BEST OF 2006 PART 1: FILMS

Films of 2006:

1. UNITED 93- Flawless performances, documentary style directing with suffocating tension makes Paul Greengrass’s film about the hijacking of flight 93 on 9/11 into a masterpiece of cinema. United 93 is a thought-provoking film that features one of the most inspiring iconic moments of heroism.

2. BRICK- Made on a budget of under USD 500,000, Brick successfuly merges high school students with a hardboiled detective narrative. The risk pays off and while the dialogue is at times confusing, the acting and production is fantastic. This demands to be re-watched again and again. A true indie film that will be a cult classic in years to come.

3. THE DEPARTED- The film is now Martin Scorsese’s most successful film at the box office and it deserves to be. While it never reaches the heights of his earlier films such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull it is easily his best film since Goodfellas. This is possibly because Scorsese has been delving into period dramas of late while the Departed is back to his roots. It features some great acting from the evolving DiCaprio who is growing as a fine actor in every film he is in, but also boasts a return of Jack Nicholson as an evil mob boss. Also Mark Wahlberg is great in this, honest.

4. BORAT- Overrated? Controversial? Don’t believe the former. This is one of the funniest films of recent memory and exposes to the world the genius of Sacha Baron Cohen. It also has naked wrestling, one of the best comedy moments of all time.

5. PAN’S LABYRINTH- I’m going to guess that you missed Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy film, right? If you did then you missed out on one of the most darkly beautiful and enchanting films ever made. Del Toro shows great human empathy as well as visual flair.