Movie Loner

Besides slaving away tirelessly on this blog, I do actually write for other websites. My latest endeavor landed me a guest poster position on CliqueClack.com. If you get a chance, please give it a look. CliqueClack is a cool site dealing with all things Television. So help a blogger out and read my stuff. Did that sound desperate enough?

The Movie Loner

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Here I go again writing about big-budget blockbusters. Well, too bad. I’m a movie nut, so forgive my indulgences. One thing all my dedicated readers (all ten of you) should know is I’m one of the biggest 007 fans alive. I’ve seen every Bond flick multiple times and have looked forward to every incarnation of the MI-6 super-spy since the days of Connery, Sean Connery.

Without question the best James Bond is the current James Bond — Daniel Craig. If you want to read my reasons why do a search on this blog for Casino Royale. It’s all there in black and white. He is the truest representation of Ian Fleming’s legendary literary character.

I just saw Quantum of Solace. First off, it’s not as good as Casino Royale, but that’s hardly an indictment. I happen to believe Casino Royale is easily the best Bond film ever produced. Better than From Russia with Love, Dr. No and For Your Eyes Only. So where does that place Quantum of Solace? Near the top in my book.

Rather than write a full review, I’m going to expound on three attributes that make the newest chapter in the Bond series worthwhile. First, it picks up literally after Casino Royale ended. Bond has kidnapped the mysterious Mr. White and taken him to M for questioning. Why is this important? Because unlike the twenty films prior to Craig’s involvement, an actual story thread is being weaved. Up until Casino Royale, Bond movies were stand alone features that whisked 007 to remote locales to foil some nefarious villain bent on world domination. Sure there was the S.P.E.C.T.R.E connection during Connery’s time but it didn’t represent an actual arc that bled from film to film.

What the current writers (Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade) are successfully attempting to do is retell the Bond tale from its beginnings. How did he get his start? What drove him to become who he became? This narrative technique humanizes 007. He’s no longer a quipping cartoon character, but rather a man who feels life’s emotions: joy, love, fear.

Quantum of Solace represents the second-act in the evolution of James Bond. In Casino Royale, we saw a reckless yet vulnerable figure whose blood-thirst was quelled by the love of a woman. In Quantum, we see a single-minded killing machine fueled by vengeance and the pain of loss and betrayal. Despite his brutal actions, he seems almost more vulnerable, perhaps because he has crossed the line between personal and professional. He allows his emotions to consume him which clouds his judgment and threatens his 007 status.

Secondly, the film does a precise job of connecting the dots between villains. There is the archetypal bad guy, but he shares the antagonist label with numerous others. Government advisers, wealthy philanthropists, Central American despots, the CIA and MI-6 itself all take turns dancing on the dark side. We live in a transnational world with numerous hands reaching into the same cookie jar, eager to get theirs. Quantum of Solace correctly postulates that it takes many, not one, to exploit a third-world nation of its natural resources just as Casino Royale correctly presumed it takes many to fund international terrorism. The globe is shrinking, borders are disappearing, governments are picking sides. One day they may be fighting for right, the next day for wrong. Whichever side offers the sweeter deal is the one they’ll choose.

Finally, there is Daniel Craig. I lied. I am going to heap more praise on the sixth actor to carry a license to kill. In Casino Royale M refers to Bond as a “blunt instrument.” It’s meant as an insult, but the words imply more of a complement. He is cold and vicious and he needs to be in order to survive. Killing shouldn’t bother him in the least. As he tells Vesper, “I wouldn’t be very good at my job if it did.” Craig takes Bond’s bluntness to new heights in Quantum of Solace. He kills without remorse, guided by a steely glare. His eyes reveal indifference. After stabbing a “contact” in the neck, he holds the man down forcibly, waiting for the final breath to exit the man’s broken body. He seems frustrated that it takes so long for the man to die. This ruthless persona defines the 21st Century James Bond.

Craig exudes charm in his own way, but it’s the brutish kind, similar to that of Connery’s. This trait is befitting Bond who is first and foremost a man’s man. Pierce Brosnan and in particular Roger Moore were too proper for the role. Brosnan was suave and Moore humorous, but each failed to fully encapsulate Bond’s rogue nature and proclivity for inflicting violence. It is these qualities that make Craig such a strong 007. He operates in a world of secrets and lies, a world where trust is fleeting and treachery commonplace. To navigate and exist in this world James Bond must be willing to crawl in the dirt to achieve his objectives. At least he’ll look good doing it in his custom fit tuxedo.

Quantum of Solace continues the origin story of James Bond 007. But it is only the second act. What follows will almost certainly peel back another layer of the iconic MI-6 agent’s personality. I can’t wait to see what is underneath.

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Just released on Yahoo tonight. This movie looks incredible. I’ve already expressed my admiration for Alan Moore’s brilliant graphic novel, but it looks like Director Zack Snyder has nailed the adaptation. Check out the trailer:

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Just watched Iron Man on DVD. Damn good movie. I realize this site is for non-blockbusters and it always will be. That being said, I’m not an anti-Hollywood guy. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I love it when Hollywood gets it right. My only problem is more often than not they get it wrong. Really wrong.

But Iron Man is exactly what a big budget tent-pole comic book adaptation should be. Cool concept. Great effects. Powermad villain. And most importantly, Robert Downey Jr. as engineering genius/corporate tycoon Tony Stark. Christian Bale is too serious. Tobey Maguire not enough personality. Downey Jr. possesses the perfect combination of humor, charm and edge. Everything you want in a superhero. One quibble: Is it wrong that I spotted Jeff Bridges as the bad guy before he even spoke? By the way, Gwyneth Paltrow as a redhead? Very nice.

Everyone has seen it: The trailer for Iron Man:

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There was no better American actor than Paul Newman. In my mind, you can’t argue that statement. Charismatic, charming, sly, a rebel, Newman was everything movie stars should be. There’s a lot of tributes floating around the net right now. It would take too long to name all his great roles in all his great films. In the spirit of the Movie Loner I prefer to remember Newman in perhaps his most underrated performance: Washed-up lawyer Frank Galvin in Sidney Lumet’s exceptional legal drama The Verdict. In the following scene Galvin speaks of humanity’s desire to be just. A desire that Newman himself sought countless times in his art and in his life.

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I’m not a gamer and I’ve never liked Mark Wahlberg as an action star. Nevertheless, the trailer for the upcoming video game adaptation Max Payne looks damn cool. Technically, this is the second trailer released for the movie. Have a looksee:

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Three movies inspired me to study film in college. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, and Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies and Videotape. Each delivered a significant impact, but none more so than Sex, Lies and Videotape. Its style is simple, yet effective and had me convinced I could make a film. Although I never accomplished my goal, my admiration for Soderbergh’s writing and directing remains. His smart, frank approach to sexual repression and infidelity stands as a groundbreaking creation in adult drama. Subtle camera movements, a provocative soundtrack, and outstanding performances accentuate a perceptive story about broken people seeking to find their place in the world.

This scene marks the point when the tables are turned on Graham. Accustomed to being the interrogator, a guarded Graham finds himself in the uncomfortable position of subject as a fed up Ann bombards him with questions in an attempt to exorcise his private demons. I present the verbally intense climax to Sex, Lies and Videotape:

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What is the best science fiction film ever made? Time’s up, I need an answer. If you answered Blade Runner, you are correct. A visual masterpiece that still looks as gorgeous today as it did twenty-five years ago, Ridley Scott’s dystopian noir classic about a 2019 Los Angeles cop assigned to eliminate rogue androids called replicants is as powerful as any movie I’ve seen. It deals with basic questions that have perplexed humanity for centuries: How long do we have? How do we get more time? Life, in all its fleeting preciousness, is often taken for granted. Blade Runner shows us long life is not a guarantee, and despite all our technological genius, the one thing we can’t manufacture is more time.

In the following scene, Deckard breaks the bad news to Rachel that she is a replicant. The painful realization that her existence is nothing more than a series of borrowed memories is both frightening and poignant. I give you a stirring scene from the remarkable Blade Runner:

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