NO TIME TO DIE

Daniel Craig     Ana de Armas     Rami Malek     Lea Seydoux     Ralph Fiennes

Christopher Waltz     Jeffrey Wright     Lashana Lynch     Ben Wishaw     Naomie Harris 

            Quintessential Bond with the complex plot, hair-raising chases, pretty women, and lots of booze and gadgets.  Bond (Craig)—who has “disappeared” after seeing that arch-enemy Blofeld (Waltz) is incarcerated—is found in Jamaica by his old friend, CIA officer Felix Leiter (Wright), after Bond has just unceremoniously put his girlfriend Madeleine (Seydoux) on the train because of his suspicions about her.  She is heartbroken, proclaiming her innocence, and walks down the aisle seeing him in passing windows as the train leaves the station—an eloquent graphic image—thanks to Linus Sandgren (La La Land, The Hundred-Foot Journey, American Hustle), whose photography in the film is impressive throughout.

            Leiter points out that an important scientist, Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) (has been abducted and needs to be found to prevent a scheme that could result in the death of millions.  The plot thickens from there, with Bond having to confront forces of which he was previously unaware.  It brings him into contact with his old boss at British Secret Intelligence Service, M (Fiennes) and staff, and tensions he now encounters and must manage between the U.S. CIA and British Intelligence.  Most touchy is the fact that M has assigned another agent, female Nomi (Lynch), to be 007.  This awkward situation must be dealt with because the old 007 wants to be involved in the case because it still seems to be connected with Spectre’s Ernest Blofeld (Waltz), whom Bond had put in prison.

            The most alarming danger comes from an evil man, Llyutsifer Safin (Malek), who has a poison plan that threatens millions across the world.  Getting to him is of course a tall order, and will require cooperation among all the parties involved, including international interests.

            The film is overly long with too many implausible chases and fights—as are found in most/all action films.  But it is successful in gripping intrigues and nail-biting dilemmas.  Daniel Craig is at his best in portraying for his last time the brave strategist Bond is known to be, with the additional acquisition of personal commitment and less womanizing.  He comes across as actually gallant at times.  

            A bright spot in the deluges of combat is shown by Ana de Armas as Paloma.  She kicks a.. impressively and with a little bit of humor, giving the viewer frequent “so there!” satisfactions.  Bad guys like Blofeld and Safir send plenty of chills up the spine, both because of their physical appearances and their evil nature.  Seydoux lacks some of the glamour and keenness of mind that Bond women usually have, but Lashana Lynch, the new 007, is appealing in her level-headedness and combat skills.  Lynch attributes part of her character’s success to the contributions of Phoebe Waller-Bridge to the script.  Hans Zimmer’s music for his first Bond film adds color to the action, and has just the right number of references to music in previous Bond films, most notably, the recognizable “suspense” motif.  Billie Eilish singing the title track co-written by her and her brother Finneas O’Connell provides additional inspiration.

 

No Time to Die will reward fans of the Bond films with plenty of intrigue and spine-chilling tension.  

 

Grade:  B+                            By Donna R. Copeland

KNIVES OUT

Ana de Armas     Jamie Lee Curtis     Toni Collette     Chris Evans     Don Johnson    Katherine Langford

Daniel Craig     Michael Shannon     LaKeith Stanfield     Jayden Martell    Christopher Plummer     Frank Oz

     This elegant pastiche fulfills its intention of laying out an ingenious plot with all the usual motifs of detective stories, tossing in blocks of humor and human foibles to keep you thoroughly entertained.  Writer/director/producer Rion Johnson (known for awarded works like Star Wars VIII:  the Last Jedi, Looper, and Brick) outdoes himself here, not only in his own efforts, but in assembling a formidable cast as well, most notable being Daniel Craig as private detective Benoit Blanc with a Texas twang.

     The set-up is Marta Cabrera (Armas) working as a nurse for aging Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) a wealthy book publisher.  Thrombey has numerous family members he is supporting, some of whom live in his mansion.  Tragically, one night after his 80-something birthday celebration, he is dead the next morning, apparently from a suicide.

     Enter Lieutenant Ellliott (Stanfield) and his trooper, along with a mysterious figure who sits to the side, Benoit Blanc.  As they question family members (paying homage to all the detective stories you’ve ever seen), we become acquainted with the motley group. Eldest daughter Linda (Curtis) is married to Richard Drysdale (Johnson) and they have a son Jacob (Martell). Son Walt (Shannon) thinks he is next in line to manage his father’s company, and is given something else to manage in the meantime.  Then there is the youngest son Ransom (Evans) who has a reputation for not working and hasn’t even appeared for the funeral.  Finally, there is daughter-in-law Joni (Collette), who is still part of the family in widowhood, and her daughter Meg (Langford), who is attending college, paid for by Harlan.  All of these actors shine in portraying their eccentric characters.

     Marta, the nurse who will be at the center of the drama, has a mother and sister from another country (humorously, family members always forget exactly which country), and much is made of their origins, and these facts are even used in threatening ways at times.         The crux of the story involves medications Marta administers to Harlan, his penchant for developing published fictions, and a major investigation, with everyone suspect.  Armas is a delight in her wide-eyed innocence and showing in her face her struggles to be a good person in a context of potential exploitation.

     Knives Out is likely to appeal to everyone who likes a good detective story.  This one delivers while still spoofing all those that have come before.  

Knives Out is a smart, entertaining look at deviousness, innocence, and human nature that can go either way.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LOGAN LUCKY

Channing Tatum   Adam Driver   Riley Keogh   Seth MacFarlane   Katherine Waterston

Daniel Craig   Katie Holmes   Farrah Mackenzie   Hilary Swank   Brian Gleeson   Jack Quaid   Dwight Yoakum

            Crime capers are always fun when they’re cleverly worked out, smack of basic human truths, and have colorful characters.  Steven Soderburgh’s Logan Lucky is just such a film, keeping you guessing and chuckling throughout.  He is clearly the director, cinematographer, and editor, but the first-time writer named Rebecca Blunt is a mystery about whom Soderburgh’s lips are sealed.  But it doesn’t really matter, because the film is so playful, warmly human, and so well executed from the writing to the production, we don’t really care.

            In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Logan family has the reputation for being cursed, what with so many things happening to them through the years.  Jimmy Logan is having an especially hard time these days with a football promise coming to nothing, a failed marriage, loss of his job, a bum leg, and he can’t even pay his phone bill.  His brother Clyde seems to be doing reasonably well in his bar, even with part of his arm and hand missing because of a war injury.  They have a sister, Mellie (Keogh), who seems to be able to assist and manage any storm.

            Jimmy is desperate.  His ex-wife (Holmes) is getting ready to move out of town with her husband, taking his cherished daughter Sadie (Mackenzie) with her.  (Sadie is an amusing insertion into the story with her knowledge of tools to hand to her car mechanic daddy and her penchant for all things girly like fashion shows and the “culinary arts.”)

            What follows is Jimmy’s intricate plan to siphon off some of the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s  questionable betting practices, pulling in his brother Clyde (Driver), his sister Mellie (Keogh), prisoner Joe Bang (dynamite expert) (Craig) and Bang’s two brothers (Gleeson and Quaid), and other inmates.  To make matters even more entertaining and clever, some people are used unwittingly (but never exploited without compensation).  That is, no one is really harmed in this caper, making the crime go down as all part of the fun.

            The main characters are all warmly sympathetic—despite the film’s making fun of them in a loving way, absent of cruelty.  The actors should be congratulated on their southern accents, even British Daniel Craig.  The plot is set up to get back at “The Man”, which has a satisfying effect on the viewer and works to excuse the crime.  It roasts common defenses, such as firing a person for “liability issues”, a prison warden (Yoakam) swearing that X (fires, riots, escapes) “just does not happen here”, and a racetrack administrator claiming ignorance about an insurance claim.  I got a kick out of the last scenes showing pairs of characters getting together sometime later after the mysterious disappearance of a considerable amount of money.

            Channing Tatum is a star in evincing a character who is simple on the outside but enormously complex and intelligent on the inside.  Adam Driver is well versed in playing so many different types, and he comes across believably here as a younger brother looking up to his older sibling and really wanting to please everyone.  The actor Daniel Craig is almost unrecognizable as the bleached-blonde, hair-cropped felon he is.  I appreciated seeing the character of Sadie (Mackenzie) presented as a many-sided girl with diversified interests exploring the world. 

            I’m glad Soderburgh is back after a “retirement” from movie making.  He has a way of producing engaging films that have a social message, without detracting from their entertainment value.

           

Hee-haw heroes put one over on the powers that be:  a crime caper that’s an entertaining romp.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

SPECTRE

Daniel Craig   Christopher Waltz   Lea Seydoux   Monica Bellucci   Ralph Fiennes   Ben Whishaw   Andrew Scott   Naomie Harris

          Increasing surveillance across the world and across institutions becomes the theme in Spectre, the latest James Bond adventure.  It would make George Orwell turn over in his grave, observes M (Fiennes) to O (Scott) after O reveals his plan to get 13 countries to agree to share their intelligence information with one another.  And we agree when we see an attempt to extend surveillance inside Bond’s brain later on to destroy certain memories.

        Now, however, Bond (Craig) is in hot water with his chief, M, after taking it upon himself to stop a terrorist attack in Mexico City.  Granted, there was considerable damage and bad press, which Bond doesn’t deny.  It’s just that his superiors are not aware that he has prevented a terrorist plot from coming to fruition.  That is, he has gotten onto the current scheme of his old enemy, Oberhauser (Waltz), who seems to have disappeared, but maybe not.  Knowing he is up to no good, Bond is determined to find him and sabotage his plans. 

        This will involve trips through multiple countries, leaving a trail of destruction behind, including humans, buildings, cars, helicopters, and planes.  When Bond calls on a Mr. White in an isolated cabin in wintry Austria, whom he thinks can lead him to Oberhauser, he has to promise to protect the man’s daughter, Dr. Madeline Swann (Seydoux).  Her life is in danger after White began to have second thoughts about the activities of Spectre.  But he also gives Bond information about how to locate Oberhauser.

       In many ways, Spectre is like the previous films in the series with the super heroic protagonist, the electronic gadgets in labs and cars, the need to buck the bureaucracy, thrilling car/helicopter/plane chases, unbelievable hand-to-hand combat, and beautiful women.  Unfortunately, when these components are repeated over and over in films across the years without much creativity, they get a ho-hum response.  As my friend and editor Evan Zimmerman observed, “If the filmmakers would spend less money on special effects and invest more in the script, it would be a much better movie.”

      There are clever jokes and quotable quotes sprinkled throughout the story, such as, “She wouldn’t let death get in the way of her job”, spoken by Bond about M (Judi Dench), who died in the last film, but left a message to Bond to listen to after her death.  There is a toast “To death”, spoken by one terrorist to another about a planned attack just before Bond shoots and kills them.  M tries to counsel O with “The license to kill is also a license not to kill”, advice that it not heeded.

      It may be that this franchise has run its course.  Daniel Craig has voiced his thoughts about it, implying that he doesn’t want to act in the next film, even though he has signed a contract for it.  The filmmakers (director Sam Mendes, the actors, musician Thomas Newman, and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema) are all gifted, but unless they can bring more creativity to future productions, they run the risk of appearing dated.

Go if you are a diehard James Bond fan.

Grade:  C                                                   By Donna R. Copeland