2006 Film List (1 Viewer)

[Craig S]

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]

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]

Brick - :star::star::star::star: (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]

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]

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]

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 - :star::star::star:1/2 (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]

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]

The Departed - :star::star::star:1/2 (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.
The sex scene between DiCaprio and Farmiga.

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]

The Queen - :star::star::star::star: (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 - :star::star::star: (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.

 

[Adam_S]

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - :star::star::star:1/2 (7 of 10)

A brilliant film, and my pick for best cinematography of the year so far (surpassing Michael Ballhaus in my opinion). The film is absolutely stunning to look at. The problem lies in an overly convoluted and explanatory, expository rambling revenge plot where we don't know what the revenge is for and don't know how it will be carried out, but it will be a big plan. It's like all the weaknesses of the Ocean's Eleven films with only about 3/4 the charm and less dramatic tension. Because of the violent nature of the protagonist and the incoherent exposition this is tailor made for George Kaplan hate (if he ever gets around to it).

The acting is superb, the story is entertaining and incredibly well told. In terms of film language I think this is Park Chan Woo's strongest film to date, but the storytelling is not really there. That's because I think the heart of the film is in the change up in the fifth act where:
Geum Jah brings in the remaining families of the killer and then allows them to exact brutal revenge. The beating heart of the movie is in the scenes about these people we know so little about, and all the effort expended to getting us to this point feels somewhat overwrought.

The excesses and weaknesses of Oldboy are present here as well, but scattered throughout the film rather than concentrated in an extensive scene at the end.

The acting is truly superb to watch, and Geum Jah is perfectly cast with a deadly ethereal, good hearted killer angel quality--it puts Lucy Liu in Kill Bill to shame.

An innovative, satisfying, beautiful to watch revenge film. It doesn't really thrill but it does spin a fantastic yarn.

So when is the inevitable remake with Reese Witherspoon and Ben Affleck coming out?

Adam

 

[Adam_S]

with only two and half months of movies left in the year, so far this has been a big step down from the fantastic wealth of great films of 2005: I couldn't even form the inklings of a solid top ten so far this year, but here's how my favoritesstack up as of today.

1. The Queen
2. Monster House
3. Brick
4. The Departed
5. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
6. The Last King of Scotland
7. Pirates of the Carribbean 2
8. Cars
9. Little Miss Sunshine
10. V for Vendetta

 

[Adam_S]

12 and Holding - :star::star::star:1/2 (7.5 of 10)

90% of this movie is the best movie I've seen all year, the other 10% is awfully awkward.

Funnily enough, for a movie about kids, it's the adults that are incompetent performers and have to say horrendous unnatural dialogue.

In many ways the totality of the movie is like being twelve, full of awkwardness and hesitation about leaping forward to embrace life. But there is such assurance in the direction and performances of the three leads that against all odds the movie succeeds brilliantly.

I'm very conflicted about the film I really want to love it whole heartedly, but I just can't embrace it completely.

There's no way to discuss what the movie's about without spoilers or even make an analogy to another movie (eg _______ with kids) without disrupting the delicate balance of the plot. This is really a movie you don't want to spoil yourself on.

Twelve and Holding is about four friends having to face the gauntlet of life while they are only twelve. The children are fully realized characters and portrayed with three of the most brilliant child performances ever.

The movie reminds of me of In the Bedroom
but instead the story focuses on how kids deal with the equally explosive life & familial issues.

Jacob and Rudy Carges are twin brothers. Rudy is the alpha boy of their pack. On their twelfth birthday they're chased into a treehouse by two bullies. Rudy dumps a pail of urine on the bullies who vow revenge.

Rudy returns that night but Jacob stays home, he doesn't want to get in trouble. Their obese friend, Leonard, joins Rudy in guarding the treehouse but they both fall asleep. The bullies toss molotov cocktails onto the treehouse without knowing the boys are inside. Leonard falls to safety, hitting his head, but Rudy is trapped inside and burns to death. The bullies are sentanced a year in juvenile hall and Leonard loses his sense of smell.

Leonard and Jacob are joined by Maylee Cheung, who has just started her period and begun to notice boys/men. Her dad's gone and she's lonely. She's friendly with the guys but none of the trio are really close to the others--it seems Rudy was the force that brought them together. They drift along completely separate paths after Rudy's death. Maylee encourages Jacob to confront his brother's killer by visiting the prison. This becomes a driving focus for Jacob while Maylee becomes attracted to a construction worker developing the land near their neighborhood. Leonard is shaken out of his family's rut of obesity by the middle school coach and his own lack of interest in food he can't smell (or really taste).

Their threads weave in and out of each other like American Grafitti and all three children give incredible performances. Especially Zoe Weizenbaum, who delivered the best supporting female performance I've seen all year, and probably the best child performance since Whale Rider. Hers is an astonishing, real and nuanced piece of acting. As painful as her twelve-year-old awkwardness is to watch (in terms of plot) she makes the whole thing work because she has such incredible talent and sells it with a showstopping performance.

Unfortunately, the adults are not talented as the children. The adult performances are awkward, stilted, and unnatural with much longer and more laborious dialogue1. Their dialogue has no subtlety. The adults will not shut up. Everything that works magically with the kids. is NEVER done with the adults, not once. It's infuriating; it never failed to jerk me out of the film. The children are layered personalities, they convey internal conflicts and emotional complexity with grace and subtlety--the adults might as well be cardboard standins.

 

[Adam_S]

Over the Hedge - :star::star: ( 4 of 10)

An animated film with great celebrity voices and a lot of fun set pieces. But it's also pandering, tired and predictable on the edge of annoying.

Steve Carrell literally saves the movie (as well as the characters).

The junk food bit is funny, and the film pokes fun at some ugly habits but it's only moderately entertaining.

And theres something offputting about the emphasis on family its as though they're redefining the word to encompass community, because there are two families in their community. But our culture has so thoroughly devalued community (or is intent on destroying them, I'm not sure which) that I guess close bonds in one would be unrecognizable if they're not renamed family.

Cute, solid film but the weakest film (of the 18 or so I've seen) I've watched this year. Netflix had my ranking on this one nailed, surprisingly, I expected to like it a lot more, because I loved the trailer.

 

[Adam_S]

Little Children -:star::star:1/2 (6 of 10)

An extremely well made film from Todd Field. Patrick Wilson is outstanding, and Kate Winslet is very good (I don'tknow that she can get an oscar nom with the way New Line has let the film die this early). She does get naked and she is quite hot.

The film is brilliantly edited but quite slowly paced. It has clever narration that doesn't detract but is a little disconcerting. It's not quite needed but the film wouldn't work quite as well without it. They did a great balancing act with it.

The cinematography is superb. Fantastic compositions, great care taken with framing and telling the story visually.

Storywise the film is about a stay at home mom, Sarah, and stay at home dad, Brad, who are estranged from their respective working spouses and feel distant from the other suburban caregivers of their community. they flirt with each other and are promptly (and probably appropriately) shunned by the community for their daring. Their relationship naturally drifts into an affair--the build up to this is probably the best part of the movie. The nudity and sex are not pornographic but neither does the camera ever shy away from showing it. Their affair is sensual, but not erotic, because we actually see the affair rather than being tantalized by a shy and cowardly camera (which is sadly the counterproductive method usually employed by these types of movies). Todd Field does a superb job of framing their bodies and lines, creating a visual flow that is sumptuous and breathtaking. The film builds towards a crescendo and it's not really until the very last minute that you understand and reevaluate the film, that you get everything about what it says and where it's going. There's not much denouement to speak of, the film is tight and focused on its themes and characters even as the plot drifts and sometimes bumps awkwardly along.

There is an extended pair of subplots with the traumatized and out of work friend of Brad's and an aging pedophile living with his mother. These provide a punch and connecting thread to weave the entire film together tightly in the last moments of the film.

A very good film, not precisely my type of movie but it is precise and excellent at all levels, I just didn't connect to it or care too terribly much about the characters.

Most of HTF will probably love to really like this flick. I'd love to hear John Rice's extended thoughts on the photography.

Adam

 

[Adam_S]

Borat - :star::star::star::star: (10 of 10)

The last time I laughed this hard was at Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and I laughed twice as hard at Borat.

In fact I would say this has got to be in my top five funniest movies ever.

I will not discuss any more of the movie so as not to ruin any of the jokes because the surprise is so brilliant. But good Lord, this movie was funny.

 

[Adam_S]

Thank You for Smoking - :star::star: (3 of 10)

funny premise, clever talking (not much in the way of dialogue) and humorous enough to watch, but just flat and snarky throughout. the kid is especially flat and lifeless. The film feels so clever that it's tired of itself, even.

 

[Adam_S]

Pan's Labyrinth - :star::star::star:1/2 (7 of 10)


An outstanding film and a true achievement in original film fantasy. The inventiveness of this film is superb without departing from the fairy tale tropes and rhythms it depends on.

But it is a fairy tale for adults. The film is brutal and violent, a great deal of disturbing real world imagery that makes the violence of the fantasy elements seeem very tame by comparison.

But I wasn't as deeply affected as I was by Devil's Backbone, the film didn't connect as deeply to me. The film is somewhat charming with a black-cuteness quality that shoudl appeal to fans of the genre, goth, anime and/or Tim Burton.

Ofelia and her mother, Carmen, are being brought to a country outpost at the end of the Spanish Civil War. Carmen, very pregnant with the Captain's son, has married the Captain--to Ofelia's dismay.

the Captain is a brutal leader attempting to put down the rebelling guerrillas in the region. It is immediately clear he cares only for his unborn child, he has no interest or feelings for either Carmen or Ofelia. The lead caretaker of the estate is the servant Mercedes, a beautiful but worn woman with mysterious connections.

On the road to the estate Ofelia makes a connection with an unusual bug, a creature she believes to be a fairy. Once at the estate she's immediately drawn to some nearby ruins, Mercedes warns her they are a labyrinth, and that she should not play there.

That night, Ofelia awakens to find the bug fairy has followed her. It leads her into the labyrinth where she meets the faun (Pan presumably) who tells her she is the spirit of a lost princess and her return is a fulfillment of her royal destiny. He gives her three tasks to complete to prove her royal worth before she can return to her kingdom, and so begins a truly remarkable journey and film.


Adam

 

[Adam_S]

A Prairie Home Companion - :star::star:1/2 (5 of 10)

A subpar version of the radio show, the film has a lot of great things going for it, it's quite enjoyable, and work as a radio play as well as a film. Didn't grab me, but I'd watch it again.

Still the overall experience is somewhat empty without a News from Lake Woebegone.

 

[Adam_S]

The Good German - :star::star::star: (seven out of ten)

Fabulous score, Lighting design is fantastic, camera movement is very Curtiz. Story is very Welles/Reed/Tourneur. Louise Frogley's costumes are brilliant and gorgeous. Blanchett is fantastic, looks stunning in black and white (I think she's only so so in most films), just drop dead gorgeous. Tobey Maguire is okay and scenery chewing, Clooney is flat but has a very strong role. newcomer Christian Oliver is the most memorable of all the many very small roles in the movie. More on that in the forthcoming spoiler review.

A very fine film noir, but it's not really a Curtiz film free of the Hayes code.

The movie doesn't grab you or really suck you in. it's a bit distant and never crackles with the repressed energy the best noir had, though Maguire brought that element into the film, his role was too small compared to the leads.

I'll write a full review later when I'm not exhausted.

 

[Adam_S]

I feel like I've lived a month in the last six days--in a good way, women can do that.

The History Boys - :star::star::star: (5 out 10)

A filmed stage play shot under an endless supply of kinos, History Boys looks like a bad BBC TV drama. The camerawork is assured, the lighting and color is pathetic. They shot on Fuji, how they made the film look as dull and lifeless as it turned out blows my mind--Fuji is my go to film because it gives spectacular saturation, not the best for people, too red, which is I presume why the film looks like so muted. The grain structure was remarkable, sitting in the second to last row, at least four screen heights away I could easily make out the grain structure, and it was coarse and unused for any aesthetic effect. The last time I saw a movie that poorly exposed in the theatre was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone's night scenes, and that was a Super 35 film, History Boys is 1.85:1 and has no excuse.

The photography really bothered me, can you tell?

The story, performances and dialogue are all wonderful. Griffiths is okay, but unremarkable, Frances de La Tour is superb in the only standout performance, Stephen Campbell Moore acquits himself very well as Irwin. The rest of the boys don't really deliver anything great.

It really is an enjoyable movie to watch, it's just got absolutely nothing to connect to or really latch on to. It's kind of fun watching all the different types of teaching and learning the joy in knowledge of these kids, but at the same time I could care less about Oxford and Cambridge.

So because the actual education aspect is too flimsy to hold up an entire story, for character development they substitute sexual tension. Since there are only two females in the cast, the tension all falls between the students as well as between the students and their teachers. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is just as flimsy in terms of supporting a story.

The whole film feels as though it is just going through the motions, the students and teachers display passion, but there is no passion in the film, we're distant, not a part of it.

I get more character from ten minutes with the boys of Dead Poets Society than I do from this whole movie.

Still the film says many fantastic things about education and the college admission process, about getting your mind out of the drudgery of thought the educational system inflicts upon its students. I'm rating the film this highly for its philosphy as much as for its other quality.

Adam