Tag: bond

/ geoffand

Bond Flicks

I have a confession. I love the Bond movies. From the early Sean Connery movies, the single episode with George Lazenby (and Diana Rigg as the Bond girl, rowr!), the Moore years, and then the others. I love the cheesy plots and dialog, the hokey special effects (although they have improved with age), and the whole “Aura” of the Bond character.

The happiest day of the year was discovering that many of them are now available for streaming on Netflix. Yay!

There are some lemons. Last night I was watching “Never Say Never Again”, a truly forgettable film with the return of Sean Connery, and featuring Kim Bassinger. Being a non-Eon production, it didn’t have the charming Desmond Llewellyn as ‘Q’, and that is all you need to know.

Over the weekend, I watched “A View to a Kill”, a fine bond movie with a completely contrived plot around destroying Silicon valley. Its saving grace is the superb performance of Christopher Walken. Because even Bond needs more COWBELL!

Of course, the current Bond actor, Daniel Craig is doing a superlative job and has revitalized the franchise, easing it away from the “cold warrior” into the global terror fighter.

I will keep on watching, and enjoying the movies. I think this weekend I will queue up “From Russia with Love” and “Live and Let Die”.

/ geoffand

Daniel Craig – Best Bond Ever

I have long been a James Bond fan. Started in the Roger Moore era, then the Pierce Brosnan era, and the single Timothy Dalton episode.  Then I detoured though the Sean Connery set of masterpieces. Loved them all.

But the new ones, with Daniel Craig as Bond are the best. Yes, the effects are amazing, but they always were the best that their time had to offer. The stories are better. They are more imaginative, and well written, and without a doubt less cheesy. But there is something else that Craig brings to Bond.

My wife hit on it last night while we were watching Casino Royale, Daniel Craig get cuts, bruises and he looks like he has been involved in the fights, battles, and action. It adds a level of realism that brings the character to life.

That, and Judi Dench is just kicks ass as ‘M’. Shame that they retired her in Skyfall, but I am sure Ralph Fiennes will carry the torch well.

Looking forward to the Bond/Moneypenny interplay!

/ geoffand

Some of the best urban hooligan riding of all time – Skyfall Intro

As someone who appreciates the art and practice of urban hooligan riding (riding a dual purpose motorcycle in a dense city, taking advantage of its size to go places never intended for vehicular travel). I used to scare the dickens out of people with some of the shit I used to do with my XL500, and (much later) XR650. Stairs, parks, alleys, and causeways between buildings were all acceptable shortcuts, and fair game.

SkyfallThe early scenes in Skyfall show a chase that starts in cars, switches to motorcycles, and to a train. Set in Istanbul, Turkey, it is well choreographed, and the riding is top notch. Bond (Daniel Craig, or actually a stunt double) is chasing the bad guy through alleys, on roofs, and in bazars. Masterful.

(I know, it is a bit late to finally be seeing the movie, but I typically wait for it to hit Netflix)