In which V counts down the five best films she saw this year.


5. Marie Antoinette
2006 was a pretty bleak year for films overall, and I was hard pressed to come up with five. Marie Antoinette was great, but in a better year I think it would just miss out on being Top Five material. I liked it, though. I tend to like opulent period films in general, but this one was particularly accessible. The music was fun. I'd see it again.

4. Snakes on a Plane
Self-explanatory.

3. Night Watch/Day Watch
I'm putting these two films together because they're two parts of a whole, really, like the Star Wars films or Lord of the Rings. Put aside any preconceptions you have about Russian cinema - each of these films has a big fat budget and loads of top quality effects. And the story is frigging AWESOME. This series is some of the most original horror I've seen in years. I can't recommend this enough.

2. The Proposition
Nick Cave's grim redemption tale is a true piece of art in every sense of the word. A fascinating glimpse into Australia's violent beginnings. This is a total must-see, even if you don't typically go for the western genre.

1. The Prestige
Not just the best film of the year, this is one of the best films I've seen in the past decade, possibly one of the best films I've seen in my entire life. It made one hell of an impact. I saw it with my mom, who was also completely impressed and declares it to be an instant classic. If you haven't seen this film, DON'T go looking for reviews or spoilers or anything like that. Just wait for the DVD and watch it. It's one of those films like Fight Club or The Sixth Sense... the less you know going in, the more you'll get out of it. Trust me on this. And definitely see it.