War of the Worlds - 2005 - Tom Cruise.  THis remake has to be one of the
worst movies I have ever seen.

Walk the Line - 2005 - Jaoquin Phoenix - Reese Witherspoon.  The life 
of Johnny Cash from 1955 to 1968.  Interesting but fairly slow.  Good
performances but not up to the hype received. 7

Mrs. Henderson Presents - Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins.  England in 1937.  
Mrs. Henderson's husband passes away and she doesn't know what she wants
to do with the rest of her life.  She buys a theater and hires Bob Hoskins
as her theater manager.  Then the war comes to England and everything
changes.  A magnificent period piece with great roles and a wonderful 
story.  Can't help but love it.  10

Crash - 2005 - Ensemble cast.  Best Picture winner for 2005.  Los Angeles
in December.  Fifteen or twenty people are involved with each other in ways
that they will never really know or understand.  People from different races
and countries - different backgrounds.  The movie is disturbing in many ways
but it also does a very good job of showing us that we all need and depend
on each other.  8

Failure To Launch - 2006 - Matthew McCoughnahey - Sarah Jessica Parker -
Kathy Bates - Terry Bradshaw.  The critics panned this movie but they were
wrong - it is a lot of fun - nothing serious but good entertainment.  9

An Unfinished Life - 2005 - Robert Redford - Morgan Freeman - Jennifer
Lopez.  Jean is abused by her boy friend and takes her daughter and returns
to her father-in-law's farm in Wyoming.  He is taking care of his long time
friend who was mauled by a bear, and continues to mourn the passing of his
son, Jean's husband, who died in a car accident that he blames on Jean.
Beautiful scenery and a well told Lasse Hallestrom movie. 8

Elizabethtown - Orlando Bloom - Kirstin Dunst.  We could not watch this - it
was just awful.
  
The DaVinci Code - 2006 - Tom Hanks.  A decent movie but not the blockbuster
that people expected.  The book was just too much to get into a two hour 
movie. 6

The Lake House - 2006 - Sandra Bullock - Keanu Reeves.  Two people meet
because they have both lived in the same house - the problem is, it 
appears that they are in a time warp - one of them is existing in 2006
and the other is in 2004.  How this comes about or is resolved is not
handled very well by the film.  That being said, it was a pretty film 
with nice performances - but a very weak script. 7

Prarie Home Companion - 2006 - Garrison Keiller - Meryl Streep - Lily Tomlin
- Kevin Kline.  The radio show is brought to life in a movie about the end
of its run - very enjoyable and quite well done. 9

Click - 2006 - Adam Sandler.  A young man is having a difficult time dealing
with family and work.  He gets a visit from a very strange angel who trys to
sort it all out for him.  Many very funny lines and some good life
philosophy.  An enjoyable movie. 8

Word Play - 2006 - Will Shortz.  A documentary about the National Crossword
Puzzle Tournament that is held each year in Stamford, CT.  Interesting and 
well done. 8

Akeelah and the B. - 2006 - Laurence Fishbourne - Angela Basset.  An eleven
year old black girl has the ability to learn words and remember how to spell
them.  This leads to a spelling bee and the opening up of an entire world
for her and her family and friends.  Not to be missed.  11

Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest - 2006 - Johnny Depp.  What a
horrible movie - terrible. 1

Kinsey - 2005 - Liam Neeson.  The story of Alfred Kinsey and his research on
human sexuality.  This was actually a very interesting movie that was well
written and well presented. 8

Talladaga Nights - 2006 - Will Ferrel.  A friend and I went to see this
on an evening when our wives were playing Mahj.  The trailer was pretty
funny but the movie was pretty awful - even for us guys. 3

Invincible - Mark Whalberg - Greg Kinnear.  The story of Vince Papalo, a 
30 year old bartender who tried out for the Philadelphia Eagles and made 
the team.  It is well done and heartwarming - This years Rudy. 9

The Last Kiss - Zach Braff - 2006.  This was supposed to be a romantic
comedy type of movie but it is not that at all - this was a hard movie 
about the hell that couples put each other thru - not a fun time. 6

Little Miss Sunshine - Greg Kinnear - 2006.  The sad but funny story of
Olive Hoover and her chance to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine
Pageant in Rodundo Beach, California.  It is really a "road trip" movie
about a bunch of losers who will always be losers but who love each other
anyway.  It is cute in parts - funny in parts - and sad in parts - not a 
bad movie but easily forgotten.  7

Rumor Has It - Shirley Mclain - Kevin Costner - Jennifer Anniston.  Very
well done romantic comedy - cute and funny in the right places. 8

Match Point - Scarlett Johannsen.  A woody Allen movie that could have been
pretty good but it was very slow.  7

The Notorious Bettie Page - This is a more or less documentary that is
easy to sleep through. 6

Shopgirl - Steve Martin - Clair Danes.  Danes plays a woman living alone
in LA working at Saks behind the glove counter.  She is involved with two
men and the evolution of her relationship is the basis of the movie.  A
little slow. 7

A Good Year - Russell Crowe - 2006.  Crowe plays Max Skinner, an investment
banker in England who inherits a home and vineyard in Provance, France.  As
he goes about trying to understand the estate and the winery he learns about
himself and life - a beautiful film. 9

DeJaVu - Denzel Washington - 2006.  Washington plays an ATF agent who is
investigating an explosion that kills over 500 innocent people in a New
Orleans harbor.  This is an extremely neat mystery with some great twists.
I love the way the movie resolves itself and comes to a perfectly reasonable
ending. 10

Casino Royale - Daniel Craig - 2006.  An updated remake of the first Bond film.  
The action sequences are pretty intense and the entire film has been updated 
to fit into the current timeframe.  Excellent entertaining movie. 9

The Holiday - Cameron Diaz - Jude Law - Kate Winslet - Jack Black - Eli  
Wallach - 2006.  Iris and Amanda decide to exchange homes for the holiday.
Iris lives in England and Amanda lives in Los Angeles.  They are both
trying to get away from love interests that have gone wrong.  The story
moves on from there.  This is just a feel good date movie with good 
performances from everybody.  Nothing extraordinary but very well
done - good entertainment. 9

Dreamgirls - Jamie Foxx - Beyonce Knowles - Eddie Murphy - 2006.  This movie
lives up to the hype - is is a very well done musical that tells the story
(supposedly) of Diana Ross and the Supremes.  I think that we will see a 
number of Academy Award Nominations attached to this film - and well deserved
to say the least.  9

Eight Below.  A story about eight sled dogs who were left behind unintentionally,
and how they managed for the 175 days on their own - and how the people who left
them behind managed to go back for them.  The photography of the Anartic is
incredible, and even though the movie was slow in parts it is well worth the 
time to see it.  9