What movies did you see in 2006?

LSPoorEeyorick · 12-13-2006, 11:36 AM

Munich – fair, and I suppose it was interesting, but the writing lacked coherence or good enough character development. Things were telegraphed in a ham-handed way.

Brokeback Mountain – I really expected more of it. In retrospect, it's a fine film, but I guess I expected more of Lee, of the Proulx story at large.

Match Point - had a really great payoff scene at the end. And not so much else.

Transamerica – was interesting, but went to a place that made me feel pretty uncomfortable. Huffman's performance was a marvel.

The New World – Kind of flat. Truly not fond of Farrell. Was the first Malick film I've ever seen; perhaps I should have gone with something else.

Failure to Launch – I was home sick. I don't know why. I'd read the screenplay for work and I knew just how bad it was.

Thank You For Smoking – a nice introductory piece from a director with potential. I enjoyed it.

Slither – Excellent horror-comedy. Gunn is a brilliant director, and I look forward to what he does later. I loved just about everybody in the film—they're all actors I can't wait to see more of, whether on Thursday nights or popping up in odd places I don't expect them.

Art School Confidential – So masturbatory. A waste of my evening.

The Da Vinci Code – I enjoyed the clues and the puzzles in the book. But there was no puzzling in the movie, just moving from this solution to that, from this place to that.

Over the Hedge – Very cute. Much moreso than I expected. I think my love of Steve Carrell gives it a boost, too, but I suspect that the climax involving his character would have made me laugh pretty hard, even if I wasn't a fan.

X-Men: The Last Stand – Fluff, but watchable fluff.

Cars – Charming! Goes to show that the same old story can be told in new and amusing ways. Plus, it spawned my favorite spin-off toy of the year, the tipping tractors.

A Prairie Home Companion – thoroughly enjoyable. Great performances (even by Lohan, of whom I am not fond) and excellent music. Plus, the "dirty jokes" song is a classic. Sad it's Altman's last.

Strangers With Candy – I love the series, so I loved the first half-hour of the movie. And then it became clear that it was great for the sitcom format, but not so much for the full-length feature.

Superman Returns – Underrated! Elegant, interesting spin on the characters and the times. And I was drawn in by the thrill of it all. It's been said but it deserves to be said once again: isn't it creepy how much he looks and sounds like Christopher Reeve?

The Devil Wears Prada – The kind of movie that the studios used to be really good at. Well-made, fun, with a swell performance from Streep.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest – I was so thrilled with the first one that I don't think anything could top it. This one had some great moments though, particularly the reveal of the blue-bayou-style swamp. Throw me a roll!

Monster House – A lovely coming-of-age movie, with interesting, fully fleshed-out characters and pretty stunning monster animation. Though there was a moment in there that I got frustrated (why is it always the evil fat lady!?) the resolution made me feel better. (Tom was the other way around though; he loved it until that resolution.)

Little Miss Sunshine – hands-down, my favorite film of the year. Sweet, painful, horribly funny. And the best dance performance of the year. I want to see the Oscar dancers take a crack at that one!

An Inconvenient Truth – convinced me that Gore really does have it in him to be a good leader. Maybe not in the official political realm, but here he did a great job. The film actually made me cry. Snot on my sleeves.

Quinceanera – An excellent small film. Despite a fair bit of embarrassment felt when we bumped into the producer at Arclight (a friend of Tom's) and we had to admit we hadn't seen her film yet but we were going into…

Trust the Man – a waste of my evening. It turns out that I just don't like watching movies where I can't connect with any of the characters.

Half Nelson – excellent performance from Gosling, but I'm not sure if it merits an award. The young actress might, though.

The Illusionist – was fairly obvious, and only fleetingly magical. Giamatti good, Norton uncharacteristically bad.

Snakes on a Plane – mother****ing mother****ery.

Hollywoodland – surprising performance from Affleck; limited otherwise.

The Black Dahlia – like amateur hour with a good hairdresser.

The Last Kiss – Attack of the movies where I can't connect with any of the characters.

School for Scoundrels – we saw this one at a preview for free; my brother was in town. That's the best thing I can say about it—that I watched it with my brother.

The Departed – everybody raves about it. But I just thought it was rather blasé. "Oh, look. Cops and mobsters. Switching places. Shooting at each other. Drinking until they're comfortably numb. How… innovative." Overly coincidental placement of female character in both men's lives bothered me in particular.

The Queen – a lovely movie about the divide between the royals and the public (and their voice, Tony Blair.) Excellent writing, exellent performances down the line. One of the best of the year.

Flags of our Fathers – I have trouble with war movies to begin with, particularly when we're at war. It clouds my judgement. Though I was moved to emotion by the movie, it had nothing to do with the movie itself. That left me kind of cold. Current politics were what affected me.

Marie Antoinette – Pretty. Pretty shallow.

The Prestiege – I found it intriguing and exciting from the first moment through the final shot. I hear that the book is better, but as I'd never read it, the film thrilled me plenty.

Babel – son of the attack of the movies where I can't connect with any of the characters.

Flushed Away – Very cute. Not as clever as Wallace & Grommit in their various tales, but still, an enjoyable romp. And singing slugs!

Volver – A lovely film. Convinced me that Penelope Cruz can actually act—in her native tongue, anyway. I loved the focus on the women and their superstitions and their various broken bits.

Stranger Than Fiction – sharp writing, sweet performances, generally a comforting/comfy movie. Like snuggling up with a blanket.

Bobby - the audio of Bobby speaking was much more effective than the movie itself.

Casino Royale - Definitely well-made, action-packed, interesting. I'm just not the target audience for Bond movies of any stripe.

Fast Food Nation - does the 'Altman'-style ensemble work much better than Bobby. Discussed things I knew about, things I'd read about, but visually displayed them in a way that was still shocking.

Happy Feet - an odd experience, having had no heads-up about the popular music "Moulin Rouge"-style score. Still, it was pleasing enough.

Still really wishing to see V For Vendetta, Dreamgirls, The Good German, The Good Shepherd, The Painted Veil, Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, Miss Potter, Iraq in Pieces and Letters from Iwo Jima.

Strangler Lewis · 12-13-2006, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

Brokeback Mountain – I really expected more of it. In retrospect, it's a fine film, but I guess I expected more of Lee, of the Proulx story at large.

Match Point - had a really great payoff scene at the end. And not so much else.

Well, if we're going to count 2005 movies, then my list of movies seen in the past two years practically doubles.

I really liked Match Point, although (cue David Spade voice) I liked it better the first time when it was called Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Brokeback Mountain was good, but a bit meandering. I did not like the state of nature guitar that accompanied the fishing, swimming scenes. I also wasn't sure of the film's ultimate point of view since it seemed to suggest early on that Heath Ledger's finest hour was when he defended his wife and daughters at the fair.

Snowflake · 12-13-2006, 08:00 PM

Not too many, most reserved for Netflix

The Libertine (yuck)
Nanny McPhee (charming)
DaVinci Code (snore, except for Ian McKellen)
An Inconvenient Truth (good)
Cars (I enjoyed it)
A Prarie Home Companion (meh)
The Illusionist (snore)
Hollywoodland (meh)
need to see Casino Royale, The Queen & Bobby

12-13-2006, 11:36 AM	#1
LSPoorEeyorick scribblin' Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: in the moment Posts: 3,872	Munich – fair, and I suppose it was interesting, but the writing lacked coherence or good enough character development. Things were telegraphed in a ham-handed way. Brokeback Mountain – I really expected more of it. In retrospect, it's a fine film, but I guess I expected more of Lee, of the Proulx story at large. Match Point - had a really great payoff scene at the end. And not so much else. Transamerica – was interesting, but went to a place that made me feel pretty uncomfortable. Huffman's performance was a marvel. The New World – Kind of flat. Truly not fond of Farrell. Was the first Malick film I've ever seen; perhaps I should have gone with something else. Failure to Launch – I was home sick. I don't know why. I'd read the screenplay for work and I knew just how bad it was. Thank You For Smoking – a nice introductory piece from a director with potential. I enjoyed it. Slither – Excellent horror-comedy. Gunn is a brilliant director, and I look forward to what he does later. I loved just about everybody in the film—they're all actors I can't wait to see more of, whether on Thursday nights or popping up in odd places I don't expect them. Art School Confidential – So masturbatory. A waste of my evening. The Da Vinci Code – I enjoyed the clues and the puzzles in the book. But there was no puzzling in the movie, just moving from this solution to that, from this place to that. Over the Hedge – Very cute. Much moreso than I expected. I think my love of Steve Carrell gives it a boost, too, but I suspect that the climax involving his character would have made me laugh pretty hard, even if I wasn't a fan. X-Men: The Last Stand – Fluff, but watchable fluff. Cars – Charming! Goes to show that the same old story can be told in new and amusing ways. Plus, it spawned my favorite spin-off toy of the year, the tipping tractors. A Prairie Home Companion – thoroughly enjoyable. Great performances (even by Lohan, of whom I am not fond) and excellent music. Plus, the "dirty jokes" song is a classic. Sad it's Altman's last. Strangers With Candy – I love the series, so I loved the first half-hour of the movie. And then it became clear that it was great for the sitcom format, but not so much for the full-length feature. Superman Returns – Underrated! Elegant, interesting spin on the characters and the times. And I was drawn in by the thrill of it all. It's been said but it deserves to be said once again: isn't it creepy how much he looks and sounds like Christopher Reeve? The Devil Wears Prada – The kind of movie that the studios used to be really good at. Well-made, fun, with a swell performance from Streep. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest – I was so thrilled with the first one that I don't think anything could top it. This one had some great moments though, particularly the reveal of the blue-bayou-style swamp. Throw me a roll! Monster House – A lovely coming-of-age movie, with interesting, fully fleshed-out characters and pretty stunning monster animation. Though there was a moment in there that I got frustrated (why is it always the evil fat lady!?) the resolution made me feel better. (Tom was the other way around though; he loved it until that resolution.) Little Miss Sunshine – hands-down, my favorite film of the year. Sweet, painful, horribly funny. And the best dance performance of the year. I want to see the Oscar dancers take a crack at that one! An Inconvenient Truth – convinced me that Gore really does have it in him to be a good leader. Maybe not in the official political realm, but here he did a great job. The film actually made me cry. Snot on my sleeves. Quinceanera – An excellent small film. Despite a fair bit of embarrassment felt when we bumped into the producer at Arclight (a friend of Tom's) and we had to admit we hadn't seen her film yet but we were going into… Trust the Man – a waste of my evening. It turns out that I just don't like watching movies where I can't connect with any of the characters. Half Nelson – excellent performance from Gosling, but I'm not sure if it merits an award. The young actress might, though. The Illusionist – was fairly obvious, and only fleetingly magical. Giamatti good, Norton uncharacteristically bad. Snakes on a Plane – mother**ing mother**ery. Hollywoodland – surprising performance from Affleck; limited otherwise. The Black Dahlia – like amateur hour with a good hairdresser. The Last Kiss – Attack of the movies where I can't connect with any of the characters. School for Scoundrels – we saw this one at a preview for free; my brother was in town. That's the best thing I can say about it—that I watched it with my brother. The Departed – everybody raves about it. But I just thought it was rather blasé. "Oh, look. Cops and mobsters. Switching places. Shooting at each other. Drinking until they're comfortably numb. How… innovative." Overly coincidental placement of female character in both men's lives bothered me in particular. The Queen – a lovely movie about the divide between the royals and the public (and their voice, Tony Blair.) Excellent writing, exellent performances down the line. One of the best of the year. Flags of our Fathers – I have trouble with war movies to begin with, particularly when we're at war. It clouds my judgement. Though I was moved to emotion by the movie, it had nothing to do with the movie itself. That left me kind of cold. Current politics were what affected me. Marie Antoinette – Pretty. Pretty shallow. The Prestiege – I found it intriguing and exciting from the first moment through the final shot. I hear that the book is better, but as I'd never read it, the film thrilled me plenty. Babel – son of the attack of the movies where I can't connect with any of the characters. Flushed Away – Very cute. Not as clever as Wallace & Grommit in their various tales, but still, an enjoyable romp. And singing slugs! Volver – A lovely film. Convinced me that Penelope Cruz can actually act—in her native tongue, anyway. I loved the focus on the women and their superstitions and their various broken bits. Stranger Than Fiction – sharp writing, sweet performances, generally a comforting/comfy movie. Like snuggling up with a blanket. Bobby - the audio of Bobby speaking was much more effective than the movie itself. Casino Royale - Definitely well-made, action-packed, interesting. I'm just not the target audience for Bond movies of any stripe. Fast Food Nation - does the 'Altman'-style ensemble work much better than Bobby. Discussed things I knew about, things I'd read about, but visually displayed them in a way that was still shocking. Happy Feet - an odd experience, having had no heads-up about the popular music "Moulin Rouge"-style score. Still, it was pleasing enough. Still really wishing to see V For Vendetta, Dreamgirls, The Good German, The Good Shepherd, The Painted Veil, Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, Miss Potter, Iraq in Pieces and Letters from Iwo Jima.
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12-13-2006, 08:00 PM	#3
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	Not too many, most reserved for Netflix The Libertine (yuck) Nanny McPhee (charming) DaVinci Code (snore, except for Ian McKellen) An Inconvenient Truth (good) Cars (I enjoyed it) A Prarie Home Companion (meh) The Illusionist (snore) Hollywoodland (meh) need to see Casino Royale, The Queen & Bobby
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