Cincy

For persons of a certain age, W.W. II was the defining time of their lives, and whatever followed could never compare. As the movie opens, a recently widowed but still lively woman (Judi Dench) hears a street musician gamely attempting to play the classic song, "Stardust."

This recalls her memories of when she played in an almost all-girl band that entertained between bomb raids during the War. The drummer, Patrick (Ian Holm), happily avoided the draft and enjoyed the ladies.

Patrick and Dench's character meet and decide to reunite the band, which takes them on a series of mini-adventures. Despite ups and downs, the band does reunite and makes a successful reappearance.

The movie is exquisitely written and understated, with superb performances from all involved. The characters are well-developed and all people who have not quit living, despite their years. And there's all that glorious old swing music!

This isn't the pontification of Steven Spielberg, but a serious movie nevertheless. The War affected everyone and that lesson is not forgotten in a movie that isn't afraid to entertain as it teaches.

I was mesmerized by this movie, but not because of the story line. The plot developments (except one) are fairly predictable and even shared in advance on some occasions.

What does make the movie stand out are the performances of all its actors and a dazzling visual style and cinematography.

You could summarize the movie by saying that the neighbors from hell end up next door to each other and the inevitable happens.

The entire James Bond ouevre is a guilty pleasure of mine, but in recent years, my interest has waned. While I thoroughly like the recently assembled casts of Dame Judi Dench, Pierce Brosnan and John Cleese (a brilliant choice to replace the late and lamented Q), the material just doesn't seem to rise to their talents.

The World Is Not Enough has the usual elements: evil villain bent on significant world havoc and Bond to the rescue. What's missing, however, are the detection and character interaction that marked the great Sean Connery Bond films (Moonraker excepted).

Instead, we have gunfights and explosions and predictable chase scenes. I could also do without the '60-ish double entendres and stupid names (here we have a Christmas Jones). Hey, guys, just say it!

I do applaud the filmmakers for taking on the chaos of the new world order, since Bond no longer has Commies to fight and there seems to be a lack of megalomaniacs about. But John LaCarre's "Single and Single" (a book) is far more satisfying and works the same turf.