It’s James Bond’s 50th anniversary and the 23rd Bond film’s reviews are mixed. ‘Skyfall’ is Daniel Craig’s third Bond movie, rising from the ashes of the disaster movie ‘Quantum of Solace.’ ‘Skyfall’ depicts Bond as more of a vulnerable character rather than the killing machine other directors have portrayed him as. However, the plot also has very clear flaws which make this review mixed, since the actors were so phenomenal.

For many, the best part of ‘Skyfall’ was within the first fifteen minutes because they were  fast paced and action packed. The plot then slowly starts to deteriorate. Although it is obvious the director tried to take a new approach by portraying Bond as somber and melancholic, the audience could not help comparing him to other Bonds, which could be one reason this movie has been getting such mixed reviews. Since this is part of a world-famous series, some aspects must be maintained and held to certain standards. Needless to say the characterization of the main character should be one such standard.

‘Skyfall’ did adhere to several Bond expectations, like the ever-present M, extreme action, the Bond girl, and the menacing villain being one step ahead of Bond.  Judy Dench continued to play the role of M to perfection and the action was adequate. The girl played by Naomie Harris was disappointing. Luckily the villain played by Javier Bardem more than made up for Harris’ inadequacy. Bardem was an absolutely terrifying archenemy that seemed to lurk at every corner.

‘Skyfall’ revolved around Bond’s mission to make sure a computer drive with a list of  British agents did not end up in the wrong hands. Typically, Bond must chase and fight the bad guys at every turn, and gets accidentally shot  by another agent. Believed to be dead, Bond does not show his face for months, and instead investigates who is behind the catastrophic list. He discovers it is a man from M’s past who is out for revenge against her and anyone associated with her.

The main problem with this movie is the unbelievable plot. Bond gets shot, falls over one-hundred feet, and ends up at the bottom of a fifty-foot water fall. These statistics alone are not feasible, and there is no effort to explain how Bond survived. One of these instances would have called for a plausible explanation, but this trifecta is left unanswered. Although Bardem played the villain spectacularly, his plan and reasoning seemed to be off. He is super powerful and all-knowing, yet his plans involve several hoops to jump through when he could have taken more of a direct route to get to Bond and M. Even though the cinematography, action, and actors were phenomenal, the plot holes are too large to ignore in this movie.

Rating: 3/5

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Los Angeles, U.S.A. — All the Bonds. All the girls. All the action. All in high-definition. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment mark James Bond’s monumental golden anniversary with the release of “Bond 50,” the complete Bond experience showcasing all twenty-two classic films on Blu-ray together for the first time ever, neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set. The collection will be available beginning September 24 in the United Kingdom and September 25 in North America with additional international markets to follow that week. “Bond 50” marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray and comes with a dossier of more than 122 hours of bonus features on twenty-three discs. Each disc contains a film and bonus content for that film except for the final disc.

The final disc of the “Bond 50” contains only bonus material such as “The World of Bond,” “Being Bond,” and the “Skyfall” video blogs.

Set for release just prior to the theatrical premiere of “Skyfall” in November 2012, “Bond 50” will offer a look at the latest Bond film through videoblogs shot with the cast and crew. The “Bond 50” collection also provides two all-new pieces that spotlight the history of 007. “The World of Bond” takes a look at the style and attitude that is signature to Bond; pulling together the cars, the women, the villains and the music that have been a staple of these films for the past 50 years. “Being Bond” profiles the six distinguished actors that have had the honor of portraying 007.

Additional bonus content in the “Bond 50” collection includes cast and crew commentaries, the behind-the-scenes making of each film, in-depth interviews with every actor that played Bond, a closer look at the exotic locations as shot on-the-set, the women of Bond, the villains of Bond, Bond’s cars and gadgets, music videos and much, much more.

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IMAX Corporation, Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment  announced that the long-awaited next chapter in the famed James Bond franchise, SKYFALL, will be released in IMAX theatres simultaneously with the film’s international release on Oct. 26, and its domestic release on Nov. 9, 2012. This is the first IMAX installment of the iconic Bond film franchise.

In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.  As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

SKYFALL marks the return of Daniel Craig as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007, as well as Judi Denchreprising her role as M. The film also stars franchise newcomers Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harris. The film is directed by Sam Mendes from a screenplay written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are producers.

“SKYFALL will be the cool, must-see event release of the fall, and releasing the film in IMAX only reinforces that,” said Rory Bruer, President, Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing and Distribution.

“It is fitting that with SKYFALL marking the 50th Anniversary of the James Bond franchise, we celebrate in epic style and what could be more larger-than-life than IMAX joining the festivities,” said Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officers of MGM.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of this legendary franchise, whose iconic characters and electrifying action will only be amplified in the IMAX format,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “We are excited to rejoin forces with our friends at Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM and so pleased to work with Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, and Sam Mendes to bring their vision to IMAX and Bond fans around the world.”

The IMAX release of SKYFALL will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

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The 26-year-old Rooney Mara is currently taking Hollywood by storm with her starring role as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.

Directed by David Fincher, with whom Mara previously worked on 2010’s “The Social Network”, ‘Dragon Tattoo’ is the English-language adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Swedish-language novel of the same name. It centres around Mara’s character, Lisbeth Salander, and Daniel Craig’s character, Mikael Blomkvist, and has already been nominated for Best Picture by the Producers Guild of America.

However, the true success story in this film lies with Rooney Mara, who has so far received Golden Globe and National Board of Review nominations for her performance; and is already experiencing early Oscar buzz. This film is by no means Mara’s introduction into the entertainment industry – she has made numerous television guest appearances in recent years, ranging from an assault victim “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” to a patient in two episodes of “ER”.

Yet with her latest film, Rooney Mara has entered into a new level of celebrity. Not only has she received numerous accolades and been cast alongside Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchette in the upcoming drama “Lawless;” but she has also experienced her first dose of media backlash.

In a recent interview with Allure, Mara referred to her “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” appearance as:

“[S]o awful. So stupid. People are obsessed with that show. I don’t get it. It’s ridiculous … they sodomized [my character]. I mean, I’ve been sodomized since the beginning of my career. I should have known then it would come full circle.”

Mara was later forced to release a statement clarifying her words, explaining to The Huffington Post that:

“That was my first job. It couldn’t have been more exciting for me. It’s an experience I hold very dear to my heart. People take things out of context, and that’s just not the case. I was more nervous doing that job than I was doing this job … I know that ‘Law & Order’ makes their episodes out of real things that are happening in the city, so to me, by “ridiculous” I meant that humanity is ridiculous. People are awful to one another; and to me, I find it ridiculous.”

Rooney Mara is by no means the first young actress to insist that she was misquoted in an interview, but it does show that her ‘celebrity’ status has reached the point where the public are paying attention to what she does, says, wears and chooses as her next project.

Regarding her next project, aside from the completion of “Lawless,” Mara does not have anything officially greenlit into production; however, she is contracted to reprise her role as Lisbeth Salander in the potential second and third films in Sony’s series.

What remains to be seen for the time being is how Rooney Mara fares in awards season. The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards are set to be announced on January 24th, and plenty of eyes are sure to be on Mara as she competes to make it into the Academy’s final shortlist for Best Actress. For Rooney Mara, 2012 could soon become the year for ‘The Girl with the Infinite Opportunities’.

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Daniel Craig is reportedly set to become the longest-running actor to play James Bond following The People’s report that the producers have offered him “a multi-million pound deal” to carry on with the series for five more films.

The deal in question would cement Craig’s status as the 007 icon for a further five appearances following the completion of this summer’s “Skyfall,” – Craig’s third in the series – bringing his tally to a total of eight films since his debut in 2006’s “Casino Royale”.

News of this potential deal was first indicated by producer Michael G. Wilson, who was quoted by The People as saying:

“Daniel’s been a terrific Bond, a superb actor and a terrific man. The fans love him and I don’t think there’s a better actor to play the part. It’s certainly something we’ll be discussing with him once we finish shooting Skyfall.

Filming has gone very well so far and I’d love Daniel to surpass Roger’s record and do eight pictures. Daniel’s been an absolute pleasure to be around because he takes the role so seriously.

There’s really no one more passionate about making these films work than him – he’s a film maker’s dream.”

While there is certainly nothing official in these words or anything to indicate Craig’s own personal feelings about continuing on with the spy series, it is important to consider the series’ recent box office performance as well as Craig’s attempts to craft a successful film career away from the franchise.

First appearing in 2006’s “Casino Royale”, the film, which saw Craig take over the role from four-time portrayer Pierce Brosnan, opened to critical acclaim and more than tripled its budget at the worldwide box office, bringing in a final gross of over $594 million by the end of its theatrical run in March 2007. Comparatively, this improved upon the gross of Brosnan’s final appearance in 2002’s “Die Another Day” by more than $160 million and placed “Casino Royale” as the number one grossing film (unadjusted for inflation) in the entire series.

The 2008 follow-up, “Quantum of Solace”, brought in a similar final worldwide haul of over $586 million; however, its critical reception was not quite as positive. Still, the commercial success of the film cemented Craig’s status as James Bond; a status which he has yet to successfully broaden into other cinematic offerings. With producers such as Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg, 2010’s “Cowboys & Aliens” was tipped by some to be one of the year’s biggest blockbusters, however it returned a lackluster $174 million on a budget of $163 million. Similarly, his recent starring turn in David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” has gotten off to a slow start at the box office, with its worldwide gross still lagging behind its production budget in its third week of release.

Taking all of this into account, it seems unlikely that Craig is in any hurry to step away from the role and the franchise that helped turned him into a global household name. Whether or not he does indeed star in 8 Bond films is questionable, especially given the delay in the production of this year’s “Skyfall.” Also worth taking into consideration is Craig’s age. He is set to turn 44 next month, rumours surrounding Brosnan’s future status as the star of the series began to circulate before he reached 50.

So if Wilson and company would indeed like to see Craig break Roger Moore’s record of seven appearances, they had best put 007 back on duty as soon as possible.

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In 2009, production partners Daniel Bobker and Ehren Kruger brought Morgan Creek CEO James G. Robinson and vice president David Robinson the script for Dream House.

Bobker and Kruger, who had previously collaborated on the supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key and the action-adventure The Brothers Grimm, were intrigued by the themes that screenwriter David Loucka explored in his psychological thriller and were convinced that Morgan Creek was the right production partner to develop and finance the project.

Loucka wove the fascinating tale of Will Atenton, an accomplished publisher who leaves a hectic job in New York City to spend time with his wife and two young girls in their New England home. Just as he settles in to begin his new career as a writer, Will’s family is plagued by a series of disturbing occurrences in their house. Now, he is forced to confront the fact that nothing is as it seems.

James G. Robinson explains his decision to develop and produce the material: “With so many thrillers, it becomes painfully obvious early on what the twist is, and the director spends the majority of the time trying to cover his or her tracks. What set Dream House apart is that it explores the mystery as it happens from one person’s perspective.

As Will tries to figure out who killed the family—or if anyone actually did— there is self-doubt and self-accusation. We loved that you can project your own thoughts onto the material. As it unfolds, the audience will question their own assumptions about what is happening.”

To bring life to the multilayered story, the producers recruited Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan. The Irish filmmaker, known for an impressive body of work that spans collaborations with Daniel Day-Lewis — My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father and The Boxer — to the deeply personal In America and war drama Brothers, never expected that his next film would be a psychological thriller.

Still, he was drawn to the taut material and was impressed by the author’s ability to deftly traverse genres and to keep the reader guessing. Sheridan acknowledges that he relished the opportunity of helming Dream House. He says: “I read the script, and I quite liked the compelling idea of a guy living in two realities at the same time.”

The director was keen to shepherd this “psychological thriller where you don’t know where you are at any point. You don’t know what’s real or who did the murder. In fact, you don’t know if there was a murder at all.”

The filmmaker appreciated that Loucka’s story allowed the reader to intimately enter Will’s mind and to explore our deepest fears of losing our family. He notes, “I think a lot of the time people react to tragedy by inventing fantasy worlds. I suppose, at its basis, drama is a kind of belief system invented by human beings to counter the overwhelming reality of death.”

When considering what would become his approach to the material, Sheridan explains: “You’re trying to capture emotions. You’re trying to capture the invisible: a world that you don’t quite see, but rather feel. I wasn’t that interested in just doing a visual change. I wanted to get an emotional change that’s at the core of Will — a change that comes from the inside out, rather than the outside in.”

A haunting Plot

Successful publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quit a high-power job in Manhattan to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children.

And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates, he’s not sure if he’s starting to see ghosts or if the tragic story is just hitting too close to home. His only clues come from Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts), a mysterious neighbor who knew those who were lost.

And as Will and Ann piece together the haunting puzzle, they must find out who murdered the family in Will’s dream house before he returns to kill again.

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February’s Super Bowl featured the first sneak-peak into director Jon Favreau’s upcoming fantasy embarkment Cowboys and Aliens – an eclectic mix of conventional western and uhm… extra terrestrials?

Admittedly, when I first read that Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig were strapping on their hats and boots to fight an alien invasion on horseback – even I shook my head in disbelief. Had Hollywood really hit rock-bottom of ideas this time? Were there no remakes left to soak their creative dry-spell?

Of course, that was before I learned that ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ was in fact a successful graphic novel from Platinum Studios, controllers of the largest independent license library of comic book characters, created by the Studio’s founder Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and published in 2006. The unconventional genre-clash gained so much attention that Universal Studios and DreamWorks soon got their hands on it and next month, movie audiences will get to explore the result. It is considered the dark horse this season – “the true wild card among the summer 2011 popcorn films – a gritty cowboy tale that just happens to be interrupted by an alien invasion flick,” writes herocomplex.latimes.com.

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau has purposely put together, along with producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer and executive producer Steven Spielberg (there he is again!), this hybrid cowboy tale in such way to avoid the obvious entrapment of comedy or camp – all considering the ‘on-the-nose’ title. According to herocomplex.latimes.com, much effort was put into the screenplay so to make the story a western first, a sci-fi second. Speaking about the universe of the movie; “The audience knows what [the aliens] are after years of Spielberg movies but the guys on the horses in the movie have no words for what they’re seeing,” explains Roberto Orci, one of the writers and producers.

The cross-franchise action has Daniel Craig starring as the stranger who stumbles into the town of Absolution with no memory of his past but with a mysterious shackle on his wrist.  Little does he know that the city is held in an iron fist by Harrison Ford’s Colonel Dolarhyde who’s cruel reign leaves no room for strangers. However, the tale of dust and true grit is abruptly interrupted when scarcely comprehensible objects attack the desolate city from the sky and abduct the stunned and helpless. Soon the hard-eyed stranger is the small town’s only hope for salvation.

Also starring is Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano and the charismatic Sam Rockwell. But it’s Ford’s turn as Absolution’s menacing Colonel which is drawing most attention in the cast, and according to an interview with the icon himself: “Ford seemed as surprised as anyone by the fact that he hadn’t starred in a cowboy movie since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.”

“For years, I’ve thought the western – as a genre – needed this guy,” said Ron Howard. “Harrison has this persona that fits the western. In a way he was a cowboy in ‘[American] Grafitti’ and ‘Star Wars’ and when you see him on screen in this setting it just feels right.”

With expectations heightening each week for phenomenal visual effects and competent acting, the ultimate clash of universes is bound to keep cine-fanatics on their toes. And think about it – is the idea that far-fetched after all? Plenty of time to make up your mind before July 29.

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Stieg Larsson’s internationally acclaimed novel “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” will, once again, hit the big screen worldwide this winter in a most-anticipated re-make of the enigmatic story – this time by the hand of David Fincher. The green band trailer was released by Sony last week but shortly before, fans and curious spectators were buzzing with excitement over a “leaked”/camera-captured red band trailer – which was subsequently pulled off of youtube. One day later, the US green band version appeared online but the word had already spread – a pitch-perfect example of viral marketing.

Blogger Todd Brown commented on the site twitchfilm.com that “Sony’s handling of the trailer release feels to me like on of the great recent moves in viral marketing – think about it, who announces that they’re putting a red band trailer in theaters but not releasing it then sits quietly for days while a suspiciously high quality version of that same trailer racks up massive traffic and chatter online? It’s a classic case of creating desire by ‘denying’ access.”

Fincher’s version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is expected to turn out notably different from Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 take on the popular book. The Golden Globe-winning director has re-cast Rooney Mara (fresh off The Social Network) as the dark and hard-hitting Lisbeth Salander while Daniel Craig stars as Michael Blomkvist, the journalist who gets tangled up in the web of terror behind a young girl’s disappearance.

The announcement of the American remake made quite a stir initially when it was revealed that the Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian, who was to pen the American version, had crafted a new ending to the revered work. According to slashfilm.com, “fans of Larsson’s work have been very vocal with their disappointment” and according to an article by Lynn Hirschberg in W Magazine, Fincher’s version does admittedly depart rather dramatically from the book.

“Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending—the resolution of the drama—has been completely changed. This may be sacrilege to some, but Zaillian has improved on Larsson—the script’s ending is more interesting.”

So – should Larsson fans forego the remake?

If you were one of the few who managed to catch a glimpse of the red band trailer – heck, if you’ve had the chance to peek at the official trailer – it does actually look good. Very good.

Draped over a rough and stormy Karen O-cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, the preview of Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo is a dazzling glimpse into the darkness that looms in Larsson’s universe. The final result will most likely prove darker than what the reserved and delicate Scandinavian storytelling tradition is used to, but like last year’s Let Me In (not to mention a wide array of Spanish, Japanese and Korean horror and thriller films), American cinema has a way of taking something foreign and translating it into Hollywood. For better or for worse.

Some may continue to curse the day Fincher laid eyes on Larsson’s work but if you read the book and saw the 2009 adaptation, another take may not be such a bad idea. The character of Lisbeth Salander is becoming an iconic figure of anti-hero(ine)ism – and a refreshingly grim one I might add. The more interpretations we get of her troubled fictional existence, the deeper we may venture into her mind. Fans of the books will have to admit that the first movie was a good, but superficial, interpretation of the original story’s complexity and suspense. A remake may add a new layer to its visualization.

With a promising trailer out, Dragon Tattoo fans should let go of their reservation and at least give the upcoming adaptation a chance – it won’t be the book and it won’t be the 2009 movie; The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by David Fincher is going to leave a whole new set of marks this December.

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