Break out the champagne. Hong Kong Cinema in 2006 was better than in 2005, though the actual quality jump wasn't anything to write home about. Still, as opposed to last year, when the lack of quality features required that Seven Swords and Initial D be noted as among the year's best, this year we actually had 7-8 really good films worth putting in a Top Ten Movies list. The last few slots were still a problem, with some decent films like On the Edge, Battle of Wits and Re-cycle unfortunately missing the cut. Even Rob-B-Hood got serious consideration due to its crowd-pleasing nature. Anyway, the list is what it is: what the Webmaster happened to think was best in 2006. You may disagree. Actually, we're expecting you to disagree.

For the record, the Bottom 10 Movies list was a total crapshoot, with nearly 15-20 films jockeying for position after the two absolute worst movies of the year, Love Undercover 3 and Dating a Vampire, got their spots. We could easily have included My Kung-Fu Sweetheart, Love @ First Note, Nothing is Impossible, or Karmic Mahjong in the list, but we didn't because we somehow felt charitable. Either that, or we randomly assigned the worst films based on our mood. Hey, it happens.

Also, we rewarded Chang Chen with the award for "Most Charismatic" even though the film in question, Silk, is technically PanAsia and not Hong Kong. Whatever. We make up the rules around here. Anyway, we're expecting 2007 to be better than 2006. From this point forward, we only accept improvement.

To read about LoveHKFilm.com's meeting with actor Andrew Lin, recipient of the Most Underrated Performance Award, go here.