The MRFH 2006 Revue

2006: The Year What I Did During the Movies Overshadowed the Films Themselves

Arguably more than any prior year, the films of 2006 practically took a backseat to the experience of going to the movies. In 2005, I really began taking advantage of the myriad movie theater options available to me in southern California. In 2006, I started taking advantage of the girls I took to the movie theaters.

I kid, of course. Well, sort of. But that's neither her nor there.

My memory is fairly full of holes anymore (kids, the only mushrooms you need are the ones you put on your salads!) but I simply can't recall a year where a specific movie, or in this case two, managed to completely overshadow almost everything else. Even in prior years with something like a James Bond release or Batman Begins, there were certainly other films that jostled for attention.

2006, however, was dominantly defined by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Casino Royale. Sorry to be shallow about it, but it was a mixture of them being awesome films and taking awesome girls to see them. Waiting in line for hours with a girl I was dating and her hot friends to see a sneak preview of Pirates was an unforgettable night, as was seeing Casino Royale with a major crush and becoming more enamored of her as the performances, dialogue, and situations literally forced her brain into overdrive as she put together theories and thematic interpretations on the spot (hard to describe, but absolutely amazing to see in action!).

If you don't think whom you see a film with can be just as important as the film itself, you probably don't get out much.

Running with that thought, 2006 was when I finally realized my lifelong dream of working in a comic book store (hooray!). An added bonus was that it took us almost no time to settle into a High Fidelity-esque critical fan club about anything and everything. That circumstances meant we all came together right in the middle of a comic book zeitgeist in Hollywood was delicious chocolate icing on the delicious chocolate cake (I'm hungry for junk food right now). Leaving us free to take either a "that was an amazing adaptation of that comic book!" or "that was the biggest hunk of trash ever!" opinion, and run it into the ground between us while customers tried miserably to get out attention so they could get their purchases rung up.

The downside to that situation is that when you're working, even though you're making the money to see all the movies you want, you don't always have the time or energy to get around to seeing them. Throw in a vacation to Hawaii, a handful of serious relationships, and a renewed vigor for creative production, and it all adds up to my schedule not leaving much time at all for trips to the theater, even when it was something I was desperate to see. Certainly, when something had immense personal meaning for me, such as An Inconvenient Truth, I made the time to see it (that I was able to attend Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' lecture at my university, where he presented everything that's in the film IN PERSON and signed my copy of the book was more than chocolate frosting, it was LIFE-CHANGING AND LIFE-AFFIRMING!). But mostly, a lot of stuff became rental fodder or remains on my to-see-soon list. Which certainly is lame, but it was all worth it. Oh yeah!

I don't think I can or particularly want to deal with any kind of ranking the top 2006 releases. Pirates and Casino Royale were too amazing to determine which is better; only time will tell. Beyond those, the stuff that really holds up in retrospect as amazing additions to my favored films would have to be The Devil Wears Prada, Slither, Brick, The Descent, and The Departed. There's stuff I enjoyed watching but need to watch again to really be sure I super-dig them; those include Silent Hill, She's the Man, Talladega Nights, Thank You for Smoking, and V for Vendetta. Whoa, these are pretty short lists!

Stuff I saw but don't think much of, or can barely remember (chances are I saw them for a girl in the cast I like or something lame like that), includes Pulse, X3, Inside Man, Superman Returns, Snakes on a Plane, Feast, Stay Alive, When a Stranger Calls, and The Da Vinci Code. I just watched Last Kiss with some best friends on New Year's Eve and I can't believe that a film wth Zach Braff and more important Rachel Bilson couldn't be absolutely amazing, so I need to see it a couple more times to be sure. Plus, my friend was getting mad because she could tell I was rooting for Rachel Bilson to "win" which meant I was rooting against the central relationship. Which is morally wrong, certainly, but Rachel Bilson is awesome, so what am I supposed to do?

As you (should) know, I'm all about the horror films. There were some big releases that got some acclaim in some circles or the other: I dug Final Destination 3 because it was fun, I tuned out on The Hills Have Eyes became while it was very well-made its brutality went above and beyond what I can tolerate. My friend is nuts about Wolf Creek and keeps wanting me to watch it with her, but I'm scared. Scared! Whereas after Hostel I was bored. Bored!

So it figuratively kills me that I missed so many horror releases that sound absolutely amazing. I'm super crazed to see the much-hyped All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, although it seems that'll see a 2007 wide release. Does Hard Candy count? I hear for one little part (heh) it could. I've gotta see, as soon as possible, Re-Cycle. Pan's Labyrinth. Monster House. Saw III. Severance. Hatchet. Black Christmas. The Host. And I pretty sure if Mandy Lane doesn't change my life, or even if it does, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon will pick up the slack. I'm excited!

But if you ever happen to be free, there's still a ton of other assorted releases we can all either check out on your widescreen plasma display or just talk about over hot caffeinated beverages. Art School Confidential. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. John Tucker Must Die. Stick It. Running Scared. The Fountain. The Illusionist. Jackass: Number Two. Marie Antoinette. The Proposition. The re-release of The Passenger. A Scanner Darkly. Scoop. Shortbus. Stranger Than Fiction. Tristram Shandy. The Prestige. Children of Men. Borat! Little Miss Sunshine. The Queen. Accepted. Aquamarine. Ask the Dust. Beerfest. Lady Vengeance. I still haven't seen Old Boy! And I keep trying catch the lone copy of Hidden, but it's an uphill battle. I'll get you yet, lone copy!

That's a big list of stuff to see, yeah? I'll get to it all, I promise you that. It'll take a while, but my will be done. Believe it!

Oh, yeah: Mission Impossible III was pretty much poop. A couple good performances (not Tom Cruise) couldn't save things. Same with Miami Vice. Here's hoping for better action in 2007! (all kinds of puns intended)