Goldfinger

Goldfinger (1964) starring Sean Connery, Gert Frobe, Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton. Third entry in the 007 series has James Bond (Connery) stylishly thwarting Auric Goldfinger (Frobe), an arch-criminal who plans to set off a nuclear device in Fort Knox and contaminate the U.S. gold supply.  Blackman plays the funny-named  Pussy Galore, whom Bond manages to persuade (ahem) over to the side of the good guys. The movie is entertaining throughout, with many exciting action scenes and lots of clever gadgets. Memorable scene has Goldfinger's secretary (Eaton) being killed by being covered entirely in gold paint. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B+ 

Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Dogged CIA agent Maya (Chastain) spends ten years hunting down the location of Osama Bin Laden, and a Navy Seal team goes in to take him out. The first half of the movie kind of drags, but in the second half it picks up momentum and the actual take-down of Bin Laden is pretty darn exciting. This movie would have been better viewed in a theater on a big screen, especially the night scenes when the Seal team is going into Bin Laden's compound. But it plays OK on TV. At over two and a half hours, it's a bit long, but you could argue that you get your  money's worth. (Subtitles in English for the hearing-impaired are available on the disc, and are very legible. Closed captions are not included.) Grade: B+ 

Skyfall

Skyfall (2012) starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench. Agent 007 (Craig) is back in action, with bad guy Bardem trying to get even with M (Dench) for giving him up to the enemy years earlier in a spy-world maneuver. The movie builds gradually, with plenty of action throughout, up to a rip-roaring finale at Bond's boyhood home, Skyfall. The series has been freshened up a bit, with the villain's main method becoming computer hacking, but otherwise there's nothing terribly new -- it's just 007 for a younger generation, and I suppose it works within those parameters. I certainly felt that I had gotten plenty o' entertainment for my buck. My only cavil is that Craig just doesn't seem like the best choice of actors to play James Bond. He seems too small and blond. But that's a minor complaint. (The disc offers subtitles for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+ 

Topaz

Topaz (1969) starring John Forsythe, Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Pretty lame entry from Hitchcock has Forsythe as American spy and Stafford as French spy; they uncover early indications of Cuban missile crisis in 1962. A lot of the action takes place in France, as Stafford tries to sniff out upper-level Soviet spy ring called Topaz. Unfortunately, Hitchcock makes no effort to make us feel like the French speak French, and it gives the film an inauthentic feel. That, plus the weak script and wishy-washy ending left me feeling cheated. (The film on disc has good subtitles for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: C+

Salt (DVD)

Salt (2010) starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor. When CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is accused of being a Russian spy, she goes on the run. What follows is an hour and a half of nearly non-stop action in which she shows herself to be a killing machine. I found myself a little lost -- there are still some things she did which I don't understand -- but it was fun to watch Jolie in action. I couldn't suspend disbelief on some of the action though; when Jolie encounters three men with guns and defeats them with her bare hands, it's a bit hard to buy into. Still, if you like lots of action, this movie might be for you. The subtitles are quite adequate. Grade: B