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Skyfall
Who: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Albert Finney
What: Bond returns to duty after nearly dying on a mission and faces off against Mr. Silva (Bardem), who seems bent on killing M. The climax takes place at Bond's childhood estate, called Skyfall. Harris plays his partner, Whishaw plays Q, Fiennes plays an MP, and Finney plays a groundskeeper.
When: March 12th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: This is the biggest box office performer in the Bond series to date, in its 50th year. There are some eye-rolling plot moments, but Bardem plays a deliciously sinister villain and there are a lot of great references to the Bond canon. Adele's theme song was featured at the Oscars and won the award for Best Song.

Smashed
Who: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally
What: A romantic drama, where a couple's relationship is largely based on heavy drinking, but sobering up creates all sorts of problems.
When: March 12th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I fell in love with Winstead in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, so I'd like to see her star in this drama. Spencer of course has an Oscar from her performance in The Help. And Nick Offerman has been fantastic in his stoic role as Ron Swanson in Parks and Rec.

This Must Be the Place
Who: Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Judd Hirsch, Harry Dean Stanton
What: Penn plays a very bizarrely dressed and soft/high-pitched voiced former rockstar named Cheyenne who embarks on a journey to restore his father's honor by tracking down a former Nazi.
When: March 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Watching the trailer, Penn's character looks and sounds so weird that you have to wonder if the movie is supposed to be a joke. I feel like watching it to see how the heck they pull it off.

Venus and Vegas
Who: Eddie Kaye Thomas, Donald Faison, Jaime Pressly, Abraham Benrubi, Molly Sims, Joe Rogan
What: A heist comedy about a group of buddies who try to steal some poker chips from a warehouse own by the mob in Las Vegas.
When: March 12th
Why: Thomas is most known for playing Finch in the American Pie movie series, Faison for playing Turk in the TV series Scrubs. I could go for a light comedy/heist like this.


What I'm watching this week:

Based on a goal of watching 200 movies per year, I try to watch - or limit myself to - four movies per week. The big movie this week of course is Skyfall, which I recommend as a Bond fan, particularly because of the performances and the Bond history. The other "big" movie (missed by most audiences when it was in theaters) for me is The Sessions, for the award-worthy performances. Having seen those two already, I'm looking forward to Freaky Deaky for the Elmore Leonard pedigree. I'll finish the week with some good old fashioned action mayhem in The Man With the Iron Fists which boasts a tagline of "You can't spell Kung Fu without F and U."

Coming next week:

Anna Karenina, Argo, Atlas Shrugged Part II, Bachelorette, The Big Picture, The Factory, Price Check, Riddle, Rust and Bone, and Zero Dark Thirty

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