My top Five Movies 2006

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1) Pan’s Labrynth

“But Pan’s Labrynth is Del Toro’s show, in more senses of the phrase than one. His visual sensibility is in every frame of the film, and the fantasy sequences — mixing practical effects, computer animation and much more — have a terrible, beautiful quality to them, while the scenes in the real world manage to contrast the peace and beauty of nature with the brutal blasts of warfare. Pan’s Labyrinth is not for kids — it’s a bit too bloody and disturbing for that, including one truly terrifying image that Del Toro’s borrowed from Goya’s Saturn Devours His Children — but adult fantasy fans will find it a glorious, gripping feast for the eyes that not only creates stunning images but also has the story and characters to make it penetrate past the visual cortex and linger in that place where you keep nightmares and dreams.”

2) Children of Men

“This is how Children of Men breaks your heart: By showing you a world where the presence of a child is so important that it can end battles because that child must not be hurt. And you imagine if every war were like that — in Iraq, in Chechnya, in Dafur, in our own communities — and you weep because you know that they are not. Wandering the ruined halls of an abandoned school, Miriam observes that it’s ” …Very odd, what happens in a world without children’s voices. …” We have the sound of children’s voices, but do we truly hear them right here and now? Children of Men is full of bravura bravery and technical mastery, but what makes it moving is a rare combinations — an understanding of the life-or-death stakes of modern existence, and an unflinching refusal to look away from the equally terrifying possibilities of our damnation or our deliverance.”

3) Borat

“Like Alexis de Tocqueville did in 1831, Borat’s come to see how the American experiment is working. And, just as in 1831, the journey suggests it’s a bit of a work-in-progress. Borat may be one of the most politically interesting comedies of the past 20 years, just in terms of the breadth and audacity of its ideas. …

Oh, and there’s livestock involved. And jokes about poop. And gratuitous nudity — gratuitous male nudity — and that really dumb joke where you tell someone they’ve just eaten something disgusting after they’ve put it in their mouth. Of course, the ’someone’ in Borat is former Republican Congressman Bob Barr, and the ’something disgusting’ is, in fact, truly disgusting. … Mel Brooks was once told one of his films was vulgar. His response was ” … my film rises below vulgarity.” And so it is with Borat — there’s something here to offend everyone, which is interesting in that it makes you stop and think about what it is you’re actually offended by, and why.”

4) Thank You for Smoking
Similar to last year’s awards show darling Crash, Thank You for Smoking was released in theaters early on in the year. The first few months are normally used by studios as the designated dumping ground for films they don’t have much confidence in. And unless the studio launches a killer ad campaign, decent films released in January through March each year miss the boat when it comes to gathering awards which, in the case of Smoking, is a real shame.

How much do I love Thank You for Smoking? I put Thank You for Smoking on my Top 10 think list back in March and it never got bumped off.

5) United 93
When United 93 was approaching its release on April 28, 2006, the argument kicked into high gear over whether or not it was too early to release a feature film depicting the events of September 11, 2001. With the support of the family members of United 93 victims, Paul Greengrass proved he was right in launching the movie into theaters less than five years after those horrific acts of terrorism. I dare anyone to sit through this beautifully done tribute to the 9/11 victims without shedding a tear.

2008 Gareth Murran.