Casino Royale REVIEW

Well the "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present his third review from the "James Bond" franchise,  2006's "Casino Royale." In this film James Bond is on his first mission as a 00. He must stop Le Chiffre, a banker for the world's terrorists organization. He must win a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro.

So shall we start with the positives of this Bon film? Now that I think about it though I don't really think their is a negative to suggest? We will see though. So with the positives I shall start with acting, like I always due. Well Daniel Craig is the new James Bond, and in my opinion the best Bond their is. He just has that quality that makes him this character. He is badass, charming, rough, and all around a great James Bond. Eva Green is the Bond girl in this film and let me say she plays her role . . . well lets say no one else could have played it better. She makes you believe in the things her character has to. Mads Mikkelsen was the villain in this Bond film and let me just say probably one of my favorite Bond villains of all time. He was creepy, scary, and all around emotional when he needed to be. He fit the part and played it perfectly. Of course their were other actor/actresses in this film and everyone did a very good job with creating a great movie. Moving on to the screenplay I am going to have to say that this movie does a great job with restarting the James Bond character, and they help him become a human being again! They make James relatable and realistic in this film, and the plot of this film just connects and makes sense. It for sure keeps you on the edge of your seat, even when the story could get a little boring. Instead they did a good job with the scene and made it enjoyable. Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade wrote this film and they did a great job with it. Martin Campbell did a GREAT job with the direction of this Bond film. It really took a realistic and darker tone that I enjoyed. The score of course was very good, as most James Bond movies have a good score. The classic Bond theme was in it too; which I always enjoy. As a whole this film does a GREAT job restarting the James Bond franchise, with honor and justice.

So all-in-all after thinking about it their wasn't a negative I could think about. So I this movie is definitlely my favorite James Bond film, and is 100% a must-see film. It doesn't make it to my TOP TEN LIST, because its not a film that I would enjoy more than ones on my list. I will give it the popcorn flick rating, it will be a good film for you and your buddies to enjoy. Go ahead and spend the money to buy it on Blu-ray. You won't regret it. As for the rating out of five, "Casino Royale" is of course going to get the high honor of 5/5 rating.

So thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this review. To see my reviews of other "James Bond" films, click on the name of which one you would like to read: "Dr. No" and "Die Another Day." Thanks again and stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Beetlejuice REVIEW

In the Halloween spirit the "Motion Picture Buff" would like to review a Halloween classic, "Beetlejuice." In this film a couple of newly made ghosts hire a "bio-exorcist" to help get ride of the obnoxious new family that moved in to their house.

Shall I begin with the positives that come from this film? Well lets begin with the acting in this film. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis were the two newly made ghosts in this film and I thought these two had amazing chemistry together. They really seemed like the perfect couple and I really enjoyed their characters. Oh and I never realized how awesome Alec Baldwin used to look. Jeffery Jones, Catherine O'Hara, and Winona Ryder (as a teenager) were the Deetz family that moved into the house. These three did a good job, but Winona stood out the most. I really enjoyed her performance in this film. Moving on I thought the story and screenplay of this movie was actually very well done. The whole story seemed to just work, and it was very interesting. It was funny when it needed to be, and it was the good funny that actually made you laugh and remember why you were laughing which makes you laugh again. Director Tim Burton did an excellent job with this film . . . right up until the end (more on that later though). The music in the film isn't bad either, it is pretty darn enjoyable. As a movie as a whole though, I will have to say it is extremely enjoyable and it keeps you watching. Originally I wasn't going to watch it all the way through, I kept telling myself, "One more commercial and then I will go do my homework." Instead though I watched the entire movie, and ended up doing my homework late into the night. I hate to love how a movie can do that to me.

So what are the negatives of this film? Well the last maybe 15-25 minutes of the film were completely timburtonized. The word timburtonized means that it is completely over-the-top weird and just down right creepy and dumb. In this film the that is what you endure for the last half-an-hour about. I just found it annoying. Then the only other thing was Micheal Keaton's performance as the character Beetlejuice. It was completely over-the-top and just down right annoying.

So all-in-all a extremely good Halloween flick that you and your family or friends should enjoy. I can see why it is a classic. For the rating I will give it a must-see rating along with a popcorn flick; which includes for a family-night. It is probably Blu-ray buy worthy but you can probably pick it up on DVD too. As for the rating out of five, "Beetlejuice" is going to receive a 4/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope that you have enjoyed this review of a Halloween classic. Make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Die Another Day REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present his second review of his reviews of the James Bond franchise. Here he reviews 2002's "Die Another Day." In this Bond film, James is sent to find out about the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul who is funding the development of a international space weapon.

Well lets begin with the negatives for this movie shall we? First things first, I am going to have to say that in this Bond film there were a lot of pointless explosions that really made no sense at all. Car would hit a house . . . BOOM bursts into flames. Next thing is next that this Bond film just doesn't feel like a Bond film at all. It doesn't really have that spy feel to it. Maybe it is the fact that I don't think Pierce Brosnan is really a good choice for James Bond, or maybe the studio lost the feel of what Bond really was about.

Other than that I really enjoyed this 007 movie! Why do I really enjoy this one? Well the plot behind it is actually very interesting and it seems to make sense. Everything just clicks and it creates a good story that keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were the screenwriters for this film, and I think they did a good job with this Bond. Director Lee Tamahori was at the helm of this film and I think he did a good job with it. The action sequences are engaging and exciting. You will enjoy them for sure. The score is good and fits along with the action, and of course the James Bond theme is just as good as ever. Now for the acting well I may not like Pierce as James bond, but he is does a decent job with this film. He keeps the action cool and enjoyable. Halle Berry is awesome in this film, she could be a spy in real life and you would never even know it. Toby Stephens plays one of the bad guys in this film and let me just say his performance in this film I enjoyed the most. He really played a bad guy extremely well. He had that look in his face throughout the film that just helped his performance I thought. There were of course other actors/actresses in this film and I think everyone did a good job and helped create a enjoyable addition to the James Bond franchise.

So all-in-all a good addition to the Bond franchise that just has good action and a good point to it. For the ratings I will give it a popcorn flick for sure. Good film to kick back with some buddies and watch. It will get a Blu-ray buy worthy rating, but still don't think this bond is even worthy of a must-see rating. Just not that good yet. As for the rating out of five, "Die Another Day" will get a 3.5/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review. To see my first review of the first James Bond film CLICK HERE. I also want to mention that you can follow the "Motion Picture Buff" on Twitter HERE. So thanks again and make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Dr. No REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present the beginning of the James Bond reviews with the first Bond movie, "Dr. No." In this film James Bond must investigate the death of a colleague in Jamaica. This leads him to a mysterious island, which also leads him to the mysterious Dr. No. Dr. No has plans to end the United States space program.

So shall we begin this with some positives about this film? Well the acting I am going to say I enjoyed. Sean Connery was the perfect James Bond for the age. He had the looks, the voice, and he played the part perfectly. Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, and others were also in this film. I thought the acting from each individual was enjoyable. Not amazing, but good enough to enjoy. Moving on I am going to have to say the whole premise of James Bond is quite interesting to me. I love spy mysteries. They are good, especially when they are played out well. This one seems to be pretty good and keeps you interested at what is happening. I will say I did like the direction by Terence Young. I thought it was pretty good, and I felt like he helped create an intriguing film. Oh I did also want to say that the score and the James Bond Theme is just AMAZING. I give a lot of credit to Monty Norman for creating a great score. I loved it.

Other than that though I have a bit about this movie to complain about. I am going to start with the end of the movie. Well I feel like it was WAY to quick. I mean they had about an hour an a half build up to the end and it ended in a matter of maybe five to ten minutes. I just felt like it could have been a better battle between the good and evil in the end.  Then there is the fact that this movie at some points could be extremely slow and boring. I mean there are points in the film where nothing happens for at least 10-20 minutes. Just dialogue and some of it not even that interesting. Their is also the villian Dr. No. Maybe I missed it but do they explain what was wrong with his hands? Like what happened to them?

So all-in-all a decent start to a franchise that is still going on today. "Dr. No" came out in 1962 and "Skyfall" will be released in the US in less than two week. Their have been 23 Bond movies today, and "Dr. No" definitely set the tradition for the Bond films. I enjoyed it and if you enjoy a good spy film, so will you. As for the ratings, I will give it a DVD buy rating along with a popcorn flick rating. A must-see? I am going to have to say no. For the rating out of five, "Dr. No" will get a 3/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope you have enjoyed. Their are more Bond movie reviews coming soon so make sure you stay tuned for them. I did also want to say that make sure you "like" the "Motion Picture Buff" on Facebook HERE. Thanks again ands stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Cloud Atlas REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the anticipated movie, "Cloud Atlas." In this film it shows how the acts of an individual life can affect lives of the past, present, and future. It also shows us how everything is connected in a way throughout each century. How one soul can transform from a killer into a hero.

So hm shall I start with the negatives first? I literally had to sleep on this movie because I was not sure what to think, but I will do my best to give this film justice. First negative I really noticed was that in some scenes it was hard to tell what the actors were saying. I was listening hard but it just seemed like their words were muffled. The next thing was that this movie could be extremely confusing at times. Their were scenes in this film that didn't really have anything to do the main point of the film. So in the end the film could have probably been at least 30 minutes shorter; as it is pushing the three hour mark already. The last thing I guess I would have to mention would be that it skips from each time-place to quickly in some spots, but at times this could also be a good thing.

Now for the good parts about "Cloud Atlas." Well first of all for being a three hour movie, it really had kept me intrigued and interested the entire time. Their were times when I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen, and their were also times where I was almost crying! Plus there is this one scene with Jim Broadbent that I actually put my hands in the air cause it made me happy. I did want to mention also that at one point I couldn't look because I was scared to see what was going to happen. Of course though I looked. So this film did good with all the emotions it had. The next thing I wanted to mention was that how it kept the tone of the movie together well. Like their would be a battle scene and then it would show that tone throughout each timezone. I thought it did this well, so I guess I will give credit to the directors there. The premise of the movie too is very interesting and I did like how it wrapped it all up. The love stories in it were very heartwarming and each individual story I enjoyed. Last thing to mention really though is that all of the acting from all of the cast in this film was very good. I enjoyed everyone's multiple performances in this film. I would mention some but this review is dragging on. My favorite though I would have to say is Jim Broadbent's.

So all-in-all a three hour movie that you really have to think about and pay attention, but it is actually enjoyable. You might be confused at times, but go home and think about it because you will. As for the ratings I am going to give it a Blu-Ray buy worthy rating. It has some neat visuals in it that would be worth it, plus the cinematography I enjoyed. It's not must-see worthy though, its that kind of movie that is preference to what you enjoy, and I enjoy this type of film. For sure though I am going to give it tour-de-force. As for the rating out of five, "Cloud Atlas" is going to get a worthy 3.5/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope you did enjoy this review. So make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon because "Bond" is coming . . . "James Bond."

The Motion Picture Buff