Last Bond Movie You Watched? 1.0

M wrote:

Maybe M will finally get to do some similar beckoning to our Daniel in SkyFall? :oops:

Perhaps Judi M is Rosa Klebb's daughter.

:shock:

FieldsMan wrote:

And Groucho: No love for the Banker's Scene, boat chase, Renard's interrogation in the bunker or Q's scene?

Banker - terrible lines, boat chase - too long, Renard's interogation - meh, Q - oh well, Q leaves. :)

The Living Daylights - I never get tired of this one. It always somehow feels fresh, despite its specific geopolitical setting. TLD is a rare post-1960s Bond film without major glaring weaknesses. Even the odd trio of villains is entertaining enough and works decently in the context of the story. Glen's direction is known for being all "meat and potatoes," but TLD does have the most impressive cinematography of the 1980s films. Dalton hits all the right notes 95% of the time. I'd say TLD is the most consistently satisfying post-OHMSS 007 adventure (although CR is more striking).

Tomorrow Never Dies - Not as much to compliment here. It's the Bond series on autopilot... a passable 1990s update on the YOLT/Moore-era formula. The Carver premise was bold, but not explored to the fullest in the screenplay. A different actor (Hopkins?) would've helped too. Wai Lin though seems to be the least annoying Bond girl in a while, and certainly the best of the female agents. Comparing TND to other problematic second efforts like TMWTGG, LTK, and QOS, it holds it's own well on repeat viewings. Pity about the regrettable theme song though (another shared element of the seconds!)

1. FRWL
2. OHMSS
3. CR
4. TB
5. Dr. No
6. TLD
7. FYEO
8. YOLT
9. QOS
10. TND
11. LALD
12. TMWTGG
13. AVTAK
14. DAF

LALD last night. Most enjoyable indeed.

What a bonzer script from Manky. Dam' near as good as DAF's. J Dubya is a bloody riot. I'd forgotten how hilarious he was: "Now you listen here troopah boy, we got a swamp full of black Russians and they're goin' to beat the band!"; "What are you? Some kind o' doomsday machine, boy?"; "Billy Bob'll fix they ass!"



Strong performances from Hedison, Kotto and Julius Harris, and Jane Seymour was promise itself.



Hell, even Rosie Carver wasn't all that bad.

With a more urgent MacGuffin LALD might be considered a classic.

Mr. Brown wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

"Now you listen here troopah boy, we got a swamp full of black Russians and they're goin' to beat the band!"; ... "Billy Bob'll fix they ass!"

I don't know how in hell the other actors managed to keep a straight face when Clifton James was doing his schtick. My guess is they had to do several takes.

'Secret agent?!? On WHOSE side?!?'

Wrote this a while back -

Let's face it, most Bond films are formula. So it's no sin that the best bit of Tomorrow Never Dies is a Goldfinger rehash: a playful scene with gadget-master Q, followed by a gimmicky car chase. The real sin is how boring the rest of Tomorrow is. We know the villain's plan immediately, and so does Bond. All that remains then is inconsequential action pieces peppered with precious one-liners. Halfway through, the film's palette switches from warm tones and sleek black & white to the muddiness of Saigon and the dull interior of a stealth boat. Where's the tension, the wit, the colour? 007 can't hold the audience's attention, either, as he's all but replaced by a mysterious (read: entirely undeveloped) female secret agent. Even then, Bond barely resembles himself in the film's few character moments. A former flame who got "too close" (played by an unlikely Teri Hatcher) appears, but it's never revealed how she warmed up the notoriously cold womanizer. The result is a movie that, if stumbled upon while channel-surfing one night, would be more readily identified as a cure for insomnia than as a Bond film.

Louis Armstrong wrote:

Wrote this a while back -

Let's face it, most Bond films are formula. So it's no sin that the best bit of Tomorrow Never Dies is a Goldfinger rehash: a playful scene with gadget-master Q, followed by a gimmicky car chase. The real sin is how boring the rest of Tomorrow is. We know the villain's plan immediately, and so does Bond. All that remains then is inconsequential action pieces peppered with precious one-liners. Halfway through, the film's palette switches from warm tones and sleek black & white to the muddiness of Saigon and the dull interior of a stealth boat. Where's the tension, the wit, the colour? 007 can't hold the audience's attention, either, as he's all but replaced by a mysterious (read: entirely undeveloped) female secret agent. Even then, Bond barely resembles himself in the film's few character moments. A former flame who got "too close" (played by an unlikely Teri Hatcher) appears, but it's never revealed how she warmed up the notoriously cold womanizer. The result is a movie that, if stumbled upon while channel-surfing one night, would be more readily identified as a cure for insomnia than as a Bond film.

Yes that hits the nail, its not a dreaful film per se, but theres nothing to make you sit up or engage...The Bond equivalent of lift/elevator music (that's department store style and not the kind while beating Peter Franks senseless of course).

I have during the last couple of days watched through the 70's Bond. Just because it was such a long time ago.

DAF - It wasn't so bad as i remebered. Still quite fun and goofy but in a good way. Connery was better here then in YOLT when he just was bored and tired of the role. In DAF he seems to be enjoying it and he looks genuinly happy. Gray plays Blofeld very good, and Mr Wint and Mr Kidd are bizare in their own kind of way. The down side of this movie is the boring and uninsiring end battle and the lousy special effects that really blows.

LALD - I have actually never finded this movie as good as many trying to imply. So when i putted in the disc into the player i was anxious to get it going and i was ready to have two boring hours. But i was suprised. This movie did really deliver from the first moment with a different sort of PTS. And after the title sequence ( which i find as one of the dullest actually ) we see Moore as calm and relaxed as ever in his own home. I do also think that Moore is in his best mood in his four first films, he was belivable in the beginning of his Bond career.
Solitaire is very, hmm. Titillating... And certainly among the best Bond girls in the franchise. Other than that the movie has a great tempo and is really entertaining with great actors, especially Yaphet Kotto i dare say!

TMWTGG - One of the best movies in the franchise and the best from the 70's. Moore is at his best a memorably scene is the one when he confronts with Ms Anders for the first time. Lee plays Scaramanga in a very good way. It has great locations and a spy sense. This movie is like the " Calm Before The Storm " when the Bond movies become escapist adventures.
The script is great and does have some great lines " So speak now or forever hold your piece " is just amazing.
I can't get why so many hate on this movie, i think this is really Bond - esque.

TSWLM - A praised movie by many. But according to me i think it has lost its charm during the years that has passed. Yes, Moore is good and Bach plays Amasova belivable. It's final is impressive and the film really comes up with some great innovative ideas. This film is good but not so much better then that. I get the impression that they took the best from YOLT just to make it a success.
I can't question it's importance to the series, and without this one the series should probably not have lived by now. But there is better movies in the franchise.

MR - This is a low water mark of the series. A film with perhaps the best potential in the first hour but later on just getting out of control.
The film is very good in the first aerial sequence and the whole scene at Draxs home and when Bond sits in the centrifuge. But when he gets to Venice and the Bondola appears it just getting out of control. The scene at St Marcus Square is just a giant facepalm. And when Jaws appears and mets Dolly. I sat and thought for myself, " What is this and where is Bond? ". I could barely make it through the film. Only AVTAK is worser then this one.
But the films upsides is Moores performance, Lonsdale as Drax, John Barrys music and the first hour. Other then that, i do not think this film is so good as a Bond film. As a normal film i think this is a good movie!

GOLDFINGER (1964)

Not very keen on this movie any more. It's a dud sandwiched between two terrific Bond films. It's just so uneventful and, at times, quite bland. Connery also lacks some of his previous toughness as he goes from one fuck up to another (though fucking up Pussy Galore ended up saving the day). If it wasn't Sean Connery playing Bond here, you'd dismiss the protagonist as an inept, smarmy schoolboy.

Auric G makes for a fun, OTT villain though.

And can somebody please explain the point of holding an eleborate presentation for Da Hoodz and then gassing them? Why bother letting Solo leave and be killed when he could've just been eliminated with the other Hoodz?

And what's with da trick pool table?

The James Bond that Connery plays in GF is quite different than the Bond he plays in DN and FRWL. The worst part has to be when he's basically begging for his life on the laser table.

I love the Alpine drive and the golf scene, though.

I wonder why didn't Terence Young do it?

After two Bond pictures he wanted a raise, so Cubby and Saltzman looked elsewhere.

And then they gave in with TB?

With TB's budget three times bigger than GF yeah I can see them letting that slide. IIRC McClory's involvement had something to do with bringing back Young too.

Would Terence Young have been better able to handle da trick pool table?

CJB wrote:

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And can somebody please explain the point of holding an eleborate presentation for Da Hoodz and then gassing them? Why bother letting Solo leave and be killed when he could've just been eliminated with the other Hoodz?

Wasn't it because he wanted more money invested into Operation Grandslam? He gave them the option of either getting out with a million, or out with 10 million or something if they invested more.

I haven't watched it for a while, but it's the next film in my Bondathon.

GOLDENEYE

It's the first time I've ever watched it on my HDTV. And I don't know what happened, but GOLDENEYE went from looking drab and gray to being one of the most beautifully-shot films in the series, with lots of vivid, subtle colors and terrific shot composition. I still have my niggles with it, but GOLDENEYE really is first-rate Bond.

Glad you finally turned, Harms. I look at Meheux's cinematography in GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE and ask, 'what the hell happened?' Maybe it's the Super 35, I dunno.

Harmsway wrote:

GOLDENEYE

It's the first time I've ever watched it on my HDTV. And I don't know what happened, but GOLDENEYE went from looking drab and gray to being one of the most beautifully-shot films in the series, with lots of vivid, subtle colors and terrific shot composition. I still have my niggles with it, but GOLDENEYE really is first-rate Bond.

Bang on. GE is a splendid, classic Bond film. Much better than GF, which CJB panned above.

Sharky wrote:

Glad you finally turned, Harms. I look at Meheux's cinematography in GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE and ask, 'what the hell happened?' Maybe it's the Super 35, I dunno.

Oh, I think CASINO ROYALE looks splendid on my HDTV, too. Very different looks, though, but both valid approaches.

Harmsway wrote:

Sharky wrote:

Glad you finally turned, Harms. I look at Meheux's cinematography in GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE and ask, 'what the hell happened?' Maybe it's the Super 35, I dunno.

Oh, I think CASINO ROYALE looks splendid on my HDTV, too. Very different looks, though, but both valid approaches.

CASINO ROYALE just hurts my eyes with its digital grading and in-yer-face lighting. The film looks like a overblown car ad.

Harmsway wrote:

GOLDENEYE

It's the first time I've ever watched it on my HDTV. And I don't know what happened, but GOLDENEYE went from looking drab and gray to being one of the most beautifully-shot films in the series, with lots of vivid, subtle colors and terrific shot composition. I still have my niggles with it, but GOLDENEYE really is first-rate Bond.

:D

FieldsMan wrote:

CJB wrote:

.

And can somebody please explain the point of holding an eleborate presentation for Da Hoodz and then gassing them? Why bother letting Solo leave and be killed when he could've just been eliminated with the other Hoodz?

Wasn't it because he wanted more money invested into Operation Grandslam? He gave them the option of either getting out with a million, or out with 10 million or something if they invested more.

He already had the equipment needed to break into Fort Knox, so I'm not sure what more cash would've done in the space of 24 hours.

So yeah... not sure what that scene was all about. Also, what's with da trick pool table?

GF makes no sense in parts but I don't care. I love this film. I love the music, the whole 60's vibe, Connery's uber-cool relaxed performance, the Aston, the first real snappy Bond and Q banter scene, the girls, the guns, the OTT villains, the dialogue. I love every scene. The pts still gives me goosebumps, especially when tux-attired Sean enters the bordello, and cooly lights a fag, as all hell breaks loose. And the music. GF is best watched at ear-splitting volume, especially the title track and then the transition to Bond and Dink in Miami. I always get a hankering for Kentucky Fried Chicken when I watch this film. Next time I think I'll buy a bucket in advance.

GF and DAF are my one-two Bond desert island films. I've probably watched both about 100 times. Way more than any other Bonds

Might do a GF/DAF double-bill soon. Followed by a LALD/TMWTGG double-bill. A Guy Hamilton tribute.