Movie review: Skyfall is a smart, deliberate and very different James Bond

The tweaking of the James Bond franchise continues with Daniel Craig going through real-life stuff with a real background. He apparently has parents. Or had parents.
This is what happens when you put director Sam Mendes in charge of James Bond; missing from "Skyfall" is the typical Mendes rant that all people are married people are bored and that marriage sucks. Mendes does that well.

He also did Bond well, without the social commentary.

Armed with a loaded cast, a decent budget to spend on production, the latest Bond is smart, deliberate and slightly alters the traditional Bond story arc.

The story: M (Judi Dench) is being pushed out, primarily because agents are getting killed on her watch and a giant list of undercover agents is being exposed. Now the whole MI-6 program is in jeopardy of being scrapped due to budget cuts ... just like real life.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) is going through a career crisis, and appears to no longer have it.
The bad guy behind the M's problems is former MI-6 agent Silva (Javier Bardem), who is part hacker/part master bad guy who really wants to see his former boss burn.

The People: Craig really has put his own face on the Bond franchise. Nothing he does as James Bond looks anything like the Sean Connery/Roger Moore/Pierce Brosnan versions.
Dench can pretty much steal any scene she is in.
Ralph Fiennes is a solid addition as a British government guy.
Naomie Harris should have a bigger role.
Bad guy Javier Bardem looks like Christopher Walken's bad guy in View to a Kill. Bardem is good. Not great.

Action: The opening sequence includes a train, motorcycles, running, guns, etc. After this the movie really slows down into more of a conventional drama rather than your typical Bond shoot 'em, chase 'em flick. The last 40 minutes, however, are nearly constant action and include a pair of extended action sequences. 

Eye candy: Naomie Harris is introduced as Eve, whom we should expect to be around for more of the next Bond movies. Berenice Marlohe is technically this film's "Bond" girl but ... her role is not huge.
For fans of Daniel Craig, he takes his shirt off a lot.

Scenery: It was filmed on location in Turkey, China, London and Scotland. Scotland wins the prize as the best - stunning, and eery, scenery.

Holes: Nothing major; the exposed-agent-list is getting a bit old. Mission Impossible, anyone?

Is this the best Bond ever? It is arguably the most "different" Bond ever. Try not to compare it to Golden Eye, For Your Eyes Only because it's not those films. No typical corny Bond jokes about sex, and the film is mostly without humor.

Should you see it: Yes. No need to see it on IMAX. This is a very good Bond. Just know that it's two hours and 23 minutes, it's not a race but it does the franchise very well.

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Higher Texas A&M Aggie upside: Ryan Tannehill or Lauren Tannehill

The Texas A&M Aggies may have lost their 2011 regular season finale - and the last game in the history of ever - against the Texas Longhorns last year, but at least one Aggie came away with the W.

When the ESPN cameras found Lauren Tannehill, the wife of the Aggies QB Ryan Tannehill, she immediately became a Google machine hit. Wonder why?

Lauren has been a model, and reportedly wants to do the Hollywood thing.

Now that her boyfriend is the first round pick of the Miami Dolphins, and figures to be the leading contender for the starting QB position in South Beach, even more camaras should find their way to Lauren's mug.

This picture is silly; she can't play football in heels. Duh?

Her cause may also be aided HBO landing the Dolphins for their Hard Knocks series; she figures to get ample air time.

The question is - who has the better chance of "making it" in their respective cut throat industries? Hollywood is loaded with good looking blonde women who look like they can play the part.
The NFL is loaded with big, athletic looking guys who look like they can play the part.

The odds for either aren't necessarily high, but my money would be on the quarterback.

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

 

 

 

Who plays Josh Hamilton in the movie about his life?

Exactly who Ben Affleck's little brother casts to play the part of Josh Hamilton is a mystery, but Casey Affleck is reportedly going to make a movie about the life of the Texas Rangers outfielder.

According to this report on Deadline.com, this is happening.

Hamilton signed off and entrusted his "screen" rights to producer Basil Iwanyk and Thunder Road Pictures. Both he and his wife Katie will serve as co-producers.

The movie is slated to be written by Casey Affleck, who was in the movie "Gone Baby Gone", "American Pie 2", and directed the wretched documentary "I'm Still Here" about Joaquin Phoenix's deliberate freak out.

The question is not whether Hamilton's life story is worthy of a movie but whether it can be executed as solid, feature-length film. Sports movies are notoriously difficult to make well, one of the primary reasons being because the actors themselves aren't athletic enough to pull off the "action" scenes.

Finding the right actor to play Hamilton may be the hardest part. Not many men on this earth are put together like Josh Hamilton.

* Adam Sandler would be funny, primarily because this would mean the movie is going to be a spoof of Josh's life. That would make for better theater.
* Someone suggested Mark Wahlberg, but he stands, like, 5-6.
* Channing Tatum. Dude is in seriously good shape.
* Mac Engel. Physically, the similarities are many. The problem is going to be the hair; I have a better 'do.
* Matt Damon. Again with the height thing.

Then there will be the matter of the Hollywood happy ending; the way things are going these days that will be Hamilton at a press conference with his agent and a player union rep as he signs to a 10-year, $300 million contract with Magic Johnson's L.A. Dodgers.

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Adam Sandler's haircut in his new movie is based on the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator

Adam Sandler's new movie That's My Boy co-starring fellow SNLer Andy Samberg opens in theaters on Friday. In the movie New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan has a small part as - not kidding - Jim Nance. 

Ryan and Sandler participated in a conference call with a small group of sports writers on Wednesday afternoon. Ryan said this is a guy's movie that guys will like. Translation - I'm expecting raunch.

"You're brother is going to like (the movie), I guarantee it," Sandler said of Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

"There is no doubt. Now he is going to be jealous beyond belief," Rex said. "Not that I would ever rub it in his face. What's next for me? I did a movie. What am I going to do now - write a novel? Singing, I don't know. I don't want to make that guarantee."

Sandler said of Rob Ryan, "You're brother, you can tell him this, some of my hairdo is modeled after his."

I don't really see it, but when Rob Ryan's hair is a bit shorter ... maybe. Who cares? Go with it.

On the call both Ryan and Sandler practically tripped over each other's compliments. 

Rex Ryan: Adam would improvise. I'd be practicing a line 100 times, and you're suppoesed to say this. It was a different kind of challenge, but Adam made it really easy.

Adam Sandler: Coach, for the record, I wasn't improvising. I didn't know my lines.

Apparently in the film Ryan idolizes Patriots head coach Bill Belichik. To "talk about" Belichik in the film Ryan asked for permission, which given the good-natured humor was easily granted.

"Belichik told my brother, 'I can't believe has has a bobblehead on his desk (in the movie)," Rex Ryan said.

That's My Boy is not necessarily another sports movie for Sandler like Happy Gilmore or The Longest Yard, but it does allow Sandler to include sports personalities.

"That's what I wanted to be was some sort of athlete. And my father reminded me I ran the 40 in about a 7.7, so it wasn't going to happen," he said. "It was just a fantasy of mine to get to pretend I'm a great athlete. That's why I make sports movies and try to be good in them."

Also of note, Vanilla Ice has a small role in this film. Vanilla Ice. Still around.

(Quick story - when a friend of mine was graduating from Cornell he and his frat brothers were throwing a senior party. They hired Vanilla Ice to play. He apparently charged about $5,000, but an additional $2,000, or so, for his old stuff. Ice Ice Baby wasn't a seperate package.)

Apparently during the filming of this movie, he would break out into song and dance. But no Ice Ice Baby.

"A thousand percent (he sang and danced)," Sandler said. "He never sang his own tunes, but he sang a lot of Poision. He did it out of left field. We were shooting on the streets of Boston and he would be in a crowd singing to them. The guy is definitely a people person."

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Big-time Hollywood movie about Jackie Robinson currently being filmed at Engel Stadium

Harrison Ford is returning to movies, and I am happy to report he will not be donning a fedora, leather jacket and whip as Octogenarian Jones and The Search For Even More Money.

Ford will be playing famed Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey in the new Warner Bros. movie, "42" about the life of Jackie Robinson. The movie is slated for an April, 2013 release around the time as the 66th anniversary of Robinson's first game as a Dodger.

Chadwick Boseman will play Jackie Robinson.

Here is the great part: The movie is currently being filmed at Engel Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennnessee. That stadium, which for years served as the home of the minor league Chattanooga Lookouts, will double as Ebbets Field in the film.

Do you know how hard it is to find anything with "Engel" spelled properly? People always screw it up with an "Ingle", "Engle" or "Angel". 

Get it right, people. It's Engel. Accept no substitutes ... unless they are better.

 

 

 

 

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel 

Popcornflix VP & entertainment exec says quality no longer is paramount in movies but relevance

If you are so inclined, give this website a shot: PopcornFlix.com. It's a free movie site with with thousands of titles available for streaming.

This is a relatively new site, and now offers free Apps for your iPhone, other Mac products, and the Droid is coming.

Don't expect Netflix, but it is free. This site isn't loaded with familiar titles; it says it's most popular releases are "Easy", "Dead Tone", "24th Day" and "Cyborg 3: The Recycler", etc. Again, let me remind this is a free site.

One of the founders of Popcornflix, Gary Delfiner, is what he calls himself a "recovering movie producer". Delfiner is the senior VP for Screen Media Ventures, which runs Popcornflix.  He was on the groundfloor of Aaron Spelling's distribution on video if Beverly Hills 90210 and Twin Peaks.

He recently made a stop by The Big Mac Blog to talk about the future of home entertainment.

The Big Mac Blog: In terms of the price of going to see a movie, or paying for it for home viewing, are we apt to see a spike? 
Gary Defliner: My platform is free, and that's a good price we think. There is no barrier to watch. It's all ad revenue. The other services like iTunes or Netflix, have great models. The ability for one price and all you can eat is a service people want.
Where we are going is more specialized services. You may see an all opera service, or an all foreign films service. But in terms of price point, this is right where it's going to be. In some cases it's going to go up, and in some cases down but it's going to be incremental.

The Big Mac Blog: Can you see a day when a movie theatre is obsolete?
Gary Delfiner: No, but I see a can when it's changed even more. You are going to pay for more of a first class seat like you would get on an airlines. You are going to see fewer and fewer multi plexes, but the theater experience will always be around. But you are going to see more digital, and more films delivered by satellite.

The Big Mac Blog: Then what should we expect from Hollywood in the next 10 years?
Gary Delfiner: More fragmentation. You are already seeing it in that there is a fairly big gap between The Transformers and The Avengers and everything else. After day 1 of Avengers, the studio announced two and three.
The other thing is I don't use good or bad to describe a movie. I say relevant, not good, not bad. Relevant. Good or bad no longer have any value from my point of view as a person in a company that is on the cutting edge of this business. There is so much content, and so few barriers for entry, that what you need is relevant content. Are you producing something that a big audience wants to see that supports the business model?

The Big Mac Blog: Considering that, what movie made 20 years ago would never be made today?
Gary Delfiner: Something with a big star, like Julia Roberts, "Eat, Pray, Love". That would never find an audience today.

The Big Mac Blog: That was just a couple of years ago.
Gary Delfiner: Right, and it didn't have an audience then. The expensive, $50 million drama wouldn't be made today. Big action? You bet your life. An explotation movie? Bet your life. The technology is driving the business model.

The Big Mac Blog: In terms of your site, Hulu, Netflix and others, what can they do that they aren't already?
Gary Delfiner: Sites like Hulu and Netflix are doing this now and creating their own content. Why do I keep HBO? Because I like Game of Thrones. I'm willing to pay the freight on HBO because that (hour) is worth it to me. People are going to pay for what they want to watch.

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

It is here. And it is good. The latest Dark Knight Rises trailer

WHY ISN'T IT JULY 20th???!!!!!

From the looks of this latest Batman trailer ... Gotham is in big trouble, Bruce Wayne can't decide what to do, Catwoman is considerably more menacing than Halle Berry, and Michael Caine will never, ever die.

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com 
Facebook Mac Engel

The new James Bond girl for the new James Bond movie

Daniel Craig is returning for the latest installment of the James Bond series in something called Skyfall, which is currently filming. Sign me up. Craig is the best Bond. Ever. His Bond flicks have absolutely rocked.

We have a new Bond girl, who is a former model turned actress who likely won't act very much after this film, but ... who cares?

Ms. Tonia Sotiropoulou of Greece is the latest to woo Double Ohhhh Seven.

 

@MacEngelProf
#BMB
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

YES! Ron Burgundy confirms Anchorman 2 is a go

Never thought this would happen because Will Ferrell had repeatedly said the prospects looked bad, but the legend is back.

Anchorman 2 is going to happen.

Ron Burgundy made an appearance on Conan last night to make the announcement. 

He said, "As of of 0900 mountain time, Paramount Pictures and myself, Ronald Joseph Aaron Burgundy, have come to terms on a sequel to Anchorman. It is official. There will be a sequel to Anchorman. There will be a sequel."

 

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Good news for fans of The Wire & Omar: Michael K. Williams to play Russell White

Had to share this because it involves one of my favorite interview subjects:

Actor Michael K. Williams, who played the gay killing machine Omar on "The Wire" and is Chalky White on "Boardwalk Empire", has been cast to play the troubled rapper Russell Jones, a.k.a Ol' Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan. This story is from Entertainment Weekly.

This is a good chance to re-print this chat that I had with Williams a while back:

The Big Mac Blog: How has your career changed since you landed the role on The Wire, and left the show?
Michael K. Williams: The first and foremost thing I’ve been concerned with since leaving The Wire is to consistently work. I’ve been blssed with that so far. As far as the versatility of the roles I have no complaints. I’ve been given opportunities to stretch.

The Big Mac Blog: Your bio sounds as if you struggled like a lot of actors – did you ever have a “screw it” moment and try something else?
Michael K. Williams: Yeah I did. It was 1998 and after having had a role in a movie Nic Cage and working with Marty Scorsese I had a guest role on the Sopranos and Law and Order, and then things went dead fish in the water. That was in 2000 and I decided to leave the business. I thought, 'That's it - those were my 15 minutes.' 
I was working with my mother in Brooklyn at her daycare center. I did that for two years. Then one day I was sitting with my friends watching an episode of the Sopranos and I had this out-of-body experience. I was like, 'I'm here, but I should be over there.' That was November of 2001, and by March I was back.

The Big Mac Blog: When you were offered the role as Chalky White in Boardwalk Empire, were you relieved that you landed a key part that wasn’t as a killer?
Michael K. Williams: When I booked the role of Chalky there was very little I knew about it. I was in Cape Town working on a project. I sent in my audition tape and the audition piece was a mock script. I had no idea who the dude was. It wasn’t until after I booked it. I was briefed and given a bunch of information to read. That’s when I found out who he was. I found out he was a lot different from Omar.
I was happy to have a job, but there were some cherries on the cake, too. It was the fact it was HBO, and it was Martin Scorsese. And it was going to be shot in Brooklyn, which is home. 
As far as it not being another Omar type, there will never be another Omar. Never.

The Big Mac Blog: The Wire was obviously a legitimizing series, but to land a role on a series that is produced by Martin Scorsese is that an “arrived” moment for you?
Michael K. Williams: Working with Marty is a landmark in my career. When I walked on the set of Boardwalk the most shocking thing for me is that he remembered me from all those years back in 1998, when I did "Bringing Out the Dead". He was the same person. He didn’t treat me like an extra or anything. This is Hollywood royalty. He gave me my direction and made a joke about working with me in 1998. I was like, 'This is a real dude', and made me feel good. 

The Big Mac Blog: As a black actor on The Wire, did ever have to negotiate any internal feelings about being on a show that may have re-inforced some negative stereotypes after the African-American community?
Michael K. Williams: First of all, I don’t dabble in African-American Hollywood. It’s all Hollwyood. The whole Hollwyood black thing is a myth. You have to make it. You can't section it off. In the big picture no one compartamentalizes it. I'll play anything. If it's well written, I can play any role. As far as perputuating any negative stereotypes, the only time I struggled with that was the confrontation Omar had with Stringer Bell and Brother Mouzone. I struggled with the black on black violence of that.

My job is to create emotion, and conversation, and get people stimulated in whatever was the script calls for. If you don't like what you are watching on The Wire, then fix it. It's not like it's fiction. Go talk about it. Go get your kid and mentor them so they don't become another Omar. These stories are not fiction. They came from the Baltimore police files. 

The Big Mac Blog: Omar is one of the most, if not the most, important bad guy character in the last 20 years (he cuts me off).
Michael K. Williams: Go with the most important ... (laughing)

The Big Mac Blog: Right - what were your expectations of him after landing that role and how did he become such a crucial part to this show?
Michael K. Williams: It’s a combination of things. First and foremost the writing. ... The main thing that resonated with Omar was the underdog concept. He was the guy you wanted to root for and make it because he wasn't fixed. He didn't pretend and he didn't hide. There was no gossip about him; you could set your clock by what he would do and what he would say. He lived in a way most people don't. He had come to grips with who he was and made no apologies; whether you agree or disagree, you have to respect that. I didn't agree with everything that he did, but I got it because he stands up for what he believes in. No excuses. Heart on his sleeve. He was totally out there.

The Big Mac Blog: As an actor, is it great to have a role like Omar, or is tough to shed that persona?Michael K. Williams: I don't know if I would want another role like Omar. I try to stay removed from the whole larger than life persona this business can put you in. It's like what Thriller did to Michael Jackson; can you do another Thriller? Who cares? He did it. You grow up and you evolve. I want to pay my bills, feed my family, and take a vacation with my mom every now and then. That is that life I choose. My goal is to put out good work, do the best that I can and stay consistent. I want to enjoy what I do. It's like Marty Scorsese - the man still loves what he does. 

The Big Mac Blog: Now, I have read you are a sports fan is that true?
Michael K. Williams: Lies. Lies. Lies. All lies. I am the most sports illeterate black person from the projects you will ever meet. I can race, and play a little handball. I love music I’ve always been musically driven. I play the trumpet. Or I did. I watch TV … movies. I can easily put on music and fill my day. I read to music.

The Big Mac Blog: Michael, this has truly been my pleasure and I wish you all the success ...
Michael K. Williams: Any time. Be sure to mention to your readers they can follow me on Twitter 
@BKBMG. Stands for Brooklyn Boy Makes Good. 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel