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Best of 2006
What makes a movie worthy of the ‘best of’
title? Certainly there is a rigorous labyrinth of criteria but this year
it mostly came down to not sucking. This list offers films that gave us
something new or at least packaged a classic tale in some nice wrapping.
Thank you for Smoking. From the book of the same title
comes this brilliant piece on freedom of choice and the absolutely nutty
world of Public Relations for evil industries. Funny to note, not one
person smokes in the whole film.
Clerks II. Kevin Smith went back to where it began at the Quickstop. He’s come a long way and it shows for the better in this thoroughly entertaining tale of quick tongued people with less than enviable McJobs. If nothing else, when the day comes, this movie will easily take the Oscar for “sweetest movie to involve bestiality”.
A Scanner Darkly. Richard Linkletter was a busy man as he pulls out not only this gem but Fast Food Nation in the same year. A Scanner Darkly is worthy of top movie of the year if not for the better than most, drug war storyline, then definitely for the animation style. First filmed using fantastic live actors, the footage is then animated giving a haunting portrayal of Philip K Dick’s novel. Good drugs, bad times, great movie.
Short Bus. Unfortunately this film had limited release so many will have to wait until our great independent video stores stock it. In life there are simply things you come to trust and although I have not actually seen this film yet I'm going to add this one because it simply has too many things going for it to be bad. First, it’s directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch – another brilliant must see) and stars Vancouver punker, turned Video Jockey, turned celebrated CBC broadcaster Sook Yin Lee. She plays a sex therapist who has never had an orgasm leading to, I believe, the first comedy to have real sex scenes. This is not porn, the sex doesn’t stop the plot as it is the plot. How can you loose?
Borat. Hands down best movie of the
year. You’ve probably already read enough of this movie form the
obscene gobs of press it received. It’s nice to see an adventurous
picture get recognition and the wide release it deserves. Borat made the
rare leap from indi-cult-hit to date movie offering a fantastic break
from the formula filler curse of the multi-plex.
Little Miss Sunshine. Now this is a dark comedy. We
all have our cups of tea, and this is the absolute perfect blend for those
wanting a top notch messed-up-family-road trip. There are plenty of faulty
family movies out there but they’re certainly not all good. This
one is all gold as things go bad (but don’t cross the line) for
each and every member of the family wrapping up with the most beautifully
hilarious dance number since Napoleon Dynamite.
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