2006

I went to 26 different movies in 2006. Since there were a couple movies that I saw multiple times, I had a total of 36 moviegoing experiences. In the early part of '06, I went to "Brokeback Mountain" with Shanon. He was a bit uncomfortable with the material (I'll elaborate on this in a future entry). I found the movie to be quite profound. We also went to (Hello, I'm Johnny Cash) "Walk the Line". Very good film. In the late winter, we saw "Final Destination 3", "Date Movie", and "V for Vendetta".

Spring came, as it is prone to do. Shanon and I went to "ATL" and "The Benchwarmers" (better than I expected). My 2nd favorite movie of the year was a sequel that I went to 5 times (including once with Shanon and once with my mom). The title: "Scary Movie 4".



These movies are totally my kind of humor, so it was no suprise that I was consistently laughing throughout the film. In the spring, I went to, "United 93". Very gripping and harrowing, undeniably powerful filmmaking (many critics' groups have named it the best movie of the year).

During the summer, I went to quite a few flicks. I elaborated on them in a prior entry, but just for the record, here are the ones that I saw: "The DaVinci Code", "X-Men: The Last Stand", "Over the Hedge", "Click" (Dori cried at the end of this one), "Superman Returns", "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (rubbish), "Monster House", "Little Miss Sunshine" (very enjoyable, great cast), and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (not as funny as I was hoping).

As the leaves fell, my moviegoing continued with Mark Wahlberg in "Invincible". I also saw "Jackass: Number Two" (OK), "The Illusionist" (fantastic, more details in a prior entry), "The Prestige" (nice! I took off work early to see this one), "Sweet Land" (a beautifully photographed movie that takes place in 1920's Minnesota), followed by two franchise movies with Shanon, "Casino Royale" (excellent) and "Rocky Balboa" (very good).

My favorite movie of the year will be no surprise to regular readers of this weblog. In September, I was invited to a special MySpace screening of a new movie based on one of Sacha Baron Cohen's characters from HBO's "Da Ali G Show" (I wrote quite extensively on this viewing experience in a prior entry). It opened nationally on November 3rd, but didn't come to Rochester, so I went to the Cities to see it that weekend. When it did open in Rochester on November 10th (my birthday), I went to it twice that weekend (once with Shanon). The following week, I went to it again. When I went out of town for Thanksgiving, I saw it with a couple friends. I went to it one more time (my 7th) just before it left town a couple weeks ago. I saw it in 5 different theatres. I am talking, of course, about



It's the funniest movie I (and many others) have seen in years. The reviews were almost universally positive.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/borat/

Here is a transcript of one of my favorite scenes:

Borat: [while driving] Look, there is a woman in a car! Can we follow her and maybe make a sexy time with her?
Driving Instructor: No, no, no, no, no, no!
Borat: A-why not?
Driving Instructor: Because a woman has the right to choose who she has sex with.
Borat: [stunned] WHAT...? You joke?
Driving Instructor: It must be consensual. How 'bout that?
Borat: [turns to Instructor, pauses] Ahahahahaha!



Driving Instructor: That's good, huh?
Borat: [pause] Is not good for me.