Kingsman: The Golden Circle

I'm not sure about this. This movie and its predecessor seem to want to be a looser, updated version of James Bond, and in some ways it pulls that off. It's got all the action--in spades--the gadgetry, the humor, the 'save the world' trope...it's all in place, and I can't really say it's not entertaining. And once again, the filmmakers have a certain amount of political insight where they try to deliver a satirical but somewhat cogent point. All well and good. But--and it's a huge 'but'--there are problems here, too. The combination of sophisticated and crude will clash a bit too much for some viewers. This film (and this applies to the previous entry, too) relies almost obsessively on long action sequences that are heavy on visual and camera gymnastics: stuff that looks good at first, but gets tedious after a while, despite the director's obvious love affair with his own shot-making cleverness. And, in addition to being crude, this outing is also remarkably violent; only the John Wick movies are a match for the violence displayed here, and those flicks are substantially darker in tone. This is almost like "playful psychopathy" here--which isn't always funny and entertaining. Toning it down a bit would probably make for a better movie--though I wouldn't count on seeing that in the seemingly inevitable third installment.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

This movie is desperately concerned with gaining its Generation AA bona fides, right down to the cockeyed way in which certain characters wear their caps. At the same time, it very self-consciously pays homage--at times out loud in the script--to spy movies of two generations ago. So then, if you throw all that together does it make for a great action adventure spy movie? Well, more like a decent action adventure spy movie. For one thing, this up to date take on the secret agent flick is substantially cruder than its predecessors: more lowbrow in its humor and gorier in its violence. Interestingly, the story gets the politics mostly right, including a provocative take on climate change and what's to be done about it. Bottom line: I suggest watching this one for free, on TV or from the library. As for the future of the genre, I don't think this one earned enough cred to merit a sequel (though I bet one shows up anyway). We'll have to wait for someone else to take this kind of flick to the next level.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

See, here’s the thing about spies: if they’re doing their jobs right, you’re not supposed to know what they’re up to. Seems that the spies in this movie are on that ball--for a good stretch of the flick’s running time, I couldn’t tell what was going on. Despite that handicap, and almost in spite of itself, the film does eventually grow into an engrossing viewing experience. By the end, when Oldman’s George Smiley has worked through the problem, you care about how it all plays out. This is clearly not everyone’s kind of film, but if you’ve got a thing for the spy genre and a high tolerance for opacity, you might enjoy this one.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Colin Firth and Rupert Everett make a fine pair of scalawags, and Reese Witherspoon acquits herself well with the faux English accent, but as usual it's the Wildean wit that shines most brightly. Those bon mots by themselves are a reason to watch this film.

Girl With A Pearl Earring

Competent, but hardly compelling. Such a languid film should bring some serious goods when it finally reaches its climax, but this one just doesn't come through. I'm still not sure what point the movie was trying to make; or maybe there was no point at all. And that begs the question: why bother?