Miami Vice (2006)

Miami Vice, the movie, is a silver screen take on THE iconic TV show of the 1980s. Starring Colin Farrell as Crocket and Jamie Foxx as Tubbs, and directed by Michael Mann (the man behind the original show), the styles and situations have been updated to be contemporary. And that's most of what we see. The movie is visually arresting with dark, shadowy colors enhancing the mood. Like the TV show, it's far more style than substance, so in that sense, it's a successful translation from TV to movie.
The story takes us to the world of major drug trafficking (no big surprise there) where a large inter-agency operation by the Feds has been compromised by some informant in one of the many departments involved (FBI, Homeland Security, BATF, DEA, etc). When things go sour in Miami, the Feds turn to an agency that has not been involved: Miami-Dade Vice. Crockett and Tubbs go undercover and out of the country to make the deal. Things complicate from there.
For the most part, the material isn't original, we've seen much of it before. There's just not that much substance. The love interest isn't particularly plausible. The Colombian drug lords are fairly stereotypical. On the other hand, the acting is pretty decent. The music fits the tone of the movie. The action is generally simple and straightforward and serves the story (rather than the other way around as in most summer blockbusters).
So, not a spectacular film, but definitely watchable.
Letter grade: C+

For Your Consideration (2006)

Sporting a massive ensemble cast, For Your Consideration, Christopher Guest's latest exploration of quirky people, is about the filming and promotion of a movie (Home for Purim) that suddenly finds itself abuzz with rumors of Oscar nomination. Specifically, rumors start to sprout up that a cast member is a likely Oscar contender based on observations of the film's production, and then the rumors begin to shift from one cast member to another. First it's Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara), then Victor Allen Miller (Harry Shearer) and Callie Webb (Parker Posey). And suddenly ambition and jealousy infect the set.
Coupled with the rumors is the celebrity what-passes-for-journalism that begins to plague the picture in all its vacuous glory (played up particularly bombastically by Fred Willard) and studio interference (the movie is "too Jewish"), the poison infects everybody, particularly the actors.
I wouldn't call it Guest's best work, though it is certainly entertaining. They story isn't as tight as either A Mighty Wind or Best in Show. It's structured more around glimpses of forces and events going on around the movie production and actors, all drawn into a web. The performances are all excellent with actors brilliantly cast in their roles from washed up actors and addled producers to snarky journalists and weasely agents.
Overall, the movie is good enough to rate a B+.

Beerfest (2006)

Beerfest is a titanically stupid movie, and that's part of its charm. It makes no bones about appealing to our higher brain functions, it simply goes for the laughs. And it delivers plenty of oddball and off-color, decidedly adult laughs.
The premise is, two brothers, played by Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske, are to take their grandfather's ashes to Oktoberfest where they will follow a family tradition and return them to their home. What they find is a clandestine drinking competition called Beerfest and a fight over their family legacy, the recipe to Germany's greatest beer. Trounced and thrown out, the brothers vow to prepare for the next year by recruiting a band of beer athletes and conducting intensive training to reclaim the family name.
The humor is pretty lowbrow in general and bizarre. It's hard not to laugh at the outrageously silly things these actors are making themselves say, and with straight faces. Guest appearances by Donald Sutherland, Jurgen Prochnow, and Cloris Leachman provide additional spice to this truly strange comedy.
It's definitely not for the kids, in much the same way vintage teen giggle movies are not for kids and a lot of so-called adults will find the humor too juvenile, but nuts to them. It's fine way to spend about 2 hours chuckling at silliness.
Letter grade: B

Spiderman 2 (2004)

OK, so this movie is a little older. I'm on a superhero movie kick right now.

Spiderman 2 takes a good movie franchise start and runs with it, adding another layer of excellence to the pile. Sam Raimi is on a roll, capturing the characters in the Spiderman saga and their emotional states, particularly as Spiderman grapples with the conflicting responsibilities he feels: to being a hero, being a student, being a friend, being a son-nephew, and being a possible boy friend. And Alfred Molina is absolutely fantastic as the villain of the piece, Doctor Octopus. The menace he projects is more passionate than that posed by the Green Goblin, which was primarily creepy (and also well done).
Tobey Maquire turns in another excellent performance as the wallcrawler, capturing that hint of geekiness that Spiderman has always retained despite being an ass kicking superhero, and even James Franco strengthens his character as Peter's friend/Spiderman's enemy Harry Osborne. And JK Simmons is always a hoot as J. Jonah Jameson.
We'll have to see if Spiderman 3 comes close to this one. Early reviews suggest it won't be, but even if it isn't as good, we've still got the first 2 of the three.
Grade: A-

Superman Returns (2006)

Superman Returns brought us the, well, the return of Superman to the silver screen for the first time in just about 20 years. Granted, after Superman III and Superman IV, we were all looking for a break (hint: they sucked). But with the resurgence of 'men in tights' movies, it was a very welcome addition.
This version of the Superman epic has the Man of Steel returning to Earth after an extended absence mourning over the remains of Krypton and trying to pick up the pieces of his disjointed life. In the biggest blow of all, Lois Lane has moved on (and has a kid), resentful of Superman's sudden departure. His return makes a huge splash world-wide as he reasserts himself as Earth's primary disaster prevention program. Meanwhile, he also tries to figure out his place in Lois's life, even to the point of kind of worming his way in ways you wouldn't expect out of the big blue Boy Scout.
I think Brandon Routh acquits himself well as Superman, though is perhaps a bit too... mopey. The villain in the piece, Lex Luthor, is played very well by Kevin Spacey as a grouchy genius, constantly looking down on his underlings.
The movie is paced out well and takes the time to highlight the awesome respect and love Superman receives from the people who look up to him. We also get to see a certain amount of vulnerability as Superman needs the help of people around him. Director Bryan Singer, for the most part, proves he's got a good head for superhero pics.
Grade: B+

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

X-Men: The Last Stand marks the 3rd installment in the X-men series and, if we are lucky, it will be the last... at least by that director. I can't say it was an awful movie, because it wasn't. Some scenes, particularly Juggernaut's chasing of Kitty and a few scenes involving Wolverine, were nicely done. Unfortunately, too much talent not belonging to Hugh Jackman is wasted. They could have done a lot more with Phoenix's lack of impulse control than they did... but they didn't. They could have played up the pain being felt by Cyclops in a meaningful way... but they didn't. Heck, a dispute between James Marsden and the director, Brett Ratner, reportedly got him killed off. And that's just sad since Cyclops is the original X-man and is a real standout character in the original Dark Phoenix saga.
Ultimately, this movie fails to deliver to the same degree that the previous two installments delivered. I think that has a lot to do with the director, in this case. Bryan Singer seems to have more flair superhero movies than Ratner.
Grade: C+

The Omen (2006)

The Omen is a remake of the original movie from 1976, and I have to say that it was pretty much inevitable. How could any studio see the date 6/6/06 looming on the calendar and not want to remake this movie?
Unfortunately, they really should have resisted. The movie isn't bad, but it is one of the least essential remakes of a movie I have ever seen. It follows the original movie largely scene by scene without a lot of reinterpretation to make it worthwhile. The movie is reasonably competently acted by Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber and has some fine performances from supporting actors. But it only achieves the level of intensity of the original in two or three scenes in the whole picture. The scene where Damien flips out while being taken to the church is one that is noticeably weaker in the remade version.
Plot-wise, the story is about an American diplomat (Schreiber) who agrees to a baby switch at the hospital because he has been told that, due to complications, his own son didn't survive the birth and this other baby has lost his mother. As the lad grows and the diplomat rises in rank due to a bizarre accident, weird things start to happen. The nanny hangs herself in front of a gaggle of people at a birthday party, a priest shows up saying that the kid really has a jackal for a mother, and a photographer starts noticing odd things in the pictures he takes around the diplomat. The diplomat's wife (Stiles) starts to feel that her son is actually evil, and the diplomat comes to some disturbing revelations.
I can't help but feel that the movie-watching public would have been far better served if the movie had been substantially re-envisioned by taking a completely different point of view or if the whole project had been scrapped in favor of a rerelease of the original Omen trilogy into theaters for a special anti-christ movie fest on 6/6/06.
Grade: C+
Grade for the original: B+