By now pretty much everybody on Earth has seen Skyfall and, with but a few exceptions, loved it. That puts a lot of pressure on a movie for someone who views it long after the fact. So, what does this Basementite think of the latest 007 outing? Stick with me! Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. While MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. Is this the best James Bond movie ever made? No. That title still goes to Casino Royale . But this is the best Bond in about 30 years, easily besting The Pierce Brosnan , Timothy Dalton and Roger Moore entries. I've long believed Daniel Craig to be the best Bond since Sean Connery , and Skyfall doesn't prove me wrong. Why? Skyfall has all the spectacle one would expect from Bond, yet is surprisingly grounded. Example, the final showdown isn't some elaborate, effects-laden action sequence. Instead, it's a spectacular shootou...

So Skyfall came out yesterday in the UK, its been four years since 007 last lit up the silverscreen. Quantum of Solace left a lot of people cold, I myself enjoyed it, but in all honesty I’m a huge Bond fan. Every British lad wants to be Bond, and if they don’t....well their liars, so lets say the audience reception to QOS was, let's say, stale. Bond had to step up. What of the plot, well I can’t say too much, that would be unsporting. First up, Bond of old always had a great opening, well this is no different. This one sets up the storyline perfectly, Bond starts to question just how expendable a secret agent can be and who he can trust, M? Which leads to our villain of the picture, here portrayed by an excellent Javier Bardem. He appears to have a very personal grudge against M, one which sees MI6 being blown up. Well there is only one super agent who can save Blighty, thats right -- 007. Like Bond of old, we go globetrotting to find the culprit. Also we have a new Q, a welcome a...

Recovery from our Dark Fest 2012 weekend is not coming easily (fear not, there will be a debrief, both on Saturday's podcast and here on the site by week's end) but I've still managed to scrounge up this here bit of news that should please fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower novels. We've reported here before about Ron Howard's doomed three-film, two-TV series adaptation of King's magnum opus, which Universal Studio's canned due to a variety of concerns. Well, Deadline reports today that the project may now be picked up by Warner Bros. with Howard still directing and Javier Bardem still in the role of The Gunslinger himself, Roland Deschain. No word yet on whether or not the story will be told during a trilogy of films and two seasons of a TV series. This is an ambitious project, one that feels unadaptable. But I have to admit, I am curious to see if it can be pulled off. Probably not, but we'll keep you posted.

It was first reported that Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen were director Ron Howard's top choices for the role of Roland in the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. But word broke across the web today that Batman himself, Christian Bale, has become the front runner. The guys over at JoBlo report it was Bale's Golden Globe win for The Fighter that pushed him to the top. The announcement is a shock given I don't remember Bale even being in the running. Of the three, he's my top choice. Bale's a great actor and can play moody really well. He also looks kinda like Clint Eastwood, who King obviously modeled Roland on. The Dark Tower hits theatres in May 2013.

We reported in September that Ron Howard is moving ahead with an epic adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy yarn The Dark Tower, promising to turn the seven-novel series into three films with TV seasons bridging the movies. Love the idea or hate it (I hate it, but that's just me being me), the project is moving forward, and the New York Post reports Javier Bardem (the villain from No Country For Old Men) is the director's top choice to play hero Roland Deschain with Viggo Mortensen a close second. For the record, both men are excellent choices for King's Gunslinger. No matter what I think about the idea of turning King's great books into films, at least Howard and company want to assemble a top cast. And it's also good news that the cast will stick with the adaptation through all three movies and two TV seasons. Why don't I want to see the books adapted? Easy: I'm scared Hollywood is going to fuck them up. The novels are dark, violent and spectacul...