Top 10 movies of the year.

I counted last night that Alex and I saw 25 films at the cinema this year. We love the movies. So it's probably no surprise that we had to work hard at finding a consensus Top 10 movies of the year. But here they are.

1. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE: This film had a head start with us because we both have a tendency to love any quirky American Indie comedy/road movie things. So, it wasn't that the film did anything that we hadn't seen before, but what set it apart was its spirit, its heart and soul. Our favourite film was warm, tender, human and laugh out loud funny.



2. Again, Bond films have an in built advantage with us, we love him, but CASINO ROYALE was a bond movie which was solid as a six pack. It's hard to pick out moments from this film because it was all so good. Can't wait for the sequel. 2 or 3 more films like this and Craig will trump Connery as the best Bond ever.




3. CAPOTE was Alex's favourite movie of the year for 1 reason: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Probably the best film actor in the world at his absolute peak of form, Phillip Seymour Hoffman carried this film and made it into something special. He deserved every single award he got for the movie.



4. GRIZZLY MAN. A documentary by a mad German about a mad American who lives in the wild to be the friend of bears? That will be Simon's favourite movie of the year, then. Mental and beautiful, this is the first nature documentary I have ever seen that reveals more about what it means to be human than it does to be animal. And of course, the bears are brilliant.


5. THE HISTORY BOYS. A film with a great script, you can hear the voice of Alan Bennett coming through again and again. Basically, if you like Alan Bennett, you'll like this film. We do and we did.



6. THE MATADOR. One of our biggest surprises this year was how much we enjoyed Pierce Brosnan's undermining of his Bond persona. Daft, outrageous and lots of fun.

7. THE PRESTIGE. A great story slightly let down by a controversial ending. This makes the list mostly because of Christian Bale's performance.

8. MIAMI VICE. Ohh, look at the pretty colours. Best cinematography of 2006.

9. SUPERMAN RETURNS. Better because it's straight laced with a lack of irony, this is a great popcorn movie.

10. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. Meryl Streep is always a firm favourite with us and Anne Hathaway was very impressive too. A breezy, enjoyable 21st century parable.

Hurray for movies. We love them. In 2007, we're already excited about seeing the new Rocky movie (we shouldn't be but...) Hot Fuzz and Spiderman 3 (have you seen the trailer!!!)