Movies

[Stargrunt6]

1 hour ago, Yama said:

Anyways, regarding Bond, efforts to produce new movie have stalled, reportedly due to breakdown of relationship between Barbara Broccoli and Amazon, who now owns the rights for Bond movies. Apparently Amazon wants to milk the Bond cash cow by producing MCU-style "cinematic universe extended brand content". Barbara called Amazon "fucking idiots". No disagreement.

She ain't wrong.

Plus she has a massive lady boner for Daniel Craig. I wouldn't be surprised Amazon wanted to change that. 

It's been time to replace him.  All this time Henry Cavill is around and he has yet to get the nod. Baffling. 

[Ivanhoe]

1 hour ago, Stargrunt6 said:

It's been time to replace him.  All this time Henry Cavill is around and he has yet to get the nod. Baffling. 

Playing Bond in a 3+ film series would cut into his gaming time.

Originally I thought Cavill was just another talentless pretty boy, but it turns out he has real chops. For example, he does an incredible English accent.

[Yama]

2 hours ago, Stargrunt6 said:

She ain't wrong.

Plus she has a massive lady boner for Daniel Craig.

She's not the only one. Most of my working time has been in female-majority environment, and Daniel Craig Bonds were talk of the town.

Anyways, Craig is definitely out of the series.  Cavill has turned down speculation, citing himself too old.

[Stuart Galbraith]

11 hours ago, Stargrunt6 said:

She ain't wrong.

Plus she has a massive lady boner for Daniel Craig. I wouldn't be surprised Amazon wanted to change that. 

It's been time to replace him.  All this time Henry Cavill is around and he has yet to get the nod. Baffling. 

Cavil, Dev Patel, there are lots of good options out there.

Im not a big fan of where the franchise was going in the later craig years, although to be honest thats been true of ALL the Bonds. The later Connery, Moore and Brosnan films were their weakest, and I think there is a tendency when they have something working to roll with it. I will say the later craig years were generally better than the later Brosnan ones, so they clearly learned something. And Craig I think has been for me, the only Bond that has really rivalled Connery. He revitalised it at a time when it was looking shakey.

I want to see the Brocollis stick with it, they have been instrumental in the franchise lasting as long as it has and, generally speaking, have been a good pair of hands with it. Amazon perhaps are stupid to realise what they have. I can see they want to make money out of it, understandably. Maybe a TV series based on Bonds early life might be a good idea, without destroying what we have.

But as far as big name actors in Bond, you will kill it. None of the people they have had to date were well known, and its done alright for the last 60 years.

 

Edited December 27, 2024 by Stuart Galbraith

[Stuart Galbraith]

In almost entirely unbond related kind of way, some of you might find this interesting if christmas film fare is boring you. Its a mid 1980's Channel 4 film called 'Defence of the Realm'. All star cast, Ian Bannen, Greta Scacchi, Gabriel Byrne, Denholm Elliot, Fulton Mackay (Yes that guy from Fraggle Rock). Its a political conspiracy story, about an accident that occurs on a US Airbase and the British Governments resulting efforts to cover it up. It raises some questions still with us today, such as, why is fleet street so crap at uncovering anything worth knowing, and what are the limits to the public on what they should know, to keep the country safe?

I love it, largely I suspect due to the Richard Harvey soundtrack which is truly great, but its good solid performances all round, and an engaging plot. One of my favourite films.

 

[Yama]

On 12/18/2024 at 10:27 AM, Stuart Galbraith said:

I need to see this.  Any movie with Viggens in it has got something going for it.

 

I was browsing Swedish TV and caught first episode of this. As can be told from the trailer, it's quite satirical, both Brezhnev and Reagan are parodies of each other, submarine ran to rocks as everybody was so drunk, etc. I haven't seen subsequent episodes though.

[Stuart Galbraith]

9 hours ago, Yama said:

I was browsing Swedish TV and caught first episode of this. As can be told from the trailer, it's quite satirical, both Brezhnev and Reagan are parodies of each other, submarine ran to rocks as everybody was so drunk, etc. I haven't seen subsequent episodes though.

Oh, its a documentary then?

 

[Yama]

6 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Oh, its a documentary then?

 

I suppose Roman doesn't read this thread, as we would be due to a lecture which proves that drinking alcohol on board was strictly forbidded on Soviet navy, on the contrary it was Western capitalist navies which engaged in this bourgeouise practice.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Nonsense! The Royal Navy had hardly any accidents because everyone was tight laced on rum. 😅

[Yama]

Story goes than when Finnish Navy acquired HMS Porlock Bay,  they discovered that its officer mess had a bar, which made them sigh "If only..."

[Stuart Galbraith]

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Incidentally, I looked up Porlock Bay, and what a fascinating deep dive that was. I found out she was built by Charles Hill of Bristol, just 25 miles down the road from me. Which is a surprise, I didnt know any yard in Bristol built warships.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Hill_%26_Sons

Pleasingly the last ship they build was the worlds first Beer tanker....

[Yama]

I recently read a memoir article by one of the Finns who was sent to Devonport for takeover: the Brits were very helpful and loaded them with insane amount of spare parts. A puzzling cultural difference were rank distinctions - the ship had separate kitchens for officer and enlisted/petty officers. Even Chief Petty Officers and 'ordinary' Petty Officers were treated very distinct. FAF plane which flew them to Britain had a Master Sergeant pilot and Lieutenant FO, and this setup made the locals' heads explode 🤯

Rum rations were still in use, and some adventurous Finns joined the rum line and got their rations. These were probably same guys to enjoyed the taste of more liberal British alcohol policies bit too much.

Ship itself was in excellent condition, and the price was very reasonable, however being wartime production, it didn't last very long in service.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Yeah, looking it up it was an emergency production vessel, converted from some ASW Frigates in construction. Im surprised they worked as well as they did. Nice lines too, they look a little like the Black Swans.

Re Cultural, I remember reading about the Royal Navy taking delivery of American built escort carriers, and being utterly amazed after finding it equipped with a laundry. They apparently never had one before.

 

[Yama]

1 hour ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

 Nice lines too, they look a little like the Black Swans.

'Good lines' were actually cited in favour of acquisition, a training ship is expected to be 'public face' of the fleet.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Makes sense. 👍

[Soren Ras]

On 12/27/2024 at 10:01 AM, Stuart Galbraith said:

In almost entirely unbond related kind of way, some of you might find this interesting if christmas film fare is boring you. Its a mid 1980's Channel 4 film called 'Defence of the Realm'. All star cast, Ian Bannen, Greta Scacchi, Gabriel Byrne, Denholm Elliot, Fulton Mackay (Yes that guy from Fraggle Rock).

80s Greta Scacchi?  I stopped reading right there and went to go look for it. That's all I need to know.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

I hope it doesnt disappoint you too much to learn that this is probably the only movie she doesnt take her clothes off.

That said, she does look damn good, as indeed she always did. Its a relatively minor part, but instrumental as you will see if I havent put you off.

 

[Soren Ras]

I'll manage just fine. From that time period, she is in a category of actresses (alongside Diane Lane and a few others) who I will happily watch regardless of whether they disrobe or not. 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Let me know what you think. I think its a forgotten gem, or maybe im just completely deluded.

 

[Ivanhoe]

3 hours ago, Soren Ras said:

I'll manage just fine. From that time period, she is in a category of actresses (alongside Diane Lane and a few others) who I will happily watch regardless of whether they disrobe or not. 

With generative AI, you can gin up a version where she does unrobe. Just sayin'.

[Ivanhoe]

For you Frankenheimer fans;

 

[R011]

17 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Yeah, looking it up it was an emergency production vessel, converted from some ASW Frigates in construction. Im surprised they worked as well as they did. Nice lines too, they look a little like the Black Swans.

Re Cultural, I remember reading about the Royal Navy taking delivery of American built escort carriers, and being utterly amazed after finding it equipped with a laundry. They apparently never had one before.

 

Not because the British didn't know about washing machines.  All a British sailor needs is a bucket and a bar of soap!  It was good enough for Nelson's navy.  Coddling the ratings will make them weak!  Besides a laundry for people of that class just isn't appropriate.

[Stuart Galbraith]

6 hours ago, R011 said:

Not because the British didn't know about washing machines.  All a British sailor needs is a bucket and a bar of soap!  It was good enough for Nelson's navy.  Coddling the ratings will make them weak!  Besides a laundry for people of that class just isn't appropriate.

It may have been an attitiude that making life harder for them gave them something to do, so helped discipline. Somehow Rum, Sodomy and the Electrolux doesnt have the same ring to it....

[Ivanhoe]

Idle deckhands are the Devil's work?