The Five Best Films of 2006

I know this is late but I wanted to write something about film.

5. The Departed (director: Martin Scorsese)
I think I will never see a remake this good or this well made again. Scorsese took the basic structure of Infernal Affairs (my all-time favorite film) and made it his own. Leonardo DiCaprio is no Tony Leung but that's okay. He gives his best performance since "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" 14 years ago. I still prefer the original but that doesn't mean that the one is not good. It's a great film, pure and simple.

4. Children of Men (director: Alfonso Cuarón)
This may be possibly the film that got fucked by Universal because it didn't get that many Academy Award nominations. That's too bad because it truly is a great film with the best cinematography in the past 15 years.

3. Pan's Labyrinth (director: Guillermo del Toro)
Guillermo is really one fucked up guy and thank goodness for that. I have never seen such a bold vision that contrasts a fairy tale and war in the same film. Features beautiful performances of Adriana Gil and especially Ivana Baquero. Possibly the best villain in years by Sergi López. Oh yes, you will hate him but you will love this film.

2. Letters from Iwo Jima (director: Clint Eastwood)
Not since Return of the King have I shed tears during a film. But during the film, I wept not because it was such a great movie but because it was such a sad one. It asks the question: "Why should I be willing to fight for a country that's not willing to fight for me?" Ken Watanabe was sadly not nominated for his performance as it is truly one of the best performances in a war film EVER. Light years better than Eastwood's companion film, "Flags of Our Fathers," and his best film since "Unforgiven". This is my pick for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

And now drumroll for my best film of 2006....
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1. The Fountain (director: Darren Aronofsky)
Aronofsky has captured my attention since "Requiem for a Dream" but never has a director's vision been so perfectly encapsulated. The fusion of visual and aural is undeniably imaginative and above all original. A film that was sadly lambasted by the critics as being too pretentious and too confusing. It is a film ahead of its time. Never has a score during the credits made me have goosebumps. "The Fountain" will make you believe in the power of film. You may love it, you may hate it but you can never deny its beauty and craftsmanship.