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::: Film Review Archives :::
::: 2006 :::
United 93 - "A human, non-exploitative piece that uses precision, accuracy, and multiple fact-checkings to recollect the grim, uneasy feelings that each of us felt watching the disasters unfold...one of the best films of the year."
Apocalypto - "Gibson's newest work poses a rhetorical question to audiences, and miraculously explains it through one of film's most inspiriting chase sequences. "
Borat - "Brings out the worst of people - exposing skin-deep bigotry and ignorance - through the miracle of comedy. But you can't help laughing - in fact, you're bound to be in tears by the end."
Casino Royale - "Not just a good Bond movie, it is one of incredible veneer and passion, fueling itself not only on non-stop thrills but also our favorite spy's character development."
Clerks II - "The best comedy of the year so far...Dante and Randal are back in full form, with plenty to say - after nearly a decade of change in the world."
Departed, The - "The most epic crime film in the past five years, and revitalizes the age-old genre back into action. This is as close as we get to New Hollywood in the 21st century."
Illusionist, The - "A summer spectacle...Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti counteract flawlessly, creating polar opposites for one another and fueling the film's tension."
Inconvenient Truth, An - "Gore's polemic will leave its audiences shaken, but also given ideas of how to solve the problem. Never savagely seditious...respects his viewers with cautious explanations and an array of visual aids."
Last King of Scotland, The - "Its tone is relentlessly tense, leaving room for Forest [Whitaker] to release the dictator's mood swings at an alarming pace...and proves to give one of the year's best."
Little Miss Sunshine - "Life gives you some bad lemons on occasion, and directors Faris and Dayton are damned to give some of the best lemonade to their audiences."
Stranger than Fiction - "Takes hold of a genuine idea and makes it interesting from beginning to end. You'll find much to laugh about, but don't be shocked if you end up with a box of tissues in your lap."
Superman Returns - "Chock-filled with love, thrills, and humor, it'll be like a drug-store dream – sitting down with a Pepsi flipping through brightly colored panels of printed pulp."
Thank You for Smoking - "A fascination, pieced together by a series of moral questions and examinations on American corporate affairs, and doused in razor-sharp wit."
16 Blocks - "Skillfully shot and acted, our main two characters are complete strangers to the audience, but their opposing attitudes must compromise for this wild dilemma - and by the end we're happy they ever ran into one another."
American Dreamz - "Encompasses a lot about what our country has become, and relentlessly marks its target for its entire two-hour run - with good performances and burlesque writing."
Beerfest - "Sexual innuendo, beautiful women, and plenty of fizzling golden nectar. I don't believe Broken Lizard wanted to anything more, otherwise they would have changed their act entirely."
Crank - "One of the most unique action films I've seen in awhile...a movie dedicated to the art rather than the artist. Don't leave your Advil at home for this one."
Da Vinci Code, The - "A cool and casual introspective look at the European goosechase. It handles its unique theory with epic proportions, but never overwhelming the viewer."
Descent, The - "Marshall infuses deeper themes into ‘Descent’ that make it all the more striking. Friendships and betrayal draw paths through the movie, contributing to the claustrophobic premises."
Employee of the Month - "Greg Coolidge's hip film may have a sugar-coated marketing scheme, but it sells and rarely disappoints. This is top-shelf lowbrow comedy."
Firewall - "A masterpiece of the paint-by-numbers movies. Slimy villains and goons, a not-so-airtight plot, and the family dog that continues to escape trouble."
Guardian, The - "Whether dangling from a helicopter and having a barstool conversation, Costner and Kutcher wind into deep conversations that edge pretension but confine themselves to realism."
Hollywoodland - "This may prove to be a bitter movie experience for those expecting some sort of relevation in the aging George Reeves case, but I found that [he] is given a treatment he deserved all his life."
Invincible - "It has some weak characterization at times, occasionally off-putting dialogue, and lots of...bone-crunching images for NFL fans out there. And you know what else it has? Heart. Plenty of it."
Lake House, The - "A magical tale, built upon the foundations of a budding yet impossible romance...has holes in the floorboards here and there, but largely remains cozy and comforting. "
Last Holiday - "You may ask, 'Come on now, we saw the ending when we first watched the preview', and you're right. But this isn't about predictions or about the misconceptions, instead 'Holiday' flies with the hopes and fears of the future."
Marie Antoinette - "A bizarre but enjoyable piece that reworks history into passing entertainment with artistic flair...director Coppola has something in mind already, and she's only going to let them eat cake."
Monster House - "It can jump from being funny to scary to even a tad heartwarming. And it'll make you think twice about your crazy neighbor."
Nacho Libre - "When you watch Jack Black tear off a friar's tunic to reveal a flamboyant lucha libre costume, attached to an obvious Mexican dialect, you'll realize why Jack Black is in the comedy business to begin with."
Omen, The - "Is it the clear-cut camerawork, Moore's casual yet New-Age scare tactics, or former 'Omen' writer David Seltzer's script? For the purist fans of horror, it will surprise."
Over the Hedge - "Entertains and engages its diverse audience with streamlined style and lots of laughs. It gave Garry Shandling a reason to return to Hollywood, and I can't argue with that."
Saw 3 - "Goes beyond the games, and examines relationships between characters...the viewer is brought on a vicious trip that changes the series as we know it."
Snakes on a Plane - "The final product is exactly what it should be: a rabble-rousing, ass-kicking, snakes-on-plane crowdpleaser. The camp is unavoidable, but at least it's inventive camp."
Something New - "Written and performed smoothly and intelligently. Director Sanaa Hamri creates full-based characters and establishes a concentrated environment for them to mingle within."
World Trade Center - "Stone's objective is not nationalism or patriotism, but of brotherhood - how two strangers can help each other out in times of need...respectful and reverent."
X-Men: The Last Stand - "Places the audience on a thrill ride to the very end. It finely handles its heavy undertones with monumental explosions and mutant superpowers, and never skips a beat."
Accepted - "Despite its flailing implausibility, the movie remains faithful to the audience and delivers plenty of laughs...if only the screenwriters had a stronger structure to support this."
Failure to Launch - "McConaughey and [Parker] fizzle rather than sizzle, despite their supporting characters upstaging them in every round...lets down when it comes to that magical four-letter word: L-O-V-E."
Flags of our Fathers - "Clint's keen eye for cinematography and the brash, dark visuals lend a hand to what could have been a very dangerous project - yet it still shoots some blanks."
Fountain, The - "A question without an answer; a puzzle without a solution. Although visually it’s a masterpiece, looks only get you so far."
Grandma's Boy - "Not to say that it doesn't have its fair share of faults...but the ensemble also features some amusing breakthrough performances from lead Covert and Joel Moore."
Lady in the Water - "A very surreal piece - so surreal, that Shyamalan has plenty of trouble trying to tell its story that he keeps flubbing around towards the last 30 minutes for progress."
Last Kiss, The - "It starts out with a profound subject, asks questions and delivers vague answers, and stretches out the story for a long, anticlimactic ending...it's another formulaic and boring romance film."
Miami Vice - "Its pacing is out of kilter, ranging from face-offs that could’ve been tenser and sex scenes so drawn out they become self-indulgent on the director’s part."
Mission: Impossible 3 - "The saga continues with heavy artillery, a cooler and more professional villain, and a plot with twists and turns but no pizzazz...just about as derivative as your average action film."
Nativity Story, The - "Beyond many of the good performances and fantastic mise-en-scène, there is an unintended glimmer of biblical braggadocio - as if the piece was written for Cecil DeMille."
Poseidon - "Had there been more development and change within their ways as the show progressed, perhaps we could have felt the sentience of the waves a little more."
Protector, The - "It's sad to see Jaa's latest to be chopped and ripped apart by some halfwit executive...[yet Tony Jaa] proves once again to be a charismatic lead in this Thai blockbuster."
Talladega Nights - "What McKay and Ferrell chose as a target - the NASCAR outlet and American pride - has been a target for so many comedians in the past, it just feels like old game."
Wicker Man, The - "Unflinching cynicism, rousing entertainment, and Nic Cage's performance begin to conflict with the crueler elements of the story. The dialogue doesn't fit. Some roles don't fit."
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker - "A child's fantasy, a fantasy so aggravatingly impossible that parents and older audience members are going to grumble themselves to sleep."
Big Momma's House 2 - "Certainly not worth another look, I could still see the crew and Martin Lawrence trying to color between the lines when it came to dirty material and poop jokes."
Black Dahlia, The - "Beautiful visually, but lost in its own words and rather self-absorbed. DePalma's failing streak has extended again."
Break-Up, The - "Will certainly leave many audiences grimacing and uncomfortable after its undeniably unpropitious end. I sat in the far back row, clenching my fingers for one of the characters to just sum the whole thing up already."
Click - "Melds maudlin Capra-esque drama along with slapstick jollies. Its result is a bizarre one - a hokey, half-laughable, half-heartbreaking work that can never decide which genre it's taking on."
Fast and the Furious, The: Tokyo Drift - "Would rather have the engines do the talking, but even after all the laps are completed, the fuel tank is still empty...never compromises with a plausible story."
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - "The film is simply too long, and contains too much action, too little good conversation with its characters, too little story, and too little Johnny Depp."
Sentinel, The - "Its story is intelligently written yet trite for the screen, and the shoddy production values already point in the direction of the boob tube...a mediocre movie out of a perfectly good script."
When a Stranger Calls - " The 1977 film of the same name isn't a 'horror classic', 'Stranger' is still a prominent prototype in today's market - which left me disappointed when its remake is tired and unfocused."
You, Me and Dupree - "As 'Dupree's already loose story threads escalate into aggravation for the other characters, the audience will be driven to madness. This film is neither funny or hip, neither witty or smart, and not interesting in the least."
Annapolis - "Not worth any more of my time...Boring and created with a severe lack of interest, this one not only flunks the Academy, it derides it with its absence of respect and dignity."
Ant Bully, The - "Kids will find the little critters and bugs interesting, but adults are sure to lose interest in the story, as well as be a little dismayed by the lack of heart."
Cars - "Children will appreciate its candy-coated finish, but all I can see is a missed opportunity on the part of Disney and company."
Madea's Family Reunion - "Moods shift as quick as a snap of the finger...Tyler Perry needs to take some quick anatomy classes, because 'Madea's Family Reunion' has no idea where its heart lies."
Pink Panther, The - "I blame [Steve] Martin not only for his merciless and shameless effort to mimic the blindeyed nature of Jacques, but also for his ridiculous script riddled with twisted innuendo and vulgarity."
Stick It - "Lacks a hero, an interesting sport, a pressing conflict, and commendable style...'Stick It' where the sun don't shine for all I care."
Jackass: Number Two - "The same disgusting work that America saw four years ago, and does little more than expose how lowbrow some people are willing to go for a laugh."
Turistas - "Critics would usually have an easy time marking it as preposterous and downright awful, but...I wondered how much of director John Stockwell's tongue was in his cheek."
Underworld: Evolution - "Filmed for a selective audience, only to dilute the final product with cliches, ugly visuals, and bad action...a cheesy and chalky presentation...Who calls a werewolf a "Lycan" anyway?"
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