Quantum of Solace or How Craig's 007 is smouldering

Quantum of Solace

Directed by Marc Foster

Written by Robert Wade, Neil Purvis & Paul Haggis

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Almaric, Jeffrey Wright.

As a follow up to the über successful Casino Royale, the newest James Bond film delivers. What does it deliver you ask? What a good Daniel Craig Bond film should: great chase sequences (in planes, boats and cars!), perfectly choreographed fights (that rope scene is kind of amazing in its craziness), a no-nonsense Bond, an irked and witty M, hot girls whom Bond beds and a lot of 'blowing up' scenes. Oh? Did you want the line "Bond, James Bond"? Bond ordering a Martini to precise (if ridiculous) orders? Fancy gadgets and a suave demeanor that never once disrupts Bond's crisp tux? Yeah... you should probably Netflix those. This Bond is not your father's Bond and thank god! Sure, it's Bond meets Bourne, but is that a bad thing? Quantum is an enjoyable thrill ride that kept a smirk on my face all the time and never once did it have me jonesing for an 'old school' Bond moment. I do wish Almaric had had more to play with than the latent homophobic 'effete=villain' role, and do look forward to a time when action movies won't lecture me on 'green issues' while depicting South America as only politically unstable and relentlessly poor region (though kudos for the anti-American feelings, foreign-policy wise), but remember: things blow up and we do see Daniel shirtless, so I was game. B+

2008 Watch Out For List or How Indy, Harry and others will be back

While everyone else is reveling in 'Best of 2007' I thought we could look ahead. Here at A Blog Next Door there are a couple of movies we are watching out for - and you should too! For sake of brevity I divided my list into three categories: Franchises I Love, Stars I Love and Good Premises. Here goes the first:






Franchises I Love (ie. Hyped Up Movies that I hope won't disappoint)
I know, I know... Star Wars and Lord of the Rings come only once in a blue moon. But sometimes you just have to see the 'next episode' if only to revisit characters you love, retread over premises you know by heart, and even see what the producers/writers/directors have come up with THIS time to make your money worthwhile. Here are my picks for 2008:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Release Date: May 22, 2008
Though I don't know how Indy will make the transition to the 21st Century with newest It-kid Shia LeBouf, I will still buy my ticket to go see what Harrison, Steven and Cate have in store for us this coming summer. That said I am still mourning the fact that Mr Connery will not be reprising his role as Indy's daddy as he was arguably a high point of the 80s trilogy, and the fact that the movie has such a horrible title that makes me think it came out of a dungeons and dragons Saturday night basement charade.

Sex and the City: The Movie
Release Date: May 30, 2008
Like anyone who loved the series and loves watching the reruns (albeit censored on TBS) I am weary about the promising nature of the silver screen shenanigans of Ms Bradshaw and company. That said, watching (what I can only hope will still be R-rated, though I'm sure they'll more likely skew for PG-13) sex scenes on the big screen will be worth the movie ticket - oh and yeah, I'm also excited about the romantic storylines, sure.

Bond 22
Release Date: November 7, 2008
How do you top a movie that has given us one of the most widely reproduced man-candy scenes of all cinema? (Two if you count that torture scene... if you're into that of course) It'll be hard, that's true for Mr Haggis, Mr Foster and Mr Craig to top that and the rest of what was the most thrilling 007 venture in years, but I am confident that it will be one of the must-watch events of 2008 if only to watch Mr Craig owning the 007 title for a second time and seeing Ms Dench scorch the screen as she usually does with those great exasperated sighs and sardonic remarks she has so masterfully honed over the years.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Release Date: November 21, 2008
While I am still torn over the ending of Rowling's franchise (was that subpar last chapter even necessary? I know it's a 'children's lit series' but did it need that useless '20 years later Happy Ending' epilogue?) I am excited about the second to last movie installment - Phoenix delivered and Half-Blood should too. Sure, it won't be the artistic gem that Cuarón's third installment was but it is sure to offer what will be an even greater wizarding duel and a chance for Alan Rickman to scare (new) legions of HP fans.

The Dark Knight
Release Date: July 18, 2008
Chris Nolan - like Paul Greengrass with the Bourne movies - seems to be enjoying himself in this high-profile franchise. Batman Begins was a great entry into the Batman-centered universe with an electric performance by Christian Bale, a great acting ensemble, amazing action sequences and a great reimagining of the Bat-verse (who didn't love that Bat mobile?). With the Dark Knight creating endless online buzz and the ever-presence of Heath Ledger Joker taunts this is a Must Watch indeed.
[Also kudos for knowing that Maggie > Katie]