Casino Royale (2006) - This 007 is Number 001

Just came from the new James Bond movie...the twentieth...twenty-first...it doesn't really matter, because Casino Royale is a reboot of the Bond franchise so it's #1.

No longer is Bond a superhero...thankfully he's a real person, he's flawed, he can be hurt (and he is), he's without his Inspector Gadget type...gadgets. He has gadgets...not to worry, but it's possible that they could actually exist. Consider that if your hero is perfect and indestructable, there's never any worry...no real danger and that makes for a boring story.

This was a refreshing change for Bond. And Daniel Craig...who everyone complained about as the new 007, in my opinion, is the best Bond ever. EVER. Yeah, yeah...I know all of you Sean Connery fans will disagree, and some of you have never even see Sean Connery as Bond, but you'll swear he's the best because that's what everyone tells you. That's what you're parents told you who first saw James Bond in the 60s and 70s...but that was then and this is 2006. Sean Connery hasn't made a good movie since he was James Bond, so let it go. Seriously. Take a breath. Let it go.

From the really cool graphic intense title sequence to the expertly choreographed opening chase scene high above the ground...you'll be on the edge of your seat for this one. There's just enough action vs. drama...a little too much romance at one point...but the all important game at the Casino Royale, which could have been dull, is paced just right.

I didn't think I would like it...I've never been able to sit through an entire James Bond movie...they always lose my interest and I walk away. Not this time, and at 2 hours and 30 minutes, it could have easily happened.

HEROES Beats LOST as the Best New Show on TV

"Save the Cheerleader...Save the World"...it may sound like a cheesy catchphrase to some of you, and it probably is, but don't let that put you off of watching Heroes on NBC. I know...I swore I would never watch another NBC show again after they cancelled Surface prematurely without warning, but Heroes is THE best show on TV right now.

If you like LOST, but think they leave a lot of questions unanswered...then Heroes is the show for you. Heroes is everything that LOST wants to be, but at the end of an episode, you have answers. Don't get me wrong...I still really like LOST, but Heroes is better.

Heroes is the story of ordinary people that discover that they have extraordinary powers. There's also an ultimate evil bringing them all together to stop the ultimate disaster. A guy who paints the future, a woman whose mirror image is more than just her reflection, a young Japanese man that can bend time and space, a cop that hears others thoughts, an indestructable cheerleader, and a guy who takes on the powers of others. There are a lot of characters to remember; that seems to be the way of the new shows, but the characters of Heroes are worth getting to know.

I Saw Saw...Did You See Saw?

Last night, I went to go see the third movie in the Saw franchise...one of the best horror movie franchises EVER if you like torture in the name of showing people their lives aren't so bad...really. Our hero, Jigsaw, is really a good guy who is showing people the error of their ways. He hates murderers...he's a GOOD guy. Sure he is.

I have to say that I'm sticking by Saw II as the best in the series so far. Saw, the original, was an excellent movie. Saw III has some holes...and, oh...uhm...sorry, I think I just gave away something that happens in the movie. Let's just say that there are some twists that I didn't expect. Shit...there I go again. Suffice it to say that Jigsaw...aka John Cramer...is a crafty man...he's a genius when it comes to sharp objects. A lot of questions were answered from the first two Saw movies, but more than that was left unresolved.

The creepiest part of the movie was, and this is not a spoiler; there were only 7 of us in the theater and the whole time all I could think of was, the doors were going to be locked and over the loudspeaker we'd hear..."Hello moviegoers. I want to play a game".

LOST: Season 3, Part 1 - What I Would Do as a Captive of "The Others"

If you haven't seen all 6 episodes of LOST so far...and if you DO NOT want to know what's happened so far because you haven't watched it...STOP READING because I will SPOIL it for you and then you'll be all pissy with me. Anyway...still here? Read at your own risk.

SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

Lost is gone for 13 weeks and how did they leave it? Jack, Kate, and Sawyer...all in the hands of The Others. What would you do if you were in the hands of The Others? Why am I capitalizing "The Others"?

If I were a captive of The Others...I'd be trying to escape. Kate can get out of her cell...Sawyer was free too. Both had an easy run into the jungle and instead they chose to have sex. And let me tell you...that sex will be all over the Internet by tomorrow because they're being monitored. And what about Jack? What about Jack? Jack has seen the outside world...he saw the evening news so he knows the world has moved on without him. He has a chance to kill Ben...Henry...if either of those is his real name. I'd paralyze him personally. But that's just me...Jack's trying to save Kate...and she slept with Sawyer. When did Lost become a soap opera?

And what the hell happened to Sun and Jin? Sayeed is back at camp...weren't they all together? And poor Mr Echo is dead...Locke is still convinced that Echo died for a reason...he wouldn't be saying that if Locke were dead...because he'd be dead.

An excellent start to the season, and I for one am ok with it being gone as long as I get 16 fresh episodes in a row come February. Hopefully it doesn't get cancelled before then...I still have about 200 unanswered questions. Where did the smoke monster come from? Why does Jack's hair never grow? The Others have a television...are they watching LOST? Hopefully we'll find out in February when the show returns to complete an action packed season. Unti lthen...GET LOST.

The Departed (2006) - Lots of Cat and Mouse, Short on Resolution

Matt Damon, Leonardo Decaprio, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, Marky Mark without the funky bunch...in a Martin Scorsese film...blah blah blah. The Departed was pretty good...typical gangster flick with a little twist...cop infiltrating the gangsters and a gangster infiltrating the police. I'm not spoiling anything, that's the plot and it doesn't go much beyond that. I'd say it was well scripted and well acted...even Leo was pretty good and I usually can't stand him. Jack Nicholson played...well...himself as he does in every movie, and I'd have to say without a lot of depth...he was pretty much just an ass. The plot (along with some of the characters) had some holes in it and was stretched a bit more than it needed to be, The resolution was missing for something that lasted 2 1/2 hours. After sitting in the theater that long, I'd expect to walk out with some kind of feeling beyond "so now what happens?" I can't tell you more without givng away the ending...as my uncle did...blurting out the fate of several character at breakfast a few days ago to 5 people that hadn't seen the movie yet! Oops. That's bad...or maybe he saved them 2 1/2 hours. You'll have to see for yourself.

Rest Stop (2006) - Next Time You'll Just Go in the Woods

I'm kind of a DVD/Movie/TV hobbyist so I decided it was time for me to write some reviews. At least this way I can help people not watch crap...my addiction won't be all for nothing.

The first of such reviews is of the movie we watched earlier tonight, "Rest Stop" just released on DVD. "Rest Stop" is the feelgood story of a girl and her man as they run off together to start a new career in Hollywood. It's a roadtrip through the middle of nowhere...where all the creepy people live. It started off right, and then the couple made the worst of horror movie mistakes. They had sex in a parked car...a convertable so everyone could see, including the movie's primary psychopath, the man in the big yellow truck. Then...they took a nap. Then...she had to GO really badly. She just couldn't hold it until they reached the next town, so they pulled into the dirtiest, nastiest, germiest rest stop EVER. There was mold and crud all over the place and she acually sat on the seat. I call bullshit on this...it would never happen in real life...it was DISGUSTING. I would've taken one step inside and turned right around to use the woods...and if I did make it into one of the stalls and read all the reading material left behing in the form of graffiti about a killer at the rest stop....geez...some people need to be hit over the fucking head....literally.

Anyway...I liked the movie right up until the end. Weird shit started happening...and I'm going to drop a couple of spoilers here, but I'll try not to give too much. Some ghosts showed up along the way...telling stories of things that happened to them and then they disappear to make that story a worthless waste of time. You never find out who the bad guy is or why he does what he does. There is a cop somewhere along the way and I thought to use his gun on the villian about 30 minutes before the characters in the movie did. The ending came quickly...it wasn't what I expected...I looked to the ALTERNATE endings for some closure and I didn't get it. Maybe the commentaries will reveal more but I don't think I'll be listening to it so if you understood the subplots of this movie...post away and please warn of spoilers.