list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Casino Royale on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Casino_Royale/231917/default.aspx Title: Casino Royale
Year: 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Plot: Actor Daniel Craig assumes the role formerly occupied by such screen greats as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton to set out on the character's very first 007 mission. James Bond has earned his "00" status by masterfully executing a pair of death-defying professional assassinations. Now assigned the task of traveling to Madagascar to spy on notorious terrorist Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) for his maiden voyage as a 007 agent, Bond boldly goes against MI6 policy to launch an independent investigation that finds him traversing the Bahamas in search of Mollaka's notoriously elusive terror cell. Subsequently led into the company of the mysterious Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) and his exotic girlfriend, Solange (Caterina Murino), Bond soon realizes that he is closer than ever to locating well-guarded terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), the man who has personally bankrolled some of the most prevalent terrorist organizations on the planet. When Bond learns that Le Chiffre is planning to partake in an upcoming high-stakes poker game to be played at Montenegro's Le Casino Royale and use the winnings to establish his financial grip on the globe, M (Judi Dench) assigns beguiling agent Vesper (Eva Green) the task of watching over the fledgling agent as he plays against Le Chiffre in a covert attempt to destroy the nefarious gambler's well-established monetary stronghold in the underworld once and for all. Bond will need more than his legendary gambling skills in order to win this dangerous game, though, and after allying himself with local MI6 field agent Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and CIA operative Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the endlessly suave super-spy puts on his poker face for a high-stakes game of cards in which the stakes are not measured in dollars, but human lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 140
Number of Lists: 72
Number of blog posts: 38
Number of discussion threads: 4
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:08:36 GMTCasino Royale2006Martin CampbellActor <a href="/players/P____15549/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Daniel Craig</a> assumes the role formerly occupied by such screen greats as <a href="/players/P____10646/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Sean Connery</a>, <a href="/players/P____50375/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Roger Moore</a>, and <a href="/players/P____16690/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Timothy Dalton</a> to set out on the character's very first 007 mission. James Bond has earned his "00" status by masterfully executing a pair of death-defying professional assassinations. Now assigned the task of traveling to Madagascar to spy on notorious terrorist Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) for his maiden voyage as a 007 agent, Bond boldly goes against MI6 policy to launch an independent investigation that finds him traversing the Bahamas in search of Mollaka's notoriously elusive terror cell. Subsequently led into the company of the mysterious Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) and his exotic girlfriend, Solange (Caterina Murino), Bond soon realizes that he is closer than ever to locating well-guarded terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), the man who has personally bankrolled some of the most prevalent terrorist organizations on the planet. When Bond learns that Le Chiffre is planning to partake in an upcoming high-stakes poker game to be played at Montenegro's Le Casino Royale and use the winnings to establish his financial grip on the globe, M (<a href="/players/P____18570/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Judi Dench</a>) assigns beguiling agent Vesper (<a href="/players/P___376643/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Eva Green</a>) the task of watching over the fledgling agent as he plays against Le Chiffre in a covert attempt to destroy the nefarious gambler's well-established monetary stronghold in the underworld once and for all. Bond will need more than his legendary gambling skills in order to win this dangerous game, though, and after allying himself with local MI6 field agent Mathis (<a href="/players/P____91430/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Giancarlo Giannini</a>) and CIA operative Felix Leiter (<a href="/players/P____77607/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jeffrey Wright</a>), the endlessly suave super-spy puts on his poker face for a high-stakes game of cards in which the stakes are not measured in dollars, but human lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide140Tag Target (>10)723843http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/u33726ajcw1.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Casino_Royale/231917/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_July_27_Games_of_Chance/625/43299/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/28/2009 9:57:28 PM
Body: We're throwing caution to the wind and hoping for a windfall this week. There's a reason Las Vegas is such a popular destination: the strippers and all you can eat buffets are a distant second to the lure of taking a chance on the endless stream of slot machines, roulette wheels and poker tables where a single stroke of luck can bring you unimaginable riches (or at least pay for a go at the buffet later). I've always loved those smokey gambling dens of iniquity where the liquor is cheap and so are the woman such as those in The Big Sleep, Gilda, and Dick Tracy. The dangerous illegal gambles where life is on the line are also rather intriguing like in the inconceivably funny The Princess Bride, ultra realistic Intacto and historical accurate Barry Lyndon. Recently I've taken a liking to Texas Hold'em and movies such as Rounders, Ocean's 11, Casino Royale and My Blueberry Nights do the game justice (with losers like Lucky You and All In making a mockery of it). So what other movies are there about gambling / games of chance?
]]>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:57:28 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme7/28/2009 9:57:28 PMWe're throwing caution to the wind and hoping for a windfall this week. There's a reason Las Vegas is such a popular destination: the strippers and all you can eat buffets are a distant second to the lure of taking a chance on the endless stream of slot machines, roulette wheels and poker tables where a single stroke of luck can bring you unimaginable riches (or at least pay for a go at the buffet later). I've always loved those smokey gambling dens of iniquity where the liquor is cheap and so are the woman such as those in The Big Sleep, Gilda, and Dick Tracy. The dangerous illegal gambles where life is on the line are also rather intriguing like in the inconceivably funny The Princess Bride, ultra realistic Intacto and historical accurate Barry Lyndon. Recently I've taken a liking to Texas Hold'em and movies such as Rounders, Ocean's 11, Casino Royale and My Blueberry Nights do the game justice (with losers like Lucky You and All In making a mockery of it). So what other movies are there about gambling / games of chance? http://www.spout.com/blogs/rebelprince89/archive/2009/4/24/41740.aspx Post By: rebelprince89
Post To: rebelprince89 Blog
Post Date: 4/24/2009 2:48:53 PM
Body: "Casino Royale" blew me away. It is a fantastic movie in every way, and also the best Bond so far! I have always liked Pierce Brosnan (for some reason, other people didn't) in this prestigious role, and now that he has retired as a 00 agent, it is great to see someone even better replace him. "Casino Royale" revisits the beginnings of the well-known British secret agent, and it does so in a very stylish manner. Every second of the movie is carefully thought out, and it really is perfect. James Bond is now played by Daniel Craig ("Elizabeth", "Sylvia", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"), who adds an interesting twist to this well-known character. Apparently, in the beginning, Bond couldn't care less if his martini was shaken or stirred, his first kill was pretty rough and not at all elegant, and he was also a little kinky. Of course, he has always been very cool, with the latest gadgets, fast cars and beautiful women. Speaking of women, "Casino Royale" doesn't disappoint. The latest Bond girl is Eva Green. As every good Bond girl should be, she is not both beautiful AND brainy, and is very believable in her role. Also, she is one of few 007 love interests to not be interested in Mr. Bond... until she is, of course. And of course, there is action involved, and lots of it. However, the movie is very smart - not all action consists of explosions, guns and foreign assassins (although, it's not like these elements aren't there!). In order for Bond to successfully accomplish his mission, this time he doesn't need to kill anybody... he needs to win a game of poker. Although this may sound like a major turn-off, it is magnificently executed - the scenes around the table are awesome, exciting and full of drama. Also, there is a sub-plot involved, because you don't just become 007: there is something for Bond, James Bond to do before he gains his title. "Casino Royale" is one of the most satisfying movies to come out in 2006. It is everything a James Bond movie should be, and then some. Judi Dench is at her usual super-self, Eva Green is mesmerizing, and Daniel Craig... let's just say he might as well be the ultimate James Bond!
]]>Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:48:53 GMTrebelprince89rebelprince89 Blog4/24/2009 2:48:53 PM"Casino Royale" blew me away. It is a fantastic movie in every way, and also the best Bond so far! I have always liked Pierce Brosnan (for some reason, other people didn't) in this prestigious role, and now that he has retired as a 00 agent, it is great to see someone even better replace him. "Casino Royale" revisits the beginnings of the well-known British secret agent, and it does so in a very stylish manner. Every second of the movie is carefully thought out, and it really is perfect. James Bond is now played by Daniel Craig ("Elizabeth", "Sylvia", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"), who adds an interesting twist to this well-known character. Apparently, in the beginning, Bond couldn't care less if his martini was shaken or stirred, his first kill was pretty rough and not at all elegant, and he was also a little kinky. Of course, he has always been very cool, with the latest gadgets, fast cars and beautiful women. Speaking of women, "Casino Royale" doesn't disappoint. The latest Bond girl is Eva Green. As every good Bond girl should be, she is not both beautiful AND brainy, and is very believable in her role. Also, she is one of few 007 love interests to not be interested in Mr. Bond... until she is, of course. And of course, there is action involved, and lots of it. However, the movie is very smart - not all action consists of explosions, guns and foreign assassins (although, it's not like these elements aren't there!). In order for Bond to successfully accomplish his mission, this time he doesn't need to kill anybody... he needs to win a game of poker. Although this may sound like a major turn-off, it is magnificently executed - the scenes around the table are awesome, exciting and full of drama. Also, there is a sub-plot involved, because you don't just become 007: there is something for Bond, James Bond to do before he gains his title. "Casino Royale" is one of the most satisfying movies to come out in 2006. It is everything a James Bond movie should be, and then some. Judi Dench is at her usual super-self, Eva Green is mesmerizing, and Daniel Craig... let's just say he might as well be the ultimate James Bond! http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/3/27/41289.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 3/27/2009 9:00:44 AM
Body: Though the third Fast and the Furious installment, Tokyo Drift, wasn’t a huge box office disappointment with its $63 million domestic gross, it was significantly less successful than its predecessors, The Fast and the Furious ($145 million) and 2 Fast 2 Furious ($127 million). A fourth film would normally see an even bigger drop in box office receipts, but next week’s Fast & Furious has a good chance of actually being the highest-grossing film in the series yet, due to the return of original cast members Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordanna Brewster and, most importantly, Vin Diesel. With the expectation that Fast & Furious will be enough of a hit to save the franchise, we take a look at ten other films that similarly kept their respective series going, either because of an increase in profits or a surprising increase in quality, following one or many disappointing installments. Batman Begins (2005) It’s appropriate to begin with the film that has “begins” in the title. Also, this is one of the more obvious examples (it’s also the first in alphabetical order), but it almost seems to count the least, because while it did lift the Batman franchise back up, both in terms of box office and quality, after Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the character isn’t much in line with the previous installments. For all the difference between Burton’s and Schumacher’s pairs of films, they are of the same continuity, for the most part. Still, compared to attempted reboots like Superman Returns and Punisher: War Zone, Batman Begins is a real savior; just imagine if it had failed, and we’d never have gotten The Dark Knight. Goldeneye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006) While Casino Royale is another obvious choice and could very well have been the only James Bond film on this list, it’s worth including Goldeneye, too, because after the disappointing 007 films starring Timothy Dalton, this installment boosted the franchise’s profits way back up and thankfully knocked Moonraker off the highest-grossing-Bond movie throne. Beginning a more action-packed run with new lead Pierce Brosnan, Goldeneye was a terrific addition to the series even if it led to a subsequent drop in quality where spectacle took precedence over story. Fortunately, a decade later Casino Royale came in and saved the franchise once again. Halloween H20 (1998) Thanks in part to the return of Jamie Lee Curtis, who was joined by a crop of young, likable stars including Michelle Williams, Josh Hartnett and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (not to mention LL Cool J), Halloween H20 was a huge success and a huge breath of fresh air after a number of unwatchable (even with Paul Rudd) Halloween sequels. This film did the Superman Returns thing, too (and first), where it jumped back and ignored all the terrible installments, treating them as having never happened. It wasn’t great, but it was better, and for the first time, a Halloween sequel grossed more money than the original (since that time, the remake has replaced H20 at the top). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Following two adequate but not great Harry Potter adaptations from Chris Columbus, the series got a huge makeover and new life when Alfonso Cuaron took on the third film. Though some of us may think it a tad overrated and not actually as great as the fourth film, Goblet of Fire, Prisoner of Azkaban was undeniably important in showing that the franchise could (and would) mature along with its characters. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) It wasn’t necessarily because Heather Langenkamp returned to the series, and it wasn’t necessarily that this second sequel took in so much money (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge had already out-grossed the original). After a darkly shot and depressingly non-scary sequel, Dream Warriors did the best thing a horror franchise can do (in our opinion): it turned it into a fantasy film that combined the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and superhero movies. Without this refreshing installment, we children of the ‘80s might not have continued following the franchise so enthusiastically. Mission: Impossible III (2006) This J.J. Abrams-directed installment may have been the lowest grossing of the franchise, but it is the best of the three. Coming off the sloppy and confusing disasters that were Brian De Palma’s original and John Woo’s sequel, that may not be saying much, but shockingly it is an exceptional action film. Part of its favor is of course Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain (and as Ethan Hunt disguised as the villain wearing a Philip Seymour Hoffman mask), but overall the film was more critically lauded than the first two films, and in spite of its being a box office disappointment, M:iI:III may have saved the franchise simply on the merit of its reviews (or, is a fourth installment merely being made because Hollywood has nothing better to do?). Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Many Trekkies would note that every other installment in the Star Trek franchise saves the series, and it’s generally understood that even-numbered films are always better than odd-numbered. Many Trekkies would also argue therefore that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan should be on this list for initially saving the series following a relatively weak start. But we non-Trek fans have to point to The Voyage Home for bringing in us kids who cared more about humpback whales than space battles. Or, at least that seems to be how this installment managed to become the (still) highest-grossing Trek movie. Unfortunately, there were no sea mammals in any of the subsequent sequels and it wasn’t until the Next Generation TV cast got their own movie (as in, not shared with the original crew) that another installment, First Contact, out-grossed all other sequels (except the always-reigning whale-filled one, of course) and appeared to temporarily save the franchise once again. Later this year, we’ll get to see if J.J. Abrams’ reboot, Star Trek, has any ocean life and/or what it takes to jumpstart the series, too. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) It made the least amount of money of the three Star Wars prequels, but Attack of the Clones was the trilogy’s saving grace, because after the “George Lucas ruined my childhood!” disappointments of The Phantom Menace, this second (or fifth?) installment of the franchise got the old fans excited again by alluding to (and leading in the direction of) more characters and events of the original movies, while overall featuring a better plot and more satisfying action. It helped, of course, that Jake Lloyd isn’t in it and that Jar-Jar isn’t quite as prominent. If it hadn’t been so good, many of us would have never bothered with Revenge of the Sith. In a way, it’s to the other two prequels what Empire Strikes Back was to the other films of the first trilogy, though it’s not quite worthy of such a favorable comparison. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:00:44 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com3/27/2009 9:00:44 AMThough the third Fast and the Furious installment, Tokyo Drift, wasn’t a huge box office disappointment with its $63 million domestic gross, it was significantly less successful than its predecessors, The Fast and the Furious ($145 million) and 2 Fast 2 Furious ($127 million). A fourth film would normally see an even bigger drop in box office receipts, but next week’s Fast & Furious has a good chance of actually being the highest-grossing film in the series yet, due to the return of original cast members Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordanna Brewster and, most importantly, Vin Diesel. With the expectation that Fast & Furious will be enough of a hit to save the franchise, we take a look at ten other films that similarly kept their respective series going, either because of an increase in profits or a surprising increase in quality, following one or many disappointing installments. Batman Begins (2005) It’s appropriate to begin with the film that has “begins” in the title. Also, this is one of the more obvious examples (it’s also the first in alphabetical order), but it almost seems to count the least, because while it did lift the Batman franchise back up, both in terms of box office and quality, after Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the character isn’t much in line with the previous installments. For all the difference between Burton’s and Schumacher’s pairs of films, they are of the same continuity, for the most part. Still, compared to attempted reboots like Superman Returns and Punisher: War Zone, Batman Begins is a real savior; just imagine if it had failed, and we’d never have gotten The Dark Knight. Goldeneye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006) While Casino Royale is another obvious choice and could very well have been the only James Bond film on this list, it’s worth including Goldeneye, too, because after the disappointing 007 films starring Timothy Dalton, this installment boosted the franchise’s profits way back up and thankfully knocked Moonraker off the highest-grossing-Bond movie throne. Beginning a more action-packed run with new lead Pierce Brosnan, Goldeneye was a terrific addition to the series even if it led to a subsequent drop in quality where spectacle took precedence over story. Fortunately, a decade later Casino Royale came in and saved the franchise once again. Halloween H20 (1998) Thanks in part to the return of Jamie Lee Curtis, who was joined by a crop of young, likable stars including Michelle Williams, Josh Hartnett and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (not to mention LL Cool J), Halloween H20 was a huge success and a huge breath of fresh air after a number of unwatchable (even with Paul Rudd) Halloween sequels. This film did the Superman Returns thing, too (and first), where it jumped back and ignored all the terrible installments, treating them as having never happened. It wasn’t great, but it was better, and for the first time, a Halloween sequel grossed more money than the original (since that time, the remake has replaced H20 at the top). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Following two adequate but not great Harry Potter adaptations from Chris Columbus, the series got a huge makeover and new life when Alfonso Cuaron took on the third film. Though some of us may think it a tad overrated and not actually as great as the fourth film, Goblet of Fire, Prisoner of Azkaban was undeniably important in showing that the franchise could (and would) mature along with its characters. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) It wasn’t necessarily because Heather Langenkamp returned to the series, and it wasn’t necessarily that this second sequel took in so much money (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge had already out-grossed the original). After a darkly shot and depressingly non-scary sequel, Dream Warriors did the best thing a horror franchise can do (in our opinion): it turned it into a fantasy film that combined the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and superhero movies. Without this refreshing installment, we children of the ‘80s might not have continued following the franchise so enthusiastically. Mission: Impossible III (2006) This J.J. Abrams-directed installment may have been the lowest grossing of the franchise, but it is the best of the three. Coming off the sloppy and confusing disasters that were Brian De Palma’s original and John Woo’s sequel, that may not be saying much, but shockingly it is an exceptional action film. Part of its favor is of course Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain (and as Ethan Hunt disguised as the villain wearing a Philip Seymour Hoffman mask), but overall the film was more critically lauded than the first two films, and in spite of its being a box office disappointment, M:iI:III may have saved the franchise simply on the merit of its reviews (or, is a fourth installment merely being made because Hollywood has nothing better to do?). Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Many Trekkies would note that every other installment in the Star Trek franchise saves the series, and it’s generally understood that even-numbered films are always better than odd-numbered. Many Trekkies would also argue therefore that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan should be on this list for initially saving the series following a relatively weak start. But we non-Trek fans have to point to The Voyage Home for bringing in us kids who cared more about humpback whales than space battles. Or, at least that seems to be how this installment managed to become the (still) highest-grossing Trek movie. Unfortunately, there were no sea mammals in any of the subsequent sequels and it wasn’t until the Next Generation TV cast got their own movie (as in, not shared with the original crew) that another installment, First Contact, out-grossed all other sequels (except the always-reigning whale-filled one, of course) and appeared to temporarily save the franchise once again. Later this year, we’ll get to see if J.J. Abrams’ reboot, Star Trek, has any ocean life and/or what it takes to jumpstart the series, too. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) It made the least amount of money of the three Star Wars prequels, but Attack of the Clones was the trilogy’s saving grace, because after the “George Lucas ruined my childhood!” disappointments of The Phantom Menace, this second (or fifth?) installment of the franchise got the old fans excited again by alluding to (and leading in the direction of) more characters and events of the original movies, while overall featuring a better plot and more satisfying action. It helped, of course, that Jake Lloyd isn’t in it and that Jar-Jar isn’t quite as prominent. If it hadn’t been so good, many of us would have never bothered with Revenge of the Sith. In a way, it’s to the other two prequels what Empire Strikes Back was to the other films of the first trilogy, though it’s not quite worthy of such a favorable comparison. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/12/27/38883.aspx Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 12/27/2008 8:34:11 PM
Body: Make no mistake, 2008 was the year of the woman. From politics to multiplex, they were the most newsworthy. At the box office, week after week brought about stories about how, mother of all shockers, women enjoy going to the movies too. From summer “event movies” (usually an exclusive boys tree house where "No Gurlz Allowd"), to record-breaking such as best opening for a female director, women were the new black at the box office. In 2008: Twilight was the highest-grossing film opening by a female director (at $70 million); It received the second-largest advanced ticket sales, trailing only The Dark Knight; Sex and the City was the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy; The SATC gals also debuted as the fifth best R-rated film of all time; The film also bested Mission Impossible as the best debut of a film based on a TV show. Now, perhaps next year we can do the same with good movies. Sex in the City was the female equivalent of Iron Man, replacing magical gadgetry with matching accessories and pyrotechnics for Prada. The other glass ceiling-shattering film, Twilight, featured a lead who thankfully did not have to resort to sex for empowerment, but she really didn't do much else, either. Twilight's accolades are deserved for what it accomplished behind the camera, not what was captured on it. Though there were film aplenty that could populate both lists, I tried to limit this list to films that would have played in most major cities outside the metropolitan areas. BESTThe Dark Knight: Let me join the chorus of hosannas for this little underrated indie gem, for I know it could use the help financially.WALL·E: A family film with a virtually dialogue-free first half, a protagonist made of metal, an Earth barren of life and squelched by pollution, a cuddly cockroach sidekick, and a human cast that's a Dorito away from permanent bedrest. A film of staggering beauty from a company for which that is a trademark feature.The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Director David Fincher's most accessible, polished film to date. While Zodiac and Fight Club may resonate longer, Button is the kind of marriage between theatrics, epic scope, and pure emotion that lands him in the top tier of working directors. Winning, tender performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett only further cement the film's top 10 placement.Burn After Reading: After bumming us out of us with last year's stark, desolate (but excellent) No Country for Old Men, the Brothers Coen demonstrate their sharp comic chops with this irreverent, all-star dissection of middle-age madness and frustration of lives lived that come nowhere close to youthful aspirations. Milk: Sean Penn offers further proof of his necessity in cinema today with his ingratiating portrayal of slain politician Harvey Milk. Director Gus Van Sant lifts his vision from his navel (where it was focused during films such as Gerry and Last Days) to create a sensitive, intimate biopic that is saved from maudlin tendencies by Penn's presence. Tropic Thunder: Bold, unexpected comedy that does not wear out its welcome by the third act, like so many other mainstream comedies. Ben Stiller directs Robert Downey Jr. to his second standout performance this summer.Quantum of Solace: Some have decried the fact that Daniel Craig's Bond is just too mean. But Solace, which feels like a perfect extension of Casino Royale, feels as though it is taking its sweet time in creating the psyche of someone who has reason to be known as the greatest super-spy the world has ever known. Let the Right One In: This is a bit of a cheat, since this may have only appeared on area screens as part of a film festival, but its effect is one that reverberates far outside its limited runs nationwide. In a year when Twilight has been garnering all the attention, The Right One has become the one true vampire (and adolescence) film whose bite leaves a mark and should be sought out on DVD before the inevitable US remake. U2-3D: Demonstrating just why they are the world's biggest rock band, U2 raised the roof with this truly cinematic 3D spectacle that not only captured the feel of one of their concerts, but invited the audience on stage to jam with Bono and the boys. Slumdog Millionaire: Danny Boyle never disappoints, even with his misfires (A Life Less Ordinary, Sunshine). But he nails it again with Slumdog, a rather pedestrian tale told with wit, undeniable humanity and delivered with uncompromising conviction. WORST The Happening: When wind is your chief villain, it's time to rethink the script. The Love Guru: Mike Myers steps in Deepak doo-doo.Sex and the City: Inside this film's Sax Fifth Avenue window dressing lies the the cold, calculated heart of an empty Wal-Mart.88Minutes/Righteous Kill: Al Pacino should have known better after working with director Jon Avnet in 88, but instead enlisted fellow legend Robert DeNiro to further Kill both their careers.X-Files: I Want to Believe: But now I no longer do.Seven Pounds: Will Smith packed his bags for a guilt trip, and we're forced to ride along in the back seat. An American Carol: Looks like Republicans were just as good at making films as they were winning elections in 2008.Meet the Spartans/Disaster Movie: Cinematic parody: Born 1923, Died 2008.
]]>Sun, 28 Dec 2008 01:34:11 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog12/27/2008 8:34:11 PMMake no mistake, 2008 was the year of the woman. From politics to multiplex, they were the most newsworthy. At the box office, week after week brought about stories about how, mother of all shockers, women enjoy going to the movies too. From summer &ldquo;event movies&rdquo; (usually an exclusive boys tree house where "No Gurlz Allowd"), to record-breaking such as best opening for a female director, women were the new black at the box office. In 2008: Twilight was the highest-grossing film opening by a female director (at $70 million); It received the second-largest advanced ticket sales, trailing only The Dark Knight; Sex and the City was the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy; The SATC gals also debuted as the fifth best R-rated film of all time; The film also bested Mission Impossible as the best debut of a film based on a TV show. Now, perhaps next year we can do the same with good movies. Sex in the City was the female equivalent of Iron Man, replacing magical gadgetry with matching accessories and pyrotechnics for Prada. The other glass ceiling-shattering film, Twilight, featured a lead who thankfully did not have to resort to sex for empowerment, but she really didn't do much else, either. Twilight's accolades are deserved for what it accomplished behind the camera, not what was captured on it. Though there were film aplenty that could populate both lists, I tried to limit this list to films that would have played in most major cities outside the metropolitan areas. BESTThe Dark Knight: Let me join the chorus of hosannas for this little underrated indie gem, for I know it could use the help financially.WALL&middot;E: A family film with a virtually dialogue-free first half, a protagonist made of metal, an Earth barren of life and squelched by pollution, a cuddly cockroach sidekick, and a human cast that's a Dorito away from permanent bedrest. A film of staggering beauty from a company for which that is a trademark feature.The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Director David Fincher's most accessible, polished film to date. While Zodiac and Fight Club may resonate longer, Button is the kind of marriage between theatrics, epic scope, and pure emotion that lands him in the top tier of working directors. Winning, tender performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett only further cement the film's top 10 placement.Burn After Reading: After bumming us out of us with last year's stark, desolate (but excellent) No Country for Old Men, the Brothers Coen demonstrate their sharp comic chops with this irreverent, all-star dissection of middle-age madness and frustration of lives lived that come nowhere close to youthful aspirations. Milk: Sean Penn offers further proof of his necessity in cinema today with his ingratiating portrayal of slain politician Harvey Milk. Director Gus Van Sant lifts his vision from his navel (where it was focused during films such as Gerry and Last Days) to create a sensitive, intimate biopic that is saved from maudlin tendencies by Penn's presence. Tropic Thunder: Bold, unexpected comedy that does not wear out its welcome by the third act, like so many other mainstream comedies. Ben Stiller directs Robert Downey Jr. to his second standout performance this summer.Quantum of Solace: Some have decried the fact that Daniel Craig's Bond is just too mean. But Solace, which feels like a perfect extension of Casino Royale, feels as though it is taking its sweet time in creating the psyche of someone who has reason to be known as the greatest super-spy the world has ever known. Let the Right One In: This is a bit of a cheat, since this may have only appeared on area screens as part of a film festival, but its effect is one that reverberates far outside its limited runs nationwide. In a year when Twilight has been garnering all the attention, The Right One has become the one true vampire (and adolescence) film whose bite leaves a mark and should be sought out on DVD before the inevitable US remake. U2-3D: Demonstrating just why they are the world's biggest rock band, U2 raised the roof with this truly cinematic 3D spectacle that not only captured the feel of one of their concerts, but invited the audience on stage to jam with Bono and the boys. Slumdog Millionaire: Danny Boyle never disappoints, even with his misfires (A Life Less Ordinary, Sunshine). But he nails it again with Slumdog, a rather pedestrian tale told with wit, undeniable humanity and delivered with uncompromising conviction. WORST The Happening: When wind is your chief villain, it's time to rethink the script. The Love Guru: Mike Myers steps in Deepak doo-doo.Sex and the City: Inside this film's Sax Fifth Avenue window dressing lies the the cold, calculated heart of an empty Wal-Mart.88Minutes/Righteous Kill: Al Pacino should have known better after working with director Jon Avnet in 88, but instead enlisted fellow legend Robert DeNiro to further Kill both their careers.X-Files: I Want to Believe: But now I no longer do.Seven Pounds: Will Smith packed his bags for a guilt trip, and we're forced to ride along in the back seat. An American Carol: Looks like Republicans were just as good at making films as they were winning elections in 2008.Meet the Spartans/Disaster Movie: Cinematic parody: Born 1923, Died 2008. http://www.spout.com/blogs/rjsprague/archive/2008/12/5/38001.aspx Post By: rjsprague
Post To: Grog and Blog
Post Date: 12/5/2008 5:11:02 PM
Body: The rising action plateaus, a mini-climax occurs, and many are left complaining about a lack of "plot". Personally, I think some people should take some time reviewing the elements of plot. This story doesn't lack a plot, it is merely not the entire plot of a story on its own. Perhaps the end should have been a giant "TO BE CONTINUED..." to help all of the less than observant viewers grasp the reality that this film's plot is part of a larger storyline. Overall I greatly enjoyed the pace and action of the film. Perhaps I'm just an adrenaline addict, but the breakneck speed of events in this film was a welcome change of pace from other action movies I've watched. I also appreciated the more gritty and raw version of Bond. Casino Royale reshaped the image of Bond as a more human character with real emotions, even capable of love, and hate. Quantum of Solace built on this persona by showing Bond as being loyal to M, passionate about avenging his lost love, and capable of caring about someone who has suffered loss and is also driven by revenge. The use of revenge as motivation for characters is highly overused, but something that everyone can relate to at the same time making it acceptable. Yet this isn't Bond's only motivation making him slightly more complex than we first suspect. He wants to catch the bad guys, protect M, uphold justice, and help a friend. Perhaps there is even more to him than this, but that is what I am recalling at this point. I would say that Quantum of Solace had more to do with developing the new James Bond, and introducing a story arch that, hopefully, will be quite compelling. I am really hopeful for the next film, and very pleased with Quantum of Solace as I feel it delivered on what it was trying to deliver. If you liked Quantum of Solace, then I would recommend watching The Bourne Ultimatum. (As well as the first and second films in the Bourne series, assuming you haven't seen them yet.)
]]>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:11:02 GMTrjspragueGrog and Blog12/5/2008 5:11:02 PMThe rising action plateaus, a mini-climax occurs, and many are left complaining about a lack of "plot". Personally, I think some people should take some time reviewing the elements of plot. This story doesn't lack a plot, it is merely not the entire plot of a story on its own. Perhaps the end should have been a giant "TO BE CONTINUED..." to help all of the less than observant viewers grasp the reality that this film's plot is part of a larger storyline. Overall I greatly enjoyed the pace and action of the film. Perhaps I'm just an adrenaline addict, but the breakneck speed of events in this film was a welcome change of pace from other action movies I've watched. I also appreciated the more gritty and raw version of Bond. Casino Royale reshaped the image of Bond as a more human character with real emotions, even capable of love, and hate. Quantum of Solace built on this persona by showing Bond as being loyal to M, passionate about avenging his lost love, and capable of caring about someone who has suffered loss and is also driven by revenge. The use of revenge as motivation for characters is highly overused, but something that everyone can relate to at the same time making it acceptable. Yet this isn't Bond's only motivation making him slightly more complex than we first suspect. He wants to catch the bad guys, protect M, uphold justice, and help a friend. Perhaps there is even more to him than this, but that is what I am recalling at this point. I would say that Quantum of Solace had more to do with developing the new James Bond, and introducing a story arch that, hopefully, will be quite compelling. I am really hopeful for the next film, and very pleased with Quantum of Solace as I feel it delivered on what it was trying to deliver. If you liked Quantum of Solace, then I would recommend watching The Bourne Ultimatum. (As well as the first and second films in the Bourne series, assuming you haven't seen them yet.) http://www.spout.com/blogs/tenenbaums/archive/2008/11/20/37501.aspx Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 11/20/2008 3:43:28 PM
Body: Daniel Craig is back as James Bond, and he's not happy.In Quantam of Solace, director Marc Forster's first foray into the 007 franchise, Bond remains noticeably stricken from his painful love affair with the now-deceased, double-crossing Vesper Lynd. "M" has her agent on constant surveillance and is ready to ground him at the slightest hint of professional weakness. He is a young double-0, after all.Craig is once again solid, confirming his casting for 2006's series overhaul Casino Royale. He's tough, but vulnerable, not afraid to cap a room full of enemies, wreak countless structural and artistic damage, and then be haunted by what he's done. Bond's blossoming insomnia is a refreshing shift from the happy-go-lucky persona employed most recently by Pierce Brosnan. With a growing number of personal issues, it's worth wondering how disturbed young Bond grew up to be a beyond cool superspy.Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) makes an appealing, sniveling villain, but he feels like such a minor threat in the world of Bond baddies. His threat via influence is real, but he is far from imposing in person. Greene's pun-friendly environmental doomsday project is a timely plot device and audiences would be lucky if the rest of the film was that easy to follow. Instead, it's not, and if viewers don't know Casino Royale front-to-back before seeing the latest Bond installment, the plethora of references will cause confusion instead of intrigue. Perhaps having Paul Haggis as a screenwriter isn't such a good idea after all.The action, always the series' main attraction, is there, but it feels poorly shot and edited, especially compared to Casino Royale. Notable sequences include sneakily ID-ing suspects at an opera, a high-octane boat chase through a crowded harbor, and escaping from a doomed cargo plane. Still, several scenes have a distinct "Jason Bourne was here" feel, and in a poor rip-off kind of way. All of these weaknesses point toward Forster and a simple explanation: the director of Finding Neverland is simply not adept in the art of action films.Craig is a good enough Bond that he deserves more support. With the Bourne trilogy and the previous Bond film, big-budget action features have catapulted into unexplored territory. In Quantum of Solace, Forster & Co. are merely following a map instead of blazing their own trail.
]]>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:43:28 GMTTenenbaumsTenenbaums Blog11/20/2008 3:43:28 PMDaniel Craig is back as James Bond, and he's not happy.In Quantam of Solace, director Marc Forster's first foray into the 007 franchise, Bond remains noticeably stricken from his painful love affair with the now-deceased, double-crossing Vesper Lynd. "M" has her agent on constant surveillance and is ready to ground him at the slightest hint of professional weakness. He is a young double-0, after all.Craig is once again solid, confirming his casting for 2006's series overhaul Casino Royale. He's tough, but vulnerable, not afraid to cap a room full of enemies, wreak countless structural and artistic damage, and then be haunted by what he's done. Bond's blossoming insomnia is a refreshing shift from the happy-go-lucky persona employed most recently by Pierce Brosnan. With a growing number of personal issues, it's worth wondering how disturbed young Bond grew up to be a beyond cool superspy.Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) makes an appealing, sniveling villain, but he feels like such a minor threat in the world of Bond baddies. His threat via influence is real, but he is far from imposing in person. Greene's pun-friendly environmental doomsday project is a timely plot device and audiences would be lucky if the rest of the film was that easy to follow. Instead, it's not, and if viewers don't know Casino Royale front-to-back before seeing the latest Bond installment, the plethora of references will cause confusion instead of intrigue. Perhaps having Paul Haggis as a screenwriter isn't such a good idea after all.The action, always the series' main attraction, is there, but it feels poorly shot and edited, especially compared to Casino Royale. Notable sequences include sneakily ID-ing suspects at an opera, a high-octane boat chase through a crowded harbor, and escaping from a doomed cargo plane. Still, several scenes have a distinct "Jason Bourne was here" feel, and in a poor rip-off kind of way. All of these weaknesses point toward Forster and a simple explanation: the director of Finding Neverland is simply not adept in the art of action films.Craig is a good enough Bond that he deserves more support. With the Bourne trilogy and the previous Bond film, big-budget action features have catapulted into unexplored territory. In Quantum of Solace, Forster &amp; Co. are merely following a map instead of blazing their own trail. http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/11/12/37263.aspx Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 11/12/2008 5:02:17 PM
Body: Maxim has named Quantum of Solace actress Olga Kurylenko “the hottest Bond Girl ever.” How does one even make such an assessment, when there are so many memorable Bond Girl moments? Remember Ursula Andress, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Halle Berry, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Famke Janssen sex-attacking Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye? (Oh, Famke. You really know how to pick a paycheck.) If you answered “Sure. Whatever.” to one or both of those first two examples, I have a statistic that I’d like to share with you. Did you know that there’s an extremely high rate of death amongst Bond Girls who have worn a bikini? It’s true. Based on my extraordinarily scientific research, out of 11 Bond girls who had “bikini moments,” to borrow the terminology used on JamesBondWiki, five died before the end of the film. That’s 45 percent, making the wearing of a two piece bathing suit in the company of James Bond just about the most dangerous activity a woman could engage in anywhere on the planet at any time in history. In the hopes that future Bond Girls will learn the lesson of their forebears and stay away from the skimpy garments of death, I’ve compiled a five point dossier on how and why these bathing beauties met their mortal ends. Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger’s ladyfriend is quite the multi-tasker: the bikini-clad, binocular-toting Bond Girl manages to help her boyfriend cheat at cards and work on her tan at the same time! Apparently less impressed than I, Goldfinger eventually paints her gold and she dies of “skin suffocation.” Years later, Mythbusters investigated whether or not such a death is actually possible (answer: probably not), and actress Shirley Eaton appeared on the show to refute rumors that she actually died while encased in gold paint for the movie. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) in Thunderball This bad Bond Girl is a SPECTRE asassin who eventually takes a bullet that was meant for James. But not before, in the inimitable words of her character’s Wikipedia profile, “she waits for Bond in his bathtub, she seduces him and they have erotic sex.” That’s the best kind to have! Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry) in Live and Let Die Another Bond villainess, Rosie was the first black Bond Girl. A rogue CIA agent, she checks into Bond’s hotel room as “Mrs. Bond” so that she can be there to seduce him when he arrives. Rosie manages to keep her true identity a secret through a day of deep sea fishing, but eventually James figures out that his new lover is actually a baddie and confronts her, at which point she runs away, only to be killed by another underling of the bad guy she’s been working for. Naomi (Caroline Munro) in The Spy Who Loved Me It is important for helicopter pilots to wear bikinis. Especially helicoptor pilots who flirt with James Bond while trying to shoot him. Unfortunately, this skimpily-dressed helicopter pilot/would-be 007 assassin didn’t get her man, in either a mortal sense or a sexy one, because James blew up her helicopter with a torpedo. Solange Dimitrios (Caterina Murino) in Casino Royale Solange, the wife of one of main bad guy Le Chiffre’s men, is first seen riding a horse on the beach in her bikini. After Bond wins her husband’s Aston Martin in a poker game, he gives Solange a ride back to his hotel. They’re all set to Do It when the phone rings, and Solange ends up leaking the info that Bond will need to thwart her husband’s terrorist attack on Miami. Yay for Bond (and Miami), bad for Solange, who is tortured and killed as a result. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth
]]>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:02:17 GMTKarinaKarina on SpoutBlog11/12/2008 5:02:17 PMMaxim has named Quantum of Solace actress Olga Kurylenko “the hottest Bond Girl ever.” How does one even make such an assessment, when there are so many memorable Bond Girl moments? Remember Ursula Andress, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Halle Berry, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Famke Janssen sex-attacking Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye? (Oh, Famke. You really know how to pick a paycheck.) If you answered “Sure. Whatever.” to one or both of those first two examples, I have a statistic that I’d like to share with you. Did you know that there’s an extremely high rate of death amongst Bond Girls who have worn a bikini? It’s true. Based on my extraordinarily scientific research, out of 11 Bond girls who had “bikini moments,” to borrow the terminology used on JamesBondWiki, five died before the end of the film. That’s 45 percent, making the wearing of a two piece bathing suit in the company of James Bond just about the most dangerous activity a woman could engage in anywhere on the planet at any time in history. In the hopes that future Bond Girls will learn the lesson of their forebears and stay away from the skimpy garments of death, I’ve compiled a five point dossier on how and why these bathing beauties met their mortal ends. Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger’s ladyfriend is quite the multi-tasker: the bikini-clad, binocular-toting Bond Girl manages to help her boyfriend cheat at cards and work on her tan at the same time! Apparently less impressed than I, Goldfinger eventually paints her gold and she dies of “skin suffocation.” Years later, Mythbusters investigated whether or not such a death is actually possible (answer: probably not), and actress Shirley Eaton appeared on the show to refute rumors that she actually died while encased in gold paint for the movie. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) in Thunderball This bad Bond Girl is a SPECTRE asassin who eventually takes a bullet that was meant for James. But not before, in the inimitable words of her character’s Wikipedia profile, “she waits for Bond in his bathtub, she seduces him and they have erotic sex.” That’s the best kind to have! Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry) in Live and Let Die Another Bond villainess, Rosie was the first black Bond Girl. A rogue CIA agent, she checks into Bond’s hotel room as “Mrs. Bond” so that she can be there to seduce him when he arrives. Rosie manages to keep her true identity a secret through a day of deep sea fishing, but eventually James figures out that his new lover is actually a baddie and confronts her, at which point she runs away, only to be killed by another underling of the bad guy she’s been working for. Naomi (Caroline Munro) in The Spy Who Loved Me It is important for helicopter pilots to wear bikinis. Especially helicoptor pilots who flirt with James Bond while trying to shoot him. Unfortunately, this skimpily-dressed helicopter pilot/would-be 007 assassin didn’t get her man, in either a mortal sense or a sexy one, because James blew up her helicopter with a torpedo. Solange Dimitrios (Caterina Murino) in Casino Royale Solange, the wife of one of main bad guy Le Chiffre’s men, is first seen riding a horse on the beach in her bikini. After Bond wins her husband’s Aston Martin in a poker game, he gives Solange a ride back to his hotel. They’re all set to Do It when the phone rings, and Solange ends up leaking the info that Bond will need to thwart her husband’s terrorist attack on Miami. Yay for Bond (and Miami), bad for Solange, who is tortured and killed as a result. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/12/37262.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/12/2008 5:02:00 PM
Body: Maxim has named Quantum of Solace actress Olga Kurylenko “the hottest Bond Girl ever.” How does one even make such an assessment, when there are so many memorable Bond Girl moments? Remember Ursula Andress, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Halle Berry, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Famke Janssen sex-attacking Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye? (Oh, Famke. You really know how to pick a paycheck.) If you answered “Sure. Whatever.” to one or both of those first two examples, I have a statistic that I’d like to share with you. Did you know that there’s an extremely high rate of death amongst Bond Girls who have worn a bikini? It’s true. Based on my extraordinarily scientific research, out of 11 Bond girls who had “bikini moments,” to borrow the terminology used on JamesBondWiki, five died before the end of the film. That’s 45 percent, making the wearing of a two piece bathing suit in the company of James Bond just about the most dangerous activity a woman could engage in anywhere on the planet at any time in history. In the hopes that future Bond Girls will learn the lesson of their forebears and stay away from the skimpy garments of death, I’ve compiled a five point dossier on how and why these bathing beauties met their mortal ends. Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger’s ladyfriend is quite the multi-tasker: the bikini-clad, binocular-toting Bond Girl manages to help her boyfriend cheat at cards and work on her tan at the same time! Apparently less impressed than I, Goldfinger eventually paints her gold and she dies of “skin suffocation.” Years later, Mythbusters investigated whether or not such a death is actually possible (answer: probably not), and actress Shirley Eaton appeared on the show to refute rumors that she actually died while encased in gold paint for the movie. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) in Thunderball This bad Bond Girl is a SPECTRE asassin who eventually takes a bullet that was meant for James. But not before, in the inimitable words of her character’s Wikipedia profile, “she waits for Bond in his bathtub, she seduces him and they have erotic sex.” That’s the best kind to have! Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry) in Live and Let Die Another Bond villainess, Rosie was the first black Bond Girl. A rogue CIA agent, she checks into Bond’s hotel room as “Mrs. Bond” so that she can be there to seduce him when he arrives. Rosie manages to keep her true identity a secret through a day of deep sea fishing, but eventually James figures out that his new lover is actually a baddie and confronts her, at which point she runs away, only to be killed by another underling of the bad guy she’s been working for. Naomi (Caroline Munro) in The Spy Who Loved Me It is important for helicopter pilots to wear bikinis. Especially helicoptor pilots who flirt with James Bond while trying to shoot him. Unfortunately, this skimpily-dressed helicopter pilot/would-be 007 assassin didn’t get her man, in either a mortal sense or a sexy one, because James blew up her helicopter with a torpedo. Solange Dimitrios (Caterina Murino) in Casino Royale Solange, the wife of one of main bad guy Le Chiffre’s men, is first seen riding a horse on the beach in her bikini. After Bond wins her husband’s Aston Martin in a poker game, he gives Solange a ride back to his hotel. They’re all set to Do It when the phone rings, and Solange ends up leaking the info that Bond will need to thwart her husband’s terrorist attack on Miami. Yay for Bond (and Miami), bad for Solange, who is tortured and killed as a result. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:02:00 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/12/2008 5:02:00 PMMaxim has named Quantum of Solace actress Olga Kurylenko “the hottest Bond Girl ever.” How does one even make such an assessment, when there are so many memorable Bond Girl moments? Remember Ursula Andress, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Halle Berry, rising from the sea in a bikini? Or Famke Janssen sex-attacking Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye? (Oh, Famke. You really know how to pick a paycheck.) If you answered “Sure. Whatever.” to one or both of those first two examples, I have a statistic that I’d like to share with you. Did you know that there’s an extremely high rate of death amongst Bond Girls who have worn a bikini? It’s true. Based on my extraordinarily scientific research, out of 11 Bond girls who had “bikini moments,” to borrow the terminology used on JamesBondWiki, five died before the end of the film. That’s 45 percent, making the wearing of a two piece bathing suit in the company of James Bond just about the most dangerous activity a woman could engage in anywhere on the planet at any time in history. In the hopes that future Bond Girls will learn the lesson of their forebears and stay away from the skimpy garments of death, I’ve compiled a five point dossier on how and why these bathing beauties met their mortal ends. Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger’s ladyfriend is quite the multi-tasker: the bikini-clad, binocular-toting Bond Girl manages to help her boyfriend cheat at cards and work on her tan at the same time! Apparently less impressed than I, Goldfinger eventually paints her gold and she dies of “skin suffocation.” Years later, Mythbusters investigated whether or not such a death is actually possible (answer: probably not), and actress Shirley Eaton appeared on the show to refute rumors that she actually died while encased in gold paint for the movie. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) in Thunderball This bad Bond Girl is a SPECTRE asassin who eventually takes a bullet that was meant for James. But not before, in the inimitable words of her character’s Wikipedia profile, “she waits for Bond in his bathtub, she seduces him and they have erotic sex.” That’s the best kind to have! Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry) in Live and Let Die Another Bond villainess, Rosie was the first black Bond Girl. A rogue CIA agent, she checks into Bond’s hotel room as “Mrs. Bond” so that she can be there to seduce him when he arrives. Rosie manages to keep her true identity a secret through a day of deep sea fishing, but eventually James figures out that his new lover is actually a baddie and confronts her, at which point she runs away, only to be killed by another underling of the bad guy she’s been working for. Naomi (Caroline Munro) in The Spy Who Loved Me It is important for helicopter pilots to wear bikinis. Especially helicoptor pilots who flirt with James Bond while trying to shoot him. Unfortunately, this skimpily-dressed helicopter pilot/would-be 007 assassin didn’t get her man, in either a mortal sense or a sexy one, because James blew up her helicopter with a torpedo. Solange Dimitrios (Caterina Murino) in Casino Royale Solange, the wife of one of main bad guy Le Chiffre’s men, is first seen riding a horse on the beach in her bikini. After Bond wins her husband’s Aston Martin in a poker game, he gives Solange a ride back to his hotel. They’re all set to Do It when the phone rings, and Solange ends up leaking the info that Bond will need to thwart her husband’s terrorist attack on Miami. Yay for Bond (and Miami), bad for Solange, who is tortured and killed as a result. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/11/37213.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/11/2008 1:01:25 PM
Body: I had a chance to see Quantum of Solace last night, and while I didn’t enjoy it as much as Casino Royale (is Daniel Craig already wearing out his welcome as the new Bond?) it does have some spectacular action sequences. However, if the Blonde Bond wasn’t enough to shake up the franchise for long, what could happen if Bond were re-imagined by some of Hollywood’s top filmmakers? There are a lot of different things that could be done with the character if someone were given free rein to reinterpret Bond as they saw fit. After the jump, we imagine the five hypothetical films that five wildly different working filmmakers might make if Bond were put in their hands. We’ve taken a bit of license here (although not a license to kill), so use your imagination with the Bonds that could be, no matter how extremely loosely interpreted. Quentin Tarantino James “Double Ought” Bond, played by Sam Elliot, is a cantankerous old coot who lives deep in South Texas and is long retired from a life of military service. A band of young upstarts comes looking for him, convinced that a legend they’ve heard is true: at one time Bond worked deep undercover in a Black Ops unit. Seems like this has been spread around as local legend, and after a few drinks too many at a local watering hole, they want to find out if it’s true. Bond denies everything, but when one of them gets a bit rough he takes him down in seconds, which surprises the others. They turn tail and run, but the next day one of the quietest of the bunch, a young girl about fifteen years old (Megan Fox) tells him she wants to learn how to do what he does. He tells her what she can go do with herself, and slams the door in her face. She sets up camp in front of his old house and refuses to leave. After several days of this, she passes out from lack of food and water and wakes up in a bed in his spare room with a note on the dresser “Up at 6 am.” He starts training her, somewhat reluctantly, but eventually starts to get into it. As old and grizzled as he is, she’s young and spunky and they compliment each other. After a few months, she’s gotten pretty good at hand to hand combat, firearms, stealth work, and a handful of other skills it would take someone years to learn in the army. She plans to enroll at West Point and has high hopes for a future, and Bond is almost like a proud father…until the next morning, when he finds her dead in his backyard. It seems that Bond’s old nemesis (Powers Boothe) from the Cold War days has found him. Thinking he’s killed his daughter, he lures Bond into a cat and mouse game that leaves the small town full of dead bodies and leads up to one of the bloodiest gunfights this side of Peckinpah. Wes Anderson Somewhere in Cairo in the 1930s, a man named Jim Bond (Jason Schwartzman) roams the back alleys and dark backroom bars plying his trade as a confidence man. The trouble is, he’s not very good at it. In fact, he’s so bad that he’s the guy other con men hire on the downlow, so his failed schemes will distract their mark while they clean them out, with Bond never the wiser. He thinks that he’s a popular guy around town, as he plays the jester for everyone else. Bond decides to start playing out of his league, and works up an elaborate ruse where he pretends to be a spy in the British secret service. He gets so into it that he forgets that he’s supposed to con people with this act, and he starts spending all of his time in the role with a backstory that gets more elaborate every day. He catches the attention of a real spy (Bill Murray) who decides to amuse himself with Bond, and in turn take some of the heat off of himself. Bond becomes so wrapped up in his story, so convincing in his portrayal, that people he has known for years start wondering if maybe he’s been duping them all along. After all, he’s a con man, right? Soon enough, enemy agents start paying attention to him as well, much to the delight of the actual spy. However, the girl who serves Bond his coffee every day is the only true innocent in this story, and she unwittingly unravels everything by accident. The real spy is exposed as a cheat, a liar, and a coward, the enemy agents don’t get the secrets they were after, and somehow Bond is crowned the hero in the end. Michel Gondry Zhames Bhond (Ewan McGregor), a pop star in Britain’s most famous prog-rock band in the late 1970s, has played keyboards for his entire life. However, at the height of his popularity, he decides he never wants to play music again. He abandons his mansion, gives away most of his fortune, parks his many cars in alleyways around the city and leaves the doors open with the keys inside. Without a word to the press or his bandmates, he packs a small backpack and leaves town, forever. Taking a small steamship to Greece, he meets a man (Mark Ruffalo) who has been a fisherman his entire life. He tells the man that he symbolically wants to trade lives with him. He pulls out a small Casiotone keyboard from his pack and presents it to the man, who in turn hands over his aging fishing rod. Once they reach the island, they go their separate ways. After two days of trying to fish in a remote cove, battered by wind and rain, Zhames tells himself that this is the dumbest idea he’s ever had. What was he thinking? He tries to return home to England, only to discover that he doesn’t have enough money to travel. When he wires his accountant for the money, the accountant replies. “Who are you?” He asks several locals if they’ve heard of him, but they shake their heads. Distraught, he sets out in search of the fisherman he met on the boat on the way over, but runs into constant dead ends. Several days later, still turning up nothing, he spends the last of his money on a bowl of soup in a corner cafe. The old black and white television is tuned to MTV… and there’s the fisherman! Only he’s playing keyboards in a fabulously decadent prog-rock video. Stunned, Zhames tries to find out what’s going on and how the world got turned topsy-turvy. Along the way he starts to question if he was ever a keyboard player at all. Did he imagine it all? Did he make up his entire life? By the end of the film, after Zhames has been spying on the fisherman / keyboard player for a long while, it’s unclear which reality is the real one. Did Zhames make it up to escape his own reality? Or was he actually that person at one point? There’s no clear answer for the audience, who discuss the film for days, weeks, and months after seeing it. Zack Snyder, Frank Miller, and Robert Rodriguez Against all odds — and with the aid of a massively overblown budget — Warner Bros. is able to secure the rights to Thunderball, which was already remade as Never Say Never, and turn the plot into a third Bond film, Never Say Thunderball Again. Pushing the envelope even further, the studio makes the extremely strange move of naming three directors to the project, Snyder, Miller, and Rodriguez. They plan on offsetting the budget by shooting the movie entirely on a green screen stage, with everyone, even the actors, being created digitally. Sean Connery agrees to lend his voice the likeness of Bond, which resembles an amalgam of himself, Roger Moore, and George Lazenby. As press begins to steamroll on the project, everyone suddenly wants their names attached to it. Former Bonds Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan sign on to provide the voices of other characters in the movie, but Daniel Craig openly disses the project in public, claiming that his next Bond movie will make this one irrelevant. In the same speech, he also calls a small child a wanker, and his popularity plummets with the public. His upcoming movies evaporate, and he reluctantly signs on to Layer Cake 2: The Frosting in order to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the triumvirate of directors power through their movies, eschewing the press. At Comic-Con in San Diego, two years after the project was first announced, rabid fans are shown a few teaser images from the movie, and one extremely short scene. The internet goes nuts with illegal bootleg photos and video of the event, and several popular web portals become choked with news about “James Bond Ultra,” as the fans are calling it. Everyone swear that it’ll be the greatest thing since the wheel. Since fire. Since the creation of existence itself. Merchandise partners sign on, prequel graphic novels are written, replica prop weapons that retail for $599.95 are mass produced. As the world begins to reach a fever pitch, clamoring for this movie more and more, riots happen in public. “More!” cry the crowds, “Please! Just another single image! A teaser poster! A few lines of leaked script! Anything!” But nothing comes out of the silent studio. A popular blog proclaims, “In a marketing movie of pure genius, probably based on an idea I gave them, Warner Bros. has decided not to release any further information about James Bond Ultra, and I couldn’t be happier. This movie will sell itself when it comes out, it doesn’t need to do it now. I’ll certainly be there when the tickets go on sale for what will prove to be the motion picture event of all time!!!!!!!!!! — Harry Knowles, Ain’t It Cool News.” Release dates approach and are missed, rumors of the film being pushed back start to circulate. “No, that’s not true!” proclaim a press release from Warners. “The directors just need more time to perfect this titanic accomplishment in cinematic history.” Advance tickets are printed, souvenir handbooks are circulated, and a viral marketing campaign cleverly advertises the film using very obscure Cracker Jack prizes and forms of Sanksrit writing hidden inside cans of Ro-Tel Tomatoes. Plush toys, action figures, and video games are shopped around in catalogs, a new clothing line based on the film appears in trendy stores. Everyone on the planet wants this movie, and they want it now. But then, something strange happens. Zack Snyder is seen leaving the studio early one day, shielded from photographers by a man holding a jacket up. Was that a glimpse of a black eye? What’s going on? Reports of a fight breaking out during filming are whispered around the internet. Warner Bros. announces that they are shutting down the film temporarily to “regroup.” What’s going on? Days turn into weeks, and weeks into months. Soon, two years have passed, and the movie that was going to shatter history at the speed of light never materializes. Film cans are stored, hard drives archived, and offices cleaned out and locked up. People start calling it “Warners’ Folly,” and it soon replaces Heaven’s Gate as a debacle in common vernacular. Many years later, during an informal interview for Rodriguez’ new feature film Bedhead II: Cowlick From Hell, a reporter asks Rodriguez whatever happened to the James Bond project. Rodriguez looks at him for a long while, and then removes his lapel microphone. “This interview is over,” he says, just before walking out. This is more or less the same reaction anyone encounters when they ask one of The Three about the movie. Executives will turn to doublespeak when someone asks them about it, or try to lighten the mood by saying something like, “Wow, we sure know how to spend money, don’t we?” Eventually, memories grow dim, and people forget about it. It becomes the answer to obscure trivia questions in board games, and “Whatever Happened To?” posts in the blogosphere. An older Pierce Brosnan eventually reprises his role as Bond in a fairly straightforward action film, and no one mentions James Bond Ultra ever again. Diablo Cody (because it’s inevitable that she’ll direct at some point.) Jimmie Bond (Olivia Thirlby) is having an extremely hard time adjusting to life in a new high school after her mother has remarried and they’ve moved to Cleveland. Distrusting everyone, Jimmie starts jotting down every thought, idea, observation, and whim in a massive journal she carries with her at all times. It’s not long before she’s labeled pretentious and annoying by just about every clique in school, including the jocks, nerds, dweebs, debutantes, and academics. Even the drama club doesn’t want to associate with her. Soon she starts skipping school and exploring the city, only finding solace deep inside the hull of the USS Cod, a decommissioned WWII submarine docked at the Cleveland Wharf as a museum. She sneaks off of a tour one day, and crawls through hatches and crawlspaces to the very back of the ship, and scribbles all day in her notebook until the lights go out. She’s able to sneak off of the ship, but starts returning daily and eventually has built herself a nice little fort, unbeknownst to the guards stationed there. She begins to establish a daily routine of leaving home, exploring the city, and returning to the sub until early evening and writing up until sunset when she heads home after “band practice” (as she tells her parents). They become suspicious since they never see her practice or bring home sheet music, so in a panic she visits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to try and pick out which instrument she’ll fake playing. There she runs into another malcontent, Felix (Michael Cera), who is trying to become the world’s best air guitarist, and frequently visits the museum to watch videos of the greats and find his inspiration. Jimmie and Felix strike up a clumsy friendship, and eventually she takes him to her secret submarine hideout. During a tender moment, she loses her virginity to him while guards and tour groups pass mere feet from them. As they stumble out of the sub after a postcoital nap, bleary-eyed and wild-haired, they head home, where Jimmie realizes her notebook isn’t in her bag. She sneaks out after her parents to go bed and she sneaks back onto the submarine only to find it isn’t there either. She falls asleep on Felix’s jacket by accident, still deep inside the boat. She wakes up startled and returns home the next day, only to find out that Felix did have her notebook by accident, and he’d left it in the mailbox at her house… where her mother found it. Mom freaks out and tries to have Jimmie checked into therapy after reading everything she’s written about her classmates, lying about being in school, her stepfather, and even herself. She’s worried that she’s suicidal and unhinged. Locking herself in her room, Jimmie sneaks out the window and finds Felix. She wants to run away with him, which terrifies him. He can’t support either of them, and has no idea where they’d go or what they’d do. Disheartened and disillusioned, Jimmie realizes that she can’t rely on someone else to save her… she has to do it herself. She returns home and has a heart to heart with her mother, and she agrees to at least talk to a therapist once. Maybe. She starts going back to school, for real this time, and writes in her notebook, “Maybe it’s time I tried turning the page and reading instead of skipping straight to the end.” She puts a rubber band around the notebook and shoves it deep into her bag. She feels naked without it, but decides to try life without it. No more spying on everyone and writing everything down, for once. (I might have gotten a bit carried away with this one. Apologies to Diablo Cody and everyone else mentioned above. For the most part.) Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:01:25 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/11/2008 1:01:25 PM I had a chance to see Quantum of Solace last night, and while I didn’t enjoy it as much as Casino Royale (is Daniel Craig already wearing out his welcome as the new Bond?) it does have some spectacular action sequences. However, if the Blonde Bond wasn’t enough to shake up the franchise for long, what could happen if Bond were re-imagined by some of Hollywood’s top filmmakers? There are a lot of different things that could be done with the character if someone were given free rein to reinterpret Bond as they saw fit. After the jump, we imagine the five hypothetical films that five wildly different working filmmakers might make if Bond were put in their hands. We’ve taken a bit of license here (although not a license to kill), so use your imagination with the Bonds that could be, no matter how extremely loosely interpreted. Quentin Tarantino James “Double Ought” Bond, played by Sam Elliot, is a cantankerous old coot who lives deep in South Texas and is long retired from a life of military service. A band of young upstarts comes looking for him, convinced that a legend they’ve heard is true: at one time Bond worked deep undercover in a Black Ops unit. Seems like this has been spread around as local legend, and after a few drinks too many at a local watering hole, they want to find out if it’s true. Bond denies everything, but when one of them gets a bit rough he takes him down in seconds, which surprises the others. They turn tail and run, but the next day one of the quietest of the bunch, a young girl about fifteen years old (Megan Fox) tells him she wants to learn how to do what he does. He tells her what she can go do with herself, and slams the door in her face. She sets up camp in front of his old house and refuses to leave. After several days of this, she passes out from lack of food and water and wakes up in a bed in his spare room with a note on the dresser “Up at 6 am.” He starts training her, somewhat reluctantly, but eventually starts to get into it. As old and grizzled as he is, she’s young and spunky and they compliment each other. After a few months, she’s gotten pretty good at hand to hand combat, firearms, stealth work, and a handful of other skills it would take someone years to learn in the army. She plans to enroll at West Point and has high hopes for a future, and Bond is almost like a proud father…until the next morning, when he finds her dead in his backyard. It seems that Bond’s old nemesis (Powers Boothe) from the Cold War days has found him. Thinking he’s killed his daughter, he lures Bond into a cat and mouse game that leaves the small town full of dead bodies and leads up to one of the bloodiest gunfights this side of Peckinpah. Wes Anderson Somewhere in Cairo in the 1930s, a man named Jim Bond (Jason Schwartzman) roams the back alleys and dark backroom bars plying his trade as a confidence man. The trouble is, he’s not very good at it. In fact, he’s so bad that he’s the guy other con men hire on the downlow, so his failed schemes will distract their mark while they clean them out, with Bond never the wiser. He thinks that he’s a popular guy around town, as he plays the jester for everyone else. Bond decides to start playing out of his league, and works up an elaborate ruse where he pretends to be a spy in the British secret service. He gets so into it that he forgets that he’s supposed to con people with this act, and he starts spending all of his time in the role with a backstory that gets more elaborate every day. He catches the attention of a real spy (Bill Murray) who decides to amuse himself with Bond, and in turn take some of the heat off of himself. Bond becomes so wrapped up in his story, so convincing in his portrayal, that people he has known for years start wondering if maybe he’s been duping them all along. After all, he’s a con man, right? Soon enough, enemy agents start paying attention to him as well, much to the delight of the actual spy. However, the girl who serves Bond his coffee every day is the only true innocent in this story, and she unwittingly unravels everything by accident. The real spy is exposed as a cheat, a liar, and a coward, the enemy agents don’t get the secrets they were after, and somehow Bond is crowned the hero in the end. Michel Gondry Zhames Bhond (Ewan McGregor), a pop star in Britain’s most famous prog-rock band in the late 1970s, has played keyboards for his entire life. However, at the height of his popularity, he decides he never wants to play music again. He abandons his mansion, gives away most of his fortune, parks his many cars in alleyways around the city and leaves the doors open with the keys inside. Without a word to the press or his bandmates, he packs a small backpack and leaves town, forever. Taking a small steamship to Greece, he meets a man (Mark Ruffalo) who has been a fisherman his entire life. He tells the man that he symbolically wants to trade lives with him. He pulls out a small Casiotone keyboard from his pack and presents it to the man, who in turn hands over his aging fishing rod. Once they reach the island, they go their separate ways. After two days of trying to fish in a remote cove, battered by wind and rain, Zhames tells himself that this is the dumbest idea he’s ever had. What was he thinking? He tries to return home to England, only to discover that he doesn’t have enough money to travel. When he wires his accountant for the money, the accountant replies. “Who are you?” He asks several locals if they’ve heard of him, but they shake their heads. Distraught, he sets out in search of the fisherman he met on the boat on the way over, but runs into constant dead ends. Several days later, still turning up nothing, he spends the last of his money on a bowl of soup in a corner cafe. The old black and white television is tuned to MTV… and there’s the fisherman! Only he’s playing keyboards in a fabulously decadent prog-rock video. Stunned, Zhames tries to find out what’s going on and how the world got turned topsy-turvy. Along the way he starts to question if he was ever a keyboard player at all. Did he imagine it all? Did he make up his entire life? By the end of the film, after Zhames has been spying on the fisherman / keyboard player for a long while, it’s unclear which reality is the real one. Did Zhames make it up to escape his own reality? Or was he actually that person at one point? There’s no clear answer for the audience, who discuss the film for days, weeks, and months after seeing it. Zack Snyder, Frank Miller, and Robert Rodriguez Against all odds — and with the aid of a massively overblown budget — Warner Bros. is able to secure the rights to Thunderball, which was already remade as Never Say Never, and turn the plot into a third Bond film, Never Say Thunderball Again. Pushing the envelope even further, the studio makes the extremely strange move of naming three directors to the project, Snyder, Miller, and Rodriguez. They plan on offsetting the budget by shooting the movie entirely on a green screen stage, with everyone, even the actors, being created digitally. Sean Connery agrees to lend his voice the likeness of Bond, which resembles an amalgam of himself, Roger Moore, and George Lazenby. As press begins to steamroll on the project, everyone suddenly wants their names attached to it. Former Bonds Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan sign on to provide the voices of other characters in the movie, but Daniel Craig openly disses the project in public, claiming that his next Bond movie will make this one irrelevant. In the same speech, he also calls a small child a wanker, and his popularity plummets with the public. His upcoming movies evaporate, and he reluctantly signs on to Layer Cake 2: The Frosting in order to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the triumvirate of directors power through their movies, eschewing the press. At Comic-Con in San Diego, two years after the project was first announced, rabid fans are shown a few teaser images from the movie, and one extremely short scene. The internet goes nuts with illegal bootleg photos and video of the event, and several popular web portals become choked with news about “James Bond Ultra,” as the fans are calling it. Everyone swear that it’ll be the greatest thing since the wheel. Since fire. Since the creation of existence itself. Merchandise partners sign on, prequel graphic novels are written, replica prop weapons that retail for $599.95 are mass produced. As the world begins to reach a fever pitch, clamoring for this movie more and more, riots happen in public. “More!” cry the crowds, “Please! Just another single image! A teaser poster! A few lines of leaked script! Anything!” But nothing comes out of the silent studio. A popular blog proclaims, “In a marketing movie of pure genius, probably based on an idea I gave them, Warner Bros. has decided not to release any further information about James Bond Ultra, and I couldn’t be happier. This movie will sell itself when it comes out, it doesn’t need to do it now. I’ll certainly be there when the tickets go on sale for what will prove to be the motion picture event of all time!!!!!!!!!! — Harry Knowles, Ain’t It Cool News.” Release dates approach and are missed, rumors of the film being pushed back start to circulate. “No, that’s not true!” proclaim a press release from Warners. “The directors just need more time to perfect this titanic accomplishment in cinematic history.” Advance tickets are printed, souvenir handbooks are circulated, and a viral marketing campaign cleverly advertises the film using very obscure Cracker Jack prizes and forms of Sanksrit writing hidden inside cans of Ro-Tel Tomatoes. Plush toys, action figures, and video games are shopped around in catalogs, a new clothing line based on the film appears in trendy stores. Everyone on the planet wants this movie, and they want it now. But then, something strange happens. Zack Snyder is seen leaving the studio early one day, shielded from photographers by a man holding a jacket up. Was that a glimpse of a black eye? What’s going on? Reports of a fight breaking out during filming are whispered around the internet. Warner Bros. announces that they are shutting down the film temporarily to “regroup.” What’s going on? Days turn into weeks, and weeks into months. Soon, two years have passed, and the movie that was going to shatter history at the speed of light never materializes. Film cans are stored, hard drives archived, and offices cleaned out and locked up. People start calling it “Warners’ Folly,” and it soon replaces Heaven’s Gate as a debacle in common vernacular. Many years later, during an informal interview for Rodriguez’ new feature film Bedhead II: Cowlick From Hell, a reporter asks Rodriguez whatever happened to the James Bond project. Rodriguez looks at him for a long while, and then removes his lapel microphone. “This interview is over,” he says, just before walking out. This is more or less the same reaction anyone encounters when they ask one of The Three about the movie. Executives will turn to doublespeak when someone asks them about it, or try to lighten the mood by saying something like, “Wow, we sure know how to spend money, don’t we?” Eventually, memories grow dim, and people forget about it. It becomes the answer to obscure trivia questions in board games, and “Whatever Happened To?” posts in the blogosphere. An older Pierce Brosnan eventually reprises his role as Bond in a fairly straightforward action film, and no one mentions James Bond Ultra ever again. Diablo Cody (because it’s inevitable that she’ll direct at some point.) Jimmie Bond (Olivia Thirlby) is having an extremely hard time adjusting to life in a new high school after her mother has remarried and they’ve moved to Cleveland. Distrusting everyone, Jimmie starts jotting down every thought, idea, observation, and whim in a massive journal she carries with her at all times. It’s not long before she’s labeled pretentious and annoying by just about every clique in school, including the jocks, nerds, dweebs, debutantes, and academics. Even the drama club doesn’t want to associate with her. Soon she starts skipping school and exploring the city, only finding solace deep inside the hull of the USS Cod, a decommissioned WWII submarine docked at the Cleveland Wharf as a museum. She sneaks off of a tour one day, and crawls through hatches and crawlspaces to the very back of the ship, and scribbles all day in her notebook until the lights go out. She’s able to sneak off of the ship, but starts returning daily and eventually has built herself a nice little fort, unbeknownst to the guards stationed there. She begins to establish a daily routine of leaving home, exploring the city, and returning to the sub until early evening and writing up until sunset when she heads home after “band practice” (as she tells her parents). They become suspicious since they never see her practice or bring home sheet music, so in a panic she visits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to try and pick out which instrument she’ll fake playing. There she runs into another malcontent, Felix (Michael Cera), who is trying to become the world’s best air guitarist, and frequently visits the museum to watch videos of the greats and find his inspiration. Jimmie and Felix strike up a clumsy friendship, and eventually she takes him to her secret submarine hideout. During a tender moment, she loses her virginity to him while guards and tour groups pass mere feet from them. As they stumble out of the sub after a postcoital nap, bleary-eyed and wild-haired, they head home, where Jimmie realizes her notebook isn’t in her bag. She sneaks out after her parents to go bed and she sneaks back onto the submarine only to find it isn’t there either. She falls asleep on Felix’s jacket by accident, still deep inside the boat. She wakes up startled and returns home the next day, only to find out that Felix did have her notebook by accident, and he’d left it in the mailbox at her house… where her mother found it. Mom freaks out and tries to have Jimmie checked into therapy after reading everything she’s written about her classmates, lying about being in school, her stepfather, and even herself. She’s worried that she’s suicidal and unhinged. Locking herself in her room, Jimmie sneaks out the window and finds Felix. She wants to run away with him, which terrifies him. He can’t support either of them, and has no idea where they’d go or what they’d do. Disheartened and disillusioned, Jimmie realizes that she can’t rely on someone else to save her… she has to do it herself. She returns home and has a heart to heart with her mother, and she agrees to at least talk to a therapist once. Maybe. She starts going back to school, for real this time, and writes in her notebook, “Maybe it’s time I tried turning the page and reading instead of skipping straight to the end.” She puts a rubber band around the notebook and shoves it deep into her bag. She feels naked without it, but decides to try life without it. No more spying on everyone and writing everything down, for once. (I might have gotten a bit carried away with this one. Apologies to Diablo Cody and everyone else mentioned above. For the most part.) Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/11/9/37130.aspx Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 11/9/2008 2:52:38 PM
Body: "Quantum of Solace" is not so much a new James Bond film as it is an epilogue to "Casino Royale," which is not meant as a complaint, but merely an observation. While not marked by the same measured dramatic strides "Royale" made when it so successfully relaunched the franchise with its most thrilling installment in decades, "Solace" nevertheless solidifies Craig's reign as the most magnetic Bond the series has known (sorry Connery fans). With "Solace" clocking in at just over 90 minutes, though, he's not provided with much breathing room to showcase sophistication, or display his humorous side. No, here it's all about leaping from one action spectacle to the next with nary a nanosecond to catch one's breath. Some critics have taken issue with the re-invention for the 2st century, but with Craig signed on for at least two more franchise features, he'll have ample opportunity to crack wise, lounge with the ladies, and fidget with gadgets. In "Solace," he's all about the revenge business. And it's booming. An MI6 traitor almost kills M (once again embodied by a steely Dame Judy Dench), and sends Bond back to the shores of Haiti where an identity mixup lands him in the company of the sultry Camille (Olga Kurylenko), whose caught in a web of revenge all her own. Bond's still licking his wounds from the death of "Royale's" Vesper Lynde" and he's more than ready to crack skulls, particularly one of Mr. White (played by Jasper Christiensen), the man responsible for Lynde's death and the head of a powerful sinister cartel known as Quantum that is seeking to do some environmental damage. Their individual missions intertwine through various nefarious connections and lead Bond to zip through the backdrops in London, Italy, Austria, Bolivia and South America. But if you are looking for sunset-drenched sex or technical curiosities, you'd best rent a film from Bond's back catalogue. For director Marc Forester's flick is as singularly driven as his lead, who relies more on brains and brawn then on exploding pens and rock-launching Lamborghinis. Think more MacGyver and less (Roger) Moore. In fact, the film's only fault can be that it rarely allows its audience's ears, eyes and brain to register the previous pummeling before launching into the next parallel-edited sequence. By boat, bi-plane, car and foot, "Solace" is a film propelled by its driven, anguished antagonist. It's action, when it's able to register, is decidedly raw -- those bumps and bruises all look well earned. Forget the Humane Society overseeing the production, the Human Society should be alerted to the amount of brutality its cast seemingly endures. This leaves little time for character, for fun, for humor and for hanky-panky, which many Bond fans will miss. And had this been a separate chapter and not a legitimate sequel, they'd have ample grounds for their complaints. But since Bond rarely plays by the rules, there's no reason the franchise should as well. Sure, I would have enjoyed seeing the relationship between Bond and Camille expand to more than verbal foreplay, or to have spent more time in the secret lair of the chief villain Dominic Greene (played by Matthew Amalric), or even spend a few seconds more with Bond's ally Felix Leiter (played by Jeffrey Wright), but I am appreciative of the time spend with any of them, regardless. In an attempt to wratchet up the action to keep pace with the highly successful "Bourne" franchise, Bond has trimmed the trappings of its “Royale” appeal, but it's still enough to knock the living daylights out of the closest competitor.
]]>Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:52:38 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog11/9/2008 2:52:38 PM"Quantum of Solace" is not so much a new James Bond film as it is an epilogue to "Casino Royale," which is not meant as a complaint, but merely an observation. While not marked by the same measured dramatic strides "Royale" made when it so successfully relaunched the franchise with its most thrilling installment in decades, "Solace" nevertheless solidifies Craig's reign as the most magnetic Bond the series has known (sorry Connery fans). With "Solace" clocking in at just over 90 minutes, though, he's not provided with much breathing room to showcase sophistication, or display his humorous side. No, here it's all about leaping from one action spectacle to the next with nary a nanosecond to catch one's breath. Some critics have taken issue with the re-invention for the 2st century, but with Craig signed on for at least two more franchise features, he'll have ample opportunity to crack wise, lounge with the ladies, and fidget with gadgets. In "Solace," he's all about the revenge business. And it's booming. An MI6 traitor almost kills M (once again embodied by a steely Dame Judy Dench), and sends Bond back to the shores of Haiti where an identity mixup lands him in the company of the sultry Camille (Olga Kurylenko), whose caught in a web of revenge all her own. Bond's still licking his wounds from the death of "Royale's" Vesper Lynde" and he's more than ready to crack skulls, particularly one of Mr. White (played by Jasper Christiensen), the man responsible for Lynde's death and the head of a powerful sinister cartel known as Quantum that is seeking to do some environmental damage. Their individual missions intertwine through various nefarious connections and lead Bond to zip through the backdrops in London, Italy, Austria, Bolivia and South America. But if you are looking for sunset-drenched sex or technical curiosities, you'd best rent a film from Bond's back catalogue. For director Marc Forester's flick is as singularly driven as his lead, who relies more on brains and brawn then on exploding pens and rock-launching Lamborghinis. Think more MacGyver and less (Roger) Moore. In fact, the film's only fault can be that it rarely allows its audience's ears, eyes and brain to register the previous pummeling before launching into the next parallel-edited sequence. By boat, bi-plane, car and foot, "Solace" is a film propelled by its driven, anguished antagonist. It's action, when it's able to register, is decidedly raw -- those bumps and bruises all look well earned. Forget the Humane Society overseeing the production, the Human Society should be alerted to the amount of brutality its cast seemingly endures. This leaves little time for character, for fun, for humor and for hanky-panky, which many Bond fans will miss. And had this been a separate chapter and not a legitimate sequel, they'd have ample grounds for their complaints. But since Bond rarely plays by the rules, there's no reason the franchise should as well. Sure, I would have enjoyed seeing the relationship between Bond and Camille expand to more than verbal foreplay, or to have spent more time in the secret lair of the chief villain Dominic Greene (played by Matthew Amalric), or even spend a few seconds more with Bond's ally Felix Leiter (played by Jeffrey Wright), but I am appreciative of the time spend with any of them, regardless. In an attempt to wratchet up the action to keep pace with the highly successful "Bourne" franchise, Bond has trimmed the trappings of its &ldquo;Royale&rdquo; appeal, but it's still enough to knock the living daylights out of the closest competitor. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
Number of films tagged: 12478

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]]>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:28:29 GMT124783381480Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxClassic
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]]>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:54:36 GMT8163121453Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Loved-It/MemberTagFilms.aspxLoved-It
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