Last Bond Movie You Watched.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

An underwater thing that makes me go 'Hmmm ,,, ' is in LTK, with Bond managing to land blows on Sanchez's goons (as they grapple after he's messed with Sentinel) with enough force to cause them some measure of physical discomfort. Ever tried moving a limb at speed while immersed?

And IIRC, rather loud ‘contact’ sound effects too.

Ha, yes!

Moonraker and Licence to Kill.

Both enjoyable in their own right, despite being opposite ends of the spectrum. Lonsdale was truly inspired as Drax and I feel both his performance and writing provide the much needed step up from Stromberg. I’ve entertained this before but Lonsdale as Le Chiffre in a 70s/early 80s version of Casino Royale would have worked a treat! Chiles works mostly when she’s not talking (or fighting) - knowing the character is better than she can handle. An enjoyable couple of hours, with a better realised through line than the preceding film, despite being more ludicrous in other places.

Licence to Kill’s second half truly makes up for a serviceable first. Kamen’s score continues to tickle, particularly his quieter moments, a la when Bond sneaks into Leiter’s house, or the casino music. Something I’m not sure I’ve brought up, but there’s a string motif that pops up occasionally that reminds me of GoldenEye’s score. Anyone else notice this? Every time I hear it I always feel compelled to pop GoldenEye in. Something else - I feel the DEA should have probably had more than a crew of two (sans Leiter and Bond) to take Sanchez down in the PTS. Would have gone a long way in characterising Sanchez as a true villain to be reckoned with.

I enjoy both films a great deal, and both offer a lot, but they occupy places between positions 15-20 in my ranking.

QoS

The editing of the early action sequences notwithstanding, technically it's not a bad film, by any means. The problem is the tone. It begins grimly enough, and then becomes a descending spiral of despair. There are no smiles in this film, and few if any chuckles. Indeed, from the moment that Mathes dies, QoS makes Bergman look like The Apple Dumpling Gang. I'm hardly claiming that every Bond film should be Moonraker, but QoS goes far too far the opposite direction.

Gun (1974)

One of the most visually striking Bond films ever made. Very near the top of the list. Thailand proved to be an excellent setting. Gun is also the final film in a series--including OHMSS, DAF and LALD--in which the Benign Bizarre was truly in the forefront. All in all, really a quite interesting film.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Gun (1974)

One of the most visually striking Bond films ever made. Very near the top of the list. Thailand proved to be an excellent setting. Gun is also the final film in a series--including OHMSS, DAF and LALD--in which the Benign Bizarre was truly in the forefront. All in all, really a quite interesting film.

Several reasons why this is my favourite Moore film. Did not see much greatness on first view, but it grew on me with each view since.

GF (1964)

One of the best PTSs, the best Q scene, one of the best scores, and casting Frobe as Auric was inspired. Shirley was a I dish I wish I could have Eaton, too.

Now I don't rate GF all that highly, but I can see why it caused such a stir. A spectacular and exicting film in many ways.

In the grand scheme of things, GF is a tad overrated, but only in the context of being sandwiched by the terrific Terence Young capers.

It's still superior to at least two-thirds of what's come after.

Agree with all of the above. GF has a special kind of magic glimmer. Bond was never cooler than here.

TB (1965)

This film probably has the least action of any Bond movie, which makes it the diametrical opposite if TND. The action is pretty much confined to the final quarter of the film. Aesthetically, however, few if any Bond movies can touch TB. There is a particular scene where Bond and Domino rendezvous in the ocean, descend behind an outcropping of coral, and a fountain of tiny bubbles rises up through the water in their place. The camera lingers on those beautiful bubbles. It is a truly artistic shot.

PK, the aesthetics is a huge part of why it shot to the top during my last Bondathon, just like that fountain of bubbles. I can think of several astounding scenes in this one.

Phantom Commander wrote:

PK, the aesthetics is a huge part of why it shot to the top during my last Bondathon, just like that fountain of bubbles. I can think of several astounding scenes in this one.

It may be the most artistic of Bond films. SF is in that conversation, too. And those are the two highest grossing Bond movies, incidentally.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Phantom Commander wrote:

PK, the aesthetics is a huge part of why it shot to the top during my last Bondathon, just like that fountain of bubbles. I can think of several astounding scenes in this one.

It may be the most artistic of Bond films. SF is in that conversation, too. And those are the two highest grossing Bond movies, incidentally.

Good looks isn´t everything, but it sure heightens the enjoyment. Same as with girls.

Phantom Commander wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Phantom Commander wrote:

PK, the aesthetics is a huge part of why it shot to the top during my last Bondathon, just like that fountain of bubbles. I can think of several astounding scenes in this one.

It may be the most artistic of Bond films. SF is in that conversation, too. And those are the two highest grossing Bond movies, incidentally.

Good looks isn´t  everything, but it sure heightens the enjoyment. Same as with girls.

Heh. True enough!

Tis the season, so ... OHMSS. (made for an interesting double bill with KILL BILL volume 1. Maybe I'll watch KB v2 with GOLDENEYE, we haven't seen either of those in ages.)

OHMSS doesn't ever surprise on subsequent viewings, except in how good most of it looks. The lighting in M's office during the 'acquiescing to Blofeld's demands' scenes is unlike any other scene there in my memory, and it really pops. Lee's M. is so 'on' here, probably the best he ever did, even including DN.

I remain the only person on earth who is seriously unimpressed with GL's fighting skills. He swings punches like a girl and can't get into the beached boat at the beginning without having to twist his leg in what I can only call a very UnBondian fashion. But there are times when he looks right, and even a few times when he pulls off the acting, enough so the emotional stuff is sometimes quite effective. I just don't believe for a single second that this is James Bond we're seeing. But even so, it is still a helluva movie, despite all the sped-up stuff, probably owing to the virtuoso stuntwork and Barry score.

If he had stayed for DIAMONDS... would they have brought Savalas back, I wonder? Can't (or won't) imagine Savalas in drag ...

Love KB v1. Am quite split on QT, some I can't even get through but this, PULP and BASTERDS are all frequent rewatches, and I liked JACKIE BROWN the one time I saw it. This CD gets frequent play in my car (OHMSS did too, but I cracked it, so now it has issues with a couple of good cuts.)

Perilagu Khan wrote:

TB (1965)

This film probably has the least action of any Bond movie, which makes it the diametrical opposite if TND. The action is pretty much confined to the final quarter of the film. Aesthetically, however, few if any Bond movies can touch TB.

True enough. TB feels like watching Bond on a beach holiday... and I mean that in a good way.

OHMSS - annual festive season rewatch. Still one of the finest entries in the franchise, and one can't help pondering how Bond in the 70s (and maybe also early 80s) might've panned out had Lazenby stayed on.

GOLDENEYE
Probably the most I've ever enjoyed it, possibly because the streaming version seems to look tons better than the blu-ray.
I've always had more quibbles and complaints than most about this one, from how the base at the beginning can be at the bottom of a dam and yet thousands of feet above sealevel, the crazy stupid falling after plane stuff (having just seen POINT BREAK the day before, I can say this deliberate jumping w/o chute does not work by comparison, at all) or how Broz' tank seems to move at lightspeed to get out ahead of the speeding train.

But I've found a lot of 006's lines to be very memorable, and Broz' infinitesmal twitch of head while under fire near the end is as cool as anything anybody has done as Bond since Sean was being bellydanced to in FRWL And the graveyard of statues is just awesome visually.

Has anybody tried rescoring the movie with traditional Barry-esque cues? I think that might also help some, though I guess I'm at peace about most of this stuff now.

trevanian wrote:

GOLDENEYE
I've always had more quibbles and complaints than most about this one, from how the base at the beginning can be at the bottom of a dam and yet thousands of feet above sealevel, the crazy stupid  falling after plane stuff (having just seen POINT BREAK the day before, I can say this deliberate jumping w/o chute does not work by comparison, at all) or how Broz' tank seems to move at lightspeed to get out ahead of the speeding train.

KKBB is not gonna like this!

Perilagu Khan wrote:

trevanian wrote:

GOLDENEYE
I've always had more quibbles and complaints than most about this one, from how the base at the beginning can be at the bottom of a dam and yet thousands of feet above sealevel, the crazy stupid  falling after plane stuff (having just seen POINT BREAK the day before, I can say this deliberate jumping w/o chute does not work by comparison, at all) or how Broz' tank seems to move at lightspeed to get out ahead of the speeding train.

KKBB is not gonna like this!

Hey I did begin with a positive!

DAF

**sigh** This one used to be my guilty pleasure. I'm sure I had it in my top 10. Not anymore. Sure, it's the funniest Bond film, Barry's score and the title track are top notch, and the characters are colorful in the extreme, but once you've memorized all the gags, what is there, really? The plot is razor-thin, the action--save the Franks punch-up--dull, and much of the acting naff. As much as it pains me, DAF continues to slip in my ranking.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

DAF

**sigh** This one used to be my guilty pleasure. I'm sure I had it in my top 10. Not anymore. Sure, it's the funniest Bond film, Barry's score and the title track are top notch, and the characters are colorful in the extreme, but once you've memorized all the gags, what is there, really? The plot is razor-thin, the action--save the Franks punch-up--dull, and much of the acting naff. As much as it pains me, DAF continues to slip in my ranking.

Maybe you suffer from watching it too often?

Phantom Commander wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

DAF

**sigh** This one used to be my guilty pleasure. I'm sure I had it in my top 10. Not anymore. Sure, it's the funniest Bond film, Barry's score and the title track are top notch, and the characters are colorful in the extreme, but once you've memorized all the gags, what is there, really? The plot is razor-thin, the action--save the Franks punch-up--dull, and much of the acting naff. As much as it pains me, DAF continues to slip in my ranking.

Maybe you suffer from watching it too often?

I wish. Alas, I watch all the Bond films--save DAD, which I no longer watch--with equal frequency.

No, I'm afraid comedy itself, no matter how good it is--and DAF's humor really is excellent--cannot sustain a film. For a film to work, the comedy must adorn a substantial frame or plot, and IMO, DAF just doesn't have it. There's just no real drama or sense of danger. Charles Grey is very good actor, but he's not the most menacing chap who ever chewed the scenery, and his droll jocularity undermines the McGuffin, which at any rate, doesn't manifest until the final quarter of the film.

I have experienced this with certain films myself. They mysteriously suddenly drop or rise in my esteem after a few viewings. I know why I feel that way, but why I feel that way at that particular time as opposed to before is not always so clear.

That happened to me with APOCALYPSE NOW right around the time I saw the Redux version. It was one of my go-tos for a couple decades, and then I couldn't bring myself to watch anything except clips from it. What finally got my interest back was picking up a used copy of the CD ... listening to Sheen's narration got me fired up again, no idea why there was the hiccup.