2006 Film Diary

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) A
- The was by far the best superhero movie of the summer. Who says that this is a spoof? All the comic book elements are here, the sometimes troubled and conflicted superhero, the romantic intrest, the supervillan (who was basically also the superhero) who is in love with the superhero. This totally puts a new spin on the whole Superman/Clark Kent and Lex Luthor triangle. Let's not go there. I had a good time.

The Descent (2006) A
- An excellent ride, with great suspence and personal intrige. I would so like to see the European ending, though. This is the best horror movie I've seen this year.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) A
- Yes, I saw it again. I took my neice, who loved it. It didn't drag or feel as long as the first time I watched it.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) B-
- I didn't like this as much as "Anchor Man," I liked it more. I hate NASCAR and this just added fuel to the fire. Laugh out loud funny. Sweet family ending that was not a disappointment. Great performances by the supporting cast.

Lady in the Water (2006) A-
Reviewer's Bias* (I saw this somewhere and loved the idea)
Loves: M. Night Shyamalan's work; complex, intelligent films (key word)
Likes: good fariy tales
Dislikes: Wasting my money and America's current "leadership"
- I liked this film very much. Because sometimes we go to movies to be entertained with a good story that we feel a connection to. I felt that way with this film. I must admit that one must have an aquired taste for M. Night Shyamalan's films, it seems he losses more and more fans with every film he has made since "The Sixth Sense." I think that he is the most imaginative writer/director working today. He is not given the credit he deserves for being different. It is a shame that what most movie audiences want is more and more of the same old, same old. Here we are six years and four films later and still people expect Mr. Shyamalan to make 'the sixth sense 2'. I will look forward to owning this film and watching it again and again. It had warmth and compasion from characters that did not believe that fairy tales could be true, from characters who had given up on life and wonder and what if, much like the world today. We have all grown up and forgotten what it is to believe in something. Mr. Shyamalan has reminded us, or rather me, with this film.


An Inconvenient Truth (2006) A
- This was a scary movie. Excellent look at a man who should have been president. It shows a man who is much smarter than America thought he was. I bought the whole truth, and it scared me silly.

Superman Returns (2006) C
- Superman is back, but…I can't say much for the franchise if this is the film to measure future films by, we shall all be disappointed.
O.K. was it just me or did the opening credits sound and look like Star Wars there for a minute?
I got over that and sat there remembering when I first heard that theme twenty-eight years ago and I found it just as thrilling. Though this should have be my first clue as to where Brian Singer got his inspiration. He could use a book on Superman history, of which there are many to choose from, he doesn’t have to actually read the comics, which of course we know he hasn’t. He has admitted it himself way back before the first X-Men film came out. So he TRIES to take up Superman Returns from where Superman II left off. But he still forgot to stay true to the Superman comic book world; they (the film makers and screen writers) did not forget that in the first two films.

Just about the only thing that he didn't take from the other superman movies was the humor, and the fun. He brought seriousness to the story that can not be given any credit when he adds in stupid stuff that no one who knows any history of superman could believe was possible, like superman can fly between planets, but he came back from outer space in a ship? Superman always had that feeling that Lois was in trouble, but this time he learns in from a TV news report? He is SUPERMAN yet he strains to stop a plane? And how does Lex Luthor just WALK to the fortress of solitude when Superman usually has to fly there?

I am not one to waste my money, yet I quickly found myself regretting ever choosing this film. I did not like Brandon Routh at first, I felt that he looked too much like Christopher Reeve and I didn’t like that. But as the film dragged on I found that he did very well and would look forward to seeing him reprise the role. I found Kate Bosworth to be totally miscast and lacking depth. Kevin Spacey was his usual brilliant self, but without the humor element I found it hard to take him seriously, were we supposed to take him seriously or not? I forget.

I did like Lois’ son and the story that Superman is his father and it seems he was able to recognize who Clark Kent is on some level, was this the subplot or the plot? Now that I think about it I don’t know. I was more evolved with this story line than Lex Luthor so for me this was the plot, that didn’t go far enough for me.

Overall the was a big disappointment and I hold Brian Singer responsible, why are people who do not read comics make comic book movies? They ruin them. Just ask Alan Moore.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) A-
- Yes, it is too long and needs a better editor, but I still loved it! Bill Nighy steals the show this time, he did an excellent job under all that make up. I can't wait to see the extras on the dvd when it comes out. I would love to see it again.

Nacho Libre (2006) B-
- This could have been better, but I don't where to begin, it was not as funny as I thought it would be. Sometimes, I get so excited about some films just from viewing the trailer and then I am disappointed when I finnally get to see the film.

An American Haunting (2006) D+
- I hate when horror films try to explain why. Sometimes when there are no answers, it is what is unexplained that adds the horror element. Don't give some lame excuse!

A Prairie Home Companion (2006) C+
- A wonderful look at what I had always imagined the show to be except with the anlge of death. I loved the songs, but way off the mark for a Altman film I thought.

The Proposition (2006) A
- The violence was so shocking, I can't remember when I last saw something that shockingly violent, yet the acting was still powerfully intense.

The Three Buirals of Melquiades Estrada (2005) A
- A wonderful Father's day spent with the family. Though, not a 'family film.' A modern western classic.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) A+
- I saw this on the big screen for the first time, and I felt like I was eight years old again.

Benchwarmers (2006) C+
- The funniest movie this year. I will look forward to watching it again.

Joyeux Noel (2005) B

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) C
- Such a disapointment.

Hard Candy (2006) C-
- A very intense and yet unbelievable premise.

Art School Confidential (2006) C

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) C-

Thank You for Smoking (2006) B+

Inside Man (2006) A-

Cache (2005) C-

Slither (2006) B+

V for Vendetta (2006) B

The Libertine (2005) B+

Night Watch (2006) A

Transamerica (2005) C+

Underworld: Evolution (2006) C+

Match Point (2005)
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) A

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) B
Not a diapointment and ... This is was not a waste of time, either. I will stand by the AMPAS nomination for Ms. Dench; she wonderfully stole the show, having the best lines in the film, and this time playing for comic effect. I have not seen Bob Hoskins play such a reserved roll since "Mona Lisa," yet here it is offset with Dame Judi's bold and honest Mrs. Henderson. The touching moments of the film I think failed to come across with much feeling, something was missing there, and I can't put my finger on it, possibly a week script and lackluster directing. This was a film about two people who complimented each other yet seemed to be total opposites, to produce a successful theatre that ran for about 30 years. The story is overshadowed by the acting of the two leads, the nudity, which was nicely done, and the costumes in the musical numbers. An overall delight.

Nanny McPhee (2006) B+
What a delight! I was not to happy to see this film at all but, I quickly fell in love with the cute kids and all their mischief. And the adults were not a disappointment either. I found this to be much more entertaining than the "Limney Snicket" film.
The story was quite a delight, and quite simple, and fit wonderfully being viewed on Valentine's Day as well. I loved the set design and the costumes were wonderfully outrageous. Overall simply wonderful, a family film that can be view for the simple enjoyment of a good film, no family or kids needed.

Ek Ajnabee (2005) B
A remake of a remake, not bad. Yes, this is a remake of Tony Scott's "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington, but that was also a remake of a film with the same title shot in France with an American cast and an Italian crew that came out in 1987. Which I'm told Tony was supposed to direct in the first place.
Any way I digress.
This remake is a Bollywood version, and of course when you say that one would automatically think that music and dancing would be heavily involved, and you would be wrong, but not completely. Yes, there is a musical number, but it was fit well into the second half of the film and was set in a disco which was also cut with scenes of 'Surya' (the 'Cressy' character) trying to get information from the bouncer whom he kills along with some other guy.
This film did suffer from a director and an editor who need lessons in both for setting pace for suspense and violence. The lead actor is famed Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, who is India's answer to Clint Eastwood and Denzel Washington rolled into one, who did seem out of place at times but he also had an intensity that worked for his character.
If you have seen the Tony Scott version, expect almost everything to be the same, Bollywood is notorious for making remakes out of everything, (we don't even come close), but the twist in the climax was satisfying and was what we would have called a typical "Hollywood ending."

Capote (2005) A
A fine film, an excellent performance I did expect after hearing so much about Philip Seymour Hoffman that this film was just a showcase of his performance, but I was proved wrong. Over all this was an excellent film that was very well directed. I found Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance to be so riveting that I forgot that he was just an actor. I only have vague memories of Truman Capote as a child on old talk shows; I truly could not tell the difference. But this film was more than I expected I didn't expect to discover a story of how a writer could get so involved with a story that it would utterly dominate his life and mark the rest of his life so dramatically, to be so intense and riveting. This is a lesson that other writers or reporters, I think should fear; getting too close to the story and yet keep from becoming the story. That was what happened to Capote, yet at the time I don’t think anyone saw or knew just how he became part of the story. This film I think gives us that.

The New World (2005) B+
Recomended only for those familar with Malick If you have never seen a Terrence Malick film this movie is not for you. Unless, you can appreciate a story that takes liberties with the truth for the sake of a story that brings two cultures together for the first time in a breathtaking landscape, where dialoged is limited to brief encounters and expanded in voiceovers by the main characters of the film. Malick weaves the story that we are familiar with as children, that of "Pocahontas" and her famous encounter with Captain John Smith and the settlers of Jamestown. I am told that it is far from the truth, but then I was never taught "the truth," and I think that most of the movie going public is only familiar with the Disney version of the story. This is truly another world that visually beautiful as it is horrid, as in the squalor that became the Jamestown settlement during that first year.

Casanova (2005) C
A waste of time. This film failed on so many levels, the acting was all over the place, and the editing had no comedic pacing what so ever, it was way off. The trailer for this movie was better edited than the film itself. Where was the director? Heath Ledger was just so, so and there was no chemistry between him and Sienna Miller at all. The whole first act was completely boring, I almost walked out, except then Oliver Platt and Jeremy Irons finally came on screen. They didn't help the film much, but they were much better to watch than the leads. The Costumes were beautiful, the set was... it was... well it was Venice. This was a waste of time and of film stock. (Do they still call it that?).

The Matador (2005) B+
Pierce Brosnan's best performance, ever. This was a cute comedy that won't appeal to everyone. It is the story of how a traveling salesman and a hit man become life long friends. How a man gets his confidence back and how another finally connects with another human being. Best of all, to watch this was fun, to see the chemistry between Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan was truly wonderful.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) B+
Don't believe the hype. I was so disappointed. I thought I was going to see the best film of the year, and I was wrong. Don't get me wrong this was a good movie, but it is not best picture. The acting was good, mainly Heath Ledger's performance, which is Oscar worthy. But the problem with the film was that it was too long, it should not have been spread out over twenty-something years, because of this there was really was not enough character development of the supporting characters. We don't see anything other than a poor Elma, who seems to be on the verge of tears in every secen. The long-suffering wife; Oscar bait. The story seem to go so long yet we didn't seem to get anywhere, we don't get to know any one else other than Ennis. The love story was very touching at the end, it was only then that I felt a kind of empathy and sympathy for the lonley life that Ennis will lead. This was a fine film from Ang Lee, and he will probably win an Oscar for best director, but he doesn't deserve it for this film.

The Ringer (2005) C+

Garam Masala (2005) D
Don't watch this unless, you love Bollywood films, really, really love Bollywood films.

Munich (2005) A+
A very good film, but not great. It is not a great film because, I think that Spielberg thinks that this story is true or that it is based more on fact than the author's imagination. It is because of this that the film fails. It has the makings of a great spy/espionage film, something like "Three Days of the Condor" and if Spielberg had stuck to that this would have been a better film. I think that the advertising also has a lot to do with the preconceptions the audience has, most of them may believe that this is based on fact. This is 'Hollywood,' this is Steven Spielberg, who was the king of event films; it is not "Schindler's List 2. So, I say go see this film and enjoy it as Spielberg's best film, this year.

Hostel (2006) B-
Not so scary, as much as bloody, but ... I think this film fails to bring a much needed suspense element to help build the horror and gore payoff. There was a great setup to get us to the first torture scene, which worked really well. I think because we didn't actually see anything but the boy scream, cut to the tool being put away and then back to the now bloody boy. This was the most horrifying seen in the film. I liked this film despite its problems, but this was not by far a great horror film. What out for the big and I mean big plot hole in this film. If I had found another thing to complain about I wouldn't recommend this film.