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The first official concept art from Avatar is out, giving us a glimpse at what could be an alien species from planet Pandora — and it reminds us slightly of the Pitch Black beasties, which apparently you can ride like Falcor.

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Film: “Quantum of Solace”; Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric; Director: Marc Forster; Rating: ***

If “Casino Royale” was set up as a template for the new Bond actor Daniel Craig, “Quantum Of Solace” merely re-establishes this new order. All the major ingredients that go into making the Bond movies special are featured here. “Quantum Of Solace’ doesn’t thrill or break new ground, but it is still a very good Bond movie.

Director Marc Forster is an odd choice to helm a Bond movie since his previous hits - “Finding Neverland” and “Monster’s Ball” - were not action movies. While Craig returns to give a solid performance and the gritty style with raw action maintained from the previous movie, this movie does lack a coherent plot that at times undermines the whole viewing experience.

The movie continues with Bond seeking to find his lover’s killers.

This Bond is very angry and leaves too many people dead in his trail. Bond soon finds himself in the midst of a nefarious plan of villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who is posing as a crusader for the environment but secretly has a more sinister plan.

Hunting the bad guys requires Bond to travel quite a bit and this gives the filmmakers a good excuse to stage some action sequences. There is a chase on foot through the streets, a chase on speed boats and even a battle in the sky with planes. Through it all, Bond maintains his cool but never cracks a smile.

At times the movie takes itself too seriously. This Bond movie may be the least fun of them all. His desire to seek revenge casts a dark shadow of a mood through out the movie and some well timed humour might have been refreshing. Gone also are the gadgets, along with Q. The one liner innuendos are also missing and for the first time, Bond’s signature “The name’s Bond, James Bond” has been dropped.

The action sequences are disappointing. This was the most expensive Bond movie made and the action does take place in some exciting locales. But the director makes a minor mistake. He choreographed the action from up close. We are placed right in the middle of the action, but we are not clear on what’s happening exactly. Sadly, at times we don’t want to seem to care.

The actors do a commendable job. Craig clearly suffers from a script that could have exploited his range in talent more. His character comes of very one dimensional.

The Bond girls Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arerton are stunning but end up as props. They are not allowed to be fleshed out. There is a bit of a back story for Camille (Kurylenko) but even she is disposed off much like former Bond girls.

Craig is set to return for more Bond movies. He had a good start with “Casino Royale”. With “Quantum Of Solace” he cements the new more gritty Bond, but at the expense of fun.

Here’s hoping the Bond of the future will lighten up, have some fun, and not take himself too seriously. Not everything from the old Bond movies needs to be changed.

Daniel Craig sees Gemma Arterton naked

Daniel Craig was lucky to see me naked: Gemma Arterton
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Oct 31 (IANS) Actress Gemma Arterton, who features in the new Bond movie “Quantum Of Solace” as Agent Field, says Daniel Craig was lucky to have a sex scene with her in the film.

Mirror.co.uk reports the 22-year-old saying: “There are not many people I would strip off for. Daniel was a very lucky boy to see me naked.”

But she had a tough time filming the scene.

She said: “I was naked on the bed and they poured gunge all over me. I had to stay like that for three hours. I couldn’t see and I could hardly breathe, it was horrible. But it was worth it because I knew it would look amazing.”

Movie Review Hellboy II The Golden Army

Hellboy II’ - mesmerising blend of real and supernatural world (Film Review - Rating ****)
By Sevanand Gaddala

Film: “Hellboy II The Golden Army“;

Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt, Luke Goss;

Director: Guillermo Del Toro; Rating: ****

Sometimes Hollywood movies bludgeon us with an excess of special effects that it’s hard to believe there’s anything special about them at all. With “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, director Guillermo del Toro transforms the use of special effects to something magical, beautiful, mesmerising with a lot of heart and soul.

Del Toro is clearly one of the best young directors in Hollywood and his underlying genius is his power of vision.

“Hellboy II” comes on the heels of the modestly successful “Hellboy”, released in 2004. The movie then did not receive breakthrough success, but established itself among hard core fans who were more than pleased.

This time around the studios have pumped in more money and Del Toro has made good use of every penny. He has created an incredible tableau of mythical creatures and monsters with a decent story line mixed with a good emotional backbone and sprinkled with the requisite superhero wisecrack humour.

In between the action, the movie settles down to a mature, warm and endearing depiction of relationships between the principal characters. The love angle is deftly explored, providing the movie with much heart and humour.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman), his woman Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and this time joined by Johann Straus (voiced by Seth McFarlane) all work with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a secret US government agency.

They have to contend with Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) from the mythological world, who has for centuries wanted to take over the world from the humans. He has a twin sister, who is connected to him very deeply but she doesn’t comply with his plans.

It is astonishing how Toro packs the frames of scenes with so many creatures. Each creature is a set of exquisite details and has its own unique character. He allows enough time for the viewer to soak in the nature of the creatures.

Toro is less inclined to impress and more interested in creating a connection between the viewer and the characters. There are the tiny but viscous tooth fairies with a twisted meaning for their name, the bean that turns into a gigantic and destructive forest god, and the golden army which is defeated in the end in a climactic battle.

The director envisions a blend of the real and supernatural world. The creatures may be other-worldly and supernatural but have very human natures, which makes it easier for us to relate to.

Like Peter Jackson with the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Toro understands the importance of details and the importance of infusing each scene with enough heart.

The actors all do a commendable job and their camaraderie is believable. Perlman as the lead actor is solid and manages to convey emotions through the red paint he is covered in.

The movie is also blessed with a singular vision since Del Toro was also involved in the developing of the story and script.

This movie joins “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight” as the better action movies of the Hollywood summer and is certain to please almost all movie fans.

My Sassy Girl

A straighlaced Midwestern guy finds himself hopelessly falling in love with a compulsive young woman who lives every moment on the edge. Based on the Korean film of the same title.

Rated PG-13 for language, thematic material and some sexual content.

Bait Shop 2008

The owner of a small town bait shop signs up for a fishing tournament in hopes of using the prize money to save his shop.

The Forbidden Kingdom

A discovery made by a kung fu-obsessed American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of martial arts action and some violence.

Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour 2007 (PG)

A teenage girl experiences strange occurances while staying with the grandmother of her dead friend.

Rated PG for thematic elements, mild peril and language.

Suspense, Horror, Thriller (81 Minutes)

The Women

Cast: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes

Genre: Drama