DIE ANOTHER DAY - Appreciation thread

Loomis wrote:

I think what I love most about DIE ANOTHER DAY is what I'd call its "everything but the kitchen sink"ness. Is the film messy? Yes. Do certain elements not work? Yes. But it strikes me that Eon was really trying to give audiences as much bang for their buck as possible with this one, throwing in virtually every single possible element that anyone had ever enjoyed about Bond. It's a feast of Bond, a total all-you-can-eat blowout.

Kind of like HomeTown Buffet.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Loomis wrote:

I think what I love most about DIE ANOTHER DAY is what I'd call its "everything but the kitchen sink"ness. Is the film messy? Yes. Do certain elements not work? Yes. But it strikes me that Eon was really trying to give audiences as much bang for their buck as possible with this one, throwing in virtually every single possible element that anyone had ever enjoyed about Bond. It's a feast of Bond, a total all-you-can-eat blowout.

Kind of like HomeTown Buffet.

More like two 3 a.m. patty melts at Denny's after stumbling out of some dive in Newark likkerd up on cheap gin and grape Malt Duck.

:)

Yep. It´s not a good feeling.

Well, sue me, but occasionally I like to munch at McDonalds. Life ain't just about savouring at Sardi's, y'know.

P.S. Denny's rules. One of my favourite things about America. We don't have any branches over here, sadly.

Best part of the film is the ice flow car chase/duel. Bothgreat looking cars get a good workout. All the bells and whistles and tricked out gear gets showcased. Very Bondian with creative use of the assorted mobile weaponry.
The battle is well shot. It looks great in hi-def and is brought to a satisfying conclusion at the collapsing ice palace.

Bond's adventures in Cuba are well done. (the torturous Bond/Jinx dialoge at beach bar aside)
I've never cared for locking Bond up for 14 months in a dreary prison camp. How common. This is Bond for crying out loud. It's escapist adventure. He should have escaped. This was Eon's hamfisted attempt at gravitas or faux reality. No thanks. And this is in the same film that features an invisible car, which I did quite like. I even have my own replica toy model version. An impulse buy, one day at at a hobby store. Looks damn good on the mantle though.
Did not appreciate the dreary Madge title track and disliked her screen appearance even more. Hideous woman and awful actress. A terrible performance, brief as it was. Forced andterribly self-conscious. She made no attempt to find the character, but she's Madge. Such effort would be beneath her, not to mention beyond her "talents". The Madonna persona shall prevail.
DAD is an enjoyable Bond romp but its faults do drag it down some. I much prefer it's more escapist Bondian vibe though to the two Dench/Craig soap operas that have followed.

tiffanywint wrote:

I've never cared for locking Bond up for 14 months in a dreary prison camp. How common. This is Bond for crying out loud. It's escapist adventure. He should have escaped. [snip] DAD is an enjoyable Bond romp but its faults do drag it down some. I much prefer it's more escapist Bondian vibe though to the two Dench/Craig soap operas that have followed.

That's the main failing of Goldfingered too; an impotent Bond locked up by Auric and working as a secretary. I hope he got a regular buggering.

Agree that DAD is vastly preferable to CR and QoS. To hell with gritty Bond. Leave the hand-wringing to the humourless left.

tiffanywint wrote:

Did not appreciate the dreary Madge title track and disliked her screen appearance even more. Hideous woman and awful actress. A terrible performance, brief as it was. Forced andterribly self-conscious. She made no attempt to find the character, but she's Madge. Such effort would be beneath her, not to mention beyond her "talents". The Madonna persona shall prevail.

I'll defend Madonna in this instance and say her performance did not detract from the movie at all; it didn't enhance it either, but I think in Madonna's case if you can get her to not screw up the movie with her acting you've accomplished something major. Curiously, with a woman that is as talented as I think she is, it's somewhat remarkable that she has no screen presence at all and just cannot act her way out of a wet paper bag. She was modestly okay in DICK TRACY, and was tolerable for 2 minutes in DAD, but that's it. Her performance in WHO'S THAT GIRL still is one of the worst performances by an "actress" in a leading role I have ever seen; I actually remember laughing throughout the entire film BODY OF EVIDENCE.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Avarice wrote:

The women are generally weak in DAD. For all the adolescent love of PIke she was an inexperienced actress back then and looked it. In complete contrast, this is Brosnan's most relaxed performance as Bond.

Sorry. I just don't see it. Berry's performance was flat at different times, other times it was feisty; but she was never as bad as Tanya Roberts. And as much as I loved Halle Berry at the time, she was completely overshadowed by Rosamund Pike who showed no signs of being a rookie actress. She was brilliant. Bloody brilliant.

I'd have to say all the performances were eclipsed by madonna's breathe-taking acting caliber.

Loomis wrote:

Well, sue me, but occasionally I like to munch at McDonalds.

So do I (particularly chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce and their milkshakes, which we can't get over here) but (continuing the DAD/food metaphor) I don't like to follow it up with cheesecake, half a pint of Haagen-Dazs and 10 cocktails all in one meal, which I think is DAD as you are defining it. However, while I find it very hard to say anything good about DAD, this is an appreciation thread so I can say I thought Rosamund Pike was a high point. She was the cheesecake section of the meal, if you like.

Santa wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Well, sue me, but occasionally I like to munch at McDonalds.

So do I (particularly chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce and their milkshakes, which we can't get over here)

Snap. I always go for Chicken McNuggets with BBQ sauce. Never had their milkshakes, though, although I'm told they're amazing.

Loomis wrote:

Santa wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Well, sue me, but occasionally I like to munch at McDonalds.

So do I (particularly chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce and their milkshakes, which we can't get over here)

Snap. I always go for Chicken McNuggets with BBQ sauce. Never had their milkshakes, though, although I'm told they're amazing.

They really are, you must try one. I head straight for them when I visit England. Although I once got one that was so thick I did have to eat it with a spoon. I used to like those apple pie things they did too but they are apparently discontinued. Gutted.

If we're talking about fast food restaurants, Wendy's has McDonald's beat. No question.

I'm kinda partial to Subway myself. That said, we don't have much choice here.

Harmsway wrote:

If we're talking about fast food restaurants, Wendy's has McDonald's beat. No question.

I remember loving a bit of Wendy's. We don't have them here in Spain and I'm pretty sure England still doesn't have them, although I'm sure I remember hearing Wendy's were planning to open there.

Sharky wrote:

I'm kinda partial to Subway myself. That said, we don't have much choice here.

Oh yes, I love a bit of Subway too.

Shit, I sound like some kind of junk food junkie but I'm really not.

Wendy's just added "sea salt" french fries to their menu. Glorious, artery-clogging stuff.

None of that beats a packet of greasy, vinegar soaked fish 'n' chips, with Heinz ketchup. Bog standard but still first class.

Sharky wrote:

None of that beats a packet of greasy, vinegar soaked fish 'n' chips, with Heinz ketchup. Bog standard but still first class.

No no no, with mayonnaise!

My mouth is watering.

If you find yourself in Texas you need to find yourself a Whataburger and order a double-meat Whataburger with bacon and cheese, a medium order of fries and a chocolate malt. You might not ever leave the state.

Sharky wrote:

None of that beats a packet of greasy, vinegar soaked fish 'n' chips, with Heinz ketchup. Bog standard but still first class.

I could go for that, provided that the fish is not cod.

Incidentally, I'm frying up some fish and chips Indian style tonight. The batter is made from chickpea flour, and has cilantro, garlic and cayenne pepper in it. Jolly good stuff wot, with both malt vinegar and spicy mango pickle.

Santa wrote:

Harmsway wrote:

If we're talking about fast food restaurants, Wendy's has McDonald's beat. No question.

I remember loving a bit of Wendy's. We don't have them here in Spain and I'm pretty sure England still doesn't have them, although I'm sure I remember hearing Wendy's were planning to open there.

I'm pretty sure we used to have Wendy's, as I seem to remember them from my childhood, but I think they fell by the wayside over here years ago.

I really wish we had Denny's. And Taco Bell. England really is a backwater when it comes to fast food.

You don't want Taco Bell.

No? I assure you I like me my tacos.

I like 'em too. A lot.

But Taco Bell does eeeeeevil things to a digestive system.

You'd be better off with a Qdoba.

I had Taco Bell for lunch today, actually.

As I was sitting there eating, I felt guilty and disappointed in myself for eating it. It's probably some of the worst quality fast food out there. Probably even worse than McDonalds.