Skyfall

Movies to See Right Now

by
LINCOLN

Everyone should see Lincoln, in which Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis push aside the marble statue and bring to life Abraham Lincoln the man. It’s a top-of-the-line political thriller, and one of the year’s best movies.

Argo is Ben Affleck’s brilliant thriller based on a true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis. The Sessions is an uncommonly evocative, funny and thoughtful film about sex leading to unexpected emotional intimacy. Denzel Washington stars in Flight, a thriller about the miraculous crash landing of an airliner and the even more dangerous battle against alcoholism. A Late Quartet is a gripping drama with a superb cast led by Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Skyfall updates the James Bond franchise with thrilling action and a Daniel Craig’s more shopworn 007. The Paperboy is a deliciously pulpy crime drama, enhanced by a trashy Nicole Kidman and a canny Macy Gray.

Chasing Mavericks is a predictable and heartwarming true story that is just OK for most movie-goers , but is a Must See if you’re into surfing and/or have an interest in the Santa Cruz and San Mateo coast. Cloud Atlas delivers six fast paced stories set across six centuries with lots of movie stars playing multiple roles; it’s fun to watch, but it’s not as good a film as the ones listed above.

Paul Williams Still Alive, an affecting documentary about the songwriter, omnipresent in the 70s, but not now, is available on Video On Demand. The poignant French geezer comedy All Together is also available on Video On Demand.

I haven’t yet seen the highly anticipated dramedy Silver Linings Playbook, Ang Lee’s visually stunning Life of Pi or Hitchcock (with Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johannsen), which have opened this holiday weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the hilariously awful Troll 2.

Movies to See Right Now

by
LINCOLN

The absolute Must See is Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, in which he and Daniel Day-Lewis push aside the marble statue and bring to life Abraham Lincoln the man.  It’s a top-of-the-line political thriller, and everyone should see this movie.

Argo is Ben Affleck’s brilliant thriller based on a true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis.  The Sessions is an uncommonly evocative, funny and thoughtful film about sex leading to unexpected emotional intimacy. Denzel Washington stars in Flight, a thriller about the miraculous crash landing of an airliner and the even more dangerous battle against alcoholism.  A Late Quartet is a gripping drama with a superb cast led by Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Skyfall updates the James Bond franchise with thrilling action and a  Daniel Craig’s more shopworn 007.  The Paperboy is a deliciously pulpy crime drama, enhanced by a trashy Nicole Kidman and a canny Macy Gray. I also liked the thinking person’s sci-fi movie, Looper.  Perks of Being a Wallflower is an authentic coming of age story.

Chasing Mavericks is a predictable and heartwarming true story that is just OK for most movie-goers , but is a Must See if you’re into surfing and/or have an interest in the Santa Cruz and San Mateo coast.  Cloud Atlas delivers six fast paced stories set across six centuries with lots of movie stars playing multiple roles; it’s fun to watch, but it’s not as good a film as the ones listed above.

Paul Williams Still Alive, an affecting documentary about the songwriter, omnipresent in the 70s, but not now, is available on Video On Demand. The poignant French geezer comedy All Together is also available on Video On Demand.

I haven’t yet seen the Danish historical drama A Royal Affair (in contention for Best Foreign Language Oscar), which open this weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the engaging indie dramedy Dark Horse.

Skyfall: updating the Bond franchise

by

Daniel Craig returns as Her Majesty’s Action Hero, James Bond in Skyfall, an updating of the Bond franchise.   The core of the franchise is still the Bond character – impossibly suave, sexy and insurmountable.  Daniel Craig pulls it off as only Sean Connery could.  Craig’s 007 is more shopworn this time, with a drinking problem and a battled scarred (albeit Adonis-like) body.  But Craig’s Bond can still jump inside a moving train and then reach inside his jacket sleeve to adjust his cuff.

This episode’s Bond supervillain is played by an especially menacing Javier Bardem plus peroxide.   When filmmakers change Bardem’s hairstyle, something just happens to make him extra creepy.

It’s tough to impress an audience these days with cool gizmos, when we have guys sitting in Nevada watching SUVs in Afghanistan on satellite transmission and then  blowing them up by remote control.  So in Skyfall, Bond goes retro and brings back the Aston Martin with the ejector seat and the machine gun headlights.

Skyfall also sets up the changing of the guard for franchise, retiring Judi Dench and adding Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris.  Naomie Harris is an especially welcome addition – beautiful, engaging and able to pull off an action scene.

But the real reason to watch Skyfall is for the action.  It’s tough to top the first sequence, which features a motorcycle chase on the rooftops of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar turning into a fight on top of a moving train.  Skyfall is one of the better pure action flicks this year.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Denzel Washington in FLIGHT

Now that we’re deep into autumn, there are plenty of great movie choices.  The Must See is still Argo, Ben Affleck’s brilliant thriller based on a true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis.  The Sessions is an uncommonly evocative, funny and thoughtful film about sex leading to unexpected emotional intimacy.  Denzel Washington stars in Flight, a thriller about the miraculous crash landing of an airliner and the even more dangerous battle against alcoholism.

The Paperboy is a deliciously pulpy crime drama, enhanced by a trashy Nicole Kidman and a canny Macy Gray. I also liked the thinking person’s sci-fi movie, Looper.  Perks of Being a Wallflower is an authentic coming of age story.

Chasing Mavericks is a predictable and heartwarming true story that is just OK for most movie-goers , but is a Must See if you’re into surfing and/or have an interest in the Santa Cruz and San Mateo coast.

Cloud Atlas delivers six fast paced stories set across six centuries with lots of movie stars playing multiple roles; it’s fun to watch, but it’s not as good a film as the ones listed above. The dark crime comedy Seven Psychopaths is well-acted by a very deep team of my favorite actors and is embedded with belly laughs, but, as a whole, it’s just not that satisfying.

Paul Williams Still Alive, an affecting documentary about the songwriter, omnipresent in the 70s, but not now, is available on Video On Demand. The poignant French geezer comedy All Together is also available on Video On Demand.

I haven’t yet seen the James Bond movie Skyfall or the indie comedy A Late Quartet, which open this weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the inventive romantic comedy Ruby Sparks.