Daniel Craig

CHICAGO – “The Hunger” is one of the more unusual entries in the history of the TV anthology series, a personal favorite sub-genre of this writer raised on “The Twilight Zone,” “The Outer Limits,” “Tales From the Crypt,” and “Amazing Stories”. It has amazing star power, a loose relation to a great ’80s horror movie, and enough thrills to entertain, but has been largely forgotten by TV history.

CHICAGO – There are many things to like about Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” including Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber’s excellent performances, a lovely score by James Newton Howard, and, of course, the important subject matter, but the overdone screenplay and Zwick’s typically melodramatic direction just barely sink the film, although a nice Blu-Ray release should help make a few of its flaws easier to overlook.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Quantum of Solace,” the second Daniel Craig 007 movie after the earthquake to the franchise that was the brilliant “Casino Royale,” didn’t make quite the same waves in the action genre and left a few viewers dissatisfied but it still makes for a better-than-average action movie rental. Sadly, MGM continues to struggle a bit in the HD revolution, releasing a so-so Blu-Ray that won’t help the viewers who felt let down by the film in theaters.

CHICAGO – Ed Zwick’s “Defiance” is a dramatically inert film that misses the mark by allowing its director to play up his notable weaknesses as a filmmaker. Neither satisfying as the action-driven entertainment that Zwick likes to make nor as an emotional historical epic, “Defiance” is flat and dull, only mildly redeemed by two strong lead performances and the inherent power of its subject matter.

CHICAGO – With “Quantum of Solace” opening today starring Daniel Craig, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench and Olga Kurylenko, Jeff Bayer’s The Scorecard Review (a partner with HollywoodChicago.com) has published its list of the top seven James Bond gadgets.

Principal photography for untitled James Bond film No. 22 will begin in the United Kingdom on Jan. 3, 2008 at Pinewood Studios, according to the comprehensive James Bond Web site MI6.

I just learned that “The Golden Compass,” which opens nationwide on Dec. 8, will have a national sneak in approximatley 800 theaters across the U.S. on Dec. 1.