I don’t see 2006 as 10 years ago I mean that is just madness. But it has been a whole decade now since that year, which is terrifying in all honesty. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to have a look back in this blog post at the films from 2006, the ones I enjoyed at the time, the ones I have caught up with and quite frankly the ones which are getting better with age and standing the test of ten years.
2006 was also pre-blog so I don’t even have many reviews for films from that year, if you search 2006 as a tag I am sure you will be shocked to see the lack of reviews. Especially when one of them is a bit of a strange film choice.
Highest-grossing
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $1,066,179,725
2. The Da Vinci Code – $758,239,851
3. Ice Age: The Meltdown – $660,940,780
4. Casino Royale – $599,045,960
5. Night at the Museum – $574,480,052
6. Cars – $461,983,149
7. X-Men: The Last Stand – $459,359,555
8. Mission: Impossible III – $397,850,012
9. Superman Returns – $391,081,192
10. Happy Feet – $384,335,608
It was the comeback and relaunch of James Bond with Daniel Craig stepping up to the mantel to play 007 the world was dubious but we got the incredible Casino Royale with a great story and performances for the efforts. Really relaunching James Bond into a new generation for the right reasons, and allowing everyone to forget about some of the Brosnan era.
The musical was Dreamgirls and the breakthrough performance from Jennifer Hudson is still remembered very fondly, she has the Oscar to prove it as well. Bet we have all forgotten that Beyonce was in fact the leading lady in that film. Hudson’s rendition of “And I’m Telling You” is really something else.
The Departed is a film that I totally loved then and now, I mean come on look at the cast. Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg and many more! The Best Picture winner for the Oscars (the following year) and the first for Martin Scorsese. I know a lot of people still complain about the original version being much better but I still think this is a fantastic piece of film work.
V for Vendetta was a film that I massively struggled with over the years trying to watch on a few occasions. But once I had the breakthrough and really got into it I was totally blown away by it. Isn’t it a little bit scary to think about it at the moment though with everything that is happening in the UK after the referendum.
I remember being massively surprised and impressed with Apocalypto when seeing it at the cinema considering it was not really something that I would usually have watched. So ten years on to still remember it certainly has to be a credit for the film. Especially when I have only seen it that one time as well. Well done Mel Gibson for directing it before going totally crazy!
It can’t really be a film year without a memorable and fantastic performance from the one and only Meryl Streep. That is something we certainly get as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada starring with Anne Hathaway and a breakthrough for Emily Blunt.
Animated films from 2006 included Cars which was proven to be very popular and something that I experienced a private screening at the cinema as I was a student at the time and took my three year old cousin to see it and we were the only people in! I however enjoyed Hoodwinked! A lot more because it tried to be something a little bit different in the genre and appeal more to adults than to children. Taking a classic children’s story and totally turning it on its head.
Children of Men was a pretty groundbreaking film in showing how the world could really fall apart if another world war broke out. The Queen saw Helen Mirren take on Elizabeth II in a role that would then win her an Oscar.
The Da Vinci Code was a very sought after film considering how much controversy surrounded the book on that’s release. Tom Hanks did his best to carry the film as Robert Langdon and I still think he is very solid as that character. The film did not quite live up to the source material but it was a decent adaptation.
Snakes on a Plane is a slight cult classic when it comes to remember the cinema experience and part of plenty of inside jokes with myself and friends at least. One of those it’s so good its bad, but come on it has Samuel L. Jackson in it and it has snakes that just happen to be on a plane! Even the title of the film has to make you smile and/or laugh as does certain moments in the actual film as well.
The Guardian is another that I really enjoyed I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with my undying love for Kevin Costner (Yes I really have just admitted that). She’s the Man, helped to show that Shakespeare can be made into new and upbeat films. Plus it has football involved (ok soccer) and so good performances showing that the dates may change but somethings certainly don’t.
In terms of remakes/reboots/sequels it was a pretty poor year. Rocky Balboa was probably the only real decent effort and even that had a silly story line of Rocky making a comeback after a computer game predicted who would win between him and the current champion. But Rocky is one of my all time favorite film characters so I can forgive Stallone for that one. Looking at two of the comic book films on offer this year in Superman Returns and X-Men: The Last Stand it is a big surprise it did not completely kill the whole genre of superhero films! With Superman it had not been seen on the big screen for so long and it all went very long that another reboot was to be had in the future. X-Men well that was awful and has now been totally disregarded in terms of timeline when they went for prequels instead! The Wicker Man had to be the start of the downfall of Nicolas Cage, one of the strangest and worst films ever right? I mean it makes me not even want to see the original and how good that was (still a decade later).
Christopher Nolan delivered a fantastic magic film with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale battling it out to be the very best magician in The Prestige. A film that really does have such an amazing twist at the end, even when watching it again and again I still don’t get how anyone could have worked it out!
What are your favorite or most memorable films from 2006?