Doug's Favorite Movies of 2006

Brick
Idiocracy
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Children of Men
Apocalypto
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
The Descent
Notes on a Scandal

Honorable mention:
Nacho Libre
Inside Man
Thank You For Smoking
The Queen
Casino Royale
Little Children

Pan's Labyrinth

An unlikely but imaginative fusion of old-fashioned war movie and a Harry Potter movie. People would probably find this ridiculous if it were in English, but the Spanish lends some merit and mystery to the proceedings. Great performances by the little girl, Ivana Baquero, and the Hitler-esque fascist villain, Sergi López. A strong, visceral reaction from the Arclight audience indicates the filmmakers successfully mined some innate fears and genuinely violent human impulses.

Babel

Suffers from a lack of dramatic modulation. There is too much emotional tension and not enough release. Made me feel like I’d been dragged behind a truck for two and a half hours. Performances were exceptional, but it feels like there are scenes missing. The ending leaves me wanting more closure. Despite all of this, it gripped me.

The Good Shepherd

Deniro tries to dramatize Matt Damon’s aloof spy by making him keep secrets from his family and colleagues. But in doing so, he’s also keeping secrets from the audience. It’s impossible to be engaged by this movie. It’s not clear who Damon’s character is, what he wants, or how he can get it. Nowhere is there a better example of a movie which fails by NOT following the three-act structure. See The Good German instead.

Rocky Balboa

Though this was certainly made for some cynical reason, Rocky Balboa doesn’t have a cynical bone in its whole body. It’s a simple glory-tale sports metaphor with some good writing and a lot of important speeches about “going one more round” etc. Neither great nor bad, it serves as an example of the lesson it teaches – going one more round, for no better reason than you want to.

Altered

Fun but forgettable take on alien body snatchers. Clever use of its small budget and limited locations.

The Good German

The dark side of Casablanca. Imagine if everybody in Casablanca who wins loses, and everybody who loses wins. Beautifully shot, directed, and acted. Great music. A sublime homage. But dark, baby. Dark. (Reminded me a little of Syriana, strangely enough.)

Blood Diamond

DiCaprio is GREAT in this. Perhaps better than The Departed, if only because the writing here is cheesy and Leo sells it with conviction. Plot had me until the final third. Then it gets a little preachy.

Apocalypto

I was amazed by this. It’s epic, it’s suspenseful, it’s historic, and it thrusts us into a world WE HAVE NEVER BEEN BEFORE. It’s also a great parable for the wastefulness of an opulent society and how to survive by respecting nature. If Mel weren’t a crazy, drunken, anti-Semite he’d be up for best picture. Seriously. I was stunned.

Touristas

All about the bikinis. Tries to mislead by pretending to be about something else, but becomes all about the thing they tell you it’s about. Then there’s an underwater set-piece that has nothing to do with anything. But really all about the bikinis. I believe it takes a true artist to try to understand the thing that compels them and to explore that. Director John Stockwell (Blue Crush, Into the Blue) needs to do this. He needs to dig deep, go out on a limb and really try to understand his bikini fetish. We will all be grateful.

The Queen

Second viewing.