Skyfall

Reviewed by Junior

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw and Albert Finney.

Daniel Craig's third outing and the 23rd installment in the Bond franchise was a long time coming, following Quantum of Solace in 2008, but well worth the wait.  Definitely fulfilling the promise of Casino Royale and one of the best films in the 50 year history of the franchise, Skyfall satisfies in every way: story, acting, character development, music, cinematography, and nerdy fanboy references.

Typically, the film starts with an exciting action sequence combining a motorcycle chase across rooftops to a fight atop a moving train.  This scene sets up the rest of the film, giving a simple, understandable goal facing 007 and MI6: the recovery of a list of every undercover NATO agent currently embedded with terrorist organizations around the world.  The loss of the list has created considerable political pressure for M, as well as jeopardy for agents in the field.

As director, Sam Mendes brings a maturity and patience to the proceedings that was lacking in Quantum.  The action scenes are exciting, but filmed without the rat-a-tat editing so common in action films today.  He allows the audience to see and appreciate what is happening, in a more classic style of filming.  He also manages to allow his actors time to have brief but substantial character scenes amidst all the action, giving them a chance to shine, and they do.

Judi Dench as M is central to the story, and she is a joy to watch, as always.  Also, the audience is given the opportunity to appreciate the complicated relationship and how it has evolved between she and Bond. We are also introduced to elements of Bond's childhood history.  A new female agent named Eve is both a Bond girl and a sexy, appealing new(ish) character.  Finally, Javier Bardem stands out in an original character turn as Silva, the villain of the piece, mincing and charming, brilliant and threatening, wounded and crazy.

The cinematography is beautiful.  The musical score is wonderful, Bondian and glorious, particularly the theme by Adele.  The whole movie hearkens back, in many ways, to the best parts of the franchise, which is intentional, given the fact that this movie is released during the 50th anniversary of Bond.  Given that, there are more than a few wink-wink-nudge-nudge elements that are thrown in for fans, all of which are fun and appreciated and not too distracting, unless you really try to wrap your head around how old Bond is supposed to be here, if you consider the decades-old history to which they allude here, and whether this is really M, the original M, given that proto-Bond was only two movies ago.....well, if you go there it might give you a headache.  Best not to think about that too much.

I thought the franchise was effectively rebooted after Casino Royale and its direct sequel, Quantum of Solace, gave Bond his "double-Oh" status, invented his martini, and taught him to say "Bond, James Bond."  But at the end of Skyfall I see that we are truly there now, all the elements back in place, and ready to start a long series of James Bond missions.  If Skyfall is any indication of the quality we can expect, I am ready for 23 more...

ACTING: 10
LOOK: 10
STORY: 10
OVERALL: 10

Paranormal Activity IV

Paranormal Activity 4 is the latest (and hopefully final) installment in the franchise that yet again, splices together home movies to show further evidence of a long standing family haunting. I've seen all three of it's predecessors and for most point, enjoyed them. None of these flicks have been ground breaking by any means but have at least offered up some cheap scares and realistic dialogue to paint a relatable picture in which this could happen to YOU! Even though this was not a planned franchise, writers have been able to create an ongoing story line that gives a little more information than the last but still keeps you a bit curious. No. 4 not only fails to provide ANY scares (cheap or otherwise) but also to make any logical use of the established story.

Unlike the previous 3 films, this installment focuses on footage taken exclusively by a 15 year old girl and her lovable loser boyfriend. Despite having multiple cameras throughout the house capturing the moves of an entire family, the teens are definitely the focus point and the only characters that push the story along. While it's clear that this was a ploy to appeal the a younger demographic, the tension created by the young girl is lacking and most of the dialogue is wasted on complaining that her parents won't listen to her. This was a risky move that did not pay off in two BIG ways. First, by changing demographics, filmmakers have removed the only consistently positive quality in the prior films, relatability. You simply must relate to your main character in a plot driven solely by their reactions to a situation. Second, this film is rated R, thus eliminating the targeted demographic right out of the gate.

I give this a 3/10 with points only awarded for overall production quality and giving me something to do on a Monday evening... Below is normally where I would embed the movies trailer but felt this to be more appropriate.

SINISTER

Sinister is the story of True Crime novelist (Ethan Hawke) who travels from town to town (with his family) following the trail of unsolved crimes to write about. The first half of this film is quite good, using horror which is deep and dark without being in your face or over-the-top. Filmmakers did a great job of mixing horror with mystery and suspense, never really coming right out and announcing that this is a supernatural thriller. 

Our protagonist moves his family into a house where a brutal murder took place years prior. While rummaging through the attic, looking for clues to help his book, footageof previous mass murders is discovered by Hawke and reviewed throughout the film. Despite investigating a single incident, each of these “home movies” depicts a different murder in which a different family is killed using unique methods in separate locations across the country. The only things all these films have in common is, they are all silent, you never see the camera operator, and an entire family is murdered sans one child never to be seen again. The vintage look of super-eight footage, great acting from Hawke, and gruesome nature of the footage left a lasting impression in my mind without making my skin crawl. The story up until the second half is mysterious and intriguing without being outright confusing, allowing for either a human or supernatural antagonist and really, either would have been alright at that point! 

The second half is another story. Almost immediately after some of the pieces fall together, the story takes boring turn and slaps you across the face with answers to questions that haven't been asked. This ruined any chance of an actual surprise or suspenseful ending. Despite this disappointing turn for the worse, the good aspects of this flick never go away for good. The original creep out factor remains along with a good performance by Hawke but instead of letting the audience use any part of their imagination, more and more blatant, annoying evidence is shoved down your throat. Unfortunately the downturn in storyline comes down a simple “less is more”. This movie was a disappointment to me not because I had high hopes, but quite the opposite. Going into this film I expected more B-rate horror (which is fine!) and instead was given a glimpse of hope only to be let down once again in the second act.

Using discovered footage in a real time story line is a bit of new twist on an old idea but worked well in this case. It allowed screenwriters to take the spookiest aspects of the POV horror genre and combines it with good 'ol fashioned WRITING to churn out a decent affect. 

 I recommend this film only because of how many things were done right for the genre but don't expect to be impressed with it as a whole. All in all I would rate this 6.5/10 with a few extra points for the musical score.

The Campaign

The Campaign

Director: 

Jay Roach

Writers: 

Chris Henchy (screenplay), Shawn Harwell(screenplay)

Stars:

 Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and Jason Sudeikis

The Campaign follows the story of  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington  with a comedic twist in which our protagonist is an average god-fearing American family man, just a little stranger.

I went into this film expecting to be bombarded with a weak story, dependent on an over the top performance from both  Galifianakis and  Ferrell but was pleasantly surprised. Neither hold a candle to  James Stewart but, Galifianakis did display a refreshing change of pace.

If you're looking for a theater experience with a decent amount of laughs, check it out. With anything else in mind, you may be disappointed.

Keep in mind, I was not at all impressed buy the trailer (Ferrell seems to do most of the work) but was entertained by this flick.

Extra points for Lithgow and Aykroyd!