Movie Review – Skyfall

November 12, 2012 5 Comments

It used to be that Bond movies always helped compliment a year in cinema. One of the longest running franchises in cinema, James Bond films have ended up becoming a spectacle on their own where people eagerly await the news about who will play the martini drinking, uber British spy of MI6. Then we wait to see who will be the new Bond Girl, the apex of beauty and another feather in the cap of the Broccoli franchise. But the series was in peril due to some financial backing and the series was shelved. It didn’t help that Quantum of Solace was abysmal so the franchise needed that new breathe of life that a kind of, sort of reboot could offer. With Hollywood’s love affair with all things dark and gritty, Bond got a new license with an acclaimed director, better financial backing and Daniel Craig coming back with a bigger, better Bond than we have seen to date.

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Movie of the Day – OSS 117: Lost in Rio

September 24, 2012 Leave a comment

After seeing this movie, it’s not hard to see why Jean Dujardin won for his role in The Artist, which isn’t to say that the roles are similar here.  It’s rather the general charisma that this man has on screen for a deadpan delivery of jokes and lines to his expressive nature in front of the camera.  He is an actor that is versatile and unique, easily one of my favorite actors given his body of work.  OSS 117 is the sort of spoof movie that is a bit more clever in the spy parody genre.  Where Austin Powers is more of a hokey, gag filled movie, OSS 117 is the smart and sophisticated spoof movie that isn’t on the nose and relies deadpan delivery with a smirk.  I guess since it is a French film, we shouldn’t expect less.

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Movie of the Day – Danger: Diabolik!

June 27, 2012 2 Comments

So ignore the entire last 20 seconds of the trailer cause apparently in 1968, they had no problem spoiling the end of a film.  With that aside, you would be hard pressed to find movie that solely focus on the capers of a villain, even in this day and age.  Much to my excitement in finding little precious nuggets of films forgotten, Danger: Daibolik! is certainly one of the films that is a campy, tongue-in-cheek adaptation of a European comic book of the same name that focuses on the life of a career criminal and his sexy mistress/companion/whatever.  I adore this movie for the wacky sensibilities, stylish settings and unique B-movie feel from the late Italian director Mario Bava.  Danger: Diabolik! is certainly all style and flash, which helps when the movie is utterly paper thin in acting and plot.

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Movie of the Day – Casino Royale (1967)

June 23, 2012 1 Comment

I am sure everyone is probably saying to themselves that I somehow must have meant to talk about the 2006 Casino Royale film with the Adonis actor Daniel Craig.  While I agree that Craig is a gorgeous, chiseled man and he both revitalized the Bond series with his steel blue eyes and gritty persona,, he did also destroy it with Quantum of Solace, which is a terrible fucking name if I ever heard one.  So with those factors in mind, I decided to pick the original Casino Royale from 1967 which also is a funny spoof on the Bond series with a remarkable cast of comedic actors and even Orson Fucking Welles as the villain.  Yeah, this is gonna be awesome.

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Movie of the Day – Haywire

June 10, 2012 11 Comments

I really hope that Gina Carano becomes the new face of female action.  Don’t get me wrong in that there are plenty of strong female leads in action/adventure films, but there is something jarring about watching a 110 lb female like say Angelina Jolie in Salt, one punch knocking out NFL linebackers.  There isn’t anything believable about that and she just does seem like her character to do damage with those waffish arms.  But Carano, an MMA fighter a body that looks like it’s built Ford tough, that I can believe in.  So continuing his tradition of casting non-traditional actors and actresses in high profile Hollywood film, Steven Soderbergh gives us the action heroine that we deserve when watching a woman dismantle guys her size without breaking a nail, and looking damn fine if I must say so.

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Movie of the Day – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

April 26, 2012 Leave a comment

From time to time I like going back to re-read past reviews and movies that I have seen.  I like to review my first impressions about films, seeing if the effect and awe of the film might have diminished or changed over time or through repeat viewings.  One film that seems to divide a lot of people was TInker Tailor Soldier Spy.  This is the sort of film that is for the die hards of the novel and subsequent BBC series, one that dives into the world of espionage and dapper peacoats that come in many shades of grey (or gray for those that are sticklers).  For those that haven’t read the book or seen the series (both of which are recommended), the film itself might be a bit too indepth and daunting.  For me, this is a perfect film that marries intrigue and one of the best ensemble cast of actors.

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Movie of the Day – Lust, Caution

January 26, 2012 2 Comments

Time for sexy spy, thriller, Asian film, which I am certain that statement has filled some niche fetish out there, but I am talking about a classy sexy spy thriller.  Lust, Caution is another phenomenal from Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) that is both a historical, period piece and also a finely tuned spy thriller.  The film though is more so remembered for the controversy that it courted as it was rated NC-17 for explicit sex scenes.  Sadly this movie will be remembered for that fact rather than the beautiful acting and engaging story.  It’s weird that if you bring up this film, the sex scenes are probably the only thing that people will recall if they have heard of the movie.  What the fuck is the deal with people being hung up about a little acrobatic sex in movies?  Well I want to do this film justice and also talk about the sex scenes for some additional page views.

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Movie of the Day – Burn After Reading

January 24, 2012 4 Comments

I honestly question people who don’t enjoy a Coen Brothers movie.  I mean their films are just flat out amazing, funny, well cast, and genuinely some of the best movies around.  They can mix genres wonderfully, actually almost seamlessly, they can play serious in one movie and then give us a comedy the next.  I sit in anticipation for everyone of their movies and I own practically every single one of their films on DVD.  While some might be saying. “why isn’t this about The Big Lebowski” or “How about No Country for Old Men”, I have a certain affinity for this movie and I also covered The Big Lebowski in an earlier post.  Besides, you don’t need me to tell you why The Big Lebowski is a good, it just is.  So Burn After Reading brought together a stellar cast, a wacky plot, and all the dark comedy trappings that make their films so enjoyable.  Plus coming off the high of No Country For Old Men, we needed a little something comedic to make us push the image of Anton Chigurh out of our minds.  God that villain was frightening.

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Movie Review – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

December 24, 2011 6 Comments

We as a movie going audience have been lied to for a long time when it comes to the world of spy/espionage movies.  How I wish that the spy  life is all about car chases, exotic locations for shoot-outs and fornicating with all the villains mistresses.  If that were the case, I wouldn’t be writing about movies.  Yes, watching James Bond and Jason Bourne shoot their way through rogue agents and become a one man command center is exciting as hell, but that is not the sort of tact that is needed to conduct international espionage.  So instead of martini’s, expensive suits and fast cars, we trade all that in for the Cold War era, trench coats and incredible acting talent in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

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Movie of the Day – Breach

November 20, 2011 1 Comment

Another dip into the espionage realm with the 2007 thriller Breach.  If you aren’t familiar with the story of the movie, this is practically made for a major motion picture.  I have mentioned several times in previous posts about movies dealing with the FBI or CIA in how the portrayal of the agencies are more wiz bang rather than the slow, trudging pace needed to convey secrecy.  These sort of movies don’t always  need to contain gun battles or constant action and car chases to be interesting.  A tightly spun story, strong dramatic acting and a good pace can make CIA or FBI centric movies interesting.  As for Breach, this is a movie that deals with one of the largest breaches of information in FBI history.  That alone should be enough to get you interested.

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