Okay, so everyone has a list. I know, during the vacation week I've read nearly all of them while deliberating on my own top 10. At quick glance it appears that every list has the same films. Is it that everyone has come to a surprising opinionated agreement this year or is it a matter of weak selection. I would love to promise a unique list filled with selections mysteriously absent from the rest, but sadly that can't be the case. I have found that my list is a mixed bag. You will notice that more than half of the top films appear on other lists. The bottom half of my list skews away from the typical best of the year oscar bait, and falls more in the mainstream. I find that most critics leave out worthy comedies and action films. In addition to the "surprise selections", I am pleased to offer some unselections.

Unselections? Is that even a word? Actually it isn't. So before we venture on to my list, let's talk about what's missing. You know, the movies that appear on ever other list but mine, and why they missed the boat:

The Queen: The most overrated film of 2006. Over 95% of the top lists this year contain a film which with the exception of one incredible performance, would have trouble passing for an entertaining BBC docudrama. When did a great performance mean that a movie was incredible or best of the year? Especially when the rest of the film doesn't compliment the great performance.

Volver: Just because Pedro Almodóvar directed it, doesn't mean it's good. For the most part I felt the film was boring, was I the only one? Can anyone explain to me why all the critics seemed to love this flick?

Casino Royale: Bond is back, and possibly better than ever before. But is the final result worthy of the top 10 best of the year? When I saw the film a couple months back, I loved it. But the more and more I think about it, the more and more flaws and problems enter my mind. The opening District B13-esque chase sequence is about as good as an action movie can get. But what was the point? What did it have to do with the rest of the story? And the Casino game, why didn't the government just set up a raid? Even in the most ridiculous reality I can't imagine a secret agent sent in with millions of government money in hopes of cheating a terrorist out of cash. And what was with the Lord of the Rings-like never ending third act? I'm not saying the movie was bad, far from it. It's just not best of the year caliber.

So What is Best of the year caliber?

I would first like to say that I have seen most of these movies twice. Rewatchability is a key factor to my viewing tastes. While a film like Little Children is superb, it sadly doesn't stand up for a second viewing. All of the selections below not only stand up for a return visit, but are able to amaze and entertain in subsequence viewings. Some of the filmmaking mastery becomes even more apparent in multiple viewings. I'm all about the post-movie experience. If a movie can incite a long intellectual conversation among friends all the better. If I'm out and about a week later still thinking about a film, then it's an everlasting sign of greatness.

1. The Departed: In my review I called it Martin Scorsese's best film since Goodfellas. I walked out of the screening telling people this movie was the best movie of the year. I caught a second screening just to make sure, and after much deliberation I have concluded that due to rewatchability factor alone, Departed wins out.

2. Pan's Labyrinth: Guillermo del Toro has created a flawless masterpiece. I dare anybody to give me a reason why Pan's isn't deserving of a Best Picture nod (and I'm not even talking best foreign picture). Incredible performances, wildly imaginative dark fairy tale imagery mixed with the story of an escapist child during the Spanish Civil War.

3. Children Of Men: Alfonso Cuarón has not only created a movie filled with ideas, but he has masterfully shot the story in a way that innovates visual storytelling. Missing is exposition and easy answers challenging the audience to pay attention, think and mentally interact. He translates a sci-fi concept into the realism of today's war-obsessed world. Using beautifully shot documentary style one-shot takes, Cuaron is able to suck us into the grim world. Cuaron's alternation of normalized filming techniques further connects the audience to character bond. When I mentioned earlier that some of these films improve on second viewing, Children of Men is the perfect example. It needs to be enjoyed twice to fully experience it's wonder. I only wish a more satisfying ending had been attached.

4. Clerks 2: Donkey Show aside, Kevin Smith's return the the view askew universe was the perfect film to compliment my year. 2006 was the year that I packed up and moved from Boston to San Francisco, regrettably leaving many friends and family behind. While my story doesn't exactly mirror Dante and Randal's, the underlying theme of friendship, trying to rise above the quarter-life crisis and new beginnings hit me hard. Oh yeah, and there were dick and fart jokes. And of course we got the prolonged fanboy musings we can only expect from Smith. Clerks 2 transcends your typical comedy offering a story and message that speaks to not only me, but an entire generation of slackers approaching the big 3-0, must reevaluate life as we know it.

5. United 93: Jeff Anderson of Cinematical once asked me: If 9/11 never happened, would people still be infatuated with United 93? The rhetorical answer is of-course not. But we don't live in that world. And if we did, Paul Greengrass would have treated the film a lot different. Instead we live in a crazy time and place where terrorists hijacked commercial planes and flew them into the skyscrapers of the big apple. Greengrass knows this, and that's why a film about the mundane becomes suspenseful and emotional. We know what is coming, and the closer we come to that moment, the more emotional it becomes. We know that the jetfighters won't be rerouted in time because President Bush was busy doing a photo-op. But we sit there in the dark alone next to each other in a crowded theater hoping for something, anything. And in the final minutes we get a glimpse as to what might have happened. And alone in the dark we rise up for the good of the country as one. I'm not patriotic or courageous, but this movie makes me wish I were.

6. Superman Returns: Geek fanboys were understandably angry that the film broke from previously established series cannon. The average filmgoers were longing for more action. And some feel that Bryan Singer payed more homage to Richard Donner's original than build upon it. To that I say watch it again. I will be the first to admit that the film isn't without flaws. But what Returns brings to the table is a heartbreaking story of an alien abandoned on earth. He travels light-years to the destroyed planet of Krypton in search of finding someone like him. And in reality he created an even bigger gap. Sure, we could have all done without the repercussions of this angle, but I think the irony alone makes it more than worth it. Singer has created the most human superhero movie ever created. Not only does it transcend the cheesy themes of yesteryear, but offers up a message of connection in this contemporary world. After viewing the film for the first time, I found myself thinking of the small moments that kind of flew by. For example, Clark's earth mother Martha Kent forced to wait outside the hospital among the crowds not able to visit due to the identity secrecy. Even the ideas of how Earth reacted to Superman's abrupt exit.

7. The Fountain: Someone once said that it takes an incredible visionary to fail miserably because they are fearless. When Darren Aronofsky's film premiered at Venice Film Festival it was met by boos, and than the next night, a lengthy standing ovation. It's this type of film that divides an audience. Did Aronofsky fail miserably? No. He created an incredible film about denial and resistance of the inevitable. Do you want to live forever? It's a fable wrapped in an epic sci-fi love story which spans one thousand years and three incarnations. Like Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Fountain challenges the viewer to interpret or realize a conclusion which may or may not be completely set-up on screen. My theory: The Space story is Tom's written conclusion to the conquistador story created by his dying wife Izzi. To deal with death is the hardest thing one must ever do. We all must find our own ways of moving past a situation. Dr. Tom Creo was unable to save Izzi in the real world, so he escaped into another dimension: Izzi's novel. What's your theory?

8. Babel: Alejandro González Iñárritu has insisted that he created Babel to show how we are divided by miscommunication. While I don't believe he completely succeeds to prove his point, Iñárritu has created a wonderful bookend to his Death Trilogy. While not nearly as complex as his previous efforts, Iñárritu masterfully intertwines the stories of four families in different countries throughout the world. I have found that you can discover a lot about a person through their favorite of the series. Mine is the story of the lonely deaf Japanese schoolgirl. This story alone could have warranted a feature film in it's own right.

9. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan: Sacha Baron Cohen has created a rare comedy which not only is laugh out loud funny, but has depth. The movie is an incredible social commentary on the varied people that make up our country. It manages to be both smart and stupid at the same time. It's extremely quotable and has melted into our contemporary popular culture. And did I mention it was funny?

10. Little Miss Sunshine: I can not explain why I liked Little Miss Sunshine so much. It might be that it was my favorite film from last year's Sundance Film Festival. It could be the incredible ensemble cast, the great script, or colorful cinematography. But to be honest, I'm not exactly sure why. I could be that it's the closest thing to a contemporary version of the 1980's films I grew up on. In Today cinematic landscape, instead of National Lampoon's Vacation we get R.V. It's the age of John Hughes and the young Steven Spielberg, which I miss very dearly.

Honorable Mentions: Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, Dreamgirls, An Inconvenient Truth, The Bridge, Quinceañera, Hollywoodland, Inside Man, Jesus Camp, Little Children, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Science of Sleep, and This Film Is Not Yet Rated. And before you ask, yes, I know that no documentaries reached the top 10, but instead fill the honorable mention list. For this there is no explanation.

So there you have it, my top 10 movies of 2006. If you would like to debate any of the entries feel free to e-mail me at orfilms@gmail.com.

Movie Theater picture courtsey of: Coconutto @ flickr.com