Today, we're celebrating the 44th birthday of actor Daniel Craig. He got his acting start in the early 1990s with a series of television roles as well as a credited role in 1992's The Power of One. Craig worked consistently throughout the 1990s, including an appearance in the Academy Award-winning 1998 film, Elizabeth. It wasn't until the 2000s that he started to gain real prominence, however. He starred opposite Angelina Jolie in 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider then opposite Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in 2002's Road to Perdition. Craig's biggest hit came in 2006's Casino Royale, where he became the sixth man to portray James Bond on-screen. He would go on to reprise the character in 2008's Quantum of Solace and is scheduled to play Bond once again in 2012's Skyfall. Most recently, audiences have seen him in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And so, to celebrate his birthday, I've created a list of my favorite Daniel Craig performances. I hope you enjoy the list and the videos. Once again, happy birthday, Daniel!
"The fear of offending is stronger than the fear of pain." -- Martin Vanger
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 film directed by David Fincher that serves as a remake of the 2010 Swedish film Män som hatar kvinnor, which in turn was an adaptation of the late Stieg Larsson's 2005 novel of the same name. After he is sued for allegedly offering incorrect information about a high-level businessman, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is offered the chance to retaliate if he can aid aging patriarch Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) in discovering the details surrounding his niece's disappearance nearly forty years earlier. Mikael has luck in the early stages of his investigation, but as time goes by and fewer and fewer clues surface, he enlists the help of a young hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who happens to be the person who exposed the miscues that led to his being sued. As the two dig deeper into the secrets that lie within the Vanger family history, they find a very convoluted plot that slowly begins to unfold, leading them to a strange and dangerous ending.
When I first heard about the proposed remake of the Swedish adaptations of Larsson's Millennium trilogy, I have to say I was a tad bit worried for a few reasons. First, I wondered whether initiating a remake so quickly after the success of the Swedish films was a good idea. The first of those films was released in Sweden in 2009 and hit the United States in 2010, so U.S. audiences only had to wait another year for an English-language version. While some quick remakes have found success (i.e., 2010's Let Me In, which was a remake of the 2008 Swedish Låt den rätte komma in, or Let the Right One In), I was still a little concerned about the prospects for this particular franchise. Secondly, because of the way the storyline is crafted, I could only think of a few possible directors that could have handled the remake. When it was announced that David Fincher would be taking the helm, some of my worries were silenced, but I still held a little bit of doubt. Ultimately, there wasn't any way I was going to be able to watch this film without comparing it to its Swedish predecessor, so I hope you'll forgive me if this turns into more of a compare-and-contrast piece than a straight-forward review.
There isn't much to say in terms of the film's screenplay that I didn't already say in my review of the Swedish version, which you can read here. I found Steven Zaillian's script to be tightly-written and intriguing, but I did have a few issues that probably serve as nitpicking more than anything else. One of my biggest issues was the fact that, while the film takes place in Sweden, every character happens to speak in English. Normally this wouldn't be much of an issue, but the fact that the filmmakers chose to leave all of the visually-written objects - including signs, posters and car decals - in Swedish threw me a little off. While I'm hearing English being spoken, I'm seeing words in Swedish, and it just took me a little out of the movie. That's not necessarily a good thing for any film, much less one that's throwing you so much information on a consistent basis that you need to be able to keep up.
We are getting a rather good ensemble cast, although I'm not sure it quite measures up to the one from the film it's following. Mara and Craig are fine as our leads, and Mara is getting quite a bit of praise for her performance, but I personally didn't think she came close to being as effective as Noomi Rapace was in her role. I was pleasantly surprised to see Christopher Plummer's turn in this one, even if his role didn't consist of much screen-time. Also be on the lookout for fine performances from the likes of Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgård and Joely Richardson, who help fill out the cast list nicely.
At the end of the day, I thought that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did enough to keep me engaged, but I couldn't help but think that it just wasn't quite as good as the original 2010 film. Although it hasn't garnered much success at the box office, both of the series' sequels have received the green-light for production, so be on the watch for Mara and Craig to team up twice more in the next few years. Still, if you are looking to watch this film, I honestly think you should at least give the Swedish adaptation a chance. This one is good, but it's just a half-step behind its predecessor.
"You care about something, you fight for it. You hit a wall, you push through it. There's something you need to know about failure, Tintin. You can never let it defeat you." -- Captain Haddock
The Adventures of Tintin is a 2011 animated adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg that utilizes motion capture technology. After purchasing a model of a history-laden ship called the Unicorn, well-known reporter Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) learns that the demand for the model is rather high. He starts to search for the story behind the ship, but he soon finds himself wrapped up in a more nefarious plot. Tintin is kidnapped by a man named Sakharine (voiced by Daniel Craig), who plans to find the secret behind the story of the Unicorn, which is only held by a descendant of the ship's captain, Sir Francis Haddock. Fortunately for Sakharine, he has found the last remaining member of the Haddock lineage, Captain Haddock (voiced by Andy Serkis), and plans to use him to find the answer he seeks. Wanting to learn the truth before Sakharine, Tintin teams with Haddock to keep Sakharine from finding the secret of the Unicorn, chasing him to the ends of the earth in order to stop him.
When I first heard about this film, I recognized the Tintin namesake despite having not been at all familiar with the original Belgian comic books. The biggest reason behind my desire to see the film was the collaboration between Hollywood legends Spielberg and Peter Jackson, as well as the fact that this would serve as the former's first animated feature film. Jackson, having been well-versed with the concept of motion capture, surely helped ease Spielberg into the filming technique. Their teamwork made this an almost must-see for me, but as with any movie, it had to be seen to be potentially enjoyed. It earned generally favorable reviews - it currently holds a 75% approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com - but it hasn't had the overwhelming success I thought it might. And after having watched it, I think it should easily have those rave reviews.
I want to start with the animation, which was stunningly beautiful. I've heard a couple of critics knock the motion-capture style that Tintin uses, citing that it takes away from the even-handed style of cartooning that the original comic books pioneered. While this style is referenced by a joke early in the film, I still think that the animation in this film does quite a bit of justice. It gave the filmmakers quite a wide range with which to work. But there's something absolutely beautiful about this film's animation. Aside from the motion-capture techniques used to create Gollum in the Lord of the Rings franchise, I personally think this is the best I've ever seen motion capture work. It's utterly stunning. I can't even begin to describe it.
I'm a little torn about how to talk about the acting in the film. Because the performances are technically motion capture performances, we do have the actors giving the live performances in front of a camera. It's only after the filming is done that the animation is laid over their acting. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) claims that the performances are vocal ones, and seeing as the actual actors aren't really seen on-screen, I suppose that's how they have to be reviewed. In that sense, the vocal acting is simply stunning. Bell is great, but I think that Serkis and Craig deserve a lot of mention. We also get some comic relief from the likes of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
The real shining moment of this film, however, is in its screenplay. Spielberg steals a page from his own playbook by bringing us a very Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque film, and it plays out almost as wonderfully. The story's scope is enormous, and the action and adventure run non-stop from start to finish. At the same time, however, we're getting a lot of comedy along the way, just like in the Indiana Jones franchise of old. I also thought the characters were written incredibly well, even if some of their relationships - mostly the one between Tintin and Haddock - echoed some former relationships from the Indy franchise (i.e., Indiana and Henry Jones Sr.). The story also offers just the right amount of twists and turns, and it's enough to keep the audience guessing until the very last scene. The screenwriters did a fantastic job with this one.
I also want to applaud the film's musical score, which was composed by the always-great John Williams. Last year, I heard Williams comment that his score for this film would be just as iconic as the scores he composed for Jaws and Star Wars, and although this one will probably never reach that particular echelon, I do have to say that it proved to be fantastic and fit the film's tone incredibly well. Here's a snippet for your listening pleasure:
At the end of the day, The Adventures of Tintin met and surpassed my every expectation. I have to say that I think Spielberg and Jackson have made quite the combination and have produced a fantastic film, and I wouldn't be surprised were they to collaborate again and craft a sequel to this one. They've left the possibility open, so if this film's success can translate to box office gross, then we should be seeing another Tintin adventure somewhere on the distant horizon. If you haven't had a chance to see this film, I think you need to do yourself a favor and get a theater as quickly as possible.
"I need to know where you came from." -- Ella Swenson
Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 sci-fi action film directed by Jon Favreau that centers around a 19th-century battle between humans and invading aliens. The film opens with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) waking in the middle of the desert with no recollection of his past and a mysterious metal bracelet attached to his wrist. He makes his way to the small town of Absolution, where he somewhat inadvertently helps a young hot-shot named Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano) into finding trouble with the law. This causes the local sheriff John Taggart (Keith Carradine) to recognize Lonergan as a wanted criminal, and it sets Percy's father Woodrow (Harrison Ford) quickly against him. Just as Taggart is sending Percy and Lonergan to federal marshals and Woodrow attempts to take custody of their lives, mysterious lights in the sky begin to attack the small town, kidnapping a number of the people - including Percy and the sheriff - there. Convinced that demons have set into the town, Woodrow and Lonergan take a rag-tag group of survivors into the desert to find the creatures and save their kin. With the help of a young woman named Ella (Olivia Wilde) who knows more than meets the eye, the group plans their attack against the creatures in the hopes of ridding the menace once and for all.
If you've been reading my blogs for a while, you'll know that I was drinking from the Cowboys & Aliens Kool-Aid since I first saw the trailers last year. I placed it as my second most anticipated film of the 2011 summer because, as I stated in that post, "there's something about the concept of aliens mixing with the Old West that's entirely intriguing." And considering the film has a line-up of producers that includes Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, you'd have to think that there could be something about this film, especially when their excitement is so palpable.
Suffice it to say, I was a little let down by the final product that Cowboys & Aliens placed on the screen. While it's not a terrible movie by any means, there just wasn't enough to keep me entirely intrigued throughout the entire film. (To be fair, I did see this at a midnight showing after an extremely long day, so fatigue and exhaustion could be playing a bit into this review). Now, there wasn't a huge issue with the level of acting. I thought it fit well with this particular film even if certain members of the cast found it commonplace to overact during the entire film. Our two leads - Craig and Ford - are the most guilty of this particular crime, but we've also got some lesser characters who ham it up during their time on-screen (look for the usually brilliant Dano to fall into that category this time around). Still, it's not bad enough to make you cringe, but I just thought the acting could have been a tad bit better.
The real issue with the film is the storyline. I know that I can't really bash it too much considering this is literally a film about cowboys fighting aliens, but if you want your audience to suspend their disbelief, you need to throw them enough to do just that. The biggest problem was the that story was entirely predictable. At every moment, you knew which direction it was headed, and who was going to go where. If your audience can start guessing (correctly) what's going to happen next, you'll quickly lose their focus and concentration. For me, Cowboys & Aliens nearly fell into that particular trap, offering little to no sensible storyline for me to follow. Because the acting itself was suspect, that left little on which to cling.
I do have to say that the special effects and action sequences were relatively well-crafted. It's a fun idea to pit these two adversaries against one another and see how it might unfold. I also have to give credit to the filmmakers for creating an original creature to throw at the humans. It's a multi-faceted beast that can strike in a number of ways, adding to its overall effectiveness. So kudos there, good sirs.
At the end of the day, you really can't take Cowboys & Aliens for more than its title suggests: it's a movie about cowboys fighting aliens. If you go into the film expecting something brilliant, you'll surely be disappointed. However, if you go in just wanting a fun, popcorn-munching time, then you'll probably be set. It's a film that doesn't require any thinking whatsoever, so just shut your brain off and let the film entertain you on a purely superficial level.
A teaser trailer has been released for the upcoming American remake of the Swedish film Män som hatar kvinnor, which translates to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. That film was the first of the Millennium trilogy and was based on a series of novels written by Stieg Larsson. I reviewed the original film in December, giving it a rather glowing review. It even fared well enough to nab three nominations in my personal "Best of 2010" list, so that should say quite a bit about its overall quality. When I first heard about the remake, my immediate thought was, "Well, of course they're going to remake it. That's what we do as Americans." However, as I heard the list of cast and crew grow, my feelings of worry slowly started to dissipate. Could we actually be getting a legitimate remake? I suppose we'll have to wait and see. Here's the new teaser trailer for your viewing pleasure. I'll break it down after the jump.
And now for some thoughts and questions that came up while I was watching the trailer:
1. This trailer is ridiculously fast-paced. Should we expect that from the actual film?
At the end of the day, this is just a teaser trailer, and it should be taken as such. It's purpose is to give us a taste as to what we might see in the film, so I'm not sure whether we should take any of the pacing style here and assume it will convey to the actual feature film. I personally thought that the original Swedish film was a little on the slow side, but that ultimately worked towards its advantage. The plot was so intricate that it almost needed to be a little bit slow in order for it to be understandable. This American remake, however, has David Fincher at the helm. He's known for creating some fast-paced flicks (i.e., 1999's Fight Club; 2010's The Social Network), but he's also shown he can slow it down (i.e., 2008's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Despite the blinding speeds shown in this teaser, I think the final product will end up being a little bit slower. However, if it does maintain a fast pace, I couldn't think of a director other than Fincher that I'd rather have handling it.
2. What's the storyline of the film?
There really isn't much in this teaser to get people interested in any semblance of a story. I think that this particular trailer works more as a means to grab the attention of people who may already be fans of the novels or the original Swedish films. Everything moves so quickly that it's almost impossible to understand anything that's going on if you don't have prior knowledge of the story. Still, the fast pace could draw some into the trailer in the hopes that they'll be receiving an action thriller come December. The trailer just doesn't give much in terms of guessing what might happen in the film. If you already know the story, then you're one step ahead.
3. Since we're not getting any clues to the storyline, what can we get from the trailer?
Because we're simply given a string of flashing scenes for nearly one hundred seconds, I think the thing that most viewers will take away are the actors featured within the trailer. For those of you paying attention, you'll be happy to find the following actors and actresses who will be holding important roles within the film: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright, Embeth Davidtz and Joely Richardson. It's a pretty legitimate cast list, if I do say so myself. Will they be able to hold up to the Swedish original? We'll have to wait and see.
4. Who covered "Immigrant Song" for the trailer?
I'm not quite sure as to the reasons behind using Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" in this teaser trailer, but I can say that I'm thoroughly impressed with the rendition offered by Academy Award-winner Trent Reznor and Karen O. It adds to the overall pace of the trailer, and it gives us a little taste of what we might be hearing once the final product hits theaters. Reznor is helming the score, of course.
5. "The feel bad movie of Christmas?"
Having seen the original film, I'd have to say that this might be the perfect tagline moving forward. I don't want to get into too many specifics about the storyline for fear of ruining it for those of you who may not know the story already, but it's definitely a visceral experience that's going to leave you wondering just how to feel.
Overall, I'd say I'm pretty excited about the potential for this particular remake. Having been a fan of the original film, I'd have to say that I do have rather lofty expectations. However, with the direction of Fincher and the look of this trailer, I feel a lot more confident in my overall judgment.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will hit theaters in the U.S. on December 21, 2011.
Road to Perdition is a 2002, Oscar-winning dramatic film directed by Sam Mendes. It's an adaptation of a graphic novel of the same name. It tells the story of Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), a muscle man for a big-time bootlegger named John Rooney (Paul Newman) in the 1930s. When John's son Connor (Daniel Craig) makes a mess of a hit with Michael's son Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) secretly watching, both the older and younger Sullivan's are sworn to secrecy; however, Connor doesn't think that the boy will keep his word. While Michael Sr. is out on a job, Connor goes to the Sullivan home and kills Michael's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and his youngest son, Peter. Both Michael Sr. and Michael Jr. find the bodies of their family and quickly leave town, fearing for their lives. They travel to Chicago in the hopes of gaining the protection and the good graces of Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci), an under-boss in the Rooney organization. However, Nitti remains loyal to the Rooneys, instead employing a sociopath hitman (Jude Law) to kill the Sullivan men. On the run from the only profession he's ever known, Michael Sr. takes it upon himself to protect his remaining son and exact revenge on the man who killed his family.
The first thing you'll probably notice about Road to Perdition is the massively strong cast. Between Hanks, Newman, Law and Tucci, we have a total of eighteen Oscar nominations with three wins (two for Hanks; 1 for Newman). Add to the mix our current James Bond (Craig) and a very talented young star in Hoechlin, and you've got the makings of a fantastic ensemble cast. Hanks is steady as usual, delivering a performance a little unlike ones I've seen in the past. To be fair, I haven't seen a ton of Hanks' work, but I've seen enough of his real-life outgoing and manic personality that I know how different this role actually is. Hanks drew it back for Road to Perdition, bringing a very quiet performance despite the fact that he's essentially a hitman for the mob. It fit the tone perfectly. Newman is fantastic as he has always been and actually garnered one of his Oscar nominations for his role in this film. Craig continues to impress me more and more. Before his star-making turn in the most recent Bond films, I hadn't really heard of him aside from his appearance in 2003's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, but he actually has some quality acting chops, as shown here (for another look at his acting range, you should check out 2005's The Jacket, where he has a small role). I also can't say enough about Jude Law in this flick. I know a lot of people who don't necessarily care for his brand of acting, but I've always rather liked him. He's not the greatest actor I've ever seen on-screen, but he holds his own. However, this may be a career-best performance, at least in my opinion. The character he brings to the screen is sufficiently creepy and definitely haunting, and Law presents the warped psychology quite well. I was thoroughly impressed.
To add to the fine acting, the audience is also given a fantastic story to follow. Road to Perdition could have easily become your average tale of revenge with Michael Sr. hellbent on destroying Connor Rooney. However, the addition of Michael Jr. to his plans alters Michael Sr.'s overall plan. We learn throughout the course of the story that Michael Sr. was always harder on Michael Jr. because he reminded him too much of himself, and that scared him. He didn't want his son to follow in his footsteps, and that fundamentally changes how Michael Sr. goes about everything in the film. We get to see the bonding of father and son as they forge the relationship that the boy had always wanted, even if it's under such straining and pressing circumstances. This side of the story keeps the film from becoming a rote and predictable film. That being said, I did see the finale coming from a half-mile away (I'd say a mile, but it wasn't quite that far). That might be the only thing keeping Road to Perdition from being an "A+" film, but my knowing in no way took away from the power of the ending. It's the way the movie has to end, so I hope you can see that for what it is.
I also have to give major props to Thomas Newman who composed an excellent (and Oscar-nominated) score for the film. Considering the amount of action and bloodshed that occurs throughout the movie, he could have crafted a heavy-hitting, action-like score; instead, he went with thoughtful, hitting more on the father-son bonding aspect of the story. It's quiet and beautiful and fits the film's tone absolutely seamlessly. Embedded below is a little piece of the score - I hope you like it!
All in all, Road to Perdition is a fantastic film that's worth watching for its story and for the fantastic level of acting brought to the table. If you're a consistent reader of this blog, you'll know that I give out my own film awards at the end of each year (here's the awards for 2010, for example). I have not posted my awards for 2002 - I may at some later date - but you should know just how big of a splash Road to Perdition made. (Side note: my personal awards are constantly changeable depending on films I continue to see; that's why this film could make the nominations for its year). After careful consideration, this film stole ten nominations in the awards for 2002, taking the wins for six, including Best Actor (Hanks), Best Dramatic Screenplay, Best Drama and Best Picture of the Year. If those own personal accolades aren't enough to sway you towards watching this film, I'm not sure what else to tell you.
Movie Review Summary:
Grade: A Current All-Time Rank: Best - #85 2 Thumbs Up
Today, we're celebrating the 44th birthday of actor Daniel Craig. He got his acting start in the early 1990s with a series of television roles as well as a credited role in 1992's The Power of One. Craig worked consistently throughout the 1990s, including an appearance in the Academy Award-winning 1998 film, Elizabeth. It wasn't until the 2000s that he started to gain real prominence, however. He starred opposite Angelina Jolie in 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider then opposite Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in 2002's Road to Perdition. Craig's biggest hit came in 2006's Casino Royale, where he became the sixth man to portray James Bond on-screen. He would go on to reprise the character in 2008's Quantum of Solace and is scheduled to play Bond once again in 2012's Skyfall. Most recently, audiences have seen him in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And so, to celebrate his birthday, I've created a list of my favorite Daniel Craig performances. I hope you enjoy the list and the videos. Once again, happy birthday, Daniel!
