My life at the movies.
Directed by Michael Apted. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, and Denise Richards.
So many reviewers savaged Denise Richards’ casting, yet the script called for a nuclear scientist named Christmas Jones capable of passing for a high-class prostitute to a Russian black-market gangster. To those reviewers, I ask: Who would you have cast?
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, and Teri Hatcher.
Reminds me of a great bit from Austin Powers:
Dr. Evil: Are we ready to release our new software?
Number 2: Yes, sir. As requested, it’s full of bugs, which means people will be forced to upgrade for years.
Dr. Evil: Outstanding.
Except that’s in this movie. Both hit theaters in 1997, so that’s… something? I dunno. Everything looks cheap: the sets, the car, the effects, even the clothes. Makes a compelling case for Worst Bond Movie. Insert joke about Ricky Jay wishing he could disappear from this turkey. Followed by The World Is Not Enough.
Directed by Martin Campbell. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, and Famke Janssen.
Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond debut. Loved it back in ‘95. On revisiting, it still entertains. The mix of action and light humor harkens back to Roger Moore’s better installments. Director Martin Campbell may prove more journeyman than auteur, but he delivers an entertaining product. Followed by Tomorrow Never Dies.
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland. Starring William Powell, Helen Kane, Fay Wray, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, and Phillips Holmes.
Watched on the same site I found Charming Sinners. A better quality print of a lesser quality film.
William Powell plays a Broadway producer carrying a torch for chorus girl Fay Wray, but she loves struggling composer Phillips Holmes. Wray and Holmes marry, cutting Holmes off from the family funds and regulating them to a shabby apartment abutting perpetual construction. Powell finances a vanity project for the newlyweds, but it doesn’t go well. Wray leaves Holmes. Powell makes a pass at her, realizes she still loves Holmes, and gets them back together. Continue reading...
Directed by Max Barbakow. Starring Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, and Peter Gallagher.
I wanted this to be weirder, darker, or funnier. It’s fine, but I wanted this to be weirder, darker, or funnier.
Directed by George Lucas. Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Alec Guinness.
First time seeing the “Special Edition” since its theatrical run in 1997. Once was enough.
Directed by Frank Tuttle. Starring William Powell, Florence Eldridge, Ullrich Haupt, and Jean Arthur.
Disappointing follow-up to The Canary Murder Case has William Powell reprising his role as dilettante sleuth Philo Vance investigating a wealthy family where the last surviving heir stands to inherit a fortune. Continue reading...
Directed by Dorothy Arzner and Robert Milton. Starring Ruth Chatterton, Clive Brook, Mary Nolan, and William Powell.
I watched a low-res encoding of a scratchy print replete with frame and audio drop-outs on a Russian social networking site. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Ruth Chatterton plays a kept wife whose husband is conducting a not-so-discreet affair with her best friend. William Powell plays her former flame returned to town. The sinners in question (Chatterton’s husband and best friend) prove far from charming, rendering the title a case of flagrant false advertising. Continue reading...
Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Sebastian Stan.
A better version of Age of Ultron that regulates the big-bad to the background to focus on the group dynamics.
Directed by Ethan Spaulding. Starring Jennifer Carpenter, Joel McHale, Ike Amadi, and Steve Blum.
Animated quasi-remake of the 1995 live-action original. Lacks the franchise’s imaginative production design and quirky sense-of-humor. Makes up some ground with over-the-top graphic violence and Joel McHale.
