Review: "Skyfall"

As a Bond fan since I was kid (damn, Connery was sexy), I have had my share of yeahs and nays among Bond portrayals. George Lazenby - no. Roger Moore - meh. Timothy Dalton - lame. Pierce Brosnan - maybe. Brosnan was by far the best choice since Connery, as far as I am concerned. 

Then they announced the newest Bond - Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Like many Bond fans, I was initially up in arms about Craig's casting. How could this lemon-sucking, squinty-eyed, bulb-nosed blond play the sexiest spy in screen in history? I joined the haters and vowed not to see the 2006 movie. But then the pictures of Craig in that blue bathing suit came out. And then the mostly excellent movie came out and almost all was forgiven. Of course, it helped that the movie was the best Bond film since the Connery era. Then came 2008's Quantum of Solace. The plot made as much sense as the title (granted, it was developed during the 2007-2008 Writers' Strike) and I lost faith in both Craig and the franchise. What a mess of a movie. Worse than even the worst of the Moore Bond movies, Quantum had me ready to give up on filmdom's longest-running franchise altogether.

Today, D and I finally got together for the holidays and saw a matinee of the latest in the 50-year old series, Skyfall, before exchanging our holiday gifts (more on those in a moment). And I am happy to report that director Sam Mendes (American Beauty; Revolutionary Road) has finally managed to create an exciting, entertaining and narratively sensical Bond movie.

Presumed dead after falling from a train in Turkey, Bond returns to MI6 after a terrorist attack kills six agents and destroys M's (Dame Judi Dench) office. Following a trail of murder, money and babes, Bond is eventually captured by the villain Silva (Javier Bardem). Thanks to the new Q (Cloud Atlas cutie Ben Wishaw), Silva is captured (after a rather homoerotically charged encounter with Bond) and it is revealed that Silva is actually a former MI6 agent intent on taking revenge on M because... well, see it for yourselves. When Silva escapes (via a rather contrived plot device), Bond takes M to his childhood home for safe-keeping and a final confrontation with Silva and his henchmen. Along the way, bad guys are eaten by Komodo dragons; exotic weapons are employed and beautiful women are used and abused by both good and bad guys. 

Craig, as a very stoic and far-less wise-cracking Bond, spends much of the first half of the movie half-naked, satisfying a good 2/3 of the audience while still managing to create the rather tortured Bond of Ian Fleming's novels. Bardem (his hair and eyebrows bleached, adding an extra-creepiness to his bug-eyed, lop-sided nose visage) is perfect and the always wonderful Dench gets lots more screen time than usual. Add Ralph Fiennes as the less-uptight-prig-than-he-seems MI6 administrator; the gorgeous Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and the (surprisingly still-alive) Albert Finney as an aging Bond family ally, and you end up with what is probably the best Bond film of the last 20 years.

As with every Bond film, the plot devises; action and sex scenes are ridiculous on the surface. But they are all redeemed by some terrific performances and a plot which actually makes sense for a change. D and I both enjoyed this latest entry entry in the franchise, though we differed on whether it was better than the last two films. I said it was, while he he thought it wasn't as good as Casino Royale. *** (Three Out of Four Stars).

As for our Holiday get-together, D gave me one of my favorite gifts this year:

I so love that those I love and those who love me, know me so well!

I am torn between displaying this gem at home or the Day Job. The folks at the Day Job already think I'm insane, while those who know me best know so.

More, anon.
Prospero

Dinner, Gifts and Time with Dear Friends.

(Not Uncle P's Meatballs)

So... last Saturday's snow/rain/sleet storm prevented Uncle P from having a holiday dinner and gift exchange with some of my oldest and dearest friends, with whom I get together every few months for a culinary experiment. This time we weren't taking any chances, but planned a simple and traditional Italian meal of lasagna and meatballs. Luckily, both freeze well and we were able to reschedule for tonight.

Mary's lasagna was just delicious and 17 of Uncle P's 18 rustic meatballs marinara were consumed by the seven of us. Of course, Q's delightful salad with thick, sweet Black Walnut Balsamic and Deb's amazing red velvet cupcakes made it a rather amazing meal. 

After dinner, those of us who hadn't already done so, finally got to exchange our Holiday gifts (I loved everything I got). Of course, as always with this particular group of friends (most of whom I've known for well-over 30 years), the meal and gifts are a far distant second to spending time together. Spending time with these six very dear friends (and a few others) helps make the mendacity of everyday life less so. I hope you have some equally amazing people in your life who make it better just by being a part of it.

Tomorrow I will be having my last gift exchange of the season, when Dear D and I meet for a matinee showing of Skyfall (which I'll be reviewing tomorrow night), followed immediately by drinks and yet more gifts.

I hope your weekend is as good as mine has been (and promises to continue to be). I'll try and recreate my aborted "American Horror Story" post from last night on Monday, unless something else catches my attention between now and then.

More, anon.
Prospero

Grrr!

AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHH!

Another post lost to the whims of connectivity!

Two Very Different Tales of Horror

Jane Levy ("Suburgatory") in The Evil Dead

After five and a half years, regular readers know how much I love Horror Movies and how much I loathe hypocritical homophobes. Yet, they have something very much in common: they're both scary, though in very different ways.

Horror Movies are escapist nonsense, tapping into fear of not just death, but losing control of the circumstances surrounding our lives. Fighting against forces from beyond; escaping and/or killing the homicidal maniac; sending the demon(s) back to hell or beating the devil at his own game allows us a vicarious sense of empowerment. And even when a Horror Movie ends with the villain(s) victorious, we know that when the lights come up in the auditorium at the end we have survived and our own lives are better than the victims of the maniac/demon/ghost/monster that killed all those horny teenagers.

The same can't be said for the hypocritical homophobe. These people are far more insidious than any film monster, gnawing away at the truth like sewer vermin and spewing their own self-loathing in an attempt to feel better about themselves, regardless of the pain and suffering of their targets. Such behavior couldn't be more apparent than what 'Reverand' Joseph Sciambra (who claims to not only be an 'ex-gay' but a former gay 'porn star) has to say in the repellant video (via) posted below (probably NSFW):

Yes, most professional sex-trade workers probably suffer from low self-esteem -- though I personally know of at least one retired adult performer who loved what he did while he was doing it. Still, without the right mindset, porn actors rarely end up as successes in their later lives. But that certainly doesn't mean any one of them gave 'anal birth' to demons. Sciambra (obviously still gay, despite his claims of 'redemption') proves my point with his looney claims. The dangerous notion that one can change sexuality through prayer continues to be one of the leading causes of suicide among young LGBT people who feel guilt at having failed to live up to the ridiculous religious standards set by their families and churches. I can't imagine anything scarier than hating myself just for being who I am.

Personally, I prefer my horror to be gory, gruesome and fictional. I was living in CA when Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead was released in 1981 and my (very liberal) Christian sister called to tell me about the 'scariest movie' she'd ever seen. Of course, I had to go. Imagine my surprise and disappointment at seeing a rather silly, low-budget movie that hardly made any sense at all. It wasn't until Raimi's 1987 satirical sequel that I truly appreciated what he and his brothers were trying to say about the genre. And while I do have a special place in my heart for Army of Darkness, the concept had pretty much been reduced to the equivalent of a Three Stooges haunted house short by the time it was released. Indeed, that was long before "This is my boomstick!" became an internet meme.

Of course, the musical stage version of Evil Dead was nothing short of brilliant and remains on my short list of shows I desperately want to direct:

When it was announced that a reboot was on the way, I joined the haters in denouncing the need for it. But having now seen the red-band trailer for director Fede Alverez's film, I think I have to take back everything I said about it, previously. Given the advances in SFX technology and the support of Raimi and original star (and genre legend) Bruce Campbell, I honestly cannot wait to see the new version of the story. The trailer, in all it's gory glory, is below, though I must caution those who are the least bit squeamish.

I've already scheduled a long-awaited man-date with my friend James, to see the new version. I can't wait!

More, anon.
Prospero

The Worst American Ever

'Douchebag' Is Too Kind a Word

John Boehner and the Repugnican-controlled House represent everything that is wrong with American politics, today. 

Walking off the the floor Monday night without even considering a relief bill to aid the the tens of thousands of victims of Superstorm Sandy in NY and NJ, Boehner cemented himself as the most-hated man in America. It certainly didn't help that on Friday, Boehner told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "Go f*ck yourself!" Twice. Really? This is how civilized adults conduct the business of the country?

By the way, that spinning sound you are hearing right now? It's coming from Lincoln's grave. 

It's pretty bad when even members of his own party are calling him out for his disgraceful, childish and callous disregard for the people whom he has sworn to protect. I'm not generally a fan of homophobic NJ Governor Chris Christie, but it's pretty bad when the party darling gives a press conference calling out Boehner's shameful behavior (via):

I may live in PA, but I was born in NJ, grew up in NJ and most of my friends and family live in NJ. I've spent many a Sunday afternoon on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights and more than a few dollars in the casinos of Atlantic City. The majority of the Theatre work I've done has been in NJ and there are very few weeks when I don't spend at least an evening there. It sickens me that Boehner and his cronies are so obsessed with their own agendas that they can't be bothered to help the very people they were elected to serve.

So go ahead and cry your crocodile tears, John Boehner. No one is buying your act anymore. Worst Person of the Year doesn't even cover it. You sir, are the Worst American in History. Go f*ck yourself, indeed!

More, anon.
Prospero

Retro Review: "ParaNorman"

Norman is a boy who can talk to the dead. His parents are worried and most of the other kids at school make fun of him because they don't believe him but his dead Grandmother and all the dead people in the town of Blithe Hollow know better. After being befriended by the equally picked-on (for being fat)  Neil, Norman is visited by his Uncle and charged with stopping the 300 year old curse of the Blithe Hollow Witch (who's story apparently drives the town's tourist trade). Eventually joined by Neil; Neil's older brother Mitch and his own older sister Courtney, Norman discovers the truth about the witch and how to keep her from destroying the town for good.

This often hilarious stop-motion movie takes on horror movie tropes with glee, and directors Chris Butler (who wrote the screenplay) and Sam Fell (Flushed Away) do their best to make sure their actual message is front and center. On the surface, ParaNorman is a comedic horror story about ghosts and zombies but at heart, it's an anti-bullying tale which focuses on discovering one's own self-worth while breaking down stereotypes in often surprising ways.

The film's voice cast, which includes Kodi-Smit Mcphee (Let Me In); Anna Kendrick (Pitch Prefect); Casey Affleck; Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad); Leslie Mann (Knocked Up); Broadway legend Elaine Stritch; the highly underrated Jodelle Ferland; Tempestt Bledsoe; Alex Borstein ("Family Guy") and John Goodman is just terrific. While I personally didn't care for most of the character designs (the super-exaggerated faces and bodies of many of the characters were somehow off-putting - though I must admit to loving the climax's version of the 'witch'), the movie's central themes and decidedly dark humor more than made up for this minor flaw. And (SPOILER ALERT) it was amazing to see the first animated family film to feature an openly gay character, even if we don't find out he's gay until the end.

If you missed it in the theater this past Halloween, I highly recommend you see it OnDemand or DVD. It's certainly entertaining while delivering an important message of tolerance on many levels. *** (Three Out of Four Stars). 

ParaNorman is rated PG and currently available OnDemand and on DVD and BluRay.

More, anon.
Prospero

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Philly Style!