2006 Alternate Oscars

The most underrated movie of 2006 is Spike Lee's Inside Man, a terrific little caper flick that quickly turns into something a lot more interesting.

My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I told you my name, that's the who. The where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there's a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison. The what is easy. Recently, I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. That's also the when. As for the why, beyond the obvious financial motivation, it's exceedingly simple: Because I can. Which leaves us only with the how. And therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub.

As promised in his opening monologue delivered straight into the camera, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen, who also starred that same year in Alfonso Cuarón's dystopian sci-fi classic, Children of Men) has masterminded a meticulously planned bank heist — or has he? His intricate caper immediately turns into a hostage situation as half the New York police force descends on his location.

Enter veteran hostage negotiator Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington, great as always — I'd pay to watch him read the phonebook). So far, it all sounds a bit like a remake of Dog Day Afternoon or maybe even Die Hard.

It isn't.

This is the strangest bank robbery in history. Nobody seems to be in a hurry to steal anything, or negotiate demands, or make a getaway when they're done. Instead, Russell and his crew sit and wait. And wait. And wait.

It's a game of cat and mouse, and Detective Frazier strongly suspects he's the one holding the cheese.

Superb supporting work from Jodie Foster as a sleazy fixer, Christopher Plummer as the bank owner in need of her services, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Frazier's bemused partner, and Willem Dafoe as a trope-busting SWAT commander who is neither a bloodthirsty psychopath or a bumbling buffoon.

Director Spike Lee also treats us to an up close look at how a post-9/11, multicultural New York has changed since the gritty days of classic 1970s crime pictures (The French Connection, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three). Indeed, this might be the best use of the city in a movie since Woody Allen's Manhattan. The most insightful, anyway.

Supporting work and demographic insights aside, though, it's the high-stakes sparring between Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, two of my generation's coolest actors, that makes this movie so much fun to watch.

This is to date the highest grossing movie of Spike Lee's career.

A great Saturday night picture. Highly recommended.

My choices are noted with a ★. A tie is indicated with a ✪. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔. Best foreign-language picture winners are noted with an ƒ. A historical winner who won in a different category is noted with a ✱.