By Bentley FordPLAY Columnist

And I hadn’t even gotten used to writing “2006” yet. Oh bother. I already hate 2007. Nevertheless, I must persevere, and how does one persevere in a new year? Resolutions! As you might imagine, though, I supremely suck at making resolutions, and suck even more supremely at keeping them.

Consider my current situation: I am writing this the morning of the first day of the new year, in a robe that a man from Maine with a dog should own, sipping one of those coffee-mimosa-single-malt-scotch things. (What does he mean by “one of those”? Those don’t exist.) This column, however, was due yesterday. So it’s late, and clearly in violation of my first and only resolution – that I will no longer stoop to turning things in late, if not for my schedule’s sake, at least for the sake of my poor, poor editor.

But I have a reason! A good one, too! New Year’s Eve, the night my column was due, I was going to eat at Paul Newman’s cozy eatery! What if I were to bump into Butch freakin’ Cassidy? What if that happened, but I had already sent in my column? The incredible poorness of my timing would haunt me e’ermore.

I didn’t meet Cool Hand Luke, though, so here I am, writing nothing in particular. Thankfully, I had a couple of backup plans. I thought about writing New Year’s resolutions on Hollywood’s behalf, but that sounded almost too clever, too adorable. Plus, it looks like IMDb beat me to it. Instead, let’s just come up with my top 10 movies of the year and call it a day. Everybody loves lists, and I’m one of those everybodies. Admittedly, I haven’t seen all the movies worth seeing this year. Children of Men, Letters from Iwo Jima, Lives of Others and documentaries in general have all eluded me. But who needs them?

Surely, Little Miss Sunshine doesn’t, which has nothing to do with why it’s number 10 – that just made for a nice transition. Sunshine is this year’s best indie quirkstravaganza, with a winning cast and a clever twist on the common family-crossing-the-country genre. Actually, it’s not so much a “twist” as it is just excellent, downright effulgent execution. Its lack of gags and gimmicks kept it pure and poignant in a summer gagging on all its gimmicks.

My number nine, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and Sunshine have something in common: Both films distill a sense of spontaneity and energy that too often are forgotten in today’s movies – especially ones worthy of making these kinds of lists. It documents Dave Chappelle’s decision to hold an impromptu block party in Brooklyn, featuring the likes of Mos Def, The Fugees and Kanye. It’s a must-see for any fans of Chappelle, the musicians or documentaries that aren’t about bombs, global warming or crazy Christians. Plus, my friends and I smuggled a bottle of bubbly into the showing, and that’s just fantabulous.

Inside Man, on the other hand, is badass, plain and simple. A film out of step with the rest of Spike Lee’s repertoire, my number eight still drips with Lee’s trademark tension – just not racial this time, a big first for Lee – and his love for the city. Just as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf referenced one of its luminaries (A Streetcar Named Desire), so does Inside Man reference A Dog Day Afternoon. This will be a heist classic for years to come.

I’m about to cheat and give my seventh slot to two films: The Proposition and Brick. Both films revitalize and reinvent the two beloved genres of Western and noir, respectively, and they do so with flare and without irony. They make for a perfect double feature, so rent up.

Talladega Nights is quite simply the greatest cinematic composition of all time, and if you disagree, I will fight you. (If anybody can name the reference, I’ll totally treat him/her to breakfast. No, wait, PLAY editor Deena Bustillo will.)

Well, shoot! Guess who just ran out of room. Looks like you’ll have to wait until next week to get my top five. Everybody loves cliffhangers, right? And lest you think I’m just being lazy, it’s not like there’s anything else to write about in January. Take one look at the films coming out during the next four weeks – Blood and Chocolate, anyone? – and you’ll realize this month might as well be a cinematic cemetery. So tune in next week, ladies and germs, and you’ll get a scant 800 words on the five best films of 2006 – in my hardly humble opinion, of course.

To be continued…

Communication sophomore Bentley Ford is a PLAY columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].