Brian's Thoughts on Movies

  Quentin Tarantino films are always events.   They occur every three or four years and are represented by a talky film that has memorably named characters, spouting fun dialogue as they go through an often larger than life scenario.   They are usually kind of violent though his better films mostly use it sparingly. Despite the rhythmic nature of the title, I found the name The Hateful Eight uninspiring.   For the most part I love Tarantino films and I thought Inglorious Basterds was one of his best films, but he followed it with Django Unchained.   As I mentioned in the review, I was disappointed by the amount of blood spatter and lack of imagination especially in the last act of that film, after an intriguing set up.   When I learned that Tarantino was going to make another western, with an advance poster showing a wagon creating a trail of blood I lost enthusiasm.   At one point a copy of the script leaked (Tarantino writes all his scripts on a word...

  The late Sir Sean Connery will likely be most remembered as the original James Bond but his work goes far beyond that and any examination of his career should account for his other roles.  Starting in 1962, Connery starred in five Bond films in six years, got tired of the role and all the scrutiny that came with it (and of being underpaid for it), started to develop his career with other roles, but returned to Bond twice, in 1971 and 1983.  After his last Bond Connery did a lot of films which were either ensemble pieces or films in which he was paired with a younger current star often as a mentor.  I will note, I have seen most of Connery’s work in the 1980s and 1990s (except for the Highlander films which never interested me).  The only films of Connery’s that I have seen from the 1970s are The Man Who Would Be King, The Offence and Robin and Marian.  I still want to see The Andersen Tapes, Wind and the Lion, Murder on the Orient Express, and Cuba. ...

 Avengers: Endgame was the last film that several of the core actors were contracted for so going in I knew it would be the final time to see them work as a group and some would likely not survive.  I am happy to admit that I guessed the title in advance as I had picked up on the significance of Dr. Strange’s line in Infinity War “We’re in the endgame” after he gave the time stone to Thanos. The title is, in truth, a misnomer as it really was only the end for Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.   Just about every other Avenger either has or will appear in a follow-up film or TV show.   The planning for these two films allowed the audience to feel the impact of the Infinity War finale by separating the two films by a year.   We mourned the loss of the blipped characters and wondered how the remaining Avengers could possibly resolve it.   I thought it might involve some time-travel but was pleased that the marketing for the film gave little hint, spending other th...

It is odd to think of Coming to America as a series.  While I heard rumors about a potential sequel to Eddie Murphy’s big 1988 hit for years, I thought it about as likely as another Austin Powers, or True Lies film.  Comedy sequels often do not work because they are a result of a financial decision as opposed to inspiration.  See Arthur 2, Three Men and a Little Lady, Little Fockers, The Hangover Part II, or one of the endless Police Academy films to name but a few that merely recycle the main beats of the original film. The few that work usually are a result of broader ideas that did not quite make the first film and or further the story or expand the lives of the characters and can exist on their own (a la Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me or Meet the Fockers). Spoilers below for both Coming to America films. Coming to America (1988) Coming to America came out in the summer of 1988.   Eddie Murphy, who had been on Saturday Night Live, standup specials and...

  When I was a kid, I never missed The Dukes of Hazzard.   The show about two cousins in the South dealing with a comedically corrupt local law enforcement and visiting bad guys was loaded with entertaining car chases and jumps.   The cousins’ car,   the General Lee, a red 1969 Dodge Charger with sealed doors, was as much a character as any of the speaking roles.   The first time I ever noticed a continuity error was catching that in some episodes the gear shift was on the floor and in others it was near the wheel meaning they were using lots of cars.   I also usually caught it when footage (especially the jumps) was re-used. The jumps were exaggerated but largely done for real (a car was wrecked after each one).   While the stunts were good the charm of the show came from its characters, and its bluegrass score. My experience with this show got me excited when I first saw the trailer for Gone in Sixty Seconds which had a similar muscle car (a ’67 Mu...

 continued from Part I The sequence during the break is most interesting if the viewer just focuses on Vesper.  She grows concerned in the elevator when Bond pulls out the gun.  This turns into full scale panic as Bond starts battling with the Ugandan rebels.  The stairwell fight is vicious and like Vesper we just want out.  As Bond eventually strangles the chief villain, Obanno, Vesper eventually finds the courage to help Bond disarm him. Campbell allows the aftermath to play out realistically. Bond, with a lot of blood, mostly his own, on his white shirt, tells Vesper to get Mathis to help with the bodies (giving her something to do).  When he fixes himself a strong drink and looks at himself in the mirror with a sense of loathing. Craig is terrific in this wordless scene. Bond may get his man, but every violent act is taking more of his humanity.   Little scenes like this make the film longer but enrich it greatly. When Bond finds Vesper sitting...