My Top 5 Films of 2006

I've decided not to let the blogger die, and to convert it to a format similar to Kiwamu of BLOOD's blog, but writing about miscellaneous thing and inspirations.

I originally posted this on the Tainted Reality forums, but before I knew it, my writing was getting a little too personal, and I decided a personal blog would be a more suitable place for such an essay. Anyway, here it is.

I was just wondering what everyone's top 5 pics for their favorite movies this year were. Here's mine:

1. Clerks II
2. The Departed
3. Babel
4. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
5. Snakes On A Plane

This year was a great year for comedies, and it shows. However, while many will say the best comedy of the year was [i]Borat[/i], I have to go with Kevin Smith's [i]Clerks II[/i]. It may be weird to say the things about a movie with a donkey fucking scene in it, but this movie touched me deeply. (WARNING: Really sappy meaningful essay to follow)

My whole life, I wanted to get into the entertainment business, but I always thought it was just a dream and I would get some desk job somewhere. However, that all changed when I saw the original [i]Clerks[/i]. Here was a movie by a guy who had an idea, and was determined to see it realized. He did what ever he could do to get it made, including maxing out his credit cards and opting to have the film shot in black and white. It was a film of sheer passion, and it made Kevin Smith an indie film legend, as the film wound up being one of the funniest films of all time. After seeing the passion and drive Kevin Smith put into this film, I decided to finally pursue my passion of entertainment.

12 years after its release, and exactly 4 years after I saw the first film, Kevin released [i]Clerks II[/i]. Many people online were scared, thinking he was just trying to make a cash-in because [i]Jersey Girl[/i] flopped. However, I had no fears as I could tell from interviews and statements he had made about the sequel that he deeply loved these characters, and really had something to say with this flm. The film, at its core, was a film about difficult descision making, being faced with the idea that your life has been wasted, falling in love, and (most of all to me) true friendship. And while, yes, the film does have a conversation about going "ass to mouth", it hit me very emotionally.

It was a one two punch as, when the final scene in the Quick Stop where the color fades to black and white and cut to the credits as Soul Asylum's "Misery" plays, two things happened to me at once that have never happened to me before, and they were completely instinctual. For the first time in my life, tears traveled down my cheek in public, and I stood from my seat and applauded. Not only did this film manage to have more emotion and heart than Kevin Smith's [i]Chasing Amy[/i], but it managed to trump the very film that got me into this. [i]Clerks II[/i] is not only the best film of the year, it is Kevin Smith's masterpeice.

Seeing works like this really invigorate me by knowing that there are still people with true heart in this business and are 100% passionate about what they do. I'm really glad to see such devotion and heart put into projects like these, and given the special meaning the original film and its characters have to me, it is amplified 10 fold. While it may not have the impact on you that it had on me, it is still a very very enjoyable film on any level, especially if you love meaningless nerd-culture conversations, or mindless dick and fart jokes. To say I am satisfied that Kevin Smith made this film is an understatement, as not only is it my favorite film of the year, it may be my favorite film, period.

-Roger