Friday, January 4, 2013

Skyfall








Casino Royale is one of the best films of the last 10 years, largely due to the fresh performance of Daniel Craig as 007, as well as the excellent craftsmanship from director Martin Campbell and his production team. It's followup, Quantum of Solace, was also good but slightly disappointing for me since expectations were so high after Royale. This brings us to Skyfall, which for me, falls somewhere in between it's two predecessors.    

It's character-driven and quiet for the most part, which is good, but it may be just a little too quiet for a Bond film. Craig continues to evolve the character, and there are some dramatic changes with other characters in the story which may or may not set up an interesting reality for Bond to live in as the series continues. 

The A-Team-style third act was a nice change of pace for Skyfall, but again, it needed a few more fights and explosions to make it fully satisfying. I will look forward to the next 007 film with the same anticipation as I had for the previous two, but in reality we may never see another one as good as Casino Royale. At least Daniel Craig will continue to wear the tuxedo, for a few more anyway...



Skyfall (2012)  




If there's a movie you'd like me to review, past or present, 
send me a request and I'll see what I can do. 






Wreck-It Ralph







Wreck-It Ralph is great. Those who don't know a thing about early arcade games or modern video gaming will really like this movie... and gamers will love it. The characters, relationships, visuals, and action would entertain anyone. 

Though it is a Disney Animation Studios production, it feels like a Pixar film. This is the first time I've felt the impact of Disney's acquisition of Pixar several years back. John Lasseter of Pixar was put in charge to oversee all Disney animated film projects, including Pixar productions. Now, not only do we continue to get Pixar quality storytelling and animation from Pixar, we also get it from Disney. This is good. 

This movie is in my Top 5 of 2012, and though animated films weren't a big attraction for me as a kid, Wreck-It-Ralph makes me hopeful for future animated films from Disney. (Did I just say 'hopeful' and 'Disney' in the same sentence...?)



Wreck-It Ralph (2012)  




If there's a movie you'd like me to review, past or present, 
send me a request and I'll see what I can do.