Final review of the year review 2006...honest...

Crazy reaction of the year

Dancer in the Dark – there was only one person in the cinema not in tears as far as I can say. That was my dad. Everyone else was sobbing.

Brokeback Mountain – snuffle…

Serenity – OK, so you many not have found it devastating – but I did! Crewman number six and the cannon fodder mentor aren’t just obvious targets for messy deaths, they’re series regulars. They’re not simply more expendable than everyone else…I sat through the entirety of Firefly. 17 episodes or so, half an hour each – I’ve spent longer with these characters than I have with half the people in my class. And it’s not fair.

The English Patient – aw…”of course I’ve always loved you”. And…and…she’s dying and…oh…cue floods

Ed Wood – Perhaps I was just having a bad day, but as the credits rolled I was simultaneously a) mouthing “oh my God” b) giggling c) weeping.

Rififi – Sledgehammering shock and silence. Response usually reserved for The Count of Monte Cristo.

The Godfather – minor bout of obsessive insanity.

Stand By Me – 3 hours of sobbing

AND SO…DRUM ROLL…

This year’s best 32 – a mix of films I loved, and films I admired. And occasionally, ones with a bit of both.

33 Labyrinth – I really enjoyed this, even if it was a bit silly…
32 History Boys – slightly disturbing subject matter, but nevertheless enjoyable
31 Downfall – an insane, grim and great movie made by brave Germans
30 The Sting – the joy of the Sting is you really need to watch it twice. Because the last few minutes change EVERYTHING and put a different light on everything that comes before. And that’s all I’m saying as goes the plot. The music sets the tone as cheery and not too serious. And then there’s Paul Newman and Robert Redford, both of which are pure charm on their own, but put together they’re entirely irresistible.
29 Casablanca – non-disappointing classic, every bit as wonderful as you’ve been lead to believe
28 Some Like it Hot – plain entertainment factor. “I’m a guy, I’m a guy!”
27 Aliens – better than the original (scarier too)
26 The Shout – Nope, you haven’t heard of it. This was a very disturbing movie…
25 Strictly Ballroom – Baz Luhrmann has a talent for making small things feel vitally important.
24 Love and Death – jolly amusing
23 Serenity – a very fun film set in a sci-fi world that feels unusually real
22 Phone Booth – One great performance, one disembodied voice, one location…surprisingly successful
21 Sideways – a quiet, shy film, which is nevertheless touching and excellent.
20 Brazil –the best adaptation of 1984 ever written by someone who hasn’t read the book.
19 Pulp Fiction – this is a film I just enjoy, plain and simple. Now usual choice for watching when miserable.
18 Metropolis – B&W, old, silent, not actually finished – these are things that could put a lot of people off. The plot’s so-so, the moral heavy handed and it’s definitely not for everyone. But with that bit of cheery optimism out of the way, why is it here on the list? The IMAGES. Because that’s what cinema is all about, it’s bringing an extra dimension to storytelling not possible in any other medium (don’t correct me, I know that’s false but it sounds impressive and critic-y). That uber cool clock. The machine turning into a monster. The flooding of the city. The freaky dream sequences. The awakening of the seven deadly sins. The birth and death of a robot. All in black and white, all before they even imagined CGI, this is one outstanding visual experience.
17 3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada – I just didn’t want this film to end…you pronounce that mel-key-ar-des
16 3 kings – affecting, amusing, and suspiciously relevant to the current world situation…
15 The Beach – this was a surprising success, which I expected to loathe. It simply stuck in my mind as being mindblowing. I really didn’t want to see it, I thought no film could possibly do the book justice – see the piles of prejudice this film had to overleap into my affections!
14 Spy Game – colour scheme: check. Soundtrack: check. Hot guys: check. Always gonna be a success.
13 Duck Soup – one of the funniest damn things ever. Merci Joe for recommending it.
12 Rififi – the true measure of a good film is not 130 minutes which end as you leave the cinema. It stays with you, whether it be a haunting image, or line, or emotion. This film crept up on me rather – I knew the name from a crossword and this book, but picked it up on a whim. And to be honest, I didn’t get into it immediately. But by the time it got to the famous silent heist, I was hooked. This is the first time a film has ever pummeled me quite this much.
11 The 3rd Man - *hums theme*
10 R+GaD – Simply well made and wuvvy. What more can one ask for?
9 Run, Lola, Run – Innovative, and certainly original, along with being the shortest film I’ve ever seen.
8 Ed Wood – Hardly mainstream, but very entertaining
7 Catch 22 – disorientating and crazy, my favourite war-is-mad film this year
6 Once Upon A Time In The West– bewy bewy good. Long, but worth sitting through.
5 Reservoir Dogs- because it had to be in here somewhere, and I had a good vibe for the number 5
4 Stand by Me – wuvvy, affecting and containing (shock horror) 3 decent performances from child stars.
3 Syriana – no, I don’t know what was going on, but it was very very well done
2 The Godfather – you know, I really did think this would come top. Oh well.
1 JFK – I know I’ve only seen half of it…sorry…possibly the most riveting film ever. It knocked me over so badly that the next day, I gave my half-wiped tape to my co-editor. Never done that before…

And the worst…

116 Air Force One technically comes here in the awfulness stakes. But I enjoyed seeing it so much, had such a good time mocking it, that I actually feel quite mean. The acting was ok too.

117 Behind Enemy Lines was simply not great…nothing wrong with it, except from a few catastrophic physics mistakes and stagy moments.

118 Goblet of Fire– I’m unsure I’d have followed this had I not read the book first.

119 Robin and Marion – just a little rubbish, really. You can’t kill someone by throwing an arrow at them, you wouldn’t even wound them. You don’t leave a defensive position if you have the upper hand. You don’t agree to single combat if you have the upper hand. Though I did like the madly suicidal Marion. And Little John was sweet.

120 Indecent Proposal – per-lease. Alright, I admit there was the odd good scene in here. The odd nice shot or moment. But they were totally overbowled by the sheer tackiness of everything else. I borrowed 70p to get this from Oxfam; after watching it, I sent it straight back.

121 Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy – horrible, horrible.

122 Girl in the Café – had its moments, but the moral was very heavy handed.

123 My Big Fat Greek Wedding – utterly pointless. Anyone who’d ever seen the poster knew that she was going to be revealed as a siren under the dumpy clothes; anyone who’d ever read the title knew that eventually there was going to be a wedding, so why they had to put us through the agony of the first 100 minutes I don’t know. Plus, this film was blatantly racist. Well, perhaps racist is too strong a word…I’m just not sure many Greeks would see the funny side. I certainly didn’t. It wasn’t helped by being the first film I watched after the Godfather. A second film in a week about Foreign-Americans with family issues, including scenes in restaurants and ornate churches…the comparison was painful, and by the second half I was starting to hope they’d all be shot. Predictable as hell, very very average and possibly the least funny comedy I’ve ever seen…

124 Hannah – ugh! Stairlifts, extra cosy beds and chocolates were all suggested as suitable products for this film which felt like an advertising campaign of more than usual sentimentality. To be fair, they had some pretty shots of rivers and forests, but there was a complete lack of spark or energy anywhere in this. I have had a lot of fun mocking it since though…

125 Tom Horn – Just…so…boring…I felt like I was going to expire…



Easiest to judge – acting. Pipsy.
Hardest to judge – directing. AAAGH!
Prize for too many prizes – the Godfather

AND THAT'S THAT!

This year has now officially BEGUN. No more on last year. Except I shall continue to obsess on the obvious topics. Aside from that, nada!





Easiest to judge – acting. Pipsy.
Hardest to judge – directing. AAAGH!Prize for too many prizes – the G (crazy reaction, acting, prettyness, crushness, musicness…)