New format: the 2006 Movie Log and the 2006 Book Log will be updated in one list each, available from the links at the right. The front page (here) will be used for periodic reviews and capsules.

(M) Capote (Miller, 2005) 5

With a tinge of brightness in his voice and the immodest look of an easy showman, Philip Seymour Hoffman digs into Truman Capote with a brave complexity that trumps, quite handily, the work of any other leading man this year. That same complexity is, unfortunately, missing from Dan Futterman's breezy script, which chronicles the author's growing fascination with the killers whose deeds would fill the pages of his magnum opus, In Cold Blood. If we're supposed to care about this illicit entanglement, we need to know much more about the case and the people than the broad, soapy stuff Futterman is willing to provide. It doesn't really matter much, though. Everybody's seeing it for Hoffman, and rightly so; his brand of artistry is (and--- let's not kid ourselves--- has always been) nothing short of priceless.

(M) Pieces of April (Hedges, 2003) B

An undercooked disappointment that uses its last two minutes to obliterate any hope of dramatic soundness. It's saved, if not redeemed, by a stellar cast, except for a predictably mediocre turn by Katie Holmes, whose presence presumably allowed the film to be made in the first place.

Movie Log 2006

Note: "*" means Theatrical Viewing. "/ /" means repeat viewing. "W/O" means I walked out.

001. (03 Jan) Pieces of April (Peter Hedges, 2003)
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002. (05 Jan) Last Days (Gus Van Sant, 2005)
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003. (06 Jan) Match Point (Woody Allen, 2005)*
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004. (10 Jan) Capote (Bennett Miller, 2005)*
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005. (19 Jan) Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)
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006. (19 Jan) Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939)
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007. (21 Jan) Happy Here and Now (Michael Almereyda, 2002)
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008. (22 Jan) Imaginary Heroes (Daniel Harris, 2005)
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009. (26 Jan) Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
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010. (27 Jan) Nanny McPhee (Kirk Jones, 2006)* (W/O)
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011. (27 Jan) /Munich/ (Steven Spielberg, 2005)*
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012. (28 Jan) /The Squid and the Whale/ (Noah Baumbauch, 2005)*
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013. (29 Jan) Maderlay (Lars von Trier, 2006)*
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014. (2 Feb) Hapax Legomena I: Nostalgia (Hollis Frampton, 1971)
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015. (2 Feb) Hapax Legomena II: Poetic Justice (Hollis Frampton, 1972)
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016. (3 Feb) Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2005)
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017. (4 Feb) Head-On (Fatih Akin, 2005)
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018. (9 Feb) Opening Night (John Cassavetes, 1977)
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019. (13 Feb) Junebug (Phil Morrison, 2005)
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020. (16 Feb) /Mulholland Drive/ (David Lynch, 2001)
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021. (17 Feb) Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (Michael Winterbottom, 2006)*
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022. (23 Feb) /North by Northwest/ (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
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023. (6 March) Dave Chappelle's Block Party (Michel Gondry, 2006)*
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024. (6 March) Our Brand is Crisis (Rachel Boynton, 2006)*
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025. (9 March) Children of Paradise (Marcel Carne, 1945)
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026. (18 March) Thank You for Smoking (Jason Reitman, 2006)*
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027. (23 March) Anemic Cinema (Marcel Duchamp, 1926)
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028. (23 March) Heaven and Earth Magic (Harry Smith, 1962)
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029. (25 March) Inside Man (Spike Lee, 2006)*
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030. (30 March) October (Sergei Eisenstein, 1927)
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031. (6 April) Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)
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032. (20 April) The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
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033. (27 April) Cheyenne Autumn (John Ford, 1964)
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034. (29 April) Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, 1952)
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035. (13 May) United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)*
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036. (14 May) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Steve Box, Nick Park, 2005)
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037. (16 May) The Importance of Being Earnest (Anthony Asquith, 1952)
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038. (17 May) The New World (Terence Malick, 2005)
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039. (18 May) A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)
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040. (20 May) The Da Vinci Code (Ron Howard, 2006)*
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041. (22 May) Funny Ha Ha (Andrew Bujalski, 2005)
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042. (28 May) /A History of Violence/ (David Cronenberg, 2005)
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