Bryan's Top 5 of 2006

I've been thinking alot about this list and it's really sort of torn me apart. There's movies that I thought would rate the list that I haven't been able to see yet because of my geographic handicap (Good German, Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men, Babel, etc.) and it's really sort of just pissed me off.

So, know that it took a lot out of me to make this list. But here goes:

Honorable Mention: Scoop.

It wasn't Woody Allen's best, but I thought it was certainly one of the funniest. It has the first runner-up award this year.

5) Monster House.
No two ways about it, this was some of the most enjoyable time I've ever spent in a theatre. I must have seen it five times, twice with my kids and three times by myself. It was everything kids movies used to be and still should be but aren't. And Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon wrote a helluva script. It's just dynamite.

4) An Inconvenient Truth.

This was an amazing documentary and I ended up seeing it twice in the theatres. I bought a copy of it and I've passed it around so much I haven't even had the chance to watch it on DVD for myself. I felt it was terribly important and the filmmaking was quite stunning for what it was. Basically, it made the list because I am forced to advise everyone to watch it.

3) The Fountain.Read my review here. I know Steve thinks I'm crazy, but I think he's crazy. Steve is actually the only person I've talked to personally that didn't like it. Mybrother loved it, Elias loved it, I loved it... Steve is the odd man out on this one.

2) The Prestige.
I can't sing enough praises about this picture. I've seen it five times and it works better and better each time. I read the book back in February and have been a fan of it ever since. The Nolan Brothers adaptation of the material was mind-blowing, I wish I could adapt material with such pizazz. I've been advising people to see the hell out of this movie, too.

1) The Departed.

I guess there's no surprises here. I saw this picture five times as well and I think that it was certainly one of Scorsese's best. And the balls it took to take a mainstream movie and kill pretty much everybody and still make $100 million+ at the Box Office makes me giddy.

Two days from now I'll be kicking myself for excluding something from this list, but I'll come back and make a top ten, using these as the top five....

If I forgot anything, be sure to let me know.