Spectre

Friends and long-time readers of this blog know that I'm a stone fan of the James Bond films.  I've seen all the past ones, even the painfully bad entries, at least three times each.  Bill and I have closed our company for a few hours on the afternoon of the opening day of the first three Daniel Craig as Bond films, and we did so again this year.  (I went the night before in Saratoga Springs.)  So, I'm not even going to try to pretend to be an objective critic of films in this series.

I'm also not going to deny the many problems with these movies, problems that range from sexism to ridiculous plots.  I just enjoy them for what they are.

So, obviously, I entered Spectre prepared to be entertained and to like it, and I left feeling entertained and rather liking it.  The movie was classic Bond, with chases and fights and gadgets and gorgeous people in gorgeous locations.

The plot was also as ludicrous as usual, possibly more so than usual.

The cast did a reasonable job.  Craig plays Bond smoothly and well.  Christoph Waltz turned in a fine bad-guy performance; he was born to be creepy on screen.  Monica Bellucci oozed with sex appeal and actually did a good job acting.  It's a pity that the role of Bond's significant love interest in the movie went to Lea Seydoux, who was pretty but who never sizzled and never had any real chemistry with Craig.  All of them, though, were good enough in their roles to carry along the story.

Andrew Scott, who also played Moriarity on the recent Holmes' shows, rose above the rest and excelled in the role of creepy bureaucrat.  I would watch him again in anything.

Do I recommend Spectre?  If you like Bond movies, you bet.  If you just want a good action flick, absolutely.  If you want a complete film with emotional truth and great acting, think again.

Friends have reminded me that each new Bond movie from any given Bond actor demands a ranking of all of that actor's Bond films.  In this case, I think the ranking is easy:

1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. Spectre
4. Quantum of Solace

A final note:  if you're planning to catch this movie, definitely head to the largest screen you can find.  I'll watch it again at home, probably multiple times, but seeing it in the theater is important.

Bond, James Bond

I know that many of the leaks around the film suggest it has troubles, but when I see this trailer, I just don't care.



I can't wait for this fourth Daniel Craig outing as James Bond.

Always something new to watch

I cannot imagine being bored in a world so full of wonderful books, music, TV shows, and movies.  On the latter two fronts, these trailers fill me with hopeful anticipation.

The Sherlock special.



Doctor Who's new season.



And, of course, Bond, James Bond.



I look forward to all of them!

Color me excited

Make that super-excited!  Yes, I have entirely too much love for the James Bond films, and now we get to watch the first official trailer for Spectre, the twenty-fourth film in the franchise.



I can't wait to see the movie!

James Bond returns

this year in Skyfall, and I am irrationally excited about seeing it.  I am a huge Bond fan and have seen all the films at least three times each--yes, even the bad Roger Moore ones (and they were terrible).  Daniel Craig is either the best or the second-best Bond, so it's going to be great to watch him again.

All of this is relevant because now, we can see a teaser trailer for the film.

Enjoy.

Max Payne

was consistently visually interesting, completely overwrought, entirely too obvious in plot, and only occasionally painful. Sarah, Scott, and I didn't regret going to see it, but none of us emerged from the theater thrilled that we'd gone. Still, if you let Marky Mark shoot up a bunch of bad guys, you'll get my money.

On a more promising movie note, we are now four weeks from the opening of Quantum of Solace, the new Bond flick. What kind of Bond geek am I? We're closing our company for three or four hours to attend the first afternoon show on opening day. I already own Casino Royale, of course, but I bought it on Blu-Ray just so we can have an open warm-up viewing party the night before Quantum of Solace.

Oh, yeah: I'm that kind of Bond geek.