2006 Film List (1 Viewer)

[Jason Seaver]

Jay Seaver's 2006 Film List

Last Updated: 15 January 2006
Criteria: Modified Academy qualification (played Los Angeles County, OR appeared at a film festival without a prior Academy-qualifying run, OR premiered on US television/video WAPAQR)
Total films seen: 6 features and IMAX films.

:star::star::star::star: - Superlative; :star::star::star:½ - Outstanding; :star::star::star: - Very Good; :star::star:½ - Decent; :star::star: - Below average; :star:½ - Not Good; :star: - Repugnant; ½ - Disastrous

1. Features
2. Dai Si Gein (Breaking News in the USA) - :star::star::star:¾ - Théâtre Hall Concordia (Fantasia), 15 July 2005 (3)
3. Reeker - :star::star::star:½ - Brattle Theater (Boston Fantastic Film Festival 2005), 15 October 2005 (6)
4. Azumi - :star::star::star:¼ - Coolidge Corner Theater #1 (Independent Film Festival of Boston 2004), 30 April 2004 (1)
5. Swimmers - :star::star::star:¼ - Loews Boston Common #17 (Boston Film Festival), 13 September 2005 (5)
6. When Do We Eat? - :star::star::star: - Loews Boston Common #18 (Boston Film Festival), 10 September 2005 (4)
7. R-Point - :star::star:¾ - Théâtre Hall Concordia (Fantasia), 12 July 2005 (2)

Looks like When Will We Eat? got a release date. (15 January 2006)

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Updated on: 02/25/07
2006 films seen: 107

Underworld: Evolution - *3/4
Better than the first film or Blade: Trinity, but far, far away from Blade II in this horror-action-leather fetish subgenre

Glory Road - **3/4
Entertaining and not insulting to real life figures, but overly on the safe side as Remember the Titans was. Still, this line of Disney sports movies are all better than Cinderella Man.

Something New - ***
Very good chemistry between the two leads makes this fairly interesting movie about interracial and class difference romance entertaining.

Firewall - **
Ford is good in a generic thriller with some laugh out loud plot points; the film also does not utilize the Ford home enough.

16 Blocks - ***
Through and through a genre film, but tense, well thought out, and features good chemistry between its two dyads of Willis and Mof Def, and Willis and the dependable David Morse.

V For Vendetta - ***
Despite the first time director's failure to bring a liveliness to the pacing or excitement to the visual style, the film is intriguing because of the quantity of ideas.

Inside Man - ***1/4
Lee is interested in the "how," so little pieces and bolts are paid with great attention, and the cat and mouse game becomes very entertaining. Foster is beautiful and cunning in a role that exemplifies the corruption swirling everywhere around the robbery.

Ice Age: The Meltdown - **
The marketing gurus at Fox advertised the squirrel non stop, and it was the right decision. As in the first movie, Scrat is the by far and away the best part of the movie, but that movie had more laughs too.

Lucky Number Slevin - *1/2
A mixture of faux coolness, moral bankruptcy, annoying characters, and less than clever plotting. The writer has an ear for screwball comedy type of lines, but it doesn't work here.

L'Enfant - ***1/2
A character study film that is at once realistic and larger than life. The style of the film is less mannered and more immediate than someone like Soderbergh's. Very well directed and acted.

Thank You For Smoking - ***1/4
Here's a comedy filled with colorful characters and killer lines one after another, showing that comedy does not require the filmmakers to go soft near the end of the movie, as the two big summer comedies of last year did.

Akeelah and the Bee - ***1/2
Inspiring and moving, with two terrific performances by Palmer and Fishburne. The movie does not reinvent the genre, but is filled with little beautiful moments that show Akeelah's personal growth and her effect on others. "And as we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

The Wild - *3/4
The texture and colors of this animated feature are equal to or better than any other, but the plot is uninspired and the jokes are tiring.

Mission: Impossible III - **3/4
Even in Hollywood action movies, this one can be distinguished from all of them in two ways: more non-stop action than any except for those by Sommers, and virtually devoid of any plot or character. The first element is handled better than the likes of The Mummy Returns, and makes this a mild recommendation, and the second makes the film ultimately forgettable.

United 93 - ***
Greengrass specializes in making movies that put the audience in the specific moment and place, and this is no different from his previous two films. That said, Bloody Sunday was an event I knew far less about, and came away much more moved.

Fearless - ***
The spectacular fights are not supported by heightened drama, making this film sometimes great to watch for action, and tedious to watch because of the story. Li's final scenes can be moving as the accumulation of his historical characters' image.

The Da Vinci Code - **1/2
McKellen makes one part of the film significantly more entertaining than others. Too bad he's not the main guy.

Poseidon - **
It has a lot of the normal disaster movie moves, but no new ones, and no memorable characters or lines. Josh Lucas still has not proven he is a leading man.

X-Men: The Last Stand - ***1/2
Shock and awe made this a pretty intense movie, but I will need time to reevaluate the film as a whole. Right now it is sufficient to say that Magneto continues to be best character of the series, but Wolverine has become less interesting.

Cars - ***
This is a comparatively sluggish film in the Pixar canon, not helped by some so so comic relief and race car driving. The movie kicks into better gear in the second half.

Nacho Libre - **3/4
Hess's smug style still doesn't work for me, but the force named Jack Black saves the film with his all out effort.

The Break-Up - **1/2
The few comedic scenes are funny, but the movie is really spending some serious time with the bad consequences of each side playing a game.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - *1/2
The best car sequence is the only one that uses Tokyo as background, the others could be anywhere. The plot is nonsense all the way.

The Praire Home Companion - ***
A warmer entry into the Altman filmography, yet still retains his characteristic styles.

Over the Hedge - ***
Some laugh out loud moments and generally entertaining movie.

Last Holiday - ***
This is what Hollywood can do very well: cast a central charismatic actor with colorful supporting roles in a charming, simple story.

Superman Returns - ***1/4
Flawed big time, but also has many great moments. How much of its success should be credited to the filmmakers and how much to Superman the character himself needs time to decipher.

An Inconvenient Truth - ***
Gore's slideshow presentation is interesting and engaging. The filmmakers add probably the right balance of Gore the person into the film, but it's too short a glimpse.

Tristan + Isolde - ***
The love should be earth shaking, but it's not. Other than that, it's a solid overall movie, with Sewell's character being far better than Connery's Arthur or Marsden in Superman Returns, two comparable characters.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - **
Hard to imagine from the sound and look of it, but the central new plot and villain in the movie create no suspense or excitement. Funny images are what the series is best at, not character or the supposedly thrilling action.

The Devil Wares Prada - **3/4
This is an automatic recommendation if the movie had more of Streep's character. Instead, the Hathaway one is pretty uninteresting in her early innocent stage, or in the late "lost" stage. Tucci is very good once again.

Lady in the Water - ***
Shyamalan has paired up a ridiculous story with thin characters, relying on a great Giamatti and his own directorial force to make this movie. Damned by most, his latest "failure" further shows his uniqueness in Hollywood. The man is incapable of making an unmemorable movie.

Click - zero
I have laughed during most of Sandler's movies, but I cannot recall a great moment in this one. It is also, by far, the most painful (not in a genuine, good way) movie in Sandler's career.

The Pink Panther - *3/4
No effort to make any resemblance to a plot or storyline unfortunately wastes a funny Martin, Kline and Reno.

Miami Vice - ***
Mann the director continues his exploration of digital filmmaking and exercise of style, but Mann the screenwriter does not provide a strong enough entry.

A Scanner Darkly - **
The central moral dilemma is overstuffed, not by the animation method--which is well suited to the material--but by the mostly uninteresting plot and small talk. It's as if the filmmakers didn't know what else to say.

Scoop - ***
Johansson handles Allen's material very well, so her fast talking is perfectly matched with Allen's usual character. The movie is like a companion to Manhattan Murder Mystery, and the flip side of Match Point. Lots of good laughs, if light weight.

Monster House - ***1/4
The Monster House is clearly the creature of the year so far. A memorable triumph in design and execution. The kids are also well defined, with many funny observations.

Clerks II - ***1/4
When Smith tries to expand his range, we get big messes like Jersey Girl and Dogma. This is what he is good at: sketching small time characters and their thoughts, pop culture and dirty jokes.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - **3/4
The casting is terrific, almost every part can get a laugh. It's a movie of scenes, bits and lines.

Snakes on a Plane - **
Why waste any time off of the plane when those material are so awful and nobody cares about it? This should have been only on a plane, funnier and crazier. Nuttiness is needed.

Running Scared - ***
A B-picture all the way, made with no regard for plot holes, morality or story coherency. It's a success, because the movie goes for broke in its non-stop adrenaline thrill ride. In some ways, Lucky Number Slevin tried to be this film.

Find Me Guilty - **1/4
Diesel shows why he was so highly sought after and regarded only a few years ago, because though he is not handsome, he can be charming, and though a big man, his acting is alive with his whole body. The movie is not as good as him, with no drama or intensity, and only a few laughs.

Freedomland - **
The movie is trying to say something about the relationship between society and individual acts, but it fails. Admirable, dull and confused.

Little Miss Sunshine - ****
Frankly, the film yanks the audience around. That's what the majority of good and bad movies do, but the difference between them is demonstrated by this movie, because its handling of outrageous situations, the ups and downs of life, and character relations is masterful.

Date Movie - zero
The references to other movies have no wit at all, only gross out gags that fail miserably. The "Scary Movie" franchise has never looked so good.

World Trade Center - **1/2
Stone treats the material with utmost respect and sincerity...just as any other person would. It is an undistinguished movie, with its power coming from The Event itself.

Accepted - **1/4
Devoid of any resemblance of reality, but with some funny lines and feel good scenarios.

The Illusionist - ***
A nice blend of character and story. It's not clever enough, but the two leads sell the movie convincingly.

The Protector - ***
Outside of action--and even some of the action is incomprehensible--the film is incompetent. But turn on Tony Jaa, and the greatest special effect in the world is in play.

ATL - *3/4
This is a movie about growing up, love, drugs, class identity and roller skating, so how the filmmakers made such a bland movie is impossible to understand.

The Last Kiss - *
Wilkinson has a few graceful moments, but almost everything in this movie is stock.

The Black Dahlia - *1/2
Good production design, cinematography and music cannot save a badly written and cast movie. The staircase sequence is a good one.

Hollywoodland - **3/4
The Reeves segments are very interesting, and the investigation segments have interesting parts. There is an imbalance here, and the film loses momentum everytime it switches, making both good stories less powerful. Good look on Hollywood.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party - **3/4
My lack of knowledge regarding certain performers didn't prevent me from enjoying them. Though Chappelle's role in the film is nicely balanced, more interaction between him and the crowd, as well as a closer look into how everything got together would make the film better.

The Departed - ***1/2
No one is better at using precise cutting coupled with camera moves and musical choices than Scorsese. Just watch the film run! The result is a film significantly more exciting than Infernal Affairs, and that would have been the case even without its all star cast, which is excellent.

Flyboys - *1/2
One joke in the middle of the film painfully points out how little fun and humorless this movie is. The filmmakers drop the ball on many standard, can't-miss scenarios. Franco has yet to prove he is a leading man.

Kinky Boots - ***
Another Ejiofor home run performance makes this safe and formulaic movie entertaining. Ejiofor may not look like a stunning woman in drag, but his behavior and spirit is utterly convincing. The next big musical should get him immediately.

Bubble - **1/2
The place and life of the characters is pretty interesting, but the movie doesn't allow them to breathe. Maybe Soderbergh decided this was a take on some small timers, but it needed more time and interaction between the characters to blossom.

Shortbus - ***
This movie is using sex, and a lot of it, to explore existentialism. JCM seems to believe that people can have depths of sadness that no other can understand and still maintain a hopeful attitude.

The Prestige - ***1/2
Nolan proves once again he is a master of narrative and engaging in audience participation. The movie directly solicits interpretation and parrallelisms, making every twist and turn tense, exciting, and fulfilling.

Flags of Our Fathers - **1/2
The implicit criticism of heroism and use of persons as symbols continues Eastwood's examination of the dark side of institutions and beliefs, but the movie is too predictible, talky, and stylistically unimaginitive.

Running with Scissors - *3/4
This picture reminds me of White Oleander. They are both deeply personal memoirs, but the story is tedious and at time irritating. Brian Cox and Annette Bening deserves kudos though.

Flushed Away -- ***
Aardman shows that they think of witty gags as well as anyone, and at a higher volume than most, but the movie feels too eager to please when compared to the simple charm that is the flagship of Wallace & Gromit.

Marie Antoinette - ***1/2
A mise en scene and photography feast, which would look good on a small screen, but scrumptious on a big one. Coppola uses Dunst and Schwartzman more maturely than anyone before. It's possible this could have been a masterpiece if Coppola decided to focus more on the failure of leadership and social/political conditions. As it is, it will be cited as one of the most beautiful pictoral pictures in the medium.

Borat - ***
The offensiveness of the movie knows no boundaries. To me, that is only amusing to see how far the filmmakers go, but not hilarious. Still, there are some LOL scenes that really surprise and/or push the envelop. It is clear from this movie and Talledega Nights that Cohen is a talent.

Looking For Comedy in a Muslim World - *1/2
Albert Brooks can write very funny lines, so how few there were was surprisingly unfortunate. The movie has a good setup, but the payoff jokes don't come.

Babel - ***1/4
Though some plot points don't ring true, Iñárritu's latest cinematic powerhouse is very sure footed and full of intimate moments. However, the life and moral choices of the characters could be explored more deeply.

The Queen - ***
The "behind the scenes look" genre is one of the most reliable in cinema, and here with a sensitive look at how one person's position (both status and decision) affects others is pretty effective.

Harsh Times - **
This Christian Bale vehicle tries desperately to look at the consequences of the idea of masculinity and showcase Bale's intensity, but both are obvious and lack surprises or interest.

Imagine You & Me - *1/2
Tough genre to pull off, the in-between space of a flat out romantic comedy and a serious look at relationships. "Something New" beats this handedly, because it is both more entertaining and more truthful.

Scary Movie 4 -- **
No plot, just parody sketches and jokes one after another. Enough of them work for this movie to better than Scary Movie 2, or Date Movie.

Stranger Than Fiction - **
An interesting concept with paper thin characters, which even the good cast cannot bring life to. The foreshadowing to the end is done completely without any integration to the story.

Casino Royale - ***
A more emotionally charged Bond and a smaller planning villian makes this a comparably believable 007 movie. Craig does quite well, especially in scenes with Eva Green.

Happy Feet - **
The decision to keep the penguins less expressive and more anatomically correct (than say Aardman or Pixar) makes the singing and dancing less thrilling than it should be. One of Williams' characters is quite funny.

Basic Instinct 2 - **
Stone tries very hard to light up the screen, and succeeds admirably considering that the leading man is badly miscast and the film lacks thrills.

Friends With Money - **1/2
The Keener and McDormand couples are pretty interesting, but get short changed a little because of the other couples. The Aniston character arc is particularly unexciting.

Bobby - **
In the best big ensemble cast movies, each storyline builds with each other to a crescendo. The characters here have very little to do with the climax, and many of them are pedestrian and should have been cut.

The Fountain - **1/2
Arronofsky probably believes that he is cinematically powerful and philosophically profound. The latter is not proven here, and his toolbox of techniques is surprisingly less successful here, too. Still, a pretty fascinating picture.

For Your Consideration - **3/4
A noticeably lesser film than previous Guest efforts, but still offers plenty of laughs. There is probably endless Hollywood/adwards material to spoof, so this could have been drawn better overall.

The Sentinel - **
The setup is intriguing, but it lets the Douglas off the chase too early, and let's the conspiracy out of the bag too easily. The filmmakers obviously ran out of ideas.

Apocalypto - **
A slight movie, despite it immersing the audience in the world. The first trailers suggested a movie with greater ambitions, whereas the actual product is fairly single minded.

Deja Vu - **1/2
In 12 Monkeys, the filmmakers avoided giving the details of time travel. Here, the discussion is only somewhat interesting, but also silly. The human connection is effective with Washington and Scott direction, so more on that would have better.

The Proposition - ***1/4
The desolate landscape is contrasted with the suprising major characters. This is a short story that could be vastly expanded, but is chooses not to and makes itself all of a piece.

Little Children - ***
Expert in controlling the tone through editing and photography, Field has more storylines and characters to juggle here than before, and they don't jell cohesively.

Volver - ***1/4
Compared to the last few films, Almodovar seems to care less about intricate plotting or generating dramatic tension here. The film still works because of the characters and their interactions.

Curse of the Golden Flower - **
Though constantly an eyeful, both as a spectacle and a treachorous family power struggle, the movie does not succeed. The martial arts sequences also felt somewhat tacked in.

Take the Lead - **3/4
The Good Teacher and Underdog movie, paired with hip hop and ballroom dancing. Should be a slam dunk, but some contrivances and very poor characterization bring it done a notch.

Dreamgirls - ***1/4
The characters are drawn very thin, but the non-stop dazzling musical scenes keep coming. Hudson's first solo scene is indeed a highlight of the year.

Rocky Balboa - ***
"Tough ain't enough," so said Eastwood, but Rocky has always been about having "heart." The first majority of the film is a character piece nicely done, the fight is probably the most realistic of all the Rocky films.

Night at the Museum - **
The old timers have some fun time, but Stiller's scenes are mostly not very funny. A simple premise, with very pedestrian execution.

Charlotte's Web - *1/2
When two animals start talking to each other, without much wit or dramatic tension, it's yawning time. This film has a lot of that.

Fateless - ***1/4
The concentration camp scenes are well done and believable, but the post-camp scenes are really what is special. More of that could have made this film a true standout in the holocaust genre.

Eragon - **
Standard fantasy/hero's journey with no surprises and one note throughout. Carlyle chews up the scenery badly. The Dragon design and execution is pretty good, but less impressive than the dragon in Harry Potter.

Manderlay - **
Less grueling than some other Von Trier movies, but also less effective. The emphasis on race, slavery, and slavish attitudes seems less piercing than his comments in Dogville.

Children of Men - ***1/2
Perhaps the most technically brilliant movie of the year, with several themes well done to support it. Still, the movie only tries to reach so far, making it less than completely satisfying.

The Pursuit of Happyness - ***
Many feel good movies are premised upon devastating personal stories, and this is one of them. Smith is good, but too insistently nice to round out the character.

The Holiday - **1/2
There are several obvious, but still entertaining takes on Hollywood, including trailers, film scores, and discussion on the industry. The stars are likeable, especially Jack Black, but the true standout is Eli Wallach.

RV - *
Williams can be hilarious, so why this movie decides to go with bathroom jokes instead of utilizing Williams' talent is mystifying. His family members are annoying to no end.

Brick - ***1/2
If noir is a primarily about a fatalistic attitude, this film exhibits it, even if the movie uses color, high school, and a completely different universe of language, which only makes the movie stand out more. A different setting, but still a genre film triumph.

The Good Shepherd - ***
Finely crafted so that the paranoia is in the air, but somewhat lethargic. Damon gives a very convincing performance.

The Last King of Scotland - **1/2
A subpar movie made worthwhile by its performances and look into power. The director has specifically shot Whitaker in such a frantic way as to enhance his much-praised performance.

Blood Diamond - ***
Dicaprio and Connelly have great chemistry, but Zwick likes a lot of senseless explosions, which overshadow the human story. Heavy handed in delivering its message, but not unmoving.

Pan's Labyrinth - ***1/4
The fantasy and the civil war background don't always mesh seemlessly. However, ultimately the movie gains its power from the two different realms. Well designed with great effects.

Letters From Iwo Jima - ***
The script and actors have very fine moments, but the movie lacks the kind of energy that pushes great war films into a memorable experience. The cinematography and score do not help the movie.

Notes on a Scandal - ***
The subject of this movie is all tabloid trashiness, and entertaining it is. Dench has an especially juicy role, including her narration, which makes many words and sentences a pleasure to listen to. Blanchett has rarely been as sexy.

Venus - **1/2
The role gives O'Toole a wide range, and he's exposes himself in all these ways beautifully. The movie has some serious missteps in the 3rd act, and it wastes some really well cast supporting actors.

 

[Kristian]

Pre-2006 films tracked in the Track the Films You Watch (2006) thread.

Last Updated: 01/30/07

Latest Seen:



Total Film Count: 23

• 2006 Theatrical Releases: 21
• 2006 DTV Releases: 1
• 2006 Short Films: 1

2006 Theatrical Releases

Apocalypto / :star::star:¾ / R / Mel Gibson / 12/08/06 (RKVS)

Babel / :star::star:½ / R / Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu / 01/19/07 (RKVS)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan / :star::star::star: / R / Larry Charles / 11/12/06 (COBBD)

Casino Royale / :star::star::star:¼ / PG-13 / Martin Campbell / 11/17/06 (RKVS)
Charlotte's Web / :star::star: / G / Gary Winick / 12/15/06 (RKVS)
Children of Men / :star::star::star:¼ / R / Alfonso Cuaron / 01/05/07 (RKVS)

The Departed / :star::star::star: / R / Martin Scorsese / 10/10/06 (RKVS)
Dreamgirls / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / Bill Condon / 01/18/07 (RKVS)

Letters From Iwo Jima / :star::star:

/ R / Clint Eastwood / 01/29/07 (AMCSP)

Mission: Impossible III / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / J. J. Abrams / 05/06/06 (RKVS)

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) / :star::star::star:½ / R / Guillermo Del Toro / 01/20/07 (RKVS)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / Gore Verbinski / 07/11/06 (RKVS)
The Prestige / :star::star::star:½ / PG-13 / Christopher Nolan / 10/21/06 (COBBD)
The Pursuit of Happyness / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / Gabriel Muccino / 12/20/06 (RKVS)

The Queen / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / Stephen Frears / 01/27/07 (RKVS)

Rocky Balboa / :star::star::star:¼ / PG / Sylvester Stallone / 12/27/06 (RKVS)

Stranger Than Fiction / :star::star:¾/ PG-13 / Marc Forster / 11/21/06 (RKVS)
Superman Returns / :star::star::star:½ / PG-13 / Bryan Singer / 06/27/06 (RKVS)

V For Vendetta / :star::star::star:¼ / R / James McTeigue / 03/29/06 (COBBD)
Volver / :star::star::star: / R / Pedro Almodovar / 01/30/07 (RKVS)

X-Men: The Last Stand / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / Brett Ratner / 05/26/06 (RKVS)


2006 Direct to Video Releases

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children / :star::star::star: / PG-13 / Tetsuya Nomura / 05/07/06 (DVD)[DUB]


2006 Short Films

The Little Matchgirl / :star::star::star:

/ G / Roger Allers / 10/29/06 (DVD)
__________________________________________________ __________


Rating System

:star::star::star::star: - Astonishing
:star::star::star:¾ - Excellent
:star::star::star:½ - Great
:star::star::star:¼ - Very Good
:star::star::star: - Good
:star::star:¾ - Above Average
:star::star:½ - Average
:star::star:¼ - Below Average
:star::star: Poor
:star:¾ - Bad
:star:½ - Dreadful
:star:¼ - Horrendous
:star: - Absolute Garbage


Theaters

AMCSP - AMC Sunset Place 24, South Miami, FL
CIN - Cinemark 20 at Festival Bay, Orlando, FL
COBBD - Cobb Dolphin 19, Miami, FL
LUC - Loews Universal Cineplex, Orlando, FL
RKVS - Regal Kendall Stadium 16, Miami, FL
RSB - Regal South Beach 18, Miami Beach, FL


Channels

IFC - Independent Film Channel
SUN - Sundance Channel
TCM - Turner Classic Movies


Other Codes

DUB - Dubbed version of a foreign film.
DVD - Viewed on a purchased DVD.
RENT - Viewed on a rented DVD.

 

[Herschel]

My placeholder as well. I was bad last year. This year I will do better.

Last update: 2/5/06
2006 releases seen so far: 0
Pre-2006 releases seen so far: 10 (most recently, Munich)

Coming up: ?

 

[Craig S]

Craig's 2006 Film List

Criteria: NY/LA Academy Qualification

Rating Scheme: 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest)

Last updated February 25, 2007

Number of Films Seen: 83 (All seen theatrically except those marked with * seen on DVD)

Babel: 10 (11/11/06)
The Departed: 10 (10/6/06)
The Fountain: 10 (11/25/06)
Letters From Iwo Jima: 10 (2/16/07)
Little Miss Sunshine: 10 (8/20/06)
Pan's Labyrinth: 10 (1/13/07)
The Queen: 10 (12/31/06)
United 93: 10 (5/14/06)

Apocalypto: 9 (12/9/06)
Cars: 9 (6/18/06)
Casino Royale: 9 (11/26/06)
Children Of Men: 9 (1/7/07)
Dreamgirls: 9 (12/28/06)
Flags Of Our Fathers: 9 (10/22/06)
The Good Shepherd: 9 (12/22/06)
Infamous: 9 (10/29/06)
Lassie: 9 (9/4/06)
Little Children: 9 (11/4/06)
The Prestige: 9 (10/21/06)
A Scanner Darkly: 9 (7/30/06)
Superman Returns: 9 (7/16/06)
V For Vendetta: 9 (3/19/06)
World Trade Center: 9 (8/19/06)

Blood Diamond: 8 (12/9/06)
Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan: 8 (11/5/06)
Catch A Fire: 8 (10/27/06)
Glory Road: 8 (2/8/06)
The Holiday: 8 (12/22/06)
Hollywoodland: 8 (9/9/06)
The Illusionist: 8 (8/27/06)
Inside Man: 8 (3/31/06)
Invincible: 8 (9/30/06)
The Last King Of Scotland: 8 (1/20/07)
The Last Kiss: 8 (9/17/06)
Miami Vice: 8 (7/29/06)
Mission Impossible III: 8 (5/13/06)
The Night Listener: 8 (8/4/06)
Notes On A Scandal: 8 (1/27/07)
The Painted Veil: 8 (1/13/07)
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 8 (7/29/06)
A Prairie Home Companion: 8 (6/25/06)
The Pursuit Of Happyness: 8 (12/28/06)
Quinceanera: 8 (8/20/06)
Stranger Than Fiction: 8 (11/11/06)
Thank You For Smoking: 8 (4/16/06)
Volver: 8 (1/27/07)
We Are Marshall: 8 (12/30/06)

16 Blocks: 7 (3/19/06)
All The King's Men: 7 (9/24/06)
Art School Confidential: 7 (5/14/06)
The Break-Up: 7 (6/3/06)
Clerks II: 7 (7/22/06)
The DaVinci Code: 7 (5/21/06)
Deja Vu: 7 (12/2/06)
The Devil Wears Prada: 7 (2/25/07) *
Flyboys: 7 (10/8/06)
Eight Below: 7 (3/18/06)
Half Nelson: 7 (2/24/07) *
Lucky Number Slevin: 7 (4/9/06)
Rocky Balboa: 7 (12/21/06)
Running Scared: 7 (2/26/06)
Scoop: 7 (7/30/06)
Talledega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby: 7 (8/4/06)
X-Men III: 7 (5/28/06)

Accepted: 6 (8/27/06)
Crank: 6 (9/9/06)
Curse Of The Golden Flower: 6 (12/31/06)
For Your Consideration: 6 (12/2/06)
Friends With Money: 6 (4/22/06)
Lady In The Water: 6 (7/22/06)
Man Of The Year: 6 (10/14/06)
Marie Antoinette: 6 (10/21/06)
The Sentinel: 6 (4/22/06)
Tristan & Isolde: 6 (12/30/06) *

The Black Dahlia: 5 (9/17/06)
Eragon: 5 (12/17/06)
Firewall: 5 (2/11/06)
Freedomland: 5 (2/18/06)
Idiocracy: 5 (9/2/06)
Poseidon: 5 (6/4/06)
Running With Scissors: (10/29/06)
The Wicker Man: 5 (9/2/06)

School For Scoundrels: 4 (10/1/06)

The ever-changing "2006 Releases I Want To See" List:

Black Book
Breaking And Entering
The Dead Girl
Home of The Brave
Inland Empire
The Lives Of Others
Miss Potter
Night At The Museum
Venus

The "Missed It - Gotta Wait For The DVD" List:

Ask The Dust
Bobby
Brick
Bubble
Conversations With Other Women
Duck Season
Factotum
Fast Food Nation
F*ck
Fur
The Good German
A Good Year
A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints
Find Me Guilty
Flushed Away
Game 6
Happy Feet
The History Boys
Ice Age II: The Meltdown
Jesus Camp
Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World
Monster House
The Nativity Story
Neil Young: Heart Of Gold
Night Watch
The Omen
On A Clear Day
Over The Hedge
Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer
The Proposition
The Science Of Sleep
Sherrybaby
Snakes On A Plane
Tenacious D In "The Pick Of Destiny"
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Tideland
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Trust The Man
The U.S. Vs John Lennon
Water
Winter Passing

The "Life Is Too Short" Pile:

Films I refuse to waste my time & money on. To those of you brave enough to see these, I salute you - thanks for taking one for the team!
Doogal, Grandma's Boy, Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector, Little Man, When A Stranger Calls

The "Already Looking Forward To 2007" List:

300
Alpha Dog
American Gangster
Arthur & The Invisibles
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Astronaut Farmer
Black Snake Moan
The Bourne Ultimatum
Breach
Bug
Catch & Release
The Darjeeling Limited
Evan Almighty
Ghost Rider
Goya's Ghosts
Hannibal Rising
Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix
The Hoax
I Am Legend
I'm Not There
Killshot
Live Free Or Die Hard
The Lovely Bones
Lucky You
The Magic Flute
Margaret
The Namesake
Ocean's Thirteen
Penelope
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Ratatouille
The Reaping
Reign O'er Me
Revolver
Seraphim Falls
Sicko
The Simpsons Movie
Smoking Aces
Southland Tales
Spider-Man III
Sunshine
Zodiac

The "Even Looking Forward To 2008" List:

24: The Movie
Che
The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince
Indiana Jones IV
Star Trek XI

The "2005 Releases Seen In 2006" List:

The Aristocrats: 7 (2/12/06) *
Brokeback Mountain: 10 (1/8/06)
Hustle & Flow: 8 (2/25/06) *
Junebug: 8 (3/4/06) *
Layer Cake: 8 (4/15/06) *
The Libertine: 6 (3/12/06)
The Matador: 8 (1/8/06)
Match Point: 9 (1/21/06)
Melinda And Melinda: 8 (1/21/06) *
Mrs. Henderson Presents: 9 (2/18/06)
The New World: 9 (1/22/06)
North Country: 8 (2/26/060 *
The Producers: 5 (1/14/06)
The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada: 10 (2/25/06)
Transamerica: 8 (3/12/06)

 

[RyanAn]

Just a placeholder.

ryan

 

[Chris_Richard]

placeholder for 2006 films only.

currently the only one I've seen is Hostel.

 

[Chris Mannis]

Placeholder

 

[Andrew-V]

2006 Film List

Criteria: Original US Theatrical Release
Number of Films: 1
Last Updated: 1-22-06

2006 Films
(Title / Rating (out of four) / Running Time / Aspect Ratio / Director

Hostel / *½ / 95 min. / 2.35:1 / Eli Roth


2005 Films Carried Over
(Title / Rating (out of four) / Running Time / Aspect Ratio / Director

Brokeback Mountain / ***½ / 134 min. / 1.85:1 / Ang Lee

Capote / **** / 98 min. / 2.35:1 / Bennett Miller

King Kong / *½ / 187 min. / 2.35:1 / Peter Jackson

Munich / **** / 164 min. / 2.35:1 / Steven Spielberg

The New World / **** / 130 min. / 2.35:1 / Terrence Malick

Syriana / *** / 126 min. / 2.35:1 / Stephen Gaghan

 

[Joe Kamsan]

2006 Film List
Last Updated: 6-14-08
Listing Criterion: 2006 U.S. Theatrical Release
2006 Films: 30

Recently added: Little Children

By Alphabet:

Apocalypto B+
Babel A-
Blood Diamond B+
Brick C+
Casino Royale B+
Children of Men A
Clerks II B
The Departed A
Fast Food Nation B-
The Fountain C+
Grudge 2 D
Half Nelson B+
The Illusionist B-
An Inconvenient Truth B
Inside Man A-

Letters From Iwo Jima A-
Little Children B+
Little Miss Sunshine B
Marie Antoinette B-
Miami Vice B+
Mission: Impossible III B
Pan's Labyrinth A
The Prestige B
Snakes on a Plane D
Superman Returns C+
Thank You For Smoking B
United 93 A-
Volver A-
World Trade Center B-
X-Men III C+

By Grade:

A
Children of Men
The Departed
Pan's Labyrinth

A-
Babel
Inside Man
Letters From Iwo Jima
United 93
Volver

B+
Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Casino Royale
Half Nelson
Little Children
Miami Vice

B
Clerks II
An Inconvenient Truth
Little Miss Sunshine
Mission: Impossibe III
The Prestige
Thank You For Smoking

B-
Fast Food Nation
The Illusionist
Marie Antoinette
World Trade Center

C+
Brick
The Fountain
Superman Returns
X-Men III

D
Grudge 2
Snakes on a Plane

 

[Seth Paxton]

Seth's Film List
Slow starts are normal as I use DVD to catchup on last year for the first few months

I use Academy rules NY/LA release date criteria
Films listed Alpha, Top films (9 or above) in blue
71 total/32 theatrical

American Dreamz (6)
The Ant-Bully (5.5)
Apocalypto (9)
Babel (8.5)
Beerfest (3)
The Benchwarmers (1.5)
Blood Diamond (9)
Borat: CLAMBGNK (8.5)
The Break-Up (6.5)
Brick (8.5)

Cars (8)
Casino Royale (8.5)
Children of Men (10)
Clerks 2 (7.5)
Click (3)
Curse of the Golden Flower (7)

Dave Chappell's Block Party (8.5)
The Davinci Code (7.5)
The Decent (9)
The Departed (9.5)
The Devil Wears Prada (9)
Dreamgirls (9)

Employee of the Month (3)
Flags of Our Fathers (8)
Flushed Away (9.5)
The Fountain (9)
Friends with Money (7.5)

Happy Feet (4)
The Holiday (5)
Hostel (6.5)
Ice Age 2 (5)
The Illusionist (8)
An Inconvenient Truth (8)
Inside Man (8.5)
Invincible (8)
John Tucker Must Die (4.5)

Lady in the Water (6)
Last King of Scotland (9)
Letters from Iwo Jima (9)
Little Miss Sunshine (9.5)
Lucky Number Slevin (8)
Manderlay (9.5)
Marie Antoinette(9)
Miami Vice (9)
Mission Impossible 3 (8.5)
Monster House 3D (9)
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (4)

Night at the Museum (2.5)
Open Season (6)
Over the Hedge (8)
Pan's Labyrinth (9.5)
Pirates of the Carribean 2 (7.5)
The Presitige (9)
The Pursuit of Happiness(9)
The Queen (9.5)
Rocky Balboa (7.5)

A Scanner Darkly (8.5)
Silent Hill (3)
Snakes on a Plane (5.5)
Stranger Than Fiction (9.5)
Superman Returns (8.5)
Talledega Nights: Ballad of Ricky Bobby (7.5)
Tenacious D: Pick of Destiny (6)
Thank You for Smoking (9)

United 93 (9.5)
V for Vendetta (8.5)
Volver (10)
Why We Fight (8.5)
Wordplay (9)
X-Men 3 (8.5)
You, Me and Dupree (3.5)

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

With Bubble, Steven Soderbergh returns to his roots yielding some amazing results. This esoteric psychological drama showcases non-professional actors who are very confident in their roles giving raw realism to the ordinary people and the monotonous lives they portray.

This dark mystery purposely aims differently and as such audiences will react in the same manner, positively or negatively. Yet, I found it to be Soderbergh’s best work since Traffic.

~Edwin

 

[MichaelPe]

List removed.

 

[Brook K]

Bubble - Steven Soderbergh's experimental film explores the seething discontent in a seemingly banal small town setting. Acting, dialogue, dramatics, camerawork, all are understated, and yet present characters chafing at the economic limitations their educational and geographic circumstances have imposed upon them. The performance Soderbergh draws out of the lead actress is extraordinary and the presentation is equally impressive, as a simple look or shot will convey a dark undercurrent to what we are watching. I was blown away by her reactions following the film's major event.

The music and Soderbergh's cutaways to the foreboding, barren landscape increase the hermetic atmosphere, that leads to the icing on the cake: as the credits roll we are greeted with the impassive faces of dolls and the factory surroundings that form much of the film's setting. These haunting images, reminiscent of Werner Herzog, end the film on a note of symbolic contemplation as we join the dolls in silently observing what we see before us. - A-

Nanny McPhee - A warm and magical family film that is a pleasant throwback to a more wholesome kind of family film free of gross-out "jokes" and pop culture references. It presents a simple message of self-reliance and family sticktoitiveness with healthy doses of humor and charm. It does get a little too silly at times with a CGI talking horse and a food fight, but this is material kids eat up and doesn't really detract from the overall film. Emma Thompson, Colin Firth and the acting ensemble all fit their roles well and imaginative sets and wonderful costumes add to the storybook atmosphere. I found the ending surprisingly affecting and the experience highly satisfying overall. - B+

 

[Adam_S]

Night Watch - :star::star::star::star:

THis is not a classic film, but it is a very fine flawless piece of work for what it is.

On the other hand, like far too much scifi/fantasy genre, it is occasionally inconsistent in its world creation rules, take the prologue for instance. If the ability of the leader-of-light is to freeze anyone he wishes to, why does he allow any fight to take place at all?

Night Watch establishes its tone and reality with a prologue delivered in English (the print is subtitled for the rest) so one can focus on the visuals. The prologue lays out the basic rules and history of the Night Watch universe. Vampires, witches, seers, shapeshifters are real--they are Others. They've been around since time immemorial, and since time immermorial Others have been fighting each other, mostly on the side of Light and Dark. Others can see one another, but can step in and out of 'the Gloom' an unexplained plane (of mosquitos/parasites?) that is deadly if entered without proper training. Each Other has an individual characteristic/power unique to them, though they fall into broad categories. It's complicated but sorting it out after the movie is tougher than actually watching the movie where it all makes good sense.

Anyway as the prologue establishes, a truce was established to prevent Others from slaughtering each other. The Light others were tired of defending human-prey from the Dark Others (like vampires) that fed upon them. So as part of the truce, the Night Watch was established to police Dark Others and enforce the truce and the Day Watch was established to police Light Others and enforce the truce. However the Night Watch/light Others were granted another authority in the truce, one that is the key conflict of the film.

And what the film ultimately begins to ask, is what drives people to actions labeled dark is a dark desire or a dark-abuse delivered at the hands of one labeled light? And since nothing is so simple in this film, it is both and more, because such an issue as one's affiliation is far more complex than mere chance, personal inclination, fate or even a single decision. There may be games going on at the top that are too complex by far, someone is playing dice with Others lives and the 'balance' of Light and dark may just be an illusion to control through misdirection--if all attention is focused on the conflict, who will notice how much a soldier is controlled.

This is mostly speculation, based on how the Dark seems much more aware of latent others than the Light. The main character, Anton, is revealed to be set up in the climatic showdown (remember in the videogame how the badguy was initially killed by Anton, but he worked it through to discover a thread in which he won and then played that scenario out for the real thing) but I think even more so Anton was set up by a bargain between the badguy and the lead good guy who healed Anton. Anton would have probably declared for Dark, but he was specifically set up by a bargain between those guy as a form of live bait, the dark sacrificed a potential warrior for a particular deal we don't yet know of, but the dark also realized (probably through a more complete prophecy than we're given) that Anton was the father of the foretold 'great Other' The dark therefore connived a way to get Anton to estrange himself from his son but to keep the son alive (the bargain with the light to use Anton as bait to catch the witch breaking the truce, wwhile the ligh was unaware of Anton's Other-ness). Because Anton would be 'rescued' by the Light, it would also implant a dark-inclined warrior in the Night Watch, and would give the dark a trump card if Anton were ever likely to encounter his son before his son declared.

So I think the real conflict of the overarching series is not the light triumphing over the dark, but a revelation of a terrible power structure and exploitation of the Others by the 'truce' government they've been living under. Much of the movie hints at problems with 'crimes' of the soldiers and how this ruptures their relationships again and again as they enforce perhaps unjust laws and follow brutal orders. It's not apparent yet, but this could be the first flowering of the Russian equivalent to Godzilla--the cultural working out of fears, angers and guilts from a recently devasting past that has since gone through a paradigm shift.. So yes the balance will be upset, but it will be replaced by a completely new more transparent system that is neither light nor dark.

I expect the next film, DayWatch, will focus on the boy discovering exactly what his father discovered in Nightwatch. In fact I expect it to end on a similar betrayal revealing the corruption of the system.

 

[Brent_H]

I'm in college and don't have money to go to the theater very often...so a lot of these will be pre-2006...

:star::star::star::star::star: Loved it
:star::star::star::star: Really Liked it
:star::star::star: It was OK
:star::star: Not Very Good
:star: Awful


2006 Films
...

 

[Brook K]

So is this actually in general release now? I saw trailers for it a couple of times last year, in the winter and summer. Then I saw a trailer again before Manderlay today and it still had the "coming in 2005" tag on it.

SteveGon's seen it on DVD and wasn't impressed. The trailer has some cool eye candy but is one of those annoying ones that tries to pretend the film isn't subtitled. I'll check it out whenever it makes it here.

 

[Angel Pagan]

Never did one of these for theatrical releases. So I'll start now.

2006 Films seen
1) Final Destination 2 :star: :star: :star: (2/17/06)
2) Eight Below :star: :star: :star: :star: (2/24/06)

The Official 2006 HTF DVD Challenge
The Official 2006 HTF TV-On-DVD Challenge

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Placeholder (yes, I *do* hope to actually update this post this year!)

 

[Brook K]

Manderlay - The 2nd film in Lars von Trier's "America" trilogy finds Grace and her father fleeing to the South where they happen upon a plantation where slavery is still practiced. With furious indignation, Grace, backed by her father's mob heavies, emancipates the slaves. But freedom will bring a whole host of unintended consequences to the people of Manderlay and Grace may not be able to control the events she has swung into motion.

With his typical provocative glee and challenging material, Von Trier's film seeks the heart of slavery not just as physical control of the body, but the ways that societies and governments control the minds of their people. Whether through laws, psychology, economics, or simpler means of force, there are always those with power and those without whether or not they fit Webster's definition of "slave".

Being set in the American South and dealing with such a volatile subject like slavery, the film can't help but address historical situations along with commenting on present society. We see the evolution of physical slaves into wage slaves, their chains replaced by contracts. Von Trier vividly shows how education can be used as a weapon to take advantage of people who were not allowed similar privileges. And it also illustrates what might be the effects of thrusting freedom on people who have known nothing but servitude.

While Manderlay contains material every bit as powerful as that in Dogville, where it falters is in execution. Since they are playing the same character, you can't help but compare Bryce Dallas Howard's version of Grace to Nicole Kidman's and find Howard's wanting. Where Kidman was vulnerable and naive, Howard is shrill. Where Kidman was a pillar of determination and icy resolve, Howard doesn't project such inner fire. The movie also lacks the degree of talent that Dogville had among the townspeople. And perhaps more surprisingly than the Howard-Kidman comparison, Willem Dafoe proves a poor substitute for James Caan as the father. He lacks the forceful presence and depth Caan brought to the role.

Danny Glover is the one highlight among the new castmembers. He projects the tired resignation of a man who hopes the situation he finds himself in will be an improvement but fears it is doomed from the start. John Hurt also returns to give his same snarky narration, creating a bemused, slightly condescending relationship to audience and cast alike.

Manderlay also features an ending coda of photographs, once again set to David Bowie's Young American, and here is one area where it surpasses Dogville. Here we see lynchings, KKK activities, Jim Crow, and deprivation juxtaposed with African-American leaders and successes to present an enormously moving portrait of a people enduring and overcoming terrible wrongs in "the land of the free".

The film also lacks the visual touches of Dogville, as if Von Trier is already bored with his staging concepts of having chalk outlines substitute for buildings and locations. The design isn't made to seem as integral to the material as it was for Dogville. There are flourishes here and there to be sure, just nothing of the breathtaking beauty found in Dogville.

Yet, while I have spent 3 paragraphs on its inadequacies, it is the thematic strengths, the provocative ideas, the highly charged drama and the challenging ways it incites the audience that leave me with very positive feelings about the qualities of the film. The material more than overcomes any deficiencies. While I can dream about what this film would have been like with Nicole Kidman as originally intended, what is onscreen embodies what the best films do - challenge the viewer to examine and evaluate their own philosophies and conceptions. - A-