Being ridiculously behind in my movie-going, I'm now gaining some megaplex momentum after seeing "Dreamgirls" on Wednesday then a Daniel Craig double-header this weekend: the Truman Capote drama "Infamous," and the new James Bond movie everyone is buzzing about: "Casino Royale."
As Bond, Craig has tremendous screen presence and charisma with blue eyes that say so much. He's also the hunkiest and most physical Bond ever which is obviously very appealing. While the publicity shots of him walking out of the ocean looking like an Adonis initially had me smitten as any regular reader of "Out in Hollywood" well knows, it ends up just being icing on the cake.
This is the most character-driven of any Bond film iis also a mostly fast-paced (although about 20 minutes too long with a 2.5 hours running time) thriller that has spectacular chase scenes (including a real doozy on foot), plenty of twists and turns, and endless action. I don't want to spoil for you but trust me, it is non-stop and more realistic than previous Bond films. When he kills someone, it is not pretty. This movie is not played out like a cartoon. As for the romance, Craig has his match in the lovely Eva Green who I would not be able to classify as a Bond girl. She is a woman, her own woman. These are two actors who have depth and know their craft but are also oh-so sexy. The nuances, the eyes, the chemistry, the repartee. It's all there. And you add Judi Dench to the mix and give her more to do as M. than in any of her previous Bond movies, and "Casino Royale" is a wonderful winning hand.
Sean Connery will always be the definitive 007 for most Bond fans but Craig and the filmmakers I think accomplish something remarkable: they literally re-start a franchise that can be better than ever moving forward. It feels brand-new again! "Casino Royale" is on track to cross the $100 million mark in domestic grosses this weekend and is making a killing overseas.
Since I had seen, and liked, last year's "Capote" which won Phillip Seymour Hoffman an Academy Award for best actor, "Infamous" didn't feel so brand-new to me. But that didn't mean it wasn't every bit as good as the oither movie because it is in many ways.
Craig plays one of the men who brutally murdered a Kansas farm family in “Infamous,� which examines Truman
Capote’s emotional journey into the minds of two killers that formed the core of his true-crime novel, “In Cold Blood.� An attachment grew between Capote (Toby Jones) and confessed killer Perry Smith during the long periods the author spent in Kansas teasing out their story. In a pivotal moment, the two men kiss.
Craig is nothing like Bond in this movie (obviously) but the contrast allows you to see what a versatile and mesmerizing actor he is. As Perry, he's scary and angry yet tender and vulnerable and the performance allows a cold-blooded killer seem human. "Infamous" helped me to understand the night of the killings better than "Capote" did. I think Jones is physically more like the real Capote and certainly has the voice down, but Hoffman was better at conveying how much researching the book was destroying him. Sandra Bullock was every bit as good as Catherine Keener in the Harper Lee role. This movie is definitely a must-see when it comes out on DVD and I hope it isn't forgotten at Oscar time.
My friend Eddie and I took in "Infamous" at the Recency Fairfax theater on Friday afternoon where every seat is $3. Can't beat the price! But who you sit near, that is the wild card. After the lights dimmed and previews began, a loud lesbian couple plopped down in the seats directly in back of us. The two squeakiest seats in the place and they took about the first 20 minutes of the movie to finally settle in. Squeak! Squeak! But that was preferable to the sound of one of them munching on her popcorn. You woulda thought she was chomping on dry Cap'n Crunch! I almost turned around and said, "Did you order the EXTRA CRUNCHY popcorn?" Then one gets a cell phone call. She answers (of course). When she returns from taking the call, the other one explains (and not in her whisper voice) what she had missed. I wanted to move but a jet-lagged Eddie had fallen asleep. So, I turned around every few minutes to give every dirty look I have in my collection. As we were walking out, Eddie casually says to me, "Hey, did you notice those two were kind of loud?" I look at him incredulously: "Gee, ya think?"

Fast-forward to The Abbey about an hour and one margarita later and I am back to my shallow self.. No more grumbling about the loud lesbians in the $3 movie theater, just guy talk: "So isn't Daniel Craig hot even as a cold-blooded murderer?"