Skyfall is where we are. I saw Skyfall yesterday. It was equal parts familiar and new. A Bond for modern times, where the bad guys aren’t so easy to pick from the good guys and the fantasies of a bygone era have to give way to the realities of today’s world. This is Bond broken down, laid bare, and questioning his relevance and readiness to tackle the problems facing the world. Then rebuilt from the most basic core parts; discarding the dead weight of his past iterations which no longer apply to the world around him. Obviously I loved it.  For the first time Bond is more than The Stranger who blows in and out of town. We get to find out a little about his past, before James became Bond, giving the whole mythos a great sense of depth… and adding a further dimension to the relationship between Bond and ‘M’ - awesomely played by Judy Dench. Every other review on this will explain the rest better, but those were the key points for me. Add to that the great cinematography (which has to be seen in IMAX!), Adele’s awesome theme song, fantastic action sequences, and this is one hell of a ride. Smart. Bold. Well dressed. “007 reporting for duty.”
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Skyfall is where we are.

I saw Skyfall yesterday. It was equal parts familiar and new. A Bond for modern times, where the bad guys aren’t so easy to pick from the good guys and the fantasies of a bygone era have to give way to the realities of today’s world.

This is Bond broken down, laid bare, and questioning his relevance and readiness to tackle the problems facing the world. Then rebuilt from the most basic core parts; discarding the dead weight of his past iterations which no longer apply to the world around him.

Obviously I loved it. 

For the first time Bond is more than The Stranger who blows in and out of town. We get to find out a little about his past, before James became Bond, giving the whole mythos a great sense of depth… and adding a further dimension to the relationship between Bond and ‘M’ - awesomely played by Judy Dench.

Every other review on this will explain the rest better, but those were the key points for me. Add to that the great cinematography (which has to be seen in IMAX!), Adele’s awesome theme song, fantastic action sequences, and this is one hell of a ride.

Smart. Bold. Well dressed.

“007 reporting for duty.”

Source:

nerdology:

Skyfall - International Trailer

Well. This looks incredible. Also, reminds me a lot of You Only Live Twice. Not saying that’s a bad thing, just pointing it out.

Not the best trailer, but this does look promising.

At the end of the day, though, I fear that I am finally growing jaded and cynical and will probably not like the movie when I eventually see it. But maybe that’s the result of being dissappointed by The Dark Knight Rises, the end of A Dance With Dragons, and that chocolate fondant - all in the last week.

Stella better get her groove back because I don’t like this feeling.

I need to write more, and I haven’t posted a review here in a while (they generally go on Rotten Tomatoes now) so I thought this is a good chance to get my thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises in order. *No spoilers ahead.* I have been anticipating this movie for ages now - ever since  I saw The Dark Knight and this third installment was announced. Nolan’s version of Batman is what resurrected my belief that “superhero” stories could actually tell meaningful stories that were more than just pulp fare. Plus, this was the Batman and Gotham City as I knew them - not like Joel Schumacher’s terrible campy plastic glossy abominations. Overall the film was satisfying, but in the way that eating a cold hamburger is satisfying. It did what it needed to do but there is no craving for more. After the events of The Dark Knight, the Gotham that Rises picks up in is a much cleaner and brighter place, but it looked more like Metropolis than Gotham. While Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight built a convincing and spectacular world around Gotham and it’s burroughs, this one was a bit of a let down. Gotham looks a little too obviously like Manhattan - Wall Street, Fith Avenue, and downtown Manhattan were all obvious to the extent that it broke the illision for me. I felt that Bane, the villian, was not really motivated and didn’t really care about what he was doing. Batman, was in mortal danger and get’s a good whupping, but none of it actually made you feel that danger - it was almost like going through the motions That said, the film was still solid: the performances were geat (Anne Hathaway’s was particularly good), there were great action set pieces (the opening action scene set’s a high standard for the rest of the movie), and the story is a really good bookend for the trilogy. Despite all that there was something missing. Some parts of the story didn’t line up as neatly as I’d liked. Some escapes were too easy. Bruce Wayne’s character development, the centerpiece of the story (and the trilogy) wasn’t convincing; I felt that he learnt nothing and didn’t grow at all between the start and end of Rises; he just changes. And that’s, perhaps, what it all comes down to. Batman existed for a reason. But by the end of The Dark Knight Rises you’re not sure what that reason is. (Well, personally, I know. But I don’t think the movie expressed it, especially since it was so well set up in Batman Begins.) 3.5 stars out of 5, currently. Lets see if that changes by morning. Have you seen it? What did you think?
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I need to write more, and I haven’t posted a review here in a while (they generally go on Rotten Tomatoes now) so I thought this is a good chance to get my thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises in order. *No spoilers ahead.*

I have been anticipating this movie for ages now - ever since  I saw The Dark Knight and this third installment was announced. Nolan’s version of Batman is what resurrected my belief that “superhero” stories could actually tell meaningful stories that were more than just pulp fare. Plus, this was the Batman and Gotham City as I knew them - not like Joel Schumacher’s terrible campy plastic glossy abominations.

Overall the film was satisfying, but in the way that eating a cold hamburger is satisfying. It did what it needed to do but there is no craving for more.

After the events of The Dark Knight, the Gotham that Rises picks up in is a much cleaner and brighter place, but it looked more like Metropolis than Gotham.

While Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight built a convincing and spectacular world around Gotham and it’s burroughs, this one was a bit of a let down. Gotham looks a little too obviously like Manhattan - Wall Street, Fith Avenue, and downtown Manhattan were all obvious to the extent that it broke the illision for me.

I felt that Bane, the villian, was not really motivated and didn’t really care about what he was doing. Batman, was in mortal danger and get’s a good whupping, but none of it actually made you feel that danger - it was almost like going through the motions

That said, the film was still solid: the performances were geat (Anne Hathaway’s was particularly good), there were great action set pieces (the opening action scene set’s a high standard for the rest of the movie), and the story is a really good bookend for the trilogy.

Despite all that there was something missing. Some parts of the story didn’t line up as neatly as I’d liked. Some escapes were too easy. Bruce Wayne’s character development, the centerpiece of the story (and the trilogy) wasn’t convincing; I felt that he learnt nothing and didn’t grow at all between the start and end of Rises; he just changes.

And that’s, perhaps, what it all comes down to.

Batman existed for a reason. But by the end of The Dark Knight Rises you’re not sure what that reason is. (Well, personally, I know. But I don’t think the movie expressed it, especially since it was so well set up in Batman Begins.)

3.5 stars out of 5, currently. Lets see if that changes by morning.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

cheatsheet: slightlypretentious: Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance. Sally Albright: Which one am I? Harry Burns: You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance. Sally Albright: I don’t see that. Harry Burns: You don’t see that? Waiter, I’ll begin with a house salad, but I don’t want the regular dressing. I’ll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. “On the side” is a very big thing for you. Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it. Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.  We’ve got all our content on remembering Nora Ephron right here.  Defining Moments.
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cheatsheet:

slightlypretentious:

Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance. 
Sally Albright: Which one am I? 
Harry Burns: You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance. 
Sally Albright: I don’t see that. 
Harry Burns: You don’t see that? Waiter, I’ll begin with a house salad, but I don’t want the regular dressing. I’ll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. “On the side” is a very big thing for you. 
Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it. 
Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance. 

We’ve got all our content on remembering Nora Ephron right here. 

Defining Moments.

Source: slightlypretentious