From the Top of My Head 2006

Two weeks ago, I settled myself into the airplane seat, fired up my laptop, and prepared to start working on my holiday Cinematical articles. With earphones masking the cabin's noises, I began to go through my work and whip up some words. A mere fifteen minutes in, I was slapped with the blue screen of death and watched my hard drive bite the big one. I can't, for the life of me, remember the list I came up with for my best movies of 2006. Perhaps that's a sign of quality, but I think it's more a sign of egg nog.

After a little wracking of the brain, I've come up with a list that I whipped up off the top of my head, old school style -- with a pad and paper. From The Top of My Head 2006 is a mixture of light laughs, disturbing realities and quirky strangeness coming mainly from 2006 releases, as well as a few TIFF picks that I couldn't bring myself to leave any personal year-end list. There's a little local flavor (local to the US at least), as well as some foreign gems. These are the first films that popped into my head, when I thought of great movies this year, and I would love to hear what 10 films to pop into yours.

In no particular order after the first:

1) The Proposition

Nick Cave's film about nineteenth-century Australia was an utter delight, mixed with haunting music and disturbing scenes. Being a bit allergic to western motifs, I was coaxed into watching the film, and I came out mesmerized. It's an impressive feat that Cave penned the script in three short weeks. Between his words and music and impressive performances from the likes of Danny Huston and Guy Pearce, the tale of familial bonds and the pressure of duty flowed like an oasis of water in the dust of the land Down Under. However, what truly makes the movie sing is its honest portrayal of the story without the need for picking sides and choosing heroes. Both the men of the law and the lawbreakers shine as more than just good or evil.

While this film is by no means Christopher Guest's best, there are great moments worth the effort, and really, isn't his worst better than the a lot of other comedies out there? Many of the comic actors in Guest's troop have done crappy work on their own, but together they can't help but sparkle a little -- at the very least. This is a particularly essential movie for Catherine O'Hara fans. Her shocking transformation in the second half of the film steals the show. If I hadn't seen her morph for myself, I would have bet money that prosthetics were involved.

3) The Lives of Others

This TIFF pick, which should be released in February, is a must-see. It's a strong, thrilling, and at times funny film that is made even stronger by German actor Ulrich Mühe's performance as a Stasi officer. Through the progression of the film, he finds that his intelligence and gut instincts, which had previously made him a good cop, begin to lead him to people and principles that he is against. I'm sure that being an object of staunch Stasi spying himself made Mühe's performance all the more powerful; while Mühe plays a stoic man drenched in routine, his eyes and manner speaks subtle volumes.

4) Imagine Me & You

I just cannot help but love this movie. Although the treatment of the love story is a bit "Disney-fied," Piper Perabo and Lena Headey completely sold me with their chemistry. After lesbian relationships received increasing exposure in indie film projects with more alternative themes, it is nice to see two women get a little mainstream treatment of their love. While Imagine Me & You definitely has its cheesy moments, it tactfully deals with a story about infidelity and reminds us that marriage is something to step into with both feet, and is not a Band-Aid for unspoken problems.

5) A Scanner Darkly

Waking Life wasn't for everyone, and I've heard many complaints ranging from disinterest in the movie's discussions to disliking the film's rotoscoping. However, I think that A Scanner Darkly uses Linklaster's Waking Life rotoscope technique to make the most of the storyline. I'm biased in my admiration for Linklater, but I was pleasantly surprised to like everyone on the cast, even those I don't really care for, like Keanu and Woody. While the movie was far from a top pick in any particular genre, Linklater still managed to create a world that sustained Philip K. Dick's vision while making it accessible for larger audiences.

6) Stranger than Fiction

Beyond the cowbell, I have never been a huge fan of Will Ferrell. While I've always enjoyed his movies, I could never get into the Ferrell frenzy that so many of my friends were wrapped up in -- that is, until I saw this film. I find strange questions entirely interesting and this what-if world of fictional characters blending with reality was perfect. Everyone was beyond charming, and frankly, I would pay the ticket price again, just to re-watch literature professor Dustin Hoffman's list of questions to try and discern exactly what sort of novel Harold Crick is living in.

7) Dear Wendy

While The Proposition reigns supreme as the best film of 2006 for me, Thomas Vinterberg's treatment of Lars Von Trier's screenplay remains the only film that has ever inspired me to send out a mass e-mail advertisement to my entire address book urging them to see a film. The movie was the light at the end of a dark tunnel of bad 2005 TIFF picks, and held up upon repeated viewings. There is something completely fascinating about the idea of a group of pacifist gun-toting teens, and Vinterberg managed to create an unrealistic yet believable world that felt like a mash-up of Dogville and Pump up the Volume.

8) Little Miss Sunshine

I, like many other moviegoers this year, loved this film. Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about it that hasn't already been said by a million people: The cast is great, especially Abigail Breslin; it's funny, quirky and all sorts of goofy without drowning in the ludicrous. There's a spinning kaleidoscope of many kinds of humor throughout the film, and I can't help but giggle whenever I think of Frank's run. It's just too bad that one of the funniest moments comesat the end, and really can't be talked about without all sorts of spoilage. ...

9) Ghosts of Cité Soleil

This TIFF pick that will come out in 2007, by new documentary director Asger Leth, details Haiti during the last days of Aristide. The movie is gritty -- both in its content and its shots, but it maintains a sense of beauty that is juxtaposed against the shocking life of Bily and 2Pac. As leaders of the Chiméres, a Haitian gang that oft resorted to violence and territorial craziness, the brothers were also unofficial consorts to Aristide. It is a truly amazing story, and it builds like an expertly-written novel. The brothers are inevitably doomed, but the escalation of tension in Haiti is perfectly shown, and completely engaging.