Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

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  • dell71
    Enter Sandman
    • Mar 2009
    • 23919

    #91
    As promised...



    Quantum of Solace
    2008. Rated PG-13.
    Director: Marc Forster. Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric.


    Plot: An attempt on M's (Dench) life by the mysterious Quantum organization leads Bond (Craig) to Haiti where he meets the beautiful Camille (Kurylenko). She in turn, leads him to Quantum's leader Dominic Greene who is of course, trying to take over the world in some form or fashion. Action ensues. Or re-ensues, since it starts with a car chase, but nevermind.

    The Good: The action, duh! These sequences will flat knock you on your butt. It amplifies the Bourne-style in splendidly brutal fight and chase scenes with amazing stunts. However, it's careful to never get into the gizmo heavy cheesefests that marred the Pierce Brosnan 007 flicks. This Bond also has another thing in common with Bourne, he's ruthless, in fact moreso. He's piling up quite a body count. To pull this off, Daniel Craig is perfect. Whether or not he's the best Bond is a matter of opinion. What isn't open to debate is the fact that he's given us by far the most athletic version of the character. Aside from the physical stuff, we also notice that for the first time, a Bond movie isn't a stand-alone adventure. It's actually a real sequel that often refers to it's predecessor. This further humanizes our hero, even as he's performing unbelievable feats. He often has thoughts of revenge and can't sleep due to the events of the prior movie. The relationship between Bond and M continues as it did in Casino Royale as well. That is, it provides a solid foundation and seems to grow during the movie. It helps that Judi Dench has been wonderful in the role.

    The Bad: The story is a bit convoluted and rushed. This seems to be a constant Bond problem as the bad guy has to go through a whole lot to take over the world and Bond has to go all over the world, quite literally, to figure things out. As a result, he seems to discover a lot of things either by accident or unintentionally implied psychic ability and we are left scrambling to catch up. The movie is also formulaic. In CR, there were long sections of the movie devoted to us getting to know the new Bond. Here, those sections are stripped away and we just follow the same leftover steps. As far as Bond villains go, Dominic Greene and the evil general we meet later are a bit bland. If the Bond reboot needs anything, it's "a better brand of criminal" to quote The Joker. Oh, and what happened to the creative names for the bad guys and the Bond girls. Hearing the outlandish and sometimes racy names of these characters was part of the fun. I realize they wanted to get away from some of the more silly aspects of the franchise but they could lighten just a tad. Dominic Greene and Camille? Where's the fun in that?

    The Ugly: He keeps tearing up my damn Aston Martins!

    Recommendation: As with any of the Bond movies over the course of 40 years, it's a must-see for fans. It's also a must-see for action fans since it may be the genre's best film of 2008 that doesn't include a costumed hero (unless you consider a well-tailored suit a costume). It's also not as good as CR. While, it's certainly a fun ride, the movie between the action scenes seems lacking. Fortunately, those action scenes come early and often and are all dynamite.

    The Opposite View: Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat

    What the Internet Says: 7.0/10 on imdb.com (4/6/09), 65% on rottentomatoes.com, 58/100 on metacritic.com

    MY SCORE: 6.5/10


    EDIT: I originally scored this a 7 but the more I think about it, the less I like it so I dropped it half a point.
    Last edited by dell71; 04-13-2009, 09:25 PM.

    Comment

    • FirstTimer
      Freeman Error

      • Feb 2009
      • 18729

      #92
      Originally posted by dell71

      The Good: The action, duh! These sequences will flat knock you on your butt. It amplifies the Bourne-style in splendidly brutal fight and chase scenes with amazing stunts. However, it's careful to never get into the gizmo heavy cheesefests that marred the Pierce Brosnan 007 flicks.
      I resent this only because IMO GoldenEye is the best Bond flick ever...but I could have done without the Brosnan ones after that.

      Comment

      • Senser81
        VSN Poster of the Year
        • Feb 2009
        • 12804

        #93
        Thanks for the review.

        I thought the movie was completely pointless. Not much dialogue. The re-introduction of Mathis felt forced. No interaction between Bond and the girl. Too many chase scenes. The first chase scene was ridiculous...the bad guys shooting uzi clip after uzi clip at Bond's car to no avail, then Bond merely needs to pick up his gun and fire one shot our of his window and its 'chase over'. The plot itself was pointless...the bad guys want to take over the water supply in Bolivia...who cares?! There wasn't really any connection between the different events in the movie. Bond finds out that all the bad guys are at the same opera...does it really matter? A British agent has been working for the bad guys, but now he's dead...does it really matter? The British agent girl has been drowned in oil...does it really matter?

        Comment

        • dell71
          Enter Sandman
          • Mar 2009
          • 23919

          #94
          Originally posted by Senser81
          Thanks for the review.

          I thought the movie was completely pointless. Not much dialogue. The re-introduction of Mathis felt forced. No interaction between Bond and the girl. Too many chase scenes. The first chase scene was ridiculous...the bad guys shooting uzi clip after uzi clip at Bond's car to no avail, then Bond merely needs to pick up his gun and fire one shot our of his window and its 'chase over'. The plot itself was pointless...the bad guys want to take over the water supply in Bolivia...who cares?! There wasn't really any connection between the different events in the movie. Bond finds out that all the bad guys are at the same opera...does it really matter? A British agent has been working for the bad guys, but now he's dead...does it really matter? The British agent girl has been drowned in oil...does it really matter?
          That was another problem that this series has...everytime Bond goes to see someone with potentially valuable info they somehow always know he's coming, get into a fight with him & wind up dead before they can be of any use to him or us, the viewers. A fun watch for the action scenes sums it up best.

          Comment

          • Senser81
            VSN Poster of the Year
            • Feb 2009
            • 12804

            #95
            Originally posted by dell71
            That was another problem that this series has...everytime Bond goes to see someone with potentially valuable info they somehow always know he's coming, get into a fight with him & wind up dead before they can be of any use to him or us, the viewers. A fun watch for the action scenes sums it up best.
            Can you explain to me what the deal was with Mathis? They made reference to him being found innocent of the 'treason' charges he faced from "Casino Royale" and thus getting an Italian Villa as settlement...but if thats true, then how can you explain Le Chiffe's intimate Bond knowledge in Casino Royale?

            Comment

            • dell71
              Enter Sandman
              • Mar 2009
              • 23919

              #96
              Originally posted by Senser81
              Can you explain to me what the deal was with Mathis? They made reference to him being found innocent of the 'treason' charges he faced from "Casino Royale" and thus getting an Italian Villa as settlement...but if thats true, then how can you explain Le Chiffe's intimate Bond knowledge in Casino Royale?
              Honestly, I don't think there is any explaining it. It's a cheap plot device so that he'd appear to be a good guy again, even though it defies logic. Kinda like how the police suddenly realized they made a mistake & it was really the Sandman that killed Uncle Ben in Spiderman 3.

              Comment

              • Lupe
                Posts a lot
                • Nov 2008
                • 4315

                #97
                Do you have a review on the last house on the left yet? (the new one)

                Originally posted by Len B
                Lupe is good peeps. He gets a bad rap from people who take message boards too seriously and forget what it's like to be young and online. I consider Lupe a top 100 prospect in the minors and someday becomes a solid poster.

                Comment

                • dell71
                  Enter Sandman
                  • Mar 2009
                  • 23919

                  #98
                  Originally posted by Lupe
                  Do you have a review on the last house on the left yet? (the new one)
                  No...I probably won't see it until it hits DVD (or find a good quality online version but shhh...don't tell anyone)...

                  Check with Rawlin.

                  Comment

                  • Buzzman
                    Senior Member
                    • Oct 2008
                    • 6659

                    #99
                    Originally posted by dell71
                    Honestly, I don't think there is any explaining it. It's a cheap plot device so that he'd appear to be a good guy again, even though it defies logic. Kinda like how the police suddenly realized they made a mistake & it was really the Sandman that killed Uncle Ben in Spiderman 3.
                    Im not an expert but I believe Mathis was proved innocent because the girl in Casino Royale was proved to be the trader because she told them about Bond so they wouldnt kill her husand or boyfriend, who as a matter of fact was actually only with her to set her up. Thats what the guy was doing with the Canadian secret sevice lady at the end of QoS

                    Comment

                    • dell71
                      Enter Sandman
                      • Mar 2009
                      • 23919

                      Originally posted by Buzzman
                      Im not an expert but I believe Mathis was proved innocent because the girl in Casino Royale was proved to be the trader because she told them about Bond so they wouldnt kill her husand or boyfriend, who as a matter of fact was actually only with her to set her up. Thats what the guy was doing with the Canadian secret sevice lady at the end of QoS
                      I'll buy that...makes as much sense as anything else.

                      Comment

                      • dell71
                        Enter Sandman
                        • Mar 2009
                        • 23919


                        Let the Right One In AKA Lat den ratte komma in
                        2008. Rated R, 114 minutes.
                        Director: Tomas Alfredson. Starring Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl.


                        Plot: In a 1982 suburb of Stockholm, 12 year old bully-magnet Oskar (Hedebrant) befriends Eli (Leandersson), the mysterious girl who's moved into the apartment next to his. Her arrival in town coincides with a series of grisly murders in which the victims had the blood drained from their bodies.

                        The Good: It's a very unique vampire movie. In fact, it's more of a puppy-love movie featuring two 12 year olds. It just so happens that the girl is a vampire. That's the twist that makes it sizzle. A constant tension hangs over the film as we try to figure out whether she'll hurt or help him and for a while, whether he'll find out what she really is. It also uses her obvious power and his weakness to build metaphors and give Oskar a life-lesson. The pacing of the movie is deliberately slow, but doesn't drag. It draws you into this awkward yet budding romance. Don't worry though, it's not some sappy affair. We get a number of 30 Days of Night-esque attacks on the human-folk.

                        The Bad: At the beginning of the movie, Eli has an adult, presumably human guardian who actually commits the early murders and brings her the blood (not at all a spoiler). We never really learn the nature of their relationship (it's vaguely hinted at, once). Also, about midway through the movie something happens to him, or at least seems to. Despite the fact what we've seen suggests we should, we never see him again. That was bothersome for me. It's like they all of sudden forgot about him.

                        The Ugly: When our two lovebirds share their first kiss. When you see it, you'll say "Ewwww."

                        Recommendation: Though the main characters are both only 12 years old, well one is 12 and the other just appears to be (they do discuss this, by the way), this is not another vampire movie for teenage girls. This is for more mature fans of the genre who've seen plenty of them and are looking for a fresh take on the subject. Subtitleophobes can breathe easy. This is a Swedish film, but the DVD plays the English dubbed version by default.

                        The Opposite View: Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

                        What the Internet Says: 8.2/10 on imdb.com (#192 all time as of 4/8/09), 97% on rottentomatoes.com, 82/100 on metacritic.com

                        MY SCORE: 9/10



                        Flight from Ashiya
                        1964. Not Rated, 100 minutes.
                        Director: Michael Anderson. Starring Yul Brynner, Richard Widmark, George Chakiris, Suzy Parker.

                        While on a dangerous rescue mission, three men who work for the Air Rescue Service each have a flashback to other important times in their lives. What the movie wants to do is build up these guys by making us love them through thier individual stories. It only manages to accomplish that for one of them, 2nd Lt. Gregg (Chakiris). For the other two, it gives us a bunch of pointless melodrama that might've been good if it didn't try to cram full-blown romance movies into the 20 or 25 minutes allotted each flashback. We get people falling hopelessly in love at first sight, stories skipping years with insufficient reason or explanation and all sorts of other cliches. What's meant to be poignant and maybe even racy for the era comes off as ridiculous and forced. MY SCORE: 5/10
                        Last edited by dell71; 04-14-2009, 11:24 AM.

                        Comment

                        • Senser81
                          VSN Poster of the Year
                          • Feb 2009
                          • 12804

                          Originally posted by Buzzman
                          Im not an expert but I believe Mathis was proved innocent because the girl in Casino Royale was proved to be the trader because she told them about Bond so they wouldnt kill her husand or boyfriend, who as a matter of fact was actually only with her to set her up. Thats what the guy was doing with the Canadian secret sevice lady at the end of QoS
                          But the girl also brought Mr. White into the mix to kill Le Chiffe and protect Bond. Bringing Mr. White into the mix eventually got the girl killed, IIRC. Anyway, it doesn't make sense to have Bond brought into the mix and have the girl dealing with Le Chiffe...because she could have just had Mr. White kill Le Chiffe from the beginning.

                          Comment

                          • calgaryballer
                            Tiote!
                            • Mar 2009
                            • 4620

                            Good to see you enjoyed Let the Right Ones In. I just finished reading the latest Empire, and they gave it a 5/5 score, which is huge for a vampire movie.

                            It is on my must see movie list, and will be checking it out.

                            Comment

                            • Senser81
                              VSN Poster of the Year
                              • Feb 2009
                              • 12804

                              Good timing on the Flight from Ashiya review...I was just about to buy it from Amazon.

                              ROLLEYES

                              Comment

                              • dell71
                                Enter Sandman
                                • Mar 2009
                                • 23919

                                Originally posted by calgaryballer
                                Good to see you enjoyed Let the Right Ones In. I just finished reading the latest Empire, and they gave it a 5/5 score, which is huge for a vampire movie.

                                It is on my must see movie list, and will be checking it out.
                                I thoroughly enjoyed it.

                                While looking for "the opposite view" I came across one review that called it the "anti-Twilight", lol.

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