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FLICKS: Spectre & FLiFF

Posted on 19 November 2015 by LeslieM

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Spectre

Given the horrors we recently witnessed in Paris, the heroism of a fictional character like James Bond should feel false. Yet the Spectre box office has proven the value of movie escapism. Of all the Daniel Craig 007 adventures, Spectre feels like the most typical James Bond flick.

The film opens strong with Bond in Mexico tracking an assassin. From this endeavor, Bond finds a clue to a terrorist organization with links to previous movies, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. The mastermind of crime is Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) who employs Mr. Hynx (Dave Bautista), a huge henchman with a double barreled shotgun. Bond must rescue the beautiful Dr. Swann (Léa Seydoux), whose father was a soldier under Oberhauser.

Spectre raises some great questions about field espionage and computer surveillance, yet the film offers no solutions. After the opening, the best thing about Spectre is the cat and mouse game between Bond and Mr. Hynx. When Hynx disappears, the film limps to its conclusion.

FLiFF this week

This weekend, Amy Madigan and her husband Ed Harris will visit the 30th annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and receive their Lifetime Achievement Awards. While the couple has worked as professional collaborators for years, their most critically-acclaimed work together was Pollock, Harris’s award-winning directorial debut.

Harris will attend the Florida Premier of The Adderall Diaries at the Cinema Paradiso- Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night at 8:15 p.m. (Film also showing at the Hollywood location on Saturday at 6 p.m). Harris portrays Neil Elliott, the vindictive father of Stephen Elliott (James Franco), who is a once successful novelist who has become addicted to Adderall.

Thirty years ago, Ed Harris starred in a locally-produced movie which included Blair Brown and Richard Jordan. The film was based on a best-selling John D. MacDonald mystery novel about corrupt small town politics, greedy land developers and Florida’s vanishing environment. Titled A Flash of Green, the film will be showing at Cinema Paradiso in Ft. Lauderdale at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21.

The film was directed by Victor Nunez, a Florida resident, who will be presented the Florida Prize award for his commitment to Florida filmmaking. The award will be given to him by Ed Harris. The awards ceremony and gala will be held at the Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood at 6:30 p.m.

For ticket information for the gala or any other FLiFF events, call 954-525-FILM (3456) or visit www.fliff.com.

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