This and a couple other questions about the origins of James Bond are answered by Casino Royale. In another prequel, we get to see James Bond as the character is forged from a blunt object into a sharp-witted blunt object. I liked Craig in this less-polished Bond role and I liked a lot of the action scenes.
I didn’t feel especially moved by all the bad guys in this movie, though I was intrigued by some of the broader plot devices. I liked that they didn’t spend a ton of time laying out all the ins and outs of the evil master plan.
There was talk in the bathroom after the show. One college kid got in line and said something along the lines of, “Whoa, that was awesome.” I gave him an eyebrow raised nod, but did not delve into his nuanced view of cinema. The other conversation in the bathroom was an older gent trying to figure out the plot of the movie by asking his friend questions. “So he took the money, but she didn’t tell him anything?” Stuff like that. I feel like both of these comments speak pretty well to the merits of the film. It has some cool stuff and the plot moves briskly.
My only real complaint about Casino Royale was the length. Maybe it was because I had to pee about half way through, but 2.5 hours was long. They really took their time in some spots where they didn’t have to. The first chase scene was very impressive, almost Ang Batesque, but also went on forever. I read one review that complained about how the poker scenes were handled and I agree taht people who do not know Hold ‘em will have a hard time following. Granted in the key Bond demographic, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Plus, I don’t know what more they could have done without an inner monologue or a pocket cam combined with winning probabilities on the screen. My other complaint was that the review I read spoiled some of the good lines that everyone else seemed to enjoy. Hence, I will not do so here.
I found this film to be a bit of a dissappointment. Billed as a comedy, the humor didn’t quite do it for me though some parts were amusing. I also had a hard time buying into the main character, he just looked too old. I did enjoy the love interest, Chinki, and I also really liked his friend Circuit. I wish I had a friend like Circuit, so enthusiastically loyal.
I thought there was some good dancing and choreography in this but once again not as good as Lagaan. Did I spoil all other Bolliwood movies for myself?
Another movie with a ton of good lines. Is this where all the memorable dialogue has gone? Screwball comedies instead of noir? Perhaps this is an outgrowth of people quoting big lines in drama to comedic effects. Now they just make up absurdly big lines for comedies. Anyway, when it comes to those lines, Will Ferrell is one of the best and this film has some doozies. This is one of those films that benefits from second viewings and viewings with someone who really enjoys it. I saw it in the theater and while I enjoyed it, did not imagine the day when I would add it to my list of favorite movies. Yet there it resides, in all its glory.
The best thing I can think of to say about this film is that I planned to watch just half of it, but made myself late in order to watch the whole thing. This is another noir classic that starts with the tragic ending and then narrates backwards. It has all kind of good lines like “Guess I was wrong. You’re not smarter, Walter… you’re just a little taller.”
The plot moves along well and the there are even a couple of good side actors thrown into the mix of the three main characters. What this film lacked that I liked about other Wilder films is particularly good cinematography. Everything is framed nicely but I never had one of those moments where I look and think, “Wow, he made that look really cool.” I also was not enthralled by Barbara Stanwyck’s much praised performance. She just seemed to pause and let the camera zoom in on her eyes periodically to show that she was evil.
So I watched this movie on Friday with my in-laws and I worry that writing a review of it is like touching the third rail because of the sacred place it holds in their psyches. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a great movie. It is a creative romp through the underbelly of early 90’s Los Angeles rife with fantastic dialogue, great characters and interesting pace.
I really enjoy Walter and the Dude and how they talk about bowling. I had a really hard time picking a quote for the title because there are so many good ones. I think Walter delivers more than his share. Once again, I was impressed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It seems like he is a different person in every movie I see. Basically, there isn’t really anything bad I can say about it. It deserves its place in the cinema pantheon, for some reason, I just don’t have a place for it in my cinema pantheon. Maybe it is because I feel like this film ‘belongs’ to other people or I came upon it a little late. Whatever. I am happy that The Dude is out there takin her easy for all of us.
This is one of the movies from Funzter’s list that is owned by the Seattle Public Library. It follows the Bollywood formula of being long, musical and basically G rated.
However, the movie is pretty different. Sure it is a love story about a village coming together with the leadership of one man, but this one has a much different setting. Our hero is a man who has moved to America and become a hot shot engineer there. When he comes home he is practically a foreignor and there are debates about the role of India’s traditions in its development which are engaging. So I found the story to be good and it had some nice character actors like Rajesh Vivek who also does a good job in Lagaan. Like Lagaan, it has some good scenery and also deals with the caste system with untouchables in particular.
But one of the things I liked most about Lagaan was the musical numbers. Musical numbers are good but not mindblowingly good, but I don’t picture myself downloading the album to listen to as I clean the kitchen. The choreography is a similar standard, some entertaining stuff, but nothing that I feel compelled to recreate in my living room.
The first time I saw this was in a video class during college and I remember really enjoying it. Imagine my dismay then, when my in-laws reported that it was boring. In fact, due to this selection along with a few others I have been temporarily suspended from putting movies into the famiy queue. But this is either here nor there. The important thing to note is that these videos are slow paced, much like fishing. However, they are also sprinkled with nuggets of gold. The narrator has some great lines, there is some good scenery and John often has two or three funny interactions with his guest.
The Jamaica/Tom Waits episode is widely held up as the best. This one does have some good lines, a crazy tug boat and some funny songs made up by Waits on the fly. But I think they are all enjoyable. The Jim Jarmusch episode has my favorite narration and also conjures nostalgia for Dana Plays. I also ended up likeing the Ice fishing with Willem Dafoe, even though it got a little wierd. Dafoe came across really well, who knew he was such a sweet heart. I probably liked the Dennis Hopper episodes the least even though they have the best scenery. Maybe I just don’t like Hopper very much.
While I don’t think these are for everyone, I do think they are enjoyable if you don’t mind a slow pace. In fact, in a reflective conversation with my father-in-law, I was able to get him to agree that there were some pretty good moments. Yet I am still suspended from putting more movies in the queue.
