This column is so often steeped in skepticism that it's a relief to declare unequivocally: I cannot freakin' wait for this movie. Just as I was starting to think that the zombie sub-genre was becoming played – the recent trend toward athletic, lightning-quick zombies hasn't really cured the zombie movie's fundamental repetitiveness – World War Z threatens to revitalize (your gratitude for not writing "resurrect" or "reanimate") the genre by hauling it, straight-faced and dead serious, into the real world.

The first thing Brooks does is set ground rules. Once infected and undead, zombies are essentially monomaniacal brains unmoored from brains' normal contingencies – e.g. a pumping heart, a digestive system, oxygen. Until the brain itself is destroyed, it will stupidly, relentlessly pursue human flesh, using whatever parts of the original body remain at its disposal. Zombies move slowly, with arms – if available – raised toward their target. If a zombie finds prey, it will moan; if a nearby zombie hears a moan, it will move toward the source and let out a moan itself. You see how this could escalate.

What does Daniel Craig get right in his new outing as James Bond? What does Quantum of Solace get wrong? Can Marc Forster really direct action? Is Olga Kurylenko really the "hottest Bond girl ever?" Which directors could and should take on Bond's 23rd outing? And above and beyond all these topics, what does this week's guest Kevin Kelly, of Joystiq and Spout, think needs to happen to save Bond from both his corporate overlords and world-destroying villains? You can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

If you're a fan of horror and/or books, and you haven't checked out Max Brooks' World War Z yet, then here's another good excuse to go out and get a copy: The movie version seems to be moving full-steam ahead, and Variety informs us that Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster has been signed to head up WWZ. (The unpredictable director also helmed Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stay, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Kite Runner.)

The ever-busy J. Michael Straczynski is on adaptation duty, and the project will arrive by way of Plan B and Paramount Pictures. Forster says "the genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like 'All the President's Men." Sounds goo to me. Ah yes, the plot: It's a historical document about the zombie apocalypse, ten years after the fact. Pretty cool, eh?

That's all wehave on this project so far, but the article does inform us that A) Forster is unlikely to return to the Bond franchise and B) Max Brooks is also the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. Which somehow makes his book even cooler. More on the World War Z movie as it comes in. Bet on it.

When talking Will Ferrell, some might say that Old School is their favorite, or Elf, or Anchorman. But for me, it's Stranger than Fiction -- one of the films in director Marc Forster's varied career. He's brought us the drama of Monster's Ball, the fantasy of Finding Neverland, and the flight of The Kite Runner, and now Bond wonder with Quantum of Solace. Not one to swim around in a rut, The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's now whipping up a remake with Universal of the 2000 Korean crime drama Die Bad.

Not quite the land of terrorist takeovers and one-man crime-fighting machines, the original Die Bad covers four interlocking stories focusing on the cause and affect of male aggression and gangster life, where the characters and stories intersect into each other's vignettes. Brad Ingelsby, who is currently writing The Low Dweller, is writing the script.

I'm pretty eager to see how this will play out -- will it be completely Americanized with Soprano-like gangsters, or martial arts in the English speaking world? As for the craft of it all -- the latest Bond is said to be quite action-heavy, so will Forster amp up the action again for this one, or mellow it out like his previous work?

Pictured: Ian Fleming in his study with a copy of For Your Eyes Only (April 1960). (Photo by Evening Standard / Getty Images)

Last month, Cinematical was lucky enough to join a few other select outlets on a trip to London for something called The James Bond Experience. One of the cooler activities we took part in (aside from driving an Aston Martin at 150mph and chatting with both Daniel Craig and Marc Forster) was our field trip to the Imperial War Museum London where, to celebrate Ian Fleming's 100th birthday, they're currently housing an exhibit dedicated to the man called For Your Eyes Only.

If you're a James Bond fan or an Ian Fleming fan or both, then I seriously recommend boarding a plane to London in order to check out this exhibit because you'll see so much -- some of which is on display for the very first time. I'm talking a slew of original manuscripts (from Casino Royale to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), props from some of your favorite James Bond films, personal letters, photographs, notes -- essentially Fleming's entire life right there before your eyes.

While there's no photography allowed inside the exhibit, Cinematical managed to snag a bunch of photos showing only a fraction of what's on display across the pond. So, instead of writing a thousand words describing what I saw, I present these two packed galleries full of images from the Imperial War Museum and the For Your Eyes Only exhibit. Show, don't tell ... right?





For a little more info on the exhibit (which runs through March 1, 2009), head after the jump. Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 14.

Click Erik Davis' beautiful face above to head straight to our Aston Martin hi-res gallery

"Now this is a fun one -- when you get to 100mph, just slowly take your hands off the wheel and watch what the car does ..." -- Aston Martin Instructor #1

You may remember how last month Cinematical was invited to travel to London for something called "The James Bond Experience." Part of this "experience" included a chat with Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster. (You can read all about that over here.) Now, however, we're finally allowed to tell you about some of the activities that took place during our four days across the pond -- and how do I not start with the awesomeness that was driving an Aston Martin -- a car, mind you, that's worth more than my life -- at well over 100mph. But let me back up.

Never sit at the back of a bus for more than an hour and a half. By the time our small group of online writers arrived at the Millbrook test track, I felt like I was ready to puke. Millbrook is literally in the middle of the English countryside -- an hour or so out of London, in Bedfordshire, England -- and it's the sort of place that calls for an escort to be with you at all times. See, Millbrook is where they test all sorts of cars and military vehicles before they're called into action. Thus, cameras are everywhere, the public is not allowed in and security is tighter than a seat belt around Santa.

It pains me that I can't go into every little fantastic detail when it comes to my recent Bond-related trip across the pond, but trust me when I say Quantum of Solace will definitely be one film you won't want to miss this fall. And if I go any further, the studio might just serve my head on a platter during the flick's premiere after party. But would I taste like chicken? Anyway, as we shared with you yesterday, Daniel Craig and Marc Forster were making the international rounds over in London late last week (where we sat down for a chat) and the Independent learned from Forster that a couple classic Bond one-liners will not be included in the upcoming Quantum of Solace.

Missing from the film will be the lines, "Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken ... not stirred." Forster says, "There was a 'Bond, James Bond' in the script. There are several places where we shot it as well, but it never worked as we hoped. I just felt we should cut it out, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson [the film's producers] agreed, and Daniel [Craig, who plays Bond] agreed, too. It's nice to be open-minded about the Bond formula. You can always go back to them later on." Some would argue it isn't a James Bond film unless the secret agent utters at least one of those lines at some point during his adventure. Me? I don't mind as much.

What do you Bond fanatics think? Are these two lines really that important in a Bond film? Does it bother you to know they won't be included this time around?

Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 14.

Cinematical (along with a few other select sites) was lucky enough to visit London, England this past week where we enjoyed several James Bond-related activities -- stuff that comes attached with the phrase, "Once in a lifetime experience." I'll be sharing all that with you over the next couple weeks (teaser: I drove an Aston Martin at 150mph!), but first up: James Bond himself. Remember how we asked you to give us questions for Daniel Craig and director Marc Forster regarding Bond and the upcoming film Quantum of Solace? Well, we chose a couple for each and here's what they had to say:

Of Note: Marc Forster revealed to Cinematical that the running time for Quantum of Solace is just over an hour and forty minutes, making it the shortest Bond film ever. Also, read on to find out why Forster won't direct another one.

Daniel Craig

Cinematical: (From Joe P.) Sean Connery once said the secret to playing Bond was to make everything seem effortless. This Bond is not that way at all, what changed and why?

Daniel Craig: It's a different movie and that's a simple answer to that. That's a different movie. We've based the first one and we based that more in reality and running up scaffolding and making it look effortless ... it would just be pointless. It's just, it doesn't tie into where we put it. They may develop some of that -- I don't think we've gone that far, maybe we've gone a little further in this one. But sort of the straightening of the tie after the hundred and fifty foot drop is just not my style. I can't make that my style, I can't force a kind of an idea of what Bond is on my version of it. If it comes out of something -- those sort of jokes and that kind of lightness of touch -- it comes out of the fact that something fucking awful has just happened -- there's been a huge explosion, there's just been this, just been that -- and there's a kind of relief of pressure because something funny happens. Because it's just like, 'did you see that', but that's for the audience to sort of like to see. Making it totally effortless ... it's of a different and, you know, the edges will get smoother, they will get smoother, but since this is a direct sequel to Casino Royale, we've certainly taken up the same pace in Quantum of Solace and we have to continue that. Next time round he'll lie on the beach for about half the movie.[LAUGH]

Continued after the jump ...

A week from today, Cinematical is boarding a plane with a bag full of your questions for James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster. Destination: London, England. Because we're not waiting for Bond to come here ... we'd rather take your thoughts directly to him. In the meantime, Yahoo! has debuted a brand new trailer for the upcoming James Bond sequel, and darn it if this puppy won't go down as one of the best damn trailers of 2008. Hello Olga Kurylenko!

Quantum of Solace picks right up where Casino Royale left off, with a damaged Bond still getting over the death and betrayal of his lover Vesper, while he continues his mission to seek out and destroy the secret organization responsible for her death. Watch the new trailer after the jump or over on Yahoo! in high definition.

Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 14.

Cinematical is absolutely stoked to announce a very cool opportunity. In just a couple of weeks, we'll be heading to London to sit down with James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster. We'll also be taking part in some other super awesome secret activities, but we'll fill you in on all that as time goes on. First, however, we need your help. Yes, you! The dude (or dudette) reading this post, with one hand scratching that annoying mosquito bite while the other hand ...

... Anyway, we need your help with some questions. Basically we're sitting down with Bond and Forster, but the words that come out of our mouths will be from you. Is there anything you've always wanted to know about Daniel Craig, Marc Forster, James Bond or Quantum of Solace? Sure there is, so spit it out now or forever live with the fact that you had a chance to ask Craig where he buys his underwear and you passed it up! [Makes shape of an 'L' on my forehead, then sighs because it's so 2004 of me]

Submit any and all questions you have for these boys in the comments below. If you want to keep it private (those are my kind of questions!), then feel free to send an email to leads AT Cinematical DOT Com, and title it JAMES BOND QUESTION. We'll choose our favorites, chuck 'em out to Craig and Forster, then post their answers (with credit to the brilliant readers who asked said questions) when we get back from our trip across the pond. Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 14.

Sound off below (and thanks for helping us out with this -- your next virtual martini is on us)!