Six Months In
Six Months In
We're just about at the '06 halfway mark, and it's time for a basic sum-up.
By this site's yardstick there have been 10 A-listers, 15 honorable B-listers, and 9 half-decents. A total of 34 films -- a bit more than one per week since the year began -- that were either excellent or very good or respectable, or at the very least mildly pleasing.
An Inconvenient Truth
My choice for the best film of the year so far, no question, is Paul Greengrass's United 93 -- a film that many, many people still don't want to see, but is truly a pulse-pounder for the ages, in part because it's so stunningly well-made, but mainly because the extraordinary craft manifests in all kinds of haunting ways.
Composed of a thousand details and a thousand echoes, United 93 is a film about revisiting, recapturing, reanimating...about death, loss and a portrait of heroism that, for me, was too much to absorb in a single viewing. I've seen it five times, and I can't wait to watch and re-watch the DVD.
The first runner-up is Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight. It's not the first doc to ask and explore why so many people around the world despise the U.S. of A., but it's surely one of the most precise and persuasive. By delivering a cleanly composed, ultra-perceptive explanation of how the American military-industrial complex runs the whole foreign policy show, from the leanings of the U.S. President to the Congress and right on down the food chain, it burns right through to the nub.
The third best so far is Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, a revisiting that feels freshly felt as well as a heart movie with a personal stamp that just happened to cost $260 million (or whatever the actual figure is) to compose. It's a deeply satisfying upgrade, a reverent nostalgia piece, an above-average chick flick, a sumptous and harmonious piece of work and, frequently enough, a solid action thriller.
Fourth on the list is Sydney Pollack's Sketches of Frank Gehry -- a stirring, hugely likable portrait of the most daring and exciting architect of our time. I wrote this during the Toronto Film Festival, and nine months later I feel the same way: "Corny as this sounds, Sketches left me with a more vivid feeling of celebration and with more reasons to feel enthused and excited about life than anything I've seen [in a long while]."
Fifth in line is Davis Guggenheim and Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and yes, I'm applying special criteria here. It's among the five best not just because it's a movie that stirs and sinks into your soul (if you don't feel this movie there's some- thing seriously detached inside), but because it's flat-out the most important flick of the year.
I'm listing it among the top five, in short, because more people need to see it because the sell is far from complete, especially with so many skeptics and corporate doubt-spreaders spinning against it as we speak.
I'm just going to list the '06 films that have popped through over the last two or three hours. I've only listed 28 films on top of the 34 in the first three categories. I'm sure I've forgotten a gem or two, and I've probably overlooked some half-worthies.
Frank Gehry
Scoldings and admonishings are, of course, necessary and welcome.
TEN BEST SO FAR: United 93, Why We Fight, Superman Returns, Sketches of Frank Gehry, An Inconvenient Truth, Tsotsi, Find Me Guilty (a triumphant return to form for director Sidney Lumet), V for Vendetta, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (the best Martin Scorsese film since Goodfellas).
GOOD, STURDY, HONORABLE (15, in no particular order): Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Inside Man, Running Scared, The Devil Wears Prada, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, The Break-Up, Favela Rising, Mission Impossible 3, Ask the Dust, Akeelah and the Bee, Bubble, Thank You for Smoking, Our Brand is Crisis, Sophie Scholl -- The Final Days, Mozart and the Whale.
OKAY, PASSABLE, TOLERABLE (9, in no particular order): Down in the Valley, Nacho Libre, The Omen, Poseidon, Glory Road, Firewall, Imagine Me & You, Kinky Boots, Free Zone.
UNDERWHELMING (8): X-Men: The Last Stand, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, 16 Blocks, The Notorious Bettie Page, Lonesome Jim, Cars, Friends with Money, Lucky Number Slevin.
DIMINISHES A BIT MORE EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT (1): The Road to Guantanamo.
OVERRATED IN SOME QUARTERS (5): The Proposition, Lady Vengeance, Battle in Heaven, Brick, The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
DISAPPOINTING (especially coming from a brilliant writer-director who's done much better work): Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.
NOT VERY GOOD...KINDA BAD, ACTUALLY (1): The Da Vinci Code.
WORST (3): RV, Basic Instinct 2, American Dreamz.
BEYOND DISSECTION (1): Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 19, 2006 at 8:35 PM
comment #1
nick says ...
Jeff--what about Wayne Kramer's brilliant, underrated Running Scared? I seem to remember you loving it....did ya forget it? And did you see the disgustingly underseen Ask the Dust?
Posted by nick at June 19, 2006 8:57 PM
comment #2
Jeffrey Wells says ...
Shit...I knew I'd forgotten something. Okay, I've put them both in. Thanks. I don't know how Wayne Kramer's film slipped my mind...strange.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells at June 19, 2006 9:01 PM
comment #3
nick says ...
and one more...did you ever see David Slade's Hard Candy? That movie was amazing. Ellen Page deserves an Academy Award nomination.
Posted by nick at June 19, 2006 9:07 PM
comment #4
Mark says ...
How many years in a row can The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and Bob Dylan: No Direction Home make your Top 10? You can have a Top 8, ya know. We won't judge.
Posted by Mark at June 19, 2006 9:07 PM
comment #5
Anonymous says ...
and I agree with you...United 93 was phenomenal and the best film thus far of the year. Also, coming in on the other end of the spectrum, I just caught District B13--now that was EASILY the most "entertaining" movie going experience I've had this summer (if not the year in general.)
Posted by Anonymous at June 19, 2006 9:09 PM
comment #6
Anonymous says ...
where would you put Richard Kelly's Cannes cut of "Southland Tales" ??
Posted by Anonymous at June 19, 2006 9:13 PM
comment #7
Marie and South says ...
And what about "Marie Antoinette"? Unlike "Southland", it will likely stick to what it is and be released stateside the same as it was seen in Cannes. Changes don't appear forthcoming. Since "Southland" seemed headed for a major re-edit, it's exclusion is understandable.
Posted by Marie and South at June 19, 2006 9:28 PM
comment #8
Jeffrey Wells says ...
The list is just about theatrical releases so far, but the Cannes cut of Kelly's "Southland Tales" was, of course, a wipeout for most everyone. For me the last third or so had something because of how trippy and unhinged it became. My problem with that it started out too complex and overly layered. A new and leaner cut will hopefully play Toronto.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells at June 19, 2006 9:31 PM
comment #9
Gabriel says ...
Jeff, where would you place "Manderlay"? I remember you seeming to be underwhelmed by it at Cannes 2005. I personally loved it and thought it to be a totally worthy sequel to "Dogville". I also don't understand why you disliked "Brick". Great calls on "Vendetta", "Tsotsi", and "Bubble", though.
Posted by Gabriel at June 19, 2006 9:33 PM
comment #10
Zachary says ...
I totally agree with you about United 93. I've only seen it once, but the whole movie is still fresh in my mind. I would be very surprised if more than 2 or 3 movies beat it on my end of the year Top 10 list.
I'll be checking out An Inconvenient Truth when it hits my neck of the woods, either this weekend or next.
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home better than Casino? Yowsers.
Posted by Zachary at June 19, 2006 9:53 PM
comment #11
BL says ...
There is no question that the best filim I have seen thus far is "The Death of Mister Lazarescu". What a shame that even here in NYC it only played for a couple of weeks.
It is really a film everyone should see, first because it is a great film and second because almost ALL of us could be in that situation someday (and if we arne't, we should have compassion for those who will).
Also as someone who does their world travelling by film - it is really cool to see such a fine film coming out of Rumania.
Wish I could remember more of the films I've seen this year but think last year had a much better crop of movies by this point.
I am really looking forward to "Hidden Blade" by the director who did the marvelous "Twilight Samurai" that played here (I think) last year.
Posted by BL at June 19, 2006 10:22 PM
comment #12
Steve C. says ...
Sorry, but comparing docs to narratives is the ultimate in apples to oranges. So is No Direction Home his best since The Last Waltz then?
For my top 10 so far this year, I would definitely put INSIDE MAN up there. Far more effective than V FOR VENDETTA in accomplishing what it sets out to do.
Posted by Steve C. at June 19, 2006 10:25 PM
comment #13
Dan R% says ...
Yeah, United 93 is still the best of the year as far as I'm concerned...my top 5 are:
United 93
A Prairie Home Companion
The Proposition
Brick
Inside Man
After that, everything else kinda can be lumped into, take your pick. Granted I don't see nearly as many films as some around here...but those five were definitely worth my money.
Posted by Dan R% at June 19, 2006 11:38 PM
comment #14
dmac says ...
Prairie Home Companion is Altman's best since Short Cuts. (Sorry Gosford Park fans--I liked it, but it didn't hit home for me.)
You may have to be a fan of PHC already to truly get into the movie though.
Posted by dmac at June 20, 2006 5:41 AM
comment #15
jesse says ...
It's been a rough year so far. Enjoying Bubble and Tristram Shandy so much in January, I thought maybe we were in for something better. Best so far:
1. Brick*
2. Inside Man
3. Mission: Impossible III
4. A Prairie Home Companion
5. I don't know what to put here, really... take your pick of some well-made films I liked but didn't love: Cars, United 93, Art School Confidential, Bubble, or Tristram Shandy.
But I've already got a fine list of potentials for a worst-of list (granted, Jan-April is a big dumping period, but even so, I didn't see this many awful movies last year): Ultraviolet, Basic Instinct 2, Dirty, One Last Thing, Kinky Boots...
*overrated?! I'd say it was underrated, if anything, given the number of shrugs and/or "yeah, it's cute" three-star reviews it got
Posted by jesse at June 20, 2006 6:41 AM
comment #16
Dave Poland's Gut says ...
Running Scared was actually called brilliant by someone. I think I've heard it all now. What's next? Prairie Home for Best Pic?
Posted by Dave Poland's Gut at June 20, 2006 6:56 AM
comment #17
Alexander says ...
Glad to see more Brick-lovers here. To me, it's *easily* the best film of the year at this juncture.
The more I think about A Prairie Home, to me, the less it resonates, which is pretty much the opposite of most Altman pictures.
Posted by Alexander at June 20, 2006 7:13 AM
comment #18
richard crawford says ...
the best is: Dave Chapelle's Block Party.
Posted by richard crawford at June 20, 2006 7:15 AM
comment #19
NYCBusybody says ...
I don't know, I gotta say, I think "indie" movies are getting worse and worse these days. They're just as predictable and contrived as big-budget nonsense now. Ah, do I long for the days of "Fargo".
United 93 is so far and away the best movie so far this year, that the others just bask in its sheer, reflected glory. It was SCRUMTRELESCENT.
Posted by NYCBusybody at June 20, 2006 7:23 AM
comment #20
Alan says ...
UNITED 93, no question.
And, just so you know, RUNNING SCARED is damn, damn good.
Posted by Alan at June 20, 2006 8:26 AM
comment #21
delbomber says ...
'Running Scared' was good, and the child-snuff scene was so chilling and stylistic it approached genius, yet I couldn't get over two aspects of the film...the predictable and disappointing final scene and the WORST NY/Northern Jersey accents I have ever heard in my life...based on the accents I kept thinking, "Boston doesn't look like that" before realizing it was supposed to be Newark.
Posted by delbomber at June 20, 2006 8:29 AM
comment #22
jesse says ...
NYCBusybody, I kind of agree. I mean, sure, there's loads of studio-produced trash & swill. But often, at least one or two of the very worst movies I see in a given year is an indie, because if a big-studio movie looks truly awful, I usually avoid it, whereas I'm more likely to give an indie movie a chance. That's what brought me to DIRTY, a barely-released indie starring Cuba Gooding and Clifton Collins Jrs. You don't want to beat up on some microbudget thing that no one saw, but goddamn was it awful (and it got some decent reviews, too). It was shot like a student short (and had about that much intrigue spread over 90+ minutes), Cuba Gooding is horribly unconvincing as a Training Day-ish badass corrupt cop, and the movie preens with nihilism. (And not in an interesting way.)
Another one of the worst movies I've seen in recent years was AMY'S ORGASM, an indie sex comedy that was supposed to be like a hipper "Sex & the City"... it didn't compare, and I don't even *like* "Sex & and the City."
Even something like DOWN TO THE BONE, with its terrific lead performance by Vera Fermiga, feels like a slow, semi-pointless swirl around the drain.
At least some of the big-studio mediocrities will attract likable performers or a good cinematographer or something. Not that it excuses THE ISLAND or HITCH or whatever, but they're a better sit than many, many indies.
Posted by jesse at June 20, 2006 8:32 AM
comment #23
La Saggezza says ...
Tsotsi was last year's best foreign film winner. Sophie Scholl was last year's nominee in the category. Estrada and Mozart and the Whale were also released last year. And the Dylan doc was too. Most of these aren't 06 contenders.
Posted by La Saggezza at June 20, 2006 9:16 AM
comment #24
Pedro says ...
This is why, at the end of the day, Wells is little more than another studio shill. U93, Superman, and V for Vendetta all rank among the best of the year, while movies that actually have people talking like The Proposition or Brick are relegated to overrated. There isn't a single divisive, distinct piece of work worth arguing about in that top ten. (No wonder you think No Direction Home is "Scorsese's best since Goodfellas"). And the best movie many people, including me, have seen so far this year -- L'Enfant -- is nowhere to be found. You can play your man-of-the-people Down With Hollywood schtick until the cows come home Jeffrey, but you're not fooling anyone.
Posted by Pedro at June 20, 2006 9:18 AM
comment #25
akabob says ...
I've been pleased with a number of films this year but my favorites are "United 93", "Dave Chappelle's Block Party", and "Brick" (underrated!). Good luck finding anything as entertaining as "Block Party" in this or any other year.
Posted by akabob at June 20, 2006 9:20 AM
comment #26
Hopscotch says ...
United 93 is the Best. I'd put Brick in second place. Both just amazing and completely original movies.
With all due respect... Running Scared sucked. The nicest thing I can say about it was an interesting terrible movie, instead of just a boring terrible movie.
Posted by Hopscotch at June 20, 2006 9:53 AM
comment #27
mike says ...
I disagree with The Proposition being called Overrated. I think it's the best film I've seen all year. And it's the only good (almost GREAT) thing that Danny Huston has ever done. I don't like him very much. At all, actually.
Of course, I haven't seen United 93 yet, so I can't speak for that. Same with Brick. But Running Scared is pretty damn solid, and a lot of fun, in a twisted sort of way. If anything, it has audacity lacking in most violent films these days.
And Block Party is damn entertaining from beginning to end.
Posted by mike at June 20, 2006 10:17 AM
comment #28
Aaron Burr says ...
Uhm, if the Military Industrial Complex controlled the government then we would be at war 24/7. For some reason the liberal bandwagon always forgets that George W. Bush's 2000 foreign policy platform was that "America cannot be a nation builder." "American cannot police the rest of the world." This was pre 9/11 and in response to Clinton's half ass attempts at restoring order in Somalia and Rhwanda. Bush was going to play the Monroe doctrine and withdraw America's miliatry influence from the rest of the world. Then what happens? AA11, UA175, AA77 and UA93 respectively. The American war machine geared up in response to these attacks and nothing more just as the U.S. responded to Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor Hirihito, Mao and Stalin. Our military posture has always been proactively defensive. Yes people profit from war. But if the Military Idustrial Complex ran like the stock market, there'd be far more than 2500 lives lost as there are now in Iraq.
Posted by Aaron Burr at June 20, 2006 10:22 AM
comment #29
Jake says ...
I just saw 'Prarie Home Companion' on Sunday night and I think it's the best film of the year so far. "United 93" is still showing at one theater here in NYC (19th and Broadway) and I'm hoping to catch it before it leaves. "V for Vendetta' was highly overrated.
Posted by Jake at June 20, 2006 10:48 AM
comment #30
mdc says ...
Aaron Burr: "far more than 2,500 lives lost."
The total is somewhere between 60 and 100,000 lives lost, unless you don't consider Iraqi lives worth mentioning?
Posted by mdc at June 20, 2006 11:03 AM
comment #31
travis b. says ...
aaron burr,
I think the military industrial complex transcends the idea of political parties and right or left winged politics. It affected Clinton as much as it has Bush. And it's been a part of the country since World War II. While war hasn't been declared, one would be hard pressed to find a year in which there was not some sort of military engagement involving the United States.
Posted by travis b. at June 20, 2006 11:11 AM
comment #32
Anonymous says ...
No mention of "Clean", "Somersault", and especially "Duck Season" and "Three Times", all of which I'd take over the "Good/Steady/etc." list (Spike Lee and Neil Young excepted). I also agree on "L'Enfant", "Brick", and "Chapelle's Block Party" getting serious short shrift by JW.
I can't take much issue with the Top 10 (though U93 is a film I can admire without being converted), except for "V4V"--"District B13" was faster, leaner and more purposeful--and the absolutely atrocious "Find Me Guilty", a movie without direction, perspective, or insight. Triumphant? Even "Guilty as Sin" was better.
Posted by Anonymous at June 20, 2006 11:32 AM
comment #33
ArchiveGuy says ...
Whoops--that last post was mine.
Posted by ArchiveGuy at June 20, 2006 11:33 AM
comment #34
Alan says ...
"This is why, at the end of the day, Wells is little more than another studio shill. U93, Superman, and V for Vendetta all rank among the best of the year, while movies that actually have people talking like The Proposition or Brick are relegated to overrated."
I highly doubt Jeffrey Wells is a shill for UNITED 93. See the film. It's amazing. I don't know about the others save for V FOR VENDETTA, but I still keep thinking about it 2 months later. I think it may very well be one of the ten best films of this decade.
Posted by Alan at June 20, 2006 11:55 AM
comment #35
Hopscotch says ...
Considering Sen. McCain is in the "Why We Fight" and talks pretty openly about the danger of the Miliarty-Industrial Complex, aaron burr, it's not just liberals.
And the Iraq War fits into this theory nicely. Yes, the death count at 2500 is not history-making. But the LENGTH OF TIME we're over there. the length of time we've been bulding, more guns, more ammo, more tanks, more no-bid contracts to huge firms. THAT is the point of the film. We need to constantly be at war...
Posted by Hopscotch at June 20, 2006 12:13 PM
comment #36
Josh Massey says ...
"Wells is little more than another studio shill.... You can play your man-of-the-people Down With Hollywood schtick until the cows come home Jeffrey, but you're not fooling anyone."
So which is it, Pedro? Is he a studio shill, or is he trying to fool people into thinking he's a studio shill?
If there's such a thing as a studio shill, by the way, there is such a thing as an indie shill - someone who will claw their eyes out before admitting Hollywood does produce some enjoyable flicks now and then. And that, sir, seems to be you.
Posted by Josh Massey at June 20, 2006 12:32 PM
comment #37
Todd says ...
MY GOD JEFF. What's wrong with you? You forgot to but OVER THE HEDGE on the list for best so far this year.
Posted by Todd at June 20, 2006 1:32 PM
comment #38
cadavra says ...
What's remarkable about BRICK is not just that it's a gimmick--a kind of BUGSY MALONE for the '00s--but that the cast actually pulls it off. It takes real talent to go so far out on a limb and succeed.
Put me in the DISTRICT B-13 camp as well. And I'll defend TRISTRAM SHANDY, too--another stunt that manages to find genuine comedy in a most unfunny source.
Posted by cadavra at June 20, 2006 1:54 PM
comment #39
Colin says ...
As I said in my review of Running Scared, I think whether you enjoyed or hated it depends on how you approached the movie. If you were looking for something like Donnie Brasco, you likely hated it. If you were looking for a balls to the wall B movie, you likely came away satisfied. Now, I'm sure there are excepetions, but from what I've seen, it generally breaks down along those lines.
Posted by Colin at June 20, 2006 1:58 PM
comment #40
Hopscotch says ...
No....I really just didn't like the movie. I honestly felt a little sick leaving the theater.
Posted by Hopscotch at June 20, 2006 2:47 PM
comment #41
Colin says ...
Well, Hopscotch, it seems to me that the difference between, as I describe it, a "brainless, balls-to-the-wall B-movie" and, as you describe it, an "interesting terrible movie," is the thin line between love and hate. Although, I will admit that the 2 cop out endings are pretty much indefensible.
Posted by Colin at June 20, 2006 2:52 PM
comment #42
Joe Leydon says ...
Wim Wenders' "Don't Come Knocking" is, by far, the best movie I've seen so far this year.
Posted by Joe Leydon at June 20, 2006 3:11 PM
comment #43
Hopscotch says ...
I see what you're saying Colin, and I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I don't fall into either categories. I thought it was just bad. The most interesting thing about that movie (I found out after I had seen it) was that it was shot mostly in Prague(!) to cut down costs.
Posted by Hopscotch at June 20, 2006 3:13 PM
comment #44
Steve C. says ...
Damn - the crappy films of this, yet another season of suck, caused me to forget the most interesting film/entertaining film I've seen this year: BRICK.
I was watching the forth season of 24 this week and Lukas Haas showed up for a few episodes to remind of this great film.
Posted by Steve C. at June 21, 2006 1:12 AM
comment #45
Bill W says ...
Looking at all the studio pablum on this list fills me with pity. Thank God for foreign films, and damn the Weinsteins and their ilk for their disappearing distribution.
Posted by Bill W at June 21, 2006 9:28 AM
comment #46
Dave Poland's Gut says ...
When I hear the word "indie" describe a movie. I'm running scared.
Code for pretentious, boring, and overwrought.
Posted by Dave Poland's Gut at June 21, 2006 11:52 AM
comment #47
jesse says ...
I'm puzzled by the praise for DISTRICT B13. It's energetic and pretty entertaining, it has some good action bits, but really, how is it remotely better than any number of halfway decent Jackie Chan movies? Even Besson has written/produced some better trashy-fun action movies recently: UNLEASHED and the TRANSPORTER series are both way more fun than DISTRICT B13.
Posted by jesse at June 21, 2006 12:25 PM
comment #48
C. Robert Dimitri says ...
I don't know...calling Brick and The Proposition "overrated" doesn't jive with me. It's not like they're anywhere near Big-Fat-Greek-Wedding indie breakout status. I realize we're talking about critical response here and not box office, but I thought they were outstanding. Even if they don't hit on all cylinders for someone, they do deserve to be seen for viewers who appreciate their respective genres. As always, though, thanks for the lists, Jeffrey. Good food for thought, and I'll certainly try to catch your favorites that I haven't seen yet.
Posted by C. Robert Dimitri at June 21, 2006 1:23 PM
comment #49
Dan R% says ...
I should add Thankyou for Smoking onto any list of great stuff this year. I don't think I've laughed more this year.
Running Scared is pretty sweet too. Definitely a great ride. Hopefully Paul Walker will build upon his personal success as an actor in it and do things that are just as different and challenging.
Posted by Dan R% at June 21, 2006 6:32 PM