Die Another Day

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

So what I was saying about Bond turning into peoples memories of the idea of what Bond was rather than what it actually was? Well, that goes double for this one.

This is comic book big. It's probably more ridiculous than Moonraker. You can't have a Bond grounded in reality and then pull shit like this. It doesn't work. That's what I've struggled with most with this series, I never know how serious to take it. I guess it comes down to personal opinion and me, while I like the fantastical premises I think I prefer something more grounded for Bond.

And this one starts out so promising too. Bond being captured and tortured over the (absolutely terrible) opening song for the credit sequence. Something very different for the franchise. But it get progressively bigger and fantastic as it progresses. The Villain swaps bodies, builds a giant ice palace and then destroys it with a big sunlight ray satellite thingy. And Bond surfs to safety. I don't think the technology was quite there to pull that off when they did this.

Invisible car?!? Ehh.

I'll admit I love the design of the bad dude with diamonds embedded in his face, even though it's impractical and seems like an easy fix. And the contact lenses don't exactly work.

Rosamund Pike amuses me to a degree. But Halle Berry? No. They even give her a "yo mamma" joke. Uh. American Bond girls are the worst. 

Time for a reboot!

The World Is Not Enough

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Replacing Q with R just emphasises how much that relationship has degraded. I find all through the Brosnan era Bond films that, now we are getting a generation of filmmakers who grew up with Bond and their films tend to be more like an idealised memory of what Bond was rather than what they actually were. There's increasingly more Bond cliches and iconography in each of his films. The famous introduction "Bond, James Bond," the comedic banter with Q and his gadgets, the bad one liners, shaken not stirred, M chewing out Bond, bad one liners, Bond girls with ridiculous names. Sure they are all parts of Bond but not every film had all these things. But now they've become lore.

Speaking of bad Bond girl names, Christmas Jones has to be one of the more head scratching. Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist. I guess that's balanced with the first Bond girl to be the main antagonist.  Elektra King is definitely one of the more interesting female characters in the series.

I think M is a bit of a hypocrite in this one, always chastising Bond for making things personal. Then goes and gets herself kidnapped trying to help out an old friend using MI6 resources.

The important thing is the action is there I guess.

Tomorrow Never Dies

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Watched With: Tyler

The one with Rupert Murdoch as the villain. This one ain't that hot. Sounds like a trouble production too.

I love Michelle Yeoh and she handles the action great of course but there's no chemistry between her and Bond. Nor is there with Teri Hatcher really and that relationship really needed it.

Gadgets, so much gadgets. Q has become a comedy relief instead of someone who gets genuinely angry with Bond like he used to. I miss that.

But we DO get David Arnold scoring for the first time. This is how I think of Bond films sounding in my head. And we do get Götz Otto and he is dreamy.

Overall the whole thing is loud, silly and not that involving. There are nice bits of action but this isn't one I'd prioritise revisiting.

GoldenEye

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Now we move into all the bond films I've seen before. The Pierce Brosnan era. And the first one is definitely the best in my opinion. It also marks the first time Martin Campbell is asked to helm a Bond reboot.

That trailer gives away a pretty big spoiler. A small quip from the outset had us watching the film reading sexual tension into the relationship between Pierce Brosnan and Sean Bean. It made the film even better.

Daniel Kleinman is now in charge of titles. I do like his work from here on. And this is one of the better title songs too.

Judi Dench as M is a wonderful addition. Before they overuse her in later episodes. 

And Famke Janssen. Gloriously crazy Famke Janssen. Delightful.

This one has great action, good characters a compelling story. Great escapist fun and everything I think you'd want or expect from a Bond film. So many miniatures too. I miss miniatures. 

Eric Serra's score is interesting. The series has had almost every kind of score imaginable now but I'm still just itching to get to David Arnold's more classic big orchestral approach. Those electronic anvil hits are so mid 90's. Although rather appropriate considering the content of the film.

The thing that stood out to me most was the lighting. Especially apparent after just watching the previous films but suddenly this looks like a modern film. Light is actually sculpted and composed rather than just being exposed correctly. It's a beautiful looking action film.

Licence to Kill

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Watched With: Tyler

I think this might have been the first Bond I ever saw. The guy exploding in the pressure chamber scarred me for life. Looks kinda stupid now though. But Perhaps that explains my reluctance to getting into the series. This film is just so out of place with the franchise. It's just an American style late 80's action film, complete with the revenge plot, drug dealing mexican bad guys and excessive violence. What it lacks is the wit and playfulness that someone like Shane Black might inject into the proceedings, that make the violence easier to swallow.

This doesn't have anything to do with spying or British Intelligence. It does have a very young Benicio Del Toro though.

They took that slightly angrier version of the character Timothy Dalton played and exaggerated that out to the point where he's almost unlikable. Perhaps they pushed too far in a lot of these new directions, trying to keep up with the evolving landscape of action cinema. It's a tough call though. Bond couldn't remain the same forever or he'd become a dated joke but they've started changing him to the point where he doesn't resemble the same character anymore.

Here he's got two girl's affections and they actually meet up and get jealous of each other. That's something new, a little love triangle. I shouldn't say love because there's no emotion behind any of it..

Anyways, 6 years later and we'll get back on track. Onwards and upwards.

The Living Daylights

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

This is a breath of fresh air. Timothy Dalton this time and he changes things up a bit. I can imagine the same lines as performed by Roger Moore's Bond and it would be a very different film. Dalton seems more serious, short tempered and overall just a better spy.

Speaking of which, it's nice to see some actual spying going on in a Bond film for a change! Less emphasis on a ridiculously cartoonish evil villain plot and more on espionage. It still has all those elements and some big actions pieces but it just feels better for some reason. Odd, considering it's pretty much all the same team behind the camera that did the last few.

Even just the look of it feels more modern. And the characters are ever so slightly more dimensional. Liked this one.

A View to a Kill

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

WOW this is 80's. That Duran Duran soundtracked title sequence... wow.

And snowboarding to Beach Boys. OK....

Christopher Walken just cracks me up. He totally mows guys down with a machine gun. Feels very 80's action film but a little gratuitous for a Bond movie. Grace Jones never fails to horrify me. 

We have a whole first section that seems like just an excuse to set up a horse chase. And then the all important plan to flood silicon valley. MICROCHIPS!

Roger Moore's really getting on in years. He's the same old dude while the action around him becomes more violent and loud. A fire truck is not the most inconspicuous get-away vehicle.

Octopussy

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

To INDIA!

This one has action. It feels like one prolonged action chase sequence. I had fatigue at the end. Also jet lag was a factor, but I had to rewatch the end the next day to make sure I picked up everything. We got car, train and plane sequences. Shoot outs, bombs, circus performers turned assassins.

And an Island populated only by women.

This one does have a definite Indiana Jones vibe to it. Although it most resembles Temple of Doom to me, and that didn't come out till the year after. But it was up against the Connery Bond film Never Say Never Again which were released mere months apart. Crazy.

Roger Moore as a sad clown is horrifying.

Never Say Never Again

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Ok so this is not an Eon Bond film, so it's not official cannon. But it is Sean Connery returning to the role in what is basically a remake of Thunderball. It's just as long as that one too.

Rowan Atkinson's first film, before he parodied Bond himself.

And Irvin Kershner directs. 

Fatima Blush is kind of glorious. And I liked Maximilian Largo too I guess. We should see more villains making their own holographic computer games.

For Your Eyes Only

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

I just keep hearing the "For British eyes only"sting from Arrested Development.

Even longer than the last! At least this one had some sort of suspense in its climax, with all that rock climbing. There's also a car chase through some olive picking hills that's quite fun. But there's still a lot of scenes that I have to make sure I don't fall asleep in.

And I presume that's the last we see of Blofeld. Kind of an anti-climax.

We are in the 80's now. And Bill Conti's score is funktastic. I've noticed the scores for each film in the series of late have been all over the place. This one still seems out of place but on it's own might make some good dance music.

Moonraker

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Another one I've seen most of before but never all the way through.

People shit on this one quite a bit. It is ridiculous. Really ridiculous. But I've found most of these evil villain plots of late to be equally ridiculous, so why not cash in on Star Wars while you're at it?

Is it just me or are these getting more slow going?

Jaws is back! He gets a girlfriend too. As far as I can tell they live happily ever after.

So much music licensing in the name of bad referential jokes.

4:44 Last Day on Earth

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Two annoying people in an apartment having sex and talking on skype while televisions talk of global warming and pop religion. This film is boring and I want to forget it.

The Bay

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First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan

Write Up.

Hah, just creepy. Totally didn't recognise our heroine from Cabin in the Woods was in this either.

The Spy Who Loved Me

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Back to the Bond marathon. Gonna have a lot to squeeze in between now and the new release.

Well this one gets back to a more global scale with a world-wide destruction bent villain. He has a trapdoor with sharks at the bottom. Classic. And I like how the Bong girl works in this film, even if the wrap up is kind of arbitrary.

This one introduces Jaws too. Another favourite for fans. He's a lively chap.

I really dig the Atlantis design. Oddly enough, watching the climax of this reminded me of Battleship. (Just in terms of imagery.) Also, I can't believe they just let 2 nukes go off...

The theme song just reminds me of that old L.J.Hooker ad jingle.