Doubt & Quantum of Solace

I rented a whole bunch of stuff for my folks to watch with me this weekend. Frost/Nixon, Pineapple Express, The Wrestler and a couple of flicks I have never seen before. Here, now, are those...

1) Doubt- This and Milk were the two movies nominated for tons of Oscars that I never saw last year. I still haven't gotten around to Milk but this is a solid flick. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep act the living shit out of this movie about a priest in the 1960s who may or may not be guilty of having an inappropriate relationship with the school's only black student. A young, naive nun played by Amy Adams is torn between the ideals of Streep and Hoffman. Her interactions with the two of them and their final showdown after Adams leaves carefully construct a mystery that doesn't really matter as much as the investigation itself.

This isn't flashy or action packed. This movie is a straight-ahead drama that is based on a play. Many of the scenes feel like a play as staged so, if you like lots of tight, short scenes with plenty of momentum this isn't for you. If, like me, you enjoy great acting, check it out. It really engages you as a viewer to bring your own prejudices and preconceptions out into the open in regards to sexism, organized religion, homosexuality, and racism. I understand why at least three of the main actors here were nominated for Oscars. Not a fun movie, but a good one.

2) Quantum of Solace- On the other end of the spectrum is the latest James Bond movie. Packed with action, this film picks up almost exactly where the last one left off. Bond is trying to uncover the power behind Le Chiffre from the first movie as well as get some answers about Vesper, his doomed love from Casino Royale. The plot is kind of like Chinatown when you step back and look at it, not that complex when you have everything laid out in order but a little hard to keep track of in regards to the way Bond gathers information. Fight scenes break out at random as little bits of info are doled out. Most of the characters from Casino Royale who didn't get gacked come back in this one. Continuity is sort of a new thing for Bond in my mind. I mean, Q and M and Felix Leiter would show up in plenty of movies but rarely did they say things like, "Man, remember when we fought that voodoo gangster guy? What was that all about?" These new Bond movies seem to be building a storyline of sorts (I could be totally wrong and this could be the last we hear of the Quantum group) and I find that interesting.

Action-wise, the first two chase/fight scenes are shot with black cars chasing each other and two white guys with dark suits involved. Add to this the quick cuts and jostling cameras and I had no clue who was shooting who, who was crashing what where and what, exactly, was happening. I never had that problem in Casino Royale and the Bourne movies. By the end of this one, the action gets easier to follow with distinct opponents in unique settings but I admit to being lost in the geography of a scene sometimes (which is a failure in editing as much as anything).

Otherwise, you know if you like seeing James Bond kill some folks and hop around the globe. This movie doesn't add much to the table (still no gadgets to speak of) but there is enough here to recommend it for action fans. I would strongly recommend you rewatch Casino Royale before seeing this. I only watched that one a few months ago and I had already forgotten little details in the plot that this movie assumes you already know. As the middle part in a Bond vs. Quantum trilogy, it works just fine.

Josh