Movies

[Yama]

12 hours ago, Stefan Fredriksson said:

I am not ready to die on it, but I am ready to sprain my ankle on this hill.

The Spy who loved my is probably the best Bond-movie ever. Yes, the fight-scenes are not exactly Bourne- or Wick-quality, MeToo would probably get a fit watching it, Moore "skiing" or "driving" may look dated. But the set-pieces, Jaws, Moore's charm... It may not be the Bond modern audiences want, but it is the Bond we need.

I really like it, other than the main villain, who is perhaps somewhat of a lightweight on Bond rogue's gallery. I have always problems remembering who it even was. I still think Live & Let Die is slightly superior film, but this is Moore's 2nd/3rd best. I feel that of all Moore movies, this was perhaps the most like Connery flicks.

Have you noticed that every time a new Bond movie comes out, producers and critics always parrot "In the past, 'Bond girls' were little but eye candy, but this time we have a modern era Bond girl, who is capable and independent and blah blah blah..." and then I'm like "Uhhh....I suppose you don't remember Anya Amasova, then?" 

They especially hard tried to sell this fiction with last two Craig films, which was infuriating as Madeleine Swann was a passive character who mostly acted as baggage for Bond.

[lucklucky]

The permanently annoyed angst of Madeleine Swann... i guess they were stuck with her for the second movie. 

[Stuart Galbraith]

7 hours ago, Yama said:

I really like it, other than the main villain, who is perhaps somewhat of a lightweight on Bond rogue's gallery. I have always problems remembering who it even was. I still think Live & Let Die is slightly superior film, but this is Moore's 2nd/3rd best. I feel that of all Moore movies, this was perhaps the most like Connery flicks.

Have you noticed that every time a new Bond movie comes out, producers and critics always parrot "In the past, 'Bond girls' were little but eye candy, but this time we have a modern era Bond girl, who is capable and independent and blah blah blah..." and then I'm like "Uhhh....I suppose you don't remember Anya Amasova, then?" 

They especially hard tried to sell this fiction with last two Craig films, which was infuriating as Madeleine Swann was a passive character who mostly acted as baggage for Bond.

She was ok, but you can tell that English isnt Barbara Bach's first language, and there is zero chemistry between her and Bond. OK, so there isnt a whole lot between Swann and Bond either, and they were stuck with that character for 2 films as you say.

For me, the 2 best remain Honor Blackman and Eva Green. Although honourable mention to Ana de Armas for her brief appearance. I think I could watch a whole film with her in that character.

Speaking of Honor Blackman..

[Stuart Galbraith]

7 hours ago, lucklucky said:

The permanently annoyed angst of Madeleine Swann... i guess they were stuck with her for the second movie. 

Its not as if she is a bad actress either. Just... really badly written.

[Soren Ras]

Léa Seydoux is a fine enough actress, but her character in those Bond movies was a huge meh for my part, with no chemistry that I could discern between her and Craig.

No wonder he was pining for Eva Green, who was fantastic

Still, I will take Daniela Bianchi

And although not a great actress, I have a weakness for Claudine Auger

 

This topic is useless without pictures, people. Really. Come on!

[Stuart Galbraith]

Yes, Bianchi was really great. Particularly so as English wasnt her first language.

Diana Rigg in OHMSS was really good too. I cant say its my favourite Bond film, but she was really damn good in it. Well, she was damn good in everything she did.

[Soren Ras]

You are correct.

[Yama]

32 minutes ago, Soren Ras said:

Léa Seydoux is a fine enough actress, but her character in those Bond movies was a huge meh for my part, with no chemistry that I could discern between her and Craig.

No wonder he was pining for Eva Green, who was fantastic

 

I don't think action movies are really Seydoux's strong suit. She needs more subtle dramatic roles. Her character in MI4 was also pretty meh (though in that movie Jeremy Renner also had most boring character of his career, so maybe it's on them).

No disagreement that Green-Craig were steaming onscreen 

My all-time favourite was however Isabella Scorupco in GoldenEye. She was something genuinely fresh for the franchise. A strong, realistic feeling character who didn't have to be super spy or assassin.

 

[futon]

The plot was

 

yeah, the plot, good plot

Uh Oh yeah true, plot was not that good

good point

the plot 

for a bond movie

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah, oh you were mentioning the plot

yeah.

Good, bad,  good plot

What 'bout the plot?

 

[Ivanhoe]

GoldenEye had the best "Bond Girl" pair.

OHMSS had the best Bond Girl.

 

[R011]

14 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

She was ok, but you can tell that English isnt Barbara Bach's first language,

 

? She  was born and raised in New York City with parents of Jewish and Irish decent.

[NickM]

1 hour ago, R011 said:

? She  was born and raised in New York City with parents of Jewish and Irish decent.

ZILLIONS of years ago Bach made the point in an interview she was a girl frm Queens, in spite of her being always cast as the East European Vixen 

[Yama]

2 hours ago, R011 said:

? She  was born and raised in New York City with parents of Jewish and Irish decent.

Also, she was portraying a character whose first language was not English, no? 

Anyway, it's true that the chemistry between her and Moore is modest, but I like the character itself, really a step up from most of the earlier ones (Mary Goodnight...), and essentially same as Michelle Yeoh's or Halle Berry's characters, who were hailed oh-so-progressive when the films came out.

Edited December 21, 2024 by Yama

[Stuart Galbraith]

9 hours ago, R011 said:

? She  was born and raised in New York City with parents of Jewish and Irish decent.

Sorry, thought she was italian, she was in at least one Italian language movie.

Alright, so she wasnt a great actress then. She was a lot better in Force 10 from Navarone in fairness.

[Stuart Galbraith]

21 hours ago, futon said:

The plot was

 

yeah, the plot, good plot

Uh Oh yeah true, plot was not that good

good point

the plot 

for a bond movie

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah, oh you were mentioning the plot

yeah.

Good, bad,  good plot

What 'bout the plot?

 

Its a good film. It has a good plot, an off the wall secret base that I dont think was ever bettered, one of the nicest cars (Honda reportedly cut the top off over the space of a weekend and turned it into a softtop when Connery wouldnt fit) and two of the nicest girls. Though imho the first one was the nicest. Its one of the oddest of the Bond films, but then it was supposedly penned by Roald Dahl, so I guess we should be thankful it didnt end up with Umpa Lumpa's.

[futon]

1 hour ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Its a good film. It has a good plot, an off the wall secret base that I dont think was ever bettered, one of the nicest cars (Honda reportedly cut the top off over the space of a weekend and turned it into a softtop when Connery wouldnt fit) and two of the nicest girls. Though imho the first one was the nicest. Its one of the oddest of the Bond films, but then it was supposedly penned by Roald Dahl, so I guess we should be thankful it didnt end up with Umpa Lumpa's.

I can't disagree.

 

 

[Tim the Tank Nut]

It's true that all the Bond girls are awesome but Aki might just cause a man to move to Japan...

[Stargrunt6]

Famke Jansenn hardwired my preference for brunettes with high cheek bones. Ditto the chick who played Severine, even though her character didn't do much in the movie (she was wasted imho).

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

3 hours ago, Tim the Tank Nut said:

It's true that all the Bond girls are awesome but Aki might just cause a man to move to Japan...

That and a Toyota 2000 GT...

https://supercarnostalgia.com/blog/toyota-2000-gt-roadster-you-only-live-twice

[Stuart Galbraith]

2 hours ago, Stargrunt6 said:

Famke Jansenn hardwired my preference for brunettes with high cheek bones. Ditto the chick who played Severine, even though her character didn't do much in the movie (she was wasted imho).

 

Yeah, Skyfall was a strange film. They wasted her (literally), but it did have other positives, like Albert Finney with a shotgun. You rarely go wrong with Albert Finney and a firearm of some sort.

[Ivanhoe]

Skyfall is my favorite of the Craig movies.

IMHO, one of the best scenes in a Bond flick;

I've watched this clip more than a dozen times, and it still holds up. Timing, inflection, the whole nine yards.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

My favourite is Casino Royale, not least because its a damn good adapation of the novel. OTOH, I think Skyfall is the strongest of the rest of the series, if only because Javier Bardem as the sexually ambiguous villain is an absolute delight. He isnt just evil, he is unsettlingly evil, with just a hint of Hans Gruber.

[Stargrunt6]

On 12/21/2024 at 1:23 PM, Ivanhoe said:

Skyfall is my favorite of the Craig movies.

IMHO, one of the best scenes in a Bond flick;

I've watched this clip more than a dozen times, and it still holds up. Timing, inflection, the whole nine yards.

 

It's an absolute clinic.

On 12/22/2024 at 8:09 AM, Stuart Galbraith said:

My favourite is Casino Royale, not least because its a damn good adapation of the novel. OTOH, I think Skyfall is the strongest of the rest of the series, if only because Javier Bardem as the sexually ambiguous villain is an absolute delight. He isnt just evil, he is unsettlingly evil, with just a hint of Hans Gruber.

Bardem was a great villain. 

People thought it was implying Bond was gay. He was just saying he gets figuratively screwed. 

My favorite scene was the fight in the elevator. Pure camera gold and a rush to see in the theater.

Thomas Newman can do no wrong.

 

 

[Yama]

I don't know if Skyfall is a great movie, but I still love it, because it is one of those few Bonds which felt genuinely fresh. It was something like 'For Your Eyes Only' - at minimum you have to give points from the honest effort to give viewers something else.

And especially as it came after giant disappointment of 'Quantum of Solace', which was just same old crap with maybe the most underwhelming villains ever. Spoiler: their evil plan was to...increase local water bill by 60% 

[Stargrunt6]

4 minutes ago, Yama said:

I don't know if Skyfall is a great movie, but I still love it, because it is one of those few Bonds which felt genuinely fresh. It was something like 'For Your Eyes Only' - at minimum you have to give points from the honest effort to give viewers something else.

And especially as it came after giant disappointment of 'Quantum of Solace', which was just same old crap with maybe the most underwhelming villains ever. Spoiler: their evil plan was to...increase local water bill by 60% 

The theme made everyone realize how overrated Jack White was 

 

And. Those.  STUPID. Captions.