Quick Movie Reviews (11.30.08)

Quantum of Solace (2008)
Can anyone tell me why Bond is so pissed? Daniel Craig’s Bond in Casino Royale (2006) was pretty much angry the whole time and critics called it “gritty.” Okay. So what do you call Bond in Quantum? I haven’t seen Bond this angry since License to Kill (1989) and I just assumed it was because Timothy Dalton was punchy about Wayne Newton being in the movie with him. Connery, Moore, and Brosnan all would get angry from time to time but they rose above it. They didn’t get too emotionally invested. I mean, dang, they are James Bond for goodness sakes. If you’re into Bondage you will like this movie. It’s not the worst Bond film but it’s certainly not the best. Here is my theory of what’s missing – the sense that Bond is above it all. That he is in control. No matter what happens, you always feel like Bond is a step ahead. Craig’s Bond is just not any fun. Where’s the banter? We’ve gone completely away from the gadgets. I realize Bond “jumped the shark” with the invisible car but do we have to do away with all the cool gadgets completely? Where is the. . .um. . .eye candy? Strawberry Fields was good but she gets the Goldfinger treatment fairly soon after she meets Bond. I liked Mathieu Almaric as the bad guy but, basically, he is holding water hostage. What happened to the classic Bond megalomaniac? Why is Bond trying to riff on Bourne? You are so close to the action that you have no clue what’s happening until about three minutes after it’s all over. It’s a good Bond, but they just need to bring some of the fun back.

Four Christmases (2008)
The entire family went to see this little movie the day after Thanksgiving and three of us had a good time. Our 15-year-old daughter thought it was the worst movie she had ever seen but then it was only a week after she saw the best movie she had ever seen – Twilight (2008). This isn’t a horrible movie (a la Christmas with the Kranks (2004)) but it is definitely a “rental.” Do not pay good money to go see this. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ve seen most of the funny parts. There are extremely funny parts and then there are uncomfortable jokes that just don’t work – elderly people making sex comments, a scene in a jump house that goes on way too long, one too many sex jokes involving Sissy Spacek, then you have serious stuff thrown in at odd moments. Vince Vaughn plays his fast-talking self. Reese Witherspoon mainly plays the straight role but makes lots of funny faces. The good news? The running time is 1 hour 22 minutes. Caveat: It is PG-13 and there were plenty of way young children in our packed house, but there are a plethora of sex jokes, there is cursing, and, worse yet, there is an uncomfortable scene where Vince reveals the Santa Claus secret. Overall the movie felt like a Saturday Night Live skit that went on too long.

Elf (2003)
We watched this Thanksgiving Night and had a blast. I love this movie. Compare movies like this (another would be A Christmas Story (1983)) with Four Christmases and Christmas with the Kranks (2004) and you’ll see why movies like Elf work – they are extremely funny without getting too serious and they deliver the message.

Les Diaboliques (1955)
As an intro to this French film noir, Robert Osburne of Turner Classic Movies described director Henri-George Clouzot as the French Alfred Hitchcock but with a darker side. If you don’t mind subtitles (the movie is in French), this film is definitely worth a look. It is tightly directed and Clouzot builds the suspense expertly. Even after seeing other films in this genre over and over, it is always a terrific feeling to get caught completely off guard. The basics are that Michel Delassalle (Paul Meurisse) is an over-bearing and cruel headmaster of a boarding school. He also happens to be married to Christian Delassalle (Vera Clouzot) and is having a torrid affair with Nicole Horner (Simone Signoret). The wife is fully aware of the affair and M. Delassalle beats Horner. The two women come together in a plot to kill M. Delassalle. I can’t really tell you anything else without ruining the movie. The acting is top notch with Oscar-winner Signoret absolutely setting the screen on fire. So go out and pick it up. It is well worth your time. As an aside, all three of the leading actors died relatively young – Signoret at 64 of pancreatic cancer; Vera Clouzot of a heart attack at 47; and Meurisse at 66 of an acute asthma attack.

The Incredibles (2004)
My youngest daughter and I watched this film for the umpteenth time over the holidays. The more I watch it the more I understand that for my money, this is the best computer-animated film of all time. Director Brad Bird is known for being a perfectionist and you can see this clearly in The Incredibles. Every detail has been taken into account. You see this in the backgrounds. The shadows. The hair. The facial expressions. We have come to expect this now but it is truly amazing how incredible it is. Beyond the phenomenal animation, the direction is perfectly timed, the voice acting is perfect, and the script is spot on. You know a movie is fabulous when after multiple viewings the only things you criticize are continuity issues – which eye does Violet’s hair really cover? Do Violet’s clothes vanish with her or not?

Pixar Short Films: Vol. 1 (2007)
Speaking of Pixar, Netflix actually recommended this little disc, which turned out to be a terrific recommendation. This disc contains several of the Pixar shorts which you can watch individually or, as I would recommend, in chronological order. It is fascinating to watch the evolution of what eventually led to The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Wall-E. As an added bonus, there is a well-done featurette on the history of Pixar with interview of all the key players.

Black Book (2006)
I am going to use four words that you rarely – if ever – see in the same sentence – Paul Verhoeven good movie. But here you go. . .This is a good Paul Verhoeven movie and it deserves your look. Inspired by a true story, Verhoeven’s film tells the story of a Dutch Jew who finds herself in the middle of the Jewish resistance to Nazi occupation of Holland. She finds herself having to romance the head of the Gestapo in order to help the resistance. Before doing all of this, she had to change her identity from Rachel Stein to Ellis de Vries. Besides Verhoeven’s easy-handed direction, this entire film hangs on the performance of his lead actress – Carice van Houten. She is terrific. Couple of caveats: Verhoeven can’t help himself so there are some quick, graphic violent scenes and the movie’s dialogue is essentially in German and/or Dutch with appropriate subtitles. I know many people have probably skipped this film because of Verhoeven’s other “efforts” – Starship Troopers (1997), Showgirls (1995), and Basic Instinct (1992) – but I strongly urge you to give this fine film a look.

Crazy Love (2007)
Well, there’s weird and then there’s really weird – the documentary Crazy Love captures the latter in exquisite detail. If you haven’t heard or read the incredible story of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss then you are in for a real roller-coaster ride. The basic story is that in the late 1950s Burt Pugach becomes obsessed with the beautiful Linda Riss. They date. He falls desperately in love. She doesn’t and is more impressed with him than anything. Then everything gets way weird with the story taking us all the way to today. If you are even a minor fan of documentaries, then you absolutely must rent this one. I know it’s cliché but it is absolutely true in this case – truth is stranger than fiction. If a screenwriter tried to pitch this story in Hollywood, he would be laughed out of town because it is so incredible and so unbelievable.