six, taking Bond back to basics in Casino
Royale. Maybe
it’s a yearning for
those seemingly more innocent and simple baby boomer years,
when the world seemed less complicated. Then again, it could
have been those shorts. In any case, Craig silenced his critics
with aplomb.
It’s good to see three foreign language films making
an appearance in our top ten – the subtle and clever
Hidden, starring Juliet Binoche and Daniel Auteuil; the breath-taking
Pan’s Labyrinth, a thrilling mythical tale and the
brilliant realist drama L’Enfant from the Dardennes
Brothers.
However, there was a big surprise
when our writer’s
named their least favourite films of the year:
The Da Vinci Code
Eragon
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious
Nation of Kazakhstan
Well, it’s easy to see how Borat could figure so highly
in both polls – Sacha Baron Cohen’s comic creation
is such that you will either love him or hate him. Eragon – I
haven’t seen this myself but I did jump out of my seat
when I saw our writer’s review. However, the guy knows
his stuff so I trusted and went with it and, it seems, most
other publications seemed to be of the same opinion.
But The Da Vinci Code??!! Be honest
now – was it really,
really that bad? Or did you just think it was going to be
the best film ever and it was just ok? Ron Howard didn’t
do the book justice, admittedly, but let’s be honest – it
was only ever a pulp fiction novel with delusions of grandeur,
albeit a enjoyable one. So Audrey Tatou was irritating. Messrs
Hanks, Bettany and McKellen did a decent job. Think about
it – you could have voted: The
Pink Panther, Big Momma’s
House 2, Date Movie, When a Stranger Calls. Have you no shame?
Here’s what the writers had
to say about the films of 2006:
The Departed
“Marty S's gangster flick was just so much fun. Jack
Nicholson impersonates a rat, Mark Wahlberg impersonates
an asshole, Boston accents are in full bloom and by the end
of it, well, it all goes a bit pete tong.” Johnny Messias
“Scorsese back to the gangster genre with style, nobody
does it better. I was gripped to my seat all the way.” Sion
Markham
“Scorsese had to deliver with this one. Not only did
he have the sort of cast that would usually set you back
the GNP of a third world country but he was also “re-imagining” the
critically acclaimed Hong Kong actioner Infernal Affairs.
Well, Marty knocked this one out of the park and more importantly
he also made the film his own beast, getting outstanding
performances from a borderline panto Jack Nicholson, Matt
Damon, and a never better Leonardo DiCaprio. The real surprise
however was the blacker than black comedy aspect infused
with the tale of mole’s on both side of the law resulting
in a career resurrecting turn for the Golden Globe nominated
Mark Wahlberg.” Matthew Rodgers
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious
Nation of Kazakhstan
“The first comedy to keep me laughing all the way
through in over a decade.” Mike Bartlett
United 93
“Nail-biting tension, convincing peformances, subtly
great music and outstanding direction.” Dave Hall
“Shock, anger, panic and, above
all, fear - Greengrass registered all the human emotions
of September 11th with stunning immediacy in his docudrama
about the plane that never reached its target. No account
of 9/11 has been as unsensationalised and unsentimental
as United 93 and it's all the more
powerful for it.” Kevin Gill
“Paul Greengrass's film about the passengers who fought
back on 9/ll is a meticulously researched model of good taste
and respect and a strong drama with a docu-reality feel.
Despite the fact that we know what is going to happen, he
also manages to create a feeling of tension and unpredictability,
heightened by unsettling, handheld camera work. While having
the nail biting qualities of a disaster drama, it is not
making mere entertainment out of tragedy, but leading us
to experience vicariously the horror of what happened and
through that to appreciate and respect the courage of the
heroes and heroines of Flight United 93.” Carol Allen
L’Enfant
“In a medium where bombast, narcicissm and pretentiousness
reign on high, the Dardennes continue to craft austere, realist
dramas about the plight of human beings in an industrial
Belgian town. The Child, a worthy winner at Cannes, asked
us to sympathise with a character who sold his baby like
it was a hot car stereo and pulled it off brilliantly.” Kevin
Gill
“The Dardenne Brothers' best film yet - and that's
saying something. The comparisons with Bresson are obvious,
but their films are warmer and more sympathetic to their
characters.” Mike Bartlett
Pan’s Labyrinth
“Not only the best fantasy film since a certain group
of 9 set out from Rivendell but also unrivalled as film of
the year. Guillermo Del Toro comes of age with his tale of
two worlds colliding through the eyes of a young Orphan girl,
a visceral juxtaposition of the brutality of man in the real
world with the beautifully realised fantasy of the faun’s
realm. It is a film that resonates on every level by being
moving, sporadically distressing, and extremely scary in
equal measures and it will be a long while before cinema
matches the creative scope of Pan’s Labyrinth.” Matthew
Rodgers
Casino Royale
“Daniel Craig IS Ian Fleming's James Bond. Doesn't
scan well as a URL but it's true. Hats off to everyone involved
in this terrific installment. A film that ladies enjoyed
all around the world and a challenge to all us fellas: how
do you look in a pair of tiny blue swim shorts?” Johnny
Messias
Hidden
“Mesmerising from start to finish, moving and clinical
at the same time, and a genuinely unsettling thriller for
our surveillance-obsessed times.” Dave Hall
“Provided the most memorable, devastating moment in
recent cinema history and provoked a frenzied debate that
ran and ran. It was hard to come to terms with Haneke's claim
that who sent the videos didn't matter, but having done so
there was so much more to consider. Is Georges just unlucky?
He is forced to confront his guilt at being a powerful imperialist
when most of us can conveniently ignore it. Is he really
responsible for Majid's death? Or is French foreign policy
to blame? Besides all the lingering questions, Hidden was
also a cracking thriller.” Kevin Gill
Munich
“Criminally forgotten amidst the awards stampede at
the beginning of the year Steven Spielberg’s intricate
portrayal of the attempt to assassinate the perpetrators
behind the Munich Olympic massacre in 1972 is adult blockbusting
of the highest order. Eric Bana continues to be one of the
most underrated actors of this generation with a performance
that captivates the audience and refuses to let go until
the credits roll in this study of the fragility of the human
psyche. Support from the man who would be Bond – Daniel
Craig – and some telling parallels that reverberate
in today’s terrorist aware society maintain Spielberg’s
position at the top of the director’s podium.” Matthew
Rodgers
Children of Men
“Just for it's sheer brilliantness and innovative
style and execution.” Sion Markham
“A film with something to say about the world we live
in and peopled by characters you care about, all captured
by virtuoso camera-work.” Hemanth Kissoon
The Da Vinci Code
“Quite how Ron Howard bodged one of the best page
turning airport novels of modern time to give us a turgid
two hours of exposition is beyond me. What should have had
the pace of 24 coupled with the controversial subject matter/mumbo
jumbo was instead like watching Last of the Summer Wine but
not as entertaining, apart from Hank’s awful hair!” Matthew
Rodgers
Our writers also liked:
Walk the Line
“A Hollywood biopic with flair and feeling and a commanding
and complex performance from Joaquin Phoenix.” Richard
Dilks
Little Miss Sunshine
“I thought this was an incredible film. It is one
of those films that succeed on the basis that it was was
well written, directed and acted, and not because a studio
threw a lot ofmoney at it. This gave me a whole new love
for Steve Carrell, who showed his incredibly diversity throughout
the film.” Julia Smith
The Queen
“Stephen Frears' witty and entertaining film about
the Royal Family's reaction to the death of Diana Princess
of Wales. A central performance from Helen Mirren as Her
Majesty, which is not only a spookily convincing physical
impersonation but gives us an understanding of a woman with
values from an earlier era being forced to come to terms
with the very different contemporary mores. Michael Sheen
does similarly for the then younger Tony Blair, shown as
a bit goofy but well tuned in to the public mood. The sensitive
material around the actual death of Diana is well handled,
there’s a good mixture of reconstruction and archive
throughout, and although the private dialogue has to be imagined
by writer Peter Morgan, it has the ring of authenticity.” Carol
Allen
Offside
“The most criminally underrrated movie of the year.
Just because Panahi makes a lighter, comic film doesn't mean
it's any less serious in its intent. His improvisation around
a real football match is formally audacious and the performances
are breezy and fun.” Mike Bartlett
Shortbus
“If only for the sight, on the way out, of a Sunday
Telegraph journalist turning to his wife in utter horror
as Paul Dawson ejaculated in his own mouth. And yet somehow
this all being a romantic comedy. Truly incredible...” Richard
Mellor
Junebug
“A small but perfectly formed little movie with the
most acutely observed characterisations throughout the universally-outstanding
cast and a warm heart which belies its more melancholy undertones.” Oli
Lewington
Lucky Number Slevin
“I almost forgot about this film, and how could I?
It's disturbingly well-written, you are soo entranced by
the dialogue and the acting you don't even look for twists
or build up expectations, so the storyline is a genuine surprise
throughout.” Julia Smith
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
“It was funny, it had good music, it sent out a positive
message, it didn't stint on live footage, it somehow offered
narrative within a documentary and it came so incredibly
close to starting me wearing back-to-front baseball caps,
oversized t-shirts and needless chains.” Richard Mellor
The Death of Mr Lazarescu
“The year's finest film was an extraordinary conflation
of influences - The Dardennes, Kieslowski, Kiarostami - served
up with deadpan humour and a keen observational eye. The last
shot is the most devastating in years.” Mike Bartlett
We also feel we should give honourable mentions to: The
New World; Grizzly
Man; TransAmerica; Breakfast
on Pluto;
Breaking and Entering; Stranger
than Fiction; Hollywoodland;
Gypo; Scenes
of a Sexual Nature; The
Page Turner; Goodnight
and Good Luck; Brokeback Mountain; Capote; Confetti; Mischief
Night; The
History Boys; Right
at your Door; An
Inconvenient Truth; The
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada; The
Squid and the Whale; The
White Countess; X-Men
3; Superman
Returns.
Here’s looking forward to 2007...
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