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Bond reaches new heights in ‘Skyfall’ |
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012 |
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By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post
It’s been 50 years since British secret agent James Bond hit the screen and for the first time in the longest film series of all time, an audience knows who that man is, where he came from, and in “Skyfall,” the franchise maybe has reached its apex.
The third outing for Daniel Craig as Bond is without a doubt his best and as a lover of every Bond film, short of a couple stinkers, “Skyfall,” is one of the best, right up there with “Dr. No,” “Goldfinger,” and other classics.
In “Skyfall,” Mi6 loses a computer hard drive that contains the identity of every agent embedded in terrorist organizations across the world. During the pursuit of the thief, Bond is shot and seemingly falls to his death.
When the devious and maniacal villain Silva (Javier Bardem) uses the list and begins to personally attack Mi6 leader “M” (Judi Dench), Bond returns and proves that he is the best at what he does, even when he has lost a step.
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Washington is brilliant as tragic pilot in ‘Flight’ |
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012 |
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By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post
Captain “Whip” Whittaker wakes up, inhales a line of cocaine, stumbles over countless bottles of liquor and beer and makes it to the airport in time to make another alcoholic beverage and fly a passenger jet to Atlanta, he also winds up saving the lives of 96 out of 102 people onboard.
Such is the life of Whittaker (Denzel Washington) in “Flight,” the latest film from Director Robert Zemeckis, which is absolutely one of the best of the year. The entirety of its success is built on Washington giving one of the best performances of his career.
When the plane goes down (which is obvious in the previews, if you’ve seen them), Whittaker is a hero for saving all but six people onboard as he miraculously crash-lands the plane in a field after a massive mechanical failure.
But when the investigation into the crash begins, Whittaker is forced to face his alcoholism and drug addiction. He hides from interviews and the public eye while they call him a hero, but the fact that his blood-alcohol level was 0.28, would land him in prison for years. |
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‘Cloud Atlas’ complex, but fantastic storytelling |
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012 |
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By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post
Sitting in a very empty theater, I realized that “Cloud Atlas” is a film that’s less about conveying a singular idea or story, but rather more about the way in which the stories of six events spanning across thousands of years are relatable to one another through the human spirit.
It would be nearly impossible to convey what “Atlas” is “about” because it tells six different stories, from time periods ranging from 1850 to 2344 and everything in between. Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by David Mitchell, “Atlas” really is a wonderful experience, but most likely won’t make very much money as its form isn’t massively appealing.
Written and Directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, the film opens with just enough from all six stories to get hooked on each of them. It bounces from one to the other, but not in an incoherent way.
They are all stories of love, freedom, finding the truth, overcoming society’s boundaries and how the actions of one individual can affect countless lives. I couldn’t possibly name every member of the amazing cast, nor the characters they play.
Since the stories jump from one time period to another, every actor portrays multiple characters and sometimes those characters are of different age, race or sex than the last. “Atlas” really is an unbelievable feat of acting and directorial skill, as well as writing.
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‘Alex Cross’ not entirely bad, but not too good either |
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Thursday, October 25, 2012 |
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By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post
Dr. Alex Cross is a family man, an intellectual psychologist and above all, a good detective in the Detroit Police Department, but despite the role being a welcome change of pace for star Tyler Perry, the movie didn’t really stand out.
Based on books by James Patterson, the film follows the titular character played by Perry as he tries to uncover some brutal murders by an unnamed sociopath played by Matthew Fox. The villain hits Cross and his partner and childhood friend, Tommy Kane (Edward Burns), close to home and the film takes a revenge-flick tone.
Unfortunately, the plot of “Cross” doesn’t really move in any coherent direction for most of the film. The fact that nothing is known about its sociopathic villain, identified as “Picasso” in the end credits, or his motives is annoying and how he achieves some of his villainy is questionable.
For instance, he of course, knows the exact location and time Cross will be out to dinner with his wife. Well enough, in fact, that he’s able to position himself inside a neighboring building with a high-powered rifle with perfect line-of-sight to their table, which they sit down at after “Picasso” finds his position. |
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