Spectre (2015)

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers:  John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Jez Butterworth
Cast:       Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Monica Bellucci

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

I am not really a big fan of James Bond films and the only ones I have seen in full are the ones with Daniel Craig in it- Casino Royale and Skyfall. Skyfall was comfortably better than Casino Royale, but that is going by the James Bond standards and not necessarily by the genre standard. It is a franchise which doesn't know where exactly to turn to and has been surpassed by both Mission Impossible films (last two) and Bourne series (next one is due with Greengrass and Matt Damon united). The pivot that they took with Daniel Craig and Casino Royale was a response to the success of Bourne series and one could say that considerable amount of humor was lost because of that. Bond series was never exactly known for being realistic and it seems MI films have managed to strike the right balance of Action set-pieces, ridiculousness and humor. Daniel Craig films can't be as 'seemingly' realistic as Bourne was, because of the baggage that the franchise carry, and is never as fun as MI films are. So you end up with films that are good watches but are not in any form memorable after you finish watching it. 

Is this the worst movie extra in history? (You had one job) #Bond pic.twitter.com/ixTeuPNvaW

— Digital Spy Film (@digitalspyfilm) October 21, 2015

Spectre is no different and it is a good watch with nothing spectacular about it. You cannot really fault it for its cliches because that is what you get with these kind of films. Taking a leaf out of M1:5, double zero program is under threat of shutdown and Bond is on his own to figure out and defeat the villain. Christoph Waltz is as underutilized as Javier Bardem was in Skyfall. Film starts with a very good long tracking shot scene. Action set-pieces come frequently and all of them are good but the film as a whole suffers from not having any that would take your breath away, something MI films manages very comfortably. Global surveillance and related privacy issues is the it-topic, post-Snowden revelations, and that is also at the center of this film. But it is not done with much impact and just serves as a plot-point. Monica Bellucci is there as the Bond-'woman' and Lea Seydoux plays a role which is much more than a traditional Bond girl. It is almost confirmed to be the last Bond film with Daniel Craig in it and they have managed to give a nice closure for him. The plot also references and connects his other films as Bond, starting with Casino Royale.

So, it is a good enough watch without being anything more than that. Action set-pieces are good as is the humor but there is nothing spectacular about it on the whole. If I were to rank Daniel Craig films as Bond, this one will be number two with Skyfall being the first and Casino Royale the third (Not seen QoS). Product placement in CR was was just horrible and that poker sequence was also icky with expositions that felt to be so. Idris Elba as James Bond could be the boost that the franchise requires to stay relevant. TBF, it is doing spectacularly well at the box office as it is.

PS: One reviewer described the film as: "Bored...James Bored"...Hahaha....

Rating: 3/5

Jarhead (2005)

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers:  William Broyles Jr., Anthony Swofford
Cast:       Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black

Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting/not fighting in Kuwait. The title comes from the derogatory slang term used to refer to Unites States Marines and originates from their haircut which makes their heads look like a Jar.

For most people, the Gulf war under George Bush Sr. was an insignificant one which ended before it began. Not many films have been made on that and the only one I can seem to remember is David O'Russell's 'Three Kings', which was more of a comedy about the ridiculous nature of it. Jarhead is about a group of marines who are not very brave in a Hollywood sense getting bored by nothing happening for their platoon related to war like things. They are initially posted as part of Desert-Shield, protecting oil wells in Saudi Arabia. They spend a few months doing that and things that normally don't get covered in usual war films like-girlfriends/wives cheating them back home, the boring drills to keep them on toes, nothing really happening etc are shown in this film. As per Swofford's own words:

"[voice over narration] Suggested techniques for the Marine to use in the avoidance of boredom and loneliness: Masturbation. Rereading of letters from unfaithful wives and girlfriends. Cleaning your rifle. Further masturbation. Rewiring Walkman. Arguing about religion and meaning of life. Discussing in detail, every woman the Marine has ever fucked. Debating differences, such as Cuban vs. Mexican, Harleys vs. Hondas, left- vs. right-handed masturbation. Further cleaning of rifle. Studying of Filipino mail order bride catalog. Further masturbation. Planning of Marine's first meal on return home. Imagining what the Marine's girlfriend and her man Jody are doing in the hay, or in the alley, or in a hotel bed. "

They indeed do get deployed a part of Desert Storm in Kuwait for a sum total of four days without any kills. It was a war decided by the air-strikes and the ground troops didn't have much to do since there was no significant occupation after the war like in Iraq war of the noughties. Film can be best described as a different kind of anti-war film with its narrative driven by its boredom and what it does to the Marines in their personal lives and what is in store for their future, instead of politics. Nothing Hollywood happens to provide the characters a redemptive movement and we really want them to take the sniper shot for their sake at the end instead of waiting for the air force to bomb the place. It is a very good watch without being great and not much scope for rewatchability. The editing is top-notch and the scenes of oil-wells in flames were brilliant. One can watch Herzog's 'Lessons of Darkness' which just had that and is beautifully surreal.

Sam Mendes is someone who consistently provide better than good films without making a great one. I loved American Beauty when I saw it first and but it is something that has not aged well and loses considerably on re-watch. He also made the best James Bond film in 'Skyfall'. He is also gonna make the next James Bond one and am looking forward to it even though I am not a huge fan of the franchise.

Rating: 3.5/5 

American Beauty (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes
Writer:   Alan Ball
Cast:     Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation for his daughter's attractive friend.

Saw this after a long time and it doesn't have the same impact that it had when I saw it for the first time. Still it is a great film and great comedy. It is not very subtle when it comes to handling the theme and the characters are a bit cartoonish. 'Happiness' and Haneke's 'Seventh Continent' handles similar themes in a superior way.

1999 was a good year for films with 'Insider' and 'Sixth Sense'. Both of them are better films than American Beauty which won the academy award for best picture.

Rating:4/5

Skyfall (2012)

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers:  Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Cast:      Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench
Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

I am not particularly a fan of Bond films (only seen the pierce Brosnan ones), but I did enjoy Skyfall. It is not great but very watchable with some great set piece actions. The ending sequence reminded me of Sam Mendes' earlier film 'Road to Perdition'. Despite all that, Javier Bardem's character could have been lot better with a more convincing motive.

Rating: 3.5/5