Children of Men (2007)

Date watched: January 9

Review: Children of Men is a very interesting idea, and also believable even without much focus on the science of why everything was happening. The imagery made everything believable. Michael Caine was the most enjoyable to watch, while Julianne Moore had a very small role despite her being high billed. It is nice to take a departure from reality once in a while, and step through that crazy door that separates reality and fiction. Telling the difference between both can be hard sometimes, and that is how to tell whether fiction is good, if that door becomes diaphanous. This movie does that from the very beginning with it's believably eccentric characters and rugged action scenes.

Rating: 8.8/10.0

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Date watched: January 7

Review: The Coen Brothers have got to be some of the best movie-makers in Hollywood. With great movies such as The Ladykillers, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, it's hard to go wrong with these guys. Miller's Crossing sounds like one of their more obscure movies, but it's their best work barring Fargo. The acting is top notch, and best of all, comedy is inserted perfectly as the Coen brothers do best. It's a mobster movie from the Depression era. Pointing out individual performances would be wrong, because it's impossible to point out flaws in the acting. With all the plots, counterplots, subplots, and whatever plots going on, it seems like it would be hard to discern what is going on in the movie, but the movie is perfectly scripted and well explained.

Rating: 9.4/10.0

On the Waterfront (1954)

"You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it." -Terry Malloy

Date watched: January 6

Review: Marlon Brando gives the performance of a lifetime. While that is what many critics say about his role as confused mob cronie Terry Malloy, and while it was a great performance, it just wasn't the best performance of even his own lifetime. Brando's acting was the movie's best offer, but the most enjoyable character was Father Barry played by Karl Malden. The movie lacked a little in the entertainment department though.

Rating: 8.7/10.0

Network (1976)

Date watched: January 5

Review: Wonderfully superb. Very fun movie, a movie that doesn't need action, because it has a splendid screenplay and the acting power to back up that screenplay. Faye Dunaway was easily the best performance, and she played the best character, though not a very good role model. This was surprising after her abysmal overrated performance in Chinatown. Peter Finch, William Holden, and Robert Duvall all delivered to perfect the acting portion of the movie. Finch's Howard Beale was a joy to watch, being a very different character, very eccentric, rather then the boring characters that usually go along with movies with no action.

Rating: 9.2/10.0

Blood Diamond (2006)

Date watched: January 4

Review: First seeing the previews, the Leonardo DiCaprio accent seemed horrible. After watching the entire movie though, it was astonishingly a perfect fit. Jennifer Connelly was too beautiful, and her acting was pretty good as well. Djimon Housou stole the show though. It was interesting to see a different side of the diamond smuggling business. The movie overall was good, but the tediousness I was forced into hurt the experience.

Rating: 8.5/10.0

The French Connection (1971)

Date watched: January 2

Review: Being a movie about something that's been done plenty of times, it needed something extra. It was driven by some wonderful acting, especially from Gene Hackman. The French Connection doesn't score too high on the interesting list, though it had its moments, and even funny moments at that. Did it deserve Best Picture? Maybe for that year, but it isn't championship caliber.

Rating: 8.1/10.0

Top 10 of 2006: Since Blogger

1. Memento (2000) 10.0
2. The Departed (2006) 10.0
   
3. The Prestige (2006) 9.7
4. Rope (1948) 9.5
5. The Birds (1963) 9.3
6. Casino Royale (2006) 9.1
7. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 8.9
8. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) 8.5
9. The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) 8.5
10. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) 8.3
    

Rocky Balboa (2006)

Date watched: December 30

Review: Not the greatest acting, easily not the best Rocky movie. Quite cheesy at some points. But who cares, it's Rocky! The ending really redeemed the movie as well. Mike Tyson didn't need an appearance.

Rating: 7.3/10.0

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Date watched: December 30

Review: Some great laugh out loud scenes, some overly cliched scenes, and an overall laugh fest if you are with friends. Steve Carell is a pretty funny guy, though not one of the best comedians.

Rating: 8.5/10.0