The Guardian (2006)
There are many great and good things to say about The Guardian, a drama about not just the US Coast Guard, but also training methods, personal lives, overcoming tragedy, and, if that were not enough, a teacher-protegé movie. I’m pleased that it is a mixture of these things and a few early suspenseful rescues packs the maximum punch needed to grab attention. Andrew Davis’ best film since The Fugitive, has a lot going for it. Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner give good performances. But note – the film is directed by Andrew Davis. He makes bad actors look good and good actors look great. Maybe Kutcher got lucky, but he’s watchable. However, even in the eye of the storm, there’s a problem.
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The Black Dahlia (2006)
Well this should be fun. While I’m not sure what this says about my personality, I’ll go ahead & admit it….I love writing scathing movie reviews. So much more fun then oohing & ahhing and further inflating the egos of Hollywood’s finest. So here goes… The Black Dahlia was one of, if not, the worst movie I have seen in a theatre in a very long time (we’re talking Glitter bad, and yes, I did see that in a theatre). People actually hissed when the credits rolled – they hissed!
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Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Lucky Number Slevin will satisfy those of us who have an insatiable craving for crime thrillers. Despite the obvious references that Lucky Number Slevin uses (Pulp Fiction and The Usual Suspects mainly) the film is still a great ride from beginning to end.
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My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
When I first heard about this film I thought the premise was great. How do you dump a super hero girlfriend? Movies like Superman Returns and Spider Man focus on the romantic efforts for their supernatural heroes, but what if things don’t work out? What if you end up having a super hero stalker?
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Coach Carter (2005)
Recently, a commenter on CoP left a comment regarding the film, “Coach Carter”, and while the name of some tunes escapes me, especially since it’s been nearly a year and a half since I seen the film, the film itself does not. I for one don’t mind true story formula pictures, I find some of them to be inspirational and uplifting in their own special ways. But the reason why I haven’t reviewed it on this site is simply because I thought someone already had. Well, now that we cleared that up, let’s talk about this film
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The Queen (2006)
Remember when Stephen Frears made controversial movies like My Beautiful Laundrette, Prick up your Ears and Sammy and Rosie get laid and was considered somewhat of a rebel? I do; that’s why I frowned when I heard about The Queen. Tackling a tricky episode in recent British history, Frears extrapolates on what went on behind closed doors at the Royal household in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Stephen Frears making a film that sympathises with the British Monarchy?
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I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)
The horror film series with the biggest title since the subtitles of A Nightmare On Elm Street is back, and before you check out the DVD cover, and say, “What!?, Jennifer Love Hewitt is not in this third Summer“, thus passing by this flick, let me say this : it is clear that the writing of this new installment has solved a problem. Now the road is paved for more Know What You Did films. The only question is what other words they can put in the title to make it different. I Think I Know What You Did Last Summer…I Seen What You Did… I Heard What You Did…? It’s a fairly good attempt to get The Fisherman up to Candyman or Freddy Kruger status, and I don’t fault folks for trying. I do fault them for trying too hard.
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Gregory’s Girl (1981)
Recently mentioned on a list of the 50 all time greatest British movies, writer/director Bill Forsyth’s film is an unusual classic. It tackles the well-known subject matter of a teen in love in the 1980’s, but not in the overly familiar (and effective) John Hughes way. This is a decidedly Scottish affair. And one that marches to its own quirky beat at that.
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The Sentinel (2006)
I had a little trouble with Michael Douglas’s role in this movie. I love 1995′s The American President in which he plays the president. In this movie he’s a secret service agent, but seeing him in the Oval Office was a bit confusing at times. Especially considering that in this film the world’s most powerful man is played by David Rasche (of Slegde Hammer fame). Unfortunately, this was not my only gripe about this movie.
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Does it get better than this?
September is usually a flurry of activity in New York. Schools start again and everybody is back from their summer shares, vacactions, etc. But the IFC Center has completely outdone itself this week with two amazing offerings.
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