2006 year marker

To mark the end of the year (and 37 films), I present "Le Honor Roll", a collection of stories that I really applaud and give 2 hands raised way up :). Overall, it was a great mix of free spirits (independently produced and later commercially picked-up) such as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Thank You for Smoking, true independents that include Dead Man, Little Fish, Croupier, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and finally one powerful classic: A Clockwork Orange.

Le Honor Roll :)

1. Dead Man
2. The Matador
3. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
5. Thank You for Smoking
6. Little Fish
7. Croupier
8. A Clockwork Orange

37 - The OH in Ohio

Parker Posey is just plain hilarious :). She always delivers, doesn't matter if its a bit part, cameo, or lead (like in this one). What I expected to be flat out comedy actually turned out to be a really warm story about finding your way. Danny DeVito comes through with both comedy and sensibility (yeah, it can happen ;) ) the same way he did in Living Out Loud.

Oh, and Heather Graham has a bit part (no, not as RollerGirl, but not too far from that industry :) ).

36 - Over the Hedge

Stelllaaaaa!!!! Hahaha I love that Brando yell by the cat. The formula is quite routine...selfish rebel hooks up with good folk, grows a conscience, and redeems himself...but it still rings true and the delivery was still funny and heartwarming.

Plus, William Shatner is gold :).

35 - Cars

At first I was skeptical of how Pixar could pull off a cartoon using cars as characters. It sounded like an old idea...or maybe because I've been pre-programmed with Chevron cartoon commercials. But it is a Pixar film and I was willing to at least check it out. The more I watched the film, the more I grew attached to it and by the end of the film I was sold.

If you were ever immortalized as a vehicle, what would you be?

34 - Little Athens

Little Athens was a really interesting look at the life a young generation in a small town. The fact that this all happens in a small town is what probably gives this story its flavor. The cast is an interesting mix of familiar faces.....Eric Szmada (CSI), Jorge Garcia (Lost), DJ Qualls (Road Trip), and Rachel Miner.

What was your life like when you were 18?

33 - A Clockwork Orange

Are we really products of society? This was probably the foremost question on my mind while I watched this film. The time cannot be placed for this story. It falls somewhere between the past and the future, and absolutely not the present...very clever atmosphere that Stanley Kubrick created.

He turns everything around, and in full circle in some cases...the effect of Beethoven's ninth, the twisted mind of the criminal and then becoming a victim, and the victim suddenly turning to evil, an inmate somewhat cured and then turned back.

When it seemed like it didn't make sense, it actually did...and when appears to make sense, it really doesn't as much...its really amazing how stimulating Kubrick has made this experience.

32 - Croupier

Clive Owen has shown a lot of potential in action, but in Croupier (which is actually an older film; pre-fame) we see him engaged in a character study. Following the thought process and story was engaging and Mike Hodges did a great job mixing narration and normal storytelling.

With all the insight into casinos and gambling, this would make a great companion to Rounders.

31 - Casa De Los Babys

The list of cast members was heavy: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lili Taylor, Marcia Gay Harden, Darryl Hannah, mary Steenburgen, and you can't help but think that the scenes were probably extended to give everyone time to be in their element...and that may have worked against this film. The real heroes of this film, I have to admit, are everyone (and everything) meant to support it: the mexican cast, the location, scenes of Mexican life.

John Sayles told the story of Lone Star really well and maybe I was expecting the same approach. Still, this film exposes a lot of prejudiced views that are not always caught on film and is worth watching, if only to be witness to such realities.

30 - Morvern Callar

I remember seeing bits of this when it was running on cable and was always drawn to how it gives you this drunken feeling. Samantha Morton's eyes can be really terrifying. When she stares at you, you will do her bidding ;). The texture of the film reminds me of Breaking the Waves and, like Emily Watson, Samantha delivers this continuously spaced out personality that may appear lost but is resilient and able to survive.

29 - Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse

Why, of course I had to see the sequel :). The structure of the story is patterned after the original...two cops working on separate cases and then crossing somewhere in the middle. The Nazi past is again the source of the mystery. This movie features Christopher Lee! I was impressed to see him speak german and french...but I also was hoping he'd give his signature dracula scare :).

28 - Crimson Rivers

Ever since Leon, I've always considered anything Jean Reno does as gold...even when he played those bit parts in Mission Impossible, Godzilla, and Ronin. In Crimson Rivers, he plays the lead role and this time I watch him in his natural stage: a french movie.

The story, a murder mystery tied to a long running nazi conspiracy, was really interesting. It's a curious, though sad, echo from human history that still stains us to this day. Vincent Cassel plays the cocky cop...and put up against the stubborn cop (Reno), becomes a tame protege.

27 - I love your work

I'm still midway into watching this movie as I type this...I'm still trying to keep myself interested. I can see that the director is trying to craft a movie and actors at best trying to stay in their element. But there's something missing and I just can't get a beat on it.

Franka has always had this hidden power...like a solid left hook. In one scene, in a fit of rage arguing with Giovanni Ribisi, she walks and flashes a camera crew. I'd like to think that wasn't in the script and that was just Franka being Franka (boom).

Should I keep watching?
.......
......
....
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26 - Down in the Valley

I was not too thrilled to see Tobe (October) fall too fast for Harlan...but I guess that does happen in life sometimes. The relationship she shares with her brother, Lonnie, is a typical one...that of the younger, quiet one in the shadow of the older, more sociable and rebellious sister. Where Tobe's character is confused, Lonnie's is more passive and innocent. David Morse's character fills in as a father trying to be a parent. Ed Norton pulls another psychological personality (like he did in Primal Fear) as someone who believes he's a cowboy...and maybe he's supposed to represent a few lost demeanors and realities.

Although the movie revolves around Ed Norton's character, I wish there was more depth in the other, more accessible characters that David Morse, Rory Culkin, and Evan Rachel Wood portrayed. I think it would have blended well with Ed Norton's lost world. Evan and Rory delivered their roles really well, and I believe they could have given more.

25 - Bad Santa

"I'm on my f***ing break!"

Hey...yeah...you gotta give Santa a break sometimes :). I think Billy Bob enjoyed making this movie. It's as if Billy and Tony Cox were released in to the wild and they just flat out started ambushing all the local wildlife. I couldn't find a lot of substance in the relationship with Lauren Graham (other than the fetish) but that would have been a nice subplot to give more depth.

In one of John Ritter's last performances, I saw him reprising his character from Sling Blade...god bless you, John.

24 - Little Fish

I've always had this blank image of Australian life beyond the tourist images. This movie was a real treat to watch. Even though the story was dark, just following all the characters through life in suburban Australia gave me so many memories of my own life growing up...and made me realize that wherever it may be in the world, lower middle class is basically the same. You go through the same inconveniences, ambitions, and dark territories.

It's refreshing to see Hugo Weaving in a different character and I totally forgot his Agent Smith character (Matrix) while watching this movie. Cate Blanchett's Tracy was in such torment that you can't help but pray that life gives her a break somewhere. It was funny to hear her speak some Chinese, too!...or was that Vietnamese?

And boy, Dustin Nguyen...last I saw him was in his 21 Jump Street era...jeez, its been a long time.

23 - Thank You for Smoking

I love how this movie was constructed. It's the grand buffet of debatable topics, and yet it's really telling the story about the life of a lobbyist.

The humor is smart and I just found myself bursting in laughter at all the well placed punchlines.

The MOD squad was a stroke of fictional genius. Can you imagine the top speakers on tobacco, alcohol, and gun control being friends and having regular lunch get-togethers? And somewhere amid all the chaos are bits of love...bond among friends, bond between father and son, hidden bond between parents.

....it was an argument, not a negotiation...

22 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Jacquer Cousteau was a big part of my childhood. I remember spending a lot of time just watching him in his travels. Even though his programs focused a lot on oceans and sea creatures, I remember being focused more on the journey that was a huge part of his documentaries. It was that life at sea that kept me watching. The Life Aquatic accentuates that aspect, in this case, of Steve Zissou. I love how the movie covers a lot of life stories but wraps them all with this dark humor and smart wit of the characters.

Angelica Houston will always be Morticia Addams for me...and here she kinda brings that back (for me, personally anyway :) ). It was fun listening to all the Portuguese David Bowie acoustic music. Willem Dafoe and Cate Blanchett play excellent character studies and, as expected, just simply deliver.

21 - Full Frontal

The first twenty minutes or so was an exercise for me identifying all the actors. Watching a movie with a huge cast was fun. It actually kept my attention... I'd like to think that the idea here is to play not just a couple stories but an endless series of incidents. Cathy Keener had the oddest scenes (and the most amusing) :)

20 - Hard Candy

Care for some dose of Misery 2? (well, this one ain't a Stephen King flick)

I admire the tension that the director maintained throughout the movie. It was a mixture of dialogue, suggestion, and doubt that just kept you on the edge. It makes you question the actions these characters did and sometimes think in general...does one become a vigilante and make things right? What does right mean? What if you were wrong? But everyone is capable of making a mistake.

The initial hurdle was getting over Ellen Page's character (who was rather annoying)...and then trying to constantly rationalize. It was exhausting and there were scenes that just made me want to turn away (but of course I didn't :) ). The feeling reminds me of Requiem for a Dream...it was very difficult to watch Ellen Burstyn's deterioration in that story. You just want to jump in and give em a piece of your mind.

But hey, it's a movie ;).

19 - Confessions of an American Girl

It could have been a good story, but this movie just did not have enough of a script and this is one of those movies that really needed a director that was obsessed about it.

The casting didn't help either. Jena Malone and Brad Renfro have had success before, but they alone couldn't save this movie. This is one of those situations where a great director could have made a difference, gotten the right performance out of the actors, explored the better aspects of the story, and probably pushed the script, editing, and casting further.

I hope someone does pick-up this story one of these days and gives it justice.