Category Archives: Witty dialog

Skyfall (2012)

From Netflix:

When a serious menace threatens MI6, James Bond is on the case — putting aside his own life and personal issues to hunt and obliterate the perpetrators. Meanwhile, secrets arise from M’s past that strain Bond’s loyalty to his longtime boss.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 23 minute action film.

If nothing else, don’t miss the opening chase scene, possibly the current champion in the race to create ever more frantic and probably impossible chases. Comparing this James Bond film with past efforts shows how far film-makers have progressed in their craft. Just how do you make a London subway train crash through its track floor?

Something new has been added: Both M and James are supposedly getting older which pretends to be the main theme in the film. Of course, James appears in some sex scenes. Perhaps it is just his face, which was made to look if not old then at least really haggard (whereas his body is in very good shape, something that make-up probably cannot hide). Indeed he can stay underwater for 15 minutes and tends to leap over tall buildings (reality is just not important). During the filming he was a young 44 years of age.

As M, Judy Dench fits the bill very well. And she at times in the film looks really old! But let’s give her a break because during the filming she was a young 78 years of age.

Creepy surprise: Javier Bardem knows how to make a really hammy villain. Should we ask how he managed to get a mouthful of decayed teeth? He is the kid on the block because during filming he was a mere 43 years old.

Never mind what the critics say, if you are a James Bond fan then this is just another in a long line of eye-candy adventures.

Liberal Arts (2012)

From Netflix:

A speaking engagement brings 35-year-old Jesse back to his college alma mater, where he’s blindsided by nostalgia and a plucky sophomore named Zibby. Newly single and unfulfilled by his job, Jesse finds Zibby pulling him out of his disillusionment.

Call it talking-heads, call it an hour and one half of feel-good bubbles, but this little gem made me smile. Just enjoy all the philosophical pronouncements, some of them even make sense.

How can you not like 35 year old Jesse (played by Josh Radnor), an ordinary-looking guy with a friendly, sincere smile who is moral enough to think twice about sleeping with a 19 year old college student and warm enough to help a student suffering from manic-depression?

Feel sorry for the other characters who in a negative way help Jesse start to come alive: Professor Holberg (played by Richard Jenkins) who regretfully must retire even though he still feels like he is 19; Professor Fairfield (played by Allison Janney) who has grown cynical and bitter after loveless years of teaching literature.

Enjoy listening to the clever banter between Jesse and Zibby (played by Elizabeth Olsen). Were you like Zibby at her young age ?

Try and see it with someone you love.

White House Down (2013)

From Netflix:

When a paramilitary group engineers a violent takeover of the White House, the president must try to hide from the attackers until he can be rescued. Caught up in the chaos, Secret Service agent John Cale ends up becoming his sole protection.

Just a short while ago we were treated to “Olympus Has Fallen“. Since then the theme hasn’t changed much. Just substitute Channing Tatum for Gerald Butler.

There is some humor injected into all the violence. Did you know that John Kennedy used the White House underground catacombs to sneak in Marilyn Monroe? History, after all, is important.

My inner adolescent had fun watching the same-old same-old. Do you think my inner adolescent will ever grow up?

The Kings of Summer (2013)

From Netflix:

Chafing under his widowed father’s control, Joe Toy invites a friend and an offbeat new kid to help him build his own house in the nearby woods. Now that the trio is finally free from parents and responsibility, what’s next?

Do not dismiss this film as just another teen-fling. Granted the main characters are teenagers, but their parents are wonderful comic personalities. Whoever wrote the script has a clever, sparkling, tongue-in-cheek skill with droll sarcasm. But do be prepared for a few obscenities here and there.

To be able to build such a house in the woods seems to me to be fantasy, but just accept it and move along.

Hats off to the three teen stars, including the remarkably offbeat character Biaggio.

Hopefully Kathy and I were not as overbearing as the three parents. At the very least our kids did not run off and live in a ramshackle hut in the woods.

And not a serial killer in sight! Have fun!