Movie Listing (2006)

Hellish year, a year of going back and forth - totally my fault, but I guess this is how we learn. By continuously screwing up. Although 2006 does encompass one of the best trips of my life ever, and a brotherhood. Could've been worse. But excellent movies galore!

My favorite movies of 2006:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport and Bill Nighy. Originally a sequel, but that detracts nothing from its excellence. They managed to pick up the story from where it'd been left off, with a plot that actually takes us to events before The Curse of the Black Pearl - as though the first movie had been nothing but a lump on the way: "Ok, now that that's taken care of, let's go back to the real big one! You were saying, Davy boy? Eternal servitude in the afterlife? Uh... I don't think so." And so it begins. The only teeny tiny downside of this movie is the slow heating up of the love triangle between Sparrow, Elizabeth and Will Turner (I totally see where she's coming from, though). Other than that, the plot unravels smoothly before our eyes, this time bringing more of the classic pirate legends, such as The Flying Dutchman (one of my favorite stories as a kid) and the Kraken. Sparrow's still the same charismatic scoundrel, with the same swagger and slurred speech. And the only one capable of rivaling Depp this time is Nighy. His surprisingly touching rockstar had me duly impressed in Love Actually - but now, we're talking business here, excuse me! And none of those disgusting tentacles on his face overshadow his acting, not even for a split second! What a great, great villain! The producer Jerry Bruckheimer (for whom I have the utmost respect, the guy's responsible for everything that is awesome) and director Verbinski make sure that the action scenes (with some amazing sword fights), costumes and make-up (Davy Jones' crustracean-like crew??? Wow!) are faultless. And to end it with a bang... the great Geoffrey Rush, Capitain Barbossa back from the dead himself! A must-see of the year.

V for Vendetta - directed by James McTeigue, starring Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Fry, John Hurt and Stepehn Rea. After the Matrix trilogy, anything with the Wachowski brothers' signature is mandatory, even if just for the visual effects. But you know what? There's much, much more to V than visual effects (unlike The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions). Even though we owe the screenplay to the Wachowskis, there's still a big thanks to be given to their protegé McTeigue, who does not allow the action to overthrow the story from its reigning place. Weaving, with his more than imposing voice, gives V the right tone, and making us forget all about his still very recent Agent Smith and Elrond. Natalie Portman is amazing here, proving herself once again as a great asset to Hollywood. The story is extremely well-conducted, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire picture. And by the time the slow-motion shows up, you can't associate it to The Matrix anymore - that link's been dropped quite a while ago: it's a story about the human condition; ideas are more important than the slow-moving bullets. Alan Moore was crazy to disinherit this movie... another must-see, time and time again.
P.S.: it was released in the end of 2005 in the U.S.A., but in the beginning of 2006 in every other place around the globe (I mean, except for Turkey, where it was released last year!...)

Casino Royale - directed by Martin Campbell, starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judy Dench, Jeffrey Wright and Giancarlo Giannini. When I heard Pierce Brosnan wouldn't play Bond anymore, I was extremely disappointed, he'd been the first 007 I'd ever known. Then, I was told Daniel Craig had gotten the part. "Daniel Who?" "One of the guys from Munich. You know, the one with the knives." "Oh... isn't he blond?!". From thence, I was entirely resolved not to like him, because... how could 007 ever be blond??? And the guy wasn't even charming! That was the mood in which I set out to watch the new movie. It started, and - what the hell was the new James Bond doing, chasing someone in such a crude manner?! That was NOT him! But a classy 007 was slowly coming to surface. It had to be a slow buildup, it was the beginning (such a movie was only possible due to this recent "the beginning" fad: the 2nd Star Wars trilogy, Batman Begins, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, etc.). That coarse, brutal agent James becomes the refined, coldly efficient Bond. James Bond. And right before our eyes. The initial James is unsympathetic but innately human, and he finishes off as the complete opposite: so likeable, and yet less human - the one who does not fall in love. Even the way he fights changes! And in the end, with his "the bitch is dead" and "Bond. James Bond.", we finally have him. (And I realized I missed the first one!). And Daniel Craig surely lived up to the challenge! Before I knew it, I was all "what an incredibly charming guy! And he's soooo British!". And his dry humor, the quintessential Bond humor, was there - the guy had completely nailed it. After Vesper Lynd (to my great pleasure, brilliantly played by Eva Green, that woman's just downright gorgeous and a great actress) makes her entrance, I was irrevocably in love with Craig. The plot's really strong, Le Chiffre is a great Bondesque villain (and this time, your villain comes not with one, but TWO physical dysfunctions!), and Vesper's gotta be the best Bond girl in a reaaaally long time. Also: no other Bond would've convincingly withstood that serious testicle torture, are you kidding me? No way Brosnan, Connery, Moore or any other could've pulled acting that off! (Outrageously awesome scene, btw). No, Craig owned it, like no one else would. I dare not say such a thing anywhere near diehard Bond fans, but after Casino Royale, I'm like "Sean who?".

Once - directed by John Carney, starting Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. First of all, I gotta say I did not see this movie in 2006, but in 2009. I wondered if it fitted the category of "my favorite movies from 2006"; but it was released in 2006, and it IS one of my favorite movies - not from 2006, but ever! So here it is. This totally under the radar Irish movie snatched away the Oscar for Best Original Song from the hands of my dear Alan Menken and his Enchanted soundtrack, leaving me pissed. Both leading actors have already stated they do not intend to pursue the acting career, and would rather focus on music. This movie was shot in 17 days. By the time I decided to watch this movie, I didn't see how anything good could possibly come out of it. Instead, what did come out of it was something breathtakingly touching. Simple, honest, beautiful, bittersweet and mandatory for anyone who loves movies, good dialogs and brilliant music. This is simplicity and artistry at their best. Gorgeous, as very few things have managed to be so far. And the soundtrack is sooooo worth listening to over and over again, even if you haven't seen the movie.

Others worthy of notice in 2006:

Little Miss Sunshine, The Pursuit of Happyness, Babel, The Illusionist, The Prestige, The Devil Wears Prada, Marie Antoinette, Dreamgirls, Blood Diamond, The Black Dhalia, Astérix et les Vikings, World Trade Center, The Departed, Superman Returns, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Charlotte's Web, The Pink Panther, Happy Feet, Hell, X-Men 3. 

Snakes on a Plane - AWESOME!!!! There's no way a movie can possibly get any worse, this is a masterpiece!!! I laughed throughout the entire film! Everyone should watch it! I just think it's a shame that Samuel Jackson needed money so bad... was there not a friend to lend it to him?

High School Musical - ...... I have two younger cousins, and as I was spending my vacations with them, they bugged the shit out of me to watch it. So I did. I found it sooooo annoying... such a bad mimicking of musicals... so I loved it!  I can sing all the songs now, and I actually have a slight crush on Zac Efron. It's my guilty pleasure... but the movie really does suck - however, it's a good entertainment for kids.

The Butterly Effect 2 - so uncalled for. The first one was already badly done - even though the idea of it is good, albeit cliché. (The Time Machine, hello!). But to make a second one??? At least, it's got the advantage of not having Ashton Kutcher in it, that's gotta be worth something!

Step Up - nothing that hadn't already been done in Dirty Dancing, seriously. And much better at that, despite the cheesy cheesy lines. Even Save the Last Dance, with Julia Cutest-Ever Styles, managed to be better. But again, another guilty pleasure.

She's the Man - Do you remember 10 Things I Hate About You, with, again, Julia Cutest-Ever Styles and gone-way-way-too-soon Heath Ledger? Well, as you might or might not know, it was actually based on the shakespearean play The Taming of the Shrew. And it turned out to be really good - yes, in a teenager-ish way, but really good. Well, She's the Man follows the same idea: it's based on the shakespearean play Twelfth Night, in a teenager-ish way as well. AND IT SUCKS! I cannot believe someone had the nerve of inflicting such horrors upon one of the best things ever written in English Literature - nay, in universal literature. How dare they?! And on top of that, they gave AMANDA BYNES the role of Viola, one of the greatest feminine roles in universal theatre? Wtf?!?! This has to be the movie I hate the most, among all the movies I've ever seen.