Notorious

Notorious
2009. Rated R, 114 minutes.
Director: George Tillman, Jr. Starring Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Angela Bassett, Antonique Smith.

Plot: The life and times of Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G.

The Good: Even better than simply not making our hero a saint, the movie doesn't try to justify his indiscretions. It's content to show him as a guy who often has to learn the hard way. It also manages to show him as thoughtful, if a bit selfish. Woolard in the title role is simply note-perfect. Unfortunately, he's so good and has a look enough like Biggie I can see him struggling to land other roles. Actually, the title role is shared by Woolard with Biggie's real-life son, Christopher Jordan Wallace, who ably plays his dad as a kid. The movie also makes effective use of Biggie's music as both a score and a soundtrack.

The Bad: I've often complained about movies, especially comedies, that simply run too long. However, I'm a firm believer that biopics should be at least two hours long. This one is a bit shy of that mark and suffers because of it. In particular, his various attempts at reconciliation with the women in his life are either glossed over or just plain left out as things between he and them go from bad to good instantaneously. It also limits character development in others who should/could have had major roles. Lil' Kim (Naturi Naughton) suffers the most as the script makes her completely selfish, lacking any compassion and most other human emotions besides anger. The circle around Biggie known as Junior MAFIA also suffers, only depicted as flunkies and hangers on when by most accounts he did have real friendships within the group. Even his friendship with Puffy is never dealt with.

The Ugly: How he gets "inspired" to make his hit song Juicy.

Recommendation: This is a pretty good biopic that sticks to the headlines from its subject's life. For hip hop fans, it's a worthy first entry into the genre. It could've used some more fleshing out to be great. Even though it's no disappointment, one can't help but wonder how much better a movie about Biggie's friend turned nemesis, the more interesting and dynamic personality Tupac Shakur, could be.

The Opposite View: Rob Daniel, Sky Movies

What the Internet Says: 6.0/10 on imdb.com (4/27/09), 50% on rottentomatoes.com, 60/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7/10

Flight From Ashiya

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

Jamie Foxx to Play Mike Tyson???

While checking out Screenrant.com, I came across this post about Mike Tyson wanting Jamie Foxx to play him in a biopic. I did indeed confirm, he told this to MTV News. What an interesting idea.

Years ago, Michael Jai White of Spawn fame played the boxer in an HBO movie. If I remember correctly, he did okay in the role but nothing earth-shattering. He seemed to have gotten the role based more on his resemblance to Tyson than anything else. I think he's an okay actor, but I wouldn't re-cast him for the part.

Foxx, on the other hand, has more than enough acting ability to go around. He'd have to bulk up, but otherwise I think it would be an excellent choice.

But there's still a problem. I don't think this movie should happen anytime, soon. My reasons are purely selfish. I just don't think Mike has really ridden off into the sunset already. I'm not talking about his boxing career, which I hope is over forever. I'm talking about his three-ring circus of a public life. I can't help but get the feeling he's not done with bizarre occurrences, just yet.

Do you think a movie about Tyson's life should be made in the relative near-future? Who would you cast to play him?

Zombie Strippers!

Zombie Strippers!
2008. Rated R, 94 minutes (unrated DVD version).

Director: Jay Lee. Starring Jenna Jameson, Robert Englund, Shamron Moore, Roxy Saint.

The W Corporation, as in George W. Bush, develops a way to reanimate dead soldiers so they can continue fighting in the war. Of course, the test subject are uncontrollable zombies and have overrun the lab where they were created. A special forces unit is brought in to wipe them out. In the process, one of the soldiers is bitten by a zombie subsequently infecting him. Bada boom, bada bing he stumbles into the nearest underground strip joint. By the way, it's underground because all public nudity has been completely banned. Anyhoo, he infects Kat (Jameson), the star dancer. Zombie stripping, blood, guts and all manner of ridiculousness ensues. Long story short, how could you expect anything other than "so-bad-it's-awesome!" from a movie titled Zombie Strippers! and starring the world's most famous porn star in a "legit" role. Oh, a little FYI, she's had way too much plastic surgery done to her real face, nevermind the zombie makeup that was applied. To the movie's credit, it knows it's ridiculous but still fancies itself a sharp political satire in the tradition of George A. Romero's best work. Though its unquestionably ridiculous and certainly a satire, sharp is the absolute last thing I would call it. MY SCORE: -10/10

City of Ember

City of Ember

2008. Rated PG, 95 minutes.

Director: Gil Kenan. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook.

Plot: When the Earth's surface becomes unlivable for human life, survivors relocate to the underground city of Ember. The founders leave instructions on how to get back t o the surface to find out if conditions have gotten better. They've locked them in a box set to open in 200 years. Fast forward those 200 years and Ember is falling apart as the city's aged generator is failing. The box has been lost and the city's collapse seems inevitable.

The Good: There are a number of chase scenes that add some fun to the proceedings. This also helps move things along quickly. Our two teenage stars, Ronan (as Lina Mayfleet) and Treadaway (as Doon Harrow) give earnest performances and make us feel like they're really trying to save a dying city.

The Bad: There are plotholes everywhere. One of them literally runs around the movie eating people. Or slithers around, I'm still not sure because it looks like a giant rooster but I didn't see any legs, but nevermind. The script is incoherent. It tries to borrow from too many other, better movies and fails to assimilate them in a manner that makes any sense. The movie's more known actors whiffed. Perhaps realizing he's in a crappy movie, Bill Murray (as the mayor of Ember) seems to be constantly thinking of his next tee time. Tim Robbins (as Doon's dad) appears to be overcompensating but at least he gives it the old college try. Finally, if you're going to make a silly movie with lots of cgi, at least have good cgi. Sadly, the special fx range from barely adequate, at best, to downright shoddy. It's shoddy more often than adequate so there's no "wow" factor.

The Ugly: What eventually happens to the mayor.

Recommendation: It tries to dazzle kids with lots of excitement but it forgot to write even a decent story. At the very least, it should've given them something easier to follow then maybe it might engage them enough to care. You and the kids might sit through it all but it will likely be forgotten by the time you take it out the DVD player.

The Opposite View: Cammila Albertson, TV Guide

What the Internet Says: 6.5/10 on imdb.com (4/25/09), 51% on rottentomatoes.com, 58/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 2.5/10

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux

2008. Rated G, 94 minutes.

Directors: Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen. Starring Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Tracy Ullman, Dustin Hoffman.

Plot: Despereaux (Broderick) is an outcast among other mice since he doesn't cower, scurry or show any fear at all. For this, he is banished from "Mouse World" into the sewers below. From there, he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime in hopes of saving a princess and perhaps an entire kingdom.

The Good: It trusts it's audience will stay with it when it lets up off the accelerator. So while there are scenes of silliness and action sprinkled throughout, there's ample time devoted to character development and plot building. The viewer is not rushed from one action scene to the next and we actually get to know a number of these characters. Visually, it's a wonderful piece of work. Like a lot of animated fare, it blends photo-realism with it's more cartoonish elements but it does so seemlessly.

The Bad: The tone might be a tad too serious. Young viewers weened on the all-out goofiness of many animated movies might be put off a bit. Also, If there's one character who was underdeveloped, it's the king. Having him more involved would've added another dimension, particularly if more attention were given his relationship with his daughter, Princess Pea (Emma Watson). As is, he sort of punctuates the movie. He occasionally shows up briefly to remind us he's there. Finally, I would love to have seen just how the rats got their two prisoners, especially the cat.

The Ugly: What happens to the queen.

Recommendation: It might move a bit slow for really young kids or those with short attention spans. Use Ratatouille or maybe even Wall-E as a guide. How you or your kids reacted to the non-action parts of those may provide insight into how they'll respond to Despereaux. For the rest of us, it's a pleasure to take in but admittedly not as good as the two movies I just mentioned. It's a movie in which we can actually relate to the characters having the adventure, even if they are mostly mice and rats.

The Opposite View: Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

What the Internet Says: 6.0/10 on imdb.com (4/15/09), 55% on rottentomatoes.com, 53/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7.5/10

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire

2008. Rated R, 116 minutes.

Director: Danny Boyle. Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor.

Plot: Jamal (Patel) is one question away from winning it all on Mumbai's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" He's also uneducated and poor so the police are questioning him to find out if he's been cheating.

The Good: The screenplay is exceptionally written. It weaves the gameshow, the interrogation and Jamal's life together beautifully. Each flashback is a harrowing adventure for us to get caught up in. The movie also causes us a bit of a moral dilemma as we try to decide how we feel about Jamal's brother, Salim. Director Danny Boyle does a masterful job of pulling things together, and went on to win Best Director at this year's Oscars. It's right there with Trainspotting as my favorite movie of his. And his lead actor is a charmer.

The Bad: The ending is ultimately predictable and a little too fairytale. Also, since the movie covers most of our hero's life there are three sets of actors playing him, his brother and Latika, the love of his life. Visually, it works splendidly but it robs us of any real chemistry between the actors that play them during the present.

The Ugly: Do you know what it's like underneath an outhouse? Jamal finds out, firsthand. Ewww.

Recommendation: That we can predict the ending is only a small drawback to our enjoyment. This movie is much more about the journey than the destination, and what a wonderful journey it is. By the time we realize we've been tricked into a chick flick, we're totally immersed in the storytelling and thoroughly enjoying the ride. And yes, I did call the winner of the Academy's Best Picture award (and 7 other Oscars) for 2008 a chick flick.

The Opposite View: Fred Topel, Can Magazine

What the Internet Says: 8.5/10 on imdb.com (#49 all time as of 4/16/09), 94% on rottentomatoes.com, 86/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 8.5/10

Twilight

Twilight
2008. Rated PG-13, 122 minutes.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke. Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Taylor Lautner.

Plot: Bella (Stewart) moves to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. At her new high school, she meets and falls in love with Edward (Pattinson) whom she discovers is a vampire.

The Good: It's a very stylish movie. The camera often seems to be next to a fog machine but it works. It works because all that slow-motion fog, the usually soft rain, the angst-stricken looks on the major characters' faces and the almost constant 6 AM lighting, more on that later, stress that this is a romance. Since it so diligently creates the atmosphere of a storybook romance it only has to do a few other things right to make it's target audience, teenage girls, fall in love with it. It does. The couple involved has to make a huge sacrifice to be together and face some sort of seemingly insurmountable challenge to their love. If they cannot overcome that obstacle, on of them must die with the other weeping at his/her side. If they do, then they must pledge their undying love for one another. I won't tell you which happens here, just know that Twilight covers it's bases.

The Bad: Now, about that lighting: this is probably the brightest vampire movie in history. Think about that, a vampire movie with only a few nighttime scenes. It uses the fact that cloudiness and rain are near constant in the area as an excuse. However, when there is sunlight it doesn't seem to be life-threatening to the vampires. Hmmm. This, among other things spits in the face of traditional vampire lore. However, the most grating factor is that our heroes both seem to be suffering from depression and share a fondness for whining. As a result, Edward might be the least sexy vampire to ever hit the screen. He's an introvert who lacks charm, basic confidence and who glares and snaps at everyone. He's the Anakin Skywalker of his species. This problem of assigning sexiness to unsexy characters is evident in Bella, as well. Instead of developing her properly, they just make everyone around her so lame she becomes the most popular and desirable girl in school about 30 seconds into her first day. They were actually waiting for her to get there. They even knew her background and were planning to do a front page feature on her in the school paper. I know I've been out of school for awhile but c'mon, really? As it pertains to Bella and Edward as a couple, the movie tries to have these two obviously cynical people both fall head over heels for one another instantly but other than the aforementioned shared deprssion and whining we've no idea why they would.

The Ugly: Am I the only one who thinks it incredibly stupid for a family of vampires to live in a house high up in the hills with huge floor-to-ceiling windows in nearly every room with no curtains?

Recommendation: It's not nearly as bad as most critics and adults who read the novel will tell you. However, it's not nearly as good as most teenage girls would have you believe. It certainly has it's flaws but it basically does what it sets out to, namely, make a ton of money and have young girls everywhere clamoring for the sequel.

The Opposite View: Prairie Miller, Newsblaze

What the Internet Says: 6.1/10 on imdb.com (4/19/09), 49% on rottentomatoes.com, 56/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 5.5/10

Asian Persuasion

While over at The Movie Blog, I checked out one of their favorite posts, 12 Asian Films To Get You Started. The author, John, named a dozen Asian films that he, as a Hollywood film lover still loves. Like John, I'm hardly an expert in Asian cinema but do have a number of Asian films that I love. Here are 10 of my faves, in no particular order. Well, alphabetically but...nevermind...let's move on.


The 36th Chamber of Shaolin AKA Master Killer - Simply put, this is among the finest kung-fu movies ever made. Strangely enough, it parallels Batman Begins in many ways. It's about a boy who's parents were killed at a very young age. He makes his way to the Shaolin Temple where he is put through rigorous and creative training sessions and well, I'll stop there. Suffice it to say that this is the rare martial arts movie where the story is as strong, if not stronger than the fighting.

City on Fire - This one stars an actor many of you are familiar with, Chow Yun-Fat. Here, he plays an undercover cop who infiltrates a gang of thieves that plan to rob a jewelry store. The premise is a familiar one, but it plays out so much better than most. In fact, large portions of this movie were taken and transformed into Quentin Tarantino's classic Reservoir Dogs.

Five Deadly Venom - Another classic of the martial arts genre. Five fighters trained by one master have ventured out into the world and that master fears some of them have been up to no good. So he trains a sixth fighter to go out and corral them, more or less. One problem: since they all wore masks the entire time he trained them, he has no idea who they are.

Hard Boiled - With the help of this movie, director John Woo and actor Chow Yun-Fat became international superstars. This is an all-out, nonstop, anything goes action flick. Some of the sequences are among the best action scenes ever filmed. This is just one of those movies that action junkies have to see before they die or their lives are incomplete. Seriously.

Hero - Among a number of martial-arts epics, this is Jet Li's finest. He plays an unnamed man who has defeated three assassins that were to kill King of Qin. These two men tell one another how they think the events played out. The story works well enough as do the numerous fight scenes, but this is all about the cinematography. Simply, it's one of the most beautiful movies you'll ever lay eyes on.

Ichi the Killer - This is a gangster movie unlike any you've ever seen before. A Yakuza boss disappears with a ton of money and his top henchman (& crew) goes looking for him. The henchman is a sadist, and his crew keeps running into Ichi, much to their detriment. It's ultra-violent, vile and flat out insane. And that's why I like it. Think of what an anime movie would be like in live action and you'd be on the right track.

Infernal Affairs - A cop has infiltrated the mob, meanwhile the mob have a cop on the force. Neither knows the other's identity and a brilliant game of cat-and-mouse ensues. If that sounds familiar it's because this classic was remade into Martin Scorcese's Best Picture winner The Departed. If you've somehow not seen Scorcese's version, do yourself a favor and watch the original first. Well, even if you have seen it, check this one out.

Oldboy - A man is imprisoned in a windowless hotel room for 15 years and suddenly released. He has no idea who did this to him and why but he definitely wants to find out and exact a little revenge. When it's all said and done, we're not really sure who got revenge on who and the twist that ends the movie is just absolutely mind-blowing. It's part of the director's (Park Chan-Wook) " (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance the others) and one of my favorite movies of all time.

Return of the Dragon AKA Way of the Dragon - Okay, my favorite Bruce Lee flick of all time is Enter the Dragon but much to everyone's surprise, that's not an Asian film. This one is. If you claim to love martial arts movies but haven't seen this you are a fraud. I command you to get your hands on a copy immediately. If you're not sure why you should, consider this: Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris. I thought so.

Seven Samurai - This is considered by many to be the one of the greatest movies ever made. For any lovers of westerns, its a must-see as it was remade into the classic The Magnificent Seven. The scope of this movie is breathtaking as is the direction and character development. It's an exercise in patient storytelling. Admittedly, you will need some patience yourself since the run time stretches to near 3 and a half hours. However, over that time, there is not a wasted moment.

And once you've run through all those, check these out as well:

The Chinese Connection
Lady Vengeance
The Host
Kung Fu Hustle
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
H
3 Extremes

What are some of your favorite Asian films?

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

2008. Rated G, 112 minutes.

Director: Kenny Ortega. Starring Zac Effron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu.

High school sweethearts, Troy (Effron) and Gabriela (Hudgens), as well as their classmates, have to deal with separation anxiety as graduation looms. Singing and dancing ensues. It does exactly what it wants to do. It gives it's target audience a romanticized, asexual, insulated from the real world version of high school in which every problem can be dealt with by an inoffensive pop tune complete with 1980s music-video styl group dance numbers. By the way, saying these kids have "problems" is overstating it quite a bit. They have inconveniences that slightly detract from the perfection of their lives. Adults in this world exist merely so we know they actually exist. The exception to this is the great and powerful drama teacher. Seriously. The whole thing is a rather innocuous affair that my pre-pubescent daughters both love. Honestly though, all that cheese just upsets my stomach. MY SCORE: 3/10

Scarlet Street

Scarlet Street

1945. Not Rated, 103 minutes.

Director: Fritz Lang. Starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Rosalind Ivan.

Christopher (Robinson) is going through a middle-age crisis and feels trapped in a loveless marriage. When the young and beautiful Kitty (Bennett) shows some interest in him, he immediately fall head over heels. Believing him to be a wealthy and famous painter, Kitty sets out ot bilk him of his money at the behest of her abusive boyfriend Johnny (Duryea). Lots of lying and conniving ensues. This is an underrated WWII era gem with a dizzying number of plot twists. Each of them is expertly handled and continues the movie's spiral towards it's dark conclusion. In fact, it's ending is so dark I'm convinced that director Fritz Lang truly hates Christopher (see spoiler below). Edward G. Robinson trades in his more famous gangster motif for that of a square and is as brilliant as ever. MY SCORE: 10/10

SPOILER!!! (Highlight to read)

The movie could've, and probably should've ended one scene earlier when Chris decides to hang himself. However, his suicide attempt is unsuccessful and he's left to wander the streets and be further tormented by guilt. Having him actually die as a result of his hanging would've been the more "humane" way to end the movie.

I Married a Monster from Outer Space

1958. Not Rated, 77 minutes.

Director: Gene Fowler. Starring Gloria Talbott, Tom Tryon, Robert Ivers, Chuck Wassil.

Marge (Talbott) marries her sweetheart Bill (Tryon) and notices he's acting really strange. She soon discovers that the man she married is...wait for it...wait for it...a monster from outer space. Well, actually his body has been taken over by a monster...from outer space. One by one, this starts happening to all the men in town as Marge frantically tries to find help in stopping them. Yup, this is 50s B-movieism at its finest...or worst depending on your point of view. The aliens use screwy logic but hilariously enough, they're better husbands than the humans they've taken over. The human men, married or not, are all heavy drinkers who spend every night at the local pub. When we get to the "exciting conclusion" it's because a) people suddenly know things they shouldn't, but don't know things they should and b) ...well, there's a lot of stupid stuff. Think Invasion of the Body Snatchers mixed with Plan 9 from Outer Space and a dash of Signs thrown in. The unintentional humor is high, the special fx are shoddy, even for the 50s, and one particular fact about our alien friends renders the whole thing impossible. That's why it's so bad, it's awesome! MY SCORE: -10/10

Bolt

2008. Rated PG, 96 minutes.

Directors: Byron Howard, Chris Williams. Starring John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton.

Plot: Bolt (Travolta) is a dog who stars in his own TV show. He believes that he has superpowers and that the amazing feats he performs are real. Bolt unwittingly gets out into the real world in an attempt to rescue "his person" Penny (Cyrus), whom he believes has been kidnapped by their arch-enemy, The Green-Eyed Man.

The Good: It's a fish-out-of-water tale mixed with a road movie and both aspects work well. The dialogue is sharp and funny. Unlike a lot of Disney movies, it's not afraid to give us a bittersweet ending. Perhaps most importantly for a film like Bolt, we get fun action scenes and intoxicating visuals. Oh, and the pigeons are hilarious.

The Bad: Even though it's barely over an hour-and-a-half, it drags a bit in places. That's partly due to our hero having to literally travel across the country. The movie could've gotten more mileage out of Penny by checking on her more often to see how she's handling the situation, but that's nitpicking.

The Ugly: The way the cats on the studio lot pick with Bolt.

Recommendation: 2008 is the strongest year for animated movies I can remember. That said, Bolt is one of the better entries.

The Opposite View: Lou Lemenick, New York Post

What the Internet Says: 7.5/10 on imdb.com (4/3/09), 88% on rottentomatoes.com, 67/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7.5/10

Let the Right One In

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 4/14/09), 97% on rottentomatoes.com, 82/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 9/10

New on DVD 4/14/09

The movie I most want to see out of this week's new releases is The Reader. Obviously, it's the most critically acclaimed of the bunch.

However, that's not the only thing I'll watch. At some point, both The Spirit and Splinter will find their way into my DVD player. I've only heard terrible things about the former. This means I have to watch it just to see how bad it could actually be. With any luck it'll be so bad it's awesome.

Other movies being released on DVD this week:

Dark Matter
The Pope's Toilet
American Swing
Crude Impact
Mulligan
Metamorphosis (AKA Beyond the Screen Door)
Solo
In Your Dreams
Mask of the Ninja
Baseline Killer
Maintenance

Which ones are you rushing out to rent?

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 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