Bond, Jason Bond

Yes, QoS was much like Bourne in terms of action and cinematography, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Bond is still Bond, and more now than ever before. The Bond of today is nothing as the Bond was ten years ago when we saw him blowing himself out of a submarine and then hooking up with a chick named Christmas. The Bourne trilogy is definitely in my top five, with Ultimatum being nearly just as good as Identity, for what I thought of as awesome camera direction. That said, I personally thought the action sequences of Quantum were much better than those in Royale, but to each his own.

I think the main issue here is that Quantum of Solace would be nothing without Casino Royale. In retrospect, they should have called it CR.5. It is very confusing in certain areas as to what exactly is happening and why in that exact moment, but the overall plot of QoS is Bond wrestling with the demons of his former love, Vesper (Yes, my bad, I messed up a character's name, I'm a terrible person). Throughout the whole movie, the topic of Bond not being able to sleep, constantly seeking out revenge and killing everyone that may have been involved in the Q organization is touched upon. He's an emotional guy. So emotional in fact, he drinks a gin martini and doesn't once introduce himself as "Bond, James Bond."

Again, being that this was basically Casino Royale and a half and it picks up right where it left off, I don't see how the opening car chase was unnecessary. Sure, I guess Bond, M, and everyone else could have interrogated Mr. White at his house, but that just wouldn't make for good cinema. As for Gemma Arterton, her character was completely pointless, but Bond uses her as an object and this is really the only proof that the Bond in this film is the same Bond from others (see the last sentence in previous paragraph). Beyond that, she's super hot. Also, her character paves the way for Bond to go against authority and do what's right.

This was not an OK Bond film, this was an amazing Bond film. An OK Bond film would be any Brosnan film other than Goldeneye, about 75% of the Moore films and I won't even go into how low that goofy fuck Lazenby took the franchise. QoS doesn't have the originality that Casino had, but it certainly won't be labeled as just another 007 film either.

There Will Be Bond.

Casino Royale is the best Bond film, period. Everything about it is perfect. The balance between action an emotion is unprecedented. The acting is phenomenal and the story is tightly constructed. Knowing all this, any new Bond film has very large shoes to fill.

Quantum of Solace is an OK Bond film. It is a great action movie. I do agree that it had the feel of The Bourne Ultimatum, which is exactly the thing I disliked the most about this movie. Bond is not Bourne. Bond is Bond. In having a first time action director take on a Bond film, guess who he hires as his director of photography, the same guy who was the DOP for Bourne. Mistake number one.

As you stated below, critics say that Solace lacked plot. And it did. I didn't really know why anyone was doing what they were doing until pretty late into the film. I do understand that misdirection was a key element in this film, but it becomes pointless when you keep getting shown things that, in the end, don't matter. Mistake number two.

I could go on about how the opening car chase was unnecessary, as was Gemma Aerton's role in the film. Although, we did see some heart shown by Bond in the loss of Vesper (not Vespa, Drew; I don't think she got 50 mpg). The best moment of the film (which I will not spoil here) was a reflection about Casino Royale. It was the most emotionally charged moment since the scene in the shower in Royale.

Like I said before, this is an OK Bond film. See it. Let me know what you think. But I have to say, the order still stands: Royale, Goldeneye, Solace.

Quantifiable

After drying my eyes caused by the pain brought about by paying $12.50 for a ticket, I walked into the non-stadium-seated, over capacity theatre on the Upper West Side. From beginning to end, Quantum of Solace had me in awe. Between the perfectly choreographed fight/chase scenes, excellent plot and by far the most beautiful Bond girl, this movie was, I dare say, better than Casino Royale.

Ok, ok, I know. Casino Royale was the greatest Bond film of all time. It will always remain a classic in the respect that it was the first to break the mold of how a typical 007 film should be. Quantum expands upon that. Bond is now out for revenge and the viewer can actually sense how much the death of Vespa has taken its toll. Though there are plently of elements of dry Brititsh humor, Quantum is a darker, angrier film than its predecessor.

I have read many reviews that say Quantum is lacking in plot, basically all icing without any cake. I respectfully disagree. There was very much character development throughout the film and between all the main characters. Many relationships are fueled by events in each characters past and bonds are formed. Through this, we see the new James Bond actually has a heart, as was seen in Casino Royale.

Olga Kurylenko is in my opinion, the hottest of all the Bond girls who have graced the silver screen. Strawberry Fields, played by Gemma Arteton, who in the movie refers to herself as simply Fields (with good reason) is not only more attractive than previous girls, but younger too, being 18 years younger than Craig. I expect to see both of these fine ladies' fame rise and perhaps a reappearance by Kurlenko in future Bond films.

The action in Quantum of Solace was much akin to The Bourne Ultimatum; intricate hand to hand combat with amplified sound effects, extreme close-ups on individual fist-to-face connections, and of course an amazing car chase (that was missing from Casino Rolyale) with extreme close-ups on just how dented and mangled an Aston Martin DBS can get. On top of all that, we even see a plane chase, something that I'm not aware has happened in any previous Bond film.

Quantum of Solace will get mixed reviews from all that see it. It's not a typical Bond movie, just as Casino Royale wasn't. The plot is a mere firecracker compared to the explosive, red-eyed action throughout the movie, but they come together to produce a needed bridge in this new route that Bond has taken. I'm already excited for Bond 23.

My P.I.C.

This weekend I went to see a movie and only paid (gasp!) $7.00. That's because I was home in Palm Beach rather than (home) in Manhattan. It's a great thing when a movie ticket is cheaper than a beer in the city. A greater thing when is that movie is a memorable, quotable, belly aching laugh fest.

Role Models was great. Every actor played their part perfectly from Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd all the way to Ken Jeong as the dorky, arrogant King Argotron. I have to agree that Bobb'e J. Thompson was the stand out comic that stole the show. Of course McLovin' (as he will forever be known) played a great role as well and proved he can play a dork outside of school too.

There are literally Role Models posters every 50 yards here in New York and it's rather surprising to me that it only made 19.2 mil this weekend, a mere third of what Madagascar 2 made. That's two weekends in a row that stupid movies with flashy colors have beat out funny movies with great plot and lines. There's no doubt in my mind that Quantum of Solace will take the cake (and eat it too) this weekend, but let's hope it still reigns supreme when Bolt and Twilight come out on the 21st. Given the amount of giddy school girls out there, I'm betting it won't.

Role Models.

A few days ago, I posted my hopes for this movie. Some say that they were bold claims. But guess what? I was right. I just saw Role Models and I have to say that it is fucking hilarious.

Paul Rudd truly has become one of my favorite comedy movie actors because of how he (and Seth Rogen) bring in outside movie quotes into their films. Sean William Scott was awesome. The very first joke of this film shows his style of comedy perfectly. Jane Lynch was crazy and incredibly funny. Whoever wrote her character is a genius.

That being said, the funniest people in the movie were the kids. Mclovin as we all know him was great, playing the Dungeons & Dragons type nerd. However, the scene stealer of the movie was Bobb'e J. Thompson, the little black kid. Every single thing he says and does is unbelievable. Especially in the way you do not see it coming.

If you have any doubts about seeing this movie, let them go. You will be laughing your ass off and come away with quotes you will be using for a while.

Synecdoche n. def: piece of shit movie

Now I'm gonna tell you a little story. It's about a movie called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. On a most likely rainy day in south Florida 2004, a close friend of mine said, "hey, lets go see the new Jim Carrey movie, Eternal Sunshine." Knowing absolutely nothing about it, I agreed. After seeing the film, I was blown away and thought it was one of the most interesting and one of the best films I had seen in a long time. And believe it or not, it was a film by Charlie Kaufman.

Now I'm gonna tell you a NEW story. It's about a piece of S-H-I-T movie called Synecdoche. On a cool night in Lost Angeles 2008, a close friend of mine said, "hey, a couple of my friends are going to see this new movie called Synecdoche." Knowing absolutely nothing about it, I agreed to go. After sitting through 2 excruciating hours of utter and complete nothingness, I thought it was the most pointless, useless, and biggest waste-of-time-films I had EVER seen, ever. And you guessed it, it was a film by Charlie Kaufman.

I would say that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is good, but that's really neither here nor there.

Don't ever see this movie, ever. And that's all I have to say about that.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November.

The 5th of November. A day reminiscent of one of my favorite movies V for Vendetta. It will also be the day remembered for America electing it's first black president. Today though, I'm gonna talk about the upcoming idea for the Superman franchise.

There have been rumors and speculations that the next Superman film will be going the route of the Dark Knight, making the character dark. Personally I think that is a load of bullshit. There is an old saying, "A hero is only as strong as his villain" and that is the problem with Superman. Lex Luthor is not a supervillian. And that is exactly what Superman needs, someone he can go round for round with, someone who can actually hurt him.

On the other hand, I do like the idea of starting Superman over like Batman Begins. Beginning on Krypton and finishing with the Last Son of Krypton being the last person on Earth as our sun dies and he loses his powers. But we can only hope right.

I did like this little image of Megan Fox as Wonder Woman, but I still prefer the shot of Elisha Cuthbert as Super Girl, better. All I can say is that I have always loved Superman and I hope they keep him the way he is, but build a story that will be dark and devastating.

This is the first time I've heard of this movie, and therefore seen its trailer. Judging by what I saw, I don't think it's going to be that great, or at the very least, as great as you believe it to be. Personally, I think it is going to be a combination of Far and Away and Pearl Harbor. Both were pretty average. Australia has potential of doing very well at the box office but I think the story itself is nothing new. Yes, it involves the bombing of Darwin, something even I didn't know about before heading over to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of _Darwin_(February _1942). But despite the history element, I think it is nothing more than a stereotypical romance film, following the same route as other films of this genre: rich girl meets poor boy, rich girl falls in love with poor boy, poor boy dies saving rich girl from evil axis powers. And the climax scene will be the tear jerker that will nominate Hugh Jackman, and possibly Nicole Kidman, for an Oscar. Their performances will keep this movie afloat, because I really don't believe the story will do it on its own. I do agree that Australia will be nominated for a couple Academy Awards, but I would be floored if it won Best Picture.

Australia.

Every once in a while, a movie trailer comes along, where you just know it's gonna be nominated for best picture. There are only two trailers I have seen so far this year that qualify. Today I'm only gonna talk about one of them, Australia. If you haven't seen the preview, you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zTnDTpbHI&fmt=18.

I could not be more pumped for this movie. I have said for years that Hugh Jackman is going to be winning a Best Actor Academy Award and this is going to be his best shot so far. He is an amazing talent (save for that piece of shit film The Prestige) finally getting the chance to use his native accent. Nicole Kidman, to me, is nothing special. Only movie I like her in is Batman Forever and even there she doesn't really do much, which is why she's good.

Another note, having been to Australia myself and learning about the events that take place in this film justs ups the ante for my expectations. Though looking at the preview alone, it looks like Titanic, but instead of a big ass boat going under, it's the top of a continent being blown out of the water. Either way, this movie is gonna be sick.

Quote's from The Shining, Drew.

p.s. GOW 2, fuck yeah.

I'm not gonna hurt ya...

Thanks to my job with its painful hours as of late, I haven't been able to see any movies or do anything cool this weekend. That's right, I had to pull two weekend shifts. Intense shite. Anywho, I can't comment on the quality of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but all I can imagine is if Kevin Smith did it, it must be good. Everything he touches is brilliant; the dialogue, story and characters are memorable years after his films were released. Has anyone forgotten the piece about The Empire Strikes Back in Clerks? I think not. Or the line, "What the fuck is the internet?". Say I have bad taste, but I even partially enjoyed Jersey Girl.

Craig Robinson is one of the most underrated actors of today. You can quote me on that. Just based on his performance in "The Office", one can see he truly knows what he's doing. Anyone see the most recent episode on Thursday, the 30th? Apart from a hilarious interaction between Dwight and Andy and a creepy, "Why don't we put a little smile on that face?" from Creed, the interaction between Darryl (Robinson) and Michael (Steve Carrell) in the end scene was Oscar worthy... OK, fine, Emmy worthy. Point is, the man can act.

According to IMDB.com, High School Musical 3: Senior Year was the highest grossing film this weekend with an estimate of $15 million. The user rating of this movie on IMDB.com is a 3.3. Second place is Zack and Miri Make a Porno with $10.7 mil and an 8.0 rating. Third is Saw V with $10.1 mil and a 6.0 rating. This means for hundreds of thousands of people, the only horror they saw on Halloween was 112 min. of Disney induced torture. The difference between Saw V and HSM3SY? Not too much. Both will churn your insides and make you want to look away. Make the smart choice and say "No" to High School Musical 3.

I haven't seen Hot Shots part Deux so I had to look that up. As for the other, I could only guess Big, The Goonies, or perhaps Peter Pan.

"Do you have the slightest idea what a moral and ethical principal is? Do you?"

Let Me Find Out.

It seems that I got my November movie month started out right with Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I'm gonna say that I am a Kevin Smith fan. You may hate him but he is a smart fucking guy. And he gets what movies are really about. The Story.

This movie was no different. The story was simple and it is in the dialog where Mr. Smith really shines. The interplay between Seth Rogan and Craig Robinson (aka the black guy from the Office/ funniest scene in Knocked Up) was hilarious. Jason Mewes was great taking a step away from the crass Jay and a step towards playing an individual who may be legally retarded. Elizabeth Banks showed her range from comedy to drama as her character really is the most interesting.

The best part of this movie is Justin Long's cameo. I thought he was amazing in Live Free or Die Hard, but this you just have to see. That being said...

I recommend this for anyone looking for some great laughs and quotable lines. This movie did seem to me as a partial autobiography for Kevin Smith, explaining why he is a filmmaker.

"Would you grow up?" - Name that quote. (hint: the title of this post is from the same movie)

I am not a Role Model.

November 1st. The day all the Halloween decorations come down and all the Christmas ones go up. Well I am not going to talk about movies coming out in December, well not today. Now that November is here, I must say that the the movie I am looking forward to the most right now is Role Models.

Most of the time, I don't rush to see questionable Comedy movies unless there is nothing better out that weekend. However, this movie doesn't look questionable at all. It may not be Judd Apatow, but a few of his cohorts are going to be in this movie. I can't remember the last good movie Sean William Scott was in but he looks hilarious. Paul Rudd is always great with his deliveries, and I feel that the two of them together are gonna be awesome. Not to mention Mclovin is in the movie, who will hopefully be as good as he was in Superbad.

Another plus is that it's rated R, which usually lends itself to a wider variety of jokes. To name that quote Drew, it's from Black Sheep. I'll leave you with one, "I loved you in Wallstreet."

p.s. no google allowed for looking up quotes.