Bond and Harvey

Two quick movie reviews of two very different movies. We'll start with the small one...

Last Chance Harvey is a little bity movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Someone described it as "Before Sunrise" for the older crowd. Hoffman flies to London to attend his estranged daughter's wedding and meets Emma Thompson there. The movie takes place over the course of a day or two and it's pretty much just Hoffman and Thompson talking to each other and getting to know each other. It's a charming little movie but, at a cool 88 minutes, I'm happy I didn't plop down $14 for this one. (It was a free screening). The best part about it was definitely Emma Thompson. I totally forgot how in love with this woman I am. She has always been amazing (Much Ado About Nothing, Peter's Friends, that "Cheers" episode, Sense and Sensibility) and I've missed her so much. I think she hasn't worked in the past few years to concentrate on her husband and family but she needs to go back to work. Screw them. Share your talent with the world!

Quantum of Solace (probably didn't need the link) is good. Not great, but good. I really liked Casino Royale (though it was way too long). But Casino had that amazing opening sequence and some great "character" scenes with Bond and Vesper. I totally fell in love with Daniel Craig in that movie and he brought a perfect balance of ruggedness and suaveness to the role. (Full disclosure - I never like any previous Bond movies...too patsy for me or something.) Craig is still completely amazing (and hot) in Quantum, but the movie is a mess. The script is lame and my friend at Sony tells me that it's because the writer's strike started just as the writers turned in their first draft. So they had to shoot a first draft which is a definite no-no in most movies. But still... Not sure if it's because director Mark Forster had never done an action movie...but the action sequences weren't even that good. They copied Bourne and, to make matters worse, they didn't even copy it well. The editing was choppy which I didn't mind, but they did a really poor job of establishing the geography so you couldn't enjoy the chases very well. They drastically cut the running time of this movie, yet it still felt long in some parts. The highlights were Jeffrey Wright (always great), Judi Dench (she had more to do), the French baddie (he's a good actor), and, surprisingly, the girl. She wasn't laughable like most old Bond girls of old. So, I guess I do recommend this movie because I will watch 100 minutes of a beat up Daniel Craig walking around in a suit any day. And it's pretty entertaining. But I'm looking forward to the next installment with a different story and a different director.