"Casino Royale" "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing," "Happy Feet"
2:48 p.m. Friday, November 17, 2006
Casino Royale
Bond is back and for me that usually meant yet another boring 007 movie with content that I've seen many times over. Much to my shock and surprise Daniel Craig takes over the role from Pierce Brosnan and you have the best Bond movie in years.
Few actors have left such big shoes to fill with a movie franchise as did Sean Connery when he decided to walk away from the role of 007. Roger Moore was tolerated, Timothy Dalton was terrible and Pierce Brosnan was finally cast in a role that he should have played many years before. Once Brosnan departed, in walks Daniel Craig. And before he had his first martini playing this character, there were Web sites wanting him fired from the role.
Well, all of those previously disappointed Bond fans can shut down the sites because Daniel Craig is the best Bond since Connery, and it’s breathed some positive new breath into a franchise that I thought should have been dead and buried along time ago.
“Casino Royale” goes back to the first mission of James Bond and gives us an adventure much like the vision Ian Fleming had when he created this character many years ago. This is a fast-paced adrenaline rush that's both exciting and intriguing. The action scenes are outstanding and well-staged, and they'll keep you on the edge of your seat. The locations and the cinematography are breathtaking and that adds so much to the overall feel of the movie.
I liked the darker, more sinister Bond. He feels more up-to-date and fits in better to the society we all currently live in. Daniel Craig has a rougher, more vengeful look that sets him apart from the previous three actors who played the role and he plays the part perfectly.
Like there is in any Bond movie there is a girl, and this time she's played by French actress Eva Green. Green plays this character with both sensitivity and toughness, along with having great on screen chemistry with Daniel Craig, which makes here one of the best Bond girls in some time.
Only time will tell if Casino Royale will bring back the franchise, but in the meantime director Martin Campbell (“Golden Eye”) has done a masterful job of making one of the best, if not the best, Bond movie in the history of the franchise.
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
Unless you've been living under a rock you are familiar with the comments made by Natalie Maines directed at President Bush in 2003 at a sold-out concert in London on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Those comments became what is now the downfall of The Dixie Chicks the best selling female group of all-time.
Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck's have made a no-holds-barred, engrossing and insightful look into the quick fall for The Chicks from media darling's to these accused traitor's to our country for exercising their right to free speech. The movie gives the audience a very intimate look into the private lives, and you get to know these three extremely talented women on a personal side away from the whirlwind of controversy that's engulfed the careers of the talented trio.
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
The movie has plenty of footage surrounding the backlash that quickly occurred after the comment was made everything from the gathering and destruction of Dixie Chicks CD's, to country music refusing to play their music, to the frightening death threats aimed at lead singer Natalie Maines.
You also get concert footage, and the Chicks recording their latest CD "Taking the Long Way" all of this happens over a three-year period documented in the film.
Despite a lack of ticket sales at some venues, losing sponsorships, and a lack of radio air play these women refuse to retreat even though they all admit in the film the possibility of the group regaining the success they once had was slim. This movie is fueled by the power of these extremely talented performers who are moms and wives outside the chaos of the music business.
These women stick together with an unbreakable bond and support from each other, their manager and family members. The best example of that is in the most moving moment in the movie is when Marty Maguire talks and breaks down when she discusses the willingness to give up her career if Natalie could just get some peace in her life.
Another documentary came out this year called the “U.S. vs. John Lennon,” and while I'm not comparing the two, the peace-preaching ex-Beatle spoke of world peace and wanted an end to the Vietnam War in one of the most turbulent times in our country's history. Despite the government trying to paint Lennon in a bad light and getting him deported he is still held up to a nearly god-like status both musically and socially. The Dixie Chicks speak their mind, and they're careers are nearly destroyed. And the backlash continues to this day. Now if the comment was made with the state of the war with Iraq and the continued drop of President Bush's approval rating would it even be news?
I'm a big fan of the Dixie Chicks music and after watching this movie I have even more respect for Natalie, Marty and Emily. This is one of my favorite films of the year, and I hope it’s remembered when Oscar nomination are announced.
Happy Feet
A little penguin named Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) is born with the ability to dance and not to sing as the other's in his community. He is looked down upon and becomes a social outcast. Mumble decides to go on a journey to discover just where he fits in the world. It's on this journey where he meets a group of Hispanic penguins led by Ramon (Robin Williams) who become fast friends as they accept Mumble for who he is.
“Happy Feet” is a well-crafted, fun movie for the entire family that contains a solid message to it without pounding the audience over the head with it. The animation is beautiful to look at, and the music is outstanding as well.
The cast is led by Robin Williams, who's terrific and should do more animation voice-overs in the future. The filmmakers did a great job of keeping up with Williams who was told to go with whatever he felt like doing and saying during the making of the movie.
The rest of the cast includes Hugh Jackman, Brittany Murphy, Nicole Kidman among others along with sentimental voice work done by the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who plays one of the elephant sea lions so listen for it.
“Happy Feet” is a fun and worthwhile family trip to the movies. There are some terrific action scenes, and the parents should be as entertained as the kids are.
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