The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) Review

Yeah, I lied. In my review of Skyfall, I said that my next review will be a new film I saw last month...and then I noticed that it was Halloween. So...er...Happy Halloween! While this film isn't that scary (well I guess that depends who you are) but that doesn't stop me from watching this every Halloween (except last year since my family wanted to watch Sleepy Hollow...maybe later) so...HERE'S JOHNNY!......let's just review this...

Over the winter, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) are assigned to be caretakers of the Overlook Hotel which is away from civilisation (so I fail to see why people would go there...). Danny begins to have visions of the hotels past as a result of his telepathic gift known as The Shining. Jack, while working on his writing, begins to fall into insanity as a result of the isolated environment and of the previous people in the hotel. When Jack meets with the ghosts of the hotel, he finally snaps and tries to kill his family. Now Danny must use The Shining in order to save his mother and get out of the hotel alive.

This is one of Jack Nicholson's best roles and one of Stanley Kubrick's best films. Jack Nicholson became iconic for this film (that image at the top alone is one of the most famous movie shots of all time) and his line "Here's Johnny" is one of the most famous lines ever. So, yeah, this is a very famous and popular film...for good reason. It plays with your mind and has such an ambigous nature, you can come up with loads of different outcomes or scenarios. Was the film in Jack's mind? Is Jack a reincarnated person from the hotel? Is Danny delirious? WHO KNOWS? It's left un-addressed and works very well.

In term of the horror, for a first time watcher, it's pretty scary. If you haven't watched this, don't look it up online. Watch it from start to finish so that everything is a surprise! There are some great moments that will have you on the edge of your seat! Jack's spiral into insanity is well done and makes for some great character development. I've seen it too many times for it to scare me but there are still bits that send shivers down my spine. I guess this film will live on for a while (hell, it's still great 32 years later!).

The Shining is truly a classic! Jack Nicholson is fantastic and the writing is great. There is some iconic things here that will go down in movie history...well...HAS gone down in movie history. If you haven't seen this film, you might as well watch it this Halloween. It's pretty scary and is exactly what I would want to see in a Halloween film...well...a contemporary one (no monsters here, in the conventional sense). HAPPY HALLOWEEN! MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA! (sorry). Okay, next time is that film I promised, okay? 2nd of November.

Verdict:
9/10
A great film for Halloween. Jack Nicholson is great and the writing and directing is fantastic. Do yourself a favour and watch it this year!

Skyfall (Sam Mendes, 2012) Review

Well it's finally time to review the newest Bond film! After battling it's way through development hell, it finally get's to see the light of day! This marks the first Bond film I've ever seen in the cinema and, no, this is not a continuation of Quantum of Solace. This is a separate story and that's the way it SHOULD be! Well, with that terrible introduction out the way (sorry...), let's get right down to it: Skyfall! YEAH!

When a hard drive containing the identity of every NATO undercover agent is stolen, Bond (Daniel Craig) and his field assistant Eve (Naomi Harris) are in pursuit of the thief but lose him after Bond is shot by Eve under orders of M (Judi Dench). The world believes Bond to be dead but when the MI6 building is blown up, Bond returns to duty in order to deal with the amazing computer hacker Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) who wants revenge on M for what she did to him. Now Bond's loyalty to M is tested as a result of Silva's mind games. In a subplot, M is forced to retire under orders of Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes).

Daniel Craig has now officially cemented himself as James Bond. CONGRATULATIONS! Shut up Craig haters, go watch this one. It's also good to see Bond face a contemporary villain like Silva (who might be my new favourite Bond villain) who is insane as hell. Zorin from A View to a Kill is the type of crazy that is subtle and is unpredictable but Silva...geez...this guy is something else. I hear that Sam Mendes took inspiration from Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight and it only adds to the amazing...ment of this film. I was sceptical of Naomi Harris in this film but I'm glad I was wrong. She is one of my favourite Bond girls! Also, the new Q (Ben Whishaw) is a welcome addition to the Bond franchise.

This was the most thrilling Bond film I have ever seen. The suspense of what was going to happen was killing me...AND I LOVE IT! The whole third act is incredible! I was shaking at the awe inspiring action and the fantastic climax that the film came to...and I was not disappointed! I had a wish list of what I wanted to see and everything was there! It was great to see M get on the front lines (the closest she got was in The World Is Not Enough) and also letting Tanner (Rory Kinnear) make an impact for once and not just a waste of space. He now has a sort of 'Agent Coulson' role....I like him. Everything is incredible and surpasses previous ones!

Skyfall was exactly what I wanted in a Bond film. Sorry Goldeneye, looks like you have new competition! Skyfall is the new definitive Bond film that its successors will have to live up to! Let's give Bond a PROPER Oscar for once. Best actor? script? director?....film? It has everything in this film. Comedy, action, romance and even some major tear jerker moments. Emotion is the best way to make your film great and it worked here. Hell, it worked for Men In Black III! Well, that's every Bond film FINALLY reviewed. It took a while but we did it! Join me next time and we can get back to my proper schedule and to kick it off is a film that I saw a while ago but missed because of these Bond films...

Verdict:
10/10
A incredible film that blew my mind. A great villain, top notch action, an amazing plot and...just everything! The new definitive Bond film and the perfect way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bond!

LET THE SKYFALL! WHEN IT CRUMBLES, WE WILL STAND TAAAALL AND FACE IT ALL, TOGETHER AT SKYFALL!

Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008) Review

And here we have the only direct sequel in the Bond franchise. It was a bold step but there was much of the story left to resolve. So the darker, more action orientated take on Bond that Daniel Craig managed to pull off surprisingly well. Does a new idea in the Bond world work or not? Let's find out!

When we last left Bond (Daniel Craig), he had been betrayed by Vesper who died in the process. Now Bond wants revenge on a organisation called Quantum. Bond finds that Quantum is linked with a man named Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who wishes to take over a part of Bolivia so that some clients of his can use it for themselves. Bond teams up with Camille (Olga Kurylenko) to try and take down Greene and Quantum since the CIA have chosen to ignore this. M (Judi Dench) is unsure if she can trust a revenge fuelled Bond but only time will tell if he will succeed.

I feel that this was much more action driven. There was lots of action last time, that's for sure, but there were lots of moments otherwise. All I remember specifically is action. The opening car chase, the chase later on, the finale etcetera...and while that's good and all, that was only part of what makes Bond so good. The Bond girls (which are alright), the villain (not very memorable), the cars (this one has a very nice one) and the gadgets (...non existent this time, I'm afraid). Still, Craig is good as Bond and the action is pretty good...plus I love me some revenge plots (Licence to Kill for example).

I feel all the REALLY good stuff went into Casino Royale. Sure, Quantum of Solace is good but it's not AS good as Casino Royale. Olga Kurylenko is very good but was it just me or did the other Bond girl, Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton), die in a rip off of Goldfinger? How do you rip off yourself?! Dominic Greene is okay, I guess. Once again, they missed out on a classic Bond finale. While Bond DID fight Greene, he didn't finish him off...aw well. At least they tried.

Quantum of Solace is a decent sequel to one of the best Bond films. The action is good, Daniel Craig is still a great Bond and it finishes off what Casino Royale started. It's not as good as Casino Royale but it's good enough. Anyway, join me on my next review of one of my most aniticipated films of the year: Skyfall (when it crumbles, we will stand taaaaall and face it all!)

Verdict:
8/10
A good sequel to Casino Royale. It continues some of the great things from that film but misses just a few aspects that made the previous one so good.

Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006) Review

Well, that's enough of Pierce Brosnan I think. It's time for a new Bond! How about Daniel Craig? No? WELL TOO BAD! Right off the bat I noticed something wrong...this is a prequel. I don't accept it as one and will therefore not approach this review thinking it's one. This is a continuation...YES IT IS! Anyway, let's see how well a new Bond works in this next film!

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is sent to investigate a criminal banker named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). Le Chiffre is trying to win back his money in a poker game in Montenegro and M (Judi Dench) sends Bond and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to win the game and prevent Le Chiffre from winning. Le Chiffre has some dangerous connections so if Bond and Vesper, they could wind up dead. It's a dangerous game that Bond has got himself into.

I was very sceptical of Craig playing Bond but he actually pulled it off very well. Clearly he was inspired by Timothy Dalton as his films have a more action orientated approach to things. Despite his, the best scenes in this film are actually the poker game scenes that frame the story. The whole story centres around it and everything else that happens is in between games. I love the structued narrative of this film. It's great! Vesper is also one of the best Bond girls yet and Le Chiffre is very threatening. There is a lot of good things in this one.

The action is some of the best in the series, which is what you expect from a more recent film. The early scene where Bond chases that guy on the cranes is great! I felt a bit copped out though that there wasn't an epic finale fight with the villain that previous Bond films have done. They were always by favourite scenes. For that, it misses out on being the best. Goldeneye's finale was arguably the best scene in the film so it's sad that Casino Royale did not have it. Also, where are Q and Moneypenny. Don't give me the whole 'it's a prequel' crap. Why is M a woman then since it's implied she's the first female M in the MI6 in Goldeneye. Also in Skyfall, Q says he's Bond's 'new' quartermaster...anway, I'm not letting that sour this film.

Casino Royale is the best Bond film since Goldeneye. Daniel Craig is a good choice for a modern Bond, the action is top notch, the new characters are really good and this film really is one of the best. I was very sceptical but it's good to be wrong sometimes. The ending is great, by the way and it's one of the only Bond films which carries on (Diamonds are Forever carries on from On Her Majesty's Secret Service...sort of).

Verdict:
9/10
A fantastic Bond film. The action is amazing, the new Bond is awesome and everything just comes together as awesome...er!

Die Another Day (Lee Tamahori, 2002) Review

Okay, now Brosnan has done more than Dalton and Lazenby combined! Plus, this marks the 20th James Bond film. So you expect that they put all their effort into making this the best Bond film ever. They make references to the origin of Bond, classic scenes are recreated and even gadgets from previous films are seen. Does this make the film a good one or does it just come off as a cheap gimmick? Let's find out!

On a mission in North Korea, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) kills the diamond mogul Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee) and is apprehended by Koreans and tortured. Many years later, Bond is traded for a Korean named Zao (Rick Yune) who, during Bond's mission, ended up with diamonds being studded into his face. Bond winds up in another mission which leads him to millionare Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) and another MI6 agent, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike). Bond teams up with Agent Jinx (Halle Berry) in order to expose Graves' laser beam cannon in space and discover Graves' dark secret. Bond must also find out who betrayed him and got him arrested back in Korea.

While I feel this film is a tad bit over-hated (is that a word?), this is definetly not a plus one to my patented (probably) Constroversal Bond review counter. I agree that this is very much a weak film but it's by no means that worst. What's wrong with it? The first thing is that Halle Berry does not fit in to the Bond world. Jinx is pretty rubbish and if you want to see a good competent Bond girl, go watch Licence to Kill. There is also too much plot. They'res at least three things going on at once. Bond films should have a simplistic plot and the whole 'stop Graves from world domination' thing is all this one needed...although Graves' secret is a nice twist.

Speaking of Graves, he's a pretty cool villain but is a bit too science fictiony for a Bond film. Don't get me wrong, Bond films are anything but realistic, but this is a man who can change his entire body and has a not-so-good Iron Man suit knock off...that can't fly. I do like the fight between him and Bond at the end though...but then again I always do! Miranda Frost is an okay character but doesn't really make an impression...except fencing...

Die Another Day is a weak addition to the Bond series. It seems that the Brosnan films just get worse as they go along. Thank God he stopped here or who knows how bad things could have gotten. It is cool to see John Cleese official take the role as Q but he's not in it for long. Shame really. Things got out of hand in this one and it didn't end well. Not the worst but nowhere near the best.


Verdict:
6/10
A good enough Bond film. Things got pretty farfetched hear and some of the characters are a bit crap.

The World Is Not Enough (Michael Apted, 1999) Review

Clearly Pierce Brosnan is doing something right. He's done more Bond films than Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby so clearly he's popular. I agree. He's my favourite Bond and deserves to do more. However, he started off too good! Goldeneye was his first and is the best one! How is supposed to top it! Maybe he has with this one...only one way to find out!

When an oil baron is killed when visiting the MI6, Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to protect the oil baron's daughter Electra King (Sophie Marceau). A new foe called Renard (Robert Carlyle), a man with a bullet in his head which has destroyed his senses, plans to blow up a pipeline under orders of a secret villain. Bond gets assistance from Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) and must stop Renard from destroying Europe. When M (Judi Dench) goes missing, Bond grows supicious of Electra and things start to unravel.

This is the first film in which we see M on the front lines. Before this, M had always just been the person behind a desk so it's good to see why she is the head of the MI6. Renard has a very interesting concept and is one of the forgotten Bond characters. Something quite sad about this film is that it's the last one in which Desmond Llewelyn plays Q as he died after the release of this film. It also sets up R (John Cleese) who will act as his replacement...it's Basil Fawlty working in the MI6...and I love it!

That's not to say it has it's problems. The plot has a few twists and, while they are good, it isn't exactly the best we've seen. Also, all the effort seemed to go into the opening scene. Don't get me wrong, it's incredible and one of the best scenes in the series but after that, everything else doesn't compare. Christmas Jones (by the way, what kind of name is Christmas?) is pretty useless. They only made her a doctor so that she would seem smart, which she is, but isn't very active in terms of story. She was really only needed for one scene. Electra King is good though.

The World is Not Enough is a good film but doesn't reach the heights that previous films have reached. Goldeneye has set itself as the best so I didn't expect any other ones to beat it. Some people may be turned off by this one since it doesn't seem like a classic Bond film but it's enjoyable. People often overlook it so I would say that you should check it out.

Verdict:
7/10
A decent addition to the Brosnan films. There are some good characters introduced and the opening scene is one of the best film scenes ever.

Tomorrow Never Dies (Roger Spottiswoode, 1997) Review

I remember saying in my review for Licence to Kill that I wouldn't want to see another overly violent Bond film (just to remind you, it was very violent) but along comes Tomorrow Never Dies which proves to be pretty violent too. Sure, it's not as violent as Licence to Kill but it's close. Well, Goldeneye was so amazing, let's see if Pierce Brosnan can do another great film!

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to investigate the media tycoon, Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce),who wants to complete his media empire but in order to achieve this, he must achieve broadcasting rights in China. Bond teams up with a Chinese agent called Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) in order to stop Carver's plans which would inevitably lead to World War III! Bond, Wai Lin and Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker), Bond's help from America must now stop Carver and avenge Carver's wife Paris (Teri Hatcher).

This is the second most violent Bond film. People falling into printing presses, someone being killed by a sea drill and someone getting their foot clamped and left to be blown up...yeah, it gets pretty violent yet not that bloody...okay once. The plot is quite an interesting one as it sort of parody of business tycoons, specifically ones in the media. Eliot Carver is an interesting villain and Jonathan Pyrce is a good choice to play him. As before, Pierce Brosnan is a great Bond.

Normally each film has 2 Bond girls but I would say that this one only has 1. Paris Carver is only in it for about a quarter of the film leaving Wai Lin as the main Bond girl. It's weird and sort of breaks Bond tradition. Also the plot is a bit weak. It doesn't really hold up compared to previous Bond films (such as Goldeneye and Licence to Kill).

Tomorrow Never Dies is a good entry to the Bond film series and it's a shame that it came right after Goldeneye since I still stand by my statement that that was the best Bond film. It's often over looked because of that and it's a shame because it is an enjoyable movie. Check it out if you haven't, you should enjoy it.

Verdict:
8/10
A solid entry the Bond franchise that seems to carry on some great things that Goldeneye introduced.