Ananas

The Pursuit of Happyness - 7.5/10 I can't remember a single performance this year which comes close to the one Will Smith gives in this film. The movie itself is solid, with a wonderful ending, but it's all about Smith, and one would hope this is the year he gets over that first Oscar hump.

Babel - 7.5/10 Like Syriana last year, this is an immense film that follows a number of different stories and slowly interweaves them. I'd say that this one is better because of Guillermo Arriaga's unflinching characterization and Alejandro González Iñárritu's passionate direction. The standout performance comes from newcomer Rinko Kikuchi, who plays Chieko, a deaf-mute who is struggling to cope with recent events in her life. It's a visually exhausting film, but a worthy one no less.

It's over folks...

A Scanner Darkly - 8/10

Mulholland Drive - 8.5/10

Beer League - 5/10 This was really funny in parts. There just weren't enough of those parts to make up for the long periods of dull. Artie Lange is a great comedian though, and I think when he works with Norm MacDonald he's one of the funniest guys around.

Jan de Bont as your director is rarely if ever a good idea. As for "Mr And Mrs Smith", I love Doug Liman, but his last show was Heist, and that was garbage. If he would stick to doing films that would be fantastic.

Scoop - 5/10 It's bad enough to have one Woody Allen character in a movie where he's off his game, but two performers playing virtually the same role? Scarlett Johansson is nothing if not devoted, and if there was more to work with I'm sure she could have pulled a solid film out of this but as is, it's just another in a long line of recent Allen comedic disappointments (except for Anything Else, which is awesome for Christina Ricci/Jason Biggs awesomeness). Some of this is sort of an artsy-fartsy homage to Seventh Seal and the rest is just a hodge podge of weaker versions of his earlier material. It's not that the material is now entirely unfunny or anything; it's just that it doesn't hold up well to recycling.

Over the Weekend: Goodfellas - 9/10 Scary Movie - 9/10 Click - 8/10 Rocky III - 6/10

Clerks II - 8/10 I've had way more repeat viewings of movies this year than usual. I don't know if that's a good or a bad sign.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop - 8/10 Vive Le Canada!

Thank You For Smoking (2006) - 7/10 Rocky II (1979)- 7/10

Stranger Than Fiction (2006) - 7.5/10 Director: Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball) Cast: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah My Thoughts: The saying "Where there's smoke, there's fire" is often used in a cynical way, but when it comes to "Stranger Than Fiction", it carries a very positive connotation. It's enough that the project attracted Marc Forster, the Golden Globe nominated director of "Finding Neverland" and "Monster's Ball", but when your cast includes Academy Award winners like Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson as well as rising stars like Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Queen Latifah it follows to assume that there is some real meat to back the impressive brass up. And indeed the screenplay is very well written; it's consistent, funny and insightful. The brass delivers, as Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson both give great performances at opposite ends of the film. There's a little silliness in the third act that sends out some pretentious messages, but in the end the filmmaker's choose the right path. Very funny, and adequately heartwarming to warrant the buzz it has won.

Rocky - 9/10

American Dreamz (2006) - 4/10 Director: Paul Weitz (American Pie) Cast: Hugh Grant, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein. My Thoughts: I'm all for satire, and when it comes to American culture and politics, there is plenty of material available. But when you're going to make a movie that takes on so much and touches on so many sensitive subjects, you have a responsibility to either make it really accurate or at least funny. This effort is neither. The political aspect of it touches on everything Saturday Night Live has been covering since 2003, and although Dennis Quaid is good as President Staton, the de facto George W Bush, it comes off as silly. The other major element revolves around the fictional reality show American Dreamz (a not so subtle jab at American Idol), complete with its brash British host, cheesy camera work and over the top contestants. But while there is certainly plenty to be made fun of with regards to America's favourite TV show, I find this movie, made on a big $20 million dollar Hollywood budget, directed by the guy who made American Pie and starring a host of top celebrities, to come off as a little shallow. Theirs nothing offensively bad about "American Dreamz", yet I never really laughed, and I certainly never felt that the film said anything any of the other thousand anti-Bush movies or TV shows haven't covered infinitely.

Click - 8/10 Okay, the second viewing confirmed it wasn't a fluke. It's almost a dual feature: half great comedy and half great drama. And the fact that it doesn't bother me at all mere days after seeing "It's A Wonderful Life" is a sign that it's a worthy homage.

Papa Roach - The Paramour Sessions Really disappointing. This is my first Papa Roach album since "Infest" (a classic), and while this one starts with similar intensity, it drops of dramatically after the first half or so and becomes a disappointing alt-rock record. Best Tracks - "To Be Loved", "Alive", "Crash", "I Devise My Own Demise".

Talladega Nights - 6.5/10

Last week's episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" - both 8/10. I'm so thrilled that "The Simpsons" is back on track, because it definitely makes for some awesome television on Sundays.

It's A Wonderful Life - 9/10 The true holiday essential.

An Inconvenient Truth - 8/10 As if Americans couldn't feel any MORE sorry for electing George Bush in 2000.

The Quiet - 4/10 You know for a movie about such a sensitive topic, it certainly doesn't have much to say. It's just your basic feminist revenge movie, only unlike "Hard Candy" which came out a few months prior, this one doesn't really measure vigilante justice on both sides of the fence.

I happen to think the whole record is pretty fucking amazing, but I'd say "Who Killed It" is a stand out track. I just love that it builds with it's attack on the industry as it is right up till the end, when it ends with "Hope" on a completely new and hopeful tangent. It makes up completely for how disappointing some of the other rap heavy hitters have been this year. Other recommendations: Indie-wise: Cadence Weapon, Busdriver, Jedi Mind Tricks, DJ Format (anything with MC Abdominal), Del tha Funky Homosapien and k'naan. Mainstream: T.I., Lil' Wayne, Outkast, k-os, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jurassic 5, the Roots, Q-Tip and The Clipse. If you're on an old school trip: A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill and (although this may be my Irish-American fascination) House of Pain.

K-Os and Beach Chair winning makes me

Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead I hate giving number ratings to records, but wow, this is a fucking awesome record. Tracks 5-7 is probably the best run of 3 tracks on any album this year. Some ace tracks running through it. Definitely one of his better efforts.