Re: The Best and Worst Movies of 2006

**Jesus Camp (Pro-Religious hype, thinly disguised as investigative journalism, the other film I walked out of) **


Wow, this movie really is a Rorshach test. Most viewers thought it was too anti-religious (or anti-Jesus Camp, at least) and made the Jesus campers look downright frightening though allegedly the people running the camp were satisfied with it. Recently, the camp closed down claiming they had received too much criticism from the movie. I definitely have to check this out.

tyler,

the praying in "united 93" was not meant to convince viewers that they should be religious. rather, it was a realistic depiction of what some of the people on united flight 93 might've done on that day. i'm an atheist but do not find prayer in general to be offensive (unless someone is praying to god to hurt me, in which case that person is missing christianity's peaceful message anyway).

as my good friend chris long and several others have noted, the christians and the islamic terrorists had something ironic in common--their prayers were unanswered, no matter how fervently or loudly they tried to reach god.

i urge you to re-examine "united 93" and distance yourself from your previous assessment of the movie's depictions of prayer/praying.

eddie

My worst movies of 2006 (and close to worst movies ever):
- Basic Instinct 2
- The Da Vinci Code

My best 'horror'-movies of 2006:
- The Descent
- Reeker

My best 'other' movies of 2006:
- The Proposition
- United 93
- The Prestige

I hardly see movies in theaters any more so I am including the best movies released on DVDs in 2006 as well. There are hardly any good movies in theaters anymore...!

Best Movies in theaters and on DVD (includes mildly entertaining movies as well)
1. Munich (I know it came out in late 2005 but I saw in Jan)
2. Double Life of Veronique
3. Seven Samurai
4. The Proposition (Great movie!)
5. MI -3 (mildly entertaining)
6. Pirates of the Caribbean (mildly entertaining)
7. V for Vendetta 8. Brick (great little flick!)

Disappointments
1. United 93 (could have been better.. choppy and sloppy...my head was spinning)
2. X-Men 3 (was good but fell short of expectations)
3. Superman Returns (good in patches... but flawed)
4. Da Vinci Code (Now what was that!)

--Ranjan

"United 93 (could have been better.. choppy and sloppy...my head was spinning) -- Rajan"

But that's exactly what made it work and why it was so effective. Think about it, was your head not spinning on the day of 9/11? I know mine was and that's what I loved about "United 93" in that it was affective at re-examining those emotions of shock and fear. And I will admit I was not ready to re-examine those emotions from 9/11, but there's no denying that this films does an excellent job, nonetheless. Not too mention this film does it flawless without big names like Bruce Willis, or Tom Hanks.

Tim,

I think it is Greengrass style that turns me off. In Bourne Supremacy, shaky camera movements made me nauseous. He continued his style in United 93. I felt the execution was poor. I don't mean to be disrespectful to people who have died on 9/11 but I felt this movie shied away from presenting more information on the attacks. The movie stayed away from controversy by not portraying right or wrong. And in this sense, United 93 achieved a lot. However that being said, we don't learn anything about the United 93 passengers. We learn a lot about terrosists though. What they were doing before boading the flight? How they boarded the flight? And how they executed the plans? If Greengrass, could show of all this in the movie, why can't he add little more on the passenger side of things (character development). It sends a wrong message to the viewer, and at one point one feels sympathetic for the terrorists.

The movie made us think that these terrorists are young, religious god fearing people, so why are they doing this to United 93? And this point for me the movie failed terribly. The last 20 minutes are most heart wrentching moments I have ever seen in any movie. But that doesn't make it a great movie.

--Ranjan

Ranjan,

Ah, I see, it’s the style that turns you off. Well, I can understand that. I never liked the handheld camera action when I first took notice to it years ago, but since then I’ve grown to enjoy it when it adds something to the mood and feel of a film. I’ll admit it doesn’t work in all movies, but there are films it works very well in. “United 93” is a great example of where I enjoyed the jerky motions because it added to the realism. Granted, a lot of directors these days like to dabble with the handheld’s probably because it helps to make a film more “artsy” and less polished and commercial. I think it’s one of the defining factors in an (using Dr. Evil quotation fingers) “independent” movie.

I’m not sure how far I could go on the religious argument—not that it is one because I really wouldn’t want to get into it. I think I will say that the young terrorists are viewed as god fearing and probably are in their own eyes. So are Christian religions thus the whole argument just gets too complex, at least for me. I think the religious angle is more of a small backdrop to the film.

It may appear that more attention was given to the terrorists—how they boarded, the night before, etc.—and I think this is so because most audiences are looking for the obvious question, “why”? Sure religion plays a roll but even so we are still curious how any human being could be cruel enough to highjack a plane and kill people regardless if they claim in the name of whomever or whatever. Plus there was plenty of time to have character development between the passengers through most of the movie, so I can’t agree that most focus was given to the terrorists.

Anyway, Merry Christmas

Tim =)

ranjan,

i think everyone is in agreement that the final twenty minutes of "united 93" is one of the most-upsetting sequences in all of cinema. however, that is the whole point--we feel like we are there, trapped in that terrifying moment of history and finality. we don't get any false thrills or cheap heroics. it is not pleasant watching "united 93", but it is unpleasant for all the right reasons.

you shouldn't hold a movie's skill against it, you know. :-)

eddie

well these are the ones i liked...not really the best films. I would include The Proposition, The Descent, and Brick but they are all 05 films.

1. Clerks 2 (funniest film i saw this year. Also has the funniest Silence of the lambs homages ive seen.)
2. A Scanner Darkly (just brings back memories of people i use to know. the point of the movie and conversations in the movie strikes home with me hearing conversations like those before. plus its visually amazing to look at. just like Renaissance with the rotoscope technique. )
3. Grandma's Boy / Accepted ( im a sucker for stoner stupid comedies and these were my two favorite of the year. )
4. Thank You For Smoking ( a nicely rounded film..both funny and dramatic.)
5. Lucky Number Slevin ( i like revenge/crime/caper films like this...and it was one of the few this year. nothing special but entertaining.)

though i havent seen them im looking forward to Pan's Labyrinth and Tideland.

i should also mention i dont get to the theaters much so there are movies like the prestige and the fountain that ill probably end up liking but i haven't seen them yet.

ya i tried to keep it to american cinema just because i havent seen to many foreign films this year. but im too damn phych'd to see pan's labyrinth not to mention it.

Some of the good films I saw this past year were, in no particular order-

The Departed
The Illusionist
Mission Impossible: III
Brick
World's Fastest Indian
Casino Royale

Also, I didn't love it, but I didn't see the huge flaws many do in Miami Vice, and I thought that Talledaga Nights was hugely overated. I've also yet to see many of what I hear are the better films of 2006, such as, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flight 93, Little Miss Sunshine, The Painted Veil, and so forth, so to some degree, I'm holding off on declaring my true "favorites."