Top five films of 2006
2006 may not have been the most memorable year in movie-making history, but hell, it was better than the dreck January 2007 has been serving us. Come on… Epic Movie? Seriously? In order to focus our minds (and feet) on happier times, we’re teaming up yet again — in the midst of awards season no less — to bring you the five most memorable flicks of 2006.
5. *John Tucker Must Die*
One hot guy, three pissed-off girls, and what’s-her-face from American Dreams. Why’s this on our 2006 Most Memorable List? Well, other than the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, girl-on-girl makeout scene, any movie with the hot gardener from Desperate Housewives is worth a second look — or a jaw dropping stare. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing. However, if you’re into the emo art boys instead, you’d probably prefer the other Tucker, played by Penn Badgely.
4.*X-Men III: The Last Stand*
So being a superhero is hard work. But now there’s a cure. X3 asks the long-standing question: Given the chance, would you change what makes you you? We walked out of the movie wondering about that. Sure, it’s based on a comic book, but that doesn’t mean this movie is just intended for teenage boys. Although, if you are a teenage boy, you’ll love this movie for the shots of Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, a.k.a. Mystique, half-naked when she (spoiler!) loses her powers.
3. *Happy Feet*
Tap-dancing penguins? When we first heard about the movie, we thought it was an actual event. And by we, we mean Tima. Anyways, finding out it was a movie was slightly disappointing. But upon discovering that the penguins tap to the greatest hits of the ’80s and the ’90s, we fell in love. The feeling increased tenfold when Seymour broke out into Grand Master Flash’s “The Message.” Besides, who wouldn’t love a movie where The Matrix’s very own Agent Smith voices the hunchback patriarch of the penguin clan? Happy Feet ranks as one of the most interesting movies of the year. Honestly, we just want tap-dancing penguins.
2. *Snakes on a Plane*
We’ve been over this before. Ophidians invade an aircraft. Samuel L. is a badass. Kenan Thompson is also present, despite our wishes that he’d just stayed home with Kel. The sounds of Cobra Starship rocked your world. What else is there to say? I guess we’ll just have to be on tenterhooks until a sequel emerges. In the meantime, we should start a pool predicting its title. We can’t lie: we’re strongly divided between Goats on a Boat and Penguins on a … Schmenguin?
1. *Little Miss Sunshine*
A beauty pageant, a road trip in a yellow Volkswagen bus, and a dysfunctional family: Sounds like standard fare for the indie-film market. So how did this movie break out into the mainstream and bag three Oscar nominations? Perhaps it was Steve Carell’s oddly serious — yet darkly comedic — role as the gay, suicidal uncle/number one-or-two Proust scholar in the country. Maybe it was Paul Dano’s silent but mesmerizing performance as an angsty teenager or Alan Arkin’s role as the feisty, heroin-loving grandfather. Perhaps it was Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin, who hit the screens as the most lovable pageant-head since Sandra Bullock. Shut up. We know you love Miss Congeniality too. Regardless of which character tickled your fancy, the ensemble cast and brilliant script are reminders of why we remain enthralled by motion picture magic.