Movie Review - Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace (2008)
Director: Marc Forster
Actors: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench

Overall:
I really like these new 007 movies. Although I probably enjoyed Casino Royale more than this latest Bond installment, both of them were far superior to the last few Brosnan flops. C'mon, you know any movie starring Denise Richards as a research scientist named Christmas Jones is going to be terrible! But these new films are different. They're truly a blend of the classic Bond and the new Bond. They've still got the cool opening credit sequence, shaken martini's, and Bond's uncontrollable sexy appeal, while toning down on the corny gadgets and ridiculous character names. I also like that they've stepped up the action. I'm not just looking for huge explosions and 10-minute fight scenes, but it's nice to actually have a tough Bond character again.

Plot:
Although seemingly complex at first, the plot line is actually pretty straightforward. I would have liked a little bit more suspense with regard to the plot line, but you could also start to tell that the real story was more about Bond and his personal demons. And actually there's nothing wrong with that, it's just so different from the previous Bond movies where you never got the sense that anyone or anything really meant anything to Bond. I feel like he's a much more dynamic character now.

Setting/Mood:
In true 007 style, this film takes Bond all over the world. From Italy to Bolivia to Austria to Russia, the locations are beautiful. There's something so romantic yet dangerous, tempting yet detestable about being a secret agent, and this film really connected with it. You both envy and pity Bond at the same time. I thought the atmosphere really brought this point home.

Acting:
Daniel Craig is excellent! I really like what he brings to the Bond character and I thought his performance in this film was great. You could just see all of the emotion just beneath the surface ready to explode. However, Mathieu Amalric's performance as Dominic Greene, the film's chief villian, wasn't as impressive. I think they were trying to create a "mastermind"-type character who was soft-spoken but deeply sinister, but it never really got that far. He just came across kinda flat and weak. I really liked Amalric's performance in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), so this was quite disappointing.

Recommendation:
I would highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed Casino Royale or is a fan of high-energy action movies. It's another solid Bond film.

Movie Review - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom and the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Director: Steven Spielberg

Actors: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf

I really didn't like this film but it wasn't because of the reasons I expected. I figured that it would be too unbelievable to see Harrison Ford (65 years old) as Indiana Jones, but actually he did a really great job. I really bought into his portrayal and was transported back in to the Indiana Jones world of buried treasure and good vs. evil. It was actually the terrible, over-the-top, unbelievable storyline that really bothered me. I don't know what Steven Spielburg was thinking but it was really terrible. He must have figured that it didn't matter how good the story was because people were going to go see it anyway. I realize that in the older movies you also had to suspend reality too, but c'mon, this was ridiculous. The other reason I didn't like this movie was because of Shia LaBeouf's portrayal of Indiana Jones' son. I'm sorry but I just really don't like his acting. I've seen him in other movies also (Transformers and Constantine) and it's always just so over-the-top (sorry for the redundancy). If you're really a die-hard Indiana Jones fan you'll probably still enjoy this movie, but just make sure to keep your expectations low, otherwise you may be disappointed.

Movie Review - The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner (2007)
Director: Marc Forster

Actors: Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub

It's impossible to talk about this movie without making the comparison to the best-selling book by author Khaled Hosseini. While the book is amazing and a must-read for anyone, the movie doesn't reach that level. But who really expects an adaptation to be as good as the book? It's impossible to capture the depth of a story in a 2-hour movie. That being said, the movie was actually very enjoyable. It stayed true to the original story and the acting was really good. In some ways the movie was a nice supplement to the book in that it filled in some of the visuals of Kabul and Afghanistan. I would recommend this movie to everyone who has already read the book, and to everyone else: READ THE BOOK!!!