Category: 2006

  • Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

    Back in the day when Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay were still pals, they stumbled upon a winning formula for comedy with 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which goosed TV newsrooms while simultaneously skewering the Dumb American Male over a fire pit. The humor was silly, largely improvisational, and devoted to a spirit…

  • Lady in the Water (2006)

    Judging by the charges of rank self-indulgence that M. Night Shyamalan endured at the time for Lady in the Water, you might half-expect it to be 108 minutes of the director singing in the shower, brushing his teeth, and taking a dump while reading the Philadelphia Inquirer. The movie’s reception by critics in 2006 was…

  • Little Children (2006)

    Weaving a tapestry of marital strain, infidelity and the difficulties of parenthood, Little Children is a scathingly honest critique of suburban manners that never sacrifices its humanity for satire. Director Todd Field‘s follow-up to his excellent 2001 melodrama, In the Bedroom, the film is a rarity: caustic without crossing over into cruelty, affecting without resorting to cheap…

  • The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

    If this rags-to-riches tale wasn’t true, you’d think it was the invention of the world’s sappiest motivational speaker. Chris Gardner, penniless and homeless in the early 1980s, remained committed to caring for his young son while working toward a career as a stockbroker. It’s stuff tailor-made for an inspirational Hollywood flick, and it is a…

  • The Ant Bully (2006)

    The animated kids’ movie The Ant Bully begins with scrawny, little Lucas Nickle (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen from TV’s Avatar: The Last Airbender) suffering a wedgie at the hands of the neighborhood bully. “What are you gonna do about it?” Lucas’ tormenter asks rhetorically. “Nothing, ’cause I’m big and you’re small.” Almost immediately after…

  • Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

    Deliver Us from Evil is a difficult film to watch, but it is an essential one. The Oscar-nominated 2006 documentary chronicles the tale of a pedophile priest and his many victims, but its scope is more expansive. By zeroing in on the specific case of defrocked Father Oliver O’Grady, the filmmakers paint a stark portrait…

  • Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

    Eleven-year-old Akeelah Anderson wants to be like other girls, but blending into anonymity isn’t easy when you’re brilliant. She shrinks when she makes perfect grades and is mortified when labeled a “brainiac.” Despite all her efforts, Akeelah is unable to fit in. The girl can’t help it; she’s smart. Her chief talent is a gift…

  • Alpha Dog (2006)

    The murder of a 15-year-old boy at the center of Alpha Dog is rendered all the more tragic because it is so totally, utterly senseless. While the teenagers who populate the story fancy themselves as street-smart, they appear to be engaging in make-believe until it is too late – a bunch of self-styled tough guys barreling toward…