Looking back to 2006: films and performances

For my 2006 and 2007 (to follow) year end list, and the years that precede them as and when I get time to compile them, I'll just be posting lists of the films (also with both male and female performances, and possibly worst/disappointments lists etc), without commentary, and which made the biggest impact on me. Doing these lists allows me to simply track, at a glance, what I've seen and enjoyed from each year. It's mainly for prosperity and to see how my tastes change, or indeed remain the same. It's a simple list format because I want to focus on writing about newer films here.

Male Performances:

Top row: 10 - 6; Bottom row: 5 - 1

10. Justin Long as Bartleby Gaines in Accepted
09. Jérémie Renier as Bruno in L'enfant
08. Owen Kline as Frank Berkman in The Squid and the Whale
07. Rob Brydon as Capt. Toby Shandy/himself in A Cock & Bull Story
06. Melvil Poupard as Romain in Time to Leave
05. Clifton Collins Jr. as Perry Smith in Capote
04. Ray Winstone as Captain Stanley in The Proposition
03. Rory Cochrane as Brad in Right at Your Door
02. Nicolas Cage as David Spritz in The Weather Man
01. Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain

Also good, in no order: Danny Dyer Severance / Alan Arkin Little Miss Sunshine / Clive Owen Children of Men / Robert Downey Jr. A Scanner Darkly / Christian Bale Harsh Times

Female Performances:

Top row: 10 - 6; Bottom row: 5 - 1

10. Fiona Shaw as Ramona Linscott in The Black Dahlia
09. Luminita Gheorghui as Mioara Avram in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
08. Sigourney Weaver as Sandy Travis in Imaginary Heroes
07. Lorraine Stanley as Kelly in London to Brighton
06. Amy Adams as Ashley Johnsten in Junebug
05. Dina Korzun as Laura in Forty Shades of Blue
04. Emily Watson as Martha Stanley in The Proposition
03. Penelope Cruz as Raimunda in Volver
02. Déborah François as Mélanie Prouvost in The Page Turner
01. Kate Dickie as Jackie in Red Road

Also good, in no order: Juliette Binoche Hidden / Emily Blunt The Devil Wears Prada / Mary McCormack Right at Your Door / Charlize Theron North Country / Embeth Davidtz Junebug

Top Ten Films:

10. The Weather Man (Gore Verbinski/USA)


09. Zidane - A 21st Century Portrait/Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle (Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno/France, Iceland)


08. Volver (Pedro Almodóvar/Spain)


07. Right at Your Door (Chris Gorak/USA)


06. The Page Turner/La tourneuse de pages (Denis Dercourt/France)


05. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón/Japan, UK, USA)


04. The Host/Gwoemul (Joon-ho Bong/South Korea)


03. The Proposition (John Hillcoat/Australia, UK)


02. Junebug (Phil Morrison/USA)


01. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee/USA, Canada)


Also good, in no order: Offside (Jafar Panahi) / Black Sun (Gary Tarn) / London to Brighton (Paul Andrew Williams) / Red Road (Andrea Arnold) / Forty Shades of Blue (Ira Sachs) / The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu) / The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach) / An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim) / Sisters In Law (Florence Ayisi/Kim Longinotto) / A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater)

© Craig Bloomfield 2009