James Bond Marathon: Casino Royale (2006 film)

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/23/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Based on Ian Fleming's novel, Casino Royale is the story of James Bond going on the search for a terrorist as he teams up with an accountant during the mission. Directed by Martin Campbell and screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis, the film marks a reboot of sorts for the franchise as it takes Bond back to basics. For the role of James Bond, Daniel Craig takes on the role in his first outing as Agent 007. Also starring Eva Green, Jeffrey Wright, Mads Mikkelsen, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Jesper Christensen, and Judi Dench as M. Casino Royale is a thrilling yet hard-boiled film from Martin Campbell.

After attaining the license to kill as a secret agent for the British government, James Bond is now on his first mission. In Madagascar, Bond is trying to retrieve a message that involves a plot to destroy a new super-plane. After chasing a bomb-maker named Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) into the city, Bond enters into an embassy where he's been caught on camera killing a man despite a successful mission. Meanwhile in Uganda, a terrorist named Steven Obanno (Issach de Bankole) is talking to Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) about a man he needs to help raise funds for his own group. Mr. White brings in Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who has been a brilliant, pokers player that often wins with the money going to fund terrorists. Back in the U.K., M is upset over Bond's actions as he tries to find the connection that leads him to a man named Alex Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) where he goes to the Bahamas. After meeting Dimitrios' wife Solange (Caterina Murino), he gets a clue where Bond goes to Miami to find Dimitrios' plan where he has sent a henchman to try and destroy the super-plane.

Bond succeeds in his mission where M learns that the plot was part of a scheme involving Le Chiffre who plans to play a game in Montenegro. Bond, a skilled pokers player is accompanied by a mysterious accountant named Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) whom he meets on a train. Arriving in Montenegro, they meet up with Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) who decides to help fund Bond in order to beat Le Chiffre. With Lynd posing as his wife, Bond goes into a battle of skills against Le Chiffre where the game becomes intense. With Bond's ego troubling him, so does Lynd's troubling emotions after an attack that involved Le Chiffre in conjunction with Obanno. Losing money, Bond unexpectedly gets help from CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) who helps fund Bond with his money as the game becomes more challenging. Despite being poisoned by Le Chiffre's henchwoman Valenka (Ivana Milicevic) and nearly dies from it, Bond succeeds with Vesper's help.

With Vesper warming up to him, things seem to go great until she was kidnaped as Bond tries to rescue her. Instead, he and Lynd gets captured by Le Chiffre into wanting to know the password to his account. Bond refuses where after being tortured, he was saved all of a sudden as he and Lynd settle some deals and Bond has fallen for her. It is at that moment, Bond has thoughts of giving up his role as an agent only to realize that he can never quit where he is forced to face tragedy and everything that requires to be a 00 agent.

The problem with some franchises, especially in the James Bond franchise, is that they tend to have cliches and everything else that follows a formula. Fortunately for this film, many of those cliches and formulaic ideas expected from Bond are thrown out of the table. While there's still Bond making out with fine women, tension with M, and doing all of the action stuff that he's done. What isn't there is some of the catchy one-liners (except for the famous one), gadgets, Moneypenny, swagger, or anything that can be considered parody. Instead, director Martin Campbell and his screenwriters went back to the old-school Bond and going more into text of its novelist, Ian Fleming. The result is old-school Bond with more action, more background story on him, more of his flaws, and how he became the 007 that audiences came to know and love.

While writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have added elements of action and humor to their previous work with Bond films, the duo strayed away from the silliness and everything else that would've made the film predictable. The major factor into the script is Paul Haggis who adds not just a sense of psychological drama but also the reality that Bond is actually human with some flaws as he learns on what it takes to be a 00 agent. Particularly in the relationship between Bond and Vesper Lynd that is filled with some sexual tension that becomes something more emotional as their relationship develops. The result is a fantastic script created by the trio of Purvis, Wade, and Haggis that brings enough depth and entertainment.

Returning to the franchise is GoldenEye director Martin Campbell who definitely uses the script to broader, fresh territory after the recent action-driven Bond films. With locations in Africa, the Bahamas, Miami, London, Venice, and Montenegro, Campbell definitely brings a more worldly presentation to the franchise while letting the drama and tension unfold for all the characters. While some of the humor often comes in Bond's tense relationship with M, Campbell definitely restrains himself by going more into a balance of intense, dramatic sequences and fantastic action sequences. While the card-playing scenes might feel like it slows the film down, it works to add the tense feel of Bond and Le Chiffre. Then there's the action scenes where the film starts off with a band of how Bond got his 00 status in a black-and-white sequence where he beats a man up in a bathroom and then killing another man. With some stuff done in handheld cameras, the action is definitely more engaging with some great stunt work and action sequences to give the feeling that its energetic and realistic at the same time while showing Bond actually going through some pain in some of those sequences. The result is a very tight, ass-kicking action film where Bond is badass.

Helping Campbell in his presentation is cinematographer Phil Meheux whose flashy colors in some of the film's night, exterior settings brings a dark mood to the film while some of the sunlight settings are wonderfully shot with the interiors, notably the opening sequence is wonderful with its grainy, handheld camera work that adds a new style to the Bond franchise. Production designer Peter Lamont and his team of art directors definitely add new style to the franchise with some flashy looks for the Bahamas sequences as well as the Montenegro setting with some sheer, icy look for the hotel room. The cars also play a role to the film and they definitely look cool. Costume designer Lindy Hemming definitely goes for a more classic style with the tuxedo along with some amazing dresses for Eva Green to wear in which, she looks very beautiful. The opening credit sequence for Bond by Daniel Kleinman definitely plays up to the card game scenario with some fine visual effects by Angela Barson.

Editor Stuart Baird does some wonderful cutting, notably the action sequences where it isn't too fast or extremely quick like most action films. Baird cuts it right to the point where the audience knows what's going on while other sequences, there's long cuts and perspective cuts that indeed work to give the film a nice pace to everything that goes on. Sound editor Eddy Joseph definitely plays up the intensity of the sound with nice design on the action sequences which are layered with a lot of sounds and the way it's mixed to the music from composer David Arnold. Arnold returns to the orchestral world of John Barry by adding dreamier arrangements for some of the film's romantic moments while more brooding notes in the dramatic scenes. Arnold also goes for some wonderfully screeching, intense music for the action scenes that works with the old arrangements that Barry did in previous Bond films with the theme from Monty Norman. Finally, there's the song You Know My Name by Chris Cornell where mixed with Arnold's musical score, the song is definitely one of the more rock-driven tracks that adds punch and power that hasn't been heard since the classic Paul McCartney song Live And Let Die.

Then there's the film's cast that's definitely less-star driven and has more to do with real actors. While actresses Ivana Milicevic and Caterina Murino don't have much but to look sexy and play their respective world as Bond henchwoman and Bond Girl, they do bring charm to their roles. Issach de Bankole, Sebastian Foucan, and Simon Abkarian are excellent as henchmen of sorts for Le Chiffre with de Bankole bringing an intimidating presence as Steven Obanno while Foucan is great for his action running, and Abkarian is more sly as Alex Dimitrios. Jesper Christensen also brings a complexity to his role as Mr. White in how he plays things while making sure that Le Chiffre does his job. Giancarlo Giannini is great as the complex, charming Mathis who is careful for Lynd's behavior while having some motives that is more about financial than personal. While Jeffrey Wright doesn't have much to do, he is good as Felix Leiter in how he helps Bond and being a smooth, American agent who knows that America isn't all that. Judi Dench remains at the top of her game as the irritable M with her authoritive personality and her love-hate relationship with Bond as she and Craig are great with the tense relationship they bring.

Mads Mikkelsen is excellent as the brooding Le Chiffre who brings a different personality than most Bond villians where he sheds a bloody tear and carries a respirator. Mikkelsen adds a lot of intelligence to his character that has a knowledge of numbers and knows how to play poker while proving that he can be menacing in a torture scene as it's a great role for the Danish actor. For anyone that wants to become a leading Bond girl, they will have to step up in their game as Eva Green gives a fantastic performance as Vesper Lynd. The French actress, who had recently made her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers in 2003 while appearing in the good but flawed 2005 Ridley Scott epic Kingdom of Heaven, definitely adds a new sense of beauty and depth that hasn't been seen from Bond girls in recent years. In fact, Green is more of a Bond woman who is more emotionally troubled and complex in her role where her motives are very ambiguous. While Green can play pretty and be sexy, she shows her worth in just being one of the rare women who can stand up to Bond and make sure he does things right. It's a great role from Eva Green who definitely has more promise than most of Bond girls from the past.

Ok, for anyone who enjoys the cock-sure swagger of Piece Brosnan, the brooding nature of Timothy Dalton, or the humorous vibe of Roger Moore. They're going to have to go because Daniel Craig is now James Bond. While purists may feel that Sean Connery may own the role, Craig's Bond is more of a badass. The man can take hits, show cuts and bruises, and will break his own body to get the job done. Daniel Craig is also a better actor than his Bond contemporaries, that includes Connery, by showing more flaws and emotions to his role. Craig also displays the kind of arrogance and charm that Bond has but he's more into his own in the way he displays himself dramatically while he's a real fighter in the film's action sequences. Plus for the ladies, he is also very sexy where he also makes a sexy entrance from the beach sporting some speedos and looking very good for a man's man. This is a new James Bond and Daniel Craig has what it takes to be 007.

Casino Royale is an incredible film from Martin Campbell that features a towering performance from Daniel Craig as James Bond. Along with a wonderful supporting cast that includes Eva Green, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Mads Mikkelsen, and Judi Dench. It's a film that definitely stands as one of the best films of the Bond franchises. Notably as it brings Bond back down to Earth after a period of misguided silliness. In the end, Casino Royale is a magnificent film from Martin Campbell.

James Bond Files: The EON Films: Dr. No - From Russia with Love - Goldfinger - Thunderball - You Only Live Twice - On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Diamonds are Forever - Live and Let Die - The Man with the Golden Gun - The Spy Who Loved Me - Moonraker - For Your Eyes Only - Octopussy - A View to a Kill - The Living Daylights - Licence to Kill - GoldenEye - Tomorrow Never Dies - The World is Not Enough - Die Another Day - Quantum of Solace - Skyfall - SPECTRE - No Time to Die

Non-EON Films: Casino Royale (Climax! TV Episode) - Casino Royale (1967 film) - Never Say Never Again

Bond Documentaries: Bond Girls are Forever - True Bond - Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007

© thevoid99 2012

The Dreamers

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/2/04 w/ Additional Edits.

One of the most compelling and seminal filmmakers from Italy, Bernardo Bertolucci has always been a lightning rod for controversy. Whether it was for the raucous, carnal sexuality of his 1972 masterpiece Last Tango in Paris or the five-hour epic film 1900, Bertolucci has always been considered a filmmaker of grand beauty and ambition. With films like 1970's The Conformist, many filmmakers including those in the U.S. loved his style and in 1987, Bertolucci reached his peak with The Last Emperor that won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and a Best Director prize for Bertolucci. Unfortunately, following up a film like The Last Emperor proved to be a task that is hard to live up to. While latter day films liked The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha, Besieged, and Stealing Beauty had their moments, they weren't up to par with Bertolucci's landmark films. After taking a brief hiatus, Bertolucci returned to the silver screen in 2003 in classic form with his homage to the French New Wave and the sexuality of Last Tango in Paris with The Dreamers.

Based on The Holy Innocents: A Romance by Gilbert Adair, who also wrote the screenplay, The Dreamers is a film about an American in 1968 France amid the turmoil of student riots in Paris meets up with two film-obsessed French twins as they explore sexuality and their passion for cinema. Directed by Bertolucci, The Dreamers isn't as shocking as Last Tango in Paris despite some surprising antics as the film really explores the relationship of three people and their love for cinema as they each explore their own individuality. With American actor Michael Pitt in the lead role along with young French actors Louis Garrel and newcomer Eva Green along with veterans Robin Renucci, Anna Chancellor, and a cameo from longtime Bertolucci associate Jean-Pierre Leaud. The Dreamers is a divine, lush film of racy sex and grand cinema.

It's Paris, 1968 where an American student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) is in the city learning to speak French and avoid the Vietnam War. Instead, he learns French through cinema at the French Cinematheque as he and many film buffs watch movies. He along with the hardcore ones decide to watch the films in the front row so they can be closer to the image as they're watching Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor. Then one day, the film buffs and French college students learned the Cinematheque has been closed by the government while Cinematheque founder Henri Langlois had been fired leading to a huge protest from students as they battle policemen. Matthew learns what's going where he meets a young Frenchwoman named Isabelle (Eva Green), who has chained herself to the doors, while her twin brother Theo (Louis Garrel) is wondering if he should join the protest.

Later in the day, Matthew befriends the two twins where they engage in talking about cinema where Isabelle says her first words were "New York Herald Tribune" from one of her favorite movies, Jean-Luc Godard's A Bout de Souffle. Matthew felt happy for the first time now that he has friends from Paris where later, he gets a call from the two where he's been invited to dinner. He meets Theo and Isabelle's Bohemian parents where their father (Robin Renucci) talks about non-violent protests that upset Theo while Matthew was fiddling around with Isabelle's lighter showing their father and mother (Anna Chancellor) the shape of the lighter and its table cloth. The parents are impressed with Matthew as they let him sleep for the night in the guest room of their huge flat where the next day, they leave for the summer. Matthew would then discover the closeness of Theo and Isabelle that disturbs him at first but he's also intrigued by it. With the parents gone, Theo and Isabelle let Matthew stay with them where they have conversations of films where Isabelle reenacts a scene from Queen Christina.

One day during a talk about films, Theo and Isabelle decide to test Matthew by seeing if he is one of them. To do that, they decide to run through a museum in the same place where three people ran in the Godard film Bande a Part in the time of 9 minutes, 45 seconds. Matthew is officially accepted since they beat the record by seventeen seconds where they engage in more film trivia in which, Isabelle asks Theo a film she's reenacting that he doesn't know. Since he forfeits, she forces Theo to do something to a picture of Marlene Dietrich. Theo gets a bit of revenge when he reenacts a scene from Howard Hawks' 1932 version of Scarface to Matthew that he doesn't know and he forfeits. Theo forces Matthew to have sex with Isabelle that Matthew at first was reluctant but gives in as Theo watches.

Isabelle and Matthew become closer while Theo insists, he and Isabelle are like Siamese Twins in their mind and they’re really one. Matthew really wants to be part of them where for the next few days, they just stay at the flat engaging in sexual games while eating very little food and spending all the money they had. Matthew finally had enough of the fact that Isabelle and Theo are inseparable as he tries to show Isabelle the ideals of American dating that Isabelle enjoyed but Theo' influence was becoming overwhelming. With the chaos of the student riots now looming as Communist union workers join in the protest, the lives of the three film-loving individuals are put to the test over their own idealism and exploration.

While The Dreamers isn't up to par with Last Tango in Paris or The Last Emperor in cinematic achievements or innovation, its clearly Bertolucci's best film since The Last Emperor. It's not just because the film has the same raunchiness of Last Tango in Paris since the film does show full-frontal nudity and with the uneasy subject of incest, it's really has also has this wonderful story of three people passionate about films and culture at that turbulent time. In many respects, the film is partially a thank you letter to the filmmakers that Bertolucci loved when he was young and pays tribute to those who love movies. The idea of sitting close to the screen just because of the image is understandable since some movies are more than just movies. In The Dreamers, Bertolucci uses film clips of some of those old movies including A Bout de Souffle and news clip of what was going in French including a reenactment where Jean-Pierre Laud recreates his own protest scene.

While Bertolucci's directing trademark style doesn’t do anything new, he does manage to bring a story together without making it too slow or too shocking. The only real flaw of the film is its ending which is a bit disappointing but in truth, shows the final development of the characters. Bertolucci still manages to make the film interesting with its characters and story as he presents the film as a thank you note while the sexuality is much more innocent than the one in Last Tango in Paris. Whereas Last Tango in Paris was more adult, The Dreamers is really more linked to the angst of Alfonso Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien where the sex is explored as not just something new but also in an emotional standpoint. While some might think the idea of a naked woman dancing or showing a minute or two of two male penises is obscene and exploitive. Well, then those people should get over it. After all, guys get to see women naked in many films, why not give the ladies what they want? It plays well in film. Even the screenplay plays strength to Bertolucci's directing style where the story is filled with trivia and references to pop culture, politics, and the Vietnam War.

If Bertolucci's craft as a storyteller is as potent than ever, then his mastery in visuals remains flawless. Whereas his old cinematographer Vittorio Storaro helped capture the beauty of early 70s Paris in Last Tango in Paris, Fabio Cianchetti does a spectacular job in giving Paris a sunny, colorful look of 1968 Paris while in the flat scenes, the colors are filed with lushness. Cianchetti's exquisite cinematography may not be on level with the work of Storaro but Cianchetti does give life to Paris, especially capturing the turmoil. Since the film is a homage to the French New Wave and classic cinema, the clips that were edited by Jacop Quadri cut with the reenactments are well done. While the music from Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and other late 60s classics help give the film a time warp feel as if we're in 1968 all over again. Especially with Garrel and Pitt's argument over who is the better guitarist, Hendrix of Eric Clapton? No contest there on who is better.

While the smaller performances from Robin Renucci and Anna Chancellor as the parents were small, they were well played in their brief time. Really, the film belongs to its three young actors. Michael Pitt delivers his best performance to date after standout roles in Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Bully, and Murder by Numbers. Pitt brings in his wide-eyed boyish sensitivity in a calm, enchanting performance as he charms the audience as the film’s protagonist. Pitt brings a lot of himself not just physically but emotionally as a young man intrigued by sex and political drama in a role originally given to fellow American actor Jake Gyllenhaal. In the end, Pitt definitely outshines himself since his boyish innocence was well served than Gyllenhaal's more moody acting style.

Louis Garrel delivers an amazing, tough performance as Theo by using his own intellect as his strength. Garrel doesn't make his character be pathetic although his ideals seem to be a bit misguided if not, passionate. He definitely shines in a performance worthy of an international breakthrough. Newcomer Eva Green (who is the daughter of French New Wave star Marlene Joubert) is spellbinding as Isabelle with her kooky personality and oozing sexiness. Green's delightful energy and innocence brings a lot of sympathy and anguish as she explores her own individuality for the first time leaving her torn between the revolutionary Theo and the idealistic Matthew. Though this was her first film role, Green's performance is one to watch out for as she steps up to the plate as an international ingenue with her French counterpart, Ludivine Sagnier.

***Updated, DVD Tidbits 10/18/05***

The 2004 Dual Layer DVD from Fox Searchlight comes in two different versions. A R-rated version that's available on blockbuster that cuts a lot of the film's graphic sex. The other is the theatrical NC-17 version that is the most preferred. Both DVDs come in with the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround for English Audio along with Spanish and French audio with English and Spanish subtitles. The film overall comes in its Anamorphic Widescreen 1:85:1 ratio presentation. The most preferred way to see a movie, particulaly a film by Bertolucci.

Overall on DVD, the film retains its look from the theaters as well as its audio. The DVD also includes several special features. One is the film's trailer along with the teaser trailer to another Fox Searchlight release, Zach Braff's 2004 debut feature Garden State. Another feature that was to promote the film's soundtrack is a music video of Michael Pitt and his band singing the Jimi Hendrix classic Hey Joe in a studio with Bertolucci listening in on the track with clips from the film.

Two documentaries appear for the DVD. One is a making-of featurette entitled Bertolucci Makes The Dreamers in which Bertolucci is seen making the film with his actors and his crew. It's a wonderful 50-minute documentary of how the director works and over the years while making his actors comfortable for the sex scenes with very little people around that scene. The actors talk about working with Bertolucci and how after a few days, they felt comfortable with him to the point that he gave them enough freedom to be the characters. Bertolucci also talked about how he almost didn't chose Michael Pitt only to realize that he was the right guy after Jake Gyllenhaal dropped out of the film.

The second documentary entitled Outside the Window: Events in France, May 1968 is a 15-minute documentary which is about the chaos surrounding France in that year which included the closing of the Cinematheque as well as the working conditions and wages. In the end, politicians resigned although some felt at that time that the revolution was lost. With interviews from Bertolucci, writer Gilbert Adair, and those talking about that year knew the impact it had and they felt that now, some things did change because of those protests. Both documentaries are insightful to watch.

The final special feature is a commentary track from Bertolucci, Adair, and longtime Bertolucci producer Jeremy Thomas. Though each individual's commentary was recorded seperately, all three do give an insight into the film. Bertolucci talks about a lot of the film's politics, his approach to shooting sex, and how the actors got to know their characters so well that made him give some free reign into their performances. Gilbert Adair talks more about the stories in the film and its comparison to his original novel while giving some insight into the historical part of the film and the movies its referenced.

Jeremy Thomas meanwhile, talks more about the business and technical aspect of the film where everything in the movie was shot on location. He also talks about the rating system in the U.S. which he dislikes as he and Bertolucci fought the MPAA to release their film, even if it receives the dreaded NC-17 rating. Thomas insists that the version people saw in the theaters is the same version that the world got to see and was happy that people did see the film. Especially since The Dreamers did modestly well in the U.S. despite the rating. Overall, it's a nice commentary track despite Bertolucci's annoyance on the DVD market. The DVD for the The Dreamers is a must-have for fans of the film and anyone who loves Bertolucci.

***End of DVD Review***

The Dreamers is a lovely, colorful film of sexuality and cinema from the master filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci. While it's not a perfect film, it's still a worthy return to form for the Italian film legend as he help shine out new stars in Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, and Eva Green. Those interested in the French New Wave of the 1960s will find this film as a nice introduction while it's really a film geared towards cinema lovers. Those who enjoy sex films will indeed enjoy this but again, it's a movie not for everyone and you have to be 18 to see it. Overall, it's Bertolucci's thank you to sex and cinema as he proves himself again to be the master storyteller of the past. The Dreamers in the end, is a delightful film of sensuality and passion for culture amid the chaos of 1968.

Bernardo Bertolucci Films: (La Commare Secca) - (Before the Revolution) - (Partners) - (The Spider's Stratagem) - The Conformist - Last Tango in Paris - 1900 - (La Luna) - (Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man) - (The Last Emperor) - The Sheltering Sky - Little Buddha - Stealing Beauty - (Besieged) - (Me & You)

© thevoid99 2011