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Dan Owen reviews
2 0 0 6 R e t r o s p e c t i v eP a r t O n e
JANUARY
As we head into a brand new year of films, let’s take a look at some of themost prominent and interesting releases of 2006, in the annual DMDretrospective look. As usual there were plenty of sequels and some remakesalong the way, although 2006 is perhaps most notable for having a hugenumber of CGI cartoons. However, studios should take note that quantity didnot equal quality, with even Pixar coming under fire from some critics.
The year began with Sam Mendes’ excellent Jarhead, cementing Jake Gyllenhaalas a movie star of some clout following his Donnie Darko debut and awardsfor Brokeback Mountain.
Awards were something US rapper 50 Cent could only dream of after his biopicGet Rich Of Die Tryin’, an attempt to emulate Eminem’s success with 8 Mile.What he didn’t comprehend is that Eminem has some acting talent (only some,mind) and director Curtis Hanson, whereas “Fiddy” is content to mumblethrough a trashy rags-to-riches tale.
The first of many sequels arrived with Underworld: Evolution, an unexpectedreturn for Kate Beckinsale in an overblown movie that provides enoughno-brain entertainment and fury to justify itself. Mind you, if director(and husband) Len Wiseman ever suggests a Part III, don’t be so quick toslip into the cat-suit, eh Kate?
It was left to Steven Spielberg to provide some real class in New Year withMunich, a brilliant true story about the 1974 Olympic games that saw thedirector, post-War Of The World, return to more serious themes.
FEBRUARYAn unofficial sequel to Jumanji arrived with Zathura, a decent sci-fiadventure that didn’t really connect with audiences. Somebody was obviouslyimpressed with Jon Favreau’s first foray into special-effects, though, ashe’s now the guy behind summer 2008 tent-pole Iron Man.
Audiences were more forgiving to Chicken Little, the first of many (toomany) CGI animations this past year. Little did big business, but alsoattracted critical disdain from people overfed on computer animations withlittle emphasis on characters and story.
Final Destination 3 continues to slaughter teens in protractedcircumstances, never really bettering either predecessor despite coming fromthe creative minds that started the ball rolling with the first instalment.
Charlize Theron starred in a post-Oscar turkey with Aeon Flux an overblown1984-alike with a music-video attention span. Does Theron share the sameagent as Halle Berry? Philip Seymour Hoffman showed how best to juggleserious and fun movies, starring in Oscar-magnet Capote and May’s MissionImpossible III.
Meanwhile, Tom Welling (TV’s Superman) had a notable miss with the poorremake of John Carpenter’s spooky classic The Fog.
MARCH
The Hills Have Eyes provided the first real horror hit, an effective remakeof Wes Craven’s original that pleased most fans.
The horror genre was also played for laughs the same month with B-movieSlither, a black comedy alien invasion that proved popular, although didn’treally branch out from its inbuilt cult crowd.
Steve Martin’s decline continued with the loathsome Pink Panther remake, acritically-panned comedy that had Peter Sellers spinning in his grave.
V For Vendetta did the unthinkable and provided audiences with a half-decentAlan Moore adaptation, becoming one of the most intriguing mainstream moviesof the year. Sharon Stone could only dream for such an accolade with herill-advised sequel to Basic Instinct, meanwhile…
APRIL
Ice Age 2 became a huge hit for animated sequels, helping to add to the glutof kid’s films this year. It actually became the best-selling CGI cartoon ofthe year, even trumping Pixar’s Cars.
TV presenters Ant and Dec also tried their hand at film with Alien Autopsy,an amiable comedy about two lads trying to remake a real extra-terrestrialautopsy tape they saw. The film wasn’t bad, just undercooked, mostlysurviving through Ant and Dec’s dependable chemistry together.
Lindsay Lohan became more famous for her hedonism in 2006 than her filmoutput, which is a shame because the star quality she showed in FreakyFriday and Mean Girls is fast dissipating as a result. One misjudged turkeyshe did release was Just My Luck, a trite comedy about luck that is mostnotable for co-starring McFly!
Cabin Fever’s Eli Roth returned with another horror smash, the glib andtorturous Hostel. There’s no denying Roth has some talent with this kind ofstuff, but Hostel wasn’t anywhere near as gruelling and x-rated as it hyped.Still not for kids, though!
On the opposite side of the scary spectrum came Scary Movie 4, anotherunwanted sequel to the poor original. What makes this sadder is how muchonce-great talent is involved - Leslie Nielsen and director David Zuckerworked on Airplane together, so what went wrong guys?
United 93 caused a stir for being the first mainstream movie based on theevents of September 11 2001. British director Paul Greengrass (The BourneSupremacy) took charge of an incredibly emotional and effective portrayal ofUnited 93, the plane where the terrorists were apparently overpowered by thepassengers. While many debated the sensitivity of the movie’s release, mostwere satisfied that the movie didn’t glorify the tragedy and deserved itsrelease.
2006 Retrospective Part Two –2006 Retrospective Part Three –2006 Retrospective Part FourPage Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2007.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.