2006 A Review (Redux Edition)

Foregt all the hype and spoofs and everything that surrounds this movie and just enjoy it. A perfect romance story that was unjustly robbed at the 2005 oscars. The stunning backdrop of the Wyoming mountains provides a gorgeous settings for this controversial romance story. Controversial? Mainly due to the fact that the film is about homosexuality and a lot of people have problems with this. A shame really. All of the four leads give amazing performances, the main kudos must go to Ledger who considering the rubbish he generally produces gives a career defining performance as a man so closed off from the world he lives in, he's unable to truly express how he feels. Lee provides some gorgeous shots, not only of the titular mountain but through out.Open minded? Go see this.

A stunning looking romantic comedy from the most unlikely of sources. Besson is known more predominantly for offbeat action films and producing awful films that shouldnt see the light of day. Yet this a very welcome addition to his CV. Gorgeously shot in black and white with a story that uses elements of Its a Wonderful Life (but Im sure the angel in that didnt fuck strangers in a toilet) to create a very involving and actually quite funny comedy. This is easily Besson's most polished film with visuals that contribute greatly to plot and emotion, rather than the usual visual excess he is known for. If it wasn't for that pesky Leon, this could easily have been Besson's masterpiece. A shame that Besson is following it up with Arthur and the Invisibles.

When trawling though London suburbs with graphitti asking "The last one to die to turn out the light", its clear that this is going to be no average blockbuster action film. Struggling to survive in this world as he is forced to help the first pregnant femal in 18 years, Theo (Owen) is in continual threat and unlike most action film heroes actually seems capable of being killed at any moment. He is an average man fighting to survive rather than fighting an enemy. Some of the shots in the film are astounding, rivalling Kubrick in terms of the length and complexity of the tracking shots (an impressive contribution that centers on an escape from a war zone). Taking the Dystopia closer to home than few dare, Cuaron has made an England that is scarily similar to our own. Speilburg was lauded in Minority Report for making a concievable future world, yet in comaprison to this, its seems clumsy and cartoonish. This is a London that is and isnt already here. And like Kee's fate at the end of the film it is unclear what will happen to humanity if we continue on this path.

Nolan once again shows how good a movie can be by telling a simple story well. Whilst the backwards chronology of Memento is often considered pure gimmickery, the convoluted story of the Prestige skillfully moves the audience through the story and allowing for several clever twists. Bale delivers as always as the rival magician the Proffessor, yet the highlight is Jackman. Outside of the first two X-men films, Jackman has turned in some risible work (van helsing anyone?), yet it goes to show what a good actor can do when given the proper material. Johansson is a letdown but this is more due to the nature of her charachter. She brings little to the role bar her stunning loiks, yet this is essence is what the nature of her charachter is, merely eye candy, still a dissapointment. The supporting cast of Serklis and Caine are above and beyond with the only noticable downside of Bowie, who gives a dreadful accent. The cinematography is lovely and switches nicely to show time with darker moddier shots for the current time setting and with a slight glossy feel for the past. The effects themselves are nice but the Transported man effect with the lightning feels a little cheap. Yet this is a minor ctisism of a superior movie.

Proof that Del Toror isnt the first to pull off an original tale of a girl retreating into her imagination as a good thing, this came out prior but was ignored by the public and dismissed by critics. Wrongly so. Gilliam's return to dark comedy and form after the quite poor Brothers Grimm marks the return of a true visionary. His introduction to the film sums it up the best, by approaching the movie with a child's view, the movie is a beautiful romance, a terrifying horror and a quite amusing comedy. Take it too seriously and it'll all be lost on you. Disturbing but brilliant. Terry, you've been away too long.

Bond has been a hallmark of Britsh culture since the 60s and lets face it the trademark was starting to wear thin. The last attempt at updating Bond was the risible Die another day, which if anything showed that something new was needed for the formula, i.e. destroying the formula and starting again. Casino Royale manages to do this. It manages to feel like a new movie yet retain its feeling of Bond-ness. The main advantage is the new Bond. Craig is spectacular, managaging to have the physicality of a killer whilst have the ladykiller attitude. Brosnan managed to do this also but was (bar Goldeneye) given sub-par material. The only person to really have this was Connery. The film managed to have a good amount of action without resorting to an obligatory car chase and an exploding building. Impressive also to see a film make a poker game so thrilling as well. To have a majority of the action ceneterd around one table is very good. The only reason why its not quite the full 5 stars is due to the fact that when it felt the need to get self referencial it felt awfully forced and did detract slightly from a superior movie. Hopefully though the attached monkier will be true and "James Bond will return", just like this though.

One of my favourite films of last year and quite unusual considering how thematically different it is from the usual stuff I watch. A unusual hybrid of Sideways and Royal Tenenbaums that whilst not as strong as its influences manages to stand on its own two feet. The cast is very good but merely because the film uses type casting throughout, but this does allow for Steve Carrell to be a much stronger actor than he has been allowed in previous films. The film has been rather overhyped and there are much stronger versions of its genre out there but its still worth a watch.

A spectaculary dark fable that revolves around life in Franco's Spain also. Combining elements of the Wizard of Oz with deeper mythology such as Orpheus and Persephone, Del Torro creates possibly his finest film since Cronos. Lopez gives a performance that matches Fiennes's Gothe from Schindlers List and Baguero manages not to be inherently annoying; which is a possibility with any child performance. Very little time is spent in the titular maze which works to its benefit as the audience is given greater time in the frankly more horrific real world. The look of the movie is stunning, with all the creatures looking very convincing bar some slightly cheaper CGI on the fairies. With moments of violence that wouldnt be missed from a Saw movie, this is far from an innocent children's flick and is suitable for the more mature audience who never grew out of fairy tales. If it hadn't been for that pesky Volver earlier this year, this could have been foreign language movie of the year.

Very entertaining biopic. By focusing on the earlier part of Cash's career (cos Lord knows the whole life wouldnt have fitted in a 4 hour movie!) This movies brilliance could have easily been diminished by its opening exactly one year after the Oscar grabbing Ray. Essentially its the same format and prescription pills do lack the urgency that heroin has. An exceptional performance from both Phoenix and Witherspoon. Both manage to emulate their real life personas scarily well and the controversial choice to have them actually sing pays off nicely. The scenes on stage are exceptional as they manage to give the impression of being in front of thousands of people. An interesting biopic even if youve never heard of Johnny Cash before.

A very good genre piece from Spike Lee. The plots nicely paced with quite a few twists and turns and all the central performers do spectacular work, especially Owen considering he spends most of the film with a amsk over his face. This at no point really feels like a Spike Lee joint though. The camera work is lovely especially with a strange shot of Denzel as he marches at one pint. But most of his film shave something to say about people as a whole and this feels merely a movie about a bank heist. Moments of police brutality (though nothing like their brutality against Radio Raheem) against a Sihk after mistakenly calling him an arab feel like an attempt to do more but these moments are never fully fleshed out into a full message. Superior genre piece none the less though.

"Farewell my lovely", with this the final part of Park Chan Wook's celebrated vengeance trilogy it is possible to see the whole cycle. Sympathy opened with a grainy look and with a spartan amount of music. Oldboy was stronger visually and boasted a subtle but delicate score. Lady Vengeance is a true showcase though. Visually it is stronger than Oldboy, a film that was pitch perfect. Also the score to this film is fantastic. Yet unlike the two previous outings, Park's heart doesnt appear to be in this project. Loose plot lines are left and a strange moral message is used. Yeong-ae Lee is stunning as the eponymous Lady Vengeance yet most of the contributing cast never really have an impact. Min-sik Choi's charachter almost feels like an extended cameo for all the backstory he is given. A shame really after Oldboy. If possible, check out the fade to white version of this film as it manages to bookend the trilogy nicer. It slowly drains the film to a gorgeous black and white finish that at sometimes feels like a throw back to Sympathy for mr vengeance. It is this version that merits the full 4 stars, regular edition only garners 3 and a half.

This is by far Coppola's weakest film yet is by no means a failure. As with all her work, it looks spectacular and the soundtrack is not only amazing but used effectively. Dunst whilst competant is by no means exemplary. Also the support cast were good yet never anything more, which is a shame when you consider the calibur of it: Rip Torn, Steve Coogan, Danny Huston etc. Worth a look yet after Lost in Translation, Coppola could have done so much more.

An interesting charachter study. Lewis is fantastic, keeping enough intrigue to keeep your eyes glued to the screen throughout the whole movie. A sporadic plot as there is no discernible story arc yet enough to the story for it to stick with you after the film has finished. Well worth a watch.

Despite Selick's name being on the tin, this is definatly a Burton flick. The visuals are undeniably his and it almost feels like a trip into head at some points. A kid's film that refuses to play nice and contains some genuinly horrible moments. But honestly this is what the little darlings want most of the time. If not why is Roald Dahl so popular? The animation is gorgeous cos frankly stop motion ages very slowly. The songs are catchy and move the story along bar Sally's contribution which frankly sums her up as a charachter; useless. One of the best christmas films and one of Burton's best.

If watching in 3D, knock off a star. Despite in places the visuals looking even more stunning as the 3d benefits stop motion of this film by giving it a more grandiose atmosphere, a lot of the time when theres a quick pan it does make for painful viewing and becomes very disorientating.

Woody Allen's move to England is a strange one. The story is nicely executed and quite interesting. Also the film looks gorgeous; despite continual obvioous refernce to London tourist hotspots. The problems come in performance wise. Johanson is exceptional initially yet Woody doesnt know how to treat her as a charachter in the second and third act thus making her very self assured to very whiny and clingy in only a few scenes. Plus Rhys-Meyers is possibly one of the most wooden actors, leaving you to wonder if he was only employed for his looks. The redeeming feature comes in the shape of Emily Mortimer who manages to make a charachter who could be potentially very annoying, and brings a lot of sympathy to the charachter. A interesting film that unfortuantly fails in a few aspects.

Initially I was non-plussed about seeing this movie. Aardman rejecting their previous stylings to make a CG movie that looks like claymation? Why bother? I went for CGI penguins instead. A silly mistake. The look of Flushed away every now and then looks slightly patchy but overall looks fantastic. Aardman's very childish designs retain their Creature Comforts look just this time without very boring people providing the voices. Like most big budget animations the casting is redundant. A big name cast provides nothing (bar here for Jackman's charachter to reject a wolverine outfit) and this is no real exception. The jokes though are spot on. Sight gags, one liners and throw away references are thrown at the audience at an incredible pace throughout the movie. Inevitable toilet humour and some groin crunching is here but the movie is strong enough to survive it. Plus singing slugs are (heresy) cuter than tap dancing penguins.

An interesting film on dystopia. Far from flawless. Some patchy CGI and awful slo-mo sequences. Yet complemented by a very impressive performance from Weaving and an adequate one from Portman. Some nices ideas though. Im personally attributing this to Moore's writings rather than the Wachowski's horrible interpretation. For a yank telling of a Britsh story, very nice. Flawed but fun.

A mixed bag of films. The end result is not a smooth film of three parts but show a small showcase of talent clumped together. As a result it is difficult to judge the whole product but rather each piece individually. The film opens with Fruit Chan's short Dumplings. A genuinly stomach churning tale about the pursuit of youth in todays culture. A weak moment of CGI almost ruins the ending yet the film is strong enough to withstand it. Park Chan Wook's contribution of Cut is easily his weakest work yet but still manages to be very entertaining. The visuals are lovely but feel rather unessesary, the shots closly resembling Fincher in Panic Room. Whilst enterataining and certainly gripping, the film is rather lightweight and never really feels that fufiliing in comaparison to his previous work. Attempts at a social commentary fail and we're left with little depth to the film. Miike's film Box almost is easily the most sininster of the three films. With very little dialouge and a constant dream like atmosphere, the mood is of the film is horrific. Yet Miike's resorting to silly visuals ruins the ending and thus usurps his chances of this being the finest thing he has done in years. An interesting showcase of some of the best in Asian cinema but sub stadard performances from Miike and Wook. Worth seeing alone for Dumplings though.

A retread of Infernal Affairs never really seemed that odd a choice to be made. Due to most foreign remakes being made in an environment that doesnt truly comprehend the source material or the culture from which it emanates, Affairs is quite simply a cops and robbers story almost. The concept is simple and its original execution was flawless. Scorsese's
retread manages to almost the same yet inserts a flabbier running time to a consise story. Whilst the concept has remained and its execution is almost exact, certain aspects have been changed that cause a different movie to be staretd but never really formed. As a result, the audience never quite gets a Scorsese movie or even a remake, more of a unique hybrid. The performances are spot on execpt the one that matters. Nicholson does exactly what could be expected to be done, yet the hamming up is too much. His improvisation feels to put on and makes for some awful moments. A slick, stylish retread.

A more palatable entry into the romantic comedy genre, but this may be more attributed to superior source material. Performances are very nice yet nothing special. Streep seems to have taken her acting classes from Glenn Close in 101 dalmations for the over the top bitch mode. Hathaway is better than this but she delivers. Tucci is a highlight considering Ive only seen him so far in two average to poor movie and he's generally the highlight. The main problem with this is that its set in a world that unless your a cosmopolitan or vogue reader, will leave you cold. Its hard to really feel sympathy with a characher who is so self involved too. Its light, its pallateable and didnt make me want to kill the girl I went and saw it with. So it cant be all bad

Visually one of the most astounding film seen. The sinister black and whites manage to make the noirish tone of Sin City look amateurish in comparison. Yet despite the sharp visuals, Renaissance has little to offer. Whilst the film looks gorgeous, the animation in some places looks a little off and makes the whole film feel like a videogame's cutscene. Also the story is largely just a mash of multiple dystopian films. The central conceit of a scientist being kidnapped as she had found the secret of immortality is a little too far fetched, which is a shame as the story whilst futuristic had presented most of itself with some credibility. Some insipid voice work (bar a far too much fun Jonathen Pryce) sum up to an average but far too gorgeous looking film.

There are two Scott brothers. When you want a film that looks spectacular and quite intelligent, check out Ridley. For more pedestrian fare check out Tony. This is Tony's territory completly. The title is a bit of a mislead as the central device is just time travel quite simply. Continual comparisons to Minority Report also are redundant as this film has none of the noirish qualities that made MR. A closer comparison thematicaly would be Twelve Monkeys. The story is average sci-fi fare that never acknowledge