After 23 previous films in the franchise, Bond films have a certain rhythm to them, a formula that involves breathtaking action sequences, seduction scenes and a light dialog that offers a wink to the viewer that it’s all ultimately in fun: there’s peril and danger, but it’s James Bond, he’s not going to really get killed at any point. Some directors have balanced these elements in their films perfectly, like Skyfall, and others have ended up…Read More
Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt 1
It all started with a juvenile fiction novel about a teen boy with hidden magical powers and a grand wizarding destiny that he finds by leaving his non-magical “muggle” family and attending an English boarding school with a magical twist, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That book was published in 1997 with the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and a film version followed in November, 2001. Since then the seven Harry Potter…Read More
Review: Clash of the Titans
I wanted to enjoy Clash of the Titans. The previews highlighted some terrific special effects and certainly Greek mythology is a fertile field of sweeping sagas, epic stories of men challenging the gods and strange, amazing creatures. Unfortunately, there were two problems with the movie, problems that doom an otherwise entertaining adventure film: the retrofit 3D effects and the poor performance of Sam Worthington in the title role of Perseus. Perseus is a demi-god, the…Read More