Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast
NEW RELEASES 11/17/06

Casino Royale (aka Bond 21) (PG-13)
Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jeffrey Wright
Directed by: Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Mask of Zorro)
Not to put too fine a point on it, but James Bond, 007, is a paid government assassin and the 00, with its license to kill, has to be earned. Daniel Craig, the newest personification of James Bond, has the correct movie resume for the job (Karas in “Renaissance” and Steve, the South African hit man in “Munich” for example). This movie is a flashback to Bond’s beginnings, street-smart but uncouth, he must learn to be suave and sophisticated (for example, this beer-drinker doesn’t really like vodka martinis be they stirred or shaken or sipped through a twisty straw). The film, and the blond Daniel Craig, are top notch, sure to satisfy the legions of Connery and Brosnan fans.
3 and 1/2 pieces of shaken, not stirred toast

Happy Feet (PG)
Voices of Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman
Directed by: George Miller
The Australian wunderkind who created “Babe” and “Mad Max“somehow manage to combine those two sensibilities with CG Emperor penguins and Antarctic snow slides and a dash of lively songs (but what ever happened to those singing mice?)
3 and 1/2 pieces of toe tapping toast

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (R)
Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, Emily Robison, Simon Renshaw
Directed by: Barbara Kopple Cecilia Peck
The Dixie Chicks were at the peak of their popularity as the top-selling female recording artists of all time until the group’s lead singer Natalie Maines made an on-stage comment criticizing President Bush while performing in England, in 2003. Filmmakers Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck follow the lives and careers of the three singers for the next three years, while their CDs and tapes are publicly burned, death threats are received, and their record sales and concert receipts tank. But will Natalie apologize? Or should she? (At the Rialto in Santa Rosa)
3 and 1/2 pieces of Dixie Chick toast

Fast Food Nation (R)
Greg Kinnear, Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Ethan Hawke, Kris Kristofferson, Wilmer Valderrama
Directed by: Richard Linklater
I suggest you avoid seeing this movie the night before a tradiltional Thanksgiving meal is served. This film follows a fast-food executive who goes behind the scenes to find out why his restaurants received contaminated hamburger patties. Although uneven at times, this view at the underbelly of our food supply can’t help but make you wonder about it all. (At the Rialto in Santa Rosa)
3 pieces of belly full toast

NEW on VIDEO & DVD

Who Killed the Electric Car?(PG)
Directed by Chris Paine
Box Office: $1,324,335
This documentary came and went so fast that it was almost as big a secret as tires that never have to be replaced or the razor blades that never gets dull. Now, in the comfort of your own home, you can watch it and enjoy a film that entertains us as it makes us angry. The electric car of the future was actually built and road-tested by several thousand American drivers who say it was one of the fastest, most efficient vehicles ever made. So why aren’t any of them on the road?
3 and 1/2 pieces of well documented toast

The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen
Directed by Ron Howard
Box Office: $217,536,138
Golden boys, Hanks and Howard, have created their first humungous clunker. With all the “secrets” revealed in advance, and afraid to offend, they stick to a middle road that drags on so long you hear members of the audience lamenting “Are we there yet?” Sadly, when we finally arrive, there is “no there there.”
1 and 1/2 pieces of disappointing toast