Casino Royale (2006)

Plot: Casino Royale introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to '00' status. M sends the newly-promoted 007 to his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas, and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. Le Chiffre's cunning and cruelty come to bear on Bond and Treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in a way that he could never imagine and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one.

Firsts: Craig as Bond, appearances by Mathis, Mr. White and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, gun barrel sequence does not appear at the opening of the movie

Gadgets: Tracking device implant, personal defibrillator

Girls Bond slept with: Vesper Lynd; Would have slept with Solange had business not gotten in the way

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Spiked martini, tortured with a knotted rope to the balls

Personal review: After 22 weeks, we've finally reached the end, which is ironic because this is the film that brought us back to the beginning. The Bond producers decided to reboot the franchise and the decision seems to have worked. I absolutely love this movie and have found Daniel Craig to be an excellent Bond thus far, even though many people weren't very confident in him when the announcement was originally made.

Not only is Craig a good Bond, but this is a really good movie too. Who knew Martin Campbell, who directed Goldeneye, could create such a beautiful and exciting picture? The action sequences are top notch, the locations are stylish and the movie manages to still have some fun too.

Part of what makes Craig such a good Bond is the way the character is written. Instead of being portrayed as some sort of superman, the character approaches situations in a way most people would. Take for instance, the opening chase sequence with the parkour artist. That guy leaping around like a frogman, but they have Bond slip and stumble in his jumps or just bust through walls instead of being able to leap over them. There are a lot of small touches like that which just make this an above average film.

Another one of the little things that I love about this film is how they withold many of Bond's trademark stuff until the end of the movie. If you notice the Bond theme and the 'Bond, James Bond' line are not used until the scene with Mr. White, as if to say he truly didn't become 'Bond' until after the Vesper incident. The way the film ends is just an amazing scene. The fact that this next film will start right where this one ends, makes me even more excited Quantum of Solace.

Speaking of the villains, Le Chiffre is all right, but not within the top eschelon of Bond villains. He's got the cool bloody tears and has some fun torturing Bond, but isn't truly significant. But knowing he was just a minor player within a larger organization makes it all right that he wasn't more memorable or evil.

And as for Eva Green as Vesper, she's certainly not the sexiest Bond girl. However, she brought an important vulnerability to the role which worked and made it believable as to why Bond would fall for her so hard. It appears that while she may not be the best Bond girl ever, she's likely to have the most significant impact on the franchise.

The lone common complaint about this film is that some feel it drags a bit and is too long. Those who believe this, typically point to the poker scenes as the parts that could have been cut. I don't really agree with this argument, but if there was an area that I would edit, it would be the Bond/Vesper scenes that occur after the tortune scene. I understand their purpose to advance Vesper's storyline, but they brought the film more to a halt than the poker scenes in my opinion. But like I said, in general, I really don't think the movie drags in the least.

I really feel like I could go on and heap more praise on this one, but I don't think its necessary. With it being the most recent and also likely seen by most people who read this, it seems like I don't really need to go into great detail as to why this is a good movie. Most will agree that Craig has been the right choice to take over the franchise after delivering such a knockout debut performance. I think all Bond fans are anxious to see what he now does for an encore. 10/10

Lost sets its premiere plus casting news

From EW.com...

We don't know where the Island went -- but now know when we'll be seeing it again. ABC insiders say that the fifth season of the Emmy-nominated cypto-drama will premiere with a two-hour event on Jan. 21, 2009, at 8 p.m. That's a Wednesday, in case you don't know next year's calendar by heart, which means that Lost will be returning to its original day-of-the-week slot. (Last season, it aired on Thursday nights.)

While plans are still being finalized, sources indicate Lost will launch with its first two episodes aired back-to-back, not a single, two-hour opus like its season finales. (Should ABC reconsider the plan, look for the first hour of the two-hour event to be some kind of recap special.) Still TBD: if Lost will be making 8 p.m. its weekly Wednesday berth. An 8 p.m. start means the show will be competing against (gulp) Fox's American Idol. At 9 p.m., Lost will be tangling with Fox's new House-meets-The Mentalist procedural, Lie To Me, which will premiere the same night as Lost's return. When we get the regular time slot thing nailed down, we'll let you know. -- Additional reporting by Michael Ausiello and Lynette Rice

UPDATE: Look for Lost to make 9 p.m. its regular time slot, according to a source, albeit with the caveat that plans aren't 100 percent finalized.

NEW UPDATE: The Lost season five premiere will actually be a three hour event! An hour-long recap special will air at 8 PM, followed by the first two episodes from 9-11 PM. The series will air thereafter at 9 PM on Wednesdays.

And this comes from Yahoo news...

Reiko Aylesworth is in negotiations for a major recurring role on "Lost," which returns to ABC in early 2009.

She will play Amy, a smart and successful professional woman with a love for the outdoors who is looking for the right man. The actress played ill-fated federal agent Michelle Dessler on "24," recurred on NBC's "ER" last season.

This is all good news from my perspective. Let the countdown to January begin!

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RIP Michael Crichton

From CNN.com...

Michael Crichton, the best-selling author of Jurassic Park and creator of the TV series ER, has died at the age of 66, according to a statement from his public relations firm. The release said the author died unexpectedly after a "courageous and private battle against cancer."

Wow, that is sad and terrible news. I always loved his books and Jurassic Park was one of the first adult novels I read when I was growing up. It's a shame we'll won't get a chance to read another tale from this inventive and intelligent author.

Heroes bombshell

and I don't mean Sylar going nuclear like we saw a few weeks ago.

From Comingsoon.net:

Variety says there was a big shakeup behind the scenes of NBC's "Heroes" on Sunday as writers/co-executive producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb were fired.

The duo had been with the show since its first season and were known to have led the day-to-day production operation under the direction of creator/executive producer Tim Kring.

"Heroes," produced by Universal Media Studios, has struggled in the ratings its third season. It's understood that Alexander and Loeb were let go because of NBC executives' frustration with the creative direction of the show.

The trade added that the show is also said to have been dealing with hefty budget overruns this season that are going well beyond its already sizable $4 million per-episode pricetag.

I haven't really spoke on here this season about my thoughts on Heroes. But in general, I've felt the show's been wildly uneven. I think the best comparison would be to Vince Russo's writing tenure in the WWF(E). At the moment when you're watching the show, there's a lot going on and things are very exciting. But once you've been away from it for a few hours, you realize a lot of things don't make sense and are a narrative disaster. Characters don't act based on who they are, they act based on what the storyline needs them to do. In addition, everything is kept very superficial, so you never really learn anything about these character or get to care for them in anyway. I have really hated how they have casually killed off so many villain characters this season with no fanfare, yet continue to have too many heroes that nobody wants to see (coughMattParkmancough).

I'm not sure if this firing was warranted, but if it can help bring some focus to the show, I'm all for it. Of course, we won't see the effects of this move for a while as they have quite a few episodes already done that haven't aired yet. As for the two guys that were fired, I wouldn't shed a tear for them. Both are accomplished writers and will easily find other work. For now, we just need to hope this show is able to find its mojo and return it to season 1 greatness.

Howard's End

Here's more news from EW.com on why Terrance Howard won't be back as Col. Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2:

When a summer blockbuster grosses more than $300 million, putting together a sequel is typically as simple as throwing buckets of money at your stars and signing a few pieces of paper. That hasn't been the case with Iron Man 2. It took months for Marvel Studios to lock in director Jon Favreau for the sequel. And reports that Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard as Col. Jim Rhodes — a supporting character who seemed poised for a big role in the follow-up after he muttered ''Next time, baby'' to Iron Man's steel suit — hint that IM2 isn't quite as infallible as the superhero at its center.

Hollywood insiders believe the exit stems from Terrence Howard's difficult behavior on the set of Iron Man. But those with intimate knowledge of the situation suggest a far more dramatic backstory: Howard was the first actor signed to the film and, on top of that, was the highest-paid. That's right: more than Gwyneth Paltrow. More than Jeff Bridges. More than Robert Downey Jr. And once the project fully came together, it was too late to renegotiate his deal. It didn't help that, according to one source, Favreau and his producers were ultimately unhappy with Howard's performance, and spent a lot of time cutting and reshooting his scenes. (Favreau could not be reached for comment, while Howard's publicist says: ''Terrence had a tremendous experience working on Iron Man.'')

As such, when Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux went to map out the sequel they found themselves minimizing Howard's story line. Once Marvel learned that Favreau was thinking of curtailing the role, the studio went to the actor's agents with a new and drastically reduced offer — a number that's similar to what supporting cast members were paid for the first movie. The agents, according to sources, were so taken aback by this new figure — estimated at somewhere between a 50 and 80 percent pay cut — that they questioned it. Why did they blanch? Multiple sources say that Marvel execs never told Howard's reps that they had issues with the star's on-set conduct. (Marvel would not comment for this story.)

It's unclear whether Howard's team walked away first, or if Marvel ended the discussion at that point. Either way, the studio moved quickly to secure Cheadle and the story leaked out the next morning, Oct. 14. And alas for Howard, there will be no next time.

Die Another Day (2002)

Plot: When his top-secret mission is sabotaged, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) finds himself captured by the enemy, abandoned by MI6 and stripped of his 00-license. Determined to get revenge, Bond goes head-to-head with a sultry spy (Halle Berry), a frosty agent (Rosamund Pike) and a shadowy billionaire (Toby Stephens) whose business is diamonds...but whose secret is a diabolical weapon that could bring the world to its knees!

Firsts: Bullet coming at you in gun barrel sequence, story being told during opening credit sequence, singer of Bond theme having a role in the film

Gadgets: Surfboard with stowaway weapons, wristwatches with lasers and detonation devices, fully loaded Aston Martin with invisibility, ring with sonic agitation

Girls Bond slept with: Jinx and Miranda Frost

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Chased by a laser harnessing the sun's power

Personal review: This is a very polarizing film, which may be appropriate given the large role ice plays in the film. Get it, polar, ice. Oh never mind. Anyways, in what would turn out to be Brosnan's last film as 007, there is a lot to like about this entry, but also a lot cringe-worthy aspects as well.

I really dug the opening sequence and the concept of Bond getting caught and tortured. It made the character a bit more falliable without ruining his credibility or reputation. Associated with that, even though it was far-fetched, the whole gene therapy to give the primary villain a true extreme makeover worked for me. It was just over-the-top to work in the Bond universe, plus it provided an added level of animosity between Bond and Moon/Graves that typically isn't found in these films. All of the scenes in Cuba were fun and did a nice job of calling back to older Bond films. Finally, Graves' ice palace was a great addition in the pantheon of classic Bond villain lairs.

In general, this is another action-packed adventure that is enjoyable to watch. However, as I said there are a few things that really drop the film a few notches. First off, I cannot stand the Jinx character. There was no reason to try and create a female Bond. The one-liners and bad-assery just don't work coming from Berry. It may be misogynist of me, but the Bond girls should remain eye candy and as damsels in distress to me. Unless, they're a villainous Bond girl, like Rosamund Pike's Miranda Frost, who I thought was awesome in this film. Sexy and evil in one little package. But back to Jinx, for a second; as sad as I was to see Brosnan leave before I thought he was done as Bond, if it meant putting the kibosh on the rumored Jinx spin-off movies, then I'm glad he chose to hang it up.

Now I mentioned before about the gene therapy being a bit over-the-top, but it's nothing compared to some of the gadgets and stunts in this film. First, there's the invisible car. Now I'm not as critical as some are of it, but it is pretty ridiculous. Still, I can only imagine how people in the 60s reacted to Bond's ejector seat car in Goldfinger. So maybe we shouldn't be too critical of that. The worse offender though is the chase scene with the Icarus laser that ends with Bond turning a jet car into a parasail. Bond has done some extreme stunts before, but this one was not only over-the-top but also looked really bad from a visual standpoint. Take for instance, the scene in Goldeneye where leaps off the cliff and somehow freefalls into the plane. Completely ridiculous, but it was filmed in a way to make it look like it actually happened. Compared to this parasailing scene which looks completely computer generated and phony.

Speaking of the look of the film, I was not fond of Lee Tamohori's direction as all. It seemed like he tried to infuse a Matrix-style of filmmaking into this movie and it just didn't work at all. Shots like the one with Zao (who by the way looked awesome with his 'world's most expensive acne') flipping his jacket in slow-motion as he prepares to torture Jinx was just silly and unnecessary.

In the end, this film really tried to merge old-school Bond with modern filmmaking and it ended up clashing instead of coming together harmoniously. There is enough fun and action in here to not call this a bad Bond film, but there are too many unlikeable aspects in it to consider it one of the best entries either. This one isn't as insulting as The World is Not Enough, but falls below Brosnan first two attempts. 7.5/10

First look at Tom Hanks' second try at Robert Langdon

Here's a look at the first teaser trailer for next May's Angels & Demons (the prequel to The Da Vinci Code; although the film may treat it more like a sequel):

I'm tired of the waiting game...let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!

So my first round of job applications went out a few weeks ago and now all of my reference letters have been sent as well. At this point, the ball is in their court now as I nervously await to hear back from them. It's been a long time since I've had to do the whole job application scene, so it's been a stressful time, but I'm now excited about all of my prospects. If you haven't heard, here are the seven schools that I've applied at:

Hiram College (in Ohio)
Muhlenberg College (in Pennsylvania)
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
The Catholic University of America (in Washington D.C.)
University of Puget Sound (in Washington state)
Colorado State University
DePaul university

I'll hopefully be meeting with representatives from all of these schools when I attend the NCA conference in San Diego in a few weeks. As soon as I hear more from any of these schools I'll be sure to share it with you here.

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NMR: Word Wars

This is another documentary along the lines of Spellbound, which focuses on people involved in a hobby competition. In this case, it's a film about four people competing in the National Scabble competition. These film are an easy thumbs up for. I love seeing these little slices of life and the passion displayed by the people involved. This one isn't quite as good as other similar documentaries though for a couple of reasons. 1) The narrative isn't as strong in this film. While it primarily focuses on these four guys' quest to be Scrabble champ, the film frequently takes these diversions that produce interesting information, but take away from the film's main concept. 2) Related to this, there really isn't a clear cut hero or villain amongst the profiled players. These guys each have winning and unlikeable characteristics about them. Still, if you're like me and you enjoy these types of films, you should definitely give this one a look. Rating: ****

It's better than nothing

I'd rather having the new Harry Potter film opening this Nov. like it was supposed to, but since it's been pushed back until next July, this new trailer will have to tide us over in the meantime.

The World is Not Enough (1999)

Plot: When the suave Agent 007 (Pierce Brosnan) is assigned to protect a beautiful oil heiress (Sophie Marceau), he is catapulted into a passionate, adenaline-charged adventure that pits him against one of his most deadly adversaries: Renard (Robert Carlyle), a ruthless anarchist whose total imperviousness to pain makes him a virtual unstoppable enemy. The unrelenting suspense, breathtaking action and sly wit never let up in this explosively entertaining thriller.

Firsts: Appearance of R, main villain is a female

Gadgets: Fully loaded BMW, eyeglasses with detonation device, amphibious jet boat, jacket with inflatable shield, x-ray sunglasses, credit card with lock pick, wristwatch with grappling hook

Girls Bond slept with: MI6 doctor, Elektra King, and Christmas Jones

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Chased by helicopters with logging saws, trapped in an ancient torture chair

Personal review: We're getting close to the end now folks. In Brosnan's third outing as 007, things unfortunately take a turn for the worse. After a fun adventure in Tomorrow Never Dies, this one is a muddled mess.

It didn't appear that way initially. The pre-credit sequence involving the money pickup and the jet boat chase is just phenomenal. It also harkened back to the old Bond movies involving the typical scene of flirting with Moneypenny before entering M's office. This was just classic Bond all around.

But then once we get into the main plot, the excitement dies down. There are certainly plenty of good action sequences like the ski chase sequence and the scenes involving Bond being attacked by the logging helicopters. However, all of the business with oil and plutonium was too confusing and uninteresting.

The film's greatest weakness is the two female leads. There's no sense going on in detail about how ridiculous it was to have Denise Richards playing a nuclear scientist named Christmas Jones. There have been less likeable Bond girls than her, but she probably was the worst actress to play a Bond girl. Then you have Sophie Marceau as Elektra King. I give them credit for finally having a female lead villain, but she just doesn't pull it off very well. She had the sexuality needed for a Bond girl, but there wasn't enough of a mean streak shown by her to make her a worthy villain.

The weakness of Marceau's Elektra is only emphasized by the hokey Renard. The whole bullet lodged in the brain preventing him from feeling anything would work for a Bond henchman, but he's meant to be the co-main villain. He just doesn't have enough gravitas for his standing within the film. Two weak co-villains do not equal one good villain.

Thank goodness for the return of Robbie Coltrane as Zukovsky. He provides some decent comic relief; emphasis of relief. His scenes are a welcome break for the rest of the film's inanity. As an aside, I also loved his cane that doubled as a rifle. That's pretty badass.

And since there isn't a whole lot of positive things to say about the movie as a whole, let me take the opportunity to say how nice it was to see Q get a proper send off. They had no way of knowing Desmond Llewelyn would die in a car accident before the next Bond film, so they were fortunate enough to include a wonderful scene that would ultimately be his final moment as the classic Q. The character had become synonymous with this franchise and Llewelyn's portrayal of the character is a main reason for that. I'll be curious to see if the character ever reemerges and in what capacity now that the Daniel Craig era has begun.

In the end, this was in my opinion, the worst film from the Brosnan era. But let's face it, they can't all be winners. Sometimes you need a dud in order to truly appreciate the good ones. 6.5/10

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Fist of Furry

I actually saw Kung Fu Panda last week, but have been so busy, I'm just now getting to the review. If it's a little shorter than most of my reviews, it's because the film isn't as fresh in my head.

When it comes to computer animated films, unless it's a Pixar film, I tend not to rush out and see them. Coming from anywhere but Disney, computer animated films vary greatly in their quality. You can have something real clever and fun like Monster House or something that is an insult even to children like Shark Tale. So I usually take a wait and see attitude when it comes to this genre.

For Kung Fu Panda, nothing immediately jumped out at me from the trailers that made me think this was going to be anything special. However, once positive reviews started rolling in and it started raking in some decent money at the box office, I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

This is the first computer animated film that I felt rivaled the quality of Pixar films. Now there have certainly been other films, particularly from Dreamworks animation, that have looked as good or been as successful as the Pixar films, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I mean, is that for the first time, I saw a computer animated films produced outside of Disney where it was apparent that they worked hard to make a quality film and not simply a cash cow. Films like Shrek or Bee Movie rely on big stars and trendy jokes to draw in audiences. Kung Fu Panda is more concerned about story and character development.

Now does Kung Fu Panda have a large celebrity voice cast? Sure. But unlike in Bee Movie where it was just Seinfeld doing his schtick as a bee, the voice actors in this film really try to embrace their characters and make you care about them and not the voice behind them.

The cast is lead by Jack Black as Po, a panda who dreams of being a karate master and by a fluke accident is chosen to become the leader of a bunch of karate fighters. The rest of the cast includes Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, the karate sensi put in charge of teaching Po karate. Some of Shifu's other animal students are voiced by Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Lucy Liu. These characters are part of a group known as the Furious Five. They all add something to the film, but I actually would have like more scenes with them. However, given their pedigree, they may not have been necessarily available to do more dialogue.

That's fine because Black and Hoffman really shine in their portrayals of Po and Shifu. You understand Shifu's frustration over having to teach someone who is seemingly ill-equipped to become a karate master. And you really root for Po to succeed. His poor physique is offset by his fanboy love of karate. You believe that this is his dream and thus you hope he'll achieve it, even if convention says he can't

In addition to the top-notch performances, the animation here is superb. The fighting sequences really look amazing and are extremely detailed. The animators have to be given additional credit for giving the film the look of classic martial arts movies. They do this stop-action animation that looks really neat and also plays for some good laughs. The quality of the animation just adds to that sophistication that is typically only found in the Pixar films as I mentioned before.

This is not an overly hilarious movie, but most of the jokes work. Often with these films there are either a lot of bad jokes or jokes that only a 5 year old would enjoy. I felt this film did a nice job of keeping those embarassing jokes to a minimum. They had just the right balance of physical humor and jokes of a verbal nature. I didn't find myself laughing a lot, but there was a perpetual smile on my face.

About the only weakness I found in the film was the rewatchability factor. As enjoyable as this was, I would be content if I never saw it again. I'm sure that's not true for everyone. I'm sure kids will play it ad naseum once it comes out on DVD. However, for adults one viewing is sufficent. You appreciate it for what it's worth, but then look for something with a little bit more substance afterwards.

Given how impressed I was with Kung Fu Panda's quality, I am dismayed by the news that a sequel is already in development. I know it's only natural when a film does as well as this one has to go forward with a sequel. But I feel that a second story can do nothing but tarnish the goodwill built up by this film. This film had a stand-alone story and we don't necessarily need to know more about these characters. Pixar has only attempted one sequel, but it just happened to be one of their best efforts. So here's hoping that if Kung Fu Panda 2 does happen, they can rise to the challenge and make another great film. For now, I would recommend you check this out once it comes out on DVD and see for yourself how it's possible for other studios to make a great animated film for both kids and adults, just like Pixar has done for the past 13 years. Grade: B+

It's time to go back. But where? And when?

The first promo for season 5 of Lost. A little over two months to go...

NMR: Catch up edition

With Netflix's increased library of online movies, I've been catching up on a lot of movies that I had never seen before.

Vacancy: A fairly run-of-the-mill horror thriller that gets an upgrade thanks to it's somewhat high profile cast. I'm not sure what Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale are doing in a film like this, but it sure improved its watchability. The premise isn't revolutionary; estranged couple trapped in a creepy motel. However, it has enough decent thrills to make it entertaining. Be forewarned, as with most horror movies, the characters are pretty stupid to allow all the terrible things to happen to them. In reality, most people probably would have escaped and/or avoided this situation a lot sooner than the people in the film do. So if you like to think or analyze character motivation, this may not be the film for you. Rating: ***

Spellbound: This is a documentary from 2002 on the National Spelling Bee; an event which has for whatever reason risen in popularity over the past few years. The director does a great job of chronicling 8 different kids in their quest to be champion. I thought it was a glaring omission though not to have a home schooled kid represented in the film considering they always seem to do well in these events. I've certainly seen a lot of the Bees and always find them interesting, but I was glad I didn't know who had won this particular one as it made it more engrossing to see which of the kids profiled would emerge victorious. It was a nice bonus to see a portion of the film to then Bee moderator, Dr. Alex Cameron, who I had as a professor at the University of Dayton. Dr. Cameron passed away a few years ago and I always regret not knowing when I had him as an instructor that he was the Bee moderator because I would have loved to talked to him about it. Overall, the film is really well done and if you have any sort of interest in this subject, I would recommend you see this film. Rating: *****

The Ice Harvest: This was a noir comedy that was largely ignored by audiences when it came out a couple of years ago. Directed by Harold Ramis, it stars John Cusack and Billy Bob Thorton as a couple of crooks who try to steal money from the main mob boss in Topeka, KA. As usual, everything goes wrong and there are a number of double-crosses along the way. The cast here is particularly good, but the film kind of meanders and doesn't do enough to draw you in. A lot of the beats seem familiar and there are a number of scenes that could have been eliminated; which isn't good when your film is only 89 minutes to begin with. Unless you're a big fan of the film's leads, you can probably skip this one. Rating: **

Harland Williams: What a Treat: I typically don't bother with stand-up films unless I really love the comic. In this case, I had never seen Harland's stand-up before but he was always such a great and hilarious guest on Conan O'Brien that I figured it was worth a luck. Unfortunately, it wasn't the same thing. I think a lot of Harland's worth is having someone to play off of. His humor is bizarre and off-the-wall, so watching someone like Conan bewildered about what he's discussing adds to the comedy. In his special, however, the jokes don't work as well. In addition, he uses a lot more colorful language, which can be effective with the right jokes, but seemed unnecessary here. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood that day, but I didn't find a whole lot of it to be funny. What a Treat? More like What a Shame. Rating: **

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox story: I ended up avoiding this one in theaters, even though it had a lot of promise. Judd Apatow co-wrote the script and it features a lot of actors typically found in his movies. However, I've just never been fond of John C. Reilly as an actor and the trailers just didn't offer enough humor to entice me to check it out. But since it was available online at Netflix, I decided to give it a look and I'm glad. This is a very sharp and funny look at the musical biopic, which has become popular recently with films like Ray and Walk the Line. It nails all of the cliches that are typically found in these movies. There are also a number of songs, which are all very clever and yet catchy too. Perhaps what is most remarkable about the film is that it still comes off a bit inspirational. Yes, they are mocking the genre. Yes, it's about a fictional character. But they really explore the character and make the audience actualy invested in how it plays out. Even if this genre isn't to your liking, there are enough fun cameos sprinkled throughout the movie to keep you entertained. This is a solid movie that probably deserved more viewers than it had in theaters. Rating: ****

Britney's new music video!!

Call me crazy, but I think this one is going to be HUGE!

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Plot: A deranged media mogul is staging international incidents to pit the world's superpowers against each other. Now 007 (Pierce Brosnan) must take on this evil mastermind in an adrenaline-charged battle to end his reign of terror and prevent global pandemonium!

Firsts: Bond working with a female Chinese agent. I know it's a stretch, but there's isn't much to work with here.

Gadgets: Fully loaded BMW, multi-function cell phone including remote control to the BMW, cigarette lighter explosive, and wristwatch with detonation device

Girls Bond slept with: Danish professor, Paris Carver, and Wai Lin

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Left at the mercy of Stamper and his Chakra torture devices

Personal review: It may not be a popular opinion, but I really love this entry and it's my favorite of the Bond franchise. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I study the mass media, which plays such a large role in this film.

Having a media mogul as the primary villain of the film was inspired. It felt current and to a certain degree realistic. It helps that Jonathan Pryce does a fantastic job as Elliot Carver. He has moments of pure madness, but then he also exhibits some levity by trading one-liners with Bond and his karate mockery after capturing Wai Lin.

And it always helps when the main villain surrounds himself with good help. Carver's got a decent group of henchmen. Some are good because they've got great names to yell out; Stamper! Gupta! And others like Dr. Kaufman are just plain creepy and evil.

Even though this was only his second attempt, Pierce seemed pretty comfortable in the role and continued to play it right. As for the rest of the returning cast, I liked that they made an effort to make M more likeable by having her spar with Admiral Roebuck; in fact, I thought that aspect of the story could have been developed more. Samantha Bond also really began to shine as a Moneypenny who was still smitten with 007 but wasn't afraid to call him on his BS either.

The action scenes, as usual are top-notch. I particularly like the plunge down the banner and the motorcycle scene. The remote control car scene is fun, but gets a bit ridiculous. The final shootout upon the stealth boat, seems very reminiscent of some previous Bond climaxes, which is a good thing.

Now let's talk about a few weaknesses. I've got mixed feelings on Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin. Her actions scenes are fantastic and provide a new dynamic to the 'Bond girl'. However, she's had next to no chemistry with Brosnan. I would have liked it if she had just remained a colleague and/or was killed off so that there would have been room for another girl to ride off into the sunset with Bond.

The other disappointment is Sheryl Crow's theme which is dull and lifeless. The song over the closing credits is even better than that one. I'm not quite what happened there, but it certainly didn't do its job in setting the mood of the film.

Overall, most will find this to be an average outing, but I have a strong connection with this one. It's a fun ride and firmly established Brosnan as the right guy to be playing 007 at that time. 8.5/10

Baby Shower deleted scenes

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War Machine gets a facelift

From comingsoon.net...

Don Cheadle is stepping in to replace Terrence Howard in Marvel Studios' Iron Man 2, says The Hollywood Reporter.

In the first film, Howard played Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, Tony Stark/Iron Man's best friend and future armor-clad hero War Machine.

The trade says Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons.

Marvel, which had wanted to work with Cheadle, then decided to take the role in another direction and approached the actor, who is shooting Antoine Fuqua's Brooklyn's Finest.

Justin Theroux is writing the screenplay for Iron Man 2, coming to theaters on May 7, 2010. Jon Favreau is returning as director, and Robert Downey Jr. is expected back as Stark/Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow also is expected to be back as Pepper Potts.

I didn't mind Howard, but if he's not in, Cheadle seems like a suitable replacement. Although, I heard the best idea over on a message board; Robert Downey Jr. should just don black face again and play both roles. Ha!

Here's an attack ad we can all get behind!

I'm sure everyone is sick of the political attack ads that are flooding our TVs right now and we still have 3 more weeks of this, so whenever you get tired of them, just watch this and a smile will form on your face.

Goldeneye (1995)

Plot: Pierce Brosnan ignites the screen in his first adventure as the unstoppable James Bond. When a powerful satellite system falls into the hands of a former ally-turned-enemy, only 007 can save the world from an awesome space weapon that - in one short pulse - could destroy the earth!

Firsts: Brosnan as Bond, Samantha Bond as Moneypenny, and a female M (Dame Judi Dench), post-Cold War Bond film

Gadgets: Pen grenade, belt with rappelling gear, piton gun, laser watch, and loaded Aston Martin and BMW

Girls Bond slept with: Caroline (the psychatrist) and Natalya Simonova

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Trapped in a helicopter and train car as both are set to explode.

Personal review: And now we come to Pierce. Over the next few weeks, we'll cover his quartet of films and their various pros and cons, but let me just say that I always thought Pierce, himself, did a great job as Bond. In many ways it was only natural that he play the part and I'm glad he got a chance after he backed out of doing The Living Daylights. He knew how to have fun with the role, but got serious when it was time to take care of business.

Now onto this film in particular. In general, it was a fairly decent start to the Brosnan era. Having a double-crossing double O agent seemed fresh and Sean Bean did a great job of being evil without being over the top. He really was an excellent foil to play off Brosnan. I actually would have liked him in more scenes, but between delaying his reveal and the large group of associate villains, it just wasn't possible.

There are also some big-time action sequences in this one. The film kicks off with that breathtaking bungee jump scene and also has that crazy dive into the airplane. Later on you have the tank scene which is crazy and probably Bond's most reckless chase scene, which is saying something. Given how impressive those scenes were, the film's climatic action sequences are somewhat of a letdown (especially Trevelyan's death scene), but still servicable.

The final strength of this film that I'll mention is Tina Turner's performance of the title song. She just knocks it out of the park and it is easily in my top 5 of Bond themes. Associated with that, I love the improvements Daniel Kleinman made with the opening sequences. Maurice Binder's work will always be iconic, but Kleinman did a great job of updating this while still keeping a lot of Binder's core concepts (i.e. silhouetted women).

Speaking of updates, the film tried to do a lot of that, most of which to annoying results. My biggest complaint of Goldeneye is its insistent reminders that we are living in a different world and era now. The film's political correctness just feel out of place. The James Bond character is timeless regardless of the fact that the Cold War was over. Thankfully, they would ease up on this as the franchise went on.

The one positive move that came out of this was making Judi Dench as the new M. She brings the right amount of steeliness to the role and doesn't make a big deal out of the fact that she's a woman.

The other interesting recurring cast members in this one are Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade and Robbie Coltrane as Zukovsky. I found it interesting that they brought Baker back in a different role, but don't understand why it was as a CIA agent. Why eliminate the Felix Leiter character? Coltrane on the other hand was a fun addition. I would love to see him make another appearance, but between the series' new direction and Coltrane's Potter schedule, this seems unlikely.

Finally, let's talk about the Bond girls, something that was problematic during the Dalton era. First, Famke Janssen is great as henchwoman Xenia Onatopp (great name!). It's been a while since we've seen a henchman with a unique method of murder, so that was a welcome return. As for Izabella Scorupco as Natalya, she's a mixed bag. You could tell she was pretty, but she was never what I would call sexy at any point in the film. She also was typically the one that kept forcing the PC issue with her bitching about "boys and their toys" which got annoying after a while. On the other hand, she was a lot more competent than a lot of Bond girls, so at least she had that going for her. One odd complaint about both Bond girls was their incessant screaming. Onatopp's primal yells and Natalya's shrieks of fear sounded the same and both hurt my ears.

Overall this is a solid start, but still had plenty of room to grow. Even though this film is now 13 years old (can't believe that), it still feels modern to me, unlike all the previous Bond films. That is, except for whenever they mention technology. Hearing Natalya's checklist at the computer store now is pretty funny. Anyways, I'm sure most people have seen this one, but if you haven't and you're interested in starting on this franchise this one isn't a bad one to start with. 8/10

Business ethics deleted scenes

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NMR: Smorgsbord of movies

I've been sick since Sunday, so I've been checking out a bunch of movies on Netflix's online service and here are some quickie reviews for them:

Open Water: We'll begin with the one I actually rented first. 2004 was such an amazing summer of movies that something was bound to slip through the cracks and this just happened to be it. Billed as Jaws meets The Blair Witch Project, this is a short film based on true events about a married couple who accidentally get left behind by their boat while scuba diving. The majority of the film then focuses on these two trapped in the middle of shark-infested waters. It's a cool concept with lousy execution. The film looks as if it has the production value of skin flick on Cinemax. Also, the two lead actors aren't likeable in the least, so you're just hoping that the sharks eat them. Finally, I just did not feel the thrills and chills it set out to achieve. Perhaps watching this in the middle of the afternoon in my living room isn't the right setting to enjoy this type of film, so with the right setting this may be better than I'm giving it credit. But from my perspective, this one's a dud. Rating: **

Armed and Dangerous: I have seen this film before, but you can never go wrong with a John Candy movie in my opinion. This one involves him and Eugene Levy who recently lost their jobs and decide to become security guards. They discover that the union overseeing their company is corrupt (I know, shocking, right?) and they try to take them down. The film also features a young Meg Ryan in her first film. The film doesn't reinvent the wheel, but has its share of laughs. This is the film equivalent of comfort food. Rating: ***

My Kid Could Paint That: An interesting documentary from last year that could have been so much more. It deals with a 4 year old girl who is supposedly a modern art prodigy. Her work generated mainstream buzz until a 60 Minutes piece implied that she didn't really create the paintings. The film is rich with possible topics including how does one define art, showbiz moms and dads, the evils of hype and others. Unfortunately, the director is such a wuss he doesn't really probe at any of these issues. It's one thing to not take a side on the issue, but it's another to simply provide a superficial look at the subject. The film is worth a look because it will provoke a lot of debate amongst those who have seen it, but in terms of quality filmmaking, this movie is lacking. Rating: ***

Get Smart: Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control: This was the spinoff to the new Get Smart movie that came out this summer. This one focuses solely on the two gadget techs (Masi Oka and Nate Torrence). While it could have been a neat idea, the thing just screams cash grab. The plot is paper thin and the jokes are mostly obvious. I can't criticize it too much since it's just a straight to DVD release and doesn't try to pretend it's any better than it is. And it does seem like most of the people involved had fun doing this. I especially liked seeing Masi Oka and Jayma Mays on screen together again (They played Hiro and Charlie from Season 1 of Heroes). Still, this is only worth a look if you really enjoyed the new Get Smart movie and want to see more of these characters. Rating: **

The Comedians of Comedy: Live at the El Rey: I've talked about this group before, but in case you don't know, this group of stand-ups include Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, and Maria Bamford. This was a documentary made specifically for Netflix I believe which showcases one of their particular shows. If you've seen their act before, there's no real reason to see this as there's nothing new here. If you haven't, I wouldn't necessary recommend this either. Go watch one of their other specials. You get a more behind the scenes look at their humor plus it'll likely feature the hilarious Zach Galifinakis who is glaringly absent on this show. Bottom line, the comedy is funny but there are better representations of their work out there. Rating: ***

Licence to Kill (1989)

Plot: James Bond (Timothy Dalton) takes on his most daring adventure ever when he turns renegade and goes head to head with one of the international drug cartel's most brutal and powerful leaders. This time, he's fighting not for country, not for justice...but for revenge!

Firsts: Bond goes rogue, an actor returns to play Felix Leiter (David Hedison)

Gadgets: Video camera that turns into a rifle, toothpaste explosive with cigarette detanator, cummerbund with repelling gear, and Polaroid camera with laser flash

Girls Bond slept with: Pam Bouvier and Lupe Lamora

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: Placed on a conveyor belt leading to a grinder.

Personal review: I don't recall especially enjoying this one in the past, but this time around, I thought this was a really solid effort. Had Dalton been able to produce a couple more films like this one, he might not have gotten such a bad reputation as Bond. He still plays the character a bit too serious, but it was definitely an improved effort here. I think more so than being too serious, Dalton's greatest flaw was that he never seemed to be much of a ladies man. He didn't bring enough suave to the character, which I think is a major element needed for an actor to work as Bond.

The strongest part of this film I felt was the action. There are several really good scenes and most of them felt unique as well. The capturing of Sanchez to begin the film is one of the series' best openers. Then you have some quality stuff with Bond jetskiing to catch the plane and the concluding stuff involving the oil tankers. These were exciting scenes and really well done.

The film's other strong suit is Sanchez's cadre of henchmen. I don't know if there has been any other Bond film that had such a large cast of sleazy, slimy characters. You have Milton Krest, Hiller, Professor Joe and Dario (a young Benecio Del Toro) all playing pretty despicable guys. But perhaps worst of all is Truman-Lodge who is your typical 80's yuppie scum (Trivia note: This is the same guy who played 'Jimmy' on that infamous episode of Seinfeld). His character is so damn annoying and loathesome that I was hoping for a more elaborate death for him than simply having Sanchez shoot him.

Speaking of Sanchez, Robert Davi did a fine job in this role. I really liked how they played up the character's paranoia. We finally got to see Bond use some of that British intelligence to mess with his head instead of simply being a killing machine. I will say though that as fun as it is for Bond to feed into Sanchez's paranoia, it seems a bit farfetched for him to be able to remain undercover for as long as he did. I mean, where was Dario for most of the movie?

One of the more intriguing elements of the film is the fact that Bond breaks orders to do this mission. A rogue Bond has all sorts of potential, but they really didn't do enough with it. Given that this seems to be a plot point in the new Bond film, I hope they do a more adequate job of playing it up.

The film only has one major flaw and that is a terrible Bond girl. Carey Lowell is probably my second least favorite Bond girl behind Jill St. John and there are several reasons for my dislike of her. First, I cannot stand that boyish haircut she gets that so many women of the 80s seemed to have. Totally unappealing. Second, I never like it when the Bond girls get all chummy with the rest of the MI6 crew, in this case Q. It makes it seem like anyone could hang out with these supposed 'secret' agents. Finally, this girl is a stage five clinger. Seeing her mope whenever Bond wouldn't pay attention to her or flirt with Lupe was so annoying. Throughout the film, I was begging Bond to choose Lupe over her, but alas he didn't. After the yawner that was Olivia D'Abo in his previous film, Dalton really needed a stronger Bond girl here and didn't get it.

If you've never seen Dalton as Bond, do yourself a favor and definitely see this one. Even though the plot and feel of the film is very much rooted in the 80s, it is still a decent action flick. Dalton may get a bad rap for his portrayal of Bond, but there are certainly worst Bond films than this one. It's a shame he never had an opportunity to build off of this performance and legitimize himself as Bond, but just like Bond had his license to kill revoked in the film, Dalton had his license to play Bond taken away from him. Next up, the Brosnan era. 8/10

Voting pains

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NMR: Double feature

Batman: Gotham Knight: If you're unfamiliar with this, it's a collection of six animated shorts that were released earlier this year. The shorts are meant to be a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Although I will say that the bridge is more thematic than plot driven. Nothing in these shorts will help you understand the plots of either film. These six shorts vary in their quality. Some are really neat stories that feature some of the lesser known Batman villains, while others are a real bore. The other irksome thing for me was the animation. It's well done, just not in a style that I particularly enjoy. If you're a true Batman fan, you'll probably enjoy this. Otherwise, you can skip this. Rating: ***

88 Minutes: I didn't want to believe the reviews. I couldn't accept that a thriller with an interesting hook starring Al Pacino could be as awful as they said. But it's all true. This is a sloppy, incomprehensible piece of film and it makes me wonder how it got greenlit in the first place. Apparently, some people did have reservations. The film was set in 2006, indicating it's been sitting on the shelf for a while. This thing just keep piling on the plot twists and you quickly just want the film to end so that they can try and explain everything, even though it's impossible. Avoid this one at all costs. Rating: *

The Living Daylights (1987)

Plot: Timothy Dalton is suave and lethal as superagent James Bond in this turbo-charged action/adventure that pulls out the stops for excitement. Armed with a gadget-laden Aston Martin and his license to kill, Agent 007 must stop a terrifying weapons conspiracy that may be linked to the Soviet military high command!

Firsts: Timothy Dalton as Bond, Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny

Gadgets: Loaded Aston Martin, key chain with knockout gas and explosives, and binocular eyeglasses

Girls Bond slept with: Girl on yacht (presumed), Kara Milovy

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: None really, although Bond did hang out of a cargo plane while fighting a henchman

Personal review: I feel that Dalton often gets a bad rap as Bond, but then I watch his films again and he makes it so difficult for me to defend him. And it is easy to lay the criticism on his seriousness. Even if it's not intentional it always looks like he has a scowl on his face. That makes it difficult to enjoy when he's delivering lines about salt corrosion is to blame for a police car's dismantling after he destroyed it with a laser. But I feel like a lot of the criticisms that are often put on Dalton, could be said about Daniel Craig, except that I think Craig has been an excellent Bond thus far.

So where does the blame lie? Well Dalton was done no favors here with the story. The evil plot is strong from a relevancy perspective here. I felt like I was watching Charlie Wilson's War again with the whole Afghan/Russia arms issue. But the nuts and bolts of the story aren't really explained well and seem overly complex.

Along with that the villains are a major disappointment. Joe Don Baker as crazed arms dealer Brad Whitaker and Jerden Krabbe as Georgi Koskov are decent character actors, but they aren't menacing enough here. I think worst of all is that they really have no major beef with Bond. Bond goes through this film relatively unscathed. Things are much more interesting when the villain is equally concerned with killing Bond and completing their evil scheme.

The disappointment with the villains though are nothing compared with the film's choice for its Bond girl. Maryam D'abo as Kara Milovy is a personality vaccuum. She's neither sexy nor tough, which just leaves helpless; the worst category of Bond girls. The fact that Bond is smitten with her from the get go and never fools around with anyone else makes it even more depressing. How can we root for this Bond when he's not hated by his villains and has such terrible taste in women?

I thought the action in here was solid. The opening scene involving Bond fighting the assassin in the flaming jeep was good. And the stuntwork done during the scenes where they are fighting outside the cargo plane is top notch. But the exciting action is offset by the dull locales. Vienna, Tangiers, and Afghanistan aren't the most exciting locales for a film.

There just ends up being nothing in this film that truly gets you amped up. This is clear from the get-go with the lifeless and forgettable Living Daylights theme. Even though most of the Bond trademarks are in this film, this felt very generic and could have been any action film. The film avoids any eye-rolling bad moments, but if I'm going to pick a Bond film to watch for fun, I'm not apt to choose this one.

One final thing, in the scene where Koskov is 'captured' after defecting, what happened to Bond, M and the Minister? They are all talking to him and then in the next scene, their headquarters is attacked, Koskov is taken and none of them are seen. Did I miss something here or was this poor editing on the director's part. 7/10

Deleted scenes for Weight Loss

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Monday TV thoughts

Oh it's so good to have new television again. I have a renewed sense of energy, yet I'm doing less work if that makes any sense.

The Big Bang Theory: The show probably played it best by not dwelling on the actual date between Leonard and Penny and instead had the story centered around the aftermath, which allowed for a lot more screentime for Leonard's fellow geeks. Sheldon in particular was the star of this episode. And unlike in certain episodes last season, they did a really good job of finding a way to make Sheldon likeable and still funny. At times, he was a little cruel in his narrow-mindedness last season. This time he was hilarious from his efforts to unwillingly keep a secret, to bunking with his various friends and annoying them to no end. As for the future of Penny and Leonard, I think playing off their incompatibilities is the right move. There can remain that attraction, but these two should not become fated loves like Rachel and Ross. If they go down that road, things will just become nauseating and turn me off to the show. The return of Leslie Winkle next week should hopefully help in preventing things from getting to that point.

How I Met Your Mother: Not an overwhelmingly hilarious premiere, but a suitable one in advancing the stories that we were left with at the end of last season. I really like the pairing of Ted and Stella, but I think we're beginning to see that once again Ted has found a great woman who won't end up being the mother. How can this show be so cruel to us. They keep offering these great mates for Ted and then they all vanish. How can the actual mother ever top them? And as for the Barney/Robin relationship, it was nice for now to see a different side of Barney. But ultimately, I hope they find a way to have Barney remain his awesome self and still have a relationship with Robin. A long-term kind and nice Barney simply won't do. One last thing: Marshall really needs a job, but I'm loving his unemployed antics anyway.

Heroes: OK, where to begin here. This show is remarkable in that it has the ability to pull me in during the time that it's on. But the more I think about the show after its over, the more flaws and faults I find with it. This is definitely a turn off your brain show in order to maximize enjoyment.

The two hour premier was a definite improvement over much of last season, but I'll reserve judgments on how the season will play out as a whole for now. After all, they had 9 months to come up with this episode. Let's see what they do with a little less time as the season goes on.

Unlike last season's snail's pace, they threw a whole bunch of stuff at us; some of which worked, others didn't. Here's some bullet point thoughts on everything that went down last night:

- I hated that after building the whole first season on protecting Claire from Sylar, he managed to get what we wanted from her so quickly here in this season. But on the other hand, I loved seeing him at work and also making a comment about the brain-eating speculation.

- I really like the cast of new villains and cannot wait to see what havoc they wreak on the world. My only complaint is that The German looks too much like HRG.

- Mohinder continues to reign supreme as the dumbest person on television. Who here couldn't see a mile away that injecting himself was only going to turn out bad. I'm interested to see where they go with him and their homage to The Fly. By the way, I was surprised to find myself not hating Maya last night and also found her to be pretty hot.

- It seems like they got rid of a lot of dead weight. Molly, Micah, West, Monica: GONE!! Glad to see they put the kids to bed and decided it's time to let the grownups play.

- Also thrilled to see some of the better characters return. I was pumped to have Linderman back in whatever form it is (hallucination, ghost, shape shifter). But it just shows the show's lack of forethought by having him killed in the first place and now brought back under contrived reasons. On a similar level, I'm glad to see Claire's mom is back, but is she really the best person they could find to protect Claire? Where was the Haitian?

- Loved Bob and Elle's brief scene together. I cannot believe they killed him off. I'm sure they'll regret that later too and bring him back in some ludicrous way. I cannot wait to see what Elle does now that she's on her own. I think her electric attack on Sylar is just a glimpse of what she's capable of. And speaking of her showdown with Sylar, was anyone else singing The Man With The Golden Gun during that scene?

- Can they just kill off Matt Parkman already? I am going to hate every scene he's in while in Africa. Completely pointless.

- The Hiro/Ando/Daphne stuff was fun. I particularly liked the Batman/Catwoman trap they set. I'm glad Hiro was upfront about what he saw in the future. So many other shows who have strung that out and had this unspoken resentment between the two characters. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out and who actually is the hero and villain in that relationship.

-I'm calling shenanigans on Angela Petrelli being Sylar's mother. Something just doesn't add up there and hopefully we'll find out the truth to that next week.

There is plenty more I could talk about, which just shows you how much was packed into those two hours. But for now I'll leave it at that and let the rest of you voice your opinions.

New pricing game: Gas Money

For the 37th season premiere, The Price is Right debuted a new game yesterday called Gas Money. It's especially notable for a couple of reasons: It's the first new game to debut since Drew became host and it's the last new game created by recently ousted producer Roger Dobkowitz. The concept is pretty simple, but effective. The look of the game is great and I especially love the old tyme gas pump sound used when someone earns money. Check out its first playing here:

NMR: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

This is probably the lone, high-profile, well-reviewed movie from 2007 that I had not seen yet, which is why I put it in my queue. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed. The movie has a strong cast who deliver some fine performances. And the film is beautifully shot. But despite those strengths, I can't recommend this film because it's just plain dull. The movie plays like a PBS special with a big budget. Based on a book, the film picks and chooses random points in the relationship between James and Ford to highlight their strange working relationship. Given that you know what happens based on the film's title, there is too much time spent leading up to that moment. I would have preferred if the entire movie would have focused on the aftermath of the incident. The film briefly shows Ford's quasi-celebrity status and eventual backlash for killing James and I wish that had been explored more in-depth.

If you like moody westerns, you'll probably love this movie. Someone made a comparison to McCabe and Mrs. Miller, which is accurate; too bad I hated that film too. As a critic, there is a lot to applaud in this film. However, as a movie fan, I would say not to bother with this unless you're trying to cure insomnia. Rating: **

This week in inappropriate comedy

You know when Jerry Springer is gonging your act things are pretty bad.

Are you ready to 'Come on down' again?

It's finally here...premiere week!! And things get started proper in the morning with the Season 37 premiere of The Price is Right. Drew's back for another season and in preparation for another season full of big wins, here's a look back at some of the great moments from Drew's first season.

A View to a Kill (1985)

Plot: Agent 007 (Roger Moore) races against time to stop a power-mad industrialist (Christopher Walken) who plots to kill millions in order to corner the world's microchip supply. From the Eiffel tower to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, James bond can't be stopped!

Firsts: Oscar winner to play a Bond villain, Bond actually seen on Russian soil.

Gadgets: Microchip tracker, electric shaver that detects microphones, sunglasses that see through tinted windows, ring that takes photographs, check copier, and credit card that unlocks windows

Girls Bond slept with: Kimberley Jones, May Day, Pola Ivanova, and Stacy Sutton

Elaborate murder attempt that Bond escapes: trapped underwater in a car, trapped in an elevator on fire

Personal review: I may lose my Bond cred for saying this, but I actually really enjoy this movie. In my opinion, there are only two major flaws; one being that Roger Moore was too old at this point. And I'm not sure if he had work done before this film, but his face always looks like he's surprised throughout the film. If he does this a few years earlier or if it's done by a different Bond, it would have improved things tremendously. The other is Tanya Roberts as the shrill Stacy Sutton. Not since Jill St. John has there been such an annoying Bond girl. Isn't it interesting how they both came during the final Bond films of Connery and Moore. Roberts' shrieking throughout the movie gets annoying very fast. I mean Bond tells her "hang on" or "I'll be right back" and she's still yelling at him like he's abandoning her. At that point I probably would have left her to burn in the San Francisco City Hall.

But now let's focus on what I like about this entry. First, you gotta love the choice of Christopher Walken as your villain. He brings an excitement to the villain role that had not been seen for a while. It helps that he's more active than most of the villains and we get a significant backstory to understand why he is the way he is. He also surrounds himself with a decent cadre of henchmen. Dr. Mortner is sufficiently creepy as the steroid doctor. And then there's May Day who works really well as a female villain. However, I could have done without the sex scene between her and Bond. They had a problem with Bond sleeping with Bibi and not her?

I also love the addition of Peter Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbett. You could tell that him and Moore were having a lot of fun working together. Their whole master/servant schtick produces a lot of laughs.

Kudos for the production team for coming up with a couple of new venues for some epic scenes. The Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate bridge scenes are impressive and feel different than a lot of the Bond action scenes.

The film does drag a bit in the middle with a lot of tangential scenes (Bond cooking quiche (how manly!), sharing a hot tub with the Russian agent, the fire truck chase scene), but they aren't enough to damper the fun of the overall film.

Finally, I must say that Duran Duran's theme is one of the best in the series. It does a great job of kicking the film into high gear right from the start. And I always love when the song and the opening credits do a good job of connecting with the film's theme. Unlike the generic ones that just have silohuetted girls dancing around, this one sticks in your mind with the day-glo motif and the fire and ice symbolism.

I recognize that the film has its flaws, but for me this one is just altogether too enjoyable to rate it negatively. Unlike Octopussy, which seems new everytime I watch it since I never remember anything from that film, I can recall everything from this one. I'm glad that Moore left after this one as opposed to his previous work. 8/10

TV Roundup

Premiere week isn't until next week, but there was still enough new content this week to warrant a post.

House: The cranky doctor is back and the premiere is ... just ok. I personally thought the House/Wilson stuff was fantastic, but the patient of the week and everything surrounding her was pretty 'meh'. It'll be interesting to see how long they play out this House/Wilson stalemate. Given how well defined these characters are, this latest blow to their friendship should keep them strained for a while, but you know the writers and the viewers will get impatient and want to see them conversing in their usual banter before long. Back to the POTW, I never care for the ones that have to directly influence the doctors' personal lives. In this case it was 13. You know it's funny...for a character who's supposedly created to be this enigma, we sure know more about her than we do the other two newbies. I like 13, but we already had a pretty girl with issues in Cameron, so why do we need her. At some point, the writers are going to need to address this issue and eliminate some people.

Fringe: This week's second episode earned it a permanent spot on my DVR. The pilot had some pacing issues and wasn't the most captivating television. A lot of it felt like a been there done that. However, now that I'm beginning to see how a typical episode will play out, I feel a little bit better about the show. What really works for this show is the cast. Each of them are unique and make you interested in what they are saying and doing. I also like the fact that this show is trying to make its episodes more stand-alone and not be bogged down by some grand mythology. Yes, there is this whole "The Pattern" business, but I think it's just a unifying theme rather than some elaborate mystery. As long as they can keep coming up with unique scientific anamolies I'll remained hook. I do have one plea to the writers though: Please don't try to create some romantic tension between Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv. We saw it on X-Files, Bones, and all sorts of other shows like this. Please don't fall into that trap. It's not needed on a show like this.

Mythbusters: Another fun episode this week, although not a oddly engaging as last week's phone book friction episode. The water stun gun seemed doomed from the beginning based on the science of the matter, but I still enjoyed seeing Jaime and Adam go through all the different ways to try and make it happen. Jaime really seemed into this myth and whenever he's excited about one, it makes for a better episdoe. With the fire myths that the build crew took on, again, there wasn't much in the way of surprising results. Rather, the fun was in watching the reactions of the team to the results. The way the team was shocked by the fire extinguisher explosion was hilarious. And as for the walking on hot coals, I think we've seen enough people do it to know it's not something mystical. Still, it was damn funny seeing Adam not know the proper way and get burned in the process.

NMR: The Bank Job

This a another film from this past spring that eluded me. Unlike 21, however, it did not do big business at the box office, but it did earn some decent reviews. The film is based on true events surrounding the biggest bank robbery in the history of London. A lot is still not known about the heist, so this is somewhat speculative fiction. I think that helped this film as it is able to create a lot of good drama and suspense. I've never thought much of Jason Statham based on most of the roles he chooses, but he was surprisingly good as the leader of the small-time crooks. The film is more interesting than a typical heist film as there as connections to politics, racism and pornography associated with this crime. Best of all, the film has a wholly satisfying conclusion. Whenever a film ends strong, it always helps boost its rating in my book. If you enjoy this genre of film, this one's probably worth a rent. Rating: ****