Hi Carl and hello to all of our listeners out there; tonight I’m going to talk about the latest James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” and two Film Festivals opening this month.
Daniel Craig stars as Bond and has made it clear to all that this is his final film. The director is Cary Joi Fukunaga. Daniel Craig’s performance is incredible, although I wasn’t a fan of the script. The beginning scenes are the best and worth seeing on the big screen; however, the 2 hours 45-minute run-time drags.
Fans will enjoy seeing Bond’s non-stop hand-to-hand combat and his iconic driving skills. There is so much I loved about this film, and there is so much I didn’t like. Here’s the scoop, Anna de Armas’s dress (she’s from “Knives Out”) is to DIE for. Two side slits for kicking and hand-to-hand combat—she stole the show. Sadly, she’s only in about 10 minutes. Daniel Craig shows us more emotion and his ultra-slick Bond skills; Rami Malek’s villain was too blah, and don’t even get me started on the ending.
Side note: I’m a true Bond fan and have met Pierce Bronson in London; he was so cool. Also, I’ve interviewed the director and screenplay writer of “No Time to Die,” Cary Fukunaga, in Chicago in 2011. I admire his work. The film is too long and dragged for me the last 45 minutes.
The Chicago International Film Festival is on now and is showing major films such as “Drive My Car,” a Cannes Winner, and a Toronto Film Festival winner, “Belfast.”
Here’s the full film program for the 57th Chicago International Film Festival. Jane Campion, Kenneth Branagh, Céline Sciamma, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul are just some of the acclaimed directors presenting their latest films in this year’s program alongside such highly anticipated Chicago premieres as “Dune,” “C’mon C’mon,” “The French Dispatch,” and more.