2006 Movies
The Good Shepherd. (12/26/06). Engrossing while it rolls, a bit disappointing when finished. Flat performance by Damon, great supporting cast, not quite up to snuff script. Recommended, though long.
Blood Diamond. (12/9/06). Pulls you in like a good movie should. Worth a trip to a state-of-the-art big screen theatre. Hollywood ending but still recommended. Bit long.
The Holiday. (12/8/06). Disappointing for a Nancy Meyers movie. One love story works well (and Jude Law's career should be helped), there is heart present, but the movie is uneven and rarely hits its stride. Not bad, but not recommended.
Bobby. (11/24/06). Good-hearted. Disjointed and unclear in beginning, picks up steam towards halfway point, reaches peak at 80-90% point, slightly downhill thereafter. Does not do justice to RFK (voiceover at end too long) or the times. Good acting in many roles. Recommended if you have low expectations and patience.
The Queen. (11/20/06). Surprisingly effective treatment of Tony Blair/QE2 relationship at the time of Diana's death. Helen Mirren is memorable. Keep expectations low but recommended.
Casino Royale. (11/17/06). Updated Bond movie. Like the new Bond. Highly recommended.
Borat. (11/15/06). Has very funny parts but overall wish I had not seen this movie. Too crude for me. Not recommended.
A Good Year. (11/11/06). Starts slowly and Russell Crowe is an unlikely hero for a Peter Mayle novel, but it picks up enough to be enjoyable. Another "see on DVD" recommendation.
Stranger than Fiction. (11/10/06). Alas, suffers from previews which both give too much away and promise too much. A mildly amusing Will Ferrell vehicle with an interesting premise that goes nowhere meaningful. DVD only.
Man of the Year. (11/03/06). Pleasant Robin Williams vehicle best seen, if at all, on DVD, not in a theatre.
Half Nelson. (10/30/06). How can a movie about a young, drug addict white school teacher in a Black junior high school be good? Ryan Gosling and a good cast of kids is how. And a good script. Highly recommended if you can handle the premise.
The Prestige. (10/29/06). Flat, uninvolved, cold despite good cast. Not recommended.
The Departed. (10/06/06). Scorsese's remake of the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs." Good cast, good dialogue, welcome addition of girl. Bit long. Fun seeing young male talent competing with each other directly. My order is Wahlberg, DeCaprio, Damon. Highly recommended.
All The King's Men. (10/05/06). Perhaps it was minimal expectations, but I liked this movie. Miscast, too dark and muted, and insufficient plot, but worked. Recommended.
The Illusionist. (10/03/06). Nice period piece with dark wood paneling, scenes of Vienna. Decent plot and acting. Recommended more than light fare listed below.
Little Miss Sunshine. (10/02/06). Funny enough to recommend. Drags in beginning.
Invincible. (8/28/06). Overly Disneyfied but uplifting and enjoyable sports movie. Recommended if you like football.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend. (7/25/06). Very funny in parts but would have been much better with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in lead male roles. Marginal recommendation.
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest. (7/11/06). Occasional fun, some of the same spirit, but too long and nothing at all to care about. Not recommended.
The Devil Wears Prada. (7/10/06). Viewed in a sold out theatre on a Monday night in third week of release. This movie has legs. True enough to the book for my purposes. Good cast, especially Streep and Hathaway. Very enjoyable. Recommended.
Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. (6/29/06). The first half is passable to good; the second half deteriorates to stupid. Some enjoyable moments. Not recommended.
The Lake House. (6/28/06). Implausible, enjoyable love story with some architecture added. Recommended.
An Inconvenient Truth. (6/20/06). Entertaining, educational, straight over tackle explanation of global warming and its consequences by a very human Al Gore. Enjoyable, too. Highly recommended.
Sisters in Law. (06/08/06). Documentary about women lawyers and judges in Cameroon. Full of grizzly cases from life there--wife beating, child torture and slavery, pedophilia. Not unpleasant to watch and educational. Recommended.
Thank You for Smoking. (06/06/06). Intelligent, laugh out loud funny, hard to categorize. Recommended.
The Breakup. (6/3/06). Perhaps diminished expectations played a role, but it worked for me. Yes, they bickered, no, there was no happy ending, but it was satisfactory entertainment. Audience laughed a lot. Recommended.
The Da Vinci Code. (5/22/06). Consider this equivalent to putting a Harry Potter book on screen. Faithful to the novel (or what I remember of it), for which I was grateful. Likely to cause Joe and Jane Moviegoer to see aspects of Christianity in a new light. Not too long, not too slow, there should not be chemistry between Hanks and Tautou. Good locations. Theatre was crowded on a Monday night! Strong recommendation unless you are in a bad mood.
Mission Impossible: III (5/13/06). A pleasant surprise. Recommended if you have low expectations and absolutely nothing better to do.
The Notorius Bettie Page. (5/10/06). Odd film about mid-50s pin-up queen. Good performance by Gretchen Mol in lead role. Men should enjoy it, otherwise not recommended.
United 93. (5/4/06). Worked as a movie and as history. Recommended if you are ready for it.
Friends with Money. (4/25/06). Expected to dislike this film but did not. Quality of acting high, script good enough to sustain interest. Worked for me. Recommended.
The Sentinel. (4/24/06). More routine than hoped. Secret Service mole mystery. Pleasant enough to recommend, but can wait for DVD.
True/False Film Festival West (4/21-23). Seven documentaries. More later (maybe).
Lucky Number Slevin. (4/9/06). Violent, not worthwhile, non-escapist entertainment. Good cast, decent acting, but not recommended.
Inside Man. (3/28/06). Somewhat disappointing heist film. Perhaps expectations too high. Not unpleasant, some humor. Marginal recommendation.
Cache (Hidden). (2/28/06). Well acted, dismal script, too slow, quite boring, poor entertainment. Avoid.
Firewall. (2/24/06). Too little here even for a Harrison Ford vehicle. Flat ending. Perhaps watch on DVD. Not recommended.
Match Point. (2/15/06). Good script but tough to watch. Good acting, pleasant scenery. Forgettable? Perhaps. Not recommended b/c of plot only.
The Matador. (2/1/06). Thin plot centers on reprehensible lead character sans charm. Fought repeated impulses to walk out. Wrong decisions. Bad movie.
Glory Road. (1/29/06). Disneyfied version of real 1966 NCAA championship UTEP basketball team that started five blacks (a first). Too many Hollywood script changes but good story overall. Recommended.
Last Holiday. (1/26/06). Very pleasant, light Queen Latifah vehicle. Recommended.
Tristan + Isolde. (1/22/06). Does not live up to trailer. Too long for content. Problem is script. Decent overall, but not recommended.
King Kong. (1/20/06). Inside this much too long 3 hour epic is a brilliant 90 minute movie. Not recommended.
Munich. (1/15/06). Not a "masterpiece," but interesting, well-made, thought provoking, moderately entertaining, and too long. Recommended if you are well rested and know what you are in for.
Casanova (1/12/06). Very light. Funny. Expect absolutely nothing and enjoy yourself. Recommended.
Memoirs of a Geisha. (1/1/06). Some good acting, good sets, pretty to watch, but 20 minutes too long with too much soap. Recommended only if you have read the book (as I did).
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