2006 TOP TEN

In alphabetical order

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Documentary
Since his unsuccessful attempt at becoming President of the United States in 2000, former Vice-President Al Gore has been on a mission to tell the world what we already know, that global warming is something real and we must deal with it. His presentation is slick using the most modern visual aids so we can see for ourselves the problem as it exists. Gores’ easy approach is not so much of a lecture but just being with someone who has become something of an expert on this subject. The one thing that seems out of place are the political highlights of his career that don’t really belong here.

BLOOD DIAMOND
Action/adventure
Apart from being way too long (almost 2½ hours) this is a movie with a lot going for it: excellent performances throughout, a good story line, fast-paced action and great cinematography. It also looks and sounds very realistic to the point those of us who are somewhat squeamish have to look away during some of the scenes.

THE DEPARTED
Police drama
This is one gritty, tough-guy movie with language and violence to match. For fear of giving away too much of the plot, I'll say little except it can get a bit confusing so pay attention to what’s going on, especially at the beginning. In addition to the crisp editing (which makes the 2 hours fly by) there are excellent performances by several of the actors. Nicholson for one is at the top of his game. This part was made for him.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Comedy
With rapid-fire dialog and terrific acting (especially Streep’s portrayal of the cold and reserved boss barking out unreasonable demands) coupled with crisp editing and a good story line, this is a very enjoyable comedy about the fashion industry.

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Drama
Idi Amin was such a complex man prone to fits of anger one minute then becoming the most charming person in the room. His moods changed so rapidly it is a wonder anybody can portray him. But Forest Whitaker gives one of the most riveting performances seen in years. The supporting cast does an excellent job too. Based on historical fact, it is inevitable that some of the awful things that took place during Amin’s reign come to light. Several scenes make for unpleasant viewing but if you can handle it, this is one terrific movie.

THE PAINTED VEIL
Drama
W. Somerset Maugham's epic love story has been beautifully adapted to film with great attention to making it look and feel authentic. The acting is top notch, done with feeling that mirrors life resulting in real, believable characters. The story is well-paced allowing time for character development and provides more than a few opportunities to linger on many beautiful images, not only of the countryside but also of the actors themselves. Some of the shots are nothing less than spectacular.

THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO
Docudrama
This fact-based story of three Muslim Brits (the so-called “Tipton Three”) and their buddy Monir mixes documentary footage with "dramatisations" of real events that took place in 2001. What started out to be a simple trip back to their homeland wound up being a tortuous adventure for them all. Not always easy to watch, this insight to the brutal treatment any adversary is subjected to by his captors is both riveting and revealing.

THE QUEEN
Docudrama
A wonderful character study not only of the Queen but of her advisors as well. There are really good performances by most of the cast. There is no way of knowing exactly what transpired during private conversations between the principals but the dialogue rings true and that’s what matters.

UNITED 93
Drama
Based on a true story
Obviously this is not a film for everyone. Some will find it too painful to see a film about a tragic event the morning of September 11, 2001 that resulted in the death of nearly 3,000 people and has changed all our lives.
Those who chose to see it will be rewarded with a superbly crafted movie that shows the behind-the-scenes activities that transpired that day. Capturing the mistakes people make when under stress, like stumbling over their words or talking too rapidly to be easily understood enhances the feeling of “being there”.

WORLD TRADE CENTER
Drama
Based on a true story
Heard in the lobby:
“Riveting”
“I was transfixed, not wanting to take my eyes off the screen for a moment”
“Powerful”
I think these comments represent the majority of those who chose to see this movie about the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.




HONORABLE MENTION

BORAT
Comedy
Warning: this movie is not for everyone!
Don’t consider for a moment inviting your mother (or anyone else of the polite-gentile persuasion) to see this one with you. Nor should you make it your first-date-movie because that could well be your last.
Please note that Borat’s racist, sexist remarks, his frequent use of profanity, the anti-Semitic scenes, the demeaning comments about gays and Muslims could be offensive to many. Others will find themselves laughing at the sheer foolishness of it all.

LITTLE CHILDREN
Drama
Set in a small New England town the movie has uniformly believable acting and some really great performances. It has an unhurried pace about it which allows time for character development. It’s also a bit of emotional roller coaster but overall, it’s one terrific movie. Please note that it well deserves the R rating for strong sexuality and nudity, language and some disturbing content.

SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS
True wartime story
Terrific acting makes you forget you’re not watching the real thing. Half the film takes place in the office of the interrogator, and you might think it a big bore, but the cross-examination in fact is riveting stuff.

VOLVER
Drama
With so many women in the film (and hardly any men) you have to pay attention to the many characters and their relationship to one another. But it is worth the effort to see the fine performances and range of emotions by several. Part murder mystery, part comedy it is an entertaining show. However, it is too long, by about half an hour, as several tangents lead nowhere and only serve to drag it out a bit.




BIG DISAPPOINTMENT


CHARLOTTE’S WEB
Children’s movie
It’s really not fair judging a children’s story from an adult’s perspective so I wish there was some way to give this movie two ratings. Children will love it because it has all the requisite elements of a “good” movie: cute animals, simple story, rude body noises, smart-talking animals with an attitude and a nice ending. Adults on the other hand might not find these enough to give it more than a “ho-hum” rating.

THE PRODUCERS
Musical
The story is about two unscrupulous people who collaborate to produce a really awful Broadway play. The result is a really awful movie. Only loyal fans of the old-fashioned musical theatre will like it, provided they are not offended by the glorification of Hitler, they do not take offence with the ruthless stereotypical portrayal of homosexuals or are unfazed by the irreverent depiction of little old ladies with walkers and who get a kick out of crude off-colour sexist jokes.
Not meeting any of these criteria, I did not.

THE QUEEN

Docudrama

BACKGROUND
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch.
Balmoral Castle is the Queen's private Scottish summer estate used during August and September.
10 Downing Street is the central London residence and office of the British Prime Minister.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Helen Mirren: HM Queen Elizabeth II, reigning monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
Michael Sheen: recently elected British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Helen McCory: his wife Cherie
James Cromwell: the Queen’s consort Philip, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
Sylvia Syms: HM The Queen Mother
Alex Jennings: the Queen’s eldest son and heir apparent Charles, HRH the Prince of Wales
Roger Allam: the Queen's private secretary Robin Janvrin

REVIEW
A wonderful character study not only of the Queen but of her advisors as well. There are really good performances by four or five of the cast and even though some of them may not look exactly like the person they portray, they have the mannerisms and tics down pat.
There is no way of knowing exactly what transpired during private conversations between the principals. But the dialogue rings true and that’s what matters.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief strong language (although to my mind the rating hardly seems warranted given the fact there is but a single instance of so-called “strong language”)

P.S.
I was so mesmerised watching the film I spent very little time eating my popcorn and came out of the theatre with the bag three-quarters full. That’s never happened before.

DREAMGIRLS

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jennifer Hudson: Effie White, lead singer of the group called “The Dreamettes”
Beyoncé Knowles: backup singer Deena Jones, (“the pretty one”)
Anika Noni Rose: the other backup singer Lorrell Robinson
Jamie Foxx: Detroit car salesman, wannabe-manager, Curtis Taylor Jr.
Eddie Murphy: famous “soul” singer James "Thunder" Early
Danny Glover: his long-time manager Marty
Keith Robinson: C.C. White, Effie’s brother and songwriter

REVIEW
From the onset, it seems to be a semiautobiographical movie based on the career of Diana Ross and the Supremes. But then about halfway through, Effie belts out a song that advances the story by way of the lyrics rather than narrative dialog and it becomes clear this is a musical. But this in no way detracts from the story about the struggles and hardship encountered in this line of business.

The production values throughout are first rate: the cinematography, costumes, sets, singing and dancing. And the acting is solid. Overall it’s very entertaining although a tad too long at two hours and 10 minutes.

CLASSIFICATION
for language, some sexuality and drug content.

CHARLOTTE’S WEB

Children’s movie

PRINCIPAL CAST VOICES
Dominic Scott Kay: Wilbur, the runt of the litter
Kevin Anderson: Maine farmer Mr. Arable
Dakota Fanning: his daughter Fern
Gary Basaraba: her uncle Homer Zukcerman
John Cleese: leader of the sheep Samuel
Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire: Bitsy and Betsy the cows
Robert Redford: Ike the horse
Oprah Winfrey and Cedric the Entertainer: Gussy and Golly the geese
Steve Buscemi: Templeton the rat
Julia Roberts: Charlotte the spider
André Benjamin and Thomas Haden Church: a pair of crows
Beau Bridges: the town doctor

REVIEW
It’s really not fair judging a children’s story from an adult’s perspective so I wish there was some way to give this movie two ratings.

Children will love it because it has all the requisite elements of a “good” movie: cute animals, simple story, rude body noises, smart-talking animals with an attitude and a nice ending.

Adults on the other hand might not find these enough to give it more than a “ho-hum” rating. Sorry kids.

CLASSIFICATION


P.S.
E. B. White (July 1899 – October 1985) was a leading American author. He wrote a number of essays as well as three children’s books including this one and two others, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Drama

BACKGROUND
Tensions between Washington and Havana had increased steadily since the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The Americans felt that the expropriation of U.S. assets on the island and Cuba's increasing ties with the Soviet Union could not be tolerated. Consequently in March 1960 the Eisenhower administration agreed to a recommendation from the CIA to equip and drill Cuban exiles for action against the new Castro government. On the morning of April 17, 1961, three flights of Douglas B-26 bombers displaying Cuban Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria markings bombed and strafed several Cuban airfields. These air strikes were expected to effectively eliminate the Cuban air force, ensuring complete air superiority over the island prior to the actual landing at the Bay of Pigs later that day. The air attack failed because Castro had moved his airplanes out of harm's way. It soon became clear that Castro had prior knowledge of the invasion.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was concerned about American intelligence deficiencies at the onset of World War II. On the suggestion of Canadian spymaster William Stephenson, the senior representative of British intelligence in the Western Hemisphere, Roosevelt directed Stephenson's friend William J. Donovan to draft a plan for an intelligence service. Consequently the Office of Strategic Services was established in June 1942 to collect and analyse strategic information required by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to conduct special operations not assigned to other agencies. During the War, the OSS supplied policy makers with facts and estimates of enemy operations with many of its operatives working out of London, England.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Matt Damon: U.S. intelligence Officer Edward Wilson
John Turturro: Wilson’s right-hand man Ray Brocco
Alec Baldwin: F.B.I. agent Sam Murach
William Hurt: agency head Philip Allen
Michael Gambon: Dr. Fredericks, a Yale University literature professor
Tammy Blanchard: hearing-impaired student Laura
Angelina Jolie: Clover, sister to one of Edward’s classmates
Robert De Niro: American intelligence service recruiter General Sullivan
Billy Crudup: British intelligence Officer Arch Cummings
Oleg Stefan: Ulysses, Russian KGB chief Stas Siyanko
Eddie Redmayn: young Edward Jr.
John Sessions: Mironov, a Russian wanting asylum, code-named Valentin

REVIEW
Not only is the movie very long (almost 3 hours), it is complex, convoluted and confusing with all kinds of twists and turns (so typical of government sponsored espionage activities).

Furthermore it has a lot of flashbacks as it spans some forty years and has a cast of thousands (well not really but it seems like it with a new face showing up just about every second scene).

But it also looks good and the low-key acting throughout is top-notch.

So at the risk of giving away the plot, here are several things to keep in mind:
 Edward is the first to note that “there is a stranger in the house”
 Ulysses says “the cold is his weakness”
 Edward’s gift to his son is a glass watch case with a ship inside it
 the passport Edward finds in the book has Valentin's photo but another name
 Philip Allen has a weakness for chocolates

CLASSIFICATION
for some violence, sexuality and language.

P.S.
Never did figure out to whom the title refers to.

WE ARE MARSHALL

Sports drama, based on a true story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Anthony Mackie: Nate Ruffin, Captain of the Thundering Herd football team
David Strathairn: Marshall University President Donald Dedmon
Ian McShane: Paul Geffen, prominent citizen and MU Board member
Matthew McConaughey: the new Head Coach Jack Lengyel
Matthew Fox: Assistant Coach Red Dawson
Kate Mara: Annie, a waitress in a local diner

REVIEW
Where have all the Film Editors gone? Seems virtually every movie nowadays has to be at least two hours long. Most, if not all, need not be so lengthy. Such is the case for this one.

Having said that, this is a good story about dealing with tragedy but with a twist in that not everyone is in agreement regarding what action should be taken. Football fans will enjoy the on-field activity and we can all relate to coping with setbacks.

CLASSIFICATION
for emotional thematic material, a crash scene, and mild language.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

Drama based on a true story

BACKGROUND
Rubik's Cube is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by a Hungarian professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube by its inventor, it was renamed Rubik's Cube when it made its international debut at the Toy Fairs of London, Paris, Nuremberg and New York in January/February, 1980. When the puzzle is solved, each side of the Cube is a solid colour. It is said to be the world's best-selling toy, with some 300,000,000 sold worldwide.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Will Smith: Chris Gardner, self-employed salesman of portable bone density scanners
Thandie Newton: his wife Linda
Jaden Smith: their 5-year-old son Christopher
Brian Howe: Jay Twistle, the head of the internship program at a stock brokerage firm
James Karen: one of the company executives Martin Frohm

REVIEW
Stories about people who struggle and make it are worthwhile subjects. But to drag it out for almost two hours takes away a lot of the sympathy one has for the person who’s doing the struggling. And then to sit through such a meagre “pay-off” only adds insult to injury. If it were not for the soaring full orchestra score most of us would have missed it.

One more thing: you really have to question the claim the film is based on a true story when it seems there is such blatant liberty taken with the truth in more than a few instances. For example,
 Chris having a down-and-out-hippie watch over his scanner
 what transpired when Chris set off to the meeting with his first real big potential client
 and what happened when they finally met
 spotting one of his “missing” scanners in a city of what, one million people?

CLASSIFICATION
for some language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Chris approachs the door to his son’s day care carrying one of the scanners in his left hand. When the scene shifts to the interior, he’s now holding it in his right.

I think San Franciso needs more cabs:
Chris and Jay share a ride in cab number 248; later when Mr. Frohm gets out a cab and asks Chris to lend him $5, once more it’s cab number 248.