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Two movies this time around, an effort on my part to try to keep up with movies as I watch them, which, considering the last two movie dumps may seem like a lot. It actually could have been more, except that I have also been going through all of the Entourage seasons (and finally caught up, save for season 5) and Gears of War 2 which, has put me back in front of the X-Box 360 with a vengance. And then I also decided not to sacrifice too much reading time so ‘Alf Laylah Wa Layla’ it is.

So, I will try to do my part and try to keep up with my reviews, even if it means bunching them up here and there. That being said, save Friday nights for some good ol’ GoW2 multiplayer! Its all sorts of fun!

The Visitor

Director: Thomas McCarthy
Genre: Drama
Year: 2007

I love films like this! I think the last drama of this caliber I saw was The Station Agent, or at least that is the one that comes to mind. It is the sort of film that brings realistic and credible conflicts to the forefront and applies them to contemporary issues. This drama is on the surface quite simple, dealing with Prof. Walter Vale, a man now in the twilight of his years and who is trying to decide who exactly he is. His wife is gone, the memory of whom he tries to keep at his side through music and more specifically, in trying to pick up piano lessons, something at which he frankly is simply not good at (his piano teacher makes that bluntly clear).

Walter is at a job where he is merely skidding, riding the momentum of what past years built and hoping it will carry him to the end without much of a hitch, which is why when he is sent to New York to present a paper he ‘co-authored’ he is less than thrilled, particularly given the fact that he really just put his name on the paper but never actually had much to do with it.

Aware that too much is riding on this presentation he decides to go to New York, where he stays at his old apartment, which he finds is now being lived in by a couple whom he does not at all know. Tarek, a Syrian musician and Zainab, a Senegalese artist, seem to have been fooled into renting an apartment from a man who has absolutely no right to it. Needless to say this puts forth the question of what Prof. Vale ought to do in a situation. Acting out of charity, in a way that might be against his nature, he allows for them to stay until they get their living situation straightened out, unaware that by doing so, these two immigrants will be changing his life forever.

Full of insightful details, interesting characters, bright directing and a good screenplay, this film is a must watch and certainly a good one. It may not be the happiest of stories, but its human element still makes it uplifting and fulfilling in a way that very few dramas can achieve.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Notes: The film is rated PG-13, but aside from some mild language, there really is not much to shy away from. It does deal with some more adult issues, but this sort of film flies pretty clean.
Quote: Prof. Walter Vale: We are not helpless children!

…a brief inserted note here to say, The Silversun Pickups rock. One of their songs popped in while I was typing this and reminded me of how much I like them. Back to action…

Quantum of Solace

Director: Marc Forster
Genre: Action/Adventure/Espionage
Year: 2008

I suppose I should have seen it coming, but I really wanted to see Casino Royale part two and I hoped that Quantum of Solace would be able to hold up as such. It does not. It is not a bad film, by any means and in fact, I think that in the grand scheme of things and the long string of Bond films, Quantum of Solace is actually one of the better ones, but it fails to surpass its predecessor, contrary to what Daniel Craig expressed in some of his interviews leading up to the release.

I still like Daniel Craig as a Bond and I like the overall direction they have decided to take the Bond franchise in and overall I am quite satisfied with it, but this film had a couple of things which left me wanting a bit more. True, I am probably being unfair due to my high expectations, so hopefully that will not taint my view of the film and I will be able to get this out without sounding too bitter (which I am not).

The film picks up pretty much where Casino Royale left off, with Bond trying to locate the person responsible for Vesper’s death, trying to find some peace by taking a rather violent route. Seemingly out of control, his own supervisors are starting to question his reliability. But it is their capture of Mr. White, the man who was held responsible for Vesper’s death, that they come to the realization that the group responsible for all that transpired in Casino Royale, is far more complicated than one would have given them credit for…and more dangerous.

This uncovering leads to a multinational chase that eventually lands on a scheme in Bolivia where a dangerous entrepreneur is attempting to buy what appears to be worthless land in underhanded ways. Through a process of mistaken identity in Haiti, Bond meets the beautiful Camille, which whom he ends up allied in an effort to take Mr. Greene down.

As you can probably expect, and typical for a Bond film, all of the excitement unfolds in thrilling ways with action packed scenes that are quite intense, the sort that will have you gripping the arm rest of your chair without realizing. More than once moments of violence made me flinch and more often than not they called to mind complex orchestrations which translated very well on the screen.

The downfall of the film is largely on Olga Kurylenko, whom I found to be a rather weak actor and who fails to fill, by a long shot, the shoes of previous bond girl: Eva Green. She might be beautiful yes, but her acting is not as polished as Green’s something that suffers even more when her character seems less than focused throughout the film. It would appear that she wavers from tough chick, to frail princess a little too much and a little too drastically to be believable.

The other major problem I found with the film is the fact that once again Bond is badass. One of the best things about Casino Royale was the fact that for the first time, it seemed, Bond was making some pretty serious mistakes and I was able to relate much more to the character. Suddenly James Bond was human again and you wanted to see him rise above the obstacles placed before him. Though this film takes place supposedly hours after the last film, the leap in Bond’s character between Casino Royale and this one, is tremendous. And while that may satisfy those of you that want to see a razor sharp Bond, it failed to grip me. Furthermore, the few ‘flaws’ they try to put on bond through the length of the film are rather superficial and not nearly as effective as they were in the previous film.

Without giving anything away, it also appeared to me that certain characters were little more than props through this film and their usage in it could have been saved in favor of a cleaner, more interesting storyline. As it is, while some of the characters may provide some color for the background…they are pretty much just that. Daniel Craig for his part does play his role well, even if he is suddenly much more streamlined and Mathieu Amalric does a great job as Mr. Greene. So, while there may be parts that fall short, there are others that do their best to pick up the slack.

All in all, you are getting a typical Bond film, a better one than most, true, but this one falls considerably short of Casino Royale‘s shine.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (I am not sure how much my bias affected this, you might find it closer to 4/5)
Notes: Its a bond film, expect brief nudity and lots of violence and already Bond has begun to exercise his womanizing muscle.
Quote: Dominic Greene: Be careful of this one, Mr Bond. She will not go to bed with you unless you give her something she really wants… but you make a fine couple – you are both, what is the expression? Damaged goods.