Skyfall

Ladies and gentlemen...James Bond is back and truly better than ever! It has been a long four years since the lackluster "Quantum of Solace" was released, but after MGM's financial crisis was overcome, Academy Award winning director Sam Mendez (American Beauty) began his work on the British icon's newest outing. There are many reasons why "Skyfall" succeeds as a great Bond film, and I want to elaborate on the most important without slipping into crazy, fanboy banter...but I'm not making any promises.

As the always enjoyable M (Judi Dench) points out, our enemies are no longer countries and no longer have names, instead they are in the shadows waiting to strike. These words illustrate the newest threat that 007 (Daniel Craig) must deal with--cyberterrorism. How can you fight a villain who can hack a computer or blow up a building with the touch of a button? This is what Bond must do when a list containing the identities of all undercover agents is stolen and slowly released to the public (resulting in many deaths and compromised missions). But as always, Bond will find a way, and he does it with all the cars, women, and shaken martinis that makes him the suave agent we know today.

Not many films are able to immediately establish itself in the first few minutes of the film. With that being said, "Skyfall" has achieved the impossible in that it sets the tone and quality of the film in the very first shot, the first second, of the film! I can't be anymore specific for it would rob you of this experience, but starting with this beautiful first second of the two and a half hour film, "Skyfall" is loaded with elements that make it a classic Bond film. There are old characters reintroduced, classic assets that 007 takes advantage of, and incredible music that takes you back to the very first films of the series.

But the brilliant thing is that, even though the film tries (and succeeds) at being very nostalgic, it also succeeds in moving the series forward in new directions. "Skyfall" will be remembered as a Bond film that gives the franchise a darker feel. There is more intensity, more thrill, and a shockingly more threatening villain (more on him later) than the series has seen in a long time. The film praises the old but also promotes the new, and the mix is quite satisfying.

Now on to the two leads. When Daniel Craig stepped into Bond's shoes in 2006's "Casino Royale," he made quite the impression. Not only did he have just as much charm as the best Bonds of the past, but he brought such great intensity and coldness to the icon, not being afraid to kill his targets and do anything necessary to succeed. Now, in his third go around, Craig has fully embraced this character and given a fantastic performance. He is everything the world expects James Bond to be and more, making him the best actor to play the character yet.

But Bond would be nothing without the dastardly enemies he faces. And there has never been a Bond villain quite like Silva, played by the brilliant Javier Bardem. Bardem won an Academy Award for playing another creepy villain in "No Country For Old Men" so it only makes sense that he'd end up in a Bond film eventually. Staying in line with the film's goal in using what works and building on it, Silva has the same evil plans and same cruel nature that most other Bond villains have. But it's what Bardem brings to his character that makes him stand out, and that is the creepiness factor. Not only is Silva creepy, unpredictable, and makes eerie sensual advances on Bond, but he is downright insane. And it is interesting to watch his slow dive into greater insanity as the film progresses. "Skyfall" most greatly benefits from the two outstanding performances given by its two leading men.

The last thing that I must praise is the visual beauty of "Skyfall" in both special effects and location. First off, the opening credits to the film were so well done and visually stunning, especially alongside Adele's enchanting theme song (also named "Skyfall"). And after the credits there are several beautiful scenes shot in cities such as Istanbul and Shanghai, and the peaceful (for a moment) hills of Scotland  And the chase scenes, stunts, and wonderfully choreographed fights have never looked better. Oh, and there is a classic Hollywood explosion that just made me so happy to see...just saying.  

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of James Bond, and there could be no better present for the fans than "Skyfall." This film has everything, a great hero, a menacing villain, beautiful music, humor and wit, great action, and a plot that is more thrilling than most films we see. Most franchises will be lucky if their third movie is still decent at all, but after twenty three James Bond films, Sam Mendez has possibly given us the best Bond yet. I give it four stars out of four.

"Skyfall" has a running time of two hours and twenty three minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking.

Wreck It Ralph

Here are two things that I love a lot: animated movies and video games. To me, animated movies have the great gift of telling incredible, friendly, and deeply compelling stories for all ages that many live action films just can't pull off. So when I saw the first trailer for "Wreck It Ralph" I got really excited. In the trailer I saw a super fun story arc based around vintage arcade games such as Pac Man, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Turbo Time. Not only was the story based around video games, but the characters are  video game icons who have actual lives inside their games. With Disney at the helm, I was sure that this would be a hit, and I wasn't wrong.

Wreck It Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) has been doing the same thing in his game for years. He breaks a building only to be thrown off the roof when Fix It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer) comes and saves the day. So after years and years of being laughed at and hated on...Ralph decides that he doesn't want to be the bad guy anymore. But when he decides to run away from his game to finally be  a good guy, everything goes crazy as the other characters go on a wild goose chase to find him across the different video games of the arcade. And if they can't find him in time, then the whole game will be shut down.

The greatest asset to "Wreck It Ralph" is the superb creativity that the writers and directors poured into this film, starting with a clever setting. Here is how the movie works, the different video game characters come out and play their roles (almost like putting on a show) for each kid that plays the game. Then at night, when the arcade closes they all head to Game Central Station (located in the electric socket) where they can interact with the different characters; it's almost like "Toy Story" with video games.

Then there are the different games that the characters wonder though that bring vastly unique environments along with them. This was one of my favorite parts about the movie, the digital set design of these games. The majority of the film takes places in a game called Sugar Rush (think of a racing game inside the board game).

It is in this game that the film's cleverness really comes out, primarily in the inhabitants. For example, the spectators of the races are large groups of jolly ranchers and jaw breakers, the "police force" is made up of walking doughnuts, and the centerpiece of the "game map" is a mountain of bottled diet coke that erupts every time a mento drops into it.

But the animation is also a shining point for "Wreck It Ralph." A smaller portion of the film takes place in a game called Hero's Duty (a futuristic take on the popular "Call of Duty" franchise).There is a moment in this part of the movie where thousands of robotic bugs are swarming through the air and attack the weapon-laden soldiers as the fire back in defense. The angles go back and forth, zoom in and out, and go all around the action. It was done so well that it at times could pass for a live action CGI sequence. Plus there is an awesome character that is basically a carbon copy of Jane Lynch, wisecracks, crazy metaphors, and all...oh yeah and the character is voiced by none other than Jane Lynch.

I also loved how they animated the characters in Ralph's game to move in quick, clunky, robotic movements to resemble the movements of old 8-bit characters such as Dig-Dug and Mario.
I was so impressed with everything about "Wreck It Ralph," it exceeded my expectations. And make no mistake this movie is for everyone. If you aren't a video game player (which is a strong possibility) this will still be very entertaining for you, it won't be confusing and there won't be tons of jokes that totally fly over your head. "Wreck It Ralph" is for kids, adults, gamers, and non-gamers, and it is the best animated film to grace the silver screen in the last couple years (and as a bonus, there is a beautiful short film preceding it). I give it four stars out of four.

"Wreck It Ralph" has a running time of 92 minutes and is rated PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence.