"Belfast"

A fine piece of story telling - the pathos and pain of Belfast, the poverty, the conflicts, the power struggles and violence - Protestants and Catholics - background to the life of a young boy - a child full of hope and love, surrounded by a kindly neighborhood, and a family, caught up in its own struggles. 

Father, Grandfather, the Boy

The young boy is a cheerful bundle of energy; but sensitive to the times, and to the family undercurrents.

Fascinating use of Van Morrison music and Country Western.

Fine acting, great script - some really humorous lines, but it's not comedy.

I was the only one in the auditorium, so I missed what might have been audience-reaction.

The dedication at the end says it all - to those who left, to those who stayed, and all those who were lost.

The showing I attended had captions; helpful for the music lyrics, and some of the Irish brogue. But if captions aren't your thing, the sound quality is such that everything was clear. I closed my eyes a time or two to listen rather than "watch."

Yes, this a movie to see.

Quantum of Solace

Wow, I loved it.

From the get-go, adrenalin-pumping scenes ... all the car and boat chases one can hope for, in exotic cities around the world - from Haiti to Bolivia to Italy and Russia ... wonderfully Bond.

The most amazing thing: the two Daniel Craig Bond films have completely reinvented Bond without destroying the character - there is a clear continuity between Craig and the other Bond films, but what we have in the series now is Bond for the 21st Century.

Tougher, grittier ... no gadgets, only one bedroom romp - what's Bond without it? - but not the stylized sexuality of early Bond. The series is clearly moving away from the "Bond Girl" pattern.

Craig's co-star, Olga Kurylenko (Camillie), is a women intent on revenge, as is Bond. The two stories intertwine nicely as the film unfolds. Though beautiful, Bond and the story resist the obvious potential for a love interest. Bond's lost his true love, and for now, Camillie is his partner in a mutual-interest partnership to undo the bad guys.

Shaken or stirred? You'll have to see the film to see where this one goes.

Some of the best music I've heard in a long time.

Craig is Craig - cold and dangerous ... yet touched by the love of a woman, Vesper Lynd, now dead. Be sure to see Casino Royale first, or see it again, to catch the flow - Quantum of Solace picks right up where Casino Royale ended.

Judi Dench as M is incredible - tough, focused, kind - a great role for her.

The bad guys are bad in a 21st century fashion - oil and water and politics in a volatile mix of desperate schemes. Though kept to a minimum, there were some trenchant observations about American CIA tactics in light of the Bush years.

For anyone in or around LA, saw this at the ArcLight in the Dome.

Worth seeing?

For sure, if you're a Bond fan, and if you're just looking for some adrenalin flow and beautiful scenery, you'll love it as well.

And 2010? Another? Hope so ... I think so ... Craig and MGM have found the right formula.

The New York Times has a thoughtful review, though I'd take issue with a few of its comments - apparently the reviewer wanted a few more computer gadgets, but I'm glad to see gadgets disappear. The new Bond genre is not about techno-wizardry, but about Bond's world of geo-political soundrels still to be defeated, not by computer geeks but Bond's steel-hard determination.

P.S. saw the first trailer for Star Trek (2009) - thrilled the audience, me, too.