It's here. This
weekend will pit two of the heaviest pieces of nostalgia in my pop
cultural life, James Bond and Peanuts, against each other in a
death match of childhood affiliation. Will my soul get aboard the spy
plane with the glamorous, male-gazed-at ladies, or will the
bittersweet ode to friendship and growing up take my heart? The
answer, in the long run, is I'll do both. As will many people. But
I'll only have time for one this weekend, so the struggle will be
fraught.
Spectre
Director: Sam
Mendes
Writers: John
Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Jez Butterworth
Starring: Daniel
Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes
Almost the whole
team behind Skyfall is back, and that is absolutely a good
sign. The last 007 adventure was among the best of all the Bond
movies, taking a backseat to Daniel Craig's first go-round in the tux
and a couple of the Connery ones from the '60s. This time, though,
Craig's iteration of the spy gets to tackle the character's longest
running antagonists, the fellas behind international world-domination
proponents, SPECTRE. This comes after years of legal wrangling to get
the rights back to the organization on film.
And my, oh my, did
they bring in the right man for the job of playing the terrorist
organization/secret society. Christoph Waltz is a little goofy, which
helps put an entertaining sheen on top of how terrifyingly menacing
he can be. He will play an old Bond family friend who turns out to be
more than he appears. Plus, there is a good chance this will be
Craig's last time as James Bond, so that makes this an event in
itself. I'm pretty jazzed.
The Peanuts Movie
Director: Steve
Martino
Writers: Bryan
Schulz, Craig Schulz, Cornelius Uliano
Starring: Noah
Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Alexander Garfin, Kristin Chenoweth
I've been on this
movie's side since its first teaser trailer a year ago. Some people
may bristle at the move to CGI animation for these beloved comic
strip characters, but it's done in an almost stop-motion way that
makes the characters move in similar way to how they have always been
drawn before. They don't look like they're Shrek and Fiona,
basically, and that's perfectly fine with me.
But the animation
isn't the reason Peanuts strikes a chord. This new one, based
on its trailers, like the one above, leans heavily on the bonds of
these kids and what it's like to grow up with people. That's some
strong stuff, alternately heartwarming and a little sad. That's the
Schulz sweet spot, and with two members of creator Charles Schulz
having written the script, it's no surprise that sensibility has
snuck its way into the new adaptation of the comic strips.
Miss You Already
Director: Catherine
Hardwicke
Writer: Morwenna
Banks
Starring: Drew
Barrymore, Toni Collette, Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine
Speaking of
bittersweet, Lords of Dogtown and Twilight director
Catherine Hardwicke is taking on cancer in a movie that appears to be
of the “both laughing and crying” variety. Drew Barrymore
and Toni Collette play a pair of best friends firmly in the adult
stage of their lives, the exciting time of having children and being
secure. Then, of course, security breaks down as Collette's character
gets diagnosed with cancer, sending everything into chaos. But the
two are very in sync, able to laugh their way through it, while the
dark stuff hides behind the corner. In the long run, this one
probably won't be the easiest to stomach, because who wants to
contemplate their best friend dying while still in the prime of their
life? It seems like an important life lesson to think about it,
though, and prepare yourself for the sad stuff that happens as you
get older.
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