The second coolest place to find movie reviews on the web (right behind Film School Rejects), Blog Critics (or BC Magazine to the grown-up world) named the Best Films of 2006 today. And it just so happens that yours truly was part of the mix, weighing in with my love for Little Miss Sunshine. I have been writing for BC for a while now, and it is truly a diverse, rowdy crowd of writers who represent just about every demographic. I would highly recommend checking them out, at least for the simple fact that you can read more of my work there. But enough of that…

Here is my excerpt:

Neil Miller
Little Miss Sunshine

Every year Hollywood does its best to seem original, please the masses, and ultimately make some serious coin. And about this time every year, the Armani suit-wearing execs at studios like Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Fox unleash a swarm of limited release films, all playing in a few screens in New York or Los Angeles. These films are the desperate attempts of their distributors to make one last dash at Oscar glory. But this year, these attempts, while noble, will be foiled – overshadowed by a movie that was a little more charming, a little more honest, and quite a bit more original – Little Miss Sunshine.

Playing itself off as a quaint little indie film with a solid cast, Little Miss Sunshine began the year by bringing audiences at Sundance to their knees with laughter. It showcased one of the best ensemble casts of the past decade or so, including Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, and Abigail Breslin. Each performance was unique, each character getting their laughs and shedding some tears, but it was ultimately the closeness of this family unit that made them so endearing, even through their most dysfunctional moment. Other films may have bigger budgets or some bigger names, but none of them will have what makes Little Miss Sunshine such a joy to behold – heart.

Feel free to check out the entire post here, including but not limited to the part where Erin McMaster (one of my favorite BC writers) touts Perfume: The Story of a Murderer as the best of the year. That guilty pleasure also snuck onto my Top Ten Films of 2006 list…