Finally saw Pixar's Brave the other evening and I was disappointed. It wasn't a bad movie, it just wasn't the great cinema experience that most Pixar movies usually are. The animation, like most Pixar films, is amazing and the story was definitely different than any Disney princess movie we've seen before, it just didn't have that special "it" factor that Pixar is able to bring to the table.
My new rankings for Pixar movies are as follows:
1. The Incredibles
2. Toy Story
3. Finding Nemo
4. Up
5. WALL-E
6. Toy Story 3
7. Monster's Inc.
8. Toy Story 2
9. Ratatouille
10. A Bug's Life
11. Brave
12. Cars
13. Cars 2
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Skyfall Review
I wanted to devote more time to this review today, but between being way too tired and entirely too busy at work I just haven’t had the mental capacity to commit to a movie review. Last night was the midnight screening of Skyfall at the IMAX theater in Dallas. I didn’t get home until 3:30 this morning and was up and out of bed three hours later for work. But overall, it was totally worth the lack of sleep.
Skyfall is unlike most James Bond films. The director and producers were working to create a retro-feel with Skyfall that was reminiscent to the Connery 007 movies of the 1960s, but what they ended up doing was creating a movie that had all the elements of 007 with more of a polished feeling to it. The Connery vibe is felt throughout and anyone who is familiar with the spy series will recognize it. But Skyfall is its own entity with current themes and personal touches than what was made when James Bond was still a new hero.
When reviewing a James Bond movie, I can never be objective and I have to have two opinions of the film. One opinion is how it compares to previous Bond pictures, which will always get a higher rating than they really should. Take The Man with the Golden Gun for instance. It should receive one star out of 10. Instead, it gets three stars. I just can’t bring myself to give a 007 film a true rating because I want it to be better than it really is. Quantum of Solace doesn’t truly deserve an eight, but that’s what my biased heart feels when ranking it.
The other opinion is how a Bond picture ranks as an action movie. Tomorrow Never Dies is at best an average Bond movie, but as an action movie it entertains on all levels of expectation. The final 45 minutes of the film is all action and that is all men really want in an adventure movie. We can check our brains at the door and dull our senses to violent gunfights and compelling stunt sequences.
My initial, gut reaction to Skyfall is it is above average in action movies and in the top 10 in Bond movies. We’ll see how that consideration changes after seeing it again tomorrow night.
Like Quantum of Solace before it, Skyfall was helmed by an artistic director. Sam Mendes prefers style and conversation over substance and explosions. That doesn’t mean Skyfall is a boring character study film that drops all the clichés of Bond, but it also doesn’t mean real-world problems aren’t explored. Mendes does an excellent job of intertwining elegant set designs and powerful performances with the compulsory action sequences and witty one-liners. The 223-minute runtime goes by quickly and the actions sets don’t feel forced. While Quantum of Solace was marred by the writer’s strike, Mendes was able to polish Skyfall for several months prior to releasing it to the general public, and that additional time and labor is evident with what is being released this weekend.
In general, I was more than pleased with what I saw onscreen and feel what Skyfall brings to the James Bond series will reinforce it as one of the most enduring franchises rather than give credence to the idea that Bond need not return. I’m not quite ready to rank Skyfall against all the Bond movies, when compared to the other two Daniel Craig films it would be second behind Casino Royale. I’ll have updated rankings of all 23 films and the other elements of a James Bond picture by the end of this weekend once I have finished my second viewing and reflected a little longer.
Skyfall is unlike most James Bond films. The director and producers were working to create a retro-feel with Skyfall that was reminiscent to the Connery 007 movies of the 1960s, but what they ended up doing was creating a movie that had all the elements of 007 with more of a polished feeling to it. The Connery vibe is felt throughout and anyone who is familiar with the spy series will recognize it. But Skyfall is its own entity with current themes and personal touches than what was made when James Bond was still a new hero.
When reviewing a James Bond movie, I can never be objective and I have to have two opinions of the film. One opinion is how it compares to previous Bond pictures, which will always get a higher rating than they really should. Take The Man with the Golden Gun for instance. It should receive one star out of 10. Instead, it gets three stars. I just can’t bring myself to give a 007 film a true rating because I want it to be better than it really is. Quantum of Solace doesn’t truly deserve an eight, but that’s what my biased heart feels when ranking it.
The other opinion is how a Bond picture ranks as an action movie. Tomorrow Never Dies is at best an average Bond movie, but as an action movie it entertains on all levels of expectation. The final 45 minutes of the film is all action and that is all men really want in an adventure movie. We can check our brains at the door and dull our senses to violent gunfights and compelling stunt sequences.
My initial, gut reaction to Skyfall is it is above average in action movies and in the top 10 in Bond movies. We’ll see how that consideration changes after seeing it again tomorrow night.
Like Quantum of Solace before it, Skyfall was helmed by an artistic director. Sam Mendes prefers style and conversation over substance and explosions. That doesn’t mean Skyfall is a boring character study film that drops all the clichés of Bond, but it also doesn’t mean real-world problems aren’t explored. Mendes does an excellent job of intertwining elegant set designs and powerful performances with the compulsory action sequences and witty one-liners. The 223-minute runtime goes by quickly and the actions sets don’t feel forced. While Quantum of Solace was marred by the writer’s strike, Mendes was able to polish Skyfall for several months prior to releasing it to the general public, and that additional time and labor is evident with what is being released this weekend.
In general, I was more than pleased with what I saw onscreen and feel what Skyfall brings to the James Bond series will reinforce it as one of the most enduring franchises rather than give credence to the idea that Bond need not return. I’m not quite ready to rank Skyfall against all the Bond movies, when compared to the other two Daniel Craig films it would be second behind Casino Royale. I’ll have updated rankings of all 23 films and the other elements of a James Bond picture by the end of this weekend once I have finished my second viewing and reflected a little longer.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Skyfall Midnight Screening
It's going to be a glorious evening tomorrow when I go to a midnight screening of the new James Bond thriller Skyfall. The next day at work will be tough on four hours of sleep, but that trade is totally worth it.
Even after planning this screening Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I'll be seeing the movie again Friday night. It is a great time now to be a James Bond fan.
I'll have a review this weekend and updated rankings later in the week once the newness has worn off and I can fairly judge the movie and all that goes with it.
Even after planning this screening Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I'll be seeing the movie again Friday night. It is a great time now to be a James Bond fan.
I'll have a review this weekend and updated rankings later in the week once the newness has worn off and I can fairly judge the movie and all that goes with it.
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