Going Forward, Looking Back

We're already two weeks into 2007, but I thought, what better way to kick things off here at Genre Matters than by pulling together a list of my favorite films of 2006. This list is in no way final or complete, and keep in mind it only includes films that I actually saw, so there's definitely some quality films not making an appearance.

Now, I was going to make this a top 10, but I couldn't come up with 10 films that I loved, so instead, here's a top 5 with some trimming at the end.

1. The Departed:
   There was so much to love about this movie, that I hesitate to mention any one thing. An excellent cast from top to bottom, fine direction, violence galore: this one really did have it all. I feel like it will have to be the Best Picture front runner come February, but who the hell knows at this point.


2. Children of Men:
   In my mind, this film's biggest success was a realistic and chilling vision of the future that seemed entirely plausible. Cuaron created a riveting fiction and then surrounded it with a spectacular script, with some of the year's best suspense. Bonus points for having an agenda but not slamming audiences in the face with it (ahem, Bobby).


3. Pan's Labyrinth:
   Between the brutal conflict of the real world and Ofelia's truly horrifying fantasy excusions, Del Toro wove a tale that cut deep and spared no remorse. Like Cuaron, Del Toro chose a genre that can easily come off hackneyed and silly, and proceeded to turn in a true stunner.


4. Brick:
   This rookie effort is the proud winner of the Genre Matters' "Genre Film of the Year." Bringing a traditional noir storyline to a California high school, writer/director Rian Johnson made perhaps the freshest, most invigorating film of the year.


5. Half Nelson:
   Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but I was pretty sure Ryan Gosling was selling used cars in the Midwest. And then all of a sudden he comes out of nowhere with this gut-punch of a film and looks like the next big thing. Of course Gosling's co-star held her own as well, and for all you Shareeka Epps fans, good news, you can catch her in AVP2 later in 2007!

With the top five out of the way, here's my other notables, in no particular order:

• The Descent: A pretty creepy little film, and then the mutant, flesh-eating cave dwellers show up.
• Little Miss Sunshine: Favorite comedy of the year.
• Prairie Home Companion: Altman's last hurrah worthy of a mention for its music alone.
• Lucky Number Slevin: Definitely the most pleasent surprise of the year, really came out of nowhere on me.
• Borat: I probably would have responded much more to this film without the ridiculous amount of PR run-up.
• Casino Royale: I don't like Bond films, but Daniel Craig actually has me pretty pumped for another go around (that's number 22 for all of you counting).

So, take that for what its worth. I plan on expanding my discussion on some of these films, particularly those meaty in the genre department, as I go forward. Let's just call this a jumping off point.