Seven movies from 2006

...most of them beginning with "The"

Rocky Balboa (2006)

Surprisingly good. Stallone brings the character back to what it was like in the original, and he does a damn good job. This is very reminiscent of the first one, and is a reminder of the fact that Stallone can act pretty well when he damn well pleases.

The Covenant (2006)

Should have been called "Night Of The Living Guidos". It looked quite promising in the flyer-thingy they pass out in the video stores, but it turned out to be a cross between "X-Men", "Coyote Ugly", "Charmed", "Dragonball Z" and a generic boy-band music video. The four main characters all have different characteristics, so as to appeal to as broad segment of teenage and pre-teenage girls as possible. However, they've all got long or spiky hair, all gelled up and wind-tunnel tested. And even when they're thrown trough walls, or they're swimming, the hair stays perfect. Of course, they all wear wife-beaters or cut-off shirts - when they're not showing off the six-packs and the "I do chest and arms every Monday" wannabe-buff look. Just to reinforce the stereotype, they wear pants or long shorts, so as not to reveal their Johnny Bravo-like chicken legs. Proper guidos work chest, abs and arms three times a week, and always chest on Mondays, dammit! Also, there's plenty of gratuitous T&A with unnecessary shower scenes starring no-name teenage "actresses". If you're the kind of person who enjoyed the Charlie's Angels and Tomb Raider movies, or if you work chest and abs on Mondays, or if you thought Brad Pitt was hyooge in "Troy", or if you're just about shallow enough to sleep in a Petri dish, then this is the movie for you. Even Samuel L. Jackson couldn't have made this one much worse than it was.

The Illusionist (2006)

This one, on the other hand, was a fantastic movie. Besides starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti, it takes place in Wien, and it was awesome recognizing various locations. Best movie I've seen this year by far. Compared to this one, "The Departed" was like "House Party 2".

The Wicker Man (2006)

Nick Cage-flick about a weird society on a secluded, privately owned island. Well-made, and Cage does a splendid job, as always. The ending was quite surprising, and if you wanna know why it's called "The Wicker Man", you've got to hang in there until the very last few minutes. Totally OK movie, but nothing more.

The Last King Of Scotland (2006)

Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for this one, and I can totally understand why. Dude always does a good job, and in a perfect universe, he'd have gotten one for "Ghost Dog" also. That being said, about 30 minutes into the movie, I started getting some pretty non-PC thoughts about the culture this movie depicts, and about ten minutes later, we stopped watching altogether. Weird and disturbing movie, but with a great performance by Whitaker.

The Prestige (2006)

Unlike "The Illusionist", this is a run-of-the-mill movie dealing with magic and the people who purportedly perform it. Well-made and all, but it just drags on for too damn long - 45-minute storyline stretched to way over two hours.

The Queen (2006)

I totally don't care about royalty and the circus the British royal family consitutes, but this quasi-documentary movie was excellent. Helen Mirren is a fantastic actress, and as Queen Elisabeth II, she puts on an absolutely stellar performance. Check this one out.