The Bay - we have been warned...

Of all the horror movies I've seen, The Bay, from director Barry Levinson, is the one I'm most hoping doesn't come true - unfortunately it's also way too easy to believe that the harrowing events depicted around Chesapeake Bay in this film actually could.

Whatever you do, don't dismiss The Bay as another "found footage" horror film, and lump it together with Apollo 18 or Paranormal Activity XX. While Levinson makes use of various "recovered" video sources, The Bay feels more like a documentary - an impossibly disturbing, throat-grabbing, make-it-stop documentary. It's been called an "eco-horror" film, due to the environmental underpinnings behind the horrific events depicted onscreen. DNA from Jaws and The Birds has been spliced together with that of Forks Over Knives. Given that the threat in The Bay is actually something real, with just the tiniest and all too believable sci-fi nudge, it's one of the most unsettling films I've seen in a while. If you've become jaded by bad horror and need a mainline jolt of the real McCoy, don't let yourself miss The Bay - but fair warning: you won't be able to get the toothpaste of anxiety back in the tube once it's been squeezed out.

Huge kudos to Barry Levinson, who's made a stunning career departure here with the vigor of a filmmaker a third his age. It's almost hard to fathom that this is the same director who shot Diner, The Natural and Rain Man. He's done some intense work before (TV's Homicide and Sleepers), but nothing like this. It's like he had a lifelong dream to run amok with a low budget and just scare the holy hell out of people. Levinson is a Maryland man through and through, and one can't help but feel that his disgust over what's happened to his beloved Chesapeake Bay is what got him so fired up to make this movie.

The Bay is available at home OnDemand - same day as theaters - and it's very, very much worth seeking out. It delivers the goods like crazy and no fan of the genre should miss it. But I'd label it with a strong warning - The Bay is one of the most disturbing films you'll see this year. Don't drink the water.

Old dog, new tricks...Skyfall

When you turn 50, are you done? Are you a quaint relic in the eyes of a younger world? Not on your life, Mr. Bond. With a smashing sense of purpose and invigorated storytelling, Skyfall gives us what is truly one of the best Bond pictures in ages, in all likelihood one of the top 5.

Director Sam Mendes is an inspired choice as director – combining his strength at working with actors (American Beauty) with his ability to juggle heart with gritty dynamics (Road to Perdition), Mendes also brings the enthusiasm and fastidious attention to detail of the lifelong fan – the combination works beautifully and he gives us one of the all-time best Bond films – as does Daniel Craig. Not only do we get a decent story that’s satisfying for adults, but we actually get to learn more about who Bond is – where he came from and how he came to be the man he is. It’s fascinating and incredibly satisfying.

Some impressive standouts include Naomie Harris (28 Days Later), sensational as a realistic and engaging MI6 agent – she’s a great accompaniment to a particularly bruised and payback-hungry Bond. Bond films practically invented the “opening action sequence” and Skyfall has you gripping the seats and in the thick of it like you won’t believe. Way to get our attention, gentlemen! It’s a great delight to discover that Adele delivers a theme-song that ranks among the very best. It’s modern, but does a fine job of echoing the character of all-time favorites from the Shirley Bassey era. It’s easily the best theme since Live and Let Die.

The way Skyfall evokes moments and grace-notes of the best vintage bond films while tipping the hat to them in a fresh new way reminds me of the similar savvy craftsmanship in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Like Rise, when the credits end, you’re ready for the next film to begin now!

Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes are splendid here and used to maximum effect – and Javier Bardem gives us a villain who’s a bit more twisted than the usual Bond adversary. He’s charming, perverse and maniacal and goes after the role full-tilt. Scenes on an abandoned island are particularly chilling. When Mendes strikes a more modern pose, there are moments in Skyfall that have the same intensity and fierce involvement as the best episodes of Luther – except we’re on a much bigger stage.

The stakes are more personal and haunting for Bond than we’ve ever been treated to before – Skyfall brings it all together in a deft and fitting salute to five decades of Britain’s most tenacious protector. It’s an incredibly satisfying meal that will leave you ravenous for the next course. Very highly recommended.

GALACTICA ALERT! New series THIS FRIDAY!

Okay, nuggets! Grab your helmets!!! The long rumored prequel Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome makes its debut this Friday courtesy of entertainment company Machinima's YouTube channel, Machinima Prime. Blood and Chrome is a prequel movie featuring a young William Adama during the first Cylon War and will be presented as 10 7-12-minute episodes beginning on Friday, November 9th - subsequent episodes airing over the next month.

Early next year, the two-hour version will broadcast on SyFy with a subsequent unrated release on home video. Quite the release strategy. Blood and Chrome will make extensive use of virtual set CGI technology, aiming for a more spectacular, epic canvas. Many BSG and Caprica vets including David Eick are involved. Check out the trailer and don't miss this sudden and most welcome return to the 12 Colonies!

So Say We All!