The 23^rd Bond film is worth seeing during this 50^th Anniversary year, especially for those who know the franchise well. There are plenty of nostalgic moments in the film, including the first Bond car, returning to Istanbul for shooting, and another great Bond girl.

While the cast has seen many turnovers, like the fourth Q being played by Ben Whishaw, the film has seen the return of Academy Award winner Judi Dench reprising her role as M for the 7^th time and Daniel Craig as Bond for his 3^rd film. The number of films for each of the Bond men are as follows:

• Connery – 6
• Lazenby – 1
• Moore – 7
• Dalton – 2
• Brosnan – 4
• Craig – 3 (with options for 2 more)

Bond is the longest running franchise in history and is expected to be in the top 20 of similar movies including the Bourne, Mission Impossible, Die Hard and Batman franchises. The film was released first overseas and has brought in $518.6MM worldwide. Opening night in America saw $33MM at the box office and a total of $87.8MM for the weekend. The film out performed analyst’s expectations by 10%.

The movie was well constructed and lived up to most fan’s expectations for a 50^th anniversary edition. The action was heightened and the stunts far more elaborate. In fact, the stunt team had to work with animatics and rehearsal videos to help the director understand the complexities of the choreographed stunts, which led to very believable action sequences.

The motorcycle stunts were the most amazing in the film. My favorite was the chase scene across the rooftops in Istanbul, which easily rivaled the roof top scenes in Casino Royale. Another great moment was Bond purposely ramming into the side of the bridge, allowing the motorcycle’s momentum to propel him through the air and onto the train where the bad guy had leaped to during his escape.

Wanderlust Productions released their latest documentary on DVD by director Darren Wilson. Father of Lights is his third documentary feature and it excels beyond his first two films Finger of God and Furious Love. His production team traveled to numerous locations and encountered many interesting people including a powerful witch doctor and violent gang leaders.

During their travels, Wilson’s goal was to “film God” and to understand his character. His encounters were facilitated by local Christians and included a visit with a Hindu holy man. They were surprised to learn that the holy man had a dream that this team would explain to him who the Son of God was. Once the Hindu learned the truth, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and started to teach his congregation about his new belief.

The film was well made and captured interesting and unique experiences that somehow circled around and made total sense by the end of the film – As if the production was totally orchestrated by God himself. Without giving away too much of the story, I can say that every outing built toward the film’s conclusion.

The DVD includes the director’s commentary and subtitles for numerous languages.

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Two-time Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington (Whip Whitaker) delivers a believable character whose hero status, after a miraculous crash landing in a broken jet saves lives, delays his realization of how the accident actually unfolded. This mystery thriller slowly peels back the numerous layers of story as the investigation brings to light who or what really caused the mid-air catastrophe.

Academy Award winner Robert Zemekis directed the film with the same flare that put Forrest Gump on the map. His other successes are too numerous to mention, but include: Cast Away, Back to the Future, Contact, Death Becomes Her, Romancing the Stone, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The film’s $31MM budget will easily be covered as opening weekend brought in $24.9MM domestically. The film is on pace to exceed $100MM in the states and garner a nomination for best actor. Washington’s performance was supported by John Goodman, Don Cheadle and Melissa Leo.

While the all-star cast presented an Oscar^® buzz experience, it also pinched a nerve with Budweiser beer and Stolichnaya vodka, Whip’s choice drinks for his binges. Both beverage manufacturers are demanding that their product be removed from the film and require digital editing before the film releases to DVD and television.

There are several other films hunting for Oscar^® nominations due out within the next two months, so it’s a bit too early to determine if FLIGHT will bring home a third award for Washington. However, if you’re looking for great drama, this film will introduce you to a hauntingly real character.

© 2012 by CJ Powers

Photo © 2012 Paramount Pictures