Movies We Loved From 2006

Just like last year, CineScene's contributors differed greatly in the films they listed as their favorites--with a few notable and interesting exceptions. This year, however, there was at least some emerging consensus (interestingly, many of our favorites also appeared on at least one worst or overrated list). Below you will find two lists: the first is the eight films that garnered the most votes from all of the submissions; the second is a list of the also rans, the ones who missed out by one small vote (to see a particular reviewer's individualized list, click on their name in the menu on the left).

1. Borat (Larry Charles)
"The biggest, most pleasant surprise of 2006, Borat combines sharp satire with broad humor and serves it with a disarming smile." --Alexander Ellerman

"The brazen antics of Cohen's titular character are both laugh out loud funny and cringe-inducing--the only thing more amazing than the stunts he pulls are the reactions those stunts evoke." --Ed Owens

2. Children of Men
(Alfonso Cuarón)
"The dialogue is brisk and intelligent; while Cuarón manages to combine heart-stopping excitement with gravity and a sense of loss."
--Chris Dashiell

"It haunts me still. It's about fear, desolation, despair, but ultimately, hope." --Scott McGee

 

3. The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
"Scorsese's direction is beyond accomplished but entirely in the service of the tale itself."
--Les Phillips

"A vibrant, violent return to form from a master--flawed but fascinating." --Ed Owens

 

4. Fateless (Lajos Koltai)
"it is first and foremost an existential voyage, reclaiming the personal from the political, the individual experience from the moral teachings." --Shari L. Rosenblum

"...stipulates that happiness and beauty can co-exist along with deprivation and despair." --Howard Schumann

5. An Inconvenient Truth
(Davis Guggenheim)
"It is a spirited call to action, one of the most important and most moving films of the year."
--Howard Schumann

"A passionate argument, well-told." --Scott McGee

 

6. L'Enfant
(Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne)
"In an ending that is unique and painfully touching, L'Enfant achieves a rare authenticity." --Howard Schumann

 

7. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)
"The evil that men do, reflected in the dark fables of childhood." --Chris Dashiell

"...plays like a grown up version of the child’s fairytale...The inventiveness of the design astounds." --Shari L. Rosenblum

 

8. The Queen (Stephen Frears)
"The disconnect between the banality of everyday palace life...gives the film a delicious feeling of absurdity, but Frears doesn’t go overboard into farce or caricature...." --Chris Dashiell

"Mirren is an absolute marvel, every inch the Queen without an ounce of mimickry..." --Shari L. Rosenblum

9. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell)
10 . The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu)
11. Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck)
12. Iraq in Fragments (James Longley)
13. Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood)
14. Little Children (Todd Field)
15. The New World (Terence Malick)
16. A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater)
17. Volver (Pedro Almodovar)

©2007 CineScene