Bond. Only Bond.

Hollywood simplified my movie going this weekend, as there is only one big release. And that, of course, is the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Let me start off by saying that my enjoyment of this film may have been damaged by the very high expectations I had. I'm not an avid Bond fan and I've only seen a couple of Bond films, but after the amazing Casino Royale in 2006 I had high hopes for Solace. That's not to say that Solace is not enjoyable. I had a good time watching it and there was some great action sequences - Bourne-like in the realism. And Daniel Craig continued his master of Fleming's iconic character. He's very good here and plays the stoic and suave Bond with ease. You gotta give it up to any man who looks dang good wearing white pants! I think the minor faults for this Bond film lay with the filmmakers. I'm not sure the man best known for directing Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball (both great films), was the best choice to helm this picture. It's understandable he wanted to bring his own style to the picture, but a couple of times it looked like he was more interested in getting a good looking, art housey shot, rather than just progressing the plot or action. And the editors (even Richard Pearson who edited The Bourne Supremacy) seemed to believe that the only way to create excitement was with quick, rampant cuts, which helps, but sometimes we'd like to be able to actually see the action too.

In full disclosure it wasn't only Bond this weekend. I took in another viewing of Rachel Getting Married. Ugh, so good! Hathaway is award worthy, but I really hope the studio publicizes Rosemarie DeWitt's performance also. She was amazing and deserves a nomination too!