3 QUICK MOVIE REVIEWS

3 QUICK MOVIE REVIEWS:

CASINO ROYALE
Best Bond movie in my lifetime. I'm not a huge fan of the movie franchise (although I'm a huge fan of the idea), I gladly embraced this "reboot" of sorts. Daniel Craig is an awesome Bond in my opinion and I look forward to seeing more with him. And Eva Green was quite enjoyable as a Bond Girl; finally a Bond Girl who I like and isn't just T&A cliche. However, this movie is not without its faults. The first 1/3 was awesome - jammed packed kickass action. The 2nd 1/3 slowed down a bit, but fans of poker may be on the edge of their seats ("2 Kings!! NO WAY!!!!"). Then there's a horrible 15min segway that you could have replaced with the last 15min of any Love Boat episode & footage of grass growing and no one would have noticed. Then the last 1/3 picks up a bit, but at that point I was already mentally at the top of the theater stairs ready to go home. Overall, great fun and the best Bond movie I've seen in decades! Back to basics and closer to the books. Works for me! I'm curious to hear from die hard Bond fans.....
*note: I didn't see the last Bond flick and walked out on that dreadful one with Denise Richards as the Soviet Nuclear Scientist. Uggh.

SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT (DVD)
Donner's original version, reassembled with never-before-seen footage mixed with what he had at his hands (ie Theaterical version by crappy director). This is an entirely different movie from the theatrical and Donner loses about 99.9% of all that campy garbage. If you haven't seen Superman II in awhile and remember it being good, then this is the version you have in your head. If you have seen Superman II recently, you know how fucking horrible it its. Well, watch this one and you will be happy pappy! Superman The Movie flows right into this without missing a beat! Buy it today!

PAN'S LABRYINTH
By director Guillermo del Toro. One of the best I saw this year! A wonderfully dark fairy tale set in 1944 Spain during the end of their Civil War. While I was hoping for more Fairy Tale, it was nicely balanced and blended into the reality side of the story. I wish more movies were made like this! Go see it!!