Movie Review: **** Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

 Daniel Craig again stars as detective Benoit Blanc.  He shows up at a murder scene at a Catholic Church.  He is brought in at the request of the chief of police, Chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis).  The priest, Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin) has been murdered, and the new assistant priest, Father Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) is set up to take the fall.  But there are many suspects.  Wicks had made enemies of most the parish; or driven them off.  This includes Martha Delacroix (Glen Close) who has been with the church since being a child, DR. Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner) the local doctor.  Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) a local lawyer.  Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack) who turns out to be the Monsignor's illegitimate son.  The Monsignor was murdered in a closet off of the chapel where he was drinking some alcohol before delivering his sermon.  He collapses and is found with a "devil's blade" in his back.  The father was the first to him, and the doctor the second.  After they leave, the father returns and removes the Monsignor's flask.  This was a vital clue.  He removes it to prevent embarrassment for the head priest now that he is dead.  The twist in the plot is when the Monsignor resurrects and the priest chases after him, to wake up with the gardner murdered, by him.  Duplenticy is about to confess, when Blanc steps in the divulge the truth of what happened.  Too much to tell here, and not wanting to divulge the murdered, this movie is a good mystery thriller with a couple of twists.  

Netflix Movie Review: ***^ Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

This is a very good Netflix film.  It is part of the Knives Out franchise and has the same detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig).  However this is a different case, and a different bunch of suspects.  Blanc invites himself to a murder mystery party at the request of Helen Brand (Janelle Monáe), the twin sister of Andi Brand.  She suspects Andi was murdered, she did not commit suicide.  They are sure someone at the party is responsible.  Helen also is coming to the party as Andi to help with research.  The party is hosted by Miles Bron (Edward Norton).  The invited friends are: Claire (Kathryn Hahn), Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), Duke (Dave Bautista), Peg (Jessica Henwick), Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson) and Whiskey (Madelyn Cline).  They are all enmeshed with Miles, and lied for him in court so he could take over Andi's business.  However she found some information that would prove the case, and that is the night she was murdered.  Claire is a politician dependent on Bron for support, Duke is an internet personality and hopes Bron will put him on t.v. news, whiskey is his girlfriend, but she sleeps with Bron and it is known to Duke.  Peg is Birdie Jay's assistant.  She is negotiating with Bron about a mistake Birdie Jay made.  Birdie Jay is a former model, now fashion designer and her business is dependent on Bron.  Lionel is a scientist and working on a new energy source.  Bron announces that he has used this new volatile source in his home.  Lionel protests for the lack of testing.  It was this source of energy that lead to the split between Andi and Bron.  Andi did not believe it was a viable product.  So there are a set of people who would benefit from Bron's death, here to play a game of Bron's murder.  Turns out Duke saw Bron leaving Andi's house, and so he is murdered via pineapple to which he is highly allergic.  He steals Duke's gun and shots Helen, but a book in her pocket stops the bullet.  Helen finds the evidence in Bron's glass onion room; but Bron burns it.  Sounds like everyone will lie for Bron again, so Helen starts to destroy his things, and everyone joins in.  The energy source explodes.  Everyone makes it out, and it sounds like Bron's friends are remembering things and appear willing to testify.  Money cannot buy everything forever.   

James Bond Movie Review: ***** No Time to Die: (2021)

 James Bond (Daniel Craig) is back, after taking a long hiatus.  He is with Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) until he feels like she betrayed him, and puts her on a train.  We then pick up the story some five years later.  The CIA recruits James Bond to investigate the Project Heracles, a bionic weapon that can be manipulated through DNA to attack only select people.  Bond agrees.  He attends a party in Cuba with Sceptre, who has stolen the virus and the scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) who created the virus.  Sceptre thinks the virus will kill Bond, having his DNA.  However Obruchev has switched the DNA signature.  When Bond is suppose to die, all the Sceptre operatives die instead. Bond escapes with Obruchev.  He had been helped by CIA operative Paloma (Ana de Armas).  He delivers Obruchev to the CIA aboard a sail boat.  Bond is betrayed by one of the CIA agents, Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen).  Ash kills Bond's CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and blows up the boat they are on and escapes via sea plane with Obruchev.  Ash and Obruchev are double agents for Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) who has it in for Sceptre because they killed his family and left him scarred with their poison.

Somehow Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) the head of the CIA attended the meeting in Cuba from prison.  Bond is determined to visit him.  Blofeld insisted he would only talk to Madeleine, so Bond sees her after five years and discovers she has a baby.  She comes with Bond to see Blofeld, but also brings the virus with Blofeld's signature.  Blofeld dies.  Bond is now again working with MI6, M (Ralph Fiennes).  M and MI6 was involved in the Hercales virus.  He also encounters Q (Ben Whishaw), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Tanner (Rory Kinnear) and a new 007, Nomi (Lashana Lynch).  

Bond while protecting Madeleine and her daughter is attacked by men of Safin.  Bond is able to kill most of them, including Ash, but not bfore the kidnap Madeleine and her girl.

They determine Safin intends to kill millions with the virus as he has many DNA signatures.  They determine he must have his manufacturing operation on his family island.  Upon arrival they discover he also has a rocket to deliver the virus.  He has a large scale manufacturing operation.  Bond and Nomi attack the facility, but only a large scale bombing will butn off the toxins.  Bond has to open the doors so the bomb will be effective.  They rescue Madeleine and the daughter (who is actually Bond's daughter.  Nomi takes them to safety while Bond confronts Safin he is able to kill him, but not before being infected with a strain of the virus that would kill those he loves.  He orders the missles to strike the island, and doesn't get off.  We assume he has perished.  

This is the last, and I think the bet of all the Bond films.  The action is intense, as are the emotions.  When Bond allows a truck to crush Ash he reminds him that his brother was Felix who Ash had killed.  We also have a complicated love relationship, and a Bond baby as a result.  

James Bond Movie: ****^ Skyfall (2012)

 James Bond (Daniel Craig) is back.  But the first scene shows him shot and presumed dead.  They have his funeral and everything.  Someone is out to kill M (Judi Dench) and Bond comes out of retirement to protect her.  In the earlier scene Bond was trying to recover information about secret agents which had gotten away as Silva (Javier Bardem) had hacked their system.  So Bond must figure out how to protect M.  He is assisted by Eve (Naomi Harris).  She is the same agent who shot him in the first scene trying to keep from losing the information identifying all NATO agents.  

Silva is determined to kill M.  He is a past agent who ate the cyanide tablet placed in his teeth, but it didn't kill him.  It just disfigured his mouth.  He wears false teeth that hide this.  He is very bitter towards M.

Even after he is captured, he is able to escape by further infecting the MIS computers, so Bond runs to the home of his birth where he hopes to protect M.  In the home is a former companion, Kincade (Albert Finney).  He joins Bond in protecting M.  They come after Bond with lots of men and a helicopter.  They hold of the initial wave but the second wave begins to overwhelm them.  M and Kincade escape through tunnels under the home.  Bond blows up the home to even the odds.  After the explosion only Silva and one other man are alive.  Even the helicopter was too close and is destroyed.  In the initial wave, M was wounded.  

Bond tries to rejoin them after the explosion.  In doing so he kills the last man other than Silva.  Silva gets to M first, but Bond does him in with a knife throw to the back.  However M dies from loss of blood.  The wound was more serious than thought.  

In this version we get a new Moneypenny--Eve Moneypenny.  We also get a new Q (Ben Whishaw) who is more a computer man, but gets outsmarted when Silva hacks the system.  We also get a new Q for the next episode, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) who has been M's number 2.

The Bond movies seem to be getting better.  Their is more intrigue to them.  

James Bond Movie: **** Quantum of Solace (2008)

 The Bond movies seem to get more gritty as we enter the millennium.  We are back to pretty women during the opening credits.  This is a continuation of Casino Royale as Bond (Daniel Craig) is still seeking who is behind the murder of his woman, Vesper.  At the same time he is trying to track down a new organization with international ambitions.  They have men everywhere, we are told.  M (Judi Dench) is much more involved in this movie, and is actually in harms way by a double agent in the organization.  At the time the secret agency are into Bolivia where it seems even the police have been infiltrated, as well as Britain's Prime Minister's office.  It is ordered that Bond be shot on sight when he kills a couple police officers who were trying to frame him for the murder of his friend,  Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini).  Bond saves Camille (Olga Kurylenko) on several occasions, and she him as well.  They have a mutual interest in Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), he as a point to lead him to the killer of Vesper and to uncover a secret organization, and she to get to General Meldrano (Joaquín Cosio), who killed her family and is supported by Greene to take over Bolivia.  Co-agent, and short term love of Bond, Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) is killed by Greene as she covers Bond's back.  Greene is taking over the water in Bolivia and is set to cause a draught.  His organization has done similar activities an many countries.  The CIA is also supporting Meldrano, more Agent Beam (David Harbour) than Agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright).  

This show has lots of excitement.  There is a chase over roofs and into a bell tower.  The action goes up and down and ends with swinging on the bell tower ropes.  Who will get to a gun first?  We have Bond in an old plane facing a jet and a helicopter.  He is able to face Greene and his men in the desert.  Camille gets her revenge, and Bond leaves Greene in the desert after having gotten the information he was seeking.  The last scene has him confronting the next level up in the organization.

I enjoyed this Bond movie.

 

James Bond Movies

Based on the novels by Ian Fleming.  Up to now there are 24 James Bond movies.  

**** Dr. No (1962) Sean Connery

**** From Russia with Love (1963) Sean Connery

**** Goldfinger (1964) Sean Connery

****^ Thunderfall (1965) Sean Connery

***^You Only Live Twice (1967) Sean Connery

***^On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)  George Lazenby

****Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Sean Connery

****Live and Let Die (1973) Roger Moore

****The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Roger Moore

****^ The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Roger Moore

****^ Moonraker (1979). Roger Moore in space

****^ For Your Eyes Only (1981) Roger Moore in Greece

****^Octopussy (1983) Roger Moore, Bond goes to the circus

***^ Never Say Never Again (1983). Sean Connery, recovery of two nuclear bombs

**** View to a Kill (1985) Roger Moore, dirigible chase over the Golden Gate Bridge

**** The Living Daylights (1987). Timothy Dalton as James Bond, 

**** License to Kill (1989). Timothy Dalton. Bond gets revenge for his friend

**** Goldeneye (1995) Pierce Brosnan  006 vs 007

****^ Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Pierce Brosnan vs a media company

****^ The World Is Not Enough (1999). Pierce Brosnan vs a wealthy oil heiress who he thought was an ally

**** Die Another Day (2002). Pierce Brosnan as Bond against the North Koreans in Iceland.

**** Casino Royale (2006) Daniel Craig. First book, gambling and torture

**** Quantum of Solace (2008) Daniel Craig in Bolivia

****^ Skyfall  (2012) Daniel Craig. agains Silva who is gunning for M

****James Bond Spectre (2015) Daniel Craig. Bond unravels Sceptre and Blofeld is captured

***** No Time To Die (2021) Daniel Craig.  Bond and the new 007 attack an island

Not part of the franchise

*** Casino Royale (1954). Made for TV movie.  Barry Nelson as Jimmy Bond

^ Casino Royale David Niven. A poor attempt at comedy

Movie Review: Knives Out

 Daniel Craig plays a master detective, Benoit Blanc, and although not affiliated with the police is called in to investigate the death of a rich author.  He was hired by an unknown person.  The victim is a famous author, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) who takes medication administered by nurse Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas).  However one day the medication is administered incorrectly, resulting in an apparent lethal dose, so Thrombey kills himself with a knife to keep suspicion off Cabrera.  The children of the author include Ransom Drysdale (Chris Evans), Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Richard Drysdale (Don Johnson).

Thrombey had been disappointed in his progenitors for some time; so had rewritten his will leaving everything to the nurse, whose company he enjoyed.  Ransom was onto this change, and had changed the medication labels so as to trick the nurse to give the wrong medication.  So this sparks a case of blackmail.  Ransom knows the wrong dose was given, and wants Cabrera to give up her claim to the will.  It is only when Craig realizes who hired him that he is able to break the case, but still unable to charge the murderer.

I enjoy a good Agatha Christie, and although this is not an Agatha Christie, it has that feel.  I was completely entertained.  I really enjoyed the character created by Ana de Armas.  She was likable and sympathetic.  The family members were all mostly spoiled brats. 

Harrison Ford Movies

When it comes to Harrison Ford I like him, and so I give his movies lots of stars.  But so do lots of people because he has been in most of the highest grossing movies.  This list is not complete but will be growing.

Captain America: Brave New World (2025). Harrison Ford portrays the President/ Red Hulk

**** The Call of the Wild (2020)

***^ The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) An animated show 

**** The Age of Adaline (2015) Portrays the past love, and father of the current love of a woman who doesn't age

****^  Ender's Game (2013) Plays a grouchy Colonel

***^ 42 (2013). Portrays the manager of Jackie Robinson

***^ Paranoia  (2013)  Industrial espionage

**** Cowboys and Aliens  (2011)  Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig take on the aliens

**** Morning Glory. (2010). Ford plays a morning show anchor.  With Rachel McAdams.

Extraordinary Measures (2010)

**** Firewall (2006)

Hollywood Homicide (2003)

K-19 The Widow Maker (2002)

**** What Lies Beneath (2000). Great Halloween/ghost story with Michelle Pfeiffer

Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

***^ Air Force One (1997)

**** Sabrina  (1995) A very good remake

****^ Clear and Present Danger (1994

****  The Fugitive  (1993)  Great fun with Tommy Lee Jones

***^ Patriot Games (1992)

**** Regarding Henry (1991)

*****Indian Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) The movie that made archeology cool

****^ Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

*****Indian Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

***  Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull   (2008)  I liked this movie less than the other Indian Jones movies.  Perhaps because Shia LaBeouf plays his son.

****^Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

***^ The Frisco Kid  (1979)  With Gene Wilder

***** Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) The first Star Wars produced

****^ Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) In which Han Solo is frozen

***** Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) Everyone's favorite with action of many different levels

****  Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)  A very good beginning to the third trilogy, not so good for Han Solo

****^ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)  Ford makes a cameo as a force ghost to talk to his son.

American Graffitti (1973)

Movie Review: **^A Kid in King Arthur's Court

Calvin Fuller (Thomas Ian Nicholas) plays baseball (poorly) for the Knights.  Merlin needs a champion to save the kingdom, and mistakingly pick this ball player.  So this film is about the funny things that happen when  someone from the modern world, with no medieval skills, is thrust back in time.  Calvin falls for the younger princess (Paloma Baeza) while her older sister (Kate Winslet) is to marry the champion of a tournament.  However she already has a love, just not a royal.  This movie has the made-for-TV feel.  In loses itself in the middle, with a rescue scene which is too far fetched.

James Bond Movie Review: ****^ Spectre (2015)

James Bond (Daniel Craig) delivers a punch.  Before M died she asked him to kill a man, and then attend the funeral.  Which he does, and there starts to find the vast organization.  He first goes to the widow, Lucia (Monica Bellucci) who has been marked by the organization for death.  She does not defect with Bond, givres him information about the organization.  Even when headquarters goes silent because all spy agencies have been compromised by Spectre which is putting dummy people in charge of the world's intelligence.  M (Ralph Fiennes) says Bond is on his own.  One major act, blowing up many towns, and they will be in.  The 007 program will be deleted.  C (Andrew Scott) is a major part in this, as he is a double agent.  

But Bond is on the trail after seeing an old nemesis, Mr White (Jesper Christensen) a member of Spectre he killed years prior.  How could that be?  Because of this lapse Bond goes to the psychiatrist, Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) the daughter of Mr. White for examination.  He tells her of her father's death, but she does not want to help him.  He is humiliated, but when he sees the psychiatrist being kidnapped he rescues her.  She blames him for her trouble.  However she is helpful.  Her father was in Spectre.  She agrees to go with him to discover what happened to her father.  They finally meet the head of Spectre, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).  He makes her watch the suicide of her father.  There is a terrible scene of Bond being tortured, with the girl and Bond's bomb watch saving the day.  This time Bond needs help.  There is a vast spy satellite network which is to go online and replace all spying agencies.  This is controlled by Spectre, and C is a big part.   M and Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) must tackle the new intelligence web and stop the bombs by hacking their computer system. C falls to his death in a fight with M.  

Bond confronts Blofeld, but can't get to him.  He discovers he has to save Madeleine.  He is able to save her and then he chases Blofield in a boat while Blofeld is in a helicopter.  The helicopter crashes with Blofeld inside.  He is arrested, rather than killed.

I think this Bond movie is very well done, with a good balance between action and intrigue.  Of course Spectre has a strongman.  Hinx (Dave Bautista).  At one time he pokes someone's eyes in.  But he is often chasing Bond and usually coming out on the best end of the fights.  

Updated after new watching of the DVD 12/11/2025

Movie Review: ****James Bond, Casino Royale (2006)

Casino Royale is the twenty-first in the James Bond series.  Although the twenty-first movie it is set as being the first mission for James Bond.  Daniel Craig portrays Bond for the first time.  He has the task of bankrupting a known terrorist through a high stakes poker game.  Bond came through, escaping an attempt on his life by poisoning.   But then the movie keeps going.  Bond has to chase after his partner, financier Vanessa Lynd (Eva Green) in the games.  She is stolen by Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) but he drops her down on the road, and Bond crashes missing her.  Then they are both captured and tortured.  They want the account and the pass code where the millions have been sent.  Then the movie gets more confusing.  Someone breaks in and kills the torturers and their guards and Bond and Lynd are freed.  Bond swears his love and resigns fro the secret service.  But then his love steals all the money, making Bond think he was moving. it to a British account.  She ends up getting murdered by the person who compromised her.  It then seems we have another ending, but Bond uses her phone to track down the cul;prit, so it ends with Bond shooting him.   It left me a bit confused at the end.  It is based on the Ian Fleming book of the same name. 

The tool of torture at the end appears very gruesome, and Bond is hit several times while Lynd is tortured in the next room.  This movie has a different feel.  It is a bit darker.  There is no Q.  M is again Judi Dench.  Samantha Bond is again Miss Moneypenny.  The intro at the beginning is different. Instead of showing women it shows Bond being violent.  At the first of the movie we have Bond in a chase scene climbing a tall building under construction and fighting on a crane.  Very intense with a fear of falling.  Updated 12/5/2025.