The Best Films of 2006 - Porn, Zombies and War

I was thunking about all the good movies I've seen this year, so, in no particular order, here's my top 13 for 2006:

As It Is In Heaven
A romantic, uplifting, redemptive film from Sweden. I especially related to the theme of being burned out and losing your creativity, as that's what happened to me over two and a half years ago. And the idea of finding your own voice... magical and healing.

Lord of War
Lord of War deserves an oscar. Why it came and went so quickly with barely a mention belongs in the realm of conspiracy theory, in spite of having Nicolas Cage starring. Perhaps one of the big film studios is financed by an arms company. If the world is anything like this film, we live in scary, scary times.

Brick
Man. What an amazingly good film. If you're a fan of 40's film noir, detective thrillers, murder mysteries or California youth culture see this. Great acting, great story, great filming, satisfying ending. The only imperfection I spotted was it's filmed on video instead of 35mm, hence grainy on the big screen. But that's being really picky.

Paradise Now
A movie about two Palestinian Arabs preparing for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. This is not a documentary and the film is sympathetic to their cause without promoting suicide bombing as the only answer. Very thought provoking, highly recommended for all to see no matter what political or religious persuasion you are, in a world where political fundamentalism has made it's mark.

Solaris
Solaris came out a few years ago, but is the best Sci-Fi film I've seen in ages. A psychological thriller investigating the nature of love, the alien and of humanity. A major reason I like this is for the soundtrack. It's beautiful, and the space photography is beautiful, evoking scenes from 2001.

Together
A Swedish comedy-drama about a commune trying to relate and keep it together. Especially relevant as I live in a tiny intentional community, so perhaps I found it funnier than others would. You'll only find this one in Videon, but it's worth hunting out.

American Hardcore
Documentary shown in the Film Festival featuring members of Blag Flag, Cro-Mags, Minor Threat, Bad Brains and many more. What was most poignant was the perspectives of various bands on the end of the 80's US hardcore movement. As one member says, 'punk is dead, hardcore is dead. The bands of today are a shallow copy of something that is no longer around.'

Princess
A violent Norwgian cartoon looking at the effect of the porn industry on one man, his sister and her child. Sobering, tragic and hopeful all at the same time.

Cabin Fever
Ah, yes. My obligatory zombie movie. Well, not exactly a zombie movie, more a moral warning about being nice people. Good gory effects, believeable story, obnoxious characters you WANT to see die, and an environmental subtext.

Akira
I saw it at the Bridgeway years ago when it first came out and watched it again not long ago with Felyne. Perhaps the first, and arguably still the best of the Anime movies. It has a story you can understand, characters you can empathise with, and the animation still stacks up. Plus lots of weirdness and ultraviolence.

An Inconvenient Truth
I was already a convert, but now I'm a follower of the gospel according to Gore. A little too US-American in places, particularly the hype at the end. But that's the audience he's trying to reach - the US, so in context it makes sense.

Thankyou For Smoking
The funniest movie of the year is not a hollywood canned laughter flick featuring Chevy Chase or the Winan brothers. No surprise there. TFS features moral ambiguity as comedy, is well acted and scripted. A wry laugh for hypocrites, and fans of hypocrisy, like myself.




listening to the Solaris soundtrack, in my head