Title

Rating

Type

Date

Actors

Notes

V for Vendetta

90

SF

2006

Hugo Weaving

Natalie Portman

Such atmosphere!  Such a message!  And “V” is one of the most memorable characters ever.

The Da Vinci Code

83

D

6/3/06

Tom Hanks

Ian McKellan

Cool concepts, great use of symbology, a nice conspiracy story.  There were times when it tried too hard to misdirect.

Chicken Little

76

C

6/3/06

Funny!  Not as amazing as other Pixar stuff (The Incredibles) but fun.

A History of Violence

75

D

6/3/06

Viggo Mortensen

Not a typical Hollywood movie – the focus on the relationships was better (first ¾ of the film) than the necessary violence near the end.  But the final scene was really good.

The Dark Crystal

67

F

6/4/06

Watching it again after so many years, it’s remarkable how little there is to the story. 

Crash

84

D

6/5/06

Don Cheadle

The interconnected nature of our lives, the hidden and overt prejudices which influence our paths, the sad state of life for many – well put together.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

91

F

5/06

They got it right.  The children were perfect – especially Lucy.  The world was small enough, and the inhabitants fanciful enough, and the Queen evil enough.

Jarhead

82

D

6/6/06

Jake Gyllenhall

Jamie Foxx

So this is what war was like for the Desert Storm soldiers?  And this is what being a Marine really means? 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

68

SF

6/9/06

William Shatner

Leonard Nimoy

I have to own this for completeness, and it wasn’t awful – but it certainly was slow.  It had been so long since I had seen it, I actually forgot about V-ger.  Until Spock’s mind contacted it, and then “Oh, yeah….”

King Kong (2005)

61

A

6/7/06

Jack Black

Glad I saw it – once.  There was one, really long, really good action sequence.  The rest was just too slow, or too redundant.

Aeon Flux

73

SF

6/10/06

Charlize Theron

Better than I expected.  The concepts were not all that innovative these days, but it was well done.

Rent

78

M

6/11/06

Loved the story.  Loved the characters.  Loved the primary songs.  So what was wrong?  Well, if you’re going to do a rock opera, there should be no un-sung dialog.  However, this was NOT a rock opera, and I agree with that choice.  So why was there so much singing of dialog?  Most of the Mimi/Roger relationship was sung, but most of it was not a song – just sung dialog.  Considering that a main plot point was that Roger could not write a song, it seemed incongruous.  Still, “525,600 Minutes” is excellent, and I had never heard “La Vie Boheme” and it was fantastic.  Mark, Angel, and Maureen are the best characters.