Q is for...

Daniel Craig hasn't lost a step since Casino Royale--this James Bond remains dangerous, a man who could earn that license to kill in brutal hand-to-hand combat… but still look sharp in a tailored suit. And Quantum of Solance itself carries on from the previous film like no other 007 movie, with Bond nursing his anger from the Casino Royale storyline and vowing blood revenge on those responsible. For the new plot, we have villain Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), intent on controlling the water rights in impoverished Third World nations and happy to overthrow a dictator or two to get his way. Olga Kurylenko is very much in the "Bond girl" tradition, but in the Ursula Andress way, not the Denise Richards way. And Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, and Giancarlo Giannini are welcome holdovers. If director Marc Forster and the longtime Bond production team seem a little too eager to embrace the continuity-shredding style of the Bourne pictures (especially in a nearly incomprehensible opening car chase), they nevertheless quiet down and get into a dark, concentrated groove soon enough. And the theme song, "Another Way to Die," penned by Jack White and performed by him and Alicia Keys, is actually good (at times Keys seems to be channeling Shirley Bassey--nice). Of course it all comes down to Craig. And he kills. (synopsis provided by Amazon.com)

released 2008

directed by Marc Forster

CQ [2002]

Paul is an American film editor working on a Franco-Italian sci-fi coproduction ‘Codename: Dragonfly’ in 1969 – as well as a cinema verite film in which he wants to document the ‘truth’ of his life. The sci-fi film has no ending – and because of which as no director (anymore) – and his own film is suffering as he can’t see the ‘truth’ beyond his own perception.

There’s a lot to like a bout this film – and at the top of my list is Angela Lindvall as Dragonfly/Valentine – she is both alluring as both the sci-fi Barbarella-like vixen and as the young actress who portrays her. I quite like Jeremy Davies he’s kind of low-key and subtle as usual – and works well in the role. Giancarlo Giannini is excellent as Enzo – who’s supposed to be somewhat a parody of Dino De Laurentiis. And of course a cameo from Diabolik himself John Phillip Law is icing!

The soundtrack provided by the band Mellow is out-of-sight. The art direction of the film is just so well done - they supposedly used vintage equipment to get some of the actual feel. It's a film-lovers kind of film as there's several references to influential figures and films of the era - enough to where I wouldn't begin to start listing - not that one would need a guidebook - it's just I'll admit I'm not as smart about film as I sometimes pretend.

The DVD is really nice as it features 2 different versions of Codename: Dragonfly in the special features - where all the scenes you see over the course of the film CQ are put together to be viewed as an completed film. One version is Paul's completed version (which runs about 15 minutes) the other is the Andrezej version that Paul took over - which of course was incomplete so there's a few 'scene missing' frames. I'm giving the film a solid 4 out of 5.

[directed by Roman Coppola]

Enjoy the trailer for - Codename: Dragonfly