Justin

I thought The Usual Suspects was a fantastic ending with a good movie around it. Justin

Holy crap I just understood the movie! Justin

I've quite enjoyed the music in Heroes. Justin

The Black Dahlia. It has it's moments but somehow I just did not really get this. I never really felt conected with the characters. DePalma is in top form the script just seemed to lack heart. 3 out of 5. A Scanner Darkly. Great stuff. An intelligent adaptation which doesn't just pluck an idea from the novel and go somewhere diffrent (pretty much any of the other PKD movies.) Performances are great. 4 out of 5. The Mosquito Coast. An interesting film that deals with some powerful concepts. Harrison Ford is surprisingly good. Some of the hostility from Rev Spellgood is a little far fetched. 4 out of 5. The Last Temptation Of Christ. The most thought provoking film I've seen in probably 6 months. For some reason I grew up thinking this movie was about Jesus banging Mary and then dies somewhere in India. While a lot of it's plot takes quite a few liberties from the gospels I think it's strength is that it's the only film version of the gospel where I actually believe that Jesus is a human being. To me, no matter if your are Christian or otherwise this is much more powerful. Jesus actually being human with all of our doubts and fears and yet somehow still managed to go through with crucifixtion just enhances and makes me appreciate the story all the more. I'm willing to forgive it's other flaws just for that. 5 out of 5. Justin

I concur. The Generations and First Contact commentary are fantastic. Justin - Who wishes the shows had commentary.

The do seem kind of fanny. Justin

I think we're getting off topic here. Joe, what were you saying? Justin

Waiting... A great comedy. One of the funniest movies I've seen. 4/5. Justin

The cheerleader story kind of lost steam though. I find the whole "be my friend again" theme to be kind of annoying. Ditch the nerd! Justin

Wasn't The Good Shepherd released in '06? Where the heck is it? Justin

Great episode. I think Niki's character is more interesting now. My favorite character is the father. Justin

Anyone else half-read books? You start a book and are really into it but somehow you lose interest and just stop? I have probably a dozen half-books I need to finish. I'm trying to solve the problem by just reading a chapter a day that way my enthusiasm doesn't just flame out. A few half-books I've read... Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein The Alien Years - Robert Silverberg Catch 22 - Joseph Heller Contact - Carl Sagan Carpe Jugulem - Terry Pratchett Justin - Who hates doing that...

My favorite film was The Departed. The best film of the year would be a tie between The Departed, The Good Shepherd, and The Prestige. Justin

The book is written in a rather unique way too. Very hard to get into. Justin

The Good Shepherd. Wonderful, brilliant. Probably the best film of 2006. Damon pulls this role off incredibly well, he's also supported by a fantastic supporting cast like Angelina Jolie, Michael Gambon, and William Hurt. The real winners here are Eric Roth and Robert DeNiro who gave us a truly stunning screenplay and beautifully directed picture. Compared with Roth's previously unfocused dramatic attempt with Munich this is a much tighter and well built breath of fresh air. 5 out of 5. Justin

25th Hour. A great character driven film. Still not sure about the ending. 4 out of 5. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind. Far improved upon second viewing. 5 out of 5. The Nativity Story. I don't think they could have made this film more of a yawn fest. For a concept that the film makers are trying to pass off as mind shatteringly important, they certainly execute it with all the class and tact of a TV movie. 2 out of 5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Expect weird things when watching this film. Still it does provide a unique and enjoyable experience with some really good laughs. 4 out of 5. Justin

The Deer Hunter. An extremly powerful and depressing movie. Fantastic performances. If you can make it through the long wedding scene you'll enjoy it. 5 out of 5. Justin

Saw. This ending had a poor movie around it. Weak characters with little or cliched motivation. A fairly typical plot with an eerie Sevenesqe parallel's (I.E. rip off's). Infact the whole movie seemed like a prologue and instead of the end credits the main titles should have started. The film presents a serial killer preaching about morals and ethics through his elaborate traps, trying to get people to appreciate life more. Yet, NONE of this comes through in the film. It takes a back seat to the MTV flash editing and gore. The biggest question this left me with was "Will Saw II be yet another pointless trap or will it actually try and do something intelligent with itself?" Still, the ending is quite effective and if the film didn't try so hard to take itself seriously then maybe I'd be more willing to forgive it. But alas it doesn't, so I'm not. However, I'll still give it an extra nod for the ending, anyway. 2 out of 5. Justin

I see Tom Petty and Sir Paul McCartney got nominations as well. Alsol, You're Beautiful must be the most nominated song and album up there. 8O Justin

The only one I haven't seen is the one I'm looking for which is the Superman: The Movie 4 disc set. I mean it's not like it's confusing or anything... Justin

America: The Book. A compelling historical narrative that flows with rich detail and intelligence. And it's all true, every word of it! I'm thinking about reading The Silence of The Lambs... Any good after seeing the movie? Justin

Gattaca. An intelligent film. Performances are great. Score is quite good. In some places it looked kind of cheap but overall Niccol does a good job of making it look strange. Surpisingly compelling backstory for the main character. I found myself totally on the edge of my seat on their final swim. 4 out of 5. The Godfather. My first time seeing this classic. Since the law prohibits me from saying anything bad about this film....I won't. Then again I'm not sure what I would say. 5 out of 5. Justin

Wasn't there a four disc release of just Superman: The Movie? Or am I living in some dystopic alternate universe? Justin

I think Nikki is still an interesting character. I just wish they would move it along already. Justin

I'm actually rather glad the cheerleader thing is over. There were more interesting things to look into. And yes, Jessica/Niki story is just like off by itself while all the other stories have started to come together. Justin - Who thinks Claire's father is one of the most interesting characters.