2006 was my second-lowest movie-viewing year since I started keeping track in 1989. I went to the movies 21 times this year (2003 is still the lowest, at 14) which includes the following 18 movies (I saw Cars 3 times and Monster House twice).
King Kong, Munich, IMAX Deep Sea 3-D, Curious George, United 93, Mission Impossible 3, Over the Hedge, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Da Vinci Code, Cars, Superman Returns, Nacho Libre, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Monster House 3-D, Lady in the Water, Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D, The Prestige, Charlotte’s Web
My Top 5 of 2006:
United 93: OK, ignore the shaky camera, already. This movie really affected me. I was able to relive September 11th in a very cathartic way. The story was handled in a very interesting way, and the filmmakers were able to capture all the feelings of the day, from the “everything’s normal” beginning to the “What the crap just happened?” moments of shock to the feelings of nobility and determination that most of us felt the passengers of the flight were feeling. A truly great film, in my opinion.
Monster House: Going in a COMPLETELY different direction from the previous pick, this movie was just plain fun. It really captured those 80’s Spielberg-produced movies of my youth (Gremlins, Goonies, The Burbs, etc.) Funny script and interesting visuals. And the humans weren’t as creepy as on Polar Express.
The Prestige: OK, I haven’t seen “The Illusionist” yet, so I can’t compare the two. But this movie was a fun series of twists and turns. The script and performances were strong, and I liked the sci-fi edge to it. What would YOU do for the sake of success? I admit, I saw some of the twists coming, but others were a complete surprise.
Superman Returns: I admit, I’ve always liked the Superman story. I like the fact that he helps others just because it’s the right thing to do. I like the Christ parallels in his story. And although it’s nice to see him have personal struggles, I ENJOY seeing heroes that aren’t tortured, ostracized, and out for revenge. This movie was a little too long, but then so were the first 2 Superman films. And I still love the “Weren’t there two of those?” line.
Cars: OK, it was a close call for the 5th spot between this and Charlotte’s Web. Charlotte’s Web was a thoroughly enjoyable family film, and hit the right notes for me. But it doesn’t have the repeat-viewing potential for me that Cars does. And Cars makes me REALLY want to go on a road trip.
My Bottom 5 of 2006
Nacho Libre: Sorry to those of you that liked it. I thought it was a putrid waste of my time and money. We saw this on our anniversary, and it really killed the mood. Not funny.
X-Men: The Last Stand: Sorry, this one was a disappointment for me. Dumb stuff. A couple interesting things with Phoenix, but overall, I was NOT impressed, and we won’t be adding it to our DVD collection.
Curious George: Sooooooo boooooooooring. And maybe I’m just impatient or an overly attentive father, but why do people let George get away with all that stuff? My kids watch the Curious George cartoon on TV, and it frustrates me because people treat George like a responsible child...HE’S A MONKEY!!! Don’t have him pick up a dozen donuts! And you people at the store, DON’T give a MONKEY 100 dozen donuts!!!!! GEEEEEEZ!
Lady in the Water: I know I’m jumping on the bandwagon here, but this movie wasn’t good—not as a scary movie, not as a fantasy film. Interesting characters, some clever moments, but not very good. Poor M. A victim of your own success.
Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D: OK, I LOVE Nightmare Before Christmas. But the 3-D just didn’t work very well. There were a couple spots that looked ok, but overall, I was just sitting in the theatre, disappointed, feeling like I might as well have stayed home and watched the DVD.
There you have it. Hopefully, 2007 will be a good year at the movies, with Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Harry Potter 5, Ratatouille, Sweeney Todd, and lots of other films that will make it on my list for next year.
Be sure to watch the Musical episode of Scrubs Thursday the 18th on NBC--Here's a clip, which Joel quite enjoys:
8 comments:
Wow. That video clip was awesome. We have never seen Scrubs before, but that was great.
Now to address your whole movie thing:
United 93: I can't ignore the shaky camera when it makes me want to puke! But I trust that it is an excellent film.
The Prestige: You have to see the Illusionist. No Christian Bale or Hugh Jackman, but better story.
Nacho Libre: You're just a party pooper.
Lady in the Water: I guess he shouldn't have thrown his pearls before...Well, anyway, Ethan and I really liked it. I know it was very very different, but we're into the whole narrative thing.
Overall, I am grateful that I have not had to suffer through the kids movies that you've had to suffer through. I dread that. I hate most kids books, too. My children will only read Roald Dahl and Lemony Snickets, and they will only watch movies made from books by these authors. Well, they can also read Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. At least this is my hope for my children. I guess you haven't seen Happy Feet. That was horrible, and it made me sick of kids movies already. What do you do to keep yourself from dying in movies like Curious George?
And, SWEENEY TODD! I had no idea they were doing a movie of that! So I just looked it up and saw that it's Tim Burton with his reliable cast of actors. I am SOOOO excited! That looks awesome! Any idea about when it will come out in the theatres? Is it a non-musical version?
We really like Scrubs. Too bad you don't have TV--we see at least 4 reruns every night! I just had to focus on the animation quality of Curious George, which was pretty good (although it was clear that multiple studios worked on the animation). Sweeney Todd IS the Sondheim musical version, and it's supposed to come out this fall. I'd been hearing rumors about this movie since the early 90's...so this is a long time coming. Apparently, Sondheim himself had to approve the lead actors.
Heck, I ain't seen a movie in the theater for like 2 years! So I can't really comment on anything yet.
Yeah, a lot of kid's books are kinda lame -- I don't see why Goodnight Moon is so praised, nothing happens or has much meaning, you just say goonight to everything, big whoop.
What's this Ratatouille thing? I'm glad you can spell that, aren't you?
"Everything comes down to stoool!"
Hahahahaha!
I am writing this from my Nintendo Wii.
We rarely get to see any movies in the theatre. We have seen some on your list on dvd. We love scrubs too.
It is EXTREMELY s...l...o...w... trying to write anything from the Wii as you have no keyboard: just the wiimote to point and click letters one at a time so I won't say anything else...
One time I worte my name in the snow with my wii. It was yellow.
I'd been drinking A LOT that night. I think I had like 13 lemonades from Chili's. Knowhadimean?
Ha ha, Andy, I think I almost laughed out loud at your wee-wee joke!! Boy do I love toilet humor, thanks to Doghouse, too!!
>I worte my name in the snow
I don't know why, but the misspelling of "wrote" made me laugh too. Maybe I'm in a mood today.
Post a Comment