The end of 2006 heralds the end of FractalMatter’s first year as an independent online magazine. As such, the entire staff looked back and picked out which movies were their favorite. Here’s what they chose and why.
Alasdair’s pick:
The Prestige
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Johnathan & Christopher Nolan from the Novel by Christopher Priest
Starring: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johannsen and Rebecca Hall
I used to be a stage magician. Between the ages of fifteen and eighteen I helped put up stages, did an act, wrote patter and at one point actually scripted a show for about twelve other people. Rarely had more fun too, even during the darker periods where the group I was part of would tour the outer reaches of the Isle of Man, playing to halls filled with bored children, resentful teenagers and parents glad to be out of the house.
There’s a peculiar mindset you get when you do magic, an acknowledgement both of the mundane nature of the tricks and an indescribable pleasure at entertaining people whilst simultaneously, frankly, getting one over on them. That feeling, that combination of pleasure and vengeance lies at the absolute heart of The Prestige, and whilst taken to extremes it absolutely represents the heart of stage magic; slight of hand, quickness of the eye, the successful magician holds a power over the audience and that power is what both Robert Angier and Alfred Borden crave.
The story of a rivalry between the two men, The Prestige is a gleefully complicated story, working flashbacks into flashbacks and once the audience has settled, pulling the rug out from under them. It’s expertly shot, wonderfully acted (Bale and Jackman in particular) and is consistently challenging, bleak and darkly funny. The leads are superb, the supporting actors equally impressive and the connection between magic and science, embodied by David Bowie in a scene stealing turn as Nikola Tesla is both accurate and fascinating. It is, in short, a film which is not only about magic but structured like magic; and that’s why it’s my film of the year. Just remember, watch closely.
Casey Cosker’s pick:
Little Miss Sunshine
Director: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Writer: Michael Arndt
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, & Toni Collette
This was a pretty stale year for movies overall. The best blockbusters, X-Men: The Last Stand and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl weren’t particularly memorable. X-Men was good, but, upon reflection, it just didn’t have a unified effect. It tried to accomplish too much at once, and many characters and plot threads were lost in the muddle. Pirates was, obviously, half of a great film, but since it was cut in half and the writers continued the plot past the third act for the sake of the sequel, I can’t respect it much. Even V for Vendetta had the silliest, most pretentious third act I’ve seen out of an intelligent film in years.
All of the other movies I looked forward to were slightly disappointing. The Fountain was visually and intellectually spectacular, but it didn’t resonate emotionally. While it was a very good film, it wasn’t a great one. Similarly, while A Good Year was visually beautiful, emotionally sweet, and fun to watch; it didn’t quite resonate for me as a whole. I can’t put my finger on why, but it is still Ridley Scott’s best movie since Black Hawk Down.
I am embarrassed to say that the film I enjoyed the most was Snakes on a Plane. It was a bad movie, and it knew it was a bad movie, but it ended up being so bad it was wonderful. I got caught up in the internet hype, so I was able to enjoy the pure campiness of the film. Watching Snakes on a Plane was the most fun I’ve had in a movie theatre. Ultimately, though, I doubt I’d re-watch it without a bunch of friends and some beer.
So, surprisingly, the best film of the year for me was Little Miss Sunshine, a quiet film I was barely expecting. I wasn’t hyped for the film. I found out about it through the trailer and through some friends. When I saw it though, I loved every second. It was well-written, superbly acted, and infinitely funny. Little Miss Sunshine was the kind of comedy I enjoy the most: the kind that thinks itself a drama. The actors play their roles with the utmost sincerity, relying on comedic timing and the quality of the writing to inspire hilarity. Ever since watching Dr. Strangelove I’ve been of the opinion that the best comedies take themselves seriously. Little Miss Sunshine only helps my point. It was so funny, so bittersweet, and so memorable, that it remains the best movie I have seen thus far this year.
Granted, I missed The Prestige and The Departed. I have my doubts, but I think that those two movies might have been great. I also think that Apocalypto and Children of Men both have the potential to blow me away. Maybe one of those will usurp Little Miss Sunshine as my favorite movie of the year, but, with the exception of
John Davidson’s pick:
V for Vendetta
Director: James McTeigue
Writer: Andy & Larry Wachowski
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Frea and a host of other well known faces.
My vote goes for V for Vendetta. Not, perhaps, because it was the best film of the year, though it was certainly one of the better ones, but more because it was not the crushing disappointment that it might have been.
Based as it was on Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s highly praised graphic novel, the threat of failure was palpable and not just from the comic fans. The essential message of the book was that anarchy is the natural response to fascism; that repression leads to violent rebellion and that one man really can change it all.
The Wachowski brothers, you know the guys that did the Matrix trilogy, remained true to Moore’s themes to a very large degree, although they were diluted somewhat in the denouement of the movie. In a world in the throes of a ‘War on Terror’, the themes explored in the film are highly relevant and may, with hind sight, be seen to have been expressed at a tipping point in US tolerance for foreign adventures and political capitalisation on domestic fear.
The opening sequence of the film and a large number of the set pieces were lifted straight from the book, but crucially plot elements surrounding the political climate and background were changed in ways that made the film more digestible by a movie audience; and more up to date (even those of us who lived as adults through the 80’s don’t think the world is still like that !).
It was a toss-up for me between this and The Departed, but V has much more personal relevance. Hell they turned one of my favourite comic books into a movie and didn’t muck it up.
Alan’s pick:
Casino Royale
Director: Martin Campbell
Writer: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench
I’ve kind of looked at this year as the year of the tightly-made, compact, efficient films versus the wandering, meandering films loaded with pomp and circumstance. Since I’ve yet to see a number of more highly acclaimed films this year like The Departed, The Fountain and Children of Men, so the idea of me knowing my favorite this year is a bit skewed. As for what I have seen, Casino Royale takes the cake as my favorite film yet. There’s something so real about this movie and yet so fantastical that it just hit all the right notes for me. The idea to “restart” the franchise was a master-stroke, and one I’ll be lauding for years. Daniel Craig and Eva Green show us tremendous chemistry and exhibit exactly what I look for in a leading couple.
Others to hit close to top marks in my book include Miami Vice, Cars and Inside Man. All are compact movies where each scene is drastically important to the overall film. No wasted dialogue or emotion. No fat left to be trimmed. All are good movies, but can’t touch the near-perfection that is Campbell’s second Bond movie. It’s almost as though he saw his mistakes in Goldeneye (the best Brosnan Bond) and said, “yep, I can do it better if I get another chance.” Then he did. These are the things that struck a cord with me, the reinvention, the focus on character and dialogue and the notable absence of anything that made the previous Bond films into comics of themselves.
All of this added up to being my favorite film of 2006 thus far. While the others have gotten close, Casino wins the pot.
Adam Berry’s pick:
Pan’s Labyrinth
Director: Guillero Del Toro
Writer: Guillero Del Toro
Starring: Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones
Guillero Del Toro has created an epic fantasy landscape and condensed it into a thoroughly enjoyable children’s movie. I’ve heard the words “Adult Fantasy” used to describe it, but to me it seems more like the dark films that I grew up watching (Labyrinth, Krull, Dark Crystal), where the plight of the young protagonist immediately thrust you as a viewer into their disturbing and dreamlike world.
The camerawork is exceptional, and the script is a tight mix of biting social commentary and sinister, haunting idealism. It’s a story where the paranoia and pride of the adult characters subtlety colours the personality and imagination of the young lead, and where what is expected of one is not always the right thing to do, or become.
The varied creatures of the film are a joy to watch, from the eyeless child eating banquet-monster to Pan himself, a tall, twisted version of a Faun (no jolly, pipe playing Mr Tumnus here- this Faun is something that would live in your nightmares forever). Each creature is designed with a careful eye, after being sketched and written by Guillero for nearly ten years. The amount of detail and effort required to achieve the end results are staggering, and rightly so.
It’s a great film, especially for this time of year; bringing a nostalgic sentiment to even the most hard nosed and bitter Christmas Scrooge.
Francis Davis’ pick:
Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
Director: Larry Charles
Writer: Sashe Baron Cohen, Anthony hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazar and Todd Phillips.
Starring: Sasha Baron Cohen
There has never been a movie like Borat. It is a film that works today and will work very far into the future. The reason being is simple. It was the movie that in 2006 was honest about one thing: one person’s comedy is another person’s sacrilege. It offended the people who were pranked in the film. It offended the type of people portrayed in the film. It made light of both the ignorance of America; it’s lack of geography skills, logic and common sense. Borat, as played by Sasha Baron Cohen, played to the notion that Americans are misanthropic, naïve and racist. It also allows the viewer to think about how they live their own lives. It’s reflective of an America the world loves not so much. Borat is funny because it shows truth and makes no fuss about being fair. It’s nice to see a film that tells a subtle message: embrace your fellow man, do not fear the strange other, do not let your world be defined by where you live, and that everyone has importance at the same level as oneself. There is comedy in pain, but it tells America a message: Stop being less than what you are, and it delivers that message through the power laughter.
Ben Crofts’ pick:
Miami Vice
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Michael Mann & Anthony Yerkovich
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Gong Li, Ciaran Hinds
For me this was a hugely entertaining film with great visuals and a tightly scripted plot that demanded attention. Fast cars, boats, flash jets and guns are all present, but it’s the notion of a globalised cartel that got my interest. We see Crockett and Tubbs infiltrate this organisation, we see its various streams of activity, its high-tech sophistication, its ruthlessness and to a point, its glamour. It’s an unsettling portrait.
The other elements that Mann presents very well are the violence and visuals. None of the action sequences are in the mould of being entertaining, instead the violence is sharp and edgy; yet not sickening. Whilst on the visuals there is a note of corruption to Miami, it sometimes looks too good at night, too inviting – again, an entirely deliberate effect.
True, it isn’t without its flaws, such as Crockett letting Going Li’s character go, but it is easily the best film I saw this year. If I could get my hands on that car they’ve got I’d learn to drive!