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Casino Royale, a review by Rich

Casino Royale



CASINO ROYALE introduces JAMES BOND before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to "00" status.Bond's first 007 mission takes him to Madagascar, where he is to spy on a terrorist, MOLLAKA (Sebastien Foucan). Not everything goes to plan and Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. Following a lead to the Bahamas, he encounters DIMITRIOS (Simon Abkarian) and his girlfriend, SOLANGE (Caterina Murino). He learns that Dimitrios is involved with LE CHIFFRE (Mads Mikkelsen), banker to the world's terrorist organizations.Secret Service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to play against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization.'M' (Judi Dench) places Bond under the watchful eye of the beguiling VESPER LYND (Eva Green). At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together and even torture at the hands of Le Chiffre.In Montenegro, Bond allies himself with MATHIS (Giancarlo Giannini), MI6's local field agent, and FELIX LEITER (Jeffrey Wright), who is representing the interests of the CIA. The marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

Brushed off Casino Royale for a 3rd viewing (1st in cinema, 2nd on dvd) in preparation of seeing Quantum of Solace, this time watching on BluRay. I am bias being a true Bond fan, and the high definition viewing with pure sound was awesome. I am in favour of the new 007, from the books I always thought he was a cold character and more ruthless than typically portrayed, and this is perhaps less 'comic-book' than previous adventures. Good to see the scene with the cut-out wicker chair is in this version of the film mirroring the book. The only minor criticisms I have with the new format were too few gadgets, and lack of a memorable theme song.
A good start to a new Bond.
 


(From James Bond Marathon on June 23rd, 2009)

The Gift, a review by addicted2dvd

The Gift (2000/United States) Paramount Home Video Director: Sam Raimi Writing: Billy Bob Thornton (Writer), Tom Epperson (Writer) Length: 112 min. Rating: R Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Cate Blanchett as Annie Wilson
Giovanni Ribisi as Buddy Cole
Keanu Reeves as Donnie Barksdale
Katie Holmes as Jessica King
Greg Kinnear as Wayne Collins
Hilary Swank as Valerie Barksdale

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Closed Captioned

This is the first time I ever seen this movie. It is one of the many that was given to me in a box of DVDs. And I am really thankful... because I enjoyed this one quite a bit. A good thriller with a slight supernatural twist. This one has a nice selection of big name stars. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't done so yet.




(From Mini-Marathon: Happy Birthday Hilary Swank! on July 30th, 2011)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

What's the show about?
Based upon the "Sookie Stackhouse" book series by Charlaine Harris. Sookie is a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana and she can read minds. She's fallen in love with a Vampire who has been around since the Civil War. The Vampires have come out of the coffin since the Japanese have invented artificial blood and Vampires need no longer feed off of Humans. The new stuff is called Tru:Blood.

"Strange Love"
Sookie Stackhouse is totally excited when her first Vampire walks into the bar where she works. And the best part of it: She can't read his mind. The thoughts of all the people around her are constantly raining upon her but he is totally quiet. But she's not the only one who has identified him as Vampire. So have the Rattrays and they pin him down and try to drain him dry for his "V" - Vampire blood, an aphrodisiac for Humans.

My Opinion
A bit lengthy at times but otherwise very interesting and sometimes disturbing. The show is very open about a lot of topics and also very (very, very!) visual. And except for having Vampires living openly amongst Humans the show also shows other mystical abilities like Sookie's mind-reading and someone else's shape-shifting. The interesting part about this show is the fact that Vampires aren't a secret and how both sides try to deal with that fact (Vampire rights, racism, ...).

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on September 18th, 2009)