Skyfall

James Bond has been around for decades and in 2012, looks to reprise his role in the coveted movies for the 23^rd installment of a James Bond movie.  Taking the title Skyfall, hunk Daniel Craig will be resuming his illustrious title of lady-killer James Bond, with Javier Bardem and and Judi Dench both returning as well to their respective roles.

Despite rumors, Skyfall will not be following the same storyline as the two previous films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.  This film will mark the 50 year anniversary of the Dr. No and the Bond franchise, making it one of the most long-lasting and profitable secret-agent series of all time.

While James Bond (Daniel Craig) has pledged his alliance to “M” (Judi Dench), an imminent threat seeks to destroy the agent as her past begins to haunt her.  As an MI6 comes under attack, Bond must track down and eliminate the this threat, despite the perilous personal costs.

Directed by Sam Mendes, this 2012 feature film starring our favorite secret agent 007 will have a tough mark to live up to after the critical success of the last two films.  Currently filming, the movie is set to be released towards the end of the year.  Look for snazzy suited men, beautiful Bond girls, and some breathtaking action scenes are will be just “to die for”.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment

Dream House

Dream House, a 2011 psychological horror thriller featuring Casino Royale star Brit Daniel Craig, is one of the latest movies of its genre to be released this year.  With a backwards plot that leads you guessing what’s true and what’ not, the story has the potential to transfix the minds of viewers on a journey to find out the real story behind this ideal household.

Peter Ward (Daniel Craig) has a fantasy a little more outlandish than what most might conjure up.  In his head, reality is what he wants it to be.  Living in a beautiful house with his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and two little girls, he is a best-selling author that couldn’t ask for a better life.  But when neighbors start to hint at something, Peter looks deeper into why he’s been getting those worried looks from everyone.

What he finds out could not be worse.  Five years earlier, his wife and two children were violently murdered. In addition, he maintained a bullet wound to head and remembers absolutely nothing.  He has spent the last five years in a psychiatric hospital and is stunned to learn that his ornately-decorated home is actually boarded up and abandoned.  When he must confront his living-dead wife about her death, the floor begins to cave in as the truth about the murders starts to surface.

Directed by Jim Sheridan, Dream House was designed to perplex the mind of the audience while delivering unexpected twists, turns and scares.  Although the well-designed framework of the story is there, the psychological supersedes the scary, as the plot is very bulky, enough to allow the creative minds to be interested but too much to allow lots of horror into the picture.  If you’re looking for a interesting flick made to get those cogs in your brain turning, Dream House is just the film for you.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an adaptation of the first novel of the late Stieg Larsson’s wildly popular trilogy and is produced by Columbia Pictures. This is actually the second adaptation of the book.  The original version was produced in Sweden, where the books are set, and became a phenomenal hit in 2009, just like the books. Both films revolve around the same story, but the endings differ.

Investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is commissioned by the uncle of Harriet Vanger to write a chronicle of their influential family.  The condition is that it must include the events surrounding Harriet’s death because her uncle believes she was murdered 40 years ago by a member of their own family.

Mikael brings on computer genius Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) as his research assistant. Lisbeth is an unusual girl and to many, her tough, dark persona is off-putting, but her investigative and technological savvy cannot be denied.  They are an unlikely pair, but together they unravel the truth behind Harriet’s death, even though some of the family members take extreme measures, including attempted murder, to set them off track.

Directed by David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is receiving a lot of opposing opinions from fans of the book and of the Swedish version of the movie. Some think that Fincher’s adaptation is an unnecessary remake of a perfectly done film. Others are thankful that a version for the English speaking world has come out. There’s a lot of anticipation, but no one will be able to determine which version is better until the film debuts.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment

The Adventures of Tintin – The Secret of the Unicorn; A Steven Spielberg Film

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, is the first film adaptation of the world famous comic of the same name by Belgian artist Herge (Georges Remi), and is also the latest project by legendary writer, director and producer, Steven Spielberg.

The film begins in quaint 1930’s Brussels, where Tintin, an intrepid young Belgian reporter, voiced by actor Jamie Bell, stumbles upon an antique ship in an outdoor market with the image of a unicorn as the mast. The merchant informs Tintin that the rare three-masted ship is the mightiest ship that has ever sailed the seven seas. Feeling that the ship truly is something special, Tintin is compelled to purchase the model at once.  His life immediately takes a drastic turn toward adventure, when the sinister Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine, voiced by Daniel Craig, immediately sets his sights on Tintin and begins pursuing him to acquire the ship for himself.

Tintin realizes the importance of the ship when it breaks during a fight between his beloved dog Snowy and a neighbor cat.  Amidst the pieces, he finds a secret scroll that gives him clues for finding one of the world’s most famous ancient treasures. However, Tintin is not alone in this knowledge of the scroll, and an unseemly slew of treasure seekers stops at nothing to acquire the ship, the scroll, and, ultimately, the treasure for themselves.

The film takes family fun adventure to a new level as the story ranges from the high-seas to the deserts of Morocco.  It is filled with villains, thieves, and even 17th century pirates in search of the other two model ships, which contain the final clues to the treasure.  Everything is filmed with motion capture technology, which bridges the gap between animation and life action film.

The Adventures of Tintin will join the ranks of other famous films by Spielberg such as; Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, and another film recently reviewed on this blog- War Horse.

While critics abroad, where the film has already opened, are claiming that the film adaptation does not exactly live up to the comic in story or even graphics, the film promises to be an excellent holiday film for all ages and a fantastic introduction to the Adventures of Tintin to the masses.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment