Bond goes after a terrorist in ‘Skyfall’

“Skyfall”

Director Sam Mendes gives 007 fans everything they have come to expect in a James Bond film and more with “Skyfall,” the 23rd film in the series and one of the best.

Daniel Craig takes the Bond role once more, returning to active duty after an attack on M16 that seems personally motivated and aimed at M (Judi Dench). M is on the hot seat, and those who oppose her insist her intelligence agency is outdated.

When a hard drive with the identities of agents is stolen, Bond and fellow agent Eve (Naomie Harris) go to Istanbul to find it. Bond goes up against sinister Silva (Javier Bardem), a cyber-terrorist who has a vendetta against M. As Silva, Bardem is a treat, stealing scenes and making for the best Bond villain in recent memory.

“Skyfall” is an exciting film from start to finish.

“Best of Warner Brother 20 Film Collection Musicals”

The 21 discs of Warner Brothers musicals are broken up into three eras:

Ÿ 1927-51 features “The Jazz Singer,” “The Great Ziegfeld,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “An American in Paris” and more.

Ÿ 1951-64 has “Singing in the Rain,” “The Music Man,” “Viva Las Vegas,” “Showboat” and more.

Ÿ 1967-88 includes “Camelot,” “Cabaret,” “That’s Entertainment,” “Hairspray” and others.

“The Sessions”

This adult drama is based on the true story of Mark O’Brien, who was paralyzed and spent most of his time in an iron lung. O’Brien (a terrific John Hawkes) has a great sense of humor and uses wisecracks to make those around him feel comfortable with his situation. What he wants, though, is to experience intimacy and turns to a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) for help. She speaks about body awareness while teaching him step-by-step.

The frank and funny film shows how Mark’s world opens up as he expresses himself for the first time. This is a gentle and life-affirming film with excellent performances.

“Bully”

This powerful documentary follows five students from different states over the course of a year. We see how these kids got bullied by fellow students, and cameras follow them throughout their difficult days. This is a painful film to watch, and, for some of the families, the ending is tragic.

Schools should show this documentary to their students and parents should see it as well.

Available next week

“Anna Karenina”

“Argo”

“Celtic Thunder: Mythology”

“Complete Adventures of Flash Gordon”

“Game of Thrones: Season Two”

“Rod Stewart: Storyteller 1984-1991”

“Undefeated”