Quantum of Solace
I think everyone would agree that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond to come along since the original one, first portrayed by Sean Connery in ‘Dr. No’, way back in 1962. Over the years the basic formula for the Bond movies hasn’t changed much. They have always been about heaps of action and lots of high tech gadgetry. They have just got more stylish as they have progressed. This latest one, about, yet again, an evil corporation plotting to over take the world, is probably the most sophisticated to date. It starts with a fantastic car chase, and after that the action never lets up. Daniel Craig is ‘cool’ and debonair throughout the movie, and, thankfully, there are not too many silly sexist Bond Girls. It doesn’t pay to follow the plot too closely. Much of it doesn’t make much real sense. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!
Tinker Bell
While researching this cartoon I was fascinated to discover that the artists, who created the original Walt Disney ‘Peter Pan’ cartoon in 1953, based their characterization of the fairy ‘Tinker Bell’ on the voluptuous sex star Marilyn Monroe! Who would have ever guessed! Anyway, with permission from the J.M. Barrie estate, the Disney Organization has crafted a new computer-animated cartoon which goes into the background of ‘Tinker Bell’. Where she came from and what her role in Fairyland is all about. Buried, somewhere in all the schmaltz, is a pertinent message about finding one’s purpose in life, which impressionable young girls might find informative. However, hard-core, dedicated animation fans must really grit their teeth and watch this cartoon. Just for the artwork. ‘Disneytoons’ have finally got it right. They have mastered the complexities of creating believable computer-animated characters, and they have blended these personalities into superb painted background sets which evoke the style and grace of such Walt Disney classics as ‘Snow White’ (1937), ‘Fantasia’ (1940) and ‘Cinderella’ (1950). The plot might be a bit sickening, but the cartoon is a joy to look at.
The Duchess
If you enjoy lavish Historical Costume Dramas, then you will probably enjoy this extravagant British production. Set at the end of the eighteenth century, Lady Georgina Spencer, one of the ancestors of Princess Diana, is married off at a young age to the older, cold, and unsociable Duke of Devonshire. Georgina’s principal duty is to produce an heir, and once she has achieved this goal she has to endure a loveless marriage. She becomes a fashion icon of her times, a doting mother, a shrewd politician, and the darling of the common people. There are some eerie similarities between the stories of Lady Georgina and the Late Princess of Wales. It kind of makes you wonder if this is why the movie was made. To subtly discredit Diana, by implying infidelity runs in her family. Maybe. Who knows? All the same, the movie is made with incredible English élan, and it stars Keira Knightley, who looks absolutely ravishing, and she is costumed absolutely ravishingly!
Red
Based on a novel by Jack Ketchum, and directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee, Brian Cox stars in this low keyed drama, as an aging Korean War Vet living in a rural American town. One day, while out fishing, he is harassed by some local teenage boys, and having failed to rob him, they kill his dog in a senseless, violent act. One of the boys’ father, an influential businessman, interferes in the due processes of the law, and Brian has to find a form of retribution in his own way. The movie builds slowly, but strongly, to its shocking conclusion. It also underscores the problems of power, money and class distinctions rampant in much of American society.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks star as Zack and Miri, a pair of almost American ‘white trash’, who have been friends from high school, and now share an apartment in a hokey, small, backwater American town. Of course, they are mad about each other but afraid to admit it. Meanwhile, the rent is due and the utilities are about to be cut off. Zack and Miri can’t see anyway out of this predicament, unless they can convince their friends to help them make a porno movie, and they can all get rich quick. Problems, naturally enough, develop when they have to decide who has to have sex onscreen with whom! The movie is full of ‘sex talk’ and sexual innuendo, but, it is actually more enjoyable, wholesome, and romantic than you would expect.
My Best Friend’s Girl
When guys get dumped by their girlfriends, they turn to Tank whose job it is to take the girls out on the worst date of their lives, so that they gratefully go running back to their boyfriends. Thus, when Tank’s best friend is dumped by his girlfriend, Tank accepts a challenge coming up against a beautiful and intelligent woman. Dane Cook and Kate Hudson try to give some life to this movie, but, the ‘sex talk’ and sexual innuendo to be found in this particular comedy is kind of dirty and vulgar, and it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.
Diminished Capacity
Why do successful comedians like Matthew Broderick feel that they have to make a dull serious drama? This movie is painful, and a total waste of time.
