My choices for best & worst movies of the year was originally published in Kansas City’s Sun Tribune, Sun Gazette and Liberty Tribune newspapers on Dec. 28, 2006. 

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By Steve Crum 

Both diversity and sameness painted the film product landscape for 2006. Studios again went with sure things via franchises for the mass audience that flocks to remakes and sequels of favorites. Among several, The Man of Steel flew back in Superman Returns; Jack Sparrow floated again in the second Pirates of the Caribbean; and Bond went retro in Casino Royale.

The year had its share of unique and at least semi-original products too, represented by The Devil Wears Prada, Little Miss Sunshine, The Illusionist, Prairie Home Companion, and Flags of Our Fathers. As always, choosing the good, bad and ugly movies of any year is subjective objectivity—a dubious task. Nonetheless, take these lists and accept or reject. 

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The clunkers of 2006

•All the King’s Men—Sean Penn was miscast, for starters.

•Basic Instinct 2—Sharon Stone sex scenes smoldered the murder plot.

•Firewall—Long-in-tooth Harrison Ford is still playing an action hero?

•The Hills Have Eyes—The popcorn bag doubles as a barf bag.

•Lady in the Water—This one’s sunk and gurgling.

•Larry the Cable Guy—This good ol’ boy cracks ‘em several ways.

•Nacho Libre—Jack Black attack down for the count. 

•Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest—It garnered public adoration despite serious flaws. 

The 10 best of the bunch

•Babel—Intriguing multiple stories that are cleverly linked make it almost as last year’s Crash.

•Bobby—A stunning ensemble cast is paired with impressive direction by Emelio Estevez.

•The Departed—Terrific Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon and Wahlberg make direction Martin Scorsese’s jolting, complex crime saga.

•The Devil Wears Prada—The smart, original script focuses on character interplay, which was superbly acted by Meryl Stree and Anne Hathaway.

•Dreamgirls—When was the last time an audience repeatedly broke into applause and cheers during a movie musical? Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé and Eddie Murphy make it happen.

•Flags of Our Fathers—Clint Eastwood’s homage to WWII heroes also addresses the war’s public relations campaign back home. By the way, Eastwood’s companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, is even better. (It opens in January.)

•The Illusionist—The fascinating murder plot mixes with professional (or is it real?) magic.

•A Prairie Home Companion—Robert Altman’s film directing finale is among his best, and that is high praise.

•United 93 and World Trade Center—Both are must-see films, at least once. The subject matter is grim but ultimately heroic.

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