Editor's Note: What started as "mini reviews" has morphed into the Longest. Post. Ever. I like to talk, and once you get me started on movies, I won't shut up. This post is a perfect example. So, at least you know what you're getting into with this. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I had wanted to do this for a while, but I was inspired by yiddidea and her
first post as she joined in on our little fun and I finally got my butt in gear Following is a list of what I've seen so far, in the order I saw it, and what I thought.

#1: Click
I'll give this movie the benefit of the doubt by stating first that I saw an advance screening of it about 5 months before it was released in theaters. If you don't live in LA chances are you've never been to an advance screening, but it's a hobby my boyfriend and I take up when we're unemployed between films (as the screenings are often at inconvenient times) where you basically tell people that you don't work in the film industry (a lie in most people's cases) and you get to see movies for free. You watch them and fill out a survey and some people get caught in a discussion group where the producers, etc., watch behind two way mirrors and decide how they're going to change the film based on the results. I saw The Break Up like this and loved it, then it came out in theaters and they'd cut all the funny and good stuff out and messed up the ending. That was a rare occasion, though, because generally the movies are really bad and they cut stuff and do reshoots to make them better. I'm hoping that this was the case with Click, because the version I saw was BAD. Like, SUPER BAD. Like I spent the last hour stifling my giggles it was so bad, and then it would just GET WORSE. It was like watching a train wreck. And then I felt really bad when we spotted Adam Sandler, hunched over in shame at the back of the theater when we were leaving. I'd hate to hear what that discussion group sounded like at the end, because we just wanted to get out of there. Anyhow, moving on, this flick is nominated for Best Makeup. They made Adam Sandler look really fat. And Kate Beckinsale look really old. And Sean Astin look really....well I guess Sean Astin always sort of looks like that. Anyway, from what I saw, the makeup was less than impressive and certainly does not warrant an Academy Award. And I'm sure that there was nothing they could have done to save that movie, unless they reshot the last hour and ten minutes (which I'm positive they did not do, I've been on reshoots before and I know how CHEAP studios are), for which in the car on the way home, I rewrote the script through a discussion with my boyfriend and did, in fact, come up with a way to save it. But alas, I just work in the office, I'm not a script doctor. Someday, perhaps, I'll save bad movies such as this.

#2: Cars
Here's my initial review of the flick, and not much has changed since then. I have always loved everything Pixar, and though I thought I wouldn't like this one, I loved it. Sorry I ever doubted you, Pixar. Best Animated Feature? Definitely, though it's got some great contenders.

#3: Superman Returns
My boyfriend is a HUGE Superman fan (when it comes to comic books, we're at odds, DC vs. Marvel....yea, we're comic book nerds, so what?) and he'd been waiting for this film for forever. So we were, of course, first in line for this movie, though I knew next to nothing about Supes. He did, however, decide to educate me beforehand, sitting me down for a day of Christopher Reeve's Superman 1 & 2, which I enjoyed, but didn't LOVE. I do however, love Bryan Singer (though I secretly resent this film for taking him away from my beloved X-Men franchise and resulting in the horrendous X3) and early footage of the flick looked really pretty. So I put up little fuss when waiting in line for hours, donning my I Heart Nerds t-shirt while my boyfriend proudly boasted the classic S on his chest. I walked out of this film having really liked it and was surprised to hear lukewarm reviews. My boyfriend LOVED it and he's as die hard as the fans get. So I can't say that I understand people's beef with it. Brandon Routh, while not the best actor in the world, was molded by an amazing director into channeling Reeves and giving a great performance. The film itself was GORGEOUS. I was surprised it wasn't up for cinematography (though it would lose to Children of Men), because the look of the film was simply amazing. I loved the palette Singer used and as far as looks, I think this film was breathtaking. It won't win Visual Effects, as I stated in an earlier post, but it did give Pirates a good contender.

#4: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poor Superman. It came out just weeks before this flick and struggled to make what this movie made in one weekend in it's entire run. And yet...which one is the better film? Superman, by far. In fact, nearly everything I saw this year (and I saw some crap) was better than this movie. Worse? Eragon. That's pretty much it. I'm not a hater of the franchise, either. In fact, I said, when no one else I knew believed me, that this first flick would be really good. And I was right- I absolutely loved it. I went to see this second film hoping it would have the same results and it didn't. I seriously can not wrap my mind around how this movie performed so well at the box office. It was horribly long; it felt like 5 hours, at least, to me. There were so many things that the characters did that downright did not make sense and were completely unmotivated. Johnny Depp, invigorated by his Oscar nominated performance in the first one, decided to take his character to the next level: annoyance. And also because of his initial success, Jack Sparrow was exploited and overused, unlike in the first one where he was at a perfect balance with Will and Elizabeth. Very few times did it have a throwback to the good, goofy, exciting action of the first film (the sword fight in the wheel, the three way sword fight on the beach), but then these sequences would run their course and just go on for too long. I HATED this movie, yet I will, unfortunately, see the third one just to know what happens. And this will also take home Visual Effects, as I've said before, but probably nothing else (it's up for Sound Editing and Art Direction as well).

#5: Monster House
I caught this flick in 3D and thought it was one of the best movies of the year. It had that wonderful balance that Pixar has perfected where it plays to kids as well as older audiences. It reminded me of a modern day Goonies and if there was an Oscar for voice acting, nearly everyone in this flick would deserve a nominee. The 3D added amazing touches to an already great movie, it was gorgeous to see it this way and I'm so glad I did. While I thought this movie was utterly AWESOME, it unfortunately doesn't stand a chance against it's big boy contenders, Cars and Happy Feet, who both performed far better at the box office.

#6: Little Miss Sunshine
Though I begged and pleaded with my boyfriend, I finally had to suck it up and see this one alone, and I'm so glad I did. I didn't expect it to make me laugh as much as it did, and I was pleasantly surprised at the performances and quality of this film. Not Best Picture material (unfortunately the Academy doesn't embrace indies or comedies well, so this flick has two strikes against it), but definitely worthy of it's Acting noms and I think it just may take home Original Screenplay, in the Academy's attempt to reward it with something for it's greatness.

#7: The Black Dahlia
I can't even stand to talk about this movie, so if you're interested, read my original review. I will say it was the worst movie I saw this year. Yes, even worse than Eragon, because at least that was so bad it made me laugh. This movie will win nothing. I don't even care what it's up for.

#8: The Prestige
As I said in an earlier post, The Illusionist was better, and I wish I'd seen that one instead. This movie was incredibly predictable with okay performances (I think Hugh Jackman was good and that was about all I was impressed with), and I came out feeling cheated. The film felt like it was trying to surprise me, when you could see what was coming around every corner. And in the end, I felt almost like it was condescending, as it did the whole "DOESN'T THAT BLOW YOUR MIND?!?!?! DID YOU SEE THAT COMING?!?!?!" thing and I was just like, "Yeah, I did." And then I went home and thought nothing more of this toss away movie. Art Direction and Cinematography? Don't kid yourself, there were much prettier movies this year.

#9: Happy Feet
Man this movie makes you want to tap dance in a big way. I saw this flick at a 21+ screening after two glasses of wine and my feet were moving in that theater. Luckily, everyone else had been drinking too, so I didn't look like a total moron. This is an awesome movie, it's cute and fluffy with good jams. It really shines in it's musical mash ups, however, let me tell you why it won't take away Best Animated Feature (A bit of a spoiler to follow, consider this your warning). It could have been a nice, tight, and adorably wonderful 75 minute flick had it ended sensibly with the overcoming of the tap dancing/singing issue and the lead character gets the girl. End of story. Unfortunately in this day and age, gone are the 75 minutes kiddie flicks (Need I remind you that nearly every Disney movie made before the year 2000 never exceeded more than 80 minutes?), and so they tacked on another plot that involved pollution and loss of food supply, and Mumble trekking across impossible distances and bridging the gap between humans and penguins, and somehow convincing an entire nation to stop polluting because a penguin can tap dance (yes, here you may say it, WTF?). And after two glasses of wine, this seemed cutesy, but upon further reflection, there's no way it will take the Oscar home.

#10: The Devil Wears Prada
I wanted to see this in theaters in a big, bad way, but the boyfriend said it was too girly. Being that I have no girlfriends (that's what happens when you move cross country...making friends is super hard), I ended up missing this one. However, the boyfriend felt really bad about it, especially when he heard it was supposed to be rather good, and bought it for me for Christmas. He's good, that one. Anyhow, we found a nite during our vacation home to curl up on my mom's comfy couch with her giant plasma and this movie. And we both loved it. Meryl Streep steals the movie from Anne Hathaway so bad, but you can tell that Hathaway is just happy to share a screen with her. She was fantastic, and although Helen Mirren will steal the Oscar from her (hey, at least she got a Globe), she knows that she is the strong second in this category. The best part is, she looked like she had a blast while playing the character and that makes the performance even stronger. Emily Blunt rules too. I loved this movie, hands down. I'm still considering the category, but I think this is a very strong contender for Costume Design.

#11: The Pursuit of Happyness
Unfortunate situation with this one. My mom and her boyfriend had just taken me and my boyfriend out for an awesome Italian dinner complete with lots and lots of wine that my mom and I pretty much polished off ourselves. I picked this movie because my mom and I are identical in nearly every way and one of the traits we share is being incredibly emotional. We cry at movies that we probably shouldn't be crying at (Ahem, I was 9 and bawling at Homeward Bound like someone had forced me to watch them kill my own dog) and have a special soft spot for parent/kid team ups. It probably has something to do with the fact that it was just me and my mom growing up, and the whole father thing strikes a major chord with me, personally, so this movie seemed as though it was made for us to see together. Although, as I gathered my bearings before the flick started, I realized that I was a little drunk. And knowing my mom like I do, she was too. And so we went into this flick, which is very slow moving, and we were both incredibly antsy. There were no tears shed, I think my mom may have fallen asleep, and sadly, I don't think I enjoyed this movie as much as I could have. I definitely do know that Will Smith put in an awesome performance, but when you know what's going to happen, and the film takes so long to get there, it just seemed to be a flat story. Even the parts that evoked humor, the whole bone scanner thing, and him chasing every homeless person around town who stole them from him, was repeated so often that it soon lost it's humor. I was disappointed with this movie, mainly because it didn't make me cry. I would say that I might have cried under different circumstances, but aren't you supposed to be more emotional when you're drunk? Eh, oh well.

#12: The Queen
Another unfortunate situation, here, I saw this on my return flight to the west coast. I was exhausted, and uncomfortable, and just wanted to get home and sleep. So there was this movie, in the way of me and my bed, and I watched it, begrudgingly, in order to pass the time before I could be comfortable again. I think I dozed off at some point during this one, but I can't be sure. Either way, I found it incredibly boring, as I do with most royalty/political flicks. I have a weakness with them, I am vastly uninformed as far as politics go and most of these movies go over my head. Call me stupid, or whatever, but there are some things that certain people just have no interest in and this is one of them for me. I'm fascinated by politics in the film industry (see my love for Good Night and Good Luck, and all other films involving the McCarthy era), but when it comes to whole nations, I just don't have much of a vested interest for what's going on. I could see that Helen Mirren gave a great performance, though I disagree with it's nomination for Best Picture and Best Director. I might be being biased, or maybe I was just too uncomfortable, but I have to go against the masses in saying that I didn't think this film was as worthy of all the praise it's getting. I can't agree with them all

So there were my first 12, most of which I saw in 2006 (the exception being The Queen, that was just after the New Year), and then they announced the nominations and I started counting. So far, of all the nominated films, I'd have to say my favorite is Children of Men, but I also have a soft spot for Cars and Monster House.

Sorry this post was so long, but I went through 12 flicks, give me a break! If anyone actually makes it through this post, I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts!