Sam Mendes pushes the limits during his second James Bond directorial outing in Spectre to get James Bond back to the travelogue roots. You know this is going to be a big film right from the Day of the Dead pre-titles sequence in Mexico City. It’s one of the biggest openings by far and it gives Mexico some proper representation on screen. By the end of the film, however, Spectre proves to be just one…
"Spectre: Sam Mendes Pushes The Limits"Month: September 2021
Skyfall celebrates the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise with its first billion-dollar picture and one of the best films to date. James Bond (Daniel Craig) is in a much different place following Quantum of Solace. He’s no longer a rookie agent. But the thing that sets this film apart from his previous outings is that he fails repeatedly throughout the film. It’s a recurring theme that kicks off almost as soon as the…
"Skyfall Marks James Bond’s 50th Anniversary"
Quantum of Solace might seem to be a disappointment following the high of Casino Royale but this is because of the 2007-08 WGA strike. Marc Forster had his work cut out for him behind the camera. It’s not so much because of him but the studio pressure to release a film on time. In a perfect world, they would have waited for the WGA strike to end. Of course, this would have pushed the film…
"Quantum of Solace Shows WGA Strike’s Effect"
Daniel Craig enters the picture as Casino Royale comes along at a much-needed time in 2006 to reboot James Bond for the 21st century. The road leading up to Casino Royale is a blockbuster documentary in and of itself. However, this is another story for another day. In the decade leading up to the film, the Bond franchise was geared more towards fantasy than being grounded in reality. What else could you do after Die…
"Casino Royale Reboots James Bond For A New Era"
Nobody Does it Better: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond is a must-own book for James Bond fans. Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross draw on both their own interviews and archival interviews in telling the story of James Bond. They go back to where it all began with Ian Fleming, including the first attempts to bring Bond to either the big or small screen. In 1954, the first on-screen incarnation of…
"Nobody Does It Better: A Oral History of James Bond"
Unlike the James Bond franchise that inspired the creation of Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford should not be replaced as the iconic hero. While audiences await the release of Indiana Jones 5, it is in the best interest of the franchise to not go forward without Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones. It’s one thing to pass the fedora and whip to the next generation but it’s another to outright replace him in the role. If they…
"Indiana Jones: Don’t Replace Harrison Ford"
The Guilty remakes another foreign language film but this one is the best of the two TIFF premieres that largely depend on one person. The film is based on Den Skyldige. However, I cannot tell you whether this film works better or doesn’t because I didn’t see the original. I can tell you that The Guilty is effective as a thriller. This is a film that has Jake Gyllenhaal working overtime as a 911 dispatcher…
"The Guilty: Remake Delivers The Thrills"
Amazon Prime Video announced the films, series, and specials that will be coming to Prime Video and IMDb TV in October 2021. October brings new Amazon Originals including the Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3, an extraordinary fashion experience featuring performances and special appearances from global stars; Birds of Paradise, adapted from the novel “Bright Burning Stars,” follows two dancers at an elite ballet academy in Paris competing for a contract to join the highly…
"Amazon Prime Video: Coming in October 2021"
Marry Me However is a brief documentary about Orthodox men and women who have hidden their sexuality by entering cis-het marriages. Before I dive into the film, I want to address something first. Reeling labels the screening as the US premiere. However, I know for a fact that this is not true. This film has certainly screened virtually for 2021 Eshel National Retreat. Moreover, Eshel lists a number of previous U.S. festival screenings on its…
"Marry Me However – Reeling Film Festival 2021"
Time Life is releasing The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection: Uncensored, a 13-disc set with 26 hours of footage on September 28. Before I get to the contents included in the collection, Solzy at the Movies is proud to debut an exclusive clip, “Hit on the Nose,” from the never-before-released Last Stand-Up Sitting Down. It comes from one of Richard Pryor’s final performances. When they started to honor comedians with the Mark Twain Prize for American…
"The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection: Uncensored – EXCLUSIVE CLIP"