Skyfall

2 Paws

Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

Aren't all James Bond movies the same?

It doesn't seem to matter which one I'm watching - I'm just not that interested in keeping up with the action. I finally started paying attention when the characters in this version reach Skyfall, the brooding Scottish estate that once served as the boyhood home of James Bond (it's near the tail end of the movie, mind you).

I will give Eve (Naomie Harris) big points for style and killer hair, and there are worse things to look at on screen than Daniel Craig, although I think I could pick him up and carry him around in my pocket. There's also a nice Bondian twist at the end, but my tent will be forever pitched in Sean Connery's camp.

Oh, and someone ought to let the British Secret Service know that Voldemort has infiltrated its ranks.

Bonus Bones: 2

One for each hunting dog on the Skyfall estate.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2 Paws
Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

Too much Orc, not enough charm.

I'm not obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien's tales of fantasy, but I did manage to read The Hobbit and rather enjoyed it. Peter Jackson's take on the classic - at least the first installment of it - is a bit of a yawner. I've never been a fan of slimy, brutish creatures with bad teeth and even worse manners, and their antics dominated the action.

Martin Freeman makes a charming Bilbo Baggins, and there's a searing fierceness in Richard Armitage's Thorin Oakenshield, the exiled Dwarf king. But neither gets much of a chance to endear themselves to the audience, which is the best part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I also prefer Gandalf the White to Gandalf the Grey, at least in terms of his fashion sense. Maybe the second one will be better.

Bonus Bones: 0
I guess there were no dogs in Middle-earth.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel

2 Paws

Seen recently at the Dundee Theatre (still musty, still awaiting its makeover)

I'm mad about Diana Vreeland - at least from a distance. She was able to turn her eccentricity into an asset, and her confidence and sense of adventure gave her a power not often associated with women of her day.

Up close, Vreeland comes across as a frosty and somewhat terrifying human being, as evidenced by the interviews with her former employees (among them Vera Wang and the fabulous Ali MacGraw) and her two sons. I hold out hope that you can be wildly creative and genuinely nice at the same time.

If you're a fashionista, you'll appreciate the archival footage and stills - they made me think we're falling a little short of the mark today. If you're not, you should skip this one. A great documentary transcends the subject matter, which doesn't happen here.

Bonus Bones: 2.5

You see a few dogs via photo and film clip, but the best part is the Ali MacGraw interview - she's shushing something off camera that's obviously her dog.