TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2006!

10. THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
This one wasn't "black comedy" enough for me. Sure, the scene above you have a man protecting the cigarette industry by telling an audience that it's in their best interests to keep this kid with Cancer alive and smoking...but overall I felt like it was missing it's "bite." Not a bad movie in the least, just wished it didn't hold back. Maybe the whole subplot with the kid ruined it for me...who knows.


9. WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?
Proved my point that Big Oil owns everything to do with the automobile industry...and kept Molly awake! So that's a win-win! You go into the movie not knowing much about the Electric Car (they were only LEASED to a select few in California) and leave with this sinking feeling that we might be closer to weening ourselves off foreign oil by now if we could've kept the pressure on the car companies. Also, I knew Cheney and Bush and Andy Card were all tied to the Oil Lobbies...but who knew Condi Rice was as well?! Just makes the case that the only "energy policy" we're going to get until 2008 is either "Coal" or "Drill the Fuck outta Alaska!"


8. FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
If "Letters From Iwo Jima had opened here this year, this wouldn't be on the list. It wasn't a bad movie...but from what I hear, Iwo Jima is everything this film was, only tighter and more precise. This one seems to have a heavy influence on narration and flashbacks. Plus, it tries to cover a ton of ground in not only showing you what happened on the island, but following the soliders back to their cilvian lives. It was an eye-opening look into what our country will do to boost morale. It's funny to think that we have alwasy been as sneaky and sloppy as we are now...it's just that shit was easier to manipulate back then.


7. V FOR VENDETTA
I loved this movie. I don't care if it was more action than story or didn't exactly follow the book. It was powerful and had some of the most breathtaking action sequences of the year. Oh, and bald chicks are hott.


6. WHY WE FIGHT
Every school should be forced to show this documentary to it's students. It's something that we need to get instilled into the brains of future generations...the notion of why we go to war and what can be done to prevent it. It's odd and yet satisfying that a former Army General turned President would use his last Address to the Nation to warn us of the Military Complex. That after defeating the Nazis in WWII, we wouldn't need to continue to build up our weaponary and military forces against an enemy that didn't exsist. And yet, that's exactly what we've done to this very day. This is easily my pick for "SEE IT NOW" compared to anything else on the list.


5. THE PRESTIGE
Nothing is worse that knowing a movie has a "trick ending" in store for you and just spending the entire movie trying to figure it out. Christopher Nolan has made a career out of making the type of films that have twists and turns and keep you so entralled that he manages to stay one step ahead. The Prestige is his latest masterpiece and was one of the best times I had all year inside of the movie theater. Every single performance was perfect, and you know you're in for a treat when David Bowie just shows up as dessert! The entire film is one giant magic trick where everything is right in front of your eyes and yet the slight of hand deceives you right up until the final frame.


4. UNITED 93
Here's a film that everyone needs to see and that no one wants to. It made a tiny dent in the box office and every person I reccomended the film to gave me the, "Eh, I don't think I can watch that." face. It's shot like a documentary, has nobody actors, uses a lot of real life people to play themselves, and stays with you long after the movie is over. Fuck Alan Jackson, watch this film and make sure you "haven't forgotten."


3. THE DEPARTED
Saw this with my buudy Jon a couple months ago. We both were "eh" about buying tickets for it. Nothing screamed "you have to see this!" and honestly, if there had been anything else that would've caught our eyes, we probably would have skipped it. But luckily, we sat down and saw what will probably win Best Picture of the Year. It has plenty of twists and turns and great acting throughout the entire thing. But most of all, it has that "bite" that Thank You For Smoking was lacking. This movie pulls no punches. It's loud, it's messy, and god damn is it violent. You see more headshots and blood splatter here than your average horror film. It's exactly the type of movie that Scorsese needed to make to ensure he gets his fucking Oscar. Or else, expect him to shoot some mother fuckers in their god damn cake holes.


2. BORAT
What can I even say about this one? Sasha Baron Cohen is our Andy Kaufman and this is his masterpiece. The fact that this even got made, became a phenomenon, and shed some light under America's underbelly is enough to make my head spin. I have never laughed longer or harder in a movie theater...ever. I can only imagine the amazing DVD that we get to look forward to in a couple months!


1. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
The little movie that could. Yeah, it's ending was a lil' letdown, but the adventure that got us there was worth every penny. The best ensemble in recent memory captured on screen combined with a fresh idea for a "road picture" made this my favorite film of the year. It was so simple, so touching, so amazing in every sense of the word. It made you cherish your family, no matter how fucked up they may be.

MOVIES THAT WE DIDN"T GET TO SEE YET SINCE WE LIVE IN A COWTOWN: (therefore didn't make the list)
* PAN'S LABYRINTH
* THE GOOD GERMAN
* CHILDREN OF MEN
* LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

FILM I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANTED TO SEE, BUT COULDN'T FIND THE TIME BEFORE IT ALREADY LEFT THE THEATERS:
*THE FOUNTAIN

WORST WASTES OF FILM (and my time) OF THE YEAR: (tie)
* LADY IN THE WATER...wow. What the fuck was that about?! Rented it for free and still wanted my money back.
* ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL...seriously...was good up until the "murder mystery" bullshit.