MOVIE: Casino Royale (2006)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Casino Royale Year: 2006 Rating: PG-13 Length: 144 minutes / 2.40 hours For almost 40 years, the adaptation of the first book in Ian Flemming's James Bond franchise was a parody of the action movie the Bond films had become. Even with only four movies in the Bond franchise released at the time, Casino Royale (1967) made fun of all the goofy gadgets, girls, and guns that were staples of Flemming's works. Fortunately, when it was time to reboot the character with Daniel Craig, Casino Royale (2006) received the remake it truly deserved. Cut down to its base elements and filmed in a more modern style, Casino Royale is a much grittier take on the Bond franchise that lets the action set-pieces and skillful spy-craft take center stage. Sure, there are still Bond girls here, but this time there's a deeper connection with characters like Eva Green's Vesper Lynd (which you can take much more seriously than characters named "Pussy Galore"). It then comes as...
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MOVIE: No Time to Die (2021)

by benmweilertNo Comments
No Time to DieYear: 2021Rating: PG-13Length: 163 minutes / 2.72 hours Daniel Craig is my James Bond. I was too young for the Pierce Brosnan version of the secret agent, so when a re-do of Casino Royale (2006) came out, I was impressed that this decades-old franchise could take some cues from recent successful action films like The Bourne Identity (2002). Having seen a smattering of other Bond films over the years, the five-movie quintet that ended with No Time to Die (2021) felt bittersweet. Even if there were constant rumors that Daniel Craig was done with the role after Spectre (2015), I'm glad he stuck the landing with this movie. Now, I'm fairly biased when it comes to Bond films. I think Skyfall (2012) is the peak of the franchise. Not only did it cover Bond's backstory, but it also pulled a huge twist right at the end to connect it to every previous Bond film, which had me exclaiming in...
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