Dan Owen reviews

DAN'S   MOVIE   DIGEST

2 0 0 6   R e t r o s p e c t i v e

P a r t   T h r e e

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SEPTEMBER

Filmmaker Oliver Stone courted controversy with his movie based on the events of September 11 2001 in World Trade Center. Told from the perspective of the fire-fighters who entered the World Trade Center to rescue people, the movie wasn't as successful or as well-made as United 93 and divided audiences.
The Children Of Men arrived late to stake a claim as one of the year's best films - a darkly beautiful and haunting dystopia from the mind of Alfonso Cuaron. Clive Owen was great, but it's the camerawork and production design that most lingers in your mind, together with the potent political commentary. A classic.

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OCTOBER

A glut of sequels kicks off with Jackass 2 -- more of the same painful exploits that's ideal for a beer-fuelled Friday night DVD. While The Grudge 2 also failed dismally at cinemas and should kill the franchise once and for all (or move it into straight-to-video territory).
Barnyard outraged critics and biologists with "male udders", but primarily for being a low-rent computer animation that perfectly encapsulated the problem this sub-genre faces: just because it's animated by computer doesn't mean it's intrinsically beguiling and hilarious to watch.
One unlikely hit was The Devil Wears Prada, a fashion coming-of-age tale starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. It amazed everyone by becoming one of the year's Top 10 hit movies worldwide and has certainly done wonders for Hathaway's career post-Princess Diaries.

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NOVEMBER

Sacha Baron Cohen seemed to be everywhere in November as the release of his second movie, Borat, took the world by storm. The docu-comedy was on the lips of everyone as Cohen took his infamous Khazakstani reporter Borat on a road trip across America, exposing racism along the way. Many claimed the film to be the funniest of the decade, although it wasn't without its off-screen controversy - as the hoodwinked saw opportunities to launch legal battles against the filmmakers.
From Borat to Bond - the British institution faced his most difficult mission in November as he tried to wipe the slate clean and go back to basics. With Daniel Craig replacing Pierce Brosnan as 007, the backlash against his casting had reached ridiculous heights earlier in the year, but he proved his doubters wrong. Resoundingly so. Casino Royale, the first of Ian Fleming's books, was universally praised, although a few nitpicked over just how much of a "Bond Movie" it really was without Q, gadgets, sexual innuendos, Moneypenny and all the other clich�s. Stripped to the bones, the movie made a mint at the box-office and revitalized the franchise yet again.
Will Ferrell's Stranger Than Fiction was his Truman Show, both in terms of storytelling uniqueness and the jump from comedy to drama. It wasn't the amazing success many insiders expected, but it certainly performed well and should find a bigger audience on DVD.

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DECEMBER

With CGI dominating children's entertainment in 2006 it was strange to see Aardman Animations get in on the act with Flushed Away. Aardman usual work with plasticine (they're the minds behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run) so their first foray into CGI was a dangerous step. The film ended up doing poorly in the US and only slightly better on home turf, which is frustrating because it's actually one of the better CGI animations of 2006.
Jack Black's bad year continued post-Nacho Libre with Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny. It should have been a comedy rock version of The Blues Brothers, but it just failed to take flight. Black seems to work best when he's reigned in by a director (School Of Rock) or circumvents his crazy man-child shtick completely (King Kong).
Happy Feet was the undoubted star of kid's films this year - a surprise hit from the director of Mad Max(!) about singing penguins. It charmed the world and even kept Bond off the Number 1 spot in the US. The black-and-white rotters!
Disposable entertainment came along in the shape of Eragon, one of relatively few Christmas releases designed to do as much business as Narnia or Harry Potter. It failed simply because it's not very good - a soulless, pointless, Star Wars retread littered with bad performances.
A slight reprieve came in the form of A Night At The Museum which, despite coming from Shawn Levy (hack director of Cheaper By The Dozen and the terrible Pink Panther remake) was perhaps the most solid live-action family release for the holidays. Ben Stiller starred as a security man who works in a museum where all the exhibits come to life at night. The movie has its share of problems, but it's mostly a fun yet forgettable diversion perfect to take kids to on Boxing Day.
Overall, the box office chart for 2006 (based on worldwide takings) was as follows:

1. Pirates Of The Caribbean 2
2. The Da Vinci Code
3. Ice Age 2
4. Cars
5. X-Men III
6. Casino Royale
7. Mission Impossible III
8. Superman Returns
9. Over The Hedge
10. The Devil Wears Prada

But 2006 is, like, so last year. What goodies await us in 2007? Well, my personal picks of stuff to look out for are in Part Four.