Looking back on the past year, I continue to find myself almost astonished at the wealth of fantastic films from last year. From Box Office successes like The Departed, to fantastic little indie flicks like Half-Nelson, to those in the middle such Letters from Iwo Jima or Little Miss Sunshine. Not only was there a phenomenal amount of fantastic flicks, but the absolute diversity in films was again, nothing short of astonishing. The year was littered with surprises, although Casino Royale received a more than generous share of hype, it turned out to be one of the greatest Bond movies of all-time, revitalizing a dieing series. The aforementioned Little Miss Sunshine was suddenly dubbed by the media "The little movie that could" and what looked like a nice, indie movie exploded. Pan's Labyrinth was released and for about a month nobody talked about it, then a swarm of fantastic reviews were released, and movie by the same director of Hellboy (which I thought was a simply average flick) turned out one of the best movies of the year, in a fantastical, phantasmagoric, brilliant, and beautiful piece that will hopefully never be forgotten.
This was also the year of the entertaining movies. No one will claim that Snakes on a Plane will win an Oscar, no one should claim that it is anything more than an average movie, however my movie experience at Snakes On a Plane, was one of the best I can think of. The crowd was more than simply rowdy, they were absolutely crazy, but that was the fun of it! I could never have imagined going to a movie theatre and having that kind of experience where everyone was just looking to have some fun with a sub-par B-Flick. Yet the entertainment of Snakes On a Plane was surpassed when I watched the absolute gem of a piece, Crank. Jason Statham has always held his own in film, every since Lock, Stock, and Two Smokin' Barrels, but Crank was a movie that, in Spinal Tap terms, "turned it up to 11". I have never been more satisfied with a film than Crank, it is offensive, it is racist, it is sexist and misogynistic, but it is satire, and it can be likened to a more subtle Blazing Saddles, except for action films.
So, what does this all mean? In simple terms, it means compiling my Top Ten of '06 is going to be very hard, I have been working on it, and am having some trouble deciding what goes where (psst...here's a hint Children of Men is very close to the top, maybe it is the top!?) But this is also hopefully a sign for 2007, already a year which has turned out a fantastic performance with Chris Cooper in Breach. I could go on and on, speaking of the controversies of the year (well here's one, Blood Diamond wasn't as good as many would have you think) or there were so many interesting films which were somewhat overlooked (read. Apocalypto). Heck, I could talk about the craziness of the Oscars, but for now, I'll spare you. Yeah, I'll save that for another time.