Actually, I only saw 12 movies that were released this year, so it should be easy, right?
1. Casino Royale - So, I don't really consider myself to be a James Bond freak or anything. I mean, I'm sort of like Sean-Connery-who? But, I am still likely to see a Bond movie when it comes out. This is the first Bond movie that I can say that I actually liked since "Golden Eye." I think that one came out about ten years ago or something. In this one, I thought they did a great job on the theme song. The opening credits, in my opinion, were the best. Bond. opening. credits. ever. Definitely. And then there's the whole thing about how when I left the theater, I felt like I needed a man. If a movie can do that to me, then it must be a good movie. I really liked the character of Vesper Lynd. I almost felt like I could relate to her. But not exactly. Two thumbs up to Daniel Craig, Eva Green, and Dame Judy Dench (etc.). Two thumbs up to the realistic reactions to death, etc. by some of the characters, instead of the ho-hum approach in so many other movies. Well done.2. Stranger Than Fiction - Okay, so the main character is an IRS auditor. He talks sweet pillow talk about tax deductions. He was anal retentive. Of course I liked it! DUH! Also, I am a fan of the wonderful Emma Thompson, so ... yeah. I enjoyed it.
3. The Prestige - It pains me to say that I liked this movie because I have heard tons of people rave about it. Raving about movies annoys me, and I like to hate the movies that people are raving about. This is not raving. I merely enjoyed the movie for the plot. Yes, I had a teensy problem with the ending, but it was still a good time. I think that one reason I liked it so well is because I saw it with fantastically fun people. I think part of the fun was figuring it out before the end. If I were to see it again, though, I sort of doubt that I would like it as well as I did the first time.
4. Nanny McPhee - Speaking of fun times, I liked Nanny McPhee. It seems like ages since I've seen it. I can only remember that I was amused by much of the film. Part of my liking for it was probably caused by my own likenings in my head of that family to my own family. The stats were essentially the same, what with the seven kids and all. Oh, and I thought that the dancing donkey was so ridiculous, and I couldn't help but laugh about it. It came out of nowhere!
5. Stick It - This movie was a little uncharacteristic of me to go see. I didn't go into the theater expecting much, and I didn't get a ton, but what I did get was laughter. I really enjoyed the movie. It didn't have a great plot, it had a very dorky ending, but I thought it was quite the fun flick. It was a good time.
6. Mission: Impossible III - I thought that the first one was fantastic. I thought that the second was one absolutely terrible, and this one was ... pretty okay. I think that I had positive reactions to this movie because I disliked the second one so much. It was probably more like a relief that it wasn't completely terrible. Still, the first one blows this one away in my mind.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Well, I know that I didn't like this one nearly as much as the first one, but I think I still enjoyed the movie. It was alright. If I recall correctly, they grossed me out in this movie. I don't like being grossed out. But, still, it was okay.8. X-Men: The Last Stand - Perhaps I should have titled 2006 "The Year of the Mediocre Sequels" or something. Once again, it was okay. It was still X-Men, so chances of my liking it were pretty high in the first place. I just wasn't altogether thrilled about the entire movie after having seen it. I'm still not sure why. It may have something to do with the culmination of all of the characters with issues, but I'm not sure. It just sort of seemed like the movie of the troubled teenagers or something.
9. The Devil Wears Prada - I thought that this movie was also okay. When I left the theater, I felt really ugly and fat. There's nothing like feeling ugly and fat after a movie! Okay, so it really was pretty good in some ways. But, in other ways, it just wasn't that interesting. I just couldn't relate, I guess. I was glad to have seen it, though.
10. The DaVinci Code - So, I guess the answer to the question that people sometimes ask me, "Don't you just love 'The DaVinci Code?'" is no. I thought it was fine. I wasn't really annoyed by anything, except for the parts when I was grossed out. It wasn't as bad as some people say, but it wasn't as good as other people say. I thought it was a very mechanical movie. It was fun because it was a sort of treasure hunt with clues and chasing, but it also seemed a little forced. And, I really hated Tom Hanks' hair.
The other two movies I saw were: Failure to Launch and The Lake House. To me, they were the "except for" movies. After having watched them, I thought that they were enjoyable, except for a, b, and c, which basically meant that they weren't that great at all. They had some really good parts, but some really, really dumb parts, which averaged out to subpar movies. Then again, they are in that genre where I typically DON'T like movies. That could have something to do with it. Yet again, maybe they were just really subpar movies.
Did you notice that I was missing something on this list? Yep, I didn't have to type out any that were just horribly painful that I had seen. There were no "The Longest Yard"'s or "Into the Blue"'s on there! And thus we see that the proverbial flipping of the bird really was a good thing in more ways than one!
And here is my short list of movies that I wanted to see, but I haven't had a chance to see yet:
-Superman Returns
-Lady in the Water
-The Pursuit of Happyness
-We Are Marshall
There may be more.
And, may I recommend a rental to you? Let me first say that only my #1 and #2 were, in my opinion, really good. The rest of those movies were just good. This rental classifies to me as really good. It is In the Heat of the Night (1967). I loved it.
*I got all the artwork from imdb.
10 comments:
I felt so bad when I fell asleep during "In the Heat of the Night." Sorry about that. I've actually now seen it 2.5 times because Tino and Horker P. Slappy both separately wanted to watch it with me before I returned it to the library. I totally agree that it was one of the best movies I saw in 2006. Rod's yellow shades were rad.
The dancing donkey in Nanny McPhee was scary beyond all reason.
I just saw The Prestige and both Tino and I saw the mystery coming from a mile away. Didn't you?
I didn't see as many movies during 2006 as I used to (movies are so expensive here and it's a pain to go to a casino/parking garage to see a movie). I think I did see more than 12 though.
I wanted to see Stranger Than Fiction, but it came and left before we had time to get there. I didn't see numbers 4 or 5 on your list and didn't really have a desire to. ;-) I wanted to catch number 9, but again... lack of time.
It's funny how closely my sentiments mirror yours on many of these.
I saw roughly half of the movies on your list and I agreed with your reviews, mostly. Although I absolutely enjoyed Nanny McPhee, the dancing donkey was a bit too much for me. Daniel Craig surprised me - I thought he made an excellent Bond, though at times I couldn't remember who I was suppose to be cheering for because it was a blond guy fighting a guy with dark hair. I thought Stranger than Fiction was superbly done and very unique. I even enjoyed it the second time - a good test. Ditto for XMen and Pirates and Tom Hanks' hair in DaVinci. You and I have discussed Launch and Lake House, so I won't go into them now. I can't think of any other movies I saw that aren't on your list. Oh, I remember one, I really enjoyed The Holiday. It was a little slow but it was a true chick flick. At the end I really wanted a man and I even thought Jude Law was hot! Go figure.
Here's to hoping that 2007 brings a slew of great movies!
I liked Daniel Craig also but Vesper Lynd not so much, but the movie was great. I enjoyed Nanny McPhee & Pirates (Johnny Deppe is hot even with eyeliner). Stranger than Fiction was weird, but good. I thought Da Vinci Code was so-so. Hanks' hair really bothered me. I did like Lake House. An I totally agree with Julie about Holidays. It was a fun movie to watch right before Christmas. Cameron Diaz is so gorgeous I should hate her, but I can't. And Jude Law had the same effect on me, Julie. I haven't seen the rest of the movies you reviewed and proably won't.
I think the consensus is that the dancing donkey should have been cut?
Cash, yeah, I saw the mystery coming in The Prestige. But, part of it was discussing it during the movie with my friend.
Jill, great minds think alike!
Julie, yeah, making this list made me realize what a mediocre year 2006 was for movies. I don't know if I just missed the good ones or what? I hope 2007 is pleasing, but I sort of doubt it, what with Fantastic Four II and Ocean's Thirteen coming out. D'oh!
Framed, your Cameron Diaz comment makes me laugh. I was just having a conversation with my cousin and her husband regarding what people actually look like. He said that Cameron Diaz doesn't actually have that great of skin. But, I guess she has good make-up artists and a crew of people with good photoshopping skills! I know this video is all over the place, but I feel that it's appropriate to repost right now.
We saw about half of those as well, most of them on video. I did see Pirates at the drive in, and Superman at my parents when we visited.
I liked Nanny McPhee, for the most part. Pirates was okay, but reminded me of The Mummy sequels: trying to cram too much in really makes a stupid movie sometimes.
We saw x-men at the theatre too; I think it was pretty good, but yeah it was kinda angsty and more about the action in some ways.
I would like to see the Devil Wears PRada and the Lake House.
Both are movies I know that Joseph will protest at first, but I can almost guarantee he will like them better than me.
This weekend we rented The Devil Wears PRada, My Super Ex Girlfriend, and The Lake House. My favorite was the Lake House, excepting the Paradoxes that are always introduced when you mess with time; I liked Prada okay, and Girlfriend was pretty stupid...although my dad lists it in his top ten for the year.
Yeah, I had a problem with the paradoxes on The Lake House. That was a lot of the problem, and ultimately it decreased my overall enjoyment of the film. This wasn't to say it still wasn't a good or interesting time, but there you have it.
Also, I realized that there was another film that I saw that I would put on my list. It would probably be at #3. It was "New York Doll." I really liked it a lot. I laughed, and I cried. It was so good.
I too haven't seen as many movies this year as I have in the past. I am inclined to put "Stranger Than Fiction" in first place and I don't know if it counts for this year, but "Night at the Museum" was great. May I also suggest not to waste your time with "Lady in the Water" cause I thought it was a waste. I still want to see "The Prestige" as well.
I saw "Night at the Museum" about a month ago. The microphones in most of the dialogue scenes were so annoying.
I actually liked "Lady in the Water," which I also saw about a month ago. I think it's because I didn't have M. Night expectations. I didn't expect a twist or scariness because everyone told me that it sucked and that it was like a bedtime story. So, I was able to enjoy it for what it was without any other expectations impeding my enjoyment.
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