Blacktrospective 2006 - Annual Look Back at the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema

by Kam Williams

Headline: Hudson Hands Down

How do you go from American Idol also-ran to prohibitive Oscar favorite? No, don’t ask tone deaf William Hung, but rather the irrepressible Jennifer Hudson, whose screen debut as Effie in Dreamgirls has made everybody forget about Jennifer Holliday, the originator of the role on Broadway back in 1981.

And although Hudson is currently enjoying all the buzz, 2006 was a banner
year for breakout performance by black actresses, a sharp departure from
2005. Who could forget luscious Lauren London in ATL, precocious Keke Palmer in Akeelah and the Bee and Madea’s Family Reunion, or Halle Berry look-a-like Paula Patton in Idlewild and Déjà Vu?

The list of the black actors, however, is littered with a lot of familiar
names, from Samuel L. Jackson to Laurence Fishburne to Delroy Lindo to Eddie
Murphy to Chiwetel Ejifor, though Forest Whitaker was another shoo-in for
his chilling channeling of the spirit of the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Of course, it is also my civic duty as a critic to point out the lousiest
outings and offerings, too, so without further ado, I humbly offer the 2006
edition of my annual Blacktrospective.


Best Black Films of 2006

1. Akeelah and the Bee
2. Manderlay
3. ATL
4. Madea’s Family Reunion
5. Dreamgirls
6. Confederate States of America
7. The Pursuit of Happyness
8. Something New
9. Snakes on a Plane
10. Color of the Cross


Best Documentaries

1. SoulMate
2. Black Hair
3. Sisters-in-Law
4. A Girl Like Me
5. Black Gold
6. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
7. Been Rich All My Life
8. Home
9. Don’t Trip… He Ain’t Through with Me Yet
10. After Innocence

Best Actors

1. Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, American Gun)
2. Laurence Fishburne (Akeelah and the Bee)
3. Tyler Perry (Madea’s Family Reunion)
4. Delroy Lindo (Wondrous Oblivion)
5. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots, Children of Men, Inside Man)
6. Eddie Murhy (Dreamgirls)
7. Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane, Freedomland, Home of the Brave)
8. Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
9. TI (ATL)
10. Jean-Claude La Marre (Color of the Cross)


Best Actresses

1. Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
2. Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee, Madea’s Family Reunion)
3. Rosario Dawson (Clerks II, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints)
4. Lauren London (ATL)
5. Sanaa Lathan (Something New)
6. Paula Patton (Idlewild, Déjà Vu)
7. Queen Latifah (Last Holiday)
8. Angela Bassett (Akeelah and the Bee)
9. Rochelle Aytes (Madea’s Family Reunion)
10. Leonie Elliott (Wondrous Oblivion)


Best Directors

1. Andrea Allen-Wiley (SoulMate)
2. Chris Robinson (ATL)
3. Tyler Perry (Madea’s Family Reunion)
4. Kevin Wilmott (Confederate States of America)
5. Sanaa Hamri (Something New)
6. American Gun (Aric Avelino)
7. Clark Johnson (The Sentinel)
8. Bryan Barber (Idlewild)
9. Leslie Small (Don’t Trip… He Ain’t Through with Me Yet)
10. Kiri Davis (A Girl Like Me)


Worst Movies

1. Shadowboxer
2. Waist Deep
3. Big Momma’s House 2
4. Crossover
5. Little Man


Worst Actors

1. Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Shadowboxer)
2. Martin Lawrence (Big Momma’s House 2)
3. Tyrese (Waist Deep)
4. The Game (Waist Deep)
5. Anthony Mackie (Crossover)


Worst Actresses

1. Mo’Nique (Shadowboxer, Fat Girlz)
2. Nia Long (Big Momma’s House 2)
3. Ashanti (John Tucker Must Die)
4. Meagan Good (Waist Deep)
5. Macy Gray (Shadowboxer)


Worst Directors

1. Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer)
2. Vondie Curtis-Hall (Waist Deep)
3. Preston A. Whitmore II (Crossover)
4. Keenen Ivory Wayans (Little Man)
5. Nnegest Likke (Phat Girlz)

Note: Thanks to fellow film critic Wilson Morales of BlackFilm.com for his very valuable assistance in researching this article, although the results strictly reflect the opinion of Kam Williams.