Review: AUSTRALIA (70)
(Originally published by Paste)
The country’s tourism board may have sunk a tidy sum into the picture, but Australia, the return of Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrman, is less a commercial for travel than a plea for tolerance. Alongside the gorgeous landscapes and simmering love story between Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman is the story of prejudice against half-caste Aboriginal children and, by extension, all of the continent’s original residents. But while Luhrman’s intent is admirable, he seems to realize that the only way to tell a tale of social consciousness is to wrap it in a fantasy. Read the rest of this entry →
Purists complained when Daniel Craig was cast as 007 (A blonde Bond?!?), but the semi-reboot Casino Royale proved them wrong. Craig’s take on Bond turned out to be lean and vicious. He’s a far cry from any other version of the character, but no less magnetic. Apply Trainspotting’s assessment of Sean Connery’s Bond years: He’s a muscular actor. Too bad the muscles are most of what Craig has to leverage in his second turn, Quantum of Solace.