Nerd in the 'Noke

The Danish Girl (2015), R, 119 minutes - My plans for this past week were to have an Academy Awards cram session and knock off the remaining major Oscar nominees that I had not yet seen.  Things ended up being a bit busier than I had originally planned (I really should just come to expect that), and I was only able to get through two:  Room and this film, a kinda-sorta-but not really biographical drama based on the lives of Danish painters Einer and Gerda Wegener.  I know that sounds a little whacky, but apparently the film is based on David Ebershoff's 2000 novel of the same name, which from what I've read on the web is actually a work of fiction that was loosely inspired by the lives of the artistic couple.   This film from director Tom Hooper is a representation of Einer and Gerda's lives from a young, happily married couple, through Einer's discovery of his more feminine side (which came to be known as Lili), to his embracing Lili as his identity of choice ...

In the Heart of the Sea (2015), PG-13, 122 minutes - This is a film that originally caught my eye months ago when I saw the first trailer.  Directed by Ron Howard and sporting a cast including Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw, and Michelle Fairley it just seemed like a film that I would enjoy.  Especially considering my soft spot for period pieces.  In the Heart of the Sea tells the story of the American whaling ship The Essex and its crew, which set sail on a whaling expedition from Nantucket in 1820 and is based upon the non-fiction book of the same name (published in 2000).  This story is also presented as being the real-life inspiration for Herman Melville's literary classic Moby-Dick (published in 1851). The Essex's expedition got off to a rough start as the heir of a well known sailing family, George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), was selected as the ship's captain over the much more experienced Owen Chase (Hemsworth).  Chase ...

Spectre (2015), PG-13, 148 minutes - It's been quite a while since I've gone to a movie on opening night.  It generally doesn't fit into our schedule, and truth be told, I don't miss dealing with the crowds.  But this past Thursday night, a perfect storm of events occurred, allowing me the opportunity to check out the latest installment of the 007 franchise as soon as it opened.  What was that perfect storm you may ask?  First off, Spectre was playing at the local art house theater, which pretty much negated the possibility of an obnoxious crowd.  Second, the start time was 7 pm as opposed to midnight (apparently earlier Thursday night showings have become a thing since I last attended an opening night - nice to know).  And third, my wife had an exhausting day at school, one of those days where she didn't mind having a nice quiet house for the evening.  As a result, I jumped at the opportunity to see Bond's return to action. Spectre is Daniel Cr...

Skyfall (2012), PG-13, 143 minutes - The tagline at the end of 2008's Quantum of Solace gave us the standard post credits promise "James Bond will return".  And return he did, just a little bit later than we had hoped (thanks to a delay caused by the fallout of MGM's bankruptcy and the legal limbo the franchise found itself in), this time around in Skyfall.  Not only does the latest Bond adventure mark the twenty third trip into the field for Ian Fleming's fictional British super spy, but also the 50th anniversary of the 007 film franchise. Skyfall is a very personal story for MI6's best agent as he sets out to eliminate the agency's most recent threat: a former agent whose motive comes from what he perceives to be a lack of loyalty on the part of the agency, and more importantly from M (the head of MI6) herself.  Bond does this after surviving a botched operation in which he was shot after being caught in the line of fire.  A shot that was ordered by...

For quite some time Skyfall was toiling around, stuck in pre-production, known only as 'Bond 23' because of MGM's financial issues.  Luckily for us the Bond franchise is too popular to get hung up in such problems.  It wasn't so much a matter of if James Bond would return, but when.  So after a longer than planned delay - which allowed him to do The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  - Daniel Craig returns in what looks to be his most action filled turn as 007 yet. There are actually two trailers that have been released thus far, and I want to touch on both as they each illicit-ed different, but equally good reactions.  First there is the teaser trailer.  I first saw this when it aired during the opening ceremony for the London Olympics last week.  I am admittedly a fan of the long running Bond franchise, so there was little question that I'd be looking forward to this film.  After all, it did check in at number nine on my Most Antic...