2006 Film List - Page 5

Re: 2006 Film List

Dave Chapelle's Block Party (2005, Michel Gondry)
Fun concert film with healthy doses of Chapelle's brand of comedy. While some of the supporting material is inexplicably repeated (like the double dose of the crazy old people in the crazy house), the music and performers are almost uniformly excellent. While the concert could have been filmed and edited better, Chapelle brings the funny and the Fugees bring the electricity that caps this enjoyable event. - B

The Illusionist (2006, Neil Burger)
Completely conventional Hollywood film, for better and worse. The technical aspects are well-executed, particularly the lighting, and it has a solid cast including Ed Norton and Paul Giamatti. Yet, I was slightly bored through the whole thing. The story may be different, but the by-the-numbers manner in which the plot unfolds is something we've seen a zillion times. I'll stick with the rating in my sig, even though 4 months removed from seeing the film, I barely remember a thing about it. - B-

The Black Dahlia (2006, Brian DePalma)
Not DePalma at the top of his game as in the Hitchcock films or even Femme Fatale, but close. His precision camera movements are still as good as one can find in Hollywood right now. The actors are of higher quality than he has worked with in many of his films. While the script and plot execution are certainly not without flaws, The Black Dahlia is a successful film because, unlike so many of its modern "neo-noir" brethern, Depalma captures the feeling of seediness and especially shame present in many of the classic noir films. - B+

Re: 2006 Film List

Recent additions:

Children of Men -
Blood Diamond -
Volver -
Babel -
Flags of our Fathers -
Apocalypto -
The Queen -

Having a blast at the theaters right now.

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H

Re: 2006 Film List

hmm, so Blood Diamond and Black Dhalia are good? I'll see them both eventually, but both seemed to have mostly bad reviews.

Adam

Re: 2006 Film List

Blood Diamond is a good action/adventure flick elevated by the nature of the main character, the performances and the message. It's got some pacing issues which make it seems bit longer than it should be. But I really loved it.

Also, a necessary disclaimer: I am not from Sierra Leone, but certainly close enough for this story to hit home, espcially with the gorgeous location shooting. There is no knowing how much this factors in my rating, but there you go.

Black Dahlia is not on my list of priorities.

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H

Re: 2006 Film List

Black Dahlia - 7 of 10

I can see why this got its cinematography nod. absolutely stunning to look at. THe movie is surprisingly great for about 90% of the run time. Intriguing, constrained, sizzling, even Hartnett is pretty good. Then you get to the end and the 'explanation' of who the killer is and all the heights of the movie just kinda fizzle out to a dissappointing end.

Great femme fatale character, and Scarlett Johannson was luminous.

Re: 2006 Film List

Jesus Camp -

"I don't think kids can choose anything"
"I think democracy is the greatest system in the world... but it means you have to give equal freedom to everyone, and in the end that is going to destroy us."

from the lady who runs the camp as heard in the documentary. The first quote refers to why she prefers indoctrination to letting kids choose, the second is her response to the idea that what makes America great is it's democracy and principles such as the separation of church and state.

Jesus Camp is about a small, extremist evangelical branch of Protestant Christianity. The whole world is their enemy, and they want to convert us all. Ideally they'd like to impose their principals by pressuring the government out of proportion to the size of their sect. This is nothing at all like regular evangelicals behave or think. it is not remotely representative of them as a group, but it's a pretty accurate portrayal of the most extreme right wing of evangelicals.

All the adults lacked credibility, in my estimation, from Ted Haggard's slimy put downs of the earnest Levi (though he did challenge the kid to think, because of it), to lead lady and her sad screed against Harry Potter (a series with quite Christian themes, heroes, and iconography), to the bald guy taping kids mouths shut (so they can only express what is written on the tape, ahh sweet conformity. )

But perhaps the worst moment comes as the credits are rolling, when the little girl and Levi walk up to a trio of elderly black men sitting in a park and asks them where they're going after they die. When they reply heaven and she pushes them to repeat it. then she walks away unsure what to do when encountering an affirmative answer, but concludes that they were 'probably Muslim' The next bit in the credits shows her handing out leaflets to passers by, and as a group of white tourists presses past her, she shrugs and says, 'they're probably Christian and we just don't know it." It's a moment completely created by editing, but it is at least as disturbing as anything else in the movie, to me.

A terrific examination of the powers of community and culture--people need and crave both, and one of the best aspects of the film is seeing how people willingly fit themselves into both. The stories they tell each other about themselves, to define who they are as a group, also illustrates one of the most powerful ways communities are shaped and how malleable the perception of truth can be. What is clearly true for one community could be just as clearly false for another. And I think in the eyes of most evangelical christians, or non-evangelical christians what the people behind the Jesus camp promote has only elements of truth that have been twisted to serve the purposes of the extremists sponsoring the community. Jesus Camp is exactly what Al Queda does. And that is why it is just so disturbing.

Adam

Re: 2006 Film List

Well I like to put comments with my scores, but it's too late right now. I just passed up a 10:25 show of Little Children even though it's getting pulled. Hopefully someone will pick up the print or it will hit the $1 theater soon.

Anyway, still a few films away from putting up a top 10 (Babel, Iwo Jima, Pan and Illusionist all this weekend I hope).


The Queen
9.5 of 10

The Fountain
9 of 10

Children of Men
10 of 10

Last King of Scotland
9 of 10

Flags of Our Fathers
8 of 10

United 93
9.5 of 10

Dreamgirls
9 of 10

Lady in the Water
6 of 10

My Super Ex-Girlfriend
4 of 10

Beerfest
3 of 10

Re: 2006 Film List

looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all the (mostly) great movies you're catching, Seth.

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Venus - - 7 of 10

Peter OToole is superb in this film. my god that man has such an incredible voice. His presence is commanding and astonishing, even as his movements are slow and impaired by the crushing weight of age. The young woman he decides to love as one last fling it bewildered by this old man intent on seducing her with words and flattery, with attention and devotion. She's not sure what to do, exploit him for money, play Lolita to his Humbert and put 'game' like limitations on their contacts or let herself fall in love with him like Harold falling for Maude. She is equally excellent, but this is OToole's performance through and through, as Orson Welles got fat late in life, much like CFK, here OToole is much like Henry II, Morice is a Lion in the Winter of his life, and the performance is made all the more resonant when one thinks of all the great moments this artist has left us with.

I'll be rooting for O'Toole to win come oscar night, I think he deserves it for this performance, which I find more interesting, and yes, better, than any of the others competing against him, but I've already resigned myself to Whitaker winning.

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Rewatching the Departed on DVD, I think this film is going to win Director, Picture and Screenplay. The editing is definitely incredible, but I think Babel will take it away from them. Also every single one of my reservations has been erased by watching the film again. I'm elevating it from a 3.5*/8of10 to a 4 star 9.5/10. Which is unusual because I don't usually do half ratings on a ten point scale, but I think I need a third viewing to decide if it's a 10. It is definitely my favorite Scorsese so far and I'll be thrilled if he wins for what I think is his best film.

my single favorite line of the year. This is a movie that if it shows on tv you'll be instantly sucked in, no matter where you are in the film. Thrilled I have a screener to enjoy as much as I want.

One thing I noticed on a repeat viewing. Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

What was also reinforced on a second viewing was the deep and subtle texture of the storytelling structure. This is a film about repetition and cycles, it's looping in on itself peeling back layers upon layers, and each new cycle further develops the characters. It's a brilliant character piece and one of the most subtle bits of filmmaking Scorsese has ever achieved.

Re: 2006 Film List

Very well said - I was struck by that as well, without being able to effectively express it. The plot is chronologically linear yet has a concentric cyclical quality, reminiscent of fractals or... Beethoven 5th.

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H

Re: 2006 Film List

Ender's Game is another story with a linear plot but concentric cyclical structure, it's a travesty they keep trying to make it just linear on the screenplays I've read (and then they wonder why they lose the psychological impact, sigh, repetition is not always a dirty word).

The Protector - - 4 of 10
international uncut version

I've never seen Ong Bak, so this was my first introduction to Tony Jaa, who is an incredible martial artist and athlete. The stunts in this film were first rate.

Unfortunately I watched the longer cut, and this film desperately, desperately needs to be cut down. Vast chunks of the film were just random characters talking about nothing, I'm still not sure if there was one lead girl or two, the girl in the baseball cap and the girl with Johnny, I think now there were maybe two, but the way the film was put together, for ninety percent of the run time I thought there was only one girl and I couldn't figure out how she was supposed to be injured/captured, then free and helpful and suddenly recaptured. Very confusing. On top of that the subplot with hermaphroditic whip lady was WAY too long, virtually all those scenes could be lost. As cool as the buddhist temple fight was it made utterly no sense and should just be tossed.

The movie starts out great, fabulous confident filmmaking, beautifully put together. It suddenly takes a turn for the worst when the elephants under the care of Tony Jaa get stolen and he has to get them back. There's a boat chase that made no sense, but was a lot of fun.

This film has been enormously influenced by Indiana Jones and the action and entertainment factor of the film are along those lines. But the story makes no sense, all the english dialogue and acting are jaw dropping in their amazing awfulness and plot threads just wander around occasionally connecting to each other, though mostly it's a disparate affair and many of the plot threads just die from neglect.

How incredibly lame was the 'sounding of the horn' to summon the evil bike and skater gang? Man that fight scene was just a visit to idiotville.

The four minute single take four floor fight scene was a thing of beauty by the way, a brilliant sequence. Most of the action was pretty good. The hong kong elements seem a bit out of place in a what's mostly an indiana jones style actioneer.

Re: 2006 Film List

Flags of Our Fathers - 7 of 10 -

I'm in the interesting position of having seen Letters from Iwo Jima first and this second. I found Flags more interesting because of the context provided by Letters and I'm beginning to suspect that many critics had the inverse reaction (found Letters more interesting because of the context of Flags). The two films complement each other greatly and Flags is definitely the more daring film. More in the style of Italian neorealism than the Kurosawan style of Letters, Flags boldly intercuts three distinct timeperiods and stories relating to Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima only has to deal with one story and a few obligatory flashbacks, a much more traditional film.

But on the whole Flags doesn't really work for the same reason Iwo Jima doesn't work. It's dispassionate and distant. The matter of factness of the violence of war doesn't aid this film the way it did Saving Private Ryan.

Interestingly, I felt the cinematography was much stronger in this movie than in Letters from Iwo Jima, certainly the DI does not feel as extreme in Flags of Our Fathers.

The film has some excellent things to say and does a bold and excellent job of saying them, but it still feels like parts of a movie, the whole doesn't add up to the sum, unfortunately. The film feels long, an hour too long, a more concise telling of the war bonds tour may have helped. and there is no sense in this film or in Iwo Jima that this was a thirty day battle, a weeklong battle perhaps, but definitely not as long as it comes across.

Ryan Phillippe was awesome, btw.

Good but not great. Hampered from 'going for the gut' the way that Good Night and Good Luck was, but that film is a superior piece of art because it was so adroit, precise and focused. Flags Flounders with too much story and not enough passion and power.

Re: 2006 Film List

Poseidon - - 7 of 10

color me surprised this movie was actually pretty terrific once the wave hits. Emily Rossum is radiant and a fine actress, it's the perfect role for Kurt Russell and Josh Lucas and even Richard Dreyfuss is pretty good.

What holds the movie back is a truly apalling first ten minutes with grating dialogue and flailing attempts at characterization, since not a word of the movie was actually written by credited writer Mark Protosevich, I'd put this down to either Akiva Goldsman's final script or any of the two dozen rewrites and treatments this got from every hollywood script doctor from the Wachowski Brothers to Goldsman while the film was in production (the writer, a former WB VP, had writers block after page 68 of the script and never wrote another word and every bit of his script was chucked).

As a disaster movie, Poseidon is pretty good, great set pieces, not quite nervewracking drama and an endless array of something else goes wrong. In fact that's almost part of the problem. The core group keeps just escaping by the skin of their teeth so that by about the forty-five minute mark you pretty much expect them all to make it outside of a big sacrifice at the end. So the tension comes not from 'will they survive' but rather, 'how do they get themselves out of this one?' Still it's a fun movie and a good way to spend an evening, the group dynamics and problem solving are actually quite spectacular, though there are moments of overwrought melodrama throughout.

Petersen did a spectacular job with the sets and effects on this movie. It DEFINITELY deserves its nomination for visual effects and if it weren't for the achievement of Davy Jones, it would deserve to win. These effects are FAR superior to those in Superman Returns precisely because there is such a seamless mixture of practical and CGI.

Though in the interests of full disclosure I got to walk around on the 8 story main gallery (upside down) set as well as some of the other sets, they were staggering and incredibly amazing (I also saw the stunt where the kid jumps into the curtain after the ship has flipped). but I think I'm reasonably unbiased. Not something I would buy, but not something I would turn off either, and I wouldn't mind watching it again with a group.

And it's at least as good as the first movie, if not a little better in the stunts and set pieces. it's certainly a more grand movie now, but it is not as tense.

Adam

Re: 2006 Film List

The Science of Sleep - (6 of 10)

Gael Garcia Bernal plays Stefan, an introverted artist. His father was mexican, his mother was french, he grew up mostly in Mexico and has just returned to France after his father died. Though he doesn't realize it, Stefan is in a deep depression and while he loses his ability to motivate himself he also loses his ability to distinguish between his vivid dreams and reality. The only thing that really keeps him from sleeping to death is his neighbor, the luminous and equally introverted Stefanie. Their impossible relationship is based on neediness and a shared love for the childish/pre-adolescent branch of modern artistic expression. They hit it off because they're both quirky, but neither is mature enough, nor ready, for the actual experiences of a real relationship, the daily trauma and uplift of talking to people, of interaction.

Science of Sleep is a very slow and wandering film, it is paced lucidly, fluid, like a dream, but though it clocks in at only 100 minutes, it feels like a 140.

Terrific acting, a decent script and fun supporting performances, the real value of watching the movie is in the whimsical and unique production design (again of the pre-adolescent style that is so terribly hip right now).

Adam

Re: 2006 Film List

The Departed (2006, Martin Scorsese)
Thought it worked very well as a comedy that had me in stitches numerous times. It's actors are able to milk the comedy elements in the script exceedingly well. Scorsese's way of showing brutal violence as a matter-of-fact part of the everyday life of his film's character's is as strong as ever. But whether it was my familiarity with the story from seeing Infernal Affairs or a more fundamental problem with the film, it never worked for me on a "thriller" level or provided any sort of suspense. While it is certainly a good movie and I had a lot of fun with the comedy-filled first 2/3ds, I still found it somewhat underwhelming overall. It's a credit to the strength of the underlying story that I still feel compelled enough to give it a B+


Marie Antoinette (2006, Sofia Coppola)
In re-telling the story of this young Austrian Princess who becomes Queen of France at one of the few times in history it was a bad deal to be royalty, director Sofia Coppola jettisons the usual flowery language, witticisms and literary screenwriting one usually associates with period royal court films, in favor of a much more natural approach. Coppola "tells it like it was" by positing that "they" are pretty much just like us. Marie, Louis, and their entourages are teenagers. Much like today's teens, they are concerned with boys, girls, hanging out with friends, what to do on Saturday night, food, clothes, sex, etc., only this particular group of teenagers has the fortune, or misfortune, to rule France. Thus their teenage preoccupations and mistakes have an enormously higher degree of consequences than crashing your parent's car.

I found this an extremely interesting way to interpret this particular set of historical events; interesting enough that I saw it twice in the theater, something I haven't done in 2 or 3 years. The camera work is energetic, at times even hypnotic as it takes in the lushness of the surroundings at Versailles and all the sensory elements of the experiences of the characters. You can virtually taste the deserts as the camera lingers over them. The soundtrack which combines the expected period classical music with mostly 80's English New Wave tunes, may seem a questionable idea, but works perfectly within the context of the film. It makes the proceedings less historybookish and remote, and more a part of a universal experience.

Beyond these elements, Coppola also extracts an actual acting performance from star Kirsten Dunst, if not the best of her career, than easily the best of her adult career. She even manages to make the stiff-as-a-board, personality challenged Jason Schwartzman likable, a yeomen effort indeed. Judy Davis, Steve Coogan, Rip Torn, and Asia Argento all make memorable impressions in supporting roles. While the film is hardly perfect, a too longish middle passage set at Marie's country retreat feels as if Coppola decided on an impropmtu Terrence Malick tribute, this combination of mood, energy, theme, and sensation is one-of-a-kind. - B+

The Host (2006, Joon-ho Bong)
Due to a scheduling snafu, I only caught two films during the St. Louis International Film Festival. This SteveGon endorsed bit of inspired monster-goodness that was a box office smash in South Korea, was easily the best of the two. A hilariously over-the-top American scientist at a military base orders dangerous chemicals dumped in the sewer. Any monster movie fan knows what this will lead to - Human Chomping! A breathtaking monster rampage scene that simply has to be seen. Some of the best monster action in years.

From there the film settles down, introducing us to the usual dysfunctional family with kids that is a staple of modern Godzilla films. Only director Joon-ho Bong does something truly innovative, he actually makes these people worth spending time with. The Host is that rarest form of monster movie where we don't mind so much when the monster isn't on the screen. Of course all the better when he? is, making for some quality suspense-filled scenes as the creature is lightning fast and has a propensity for hiding in bridge supports until it can snatch people up with a long tentacle. Only a tacked on extra ending in which the creature and action CGI/FX isn't close to the same quality as the rest of the film, feels out of place and makes me wish it had been left out. Until that ending, I had it graded even higher. Still, definitely see it if it gets a theatrical or DVD release prior to the inevitable American remake. - B+

The District (2004, Áron Gauder)
The 2nd SLIFF film I saw was this animated work from Hungary. Set in a gritty, urban slum environment where the streets are controlled by white and gypsy gangs, a group of kids hits upon the idea of going back in time, burying dinosaurs in the ground, and then returning to the present, where their street is now sitting on a giant oil reserve thanks to those decaying animals. Then add in some "shocking" cartoon sex (meant to be transgressive I suppose, but it's extremely mild compared to Parker/Stone or even Ralph Bakshi), recycled Romeo and Juliet material, lots of racial epithets and fist fights, Hungarian hip-hop (which I'm hoping faired poorly in translation) and some social commentary in which racial differences are set aside when there's a mountain of money to be made, even if the underlying racism still exists, and you have this decidedly underwhelming film. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this was supposed to be a comedy. I might have chuckled once. Some of the highly stylized animation is cool, but at the end of the day, it can't shine in service to such a mediocre movie. - C-

Happy Feet (2006, George Miller)
Thoroughly underwhelming CGI animated tale of a penguin who dances instead of sings like all the other penguins. It basically exists on this single gimmick of dancing and/or singing animals as the script is recycled from dozens of other children's films, most of the characters are stereotypical caricatures, and it is only funny in extremely limited stretches. I also found it too sexualized for a children's film. The suggestive dancing and Prince's lyrics went over the top. Who listens to "Kiss" and thinks that's an ok song for 5 year olds? - D

Re: 2006 Film List

except, I would argue, that the concept and cultural role of teenagers is barely more than 100 years old. Cumpulsory schooling, the industrial revolution and related labor laws, the growth of urban areas (and shrinking rural population) and greater rigidity in American class structure led to odd circumstances of a group in society with nothing to do and no responsibilities but paradoxically in possession of disposable income. The cultural concept of teenager didn't really exist in France (or anywhere in the world) at the time, but the point Coppola makes is an astute one (and one I just realized I like more than the basic comparison of wealthy to wealthy). the royalty of France in Marie Antoinette's age was a lot like the average teenager of today. Now who's chopping who's heads off again?

Re: 2006 Film List

You're right Adam...."throughout time" is too generic and misses the point which you captured.

Re: 2006 Film List

An Inconvenient Truth - (8 of 10)

An excellent film that everyone (regardless of political persuasion) owes it to themselves to see. I'm a regular reader of slashdot so I'm a bit familiar with the complexity of the arguments questioning the conclusions and predictive models of what Gore claims scientists don't question, but this is a serious problem and it needs to be addressed, and any cost-benefit analysis should be in favor of implementing solutions.

Of course all that is moot because one thing Gore neglects to mention is that we're less than a decade away of losing our title as the world's greatest polluter, both China and India (both of which would have been exempt from Kyoto protocols) are going to outpollute us to a staggering degree. Their population is so much greater than ours, this is a much more significant issue and one the documentary does not address. Nore does it mention that the Kyoto protocols laid the entire burden of lowering the world's Greenhouse gasses on the United States, the great polluters of the future would be exempt and exemptions and loopholes were written in for most of the first world, except the United States.

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The Da Vinci Code - (6 of 10)

The book is terribly written (but has great pace and a fun mystery) the movie is competently made and is equally fun, the pace of the movie is 'eh', because so much plot has to be ran through to get anything to work together and make sense. Tom Hanks' mullet does not distract from the enjoyment of the film. It's a shame that some legitimate issues of theological history have been utterly destroyed by the random (and awful) inventions of Dan Brown.

Re: 2006 Film List

Half Nelson - 5 of 10

Fantastic performance from Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie. Gosling gives a good but a typical 'so sad I'm a drug addict' performance The film hits some good moments and has a nice construction to it, but overall pales in comparison to a really flawless film like Akeelah and the Bee. I'd much rather see Lawrence Fishburne nominated for that movie than Gosling for this movie, but Gosling's perf is more showy so it's 'better' acting.

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Re: 2006 Film List

Open Season - - 3 of 10

Open Season has it's funny moments and genuinely excellent moments, but the film is just so poorly written, with pathetic characters, a worthless villain and a plot that doesn't become interesting until the last fifteen minutes. A damn shame, this movie had a lot of potential.

Basically Moog, a grizzly bear (possibly the most dangerous and vicious mammal in north america, next to man), has been raised in captivity and is part of a ranger's mountain show. Elliot, the one antlered deer shows up and ruin's Moog's easy going existence, and before you know it, Moog is banished to what I assume is a game preserve. Except moog tries to get out and ends up dragging most of the forest animals he met with him. They're out of the preserve and fair game cause open season just started and the hunters just showed up.

Oh and there's a villain who's an idiot, worships his gun, and thinks the animals are trying to take over the world and turn people into pets.

The parts that actually work are the rabbits, squirrels, beavers and the final battle against the hunters. neither moog, nor the deer herd work, and Elliot is just an annoyance. It's a very badly written film with a good concept.

Re: 2006 Film List

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Cristi Puiu)
A tragedy looking at the state of the Romanian healthcare system, this film describes Mr. Lazarescu's final night. A curmudgeonly chronic alcoholic with a myriad of health problems, his condition worsens as he is shunted from hospital to hospital by healthcare workers either too overwhelmed to provide the kind of care he needs, or who don't want to "waste" time on him because of his drunkenness. The one person able to go the extra mile for him is a female ambulance worker who becomes determined to get him some kind of care, even if it means driving him around all night.

The film's distanced style and muted emotions make it difficult to absorb at first, but as we gain more knowledge of Mr. Lazarescu and the people around him, one can't help but develop sympathy and pity for his plight. Suffers a bit from overlength and the story develops as a bit of a far-fetched perfect storm premise; everything that can go wrong does go wrong; yet it is generally evenhanded in allowing us to understand both sides of what is happening. A flawed system made worse with a lack of human compassion. - B

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005, Marc Rothemund)
Tells the story of Scholl, her brother, and a few friends, who protested the Nazi government by spreading leaflets around their college campus. Caught and arrested, the police interrogate Sophie and try to get her to save herself by naming names. She refuses and instead goes to prison to await a show trial.

Solidly made in all respects, and interesting as history, the film really fails to bring life to the events and comes off as a dry and conventional effort. Other than the police inspector, the actors lack personality. The trial itself brings a bit of dramatics but with the film never straying from exactly the beats one expects, you could simply read about the events and get the same antiseptic delivery. - C+

Sophie Scholl was nominated for Best FF at the 2006 Oscars, but didn't get a US release until 2006.

Re: 2006 Film List

Babel - (8 of 10)

Superb film from Gonzalez-Innaritu, but it's not quite great. Babel tells the story of how the details of a tragedy tie together disparate threads that span the world, showing that even the smallest event has connections thoroughly globalized. A little bit six degress of Kevin Bacon, Babel is deliberately powerful on an emotional level while subtly addressing the gamut of modern social issues: Class, race, childhood/adolescence/adulthood/maturity, disability, family & culture, and the intertwined relationship of the first, second and third world. With none of the crassness or assaulting dialogue of Crash, nevertheless Babel suffers from the same contrived sensibility in addition to seemingly intelligent people occasionally acting in tremendously stupid ways that betrays their earlier characterizations.

The most consistent characters are the victims of the tragedy, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, I don't think they had names, they might, but they did a good job of playing Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as a long time married, super rich, ridiculously successful couple trying to recover from the SIDS death of their youngest, when tragedy strikes them again.

The most powerful story, is that of Chieko, a deaf-mute Japanese girl played brilliantly by Rinko Kikuchi in the film's strongest performance. Kikuchi is ruthlessly exploited by the filmmakers and forced to address and overcome Japanese cultural taboos against genital nudity/exposure and the disabled. The character of Chieko, a highschool aged teenager, is struggling with surging hormones and the frustration of being unable to communicate with or date boys. Every male she comes across that is not her father is a potential lover and as she haphazardly moves through the city she spirals further downwards, towards death or perhaps rebirth. Chieko, more than any other character, represents the dichotomy of despair and hope that the film depends upon. Gonzalez-Innaritu uses her story as the strong connecting thread to hold the film together, despite the most tenuous of connections to only one of the stories in the film, thematically her story embodies the soul of the film.

Equally powerful is the story of the instigators of the tragedy, a Moroccan family of farmers. Two boys are given a powerful hunting rifle by their father to stop jackals from savaging their flocks of goats. Being boys, and the younger, rebellious brother possessing a personality designed for good aim, causes the boys to be competitive about their own abilities and the rifles abilities. A morbid curiosity and a stupid game lead to the accidental tragedy that motivates the film; it is this event that results in the eventual destruction of this family as they deal with fear, guilt and the forthcoming fall of the hammer of the brutal Moroccan authorities. The youngest brother, a gifted actor, and powerful presence is one of the most compelling figures of the entire film, unfortunatley their story is dropped rather than resolved.

rounding out the four stories is that of Amelia, Mike and Debbie, the latter are the children of Pitt and Blanchett, Amelia is their Mexican nanny, who has raised the children since birth since their parents can't be bothered with such.

Amelia is trying to get to Mexico for her son's wedding, unfortunately the children's parents have not arranged anyone to watch the children, not even their aunt. after asking her most trusted friends, Amelia takes the children with her, they ride down to Mexico with her nephew, Santiago, a wild 20something, played by Gael Garcia Bernal--someone who bizarrely thinks that instead of telling the truth they should pretend the white bread kids are her actual neices and nephews.

They have a good time at the wedding, and after much celebration head back towards San Diego, at the border, Santiago panics and makes a series of bad decisions, followed by Amelia making worse decisions. The resolution of this story is the most powerful tragedy of all and there is little hope offered for the future.

Overall Babel is one of the year's strongest films, but it's almost too serious for it's own good, too convinced of it's own importance--and that, more than anything is what holds Babel back from repeat viewings or achieving true cinematic greatness, it is a work of the head more than of the heart, the passion feels as much like frustration and anger than the passion of telling a superb story, nevertheless, this is one of the year's best films.

Re: 2006 Film List

Blood Diamond (2006, Edward Zwick)
Mixing powerful drama, romance, and a social message in classic Hollywood fashion, director Edward Zwick has created a superior piece of entertainment. Leonardo Di Caprio continues his evolution into an adult actor and turns in perhaps his best performance, commanding our attention in true leading man fashion. It's also nice to see Jennifer Connelly is eating again, and more than capable of delivering nuanced work despite the rather limited scope of her character. Lastly, Djimon Hounsou is impressively dynamic as his character serves as the film's lynchpin. The film's message may seem trite in comparison to the complexity of the problem of "blood diamonds" but better the issue receive some attention in the popular media rather than remaining buried. - B+

Changing Times (2004, André Téchiné)
Set in Algeria, the film tells the story of a man who ostensibly comes to Tangiers to work, but is really there to find his lost love who he hasn't seen in 30 years. Meanwhile, she is living in a loveless marriage to an alcoholic doctor. At the same time as the man from her past visits, her son also comes from Paris, bringing a woman and their child. The woman has a drug problem and is trying to meet her sister, who lives in Tangiers and is living a hand-to-mouth existence working at McDonalds. Everyone in the film is searching for something elusive.

The real attraction here are the older man and woman roles played by Gerard DePardieu and Catherine Deneuve. Onscreen together, they are a joy to watch as their characters stumble and meander toward renewing their relationship. Unfortunately the film tries to juggle many story threads, which takes us away from this central relationship and gives screentime to far less compelling events. In another movie, the problems of Deneuve's husband, played by the always watchable Gilbert Melki would be worth watching on their own. The story of Deneuve's son, a closeted homosexual who really came to Algeria to visit his boyfriend, takes on a different context. In this film though, they are a mere distraction we'd rather fast forward through to get back to watching Deneuve and DePardieu. - B-

Night at the Museum (2006, Shawn Levy)
While Ben Stiller's style of humor does not make him the best choice for lead in a children's film, Night at the Museum is cheery and entertaining enough to be sucessful at what it wants to do. Once we get past the perfunctory and bland setup, we are whisked into a relatively exciting world with plenty of action and laughs when Stiller isn't trying too hard to crack jokes. - B

Re: 2006 Film List

Volver (2006, Pedro Almodovar)
Almodovar's latest is another celebration of the resiliency of women. Penelope Cruz is luminous and displays an inner fire that she doesn't show in her Hollywood work. While the story is thinner than his last few films, his absolute command of the medium, his inimitable energy and style, his ability to find the humor in virtually any situation, and his knack for obtaining wonderful performances from his actresses makes this another wonderful experience from one of our greatest living filmmakers. - B+

Closes out my movies seen in 2006.

Re: 2006 Film List

The Prestige - 8 of 10 -

The Prestige is a story about English stage magicians at the turn of the century (1900). Christian Bale plays Alfred Borden, Hugh Jackman plays Robert Angier, both are apprentice magicians under the tutelage of Cutter, played by Michael Caine.

During one of the shows in which they are the 'plants' the trick goes wrong, Angier's wife dies and Borden leaves the company to study magic and misdirection on his own. Angier is obsessed with Borden's role in the accident and attempts to ruin his career. In the meantime Borden has fallen in love and married himself, further enraging Angier. As Angier reaches the heights of fame, Borden evens the score, and Angier brings in a new assistent, Olivia, played by Scarlett Johannson, in the meantime, Borden attempts his own masterpiece, which Angier promptly improves and steals, this sparks a new rivalry that results in Angier traveling thousands of miles to discover what Borden has discovered. As his quest continues, the edge of the supernatural perhaps draws closer or at least that is how we perceive it.

spoilers to discuss the rest of the film Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Oh, and damn near perfect on every single technical level, an astounding film on those aspects, the story and in some ways the directing doesn't quite reach those heights however.

Shut up and Sing - 8 of 10 -

The Dixie Chicks were a popular act in country music, they were not particularly memorable, a few good songs, nothing great. What was remarkable about them as artists is they were the only platinum artist in the music industry at the forefront of advocating for legislation of fair financial (royalty) treatment of writers (and performers) who are not platinum sellers. They were crazy enough to think that writers should get 8 or 10 cents per song, rather than 1 or 2. That's what they've always been memorable to me for.

Come early 2003, the Dixie Chicks are getting ready to start their biggest world tour yet. They've damn near crossed over in popularity and the entire tour sold out in days. At the first show on the tour, in London, Natalie Maines said, "We're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
This was in early March, the invasion of Iraq had not yet begun, just that day, London had experienced it's biggest rally of all time as citizens march in opposition to the war. The Dixie Chicks are from Texas and did not support an unprovoked attack (no proof) against what was obviously an uninvolved country, even then.

Enter a firestorm of protests in the United States. It seems women expressing a negative opinion isn't allowed if you belong to the country music genre--after all, they'll perfectly happily accept drug abusers, convicted wife beaters, drunks etc without the slightest problem. But the Dixie Chicks were cast out, radio stations stopped playing their records and set up barrells for people to stop buy, trash their old albums and burn them, stomp on them and what not. It was as complete a renunciation as could be managed by the entire industry. The dixie chicks continued their world tour and eventually returned for the american leg of the tour. Every concert was sold out, every concert had protests, and for the most part, people wanted to (and loved) hearing their music. But the actions of a few extremists controlled their ability to get radio play.

The chicks had planned to take a two year hiatus following the tour to raise their kids or start families. They took that time as vacation and eventually came back together to write their next record. And they realized they are facing an utterly unique situation in setting their group up, writing the album, selling it without radio, and promoting a concert tour without radio. They manage to tackle each of these obstacles somewhat successfully, but the finest result is the actual album, it goes without saying that this is their best album, in fact it's an important piece of art and one of the best country albums of all time. They created their first masterpiece, and a fine testament to the craft of assembling an album and it doesn't even get any radio play, whether or not they successfully make it into the mainstream is where the documentary wears off, but the Chicks' three grammies should be a testament to their success in that arena.

An excellent doc. the footage looks great and it was cleverly assembled, the cutting back and forth between the explosion of controversy and the creative process of writing the new album at first annoyed me but now I think it's inspired. An excellent doc I could watch several times.

Stranger than Fiction - 10 of 10

Re: 2006 Film List

I've not yet written a review for Stranger than Fiction, but I'll try to get around to it.

Sherrybaby - 7 of 10

Quite literally the sister film to Half Nelson (girl druggy instead of guy), Sherrybaby is a much better movie. Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent.

Sherry has just been released from prison after three years and is on parole. She was a junkie but she's clean for two and a half years now. Her brother and sister in law have been caring for her four year old little girl in the interim and Sherry is both desperate and determined to become a good mother.

Unfortunately Sherry doesn't really know how to be an adult in society, she's still very much an emotional and psychological child even as she is struggling to do what needs to be done to maturely step into a responsible adult role. While her methods at getting what she wants may be quite adult her motives behind them are quite selfish and childish. She's impatient and unwilling to make the sacrifices to prove herself to her family, her parole officer and to society.

Gyllenhaal is brilliant in this role, despite how deeply flawed Sherry is, she creates a real person, mostly because the writer bothered to make her family, particularly her brother and sister in law into real people, it's an excellent bit of writing and very subtly done in creating the core relationships of the film. At the same time the film is a little hamfisted at explaining Sherry's past and her current addictions, but while over the top it is handled better than the limited emotional range of Half Nelson and the film asks for and earns a more subtle and complicated look at addiction and family/relationships than the dismay/acceptance that Half Nelson chose. Sherrbaby is much more than that and while it is hard to watch is very much worth watching and a beautiful, heartbreaking story.

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Find Me Guilty - 8 of 10

Sidney Lumet's latest film makes me quite excited for the forthcoming, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Most of Find me Guilty takes place in a courtroom and like Twelve Angry Men, Lumet has absolutely no problem compelling our interest for every second.

this is basically a true story.

Jackie DiNorscio is a drugdealing member of one of the five families. the film opens with his cousin shooting him while he's sleeping. Jackie survive and goes right back to his regular work. He's busted on a sting and sentanced to thirty years in jail, because of a nonexistent effort by his lawyer. A few months later, the entire family is rounded up, and the longest criminal trial in history begins, Jackie is one of the twenty defendents, there are 76 charges and all of the rest of his family has their own individual lawyers, but Jackie decides to defend himself, he was screwed by his last lawyer, afterall. The family, the defending lawyers, and the prosecuting lawyers are not sure what to expect. Jackie is crude but endearing, fond of cracking jokes and not very good at following the rules of questioning and the court, he'll either be the complete downfall of his entire family or may be the trump card that saves some, or all, of them.

Vin Diesel is brilliant in this role, one that finally gives him a chance to stretch and display the range of his acting chops, and he is really damned good.

Also outstanding is the always great Peter Dinklage, one of the best supporting actors currently working today, up there with John C Reilley and Philip Seymour Hoffman. I really hope he is cast as Tyrion Lannister in HBO's upcoming version of A song of Ice and Fire, it's a role that was made for him, the best role in the series and one many actors would give their right arm to play, and he would be brilliant as Tyrion.

Great dialogue, elegant camerwork and filled with wonderful character moments, Find Me Guilty rarely stumbles, it's not a masterpiece, but it's as solid and delightful a film as you could ask for, Very entertaining and highly recommended.

Re: 2006 Film List

Casino Royale - 9 of 10

one of the best bonds full review later.

Adam

Re: 2006 Film List

Yeah, I really liked Royale too Adam. It drifted into silly a few times, but well short of where they had been taking the series the last 2 decades in that regard.

I like Bond rougher like this, it makes his ability to be charming seem more impressive, shows his range as a spy/killer which is exactly why he's the top dog.


Man, I've been bad about keeping up here. Let's see if I can get it going again. Here's stuff for the last 2 months.

Pan's Labyrinth
9.5 of 10
Really liked it, but it was perhaps a bit too dark/violent for me. It felt like the fantasy section was much more impressive than the WW2 stuff, and that's probably the biggest reason why I couldn't quite see it as a 10. Still I have it as my 3rd best at this point.

The Prestige
9 of 10
I didn't really like what they did with Tesla exactly, but overall I love the theme of competition and outright violence between the 2 magicians, that's a great story angle and provided numerous moments of "I haven't really seen that before" in terms of the story itself (not FX). Like Illusionist it sets a great period mood, but with a better plot. Otherwise the films are very similar and both of high quality (art direction, cinematography, acting). Freaking Bale is the man, great great actor.

The Decent
9 of 10
Wow. I heard good things and it lived up to them. This was a rental that's now a purchase. Great color cinematography, with color used within the story (accurate reasons for varying) while also totally thematic, great for establishing moods, and even separating plot lines. Solid performances, great horror moments built on mood and threat more than gore. Classic horror film IMO. (talking about UK/uncut version that is)

Babel
8.5 of 10
I would have loved the film if it hadn't repeated itself over and over. Scenes failed to continue to say anything new after the first hour and I started to wonder at hour 2 why anything was going forward. It needed to be cut back badly, leave them wanting more. If they'd done that it would have been more in the hunt for the top prize I think.

Letters from Iwo Jima
9 of 10
Not quite the direction of Flags, but with a much tighter script and a consistant voice. I felt the characters were Americanized and didn't really buy their motivations as intrinsically Japanese, but within the context of a STORY everything was fine - motivations, character interactions, choices of characters, etc. Both this and Flags were a little dry as well, not as emotional as you would expect for this content. Not a miss by Clint, but not what he could have done with the concept either.

Inconvenient Truth
8 of 10
A little dry overall, but a well organized doc that leads the viewer along in stages. One problem I had was that it switched back and forth between being about Gore and being about global warming. I know he's telling the tale, but at times it was almost a political ad than a doc on even just his life and certainly not g.w. But it was filmed beautifully and they really capture the power of Gore's live presentation. Not a doc to knock your socks off (and considering the issue it should have been) but pretty good.

Click
3 of 10
Hamfisted theme really hurts the film, the character is driven to his "learned lesson" in a very forced (storytelling) manner. Reminiscent of The Family Man in that regard. Oddly they went way short on what the best concept of the film was, a remote that controlled life. You get perhaps 4-5 really good jokes out of that and spend most of the time on moralizing. Blah, pick a genre and get in there. Stranger than Fiction backed away from being silly comedy despite the equally implausible plot device, and as a committed dramedy it worked much better while containing more laughs even.

Come on Sandler, you can do better than this crap lately. I don't need serious either, but just tighten up the comedy a little. The stuff is starting to feel like a rehash each time out.

Re: 2006 Film List

I also bumped down The Departed and Flushed Away (both 10 to 9.5) after repeat viewings.

A decent amount of good films this year, but not really much in the way of classic/great films. For me Children of Men was the only one. A few of the others that grabbed me were a bit too flawed to totally love (The Fountain, The Decent, Manderlay, Miami Vice), but ultimately I will probably revisit them over some of the other top films of the year.

Re: 2006 Film List

Notes on a Scandal - 3 of 10

sharp script, bad material. horrid melodrama with great cast.

modern version of bad Bette Davis vehicle.

Re: 2006 Film List

Three Times (2005, Hsiao-Hsien Hou)
As the name suggests, this Taiwanese film relates 3 stories, each featuring the same lead actors. The first, and best, A Time to Love, is set during the 60's. Reminiscent of Wong Kar-Wai or Edward Yang, it is the sweetly romantic tale of a couple falling in love in a pool-hall to the tune of period music (including The Beatles "Rain"). The second chapter, A Time for Freedom, is set in the early 1900's. Here the story is about the impossible love between a lady and a monk, amidst an atmosphere of political upheaval. Unfortunately, the political melodrama overwhelms the romance, though the film is interesting technically with its use of intertitles and other silent film techniques.

The final story, A Time for Youth, is the least interesting, as it relates yet another take on modern youth disconnected from each other despite a vast array of technology designed to encourage communication. Overall I found the film worthwhile, especially the first story, if not among the director's best. - B

Time to Leave (2005, Francois Ozon)
The latest from one of France's most interesting current directors, Time to Leave is about a fashion photographer who finds out he has terminal cancer. His way of dealing with the inevitable is to sever his relationships with anyone or anything he cared about, excepting his "soulmate" grandmother (glowingly played by Jeanne Moreau). This is, of course, emotionally wrenching for the people around him, but is the only way he can deal with what is happening to him. Told with a high degree of empathy, Ozon's film is a moving study of humanity, love, and mortality. - B+