MOVIE REVIEW - Departed, The (2006)

Wow, this is one fun mobster flick. It's a backwards cat and mouse game: Matt Damon is a cop who is really working undercover for the mob; while Leonardo DiCaprio is a mobster who is really an undercover cop. And everyone knows that there is a mole in the mob for the cops and a mole in the cops for the mob, and it's a wild race to see who can find the other one first. What a crazy, fun, deadly game.

Scorsese may finally win his Best Director Oscar, and were it not for the infinitely more deserving United 93, I would not begrudge it. But it's not the directing that makes this so much fun as much as just the story itself, plus a healthy dose of stellar acting. Damon has shown before that he can carry a film, but this time he proved that he can carry a complicated character through a film packed full of star power and outshine them all. Mark Wahlberg deserves his first Supporting Actor nod as a foul-mouth cop who enjoys his deceptive role more than he should. Alec Baldwin looked like he was restraining constant laughter in a juicy (if small) character. While Nicholson was good in a scene-chewing role, he was a little over-the-top and his mannerisms reminded me too much of The Joker. Finally, there is Leo, who I was told would finally win me over; but alas, Leo just sucks, especially in the beginning as the pouty under-cover recruit whose Boston accent comes and goes as much as Costner's Robin Hood British accent.

Intense, violent, profane, at times confusing, but always entertaining. And often funny - when Leo shoots a guy in the knee to get more information from him, the guy, after about 30 seconds, screams "I thought you were supposed to go into shock! I'm not in shock! It *@^*#!* hurts!" - hysterical. There is also a great scene with cell phones used as part of the hunt. And then the reason why this deserves to win Best Picture (other than the competition being weak)? It has one of the best last 15 minutes of a movie that I can remember - wow, what an ending.

MOVIE REVIEW - Queen, The (2006)

I didn't expect to enjoy a royal family film focusing on their actions surrounding Princess Diana's death. And while it took too long to draw me into the story, I did get there. The family (as portrayed) was uniquely disinterested in the natural mourning of their nation over Diana's death - humorously so. In fact, is this a comedy? Well, not quite, but many of their reactions were certainly comical. After the queen was distracted for several minutes by a serious call from the prime minister, James Cromwell's Philip declares with great exasperation, "And now your tea is cold!" And after the public sentiment starts to turn on the royal family for refusing to make a public statement, Tony Blair says, "Will someone please save these people from themselves, because as prime minister, I have nothing better to do."

Helen Mirren has been singled out as an almost certain Oscar Best Actress winner for this role, and that acclaim is deserved. Mirren embodied the queen, always looking annoyed. She had a quick, frumpy walk with wide ankles that are surely not her own. Her condescension toward the new prime minister is her favorite game. And when she drives her Range Rover through the hunting ground (The Queen drives??) - what a hoot. The movie is not exactly a flattering view of the queen or the royal family, but it does present her as a complicated, wise, controlled yet emotional, and always interesting woman.

The frustrating relationship between the queen and Tony Blair, newly elected as Prime Minister a short time before the car wreck, is the best part of the movie. Michael Sheen's Blair was at least as good as Mirren's Queen, though he has not received nearly the acclaim. And the final shot of Blair and the Queen taking a walk during their political recaps shows the worthy journey that they (and we as viewers) have made through all the turmoil.

MOVIE REVIEW - Babel (2006)

The movie Traffic was a hit in Hollywood circles - multiple unrelated stories that barely connect through one of the characters; dark cinematography to match the horribly depressing situations; beating you over the head with political undertones that are never explained and sorely under-researched; positive critical reviews out the roof (93% on Rotten Tomatoes); multiple Oscar nominations; and most surprisingly, $123 million at the box office.

Hey, it was a hit once, let's make the same movie, but this time about gun violence and declining international opinion of the US. Babel is loosely about how a lack of communication can make all things go bad. But it's only as loosely about that as these stories are tied together. Mostly, it's just a screenwriters wish to make four amazingly depressing stories and shove them into one movie. Yes, there is a lack of communication between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Yes, the deaf girl exacerbates the natural lack of communication she has by her bad choices and pouty attitude. Yes, the Hispanic nephew has a lack of communication with the police. Worst of all is the filmmaker's lack of communication with anyone who would want to watch such pointless and depressing depictions of bad choices.

There are a few nice moments here. Most notably, when Brad and Cate are shown trying to holding hands just after a spat. An excruciating but powerful scene when Cate gets stitches in an unsanitary environment. And an interesting contrast between that loud screaming moment and the jarring jump to the deaf girl's point of view. And the nicest moment of all? When the illegal alien got deported. Yes, they wanted me to be sad for her and feel the tragedy of US immigration policy; but instead, they succeeded in demonstrating the benefits of sending her home. These few nice, cinematic scenes are short moments in an over-long film. For most of the movie, I was just waiting for a depressing situation to be made worse by the characters' stupidity.

MOVIE REVIEW - Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

War movie by Clint Eastwood, made as a companion piece to Flags Of Our Fathers but from the Japanese perspective. I couldn't figure out why an American felt the need to make this borefest. To prove what? That the Japanese soldiers during that time understood the American viewpoint and lived by the golden rule, while American soldiers shoot Japanese soldiers trying to surrender? That's what the movie implied, though I see no indication of that in actual history. Overall, it felt horribly manipulative and anti-American.

The movie opens with some Japanese excavators digging up buried letters on the island of Iwo Jima in 2005. Then the movie pursues the stories of these letters written by Japanese soldiers during the war. If only these letters had been in any way interesting. "Mom, we're in the middle of a war. Hope the dog is doing well." The letters as the basis of the story seemed a directorial conceit. Back-stories of three of the soldiers (done in more vivid color than the rest of the film) did not add intended depth. Uh, why do I need to watch this? Bo-ring. There is nothing Oscar-worthy here.

The only cool scene is when the American ships land, and the battle is about to begin - a nice visual. There is a 2-second scene that shows the American flag atop the mountain, which is apparently meant to tie this movie to Flags Of Our Fathers - but a little too obviously. There is also an emotional scene involving the death of a horse that just did not ring true for me, though others in the audience sighed at the dead horse more than the hundreds of dead soldiers scattered on the beaches.

The movie is subtitled, and the words often go by too fast to read. Plus, the white lettering of the subtitles is often unreadable against the near-black/white movie. There is very little soundtrack, which accompanied by the subtitles and dull story, only adds to the boredom. Two of my favorite movies this year were surprisingly (for me) sub-titled. This is certainly NOT one of them. The man in front of me snored throughout the movie. Annoying, but I have to admit that I would've rather been sleeping, too.

Best of 2006

This list is NOT my “Who Will Win” – it’s not exactly even a “Who Should Win”, as most of my Best Of 2006 nominations aren’t even nominated. But along the lines of the format of AFI, I'm listing my choices for the Best in Movies and the Best in TV for 2006. Enjoy.

Movies:
Top 10 Movies of the year (in order):
1. United 93
2. Pan’s Labyrinth
3. Thank You For Smoking
4. The Departed
5. Apocalypto
6. Inside Man
7. The Last King Of Scotland
8. Little Miss Sunshine
9. X-Men: The Last Stand
10. The Queen

Best Actor:
1. Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking)
2. Matt Damon (The Departed)
3. Forrest Whitaker (The Last King Of Scotland)
4. Clive Owen (Inside Man)
5. Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine)

Best Actress:
1. Helen Mirren (The Queen)
2. Maribel Verdu (Pan’s Labyrinth)
3. Uma Thurmond (My Super Ex-Girlfriend)

Best Director:
1. Paul Greengrass (United 93)
2. Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
3. Mel Gibson (Apocalypto)
4. Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
5. Kevin Macdonald (The Last King Of Scotland)

Best Supporting Actor (couldn’t stop at 5):
1. Michael Sheen (The Queen)
2. Sergi Lopez (Pan’s Labyrinth)
3. Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
4. Christian Clemenson (United 93)
5. James McAvoy (The Last King Of Scotland)
6. Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)
7. Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada)
8. Brad Pitt (Babel)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
2. Maria Bello (Thank You For Smoking)
3. Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine)
4. Jodie Foster (Inside Man)
5. Vera Farmiga (The Departed)

And the Razzie awards:
Worst movie of the year (tie): Letters From Iwo Jima and World Trade Center
Worst Director of the year: M. Night Shalamingalingading
Worst Supporting Actor of the year: M. Night Shalamingalingading

I'll add a disclaimer that there are still movies from 2006 that I missed and want to see. So the following movies could be added at a later time:

• Blood Diamond
• Flags Of Our Fathers
• Half Nelson
• Hollywoodland
• Invincible
• Let’s Go To Prison
• Little Children
• Notes On A Scandal

Television (a little awkward halfway through the season):
Top 11 shows of the year (in order):

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Survivor
3. 24
4. Veronica Mars
5. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
6. Dexter
7. The Office
8. Heroes
9. How I Met Your Mother
10. Grey’s Anatomy
11. My Boys

Best Actor:
1. Kiefer Sutherland (24)
2. Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
3. James Roday (Psych)
4. Steve Carrell (The Office)
5. William Petersen (CSI)

Best Actress:
1. Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Evangeline Lilly (Lost)
3. Marg Helgenberger (CSI)

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Gregory Itzin (24)
2. Michael Emerson (Lost)
3. T. R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy)
4. John Krasinski (The Office)
5. Masi Oka (Heroes)
6. Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class)
7. Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy)
8. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Lucy Lawless (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Hayden Panettiere (Heroes)
3. Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy)
4. Jean Smart (24)
5. Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy)
6. Jenna Fischer (The Office)
7. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica)
8. Emily Procter (CSI: Miami)
9. Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy)
10. Jayne Atkinson (24)

MOVIE REVIEW - Children Of Men, The (2006)

Futuristic drama starring Clive Owen in a 2027 Britain where humanity has lost its ability to procreate. The violence, littered streets, demolished buildings, and general lack of purpose is "the result of not hearing the cries of children" for 18 years. Whereas we keep track of the world's oldest person, their world is hugely aware of the world's youngest person (about 18 years old). Despair is everywhere, and it seems everyone is resolved to their species' upcoming demise. When Clive finds the one pregnant young girl, everything in his world changes - but no one else much notices, other than a small gang out to get them. Clive hints early on that maybe they should just publicize the pregnancy. But that idea is thwarted, and instead they try to help her escape to "the Human Project". Nothing much is explained here - we don't know how she got pregnant, we don't know why the government or society would not be thrilled with her existence, we don't learn why the gang is after them, we don't know what The Human Project can do for her. And the chase would've been more compelling if I could root for some side among the dreariness. Maybe I just missed some social or political undertones. It's an intriguing premise with decent action and decent acting (and a WAY-underused Julianne Moore); but a little more clarity would've made for a more compelling film.