Critical summary of 2006

This a compilation of my ratings of films released in the U.S. during last year, in comparison to four different critic polls. The basic ranking is taken from the Indiewire survey, which in seven previous years appeared in the Village Voice. It’s more offbeat than other lists, and incorporates many more documentaries and foreign films. Its numerical ranking is supplemented by the shorter and more mainstream lists of Premiere Magazine and Entertainment Weekly. That is followed by the decimal ratings of Metacritic (averaging critical scores on a scale of 100) and our very own Cinema Salon score on a scale of 10.

To summarize for those looking for films to put on their Netflix queue (where all these films are now available on DVD), here’s my ranking in rough order of the top features and top documentaries receiving official American theatrical release in 2006:

The Queen; Pan’s Labyrinth; Tristram Shandy; Volver; United 93; Days of Glory; Children of Men; Marie Antoinette; Fast Food Nation; Clean; Heading South.

49 Up; Neil Young: Heart of Gold; Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing; Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple; Street Fight; Wordplay.


Going down the list, you will find a number of others with a rating of *7*, which is my threshold of firm recommendation. For more information, you can reach my review easily by typing film title in search box at top of page.



1. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. MC-84 *7*
2. L'Enfant. MC-87 *6+*
3. The Departed. PM #6 EW #3 MC-85 *6*
4. Inland Empire. MC-72 *NR*
5. Army of Shadows. PM #3 MC-99 *6+*
6. Three Times. MC-80 *6*
7. Old Joy. MC-84 *6-*
8. United 93. PM #7 EW #4 MC-90 *8*
9. Children of Men. PM #8 MC-84. *8-*
10. Half Nelson. PM #13 MC-85 *7*
11. The Queen. PM #1 EW #1 MC-91 *9*
12. Climates. MC-72 *6+*
13. A Scanner Darkly. PM #66 EW #32 MC-73 *6*
14. Pan's Labyrinth. PM #2 MC-98 *9*
15. Borat. PM #11 EW #5 MC-89 *7*
16. A Prairie Home Companion. PM #23 EW #16 MC-75 *7*
17. Volver. PM #12 EW #6 MC-83 *8*
18. Battle in Heaven. MC-56. *5*
19. Letters From Iwo Jima. PM #9 EW #2 MC-89 *7*
20. Mutual Appreciation. MC-84 *6+*
21. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. MC-80 *8+*
22. Gabrielle. MC-79 *7-*
24. Clean. MC-75 *7+*
25. The Proposition. PM #26 MC-73 *6*
26. Inside Man. PM #16 EW #14 MC-76 *5+*
27. The Science of Sleep. PM #67 MC-70 *5*
28. Miami Vice. PM #57 EW #25 MC-65 *6*
29. Iraq in Fragments. MC-84. *7*
30. Woman Is the Future of Man. MC-63. *6+*
32. Casino Royale. PM #15 EW #8 MC-80 *6*
33. Brick. MC-72 *6-*
34. The Prestige. PM #61 EW #29 MC-66 *7-*
35. Flags of Our Fathers. PM #17 EW #15 MC-78 *7*
36. Little Children. PM #39 EW #12 MC-75 *6*
37. Our Daily Bread. MC-86 *7*
38. Neil Young: Heart of Gold. MC-85 *8*
39. Shortbus. PM #37 MC-64 *5+*
40. Le Petit Lieutenant. MC-71 *7*
41. Dave Chappelle's Block Party. EW #9 MC-84 *7*
42. Little Miss Sunshine. PM #18 EW #20 MC-80 *5+*
43. Marie Antoinette. PM #46 EW #35 MC-65 *8-*
44. Duck Season. MC-74 *6+*
48. An Inconvenient Truth. EW #7 MC-75 *7-*
50. The Devil and Daniel Johnston. MC-77 *7*
54. Days of Glory. MC-82 *8*
55. The Road to Guantanamo. MC-64 *7*
57. Deliver Us From Evil. PM #4 MC-86 *7*
58. Thank You for Smoking. PM #29 EW #13 MC-71 *6-*
60. Fast Food Nation. MC-64. *7+*
61. Babel. PM #50 EW #22 MC-69 *6*
64. C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America. MC-62 *5+
67. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. MC-79 *8*
69. The Good Shepherd. PM #32 EW #31 MC-61 *6-*
70. Notes on a Scandal. PM #20 MC-73 *7-*
74. 49 Up. PM #5 MC-84 *8*
76. The Illusionist. PM #38 MC-68 *6*
79. Water. MC-77 *6-*
80. Our Brand Is Crisis. MC-69 *6*
82. The Last King of Scotland. PM #25 EW #18 MC-74 *5+*
86. Tsotsi. MC-70 *6*
87. The Aura. MC-78 *6-*
88. Fateless. MC-87 *7*
99. Friends With Money. PM #28 MC-56 *5+*
100. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. PM #69 MC-56 *6-*
101. Quinceanera. PM #35 MC-72 *6*
103. Why We Fight. MC-78 *7*
105. Shut Up and Sing. PM #10 MC-77 *8*
120. House of Sand. MC-70 *6+*
123. The Ground Truth. MC-71 *5+*
125. The History Boys. PM #33 MC-74 *7*
126. The Painted Veil. PM #30 MC-69 *7-*
127. Street Fight. MC-85 *7+*
129. The Dead Girl. MC-65 *6+*
135. The Puffy Chair. MC-73 *6*
137. For Your Consideration. PM #48 MC-68 *7*
165. Heading South. MC-73 *7+*
167. Infamous. PM #34 MC-68 *6+*
175. Bobby. PM #81 MC-54 *6*
177. The Devil Wears Prada. PM #31 EW #30 MC-62 *6-*
179. This Film Is Not Yet Rated. MC-75 *6-*
180. Blood Diamond. PM #72 EW #34 MC-63 *5+*
NR. Jesus Camp. PM #19 MC-62 *7-*
NR. Dreamgirls. PM #22 EW #10 MC-76 *6-*
NR. Wordplay. PM #41 MC-73 *7+*