Movies of 2006

My boyfriend, lover of lists, inspired me to keep a list of 2006 books and movies. My book list fell by the wayside long ago, but I was faithful in keeping up with the movies I saw. Sometimes I felt like writing a little about a movie, but mostly I didn't. I also included a link to past entries if I mentioned the movie previously. So, here goes.

January

Serenity: (On DVD.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even never having seen Firefly. I watched the special features, and those made me like it even more. From an e-mail to B about it: "So, I have spent the afternoon and evening so far watching Serenity and numerous special features. And I have to say that it surpassed my expectations. I didn't really have any expectations having never seen Firefly, the show it's based on -- other than that I knew it was by Joss Whedon and that lots of people whose opinions on things like TV and movies I trust love it with a passion. And it's definitely Joss through and through, from top to bottom. He has a trademark sense of humor and nerdiness and timing and adventure that was always evident on Buffy and even Angel and definitely in this film. I feel like kicking myself for never watching Firefly, and I definitely intend to check it out on DVD immediately. It's amazing and really historic how a major film ended up being made from a canceled, failed TV series -- I think Firefly only had something like 9 episodes -- but even having never seen it, I think the movie stands on its own. It's just very entertaining. I can't help but feel affection for it simply because it's by Joss and I am so familiar with and fond of his style and his geeky fanboy enthusiasm. He is intensely likeable, and that kind of infuses his work with that strange essence that just makes you want to root for it as an audience member. If that makes sense. I think that going back and watching the series now will really enrich my understanding of the film. In one of the features, Joss was talking about he came up with the idea after reading a book on Gettysburg and starting to think about life in the frontier which made him think of the Millennium Falcon, because "most things do." He wanted to tell a story of people living in space but kind of the people on the fringe ... people who never would have been noticed by the Starship Enterprise. In short, I liked it. All of the idea of absolute power corrupting absolutely and outcasts and underdogs ... good stuff. And the outtakes were hilarious."

Brokeback Mountain: (In the theater with Eva.) It got me in the stomach.

Murderball: (On DVD with B.) I enjoyed this one. It was entertaining and cool to see how these guys in wheelchairs are so hardcore and balls-out aggressive about sports and life.

The Family Stone: (In theater with Eva.) Great cast, good moments, altogether not that outstanding. Mostly I was bothered by Claire Danes. I am sorry, but her sunken cheeks and veneers basically distracted me so much that I couldn't enjoy the rest of the movie once she appeared. But Luke Wilson is almost ridiculously likeable, and I thought that Diane Keaton was brilliant. And I always love Rachel McAdams, even when she plays someone really annoying.

Serenity: (Again, with B.) Even better this time!

The Constant Gardener: (On DVD with B.) A "good" movie, but a total downer.

Junebug: (On DVD.) Loved it. Loved Amy Adams, loved Alessandro Nivola singing "Softly and Tenderly," loved the screwed-up family dynamic and all of the little natural, real details. Loved it!

February

Cinderella Man: (On DVD.) BORING. Annoying accents. DULL, SLOW, A SNOOZER.

In Her Shoes: (On DVD.) Pretty good. Started slow. Cameron Diaz is pretty much annoying, but Toni Collette is wonderful, as usual. I cannot fathom how thin she must have been to begin with if she put on 25 pounds for this role, because she still looks one hundred percent thin. Whatever, Hollywood standards. It's hard not to love Shirley MacLaine, too. The best thing about this movie are the scenes in the "retirement community for active seniors." The older actors are great, and their characters are never played for a laugh at the expense of their being old. You know? And Mark Feuerstein is terrific, even though it's hard for me to think of him as anyone but Leo, the bike-riding doctor whom Karen foolishly lets get away on Once and Again. One of my very favorite poems is read at the end, and I will not deny that hot tears shot down my cheeks.

Happy Endings: (On DVD). I'm afraid that no movie by Don Roos will ever top The Opposite of Sex for me. It's just impossible. I about gave up on him altogether after Bounce, I really did. This is not a great movie, but I thought it was a pretty good one, largely because the cast is just tops. I was happy to see Jason Ritter, Kevin from Joan of Arcadia, in such a different role. I think Don Roos must bring out the best in Lisa Kudrow, because she's brilliant obviously as Lucia in The Opposite of Sex, and she's really good here. This is the first thing I've seen Jesse Bradford in since he was Cliff Pantone in Bring It On, and he gives a really energetic performance in this. I forgot that Tom Arnold was Tom Arnold. But the movie really belongs to Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jude, even though her character kind of sucks and I kind of hate her. She's so natural onscreen (in everything, really) -- she just sort of oozes around with her messy hair and super lanky bod rather than walking like a normal person. She's just so relaxed. Really good. And her voice is pretty damn good, too, deep and interesting. And Rory's dad, Christopher, is even in this movie, and the great Laura Dern, and scary scary Nina from 24 tells one character, "Get a court order, motherfucker!" and I got a little scared of her in a Nina-like way. So. Basically, the cast is awesome. The movie's a little too cute for its own good, but I'm glad I saw it.

Brokeback Mountain: (In the theater with B.) I loved it all over again. Him, not so much.

A Very Long Engagement: (On DVD with B.) Lovely and magical and gory at the same time. Fell asleep in the middle of it but just because I was tired. It's impossible not to like Audrey Tautou, and it was very romantic.

Thumbsucker: (On DVD with B.) B liked this much more than I did. I thought it had some interesting ideas but was kind of a snoozer.

Nine Lives: (On DVD) Excellent. Loved the long continuous shots.

March

V for Vendetta: (At the theater with B.) Entertaining. Cool visuals and some good ideas.

April

Passion Fish: (On DVD with B.) Mary McDonnell is astonishing.

All the Real Girls: (On DVD.) I thought I would like this more than I did.

Broken Flowers: (On DVD with B.) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Fell asleep.

Red Eye: (On DVD with B.) Pretty stupid. Still love Rachel McAdams.

The Squid & the Whale: (On DVD.) Good but horrifying at times.

May

Hustle & Flow: (On DVD with B.) Very enjoyable.

Everything Is Illuminated: (On DVD with B.) Different from the book but entertaining in its own way. Moving at times.

Art School Confidential: (At the theater with B.) I sort of liked this but was mostly annoyed by it.

The Beat that My Heart Skipped: (On DVD with B.) Slept through most of it, but the music was pretty.

June

Something New: (On DVD.) Perfectly cute romantic comedy.

Proof: (On DVD with B.) I liked this more than I thought I would.

Four Brothers: (On DVD with B.) Awful.

The Break-Up: (At the theater with Eva.) Bad. Just bad.

Transamerica: (On DVD with KG.) Loved it.

(Note: I wrote about the above five movies here.)

All Aboard: (On DVD.) Loved it. Cried throughout.

Old School: (On DVD.) Finally saw this. It was stupid but indeed funny.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: (On plane to Boston.) Loved it totally. One of my favorites of the year (even though it came out the previous year).

July

Failure to Launch: (On DVD.) HORRID.

Prime: (On DVD.) Uma's hair too blonde, Meryl fantastic, kind of a snoozer but not terrible.

An Inconvenient Truth (At the theater with B.) Both terrifying and a complete bore at the same time.

Superman Returns: (At the theater with my little brother.) The music makes this entire movie.

City of God: (On DVD.) Powerful and quite unforgettable. Brutal, though.

Clerks 2: (At the theater with B.) Funny and ridiculous.

Something's Gotta Give: (On TV.) Far exceeded expectations. Diane Keaton: brilliant. Jack Nicholson: a genius. Laugh-out-loud hilarious.

August

Howl's Moving Castle: (On DVD with B.) I think I dozed in parts of this. I don't think I really understood it. The animation was beautiful, but I might not be smart enough for Miyazaki.

World Trade Center: (At the theater with my brother and sister.) A bit much.

L'Enfant: (On DVD with B.) Hated it.

Little Miss Sunshine: (At the theater with B.) Loved it.

Brick: (On DVD with B.) Hated it beyond measure.

September

Friends with Money: (On DVD with B.) Just okay.

Lonesome Jim: (On DVD.) Slow and depressing but also sort of good and sweet.

The Very Infuriating Last Kiss: (At the theater with B.) Hated it with effusive passion.

Tsotsi: (On DVD.) Moving. Baby in peril movie. Made me nervous. But beautiful, really.

Drumline: (On DVD with B. and his brother). Entertaining.

October

Thank You for Smoking: (On DVD with B.) Funny but not as good as I hoped it would be.

The Lake House: (On DVD.) Cheesy but sweet.

Sorry, Haters: (On DVD.) REALLY scary, thought-provoking, and good. Robin Wright Penn was amazing.

Half Nelson: (In the theater by myself.) Slow. Good. But definitely slow. Ryan Gosling is definitely one of the best actors alive and anyone who disagrees is delusional.

The Departed: (In the theater with B.) Very, very, very, very, very, very exciting, imaginative, brilliantly acted, and entertaining across the board.

November

Stranger than Fiction: (At the theater with B.) I really liked this! I liked it more than I thought I would, and I've been remembering it affectionately and recommending it.

The DaVinci Code: (On DVD with B.) Sucky. And this is from someone who has definitely enjoyed a Ron Howard movie or three in her life, namely Apollo 13 and Splash and Parenthood.

December

Wordplay: (On DVD with B.) Funny, fascinating, and definitely worth watching.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston: (On DVD with B.) I was not familiar with Daniel Johnston. Now I think about him all the time. I almost fell off the treadmill when the Bright Eyes cover of "Devil Town" played on Friday Night Lights. I definitely recommend this movie.

Anne Frank Remembered: (On DVD.) Beautifully done. Powerful. Heartache-inducing.

Rocky Balboa: (At the theater with my brother and sister.) Certainly better than Rocky V, that's for sure.

Phew. In short, I guess my Top 10, in no particular order, and some of these might not have actually come out in 2006, would be Serenity, Brokeback Mountain, Junebug, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Transamerica, City of God, Stranger than Fiction, Something's Gotta Give, The Departed, and Little Miss Sunshine. Movies I would not see again if you paid me one million dollars were Brick, The Last Kiss, The Constant Gardener, L'Enfant, Failure to Launch, The DaVinci Code, Four Brothers, and The Break-Up.

What were your movie loves and hates in 2006?