Film & TV

'GoldenEye', is the 17th installment in the James Bond film series, a post-cold war action/spy-thriller that capitalizes on the real world tensions left over from the collapse of the USSR. 'GoldenEye' – the first film to dispense with reliance on Ian Fleming's literary works for source material, and it had the near impossible job of revitalizing a franchise that many thought to have lost its mass appeal.

Martin Campbell directed this feature, it stars Pierce Brosnan in the lead role as the charismatic and dangerous secret agent – 007. Sean Bean stars as well: playing the part of Alec Trevelyan/006  – a turncoat MI6 agent, the main villain of the film. Judi Dench takes over for Robert Brown in the role of "M", and we're introduced to Isabella Scaruptco as Natalya Simonova — a hacker turned Russian defector — and eventually, Bond's love interest and ally. 

Famke Janssen is stunning as Xenia Onatopp: a salacious JANUS agent working against Bond, who is shown to be more than capable as an assassin. And finally, Desmond Llewelyn reprises his role as series stand-by "Q", the man who provides Bond with his equipment and state-of-the-art gadgets.

So, is "real" cinema destined to "go the way of the dinosaur" in the age of digital media and streaming platforms?

Yes, it seems highly likely. 

"In a groundbreaking moment, Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in a deal that puts a major Hollywood studio back in the business of owning a movie theater for the first time in more than 75 years with certain exceptions."

Jun 12, 2024

The Hollywood Reporter [1]

Judging by this recent move, fiduciary projections are not looking good for Cineplex, Odeon, and other major cinemas. These larger chains are going to have to find some miraculous cost-cutting measures or face reality – streaming media is winning.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

If there's a better film with Jeff Bridges in the leading role — I'm absolutely sure — I don't know what it is. 'The Big Lebowski' is a mind-bending, hilarity inducing, neo-noir crime-dramedy with nihilistic and absurd overtones, and some pretty absurd nihilists as well. 

What I mean to say is this; the movie is bizarre – in the best kind of way. 

The Coen. Bros directed this underground hit, which went on to become one of the most popular cult films ever made. 'The Big Lebowski' may even have spawned an entire culture of hipsters, ushering in the era of beard wax and men's shaving clubs. It's a film that screams "quirky" in a way that lets you know it's not f**cking around. If you expected a straight-up narrative with formulaic characters and archetypes, look somewhere else. 

Like a pulp era adventure-fantasy novel came to life, 'King Kong' delivers fast-paced action with a bang — and melodrama by the bucket-full.

• 'Heart of Darkness' is referenced in the movie, Jimmy is reading it.  Successful nod to a literary classic.

• Begins with some suspense but quickly course-corrects with silly antics; the hamfisted comedy on-screen harkens back to early era cinema. Is stylistically similar to Disney epics like 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Jungle Cruise' — both a positive and a negative, more on that later!

• The homage/tribute to the 1930s version; nice touch, in this movie we are watching the expedition that "filmed" the first King Kong motion picture. The (implied) contrast between the original colourless visuals vs the high-gloss saturated look of the newer film is very pleasing. Breathing new life into iconic imagery isn't just a gimmick; this movie knows that.

In 'Dune' the visual opulence is awe inspiring — innate architectures, panoramic shots of natural beauty; seamless scene transitions, remarkable compositions, and of course expert colour grading. The cinematography is truly unique — unlike any science fiction film that has come before — save maybe '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

 Denis Villenieuve directed this picture 'Dune: Part I' magnificently, managing to undo the stigma caused by the failings of previous adaptations of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece. 

Much like the spice melange, 'Dune' is now the hottest commodity in the known universe.

He's charismatic enough to make the role memorable and has the star-power to sell tickets.

Comic book villains often deliver a triumphant final speech – no one else delivers monologues like Robert Downey; no one. He's top tier!

The characters of Iron Man and Dr. Doom are symmetrical in a thematic sense. Both are billionaire sycophants who seek to control the world around them. And they both wear masks — so there's that.

Comics are a medium that often rely on "heel turns", a term borrowed from wrestling that refers to the moment when a heroic figure turns into a "heel" or a villain. In essence this recasting is in keeping with tradition — especially if Doom ends up being a Tony Stark variant. [1]

“Logic points to Downey’s Doctor Doom being from the same world that is home to the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, which takes place in an alternate version of Earth within the vast multiverse. It is possible, while feeling oddly implausible, for Victor von Doom to look like Tony Stark on that alternate Earth.”

- Ryan Reynolds is a massively experienced actor with 61 pictures and 24 television series listed in his filmography.

- He made sure that 'Deadpool & Wolverine' did not end up with an inflated budget; ensuring that the film had the same "micro-budget feel" as the previous two entries. [1] IMDb.com

-Reynolds is a Canadian actor who was born in Vancouver, BC.

-He's one of the higher paid entertainers working today, with a net worth of $350 million USD (2024).

-Ryan's earlier attempts at appearing in superhero properties ended in spectacular failure, ''Green Lantern' and 'X-Men Wolverine: Origins' were critical-flops and commercial losses, both motion pictures featured the actor in a key role.

-Reynolds first rose to prominence with his breakout film National Lampoon's 'Van Wilder' (2002).

Kingsman: The Secret Service

What a ride!

Hold my umbrella as I regale you with a tale of secret agents, Oxford whites and technocrat billionaires. If you took Ian Flemming and added Guy Ritchie's sensibilities – the outcome would be: Matthew Vaughn's 'Kingsman' movies. 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' is an absurdist nightmare with cheeky overtones; providing levity for an audience that otherwise might be nonplussed with the now rather tired tropes of the spy thriller genre.

Colin Firth takes the lead – starring as Harry Hart AKA agent "Gallahad" – a pastiche of British superspy James Bond and 'Get Smart's' Maxwell Smart. Agent Gallahad is a man not to be trifled with; he's humanity's last hope to prevent a planned doomsday event, working alongside a new agent-in-training, "Eggsy" – played expertly by Taron Eggerton.

‘Madame Web’ defines mediocrity.

Albeit, it’s not nearly as awful as most critics would have you believe. It doesn’t reach ‘Morbius’ levels of bad – yet, this movie is so bland and predictable – that it’s (essentially) the cinematic equivalent of paint-by-numbers. Which begs the question: how did the filmmaker manage to botch the more formulaic aspects of this movie?

All this picture required was standard superhero fare:

tell an origin story, craft a villain with little to no characterization, and finish it all with an action set-piece atop some towering structure – skyscraper, scaffolding, monument, etc. If this formula was followed – we would’ve had an average Marvel movie.

Not a masterpiece, but enjoyable viewing nonetheless.

Why, then, is Sony Pictures Madame Web worse than your run-of-the-mill Marvel flick?

‘Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent’ sticks to the proven formula of a Dick Wolfe production; while combining cultural aspects of Canada –  to great success. As a longtime fan of the franchise and a self-admitted “procedural drama junkie”, I’m a fairly good judge of what makes a cop-show work. Dialogue and pacing is one of the most important factors. Each episode is a self-contained mystery, so the story needs to be engaging yet delivered somewhat opaquely. Anticipation and intrigue is key.

The pilot episode’s plot is fairly straightforward:

 A crypto mogul is missing after attending an event on Lake Ontario, taking with him hundreds of millions in cash from his clients. Has he absconded with the money or is it possible that foul play is involved?