If you didn’t see Casino Royale this weekend, today’s comic isn’t going to make much sense to you. But the fact of the matter is that this was a conversation I had in real-life with Cami literally minutes after we finished watching the film and I thought it was simply too cute NOT to use in a strip.

If you didn’t see Casino Royale this weekend (and it’s shocking second place finish against Happy Feet) indicates there were a few of you with cold feet – I strongly suggest you make time to check it out. It is – without question – the best Bond movie of the modern era. Easily in the top 5 Bond movies of all time. Maybe even the top 3. I loved this film and I can’t stress that enough.

I’ve always been a sucker for the James Bond franchise, so take my praise with a grain of salt. I’ve been watching these films since I was in my early teens and was always facinated by them. Not just for all the macho trappings – the girls, the gadgets, and whatnot. But I also appreciate it from a historical perspective. One could argue that before Bond, there really wasn’t an action genre in film. I also think it’s cool that the character can be handed down from actor to actor.

To that end, anyone with reservations about the casting of Daniel Craig should get over themselves. Craig knocks it out of the part and he is the perfect choice for this rebooting of the franchise. Craig’s Bond is very rough around the edges. Compitent and lethal, but still making mistakes. What the filmmakers do is strip Bond down to his essense. There’s no Miss Moneypenny to flirt with or Q to show off the handy gadgets.  As for romantic interests, we’re not stuck being asked to believe in Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist but treated to a very plausable Eva Green as a representative of the British treasury. Everything is far less complicated and that leaves room for three fabulous action sequences to breathe on their own.

Most of what has plauged Bond in his most recent adventures is cartoonish characters and over-the-top scenarios. While Casino Royale skirts the line with the villianous Le Chiffre who cries blood when he gets a good hand in poker, the pursuit of a bomb-maker in Madagascar seems very plausible. The high stakes poker game the film concludes with also feels exotic and daring but still somewhat tethered to reality.

If you’re a fan of the Bond mythos on any level. I strongly suggest you check out Casino Royale. You won’t be dissapointed.

In addition to seein Casino Royale this weekend, Cami and I also saw The Queen with Helen Mirren. An amazing performance as HRH Queen Elizabeth II. The film is a very economical retelling of the events in the week surrounding Princess Diana’s death in Paris in 1997. It focuses on The Royal Family and their botched handling of Diana’s sad demise by refusing to return to London while on holiday or making and public statements to aid the British people in their grief.

I’m not a big Royal-watcher so it was very interesting to get a glimpse inside the mechanics of a monarchy. I recall thinking that The Royal Family had totally gone about things the wrong way when it took Queen Elizabeth almost a week to say anything about what had happened. Certainly, for the first two-thirds of the movie, that rings true. But near the end, before she gives her speech, there is a very profound moment that leaves you feeling somewhat sad for the monarchy and what it has come to represent in modern Britian. Queen Elizabeth is cut as a somewhat tragic figure. A ruler who has sat on the throne for over 50 years and is not equipped emotionally to see through the transition between the role she believes has been ordained by God and the role her subjects expect her to play as a media figure that they somehow "own."

I watched the film and was very curious how people in the UK might have reacted to it. I also left thinking about what will become of the monarchy once Prince William becomes King. Facinating stuff.

In site news, I was hoping to have "Spoiler II" done over the weekend. But, truthfully, my day job has been keeping me away from the site somewhat and I spent the weekend playing catch up on e-mails. It’s probably for the best. With Thanksgiving this Thursday, I’m not thinking people will have that kind of thing on their mind.

Just a head’s up: Cami gave me a great suggestion to have a special holiday sale very soon. We’re calling it The $10 Sale and everything will be on sale for $10  for one day only. That’s books, t-shirts, everything. A great opportunity to maybe buy a copy of our books for a family member who loves films. Just a thought.

At any rate, The $10 Sale will probably take place sometime next week. So get your pocketbooks ready.

Talk to you guys soon!