Are any of these movies noteworthy?

Somehow in the back of my head, I can't get over the fact the big screen seems deficient of the once held enthusiasm by us movie goers. Maybe Netflix and other dvd services are to blame. Perhaps, the more deeply rooted problem lies with the bland studio fare we are expected to delight in.

Does anybody want to see Bruce Willis come back in his role of John McClane? ... Okay, don't all jump up in excitement at once now. Yup, the working title is "Die Hard 4: Die Hardest" and is slated for a 2007 release. It's been in the works for well over a year, but is still in pre-production. I don't think With a Vengence was any good and that was 11 freakin' years ago.

X-Files 2: The Movie. Yes, Chris Carter is supposedly going to helm another big screen X-Files. Whether there can be success with a show that has been off-air for a few years is a tough bet to place. I did like Fight the Future but I doubt I would hold the same kind of anticipation for a second theatre feature. I'd guess an early 2008 release date.

Now, to more current offerings. James Bond is renewed with the 21st film in 44 years, starring British actor Daniel Craig as the newly minted double-oh. This is possibly the first Bond film in the last decade to hold any interest to me, since maybe Tomorrow Never Dies starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Terri Hatcher, and Michelle Yeoh. Or the one before it; GoldenEye, Brosnan's first, with a score by Eric Serra (who composed a brilliant score for La Femme Nikita- IMHO, one of the best scores in film).

Why does Casino Royale pique my interest? Because it should show off some serious free-running/parkour with Sebastian Foucan. This stylistic 'art' has not yet been introduced to most americans unless, like me, you are a fan of Banlieu 13 starring David Belle. This film just had a limited U.S. theatre release last month (as "District 13") even though it came out in 2004 in France. I bought the dvd last year, as Netflix didn't offer the film then. The free running sequences are truly exciting and very new for Hollywood, so I hope CR captures this form well.

I'm not a fan of Craig, from seeing his poor screen job in Tomb Raider as Alex West, so I'm not holding my breath. I understand he's done some more remarkable work since then, like Munich... but still... I kinda think the Bond franchise is on its last legs in a way. Just figure, we now own gadgets as cool as we used to dream Bond uses. My mp3 player is a camera, wait a voice recorder, wait a radio, wait a flash light/emergency beacon, oh yeah and a cell phone. Did I mention my w600i phone is also a bluetooth/infrared remote that can control my PC or stereo? Yeah, it can. It does. New cars have gps nav and bluetooth compatible iPod readiness. I mean, heck, a person can get a 4 MP digital camera smaller than the size of a cigarette box for way less than $200 USD. You get the idea. Perhaps the novelty has worn off. Or, more likely, we've caught up to the times. Bond simply doesn't have that unbelieveable swag like days bygone.

So what is the Bond franchise left with? Going back to the very FIRST story, and hopefully creating a great narrative the audience is engaged in. And lots of pretty eye candy in the form of Caterina Murino, Ivana Milicevic, and Eva Green. Sure the Aston is nice, but it's pretty much the same ride other films have used. Let's face it the Vanquish has been in everything from Italian Job to Jay-Z's videos. Show me a Panoz Esperante, or even an (older) Mclaren F1 and you'd have my atttention for about two or three whiles longer (longer than a while).