Quantum of Solace

We went to see the much anticipated new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. Garr had been looking forward to it a lot. He likes James Bond movies with a lot of action, and if it doesn't have much of a plot, well that's sometimes a secondary concern. I also can appreciate a good action movie, but I don't have the same penchant toward musing over how much of a stud James Bond is, nor a desire to be like him; you know the "all the girls want him, and all the guys want to be like him" mentality. I did like Casino Royal a lot, I had seen many other James Bond movies and I felt like it was somewhat of a departure from them and I found that refreshing. Quantum of Solace is a continuation of Casino Royal and it is the first time that a James Bond movie really built on another one. All the other James Bond flicks were stand-alone movies. It was kind of nice to see a continuing plot, but it didn't seem like they did enough with it. I almost wish they would have just started anew like all the other movies.

The movie was good, not necessarily a disappointment, but I left with the feeling that it could have been much better. Casino Royal had some pretty amazing action and climactic sequences, Quantum of Solace (although an entertaining movie) did not live up the the prescident that the first had made. Also the camera work was very different, it seemed as if the director was a big fan of the "Bourne" movies and he used the same shaky action camera work. For me, it was hard to tell what was going on due to the shaky camera work and because things were happening so quickly. I would have preferred some more smooth and natural shots rather than the shaking and unsteady ones. Over all, however, it was a good movie. Daniel Craig played James Bond superbly yet again, and the other supporting actors also did a good job. I would still recommend it, but would suggest seeing it at the dollar theater or getting at Redbox. I would give it a 7/10.

Ghost Town

I had heard good things about Ghost Town but also had heard that it was not doing well at the Box Office, so I waited for it to come the the dollar theater to see it. Most people that I know had not even heard of it. I liked almost everything about it. It was very funny and refreshing, Ricky Gervais who plays a wonderfully bitter dentist is absolutely perfect for the role. You may know him from the British Office, he plays the Micheal character. The plot is meaningful, but does not take itself too seriously (a good thing since it is a comedy). The supporting cast is well chosen and they play off each other with great comedic banter. It truly is at least the funniest movie I have seen this year if not longer. A few things that I disliked about it was that the name is misleading, it is not a scary movie and the generic title of Ghost Town simply does not do it justice. I also did not like that they used the "F" word at least once, obviously in pursuit of a PG-13 rating since there was nothing else in the movie that could have given it that. I definitely say that this one is worth seeing. It is hilarious and for some reason it was not marketed well so people do not know about it. It wins the prize for the unsung hero of movies this year. I give it a well deserved 8.5/10.