10. Tom Yum Goong

It's often said that one of the best parts about visiting the cinema to watch a film is the experience can be enjoyed collectively. I've never quite understood this, to me it's seemed like an even more personal experience. It's dark, incredibly noisy and all your focus is on the screen. The only time I've ever felt an 'atmosphere' was at the opening night of 'The Phantom Menace' (some nerds waving light sabres and cheering) but that soon died down after the first five minutes (probably because the film was crummy). The U.K. premiere of 'Warrior King' at Seni06 was the first time I felt the excitement of watching a film with a large crowd and it was brilliant. The film is a plot hole filled, poorly acted mess but that didn't matter. The action kept the room buzzing for the duration, to the sounds 'ooohs', 'aaahs', cheering and rounds of applause. My discovery of the excitement of a collective movie watching experience is the reason this movie claims a spot in my top ten.

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9. Dog Bite Dog

This gritty thriller is as dark as they come. Edison Chen and Sam Lee give excellent performances as the vicious hitman and the occasionally just as vicious police officer. You know from the start there is not going to be a happy ending to this story. In fact the ending is the film's one weakness, as it's drawn out for too long. Apart from that this is a fascinating and uncompromising piece of work.

8. Secret Service Of The Imperial Court

A splendid, dark action drama from the Shaw Brothers starring Leung Kar Yan. It's a thoroughly gripping adventure with some brutal action, brilliant cinematography and the most evil eunuch you're likely to come across. Leung Kar Yan is very good as the stoic hero but it's Ku Feng who steals the show with his wonderful portrayal of a father torn between his son and his loyalty to his country.

7. Contour

I had been a fan of The Stunt People for quite a while after watching many of their short films on the internet, so I was expecting their first feature film to be good but i was blown away by how good it was. The action style in 'Contour' is very much like the modern action films of Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo Ping and it's as good as a fair few of those two masters' work. It really is that good. I hope these guys get a proper budget and some kind of studio backing one day because they could make something special.

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6. Oseam

This animated film from Korea is about a young boy and his blind sister who are travelling the countryside searching for their missing mother. They meet a Buddhist monk on their travels and end up staying with him at the monastery. 'Oseam' is a slow paced, episodic story that doesn't really carry much narrative drive. The kids get into a few scrapes, learn some lessons and talk about their mother. I was being entertained (albeit with no danger of my socks being blown off) but was wondering what the point of the film was until the end. The ending of the film is so tragic and beautiful that it made me realise how attached to the characters I had become. The film really touched me in a way that sometimes only cinema can.

5. King Of Comedy

My mission to work my way through the back catalogue of films from Stephen Chow continued this year and out of all that I've seen from the comedy legend, this is definitely my favourite. A sweet and constantly funny tale of a poor, lowly actor with big ambitions. Stephen Chow is terrific, bringing bags of warmth and charm to go with the laughs and he and Cecilia Cheung have great chemistry together. The kind of heart-warming entertainment that Chow seems to be able to produce with ease.

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4. The Great Yokai War

Takashi Miike tones down his usual ultra violence and increases the laugh count in this Japanese fantasy film. A young boy is drawn into a world of goblins to retrieve a mythical sword and prevent a malevolent goblin from destroying mankind. This is a cracking adventure with similarities to Jim Henson's fantasy films, 'Labyrinth' and 'Dark Crystal'. Like those films, 'Yokai War' has a great array of imaginative creatures and moments of witty humour. The ending points to a sequel and I'll definitely be watching it if there is one.

3. Once Upon A Time In High School

A very good coming of age drama set in a Korean high school with strong performance from all the cast. The thing that really pushes this to the top end of my favourite films of 2006 is the last fight scene. It's simply one of the greatest screen fights ever committed to celluloid. It's packed with tension, emotion, drama and unlike most fights in movies, you don't know who's going to come out on top. Fabulous stuff.

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2. The Host

'The Host' is a creature feature, a thriller, a family drama and a comedy with some politics thrown in for good measure. All these genres combine effortlessly to make a splendid way to spend 2 hours. One thing that is particularly good is that it rarely moves in the direction you're expecting and that makes it feel fresh and invigorating. 

1. A Bittersweet Life

A stylish film noir with an ice cool lead performance from Lee Byung-Hun. Some may complain of a lack of emotion from the lead character until the final moments of the film but when it comes, it's heart breaking. It's a wonderful end to a movie that had me gripped from the very beginning and didn't let go.

Written by Mike Banner