Suzanne’s Top Picks for 2006

As most of you know I love going to the movies. It’s one way I can escape from my writing – at least for a few hours. But the minute I walk out of the movie theater, my husband and I start to discuss and dissect the film we've just seen from a writer’s point of view.

Not total escapism, after all.

After years of movie-going, I have discovered seven elements that the best movies and the best books have in common:

1. They evolve from someone’s “vision” for the story.

2. They make us care about the characters.

3. They invite us into a world where we are perfectly willing to put “reality” aside for the experience we are promised.

4. They have an element of unpredictability. (I’ve been known to read a book or go to a movie because it promises to present a different point of view. Perhaps this is why I love off-beat fiction and foreign films.)

5. They have a love story as the primary or secondary plot. (It’s the romance writer in me!)

6. They know when to use action and when to employ dialogue. (And when it comes to foreign films, I want to hear the original language. I’m a big fan of subtitles. I dislike dubbing intensely.)

7. They have a thoroughly satisfying ending. (Although I prefer a happy ending to both movies and books, I will occasionally settle for what seems like the “right” ending.)

Drum roll, please!

Based on the criteria listed above, here are my top picks at the movies for 2006:

1. "The Illusionist." Set in 19th Century Vienna, it’s the story of a magician who comes from a humble background and the duchess he has loved since childhood. (This is my favorite movie of 2006. It has all seven elements I love in a movie or a book.)

2. “Casino Royale.” The latest and possibly the best James Bond movie. (For my money, the franchise had to go with a modern and gritty Bond without the gadgets, without the stunts obviously performed by stuntmen, and without the sensibilities that made sense in 1966, but which didn't in 2006.)

3. “The Queen.” Set in the week following Princess Diana’s death, it tells the story of the royal family’s reaction to the tragedy. (Frankly we went to see this film because I'd read so much about Dame Helen Mirren’s performance. Not only she is stellar as Elizabeth II, but she makes the queen a surprisingly sympathetic figure.)

4. “The Lake House.” The hero and heroine of this contemporary love story have one seemingly insurmountable problem: he's living in 2004; she in 2006. (Suspend your sense of “reality” and simply enjoy!)

This week we're off to see “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and next week “Curse of the Golden Flower.” Both promise to be great movie experiences.

Inquiring Minds want to know: What is your favorite movie of 2006? What are you looking forward to seeing in 2007?

Have fun at the movies!
Suzanne