Grant Minnick's Movie Reviews

“I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pajamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field.” - Q Skyfall was directed by Sam Mendes and is the third film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.  The film also stars Judi Dench, Ben Whishaw, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and Naomie Harris.  At the beginning of this film, Agent 007 is shot off the top of a train and goes missing.  When MI6 is attacked by a cyber-terrorist, Bond comes out of hiding to help.  But there is one problem: When Bond was shot, he was presumed dead by MI6, which means that he will now have to pass a number of physical tests to regain his status as an Agent before he can go off to save the day. When Quantum of Solace turned out to be mediocre, along came Skyfall to breathe life back into the Bond franchise again.  Skyfall has everything I want from a Bond film.  It has humor, action, suspense, witty dialogue, excellent costuming and makeup, ...

“You shot him at point blank and threw him off a roof.  I’d hardly call that showing restraint.” - M Quantum of Solace is directed by Marc Forster and is the second film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.  The film also stars Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, and Mathieu Amalric.  Taking place directly after the events of Casino Royale , this film finds James Bond investigating Quantum, a mysterious organization responsible for the death of someone close to him.  His investigation leads him to Dominic Greene, a member of Quantum who is trying to occupy territory in Bolivia.  Throughout the film, Bond tails Greene in hope of finding answers as to what Quantum is. Casino Royale gave the Bond series a fresh new feel and showed us what a dark version of Agent 007 would look like.  Quantum of Solace keeps the grittiness and violence of Casino Royale , but there doesn’t seem to be as much passion or originality as there was in its predecesso...

“You changed your shirt, Mr. Bond.  I hope our little game isn’t causing you to perspire.” - Le Chiffre Casino Royale was directed by Martin Campbell, and is the first film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.  The movie also stars Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, and Judi Dench.  In this film, MI6 Agent James Bond achieves 00 status and earns his licence to kill.  From there, he is assigned his first mission as Agent 007, and we follow Bond as he goes up against a terrorist financier named Le Chiffre in a game of poker, in an attempt to make him go bankrupt.  When it came out in 2006, nobody had ever seen a Bond film like Casino Royale .  It took familiar staples of the classic Bond films and turned them on their heads.  The film served as a reboot for the Bond series, and next to Mad Max: Fury Road , Casino Royale is one of my favorite reboots of a popular franchise.  It does what all great reboots should do: it gives familiar characters an...

“There was never any question that something was different about James… that something was wrong.” - Jim Gordon Batman: The Black Mirror is written by Scott Snyder and is illustrated by Jock and Francesco Francavilla.  It ran for ten issues in the year 2011 and is known for being the last Batman story written before the introduction of the New 52.  The book is now considered a modern classic, and many people consider The Black Mirror to be some of Scott Snyder’s finest work.   Batman has always been my favorite superhero.  There are just so many things to love about Batman as a character.  However, my favorite Batman stories are ones that give us a completely new look into Batman and the world in which he lives, and more importantly, ones that ask the question “What if?”  For example, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns asks “What if Batman were an old man?”  Brian Augustyn’s Gotham By Gaslight asks “What if Batman fought Jack the Ri...

“You gotta be one of the good guys, son, ‘cause there’s way too many of the bad.” - John Custer Preacher is a comic series written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon.  It was published under DC’s now discontinued Vertigo imprint and ran from 1995 to 2000, spanning 75 issues in total.  It follows the lives of Texas preacher Jesse Custer, his assassin girlfriend Tulip O’Hare, and his hard-partying vampire friend Cassidy.  When Jesse is possessed by Genesis, an unearthly entity that escaped from heaven, he is given a supernatural power that causes people to directly obey anything he says.  Upon learning that God has fled from heaven after the escape of Genesis, Jesse goes on a quest to find God and make him answer for the sufferings of the world he created. Preacher is widely regarded as one of the best non-superhero comics ever made, and it’s easy to see why.  It’s funny, intelligent, witty, and surprisingly heartwarming, but don’t let that fo...

“We’re going on a quest!” - Barley Lightfoot      Onward is an animated fantasy movie starring the voice talents of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Octavia Spencer, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  The film is directed by Dan Scanlon and is the 22nd film from Pixar Animation Studios.  It tells the story of Ian Lightfoot, a young elf celebrating his sixteenth birthday.  After magically bringing back the lower half of his deceased father, Ian and his older brother Barley go on a quest to try and bring their father back completely before sunset.   Onward has everything that people have grown to love in a Pixar movie.  It has humor, heart, adventure, fantastic animation, and a stellar voice cast.  It also has enough new elements to keep even the most seasoned Pixar fan satisfied. The story is heartfelt, and it deals with difficult topics in ways that are easy for kids to understand without ever talking down to them.  It explores how ...