Ç JUST LIKE THE MOONRAKER FLIES | Main | WHAT AM I WORKING ON? È
November 29, 2008
EBERT: "JAMES BOND IS NOT AN ACTION HERO"
Roger Ebert wrote a killer critique of what one friend of mine called "A Quark of Quiet" (in reference to the ridiculous title of latest Bond movie - I love it; it sounds like a story about Miss Piggle Wiggle and her placebo-esque cures for naughty children).
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081111/REVIEWS/811129989
Ebert has had a rough couple of years. He has some medical condition that keeps him from speaking. At least he can still write. There are times when I totally, totally disagree with him, and yet he champions movies that I wouldn't see otherwise. I find his celebration of films like DARK CITY and JUNO charming. Did CRASH and MILLION DOLLAR BABY deserve the glowing accolades he bestowed on them? Probably not. And I am disappointed when he gives stellar reviews to movies just because they share his political leanings (like this year with "W" - Ebert has always inexplicably been a huge Oliver Stone supporter, but also in the past with SYRIANA and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN), and frustrated when he fails to see the merits of something like FIGHT CLUB or THE USUAL SUSPECTS.
But I'd be lying if I didn't note that Ebert taught me to watch films at once more critically and compassionately, and that he writes with a wit and intelligence that no working critic really has. His criticism of the new Bond is spot-on: Bond's lack of wit, the villain who is about as terrifying as an angry co-op worker, the incomprehensible action sequences.
Anthony Lane, the best reviewer I've ever read who (unfortunately) works sporadically, reviewed QUANTUM as well. While he clearly liked it more than Ebert, I love the way he summarizes the romance as "their sole point of contact is the kind of kiss that tennis partners exchange when they win a mixed doubles."
| By Andytown | 8:23 AM