2006 Film List - Page 3

Craig S · 08-20-2006, 07:11 PM

Updated my list with the charming Sundance fave Quinceanera, and two films that will likely figure in my Top Ten at the end of the year: Oliver Stone's inspirational World Trade Center, and the funniest (and sweetest, in it's slightly twisted way) film of the year to date, Little Miss Sunshine.

Joe Kamsan · 08-27-2006, 01:22 AM

Miami Vice
I enjoyed this a lot. HTFers comments saying it dragged and that it was too 'talky' are probably justified though that aspect is what made the film for me. Michael Mann's movie immerses you in his world, and he doesn't stop to spell out acronyms or explain cop talk like most films do. And nobody can film a gunfight scene like Mann.
B+

Adam_S · 08-30-2006, 03:00 AM

Brick -

(8 of 10)

Terrific movie, wonderful photography editing production design and performances. Very well done, Very enjoyable. Great piece of entertainment and one of the better movies of the year.

Seth Paxton · 09-06-2006, 01:04 AM

Adam, I put Brick in my 2005 list. Strong film.

Finally getting back, trying to improve my sporadic posting habits. I added 6 more to my list, 4 seen in the theater.

Pirates of the Carribean 2
7.5 of 10
It's a very sloppy script that is often saved by imaginitive stunts or effects as well as the enjoyable characters. It picks up at time, but clearly this script badly needed a couple more passes before it went into production...or someone needed to reign it in during production if that's where it expanded. Based off the very poor opening I think it was mostly script issues.

Monster House in 3D
9 of 10
This is my favorite animated flick of the year so far, with very interesting characters that clearly resembles the general cast of Goonies to no suprise. The 3D effect was very solid and immersive, definitely worth the trip to the theater. It's a shame that this kind of 3D remains hard to get in the home environment. Regardless its a fun family film, albeit a little scary for the youngest kids.

Miami Vice
9 of 10
I found this to be perfectly matched with the tone of the TV series. Great performances from all the major characters, classic Mann cinematography and musical choices. I can see some being thrown by the swiftly paced, jump-right-into-it script, but I don't think he ever left a plot point out.

In fact that was one of the film's strong points I think, the manner in which plot points were integrated into the background of the scenes rather than hammered into your brain as a spotlighted centerstage moment. This makes the film run fast and rough (tone). Another brilliant work from Mann.

Little Miss Sunshine
9.5 of 10
At this point my favorite film of the year. It is on par with Sideways in terms of the type of humor and drama and how it is mixed. The characters are classic cartoon types in one fashion, yet each of them is played in the most understated fashion of classic indy cinema.

Carrell especially makes his 2nd bold statement by playing what could be broad comedy in a far more sophisticated manner (his first being 40 Year Old Virgin). A great deal of the comedy of the film is based off the dramatic tension and suffering the characters are feeling in their lives. The film draws you in to that world, and then lets you laugh in RELEASE along with them, rather than at them.

And I will sincerely say that Alan Arkin deserves a Best Supporting nomination for this effort. He is brilliant in a character written with superb range.

on DVD
Dave Chappell's Block Party
8.5 of 10
Not at all what I expected, instead being a very interesting documentary capturing an all-day music festival put on by Chappell as well as his interaction with the wide range of people invited and involved. There is genuine love from Dave for this project and the music, and I was especially intrigued by his comparisons of comedic and musical timing...he makes a strong case for his theories on the subject.

The Benchwarmers
1.5 of 10
I don't mind dumb comedy like Super Troopers or Billy Madison. But seriously, WTF is going on with this crap? This story and script was a total disaster. Anything other than a 0 rating comes soley from the comedic performances in a script that provides no laughs of its own. This was a huge disappointment and for the most part not much fun, sometimes even uncomfortably unfunny.

edit:
Moved Brick 9 of 10 to this thread from the 2005 thread.

Seth Paxton · 09-23-2006, 09:11 PM

Hostel
7 of 10
Solid horror film, a tad schlocky at time (which fits the genre), generally weak acting except for an outstanding turn from the lead Jay Hernandez (3 for 3 IMO looking back at Friday Night Lights and The Rookie). Good story concept, not quite done as well as it could have been.

Talladega Nights: Ricky Bobby
7.5 of 10
Typical Will Ferrell film, very funny at times but overall it's very loose and sloppy (see: Old School, Anchorman). Everything is thrown at the wall, plenty sticks and plenty does not, but who cares. On repeat viewings you overlook the misses and relish the hits because they are so funny.

The little baby Jesus dinner argument is one of those very funny moments that make it worth seeing. Silly as can be, but if you like his delivery and timing then you will find plenty to like here. Also the two kids steal a lot of scenes with their ultra-snotty attitude delivered in deep southern drawl.

And he's not really hiding the assult on NASCAR and its fans. This is still a pretty harsh parody most of the time.

Adam_S · 09-27-2006, 04:44 AM

I've been unable to see new films due to a severe shortage of funds. but I did catch a free screening.

The Last King of Scotland -

(7 out of 10)

This tells the story of a young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, who decides to escape his father's domination of his life by randomly deciding to serve an aid hospital in Uganda. Shortly after he arrives, Idi Amin makes his coup; Garrigan meets him and then gives him a little bit of medical attention and incidentally impresses the General with his audacity. The general loves that he is scottish rather than british.

Soon he is the General's personal physician and living a life in ignorance of what Amin is doing to Uganda, an ignorance that will cost him dearly, in many ways.

For those people who love films from the seventies, you're going to love this film. It's absolutely in love with the era. The film grain and palatte both hearken back to the era, and zooms are consistently used very intelligentally to also invoke the era. At times the cutting jumps to macros or pastoral transitions, and again this feels like a seventies filmmaking device.

The cinematography is superb and the editing is excellent. performances are good. Forrest Whitaker does a terrific job of catching us up in the charisma of the general but holds nothing back from the fury and terror the man also wielded.

but the film just lacks a resonance, a punch that all of its superb filmmaking can't aid. The storytelling takes the perspective of Garrigan, who's too flawed to contrast to Amin, then again that may be the film's central brilliance now that I reflect upon it. Garrigan is flawed, he's a bit unlikable, he's still very much a child--he still relies on authority--and he's naturally a syncophant whether he realizes it or not. He's just enough of an idealist to willfully blind himself. But that makes it hard for us to see Amin. We get his charisma well enough but besides that, throughout the film we see a host of fascinating pieces of Amin that give you a rounded character but never seem to come together--it never quite achieves the sum of its parts. In a way, this serves to make Amin more dramatically terrifying--his volatility is dangerous--but it also sucks something out of the film that maybe needed to be there.

With the approach to Amin the film takes, the film really needs a more powerful resolution and ending, but it doesn't have one, it kind of trails off in a melancholy manner. This is consistent with the film but it doesn't do the storytelling any service and it keeps the audience from really achieving catharsis--we're set up for it by the final ten minutes and then just left hanging (an unfortunate figure of speech once you see the film). We never get the payoff for enduring some of the scenes. These are the sorts of storytelling and character issues that Spielberg handled perfectly in Munich which was a film equally steeped in the era of the seventies and real-world horror.

Seth Paxton · 09-28-2006, 03:29 AM

I had heard that Whitaker was very strong as Amin and would be turning heads with the performance. Sounds like you mostly agree but think that some of it is lost in the film itself. I look forward to seeing it myself.

Manderlay
9.5 of 10
Dogville was a little rough at the start and in typical Von Trier style it was at times outright manipulative, but on the whole it was stellar filmmaking, great storytelling and just interesting as hell.

Maderlay follows up on that with part 2 of his American themed trilogy starring the daughter of a tough gangster. Despite losing Caan and Kidman part 2 still rolls along pretty well thanks to Dafoe and Bryce Howard. Also of note are a few cast members from part 1 returning for part 2 in new roles - Lauren Bacall, Chloe Sevigny, and Jeremy Davies for certain, and a few others. In fact I think the only reoccurring characters are the ones played by new actors, with all the returning actors going into new roles....except John Hurt as the narrator, and perhaps a couple of gangsters that previously were unnamed characters.

Add that to the list of factors that make these films so uniquely challenging. Of course this film also features the very minimalistic mise-en-scene and all the action is filmed on what is obviously a soundstage. Painted lines still mark things like trees, houses are represented by a single window or perhaps the frame of the house only.

But its his stories that are the power. In this case it feels a bit more forced than usual. Certainly the female lead gets pushed around, trampled on and almost outright mocked by Von Trier, but new to this film is a sense that some of the plot points are being wedged in to make it all work. And that takes some of the edge off and keeps me from calling it a 10 caliber film.

If you saw Dogville then use your reaction to that to decide on seeing this, it's that simple. I loved Dogville and enjoyed this film almost as much.

Adam_S · 10-02-2006, 03:14 AM

The Departed -

(8 of 10)

Every bit as powerful and good a film as Gangs of New York and the Aviator.

I've not seen any of the Infernal Affairs films.

A note on spoilers. I will discuss who is good cop and bad cop, I won't reveal major plot points or resolutions, the film makes it very clear within the first few minutes who is who, but I was unsure as to who was good or bad based on the trailers. I will discuss how I see the characters and their development throughout the film, some of the description might be considered spoilers as it indicates general directions of the plot.

Overall, Brutally funny, more on the script later.

I nominate this film for the best fuckin' soundtrack of the year. From Patsy Cline to the Stones, John Lennon, Pink Floyd and opera; sonically this film is outstanding. Never quite as good a musical moment as the famous fight in Mean Streets but "Comfortably Numb" is ALMOST there... just interrupted a teensy bit by dialogue and awkward blocking.

The Departed spins a story centered around Boston crime lord/mafia chieftain Frank Costello. Costello has been a father figure to Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) since he was a boy being raised by his grandmother. At the start of the film we find Damon breezily being placed as a mole for Costello into the special unit of the Boston State Police who are continually hunting the elusive Costello. Nicholson tears up the screen as Costello, his role is full of energy and life, and could very well be in competition for a supporting actor nomination--simply because it's Nicholson.

Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a boy from a split home who was raised on both sides of the Boston tracks. his family is all dead, but most of his extended family are criminals. He applies to the same special division of the Boston State Police that Colin Sullivan did, but with his spotty record and disposition only one route is left open to him if he wants to be a cop--deep cover as a mole with Costello.

The rest of the film unfolds brilliantly. The story development had me on the edge of my seat from moment to moment. Often I was thinking, "what next," or "how will they get out of this (or be busted)". But that tension may be the film's one downfall; The Departed feels a little long; some of the plot seems repetitive or tat least looping upon itself. But this is Scorsese and I can already feel--as I think back on the film--how that repetition is one of the film's shining, brilliant aspects. The repetition layers and deepens the character of Costigan and Sullivan in contrast to each other.

The film is very catholic in its approach to all three characters, but it is Costigin who draws us in with the trials and tribulations he undergoes. Is he trying to achieve redemption or atonement by serving the police and undergoing these trials? He seems ignorant of his family's past in some key scenes. Scorsese delivers us a kind of tortured hero's journey for Costigan. We're not told enough to really discern his quest, his purposes, instead Scorsese keys in on two other aspects of the journey--isolation and pain (trials). And the audience attaches itself firmly to Costigan because of this. This is where Scorsese really powerfully exploits the repetition in the narrative. Costigan is forced through a lot, physical, mental and spiritual (metaphorically, what he believes in is tested the most), we're left wondering just how far a man can be pushed and still remember what is right.

I think this is Leonardo DiCaprio's finest performance, it's a brutal, demanding role. And yes, it is a showy role, he has a lot of juicy scenes to display his chops, but it is not as showy as Nicholas made the Costello role. Damon is superb as Colin Sullivan. It'd be easy to dismiss his performance, but this is a character that learned to wall off emotion and vulnerability long ago. One of the film's nicest contrast shows Costigan's walls breaking down as Sullivan's strengthen while both worm their way deeper into positions of trust. Sullivan is so stoic; Damon is guaranteed to be overlooked for any awards consideration. It is a nuanced performance and one of the film's greatest strengths. And it enhances DiCaprio's awards portential, his performance will contrast both with Nicholson's scene chewing and Damon's scene-deferment. He'll generate buzz and talk.

But what was my favorite performance? Mark Wahlberg. He lights the screen up with dialogue and fuck-you-ness the way Joe Pesci did for Goodfellas, it's a shame his character is so small.

The script by William Monahan is brilliant. This is one of the funniest films I've seen since Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. there's brutal, snappy humor in every other scene--and it really works for the film. The humor is stronger than After Hours.

This is a film that makes me realize Italians are all moody, volatile bitches and the real fun is to be had by hanging with the Irish.

The humor is what makes the film click and connect--it's what verbally ties the two separate stories together, and that makes the themes and connections between the men really ascend to the next level.

Michael Ballhaus' cinematography is outstanding. Gorgeous throughout with many visual nods to John Ford (made me think of the Informer and The Long Voyage Home).

Thelma Shoonmaker's editing ties together the two separate threads so seamlessly it blows my mind how smooth the whole experience was. There's one hitch, in the editing, and that's where Comfortably Numb stops working for a spell. I think it's how the scene was shot and blocked, it's the only part of the movie that doesn't work.

Spoiler:

Howard Shore's score is good. Kristi Zea's Production design is outstanding and the Makeup team did a stellar job, and may well be in the oscar hunt as well if WB plays their cards correctly.

So why rate this three and a half? Because it's terrific to write about the film afterwards but the film never yanked me up to the highest level Scorsese can achieve, at least, not on a first viewing. And that's in many ways because I was so anxious to find out how it all resolves that I was constantly thinking of it as a story and not caught up 100% in the story. In many ways the storytelling was so good that I was too tense to fully enjoy it. A second viewing and I'll be more relaxed and I think I'll enjoy the film even more, Unlike many action films, this film will really reward repeat viewings. It's not Goodfellas, it's a whole different animal . It's not a crime epic it's an action/police film. And it's a brutal comedy and a damned effective piece of storytelling. It is a crowd pleaser. The audience had a blast with the film and gave it a spat of thunderous applause at the end credits.

And the end credits are on cards rather than scrolling. Nice.

Adam

Adam_S · 10-08-2006, 10:45 PM

The Queen -

(9 of 10)

This is the film to beat for Best Picture.

Hellen Mirren is superb in this film. A wonderful film in every respect.

It's also the film to beat for costume design, makeup, and best actress. Marie Antoinette may look pretty, but this is equal and it's a great, perfect film.

James Cromwell is excellent, Alex Jennings as Prince Charles is superb and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair is outstanding. Sheen may be overlooked, come awards time, though because his character has one really terrific scene and the rest is overshadowed by the other performances.

This would be the film to beat for Production design but Henry Bumstead died this year so Flags of Our Fathers will win that one.

Every bit of this movie was both excellent and flawless in execution, for me, so far, this is easily the best film of the year. Nothing else really comes close. I don't think Dreamgirls or Flags of our Fathers would have a chance if Harvey Weinstein were still running Miramax, it'd be an easy win for him to pull off.

It will be interesting to see who the other four actresses are that will lose this year, sort of like it was interesting to see who was nominated against Julia Roberts five years ago.

The script is outstanding, full of wit and bits of humor in a time of sadness.

Fans of Capote should be delighted, this movie is even better than that superb film.

------------
Little Miss Sunshine -

(6.5 out of 10)

An excellent and sweet film that is quite charming. Abigail Breslen is adorable and looks scarily like my little sister. Alan Arkin is quite amusing as a very crusty grandfather and the rest of the family is interestingly quirky, except for Mom who is normal because, well, she's Mom.

I about died laughing when Olive finally performed her talent at the competition. So awesome, what a wonderful way to address all that beauty pageant nonsense. A terrifically fun movie. It'd be a great family movie if I could buy the airplane version, but as it is, I'll have a hard time recommending it to family.