With the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, hitting theaters today, it seems that I'm being blasted from all sides by advertising for the film. Just last night, in addition to the expected television commercials, I saw new Bond Girl Naomie Harris on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson, a "James Bond" category on Jeopardy! in which some poor sap lost cash for calling the only George Lazenby Bond movie "In Her Majesty's Secret Service," and a discussion on Headline News about the "hottest" Bond Girl, Pussy Galore. I think that the anchors were enjoying their job way too much, as they seemed to be trying to see how many times they could say "pussy galore" on television and get away with it.

Boy, I sure will be glad when next week arrives, and we can replace all this Bond hype with Twilight hype. Sadly, I am only half kidding.

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After a very busy weekend, I finally sat down and watched the new James Bond movie. I know that I promised that I would NEVER watch a Bond movie again after the insultingly awful Die Another Day, but I did get to watch this for free, borrowing a copy from a friend who enjoyed it, thereby giving the producers not a cent from my perusal of their film. And it was worth every penny I paid to see it.

In a word, Casino Royale is boring. (But at least it was long!) The first hour sets up the second hour. The second hour sets up the third. And the third hour is completely unnecessary.

Several people I know championed this film as a return to greatness for the Bond franchise. This is a second-rate action film passing itself off as a pedigree. Coop, if my opinion of your taste in movies needed any more nails, this one sealed the coffin. Don't let pretty eye-candy and some above average stunts distract you from the poor craftsmanship and complete lack of competent visual storytelling.

Sure, it was better than Die Another Day, but that doesn't say anything. So was Catwoman.

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