"Learn to go see the 'worst' films; they are sometimes sublime." - Ado Kyrou, Le Surrealisme au Cinema.
*Check out my horror movie blog, too, at 1000daysofhorror.blogspot.com and my SciFi blog, 1000daysofscifi.blogspot.com
In my review of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," I pointed out, and correctly so I might add, how the 1971 movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," is a far more superior movie than Burton's mess.
So, I was completely on-board when news broke that a prequel movie to the original Wonka film was in the works. There's a lot to be explored in Wonka's past.
What I liked most about this recent movie, "Wonka," based on the 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl, is that it sticks to the source material and doesn't try to beat the audience over the head with some socio-political ideology. Too many movies, even children's movies, these days consider it mandatory to preach some modern ideology, only to fail miserably.
"Wonka," which cost $125 million to make, managed to earn $39 million on its opening weekend alone.
Are you paying attention, Disney? I bring this up because that possibility played in the back of my mind as I brought my children to this movie.
Seldom are current films made to tell an entertaining story or for any artistic credibility. Hollywood seems more and more to be making films for political credibility instead.
Anyways, this movie tells the story of young Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) whose an aspiring magician and chocolatier.
His dream to be the best candy maker and set up a shop in the Galeries Gourmet where three other major chocolatiers have already established their candy businesses.
Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Gerald Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Felix Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) are three corrupt businessmen who operate the biggest candy shops in the Galeries Gourment. Though the three are rivals, they've developed a chocolate cartel by which they pressure the Chief of Police (Keegan-Michael Key) to keep Wonka from selling chocolate on their turf and drive him out of town.
The cartel secretly meets in the catacombs underneath St. Benedict's Church where the parish priest, Fr. Julius (Rowan Atkinson) is paid in chocolate to aid these corrupt businessmen and allow them to meet in secret under his church.
And that's my biggest gripe about this movie. Though I'm often thick-skinned, even as a practicing Catholic, about the all-too-often poor depictions of Catholics and Christians in general in films, I didn't care for this priest character being portrayed as a simp so easily paid off in candy to help the corrupt businessmen. I felt the movie went out of its way to make this poor depiction. It's often open season on Catholics in Hollywood, and that vendetta sadly continues in this movie.
Anyways, Wonka moves into a boarding house operated by Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman) after her behemoth of a henchman, Bleacher (Tom Davis), tricks him into moving in.
Scrubitt requires Wonka to sign a lengthy contract that forces him and other boarders into working in launderette underneath the boarding house. Wonka doesn't read the small print before signing, which is how he's conned into this predicament. Scrubitt also requires Wonka to pay an outrageous fee in order to get out of his contract, which he obviously can't pay.
At the boarding house, Wonka meets a young girl named Noodle (Calah Lane) who ends up helping him get his business off the ground.
Wonka is also attempting to capture a little green faced, orange haired man (played by Hugh Grant) who keeps stealing his chocolates during the night. This guy, of course, is an Oompa-Loompa, who wants restitution for "stolen" cocoa beans Wonka took from Loompa Land.
Timothée Chalamet as Wonka in the "Wonka."
Right away, I found the story enjoyable with a smooth flow and memorable characters. It has the feel of an old-fashioned musical. Most of the songs are catchy and pulls ears in straight away. "Wonka" is successful at being a fun family movie.
While Gene Wilder plays an unpredictable and hard-to-read Willy Wonka in the original film, Chalamet makes the titular character a more ambitious beginner who carries a convincing eager determination. Despite his masterful craft as a magician and candy maker who so naturally can wow crowds, there are scenes where he's still human and vulnerable.
It struck me at various parts of the movie as to why Wonka would later take to young Charlie Bucket in the 1971 movie. Both come from humble backgrounds, are attached to their respective families from whom they draw inspiration, and both have self-less attitudes. They also have their shortcomings and recognize them as such.
Unfortunately, Grant's performance as Lofty, the Oompa Loompa, is dull and uninspired. It was as though Grant was going through the motions to get his parts over with as fast as he could, grab his paycheck, and go home. Thankfully, that didn't spoil the movie for me.
Aside from Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key is the most entertaining actor in the story. Key is hilarious in his role as he has a knack for putting a lot of character and effort into his comedic roles. He is a natural at comedy.
"Wonka" sets out to amuse and charm audiences, which it pleasantly accomplishes. It tries to pull on the emotional heartstrings of its audience, but the feel-good elements hinder that.
The story is full of optimism as Wonka doesn't allow any out-of-the-ordinary difficulties, such as being suckered into involuntary servitude at a launderette, hinder him from working towards his goals. He simply plans around every obstacle to do the work he needs to do. It's a moral I can get behind. There's a ton of room for a fascinating story about how Wonka gets his factory and his reputation off and running. This movie manages to depict something imaginative and worthwhile.
After watching movies and programs based on the writings of satirist Jean Shepherd and posting my thoughts on each one here on this blog, I wanted to include my thoughts on the latest movie based on Shepherd's work - "A Christmas Story Christmas."
I reviewed this next "official sequel" to the 1983 comedy, "A Christmas Story" for the Junction City Union newspaper last year.
However, I wanted to keep these Shepherd-based reviews of mine all in one place, like one big friggin' magical Christmas bundle. So, I'm sharing that article here.
"A Christmas Story Christmas" is about Ralphie losing his father just before Christmas. So, it's fitting to add my thoughts about a particular scene in "A Christmas Story" that I never paid attention to until I watched it with my kids last week. Then it hit me.
After Ralphie and his kid brother Randy go to visit Santa at the mall, and one of Santa's elves push Ralphie down a slide, the shot switches to actors dressed as characters from "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) parading down the mall past Santa's set-up. Ralphie's "Old Man" as he's referred to, skips along with these characters singing "We're off the see the Wizard." He concludes his rendition with, "I'll see you in Oz, folks!"
It's a brief scene, but it's memorable.
Ralphie's dad doesn't seem like the kind of dad who would care about seeing a children's movie like "The Wizard of Oz." During the post-World War II time period the story takes place in, from what I've been told, parents often dropped their kids off at movie theaters while they ran errands and such. The kids would stick around the theaters until their parents were ready to pick them up.
So, the kids would watch their kids movies and the parents would run around town to do whatever they needed to do. Kids could easily catch two movies, along with a bunch of cartoons and, whatever else they played in theaters back in the 1940s during afternoon matinees.
The Old Man wasn't really the singing type. In an earlier scene when the Parker family are driving back home from the tree lot after picking out their Christmas tree, everyone in the car are singing "Jingle Bells"... except the Old Man.
While Mrs. Parker and the kids are singing their lungs out, Mr. Parker looks like he just wants everyone to hurry up and finish so he can get back to a quiet car ride.
So, maybe the Old Man not only caught "The Wizard of Oz," he actually enjoyed it. After all, there he is, signing and parading with the characters out in public, arm in arm with Mrs. Parker. He's certainly embracing this small moment. And he's not in front of his kids. He and Mrs. Parker are heading over to collect them from visiting Santa.
Maybe the Old Man has a difficult time connecting with his boys on their level. Rather, he wants to come across in their eyes as gruff, hard working, and as the leading family patriarch he is, setting aside the things of his childhood.
This makes the ending of "A Christmas Story" all that more thoughtful. That is, the one person who gives Ralphie his BB gun, after all the other adults in his life shoot him down (no pun intended) and tell him "you'll shoot your eye out" is the adult he never asked - his Old Man.
This one brief Oz scene shows that Ralphie's dad does have an inner child which does come out to shine once in a while, even if just for a few seconds. He knows how to connect with his young boys!
I was just as intrigued as anyone else, but not overly excited when trailers for the recent movie "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" dropped earlier in 2023.
I considered seeing it in the theater but figured it would eventually stream on the Disney+ streaming app, so I would just catch it there. And I did.
I love the Indiana Jones movies generally speaking, particularly the third movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989). It's my favorite of the five movies in the franchise.
My first impression was that "Dial of Destiny" would just be another franchise revival movie. And it was, for all practical purposes.
Franchise revivals of older series is all the thing now in Hollywood. They're certainly a novelty, but often feel forced and repetitive often resulting in a box office crash and burn. Not all of them. Some are decent enough, but I can't think of a franchise revival movie from the last ten years that really blew me away.
In this movie, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) chases down a powerful artifact invented by the ancient mathematician and inventor, Archimedes (d. 212 BC) that's able to send people to another time period.
The movie opens in 1944 as Indiana Jones is attempting to rescue the holy lance of St. Longinus from the Nazis. While all that's going on, a Nazi Astrophysicist named Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) finds part of Archimedes's dial.
Indy and Voller fight, resulting in Voller's death, or so Indy thinks.
Now, during the late 1960s, Indy finds himself chasing down Voller again, who is now a NASA scientist. He's really trying to obtain the entire dial so he can travel back in time and change the outcome of World War II in Hitler's favor.
In the beginning of the movie, a younger Harrison Ford appears thanks to the "magic" of AI or CGI (something along those lines). The movie accomplished that task rather well. That was certainly the talking point when the movie was playing in theaters.
The action is entertaining. Nothing more. Nothing less. My main issue with this movie is Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character, Helena Shaw, the daughter of Indy's old friend and colleague, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). She's also Indy's estranged goddaughter. She accompanies Indy in this adventure, more often working against him as she has her own plans in mind for the dial. Namely, monetary gain.
Shaw is unrealistic, annoying, and I wanted to see her less on screen. She's not charming, nor is she intriguing or inspiring. She serves more as an obstacle for Indy than an asset to the story. The audience isn't supposed to cheer for her, yet she has scenes that seem like the audience is supposed to cheer for her. Shaw is a mess of a character.
Also, gone is Indy's son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) from the last movie "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." He evidently died during the Vietnam War. I certainly didn't miss him. His death causes Indy and his wife, Mutt's mom, Marion Ravenwood (played again by Karen Allen), to divorce prior to the story.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.'
Before sitting down to watch this movie, I anticipated a time travelling voyage to Indy's past in some sort of nostalgic adventure. I anticipated something like what took place in "Back to the Future II." If you know, you know.
Thankfully, that didn't happen. What did take place as far as time travel goes took me by surprise. Much to my appreciation, they saved that for the final act. Everything leading up to that, with Indy trying to find the dial and make sure the Nazis don't obtain it, felt like classic Indiana Jones. He's already squared off against Nazis in two previous movies - "Last Crusade" and "Raiders of the Lost Arc."
This movie isn't Jones at his best but it's certainly not terrible. I think the previous movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" still carries that banner.
The urgency of the entire story seems a little forced. Yes, Indy and everyone are going after the other half of the dial and take it out of the hands of Nazis, but the seriousness of the situation isn't convincing enough. I don't recall him even knowing he was chasing Nazis until later in the film.
He just has to get it before the bad guys do something bad with it. It's not clear until later in the movie what the Nazis plan on doing with it. And once Indy realizes what's really going on, then his mission feels like it has real purpose.
A few days after my second viewing, the ending became sensible. To have Jones actually witness a major historical event (i.e. the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC) and meet Archimedes face to face felt like a proper sendoff for the character rather than simply have him save a small yet significant piece of ancient history.
As the movie concludes with Indy returning comfortably to his home and spend his days in restful retirement with the Marion is fine but not the sendoff I imagined Indy to have.
Personally, I wish he would have stayed in that period in Italy, with Archimedes, rather than have his annoying goddaughter force him to return to his own time. That would have been an ending audiences would talk about for sure.
It was enjoyable to see Indiana Jones one more time, especially after the disaster that was, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Surely, fans of the franchise are glad that last flick wasn't Indy's sendoff film. While "Dial of Destiny" has its issues, it's a passable film.
It's entertaining and hits some of the right spots despite feeling like too much like a franchise revival film. It's time for Indy to hang up his hat, which he thankfully did at the end.
I'm trying to determine if it's better or worse than "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." I'd say "Temple of Doom" is better by a nose. A real nose. Not a CGI one.
A few years ago, my wife and I attempted to watch all of Disney's animated feature films in chronological order, obviously beginning with, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
We were slowly making our way through each one until we got to the 2003 film "Brother Bear." That's when our "challenge" sort of waned. But somewhere in the middle of this Disney challenge, I got the idea that should write down my initial opinions from movie to movie. By the time I thought of that, we were halfway through the "challenge."
Sometime after that, I thought we could start over. But instead of watching all the animated Disney movies, we started watching all the James Bond movies in chronological order.
And this time, I wrote down my initial thoughts for each film in one post. I added to this post movie by movie. I even kept track of which opening songs I thought were the best.
I had just finished cleaning up the paragraph I wrote for the 1995 movie "GoldenEye" when I decided to change a few things around.
I managed to hit a key, or something, that deleted my entire post. Everything! And the Blogger platform has a feature that automatically saves a second or two something new is added or changed. There's no retrieval feature or trash can. I tried hitting "Control" and "Y" but it didn't work. All my work for the past several months, going Bond film by Bond film, was gone with the push of a key.
I couldn't get it back. I even tried looking up links in my search history. Nothing. It stung something fierce.
After fighting back the urge to curse and swear, my only option was to pick up the fragments still in my memory and go from there. I reread some movie synopses as well to refresh my memory.
So, here's to Vodka martinis, renegade Soviets, gorgeous girls, and guns! This is take-two of watching all the movies of Bond...James Bond.
Casino Royale (1954) - Season one, episode three of the 1954 CBS anthology series "Climax!" (later called "Climax Mystery Theater") is based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel "Casino Royale" published in 1953.
The episode stars Barry Nelson as James Bond, Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre, and Linda Christian as Valerie Mathis (a composite character of Vesper Lynd and René Mathis).
As far as I know, it's the first screen adaptation of 007 that I could find. And I suppose it makes Barry Nelson the first actor to play 007. But he doesn't depict Bond as being British. He doesn't speak like a Brit, anyways.
The production is like an on-air stage production of a film noir.
Being only an hour long, the story jumps right into the casino game. It's an entertaining episode, and no doubt made for great T.V. viewing back in 1954. It pulls the audience in immediately as an unseen assassin tries to shoot Bond before he even walks into the casino. The intrigue builds up nicely from there.
Peter Lorre makes a great Le Chiffre as he pulls off a convincing self-assured look, with eyes daring Bond to try and beat him. And when Bond does, Lorre gets intense.
Nelson doesn't let his Bond show any fear once Le Chiffre kidnaps him and tortures him in order to get Bond to hand his winnings back to him. Nelson gives his Bond an American no-nonsense gritty tough guy attitude.
"I'm no hero. I don't like pain. But I can tell you one thing right now. You won't get anything outta me. Pain and killing is part of my job," Bond tells Le Chiffre in the second act.
I love the dialogue in this episode, especially from Lorre. His performance deserves more recognition.
Bond, draped in a tuxedo in the middle of a cigarette smoke filled casino, facing off with Le Chiffre in a high-stakes baccarat game is quintessential 007. If only "Climax!" audiences back in 1954 knew where this would lead.
Dr. No (1962) - "Dreadful! Simply, dreadful" was Ian Fleming's response to this first full-length James Bond film.
However, "Dr. No" sets the foundation - the standard - for the Bond films to follow.
Sean Connery stars as 007, who travels to Jamaica to investigate the whereabouts of MI6 Station Chief and fellow agent, John Strangways.
There, he finds that Strangways was killed to keep him from digging too deep into the shenanigans of Dr. Julius No (Joseph Wiseman).
The film introduces the first Bond girl, a staple that would carry on through all Bond movies to follow.
While Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) is the ultimate Bond woman in "Dr. No," Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson) strikes me as the true Bond girl in this movie. It's to her that Bond first makes his ever-famous introduction, "Bond...James Bond."
"Dr. No" is an entertaining and classic Bond installment. It's a great introduction to 007.
Wiseman's performances make "Dr. No" one of cinema's most legendary and memorable villains ever. Connery is entertaining and, of course, truly iconic.
From Russia with Love (1963) - Things were tense between the U.S. and Russia in 1963. The cold war was going strong, and both nations had signed the Hot Line agreement that same year in an attempt to cut the risk of accidentally starting a nuclear war. (Here, I recommend the movie "Dr. Strangelove.") So, on screen, Bond is also sent to deal with Russian shenanigans.
In this second Bond movie, 007 is assigned by 'M' (Bernard Lee), the Chief of British Intelligence, to tend to a gorgeous Soviet agent, Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi). She has fallen in love with Bond and wants to defect from Russia.
Romanova also plans to steal a decoding machine referred to as the Lektor, which MI6 desperately wants.
Of course, British Intelligence knows this is all a trap.
Desmond Llewelyn debuts as "Q" in this movie. And Eunice Gayson returns as Bond girl Sylvia Trench.
Perhaps, one of the most popular Bond girls, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) is introduced in this movie.
As for another Bond first, 007 drives a Bentley Mark IV for the first and only time in the Bond universe. It's worth mentioning that different Bentley's are used for the 1967 satirical Bond movie "Casino Royale" as well as the 1983 not-Bond-canon movie "Never Say Never Again."
Anyways, "From Russia With Love" is not a bad movie. But it feels a little too slow and not as action packed. Yet, I was still entertained with it.
Goldfinger (1964) - "Goldfinger" is certainly one of the most remembered of all Bond films. Things really change to what's familiar within the films to come.
In this masterful and highly entertaining film, Bond must stay on top of the movements of billionaire Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) as MI6 suspects him of smuggling huge amounts of gold in and out of the U.K.
Hanging out in Miami, Bond puts the ol' charm on Goldfinger's gorgeous companion, Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton). She helps Bond humiliate her boss by exposing him as a card cheat. Her death is among the most famous scenes in Bond lore as she's covered head to foot in gold paint, causing her to suffocate, in retaliation for her treachery. It's a warning to Bond. But Bond doesn't take threats.
"Goldfinger" lays on the tech elements rather heavily. The humor is also lathered on much more heavily than before.
This movie is much more colossal than the previous films. And Connery has, by this time, established his niche in playing Bond.
Goldfinger's derby wearing Korean manservant, "Oddjob" (Harold Sakata) is introduced here as well.
Bond's famous Aston Martin DB5, full of Q's (Desmond Llewelyn) gadgetry, debuts in "Goldfinger."
This is definitely among the top best 007 movies! It's entertaining, solid, and as James Bond as it gets!
Thunderball (1965) - Evidently, "Thunderball" was supposed to be the first Bond movie. Obviously, that didn't happen because it sits as the fourth movie in the lineup.
This is one of the most suspenseful Bond movies so far.
SPECTRE steals two atomic bombs from a British aircraft during a NATO training session.
SPECTRE's second powerful agent, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) threatens the British Prime Minister to use the bombs on a major English or U.S. city unless a ransom is paid.
This movie is also laden with Bond gadgetry. And his Aston Martin DB5 returns from "Goldfinger."
Again, it's a fun ride in the James Bond universe.
We'll see this story playout again later in the 1980s when Sean Connery takes up the licence to kill again in the non-Bond canon movie "Never Say Never Again."
In "Thunderball," Bond is less playboy and more determined spy. That's not to say he's charmless. That's still as present as ever. I found the movie engaging and a solid 007 movie. Connery still performs masterfully, proving he knows the character inside and out.
Casino Royale (1967) - Ian Fleming's initial choice for Bond was David Niven, before the role ultimately went to Sean Connery in "Dr. No."
But Niven plays Bond in this movie, as does Peter Sellers and Woody Allen.
As I previously noted, it's a Bond flick that doesn't have a place within the Bond universe. You won't see it mentioned among the other movies. The 1983 movie "Never Say Never Again" which isn't considered Bond canon either, managed to maintain a small corner among the other movies. That's probably due to Sean Connery reprising his role as Bond one last time despite saying he would "never" do so again.
Still, 1967's "Casino Royale" remains relatively obscure. No doubt that's due to this movie being a spoof of the franchise. Even still, it's named after Fleming's original novel, and is loosely based on it.
Ursula Andres, who plays Honey Ryder in "Dr. No," stars here as Vesper Lynd. And Orson Welles portrays Le Chiffre - a good casting decision. Too bad he didn't appear in any real Bond film. That would have been epic!
The problem with the movie is the plot. It's so convoluted to make room for the huge number of jokes and the star-studded cast that it grows boring and confusing after a while. It could easily have been a jewel of a comedy but ended up too self-conceited with all that's packed into it. It ends up a disjointed mess.
I wrote a more lengthy review of this satire elsewhere on my blog. You can check it out here - "Casino Royale."
You Only Live Twice (1967) - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was set to premier after "Thunderball." But "You Only Live Twice" is what audiences got instead.
In this movie, Bond turns his attention towards space as American and Russian Soviet space crafts are disappearing.
Of course, the U.S. and Russia are pointing their fingers at each other for these mysterious disappearances. And, as expected, nuclear war is imminent as a result. So, Bond is assigned to travel to Japan where a suspicious third party is thought to be orchestrating the whole thing.
Donald Pleasance plays Bond villain Ernst Blofeld, making "You Only Live Twice" the first time Bond and the man behind SPECTRE go face to face.
Children's author Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay for this film, which for the first time, veers away from any element Ian Fleming penned in his Bond novels. As far as cars go, Bond isn't seen driving which makes this movie the only one were we don't see him doing so.
The story focuses heavily on the gadgetry which makes the plot feel like a secondary item. I was entertained by it regardless, but the problems are still glaring.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - George Lazenby, who had no prior acting experience at the time, takes over the role as James Bond.
Agent 007 is, once again, on the hunt for Blofeld (Telly Savalas) who's threatening biological warfare worldwide. As he's searching, Bond rescues the gorgeous Countess Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) from suicide.
Blofeld has sent a number of beautiful women around the world, all under some kind of hypnosis, to release deadly germs upon command.
In this film, Bond comes across as more of a torn person until he finds new meaning when he falls in love with, and marries, Tracy di Vicenzo.
It's clear, of course, that something tragic is going to occur. And it does.
This leaves Bond a tragically ripped soul. The story raises Bond to a new and more serious level.
Lazenby's effort to hit his performance out of the park is clearly evident, but he strikes me as a little too cautious. Or maybe the pressure of taking over the role from Connery was too great? I don't know.
He loses some naturality of character in his performance. That's not to say he's bad. I think if he continued on for a few more Bond films, he would have been a great 007.
As for the story, it's unique among other Bond films. It's a good movie with just enough action, along with a little insight into James Bond to keep me watching.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - Sean Connery takes back the role of Bond once again after Lazenby's first and only Bond performance.
This time, a mysterious villain is keeping a large number of diamonds on the international black market. Bond is sent to find out who this smuggler is and what their plans are. He goes against Blofeld again, played this time by Charles Gray.
With "On Her Majesty Secret Service" attempting to make Bond a tragic character, "Diamonds Are Forever" takes him on the road towards gags and corny jokes as though that would make Bond much more likeable and down-to-earth.
This is even apparent in Blofeld's villainous henchmen duo Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (Bruce Glover and Putter Smith) who have a tinge of slapstick in their performances.
Lana Wood plays famous Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole. And Jill St. John plays the first American Bond girl, Tiffany Case.
Though Sean Connery is Bond once again, the campy one-liners is the path Roger Moore takes when he stars as Bond for the next six movies, excluding "Never Say Never Again."
"Diamonds are Forever" didn't sit well with me. It's too cheesy for what I like to see in a Bond movie.
Live and Let Die (1973) - Sean Connery claimed he would never play Bond again. So, Roger Moore takes over the role in his first Bond movie.
This time, Bond wanders down to New Orleans and San Monique to investigate the deaths of several MI6 agents.
San Moniques dictator, Dr. Kanaga (Yaphet Kotto), may have some connections to a Harlem mafia kingpin, Mr. Big. So, Bond's suspicion is high with Kanaga.
I suspect if "Diamonds Are Forever" maintained the serious Bond seen in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" Moore would have nailed the character by keeping that characteristic.
But, he picks up where the last Bond left off with sight gags and such.
I wasn't terribly impressed with this movie. It's mediocre at best.
Also, much to my chagrin, "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn in all the previous films) doesn't show up in this movie. That's a bummer. But Jane Seymour plays Bond girl Solitaire.
Moore is off to a semi-strong start as the suave Bond we all know.
But I felt a bit bored sitting through this movie. Still, Paul McCartney and Wings perform the opening title song. So, there's that.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Actor Christopher Lee, the legend himself, is distantly related to Ian Fleming. So, his role in this movie "Man with the Golden Gun" is kind of like full circle in the Bond world.
Agent 007 is faced against a world energy crisis when world powers covet the Solex Agitator - device that will turn the sun's radiation into beautiful electricity.
Bond must take the device before the evil assassin, Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), kills him with one shot from his dreaded golden gun.
This is one of my favorite Roger Moore "Bond" films thanks in large part to Lee's performance. Lee is a fantastic Bond villain. Otherwise, I can't deny it's an otherwise weak movie. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a Christopher Lee performance I didn't like. That's even true for "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith."
The late, great Herve Villechaize ('Tattoo' from 'Fantasy Island') stars as Scaramanga's henchman, Nick Nack.
Also, Bond drives an AMC Hornet Hatchback which isn't entirely spectacular or anything. But it's there.
Lastly, the lovely Britt Ekland stars as Bong girl, Mary Goodnight. Oh, and Desmond Llewelyn is back as "Q." Still, it's a stale movie, but Lee is great!
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Moore is back as Bond in this tenth 007 movie. This time, he's tasked with investigating the disappearance of British allies and Soviet subs. "M" and his KGB counterpart, Gen. Gogal (Walter Gotell), think an outside entity is responsible for these vanishing subs. They assign Bond as well as Soviet spy Maj. Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) to look into this.
They both think a billionaire shipping mogul, Karl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) is behind this nonsense.
My favorite Bond villain, Jaws (Richard Kiel) debuts in this flick as the assassin Stromberg hires to kill Bond.
The movie introduces yet another vehicle for Bond - the Lotus Esprit.
This movie has some great action moments. Though Moore puts in a lot of effort in trying to wow the audience, he doesn't strike me as intimidating nor a force to be reckoned with.
But the scenario Bond is immersed in is entertaining and creative. Everything else is a little too goofy and bland, and I had trouble getting invested in the characters or outcomes. "The Spy Who Loved Me" is definitely not among the best Bond films, unfortunately.
Moonraker (1979) - With "Star Wars" being a new thing at the time, Bond had to go there, too. The eleventh movie was meant to be "For Your Eyes Only." But with the success of "Star Wars," who didn't want to cash in on the Sci-Fi genre?
This feels like a bigger Bond picture, thanks especially to its science fiction tone.
Bond is on the trail of the Moonraker space shuttle, which, like the submarines in the previous movie, has disappeared.
So, he heads to California to question billionaire Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) who built it.
He finds that Drax hijacked the Moonraker as part of a larger scheme.
Richard Kiel returns as Jaws, who again tries to murder Bond. But, by the end, finds true love and turns over a new leaf.
I found this movie entertaining and enjoyable, though it veers off a bit from the standard Bond formula. I don't see this as a bad thing necessarily. I found it to be a welcomed change of pace, despite a few shlocky elements, like Jaws' brace-faced and pig tailed love interest, Dolly (Blanche Ravalec).
Still, audiences seemed to take issue with this. So, the writers-that-be moved towards a more thriller element in the next movie.
For Your Eyes Only (1981) - This movie goes back to a split Bond who, in the opening scene, visits the grave of his wife. There's less dorky jokes, and more drama. And it has an opening theme song, sung by Scottish performer Sheena Easton, which still lingers in my head.
In this movie, a British spy ship disguised as a fishing vessel, sinks in Albanian waters. On board the ship is a top-secret device called an ATAC used to transmit commands to Polaris submarines.
The British and the Soviets race to the depths to retrieve the ATAC. So, it's up to Bond to find it before the Soviets do.
Julian Glover, fresh off the set of "The Empire Strikes Back" plays villain Aris Kristatos, and does so impressively well.
The Lotus Esprit Bond drove in "The Spy Who Loved Me" makes a return.
It's a great performance from Moore. And is one of the better of his Bond films.
The opening scene of Bond snagging Blofeld with a helicopter, and dropping him down a factory smokestack should be an iconic Bond scene if it isn't already. This is another entertaining Bond flick!
Octopussy (1983) - This was quite a year for James Bond and Bond fans.
Not one, but two 007 films were released that year - the other being "Never Say Never Again."
I've read that "Octopussy" is the best of Roger Moore's 007 films. It does have some good things going for it, but as far as the two movies of the year go, "Never Say Never Again" is much better.
In "Octopussy" renegade Soviet, Gen. Orlov (Steven Berkoff) is miffed that relations between the U.S.S.R. and the West are getting a little too friendly. So, he suggests attacking NATO forces in Europe. But his suggestion is rejected. So, he forms a partnership with a wealthy gem smuggler named Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan) located in India. His ultimate plan is to detonate a nuclear bomb on a U.S. military base in Western Germany. Doing so will cause the U.S. to be blamed and thereby forced to leave Western Europe.
This will make it easier for the Soviets to attack.
Bond is given the case. And he makes friends with Khan's smuggling partner, Octopussy (Maud Adams), who owns a travelling circus. Hence, there's a scene where Bond dresses as a clown.
This movie leans back into the campy. I mean, Bond is dressed as a clown in a circus as he tries to disarm a bomb.
The spectacular shots of India as the setting for this movie is stunning. That wasn't enough to save it. I found "Octopussy" too dull and uninteresting by the end.
Never Say Never Again (1983) - The plot is very similar to that of the earlier movie "Thunderball." It's a remake for all practical purposes. This movie isn't considered part of the Bond canon despite Sean Connery's return to the role of Bond one last time after 12 years. Evidently, he claimed earlier that he would never play Bond again...and then he did.
Connery's performance is outstanding which proves he truly is James Bond. And the supporting cast, which includes Kim Basinger as Domino Petachi and Max von Sydow as Blofeld, is fantastic.
Still, it's ever so slightly lackluster here and there, especially in its climax.
Gone is the gun barrel opening and Monty Norman's famous theme.
Regardless, it's a fun and entertaining Bond film. "Never Say Never Again" is a quintessential Bond experience at its best.
This is also one hard film to find. I happen to own a VHS copy. But trying to find it on DVD is hard, even when stumbling across Bond sections at local stores where new and used DVDs are sold.
A View to a Kill (1985) - This is Moore's last portrayal of 007. "A View to a Kill" isn't really given much praise and is often called "tired" or "uninspiring."
Regardless of its negative feedback, I happen to like it. And that's despite the return of lame sight gags and corny humor, such as the song "California Girls" playing during a scene with Bond snowboarding.
Christopher Walken plays millionaire industrialist Max Zorin who's suspected by MI6 of selling top-secret information involving microchips to the Soviets.
Que 007 whose mission it is to infiltrate Zorin's estate.
To do this, Bond must pose as a potential racehorse buyer, which Zorin breeds.
The gorgeous Grace Jones stars as Zorin's exotic martial arts instructor and sweety, May Day.
"A View to a Kill" has one of the worst lines meant to incorporate the title into the movie. Regardless, I think this is my other favorite Roger Moore era Bond movies.
I may be biased as the story takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area where I was born and raised.
Some of the movie was also shot at the Dunsmuir House in the Oakland Hills, my hometown. So, I enjoyed this movie a lot despite the problems and slow moments.
The Living Daylights (1987) - By this time, Moore officially retired as Bond. He turns over his "license to kill" to Timothy Dalton.
This time, Bond heads to Czechoslovakia as a top Soviet General, Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe) is defecting.
He accomplishes his defection and tells MI6 that Gen. Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies) of the KGB has initiated a program meant to assassinate British agents.
Bond must take out Pushkin. During the mission, he finds that the entire operation is a ploy orchestrated by Koskov to have Bond assassinate Pushkin. Koskov isn't what he made himself out to be. Maryam d'Abo plays Koskov's girlfriend, Kara Milovy. She has a cautious presence on screen.
Dalton has a more renegade style and serious persona about him. This gives his first Bond movie a deservedly non-sense dangerous tone. It's an enjoyable and captivating Bond movie. I was certainly engaged while watching.
As for Bond-mobiles, Dalton's Bond gets an updated vehicle - a 1986 Aston Martin Volante.
Licence to Kill (1989) - This is Dalton's second and last appearance as Bond. And this one really deviates from the normal Bond formula.
The movie starts off on the wedding day of Felix Letter as he finds out he has a chance to capture international drug baron, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi).
Both Letter, and his best man, James Bond stage Sanchez's arrest in an amazing midair spectacle.
But Sanchez escapes and seeks revenge in which he brutally murders Letter and his new bride.
In this movie, Dalton's Bond completely embraces his renegade side with a story that's heavy in vengeance.
"M" warns Bond not to engage in a revenge mission for the death of his friend. Of course, Bond ignores this warning and goes rogue.
Despite the story being different from the Bond standard, it wasn't enough to pull me in and keep me interested. I didn't find it intriguing nor engaging enough. It feels more like a television drama thriller than a cinematic Bond flick. While "Licence to Kill" hit the Bond loving spot, this one failed to impress.
Still, Everett McGill as Killifer has an intimidating presence on screen, as does Robert Davi.
After "Licence to Kill," audiences would have to wait five years until the next movie.
GoldenEye (1995) - Pierce Brosnan joins the ranks of Bond actors in "GoldenEye." He breaks onto the scene with a bang. Brosnan nails the role in his first go. And the movie takes a most welcome deviation from familiar style seen in the previous movies.
James Bond and his close colleague Alex Trevelyan, agent 006 (Sean Bean) have to destroy a Soviet nerve gas factory at the height of the Cold War. Unfortunately, Trevelyan is killed during a mission. Years later, "M" (played fantastically by Judi Dench) assigns Bond to track down a stolen Russian weapons system known as "GoldenEye."
On his mission, Bond finds that the GoldenEye may be in the hands of a mysterious organized crime boss named Janus who's plotting to financially hurt all of London electronically.
He'll then launch GoldenEye over the city unless 007 can stop him. But Bond doesn't know Janus's true identity, or so he thinks.
This film feels up to date and modern (for 1995). And Brosnan proves to be a solid Bond thanks to his giving the agent a determined personality.
Judi Dench as "M" is more serious with a dominating presence on screen. It's enough to make Bond nervous. She doesn't hold back her thoughts when approaching him.
"You don't like me, Bond. You don't like my methods. You think I'm an accountant, a bean counter more interested in my numbers than your instincts," she tells him in one particular scene.
I appreciate how she makes the role her own. She's the best "M" my book. Legendary performer Tina Turner sings the theme song, written by Bono.
This is among the top favorite Bond films for me.
Of course, the Aston Martin DB5 returns in this movie. There's a great Astin Martin scene before Bond receives a new car - a BMW Z3 Roadster. This makes the movie all the more entertaining for me.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Pierce Brosnan returns in his second Bond movie. This time, a British media mogul named Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) comes up with a plan to make his cable news network a huge success.
His plan involves staging international disasters which, of course, his media platforms, including his newspaper "Tomorrow" will be the first to cover it, beating the competition. This will surely lead to a worldwide media monopoly for Carver. Bond chases Carver all the way to his offices in Vietnam. Their final confrontation is spectacular.
It's kind of like a Bond versus Citizen Kane sort of story.
While it's not as performative as the previous "GoldenEye," it's still just as entertaining and fun. Brosnan manages to nail his Bond performance yet again.
The late great character actor Vincent Schiavelli plays the assassin Dr. Kaufman. He's a welcomed and enjoyable addition to the story. He's a favorite of mine."
Pryce stars as the villain, the power behind the villainy, has an unpredictable presence on screen. The movie maintains that updated style continued from "GoldenEye." Bond gets another car outside the Astin Martin- a BMW 750iL full of some serious gadgetry and such.
The plot, though entertaining, seems a bit lame. Bond is trying to save T.V.
Teri Hatcher plays Carver's wife, who happens to be Bond's former lover, Paris Carver.
The movie falls a bit short compared to the last film, but not by much. Bond dodges some serious bullets in this flick. Still, it's an enjoyable and worthwhile movie.
The World is Not Enough (1999) - I'm three Brosnan Bond films in, and I'm certain he's my favorite Bond after Connery. In this movie, Bond seems to be full of puns - more so than before.
After a wealthy oil magnet named Sir Robert King (David Calder) is murdered during a bombing at MI6, Bond is assigned to protect his daughter, Elektra (Sophie Marceau). Afterall, she is heir to her father's wealth.
Meanwhile, some weirdo named Renard (Robert Carlyle), who is incapable of feeling physical pain as he has a bullet lodged in his head, is attempting to sabotage the construction of a new King pipeline that will be able to supply oil globally.
Agent 007 soon finds himself paired up with an American nuclear physicist named Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards). The two discover there's more at stake that an attempted pipeline sabotage.
Robbie Coltrane returns as Valentin from "GoldenEye, and plays a rather bigger role in this story. John Cleese also stars as "Q's" assistant "R." Cleese is always a welcome presence!
However, this is Desmond Llewelyn's last performance as "Q" as he passed away in December of 1999.
While the movie has plenty of action and intriguing plot points, it feels a bit slower and weaker than the previous Brosnan films.
It occurred to my sweet wife while watching this movie that Bond seems to ski a lot in these movies. That's certainly true. As usual, there's a skiing sequence with Bond hitting the slopes trying to get away from the bad guys.
"The World is Not Enough" also works in the title amidst the dialogue in an eye-rolling moment reminiscent of Christopher Walken's dorky line in "A View to a Kill."
Die Another Day (2002) - This film opens in North Korea. It was only a matter of time before Bond would infiltrate down there. It opens with complete suspense right away as Bond, played again by Pierce Brosnan, is captured by North Korea and held hostage for over a year.
After he's finally released, Bond goes rogue as MI6 Head "M" (Judi Dench) rescinds his 007 status. We saw him relinquish his license to kill before in "Licence to Kill."
John Cleese returns as "Q" rather than "R," replacing the late Desmond Llewelyn.
And Madonna, who sings the opening title theme, cameos as fencing instructor, Verity.
The film includes a great sword fight between Bond and villain Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens). Graves, by the way, is modeled after Hugo Drax in "Moonraker."
In another scene, "M" and Bond have a short coming-to-terms.
Overall, "Die Another Day" has a good story but it all runs on the slow side. It's definitely the least impressive Pierce Brosnan Bond movie.
Even so, it's a decent enough avenue that brings Bond into the new millennium.
Casino Royale (2006) - It's as though the Bond franchise goes back to its roots with a film adaptation of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, "Casino Royale." Daniel Craig replaces Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.
This is a bit of a reboot film.
Having recently earned his licence to kill, Bond has been promoted to 00 status. Now he must prevent an airline bombing. To do so, he has to get to work bankrupting the evil financier who's behind these crimes in a high-stakes poker game - the most intense poker game in card game history.
Producers are clearly trying to keep Bond up with modern audience tastes. Still, I enjoyed the overall movie.
Its action packed. So much so, it prompted my wife to ask, "has he sat down yet?" Craig is yet the most serious and rightfully badass Bond. Craig's performance as Bond is heavy with the suave, sophistication, and mysteriousness. He's a bit of a closed book.
It almost comes across as bland. He says little and gets to work. We see a compassionate side of Bond as well. And he practices what the grown-ups call self-control.
It's a little different from the usual Bond formula, making the story truly intriguing and enticing. There's an emotional side to Bond the audience is treated with.
Quantum of Solace (2008) - This is Daniel Craig's second go at being Bond. And this movie is a sequel to the previous "Casino Royale."
In this movie, Bond meanders the globe on a revenge mission to take down the culprit who killed his love interest, Vespa Lynd (Eva Green).
His investigation leads him to a highly evil organization known as Quantum. And wouldn't you know, Quantum has a dastardly plan to control the water supply in a South American country.
What's funny is that with all the shaken Vodka martinis we've seen Bond chug down through the decades, this is the first we see the master drunk.
This, I think, is the first direct continuation from a previous film.
The camera work is too often too close up, and too quick. The plot just lost me and I wasn't interested enough to attempt to figure it out. All in all, I was bored with this movie.
I found it too rushed and uninteresting. I'd say it's the worst of Bond movies with Daniel Craig. All in all, it's a forgettable film.
Skyfall (2012) - This seems like the beginning of the end of James Bond as we know it.
He chases down a thumb drive that has the names of all MI6 agents as well as all NATO agents who are tangled with terrorists. It all boils down to a former MI6 agent who is hell-bent on revenge against "M" (Judi Dench) whom he feels betrayed by.
This movie gives us a Bond who's self-reflective as he begins to succumb to the weight of the evil world he's submerged in.
He doesn't give in to evil, but I get the impression the weight is starting to grow heavy on him. So, now we see a bit of a brooding James Bond, immersed in his own inner turmoil.
While at the time of writing this, I have yet to watch the next movie, "Spectre" I still suspect this may be giving me insight into the ending of the last Bond movie to date, "No Time to Die" which I watched before watching this movie and the following movies.
It marks Dench's final performance as "M" which is unfortunate. She is the best "M" in the franchise. And her character meets a tragic sendoff.
Ralph Fiennes steps in the role as "M" which brings back a classic Bond feel. And Ben Whishaw replaces the late Desmond Llewelyn who played "Q" from 1963 to 1999.
Naomie Harris stars as Eve Moneypenny as though this is Moneypenny's first appearance. Again, the Craig movies are a reboot.
Spectre (2015) - In this movie, Bond receives a mysterious message from the past. It leads him towards a global crime syndicate known as SPECTRE. Bond soon realizes that the head of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) is the mastermind behind all the bad things that have happened to Bond.
This movie has a respectable amount of suspense, intrigue, and brings Bond back to his job and out of his brooding self.
There's a classic Bond feel to "Spectre."
Waltz as Blofeld is a memorable one. I enjoyed his performance as he's a bit eccentric, but intimidating and disdainful.
One welcomed call back is the final scene as the Aston Martin DB5 reappears after reconstruction in Q's workshop, with Bond speeding off in it.
Dave Bautista plays Spectre's top assassin, Hinx. He definitely has an strong presence on screen. He's a villain audiences love to hate.
This is a better Bond film for the Craig era with action, an edge-of-your-seat story, and some revisited origins.
Craig brings Bond back to a no-nonsense MI6 agent audiences love, reminiscent of the classic Bond movies.
No Time to Die (2021)
This is a truly suspenseful Bond film.
"No Time to Die" is Craig's fifth and probably final Bond performance.
We find Bond, a family man, living the quiet life in Jamaica and no longer worker as an agent.
That all changes when his old buddy, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) drops in with a letter from the CIA asking for Bond's help in rescuing a kidnapped scientist.
Things are worse than expected as Bond soon finds himself up against a seriously dangerous villain with advanced technology.
Remi Malek's performance as the antagonist Lyutsifer Safin is dull, uninspiring, and anything but menacing or intimidating. It's completely flat! I kept expecting Malek to fall asleep mid-performance.
Otherwise, the movie shifts a bit from the usual Bond formula making it wonderfully unique and attention grabbing. It's a movie I'd like to watch again.
Craig's Bond is a vulnerable Bond. He's one who is driven a lot by emotion and a little angst perhaps. He pays a lot more attention to what's happening inside. The ending doesn't surprise me much. Bond meets a tragic end. For a reboot series of Bond films, it was certainly short lived. We saw Bond gain 00 status, fall in love, deal with the death of some close to him, cope with his past and present, and then die himself.
I saw "No Time to Die" before seeing some of the previous Bond films with Daniel Craig. At the time, I refused to believe he died. He's James Bond! He doesn't just let himself die. And the title is "No Time to Die." Now, having watching all of the Craig films, I'm not surprised this is where things went. I'm anxious to see where the franchise goes next. Will Bond get rebooted... again? Will the stories continue on ignoring the Craig movies? Will someone else obtain 00 status and change their name to James Bond? Was it all a dream? Or, is James Bond still alive?
I predict, as of today (August 16, 2023) that Henry Cavill will be the next Bond.
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So, I've seen all the Bond movies! Who's my favorite Bond? It's almost blasphemous not to pick Sean Connery. He set the standard. But after Connery, I'd have to go with Pierce Brosnan. I found myself the most captivated with Brosnan's Bond films. I think he captures the true, determined, and torn Bond the best. I was torn with Daniel Craig's portrayal. I appreciate seeing Bond becoming a family man. But, he just didn't hit the right chords for me. Roger Moore is too campy and ridiculous. Timothy Dalton was great in his first Bond performance, but I didn't care for his second and last. And George Lazenby didn't appear in enough movies to really establish himself as a worthy Bond. My vote for favorite Bond goes to Brosnan.
And lastly...
My top favorite opening title songs...in no particular order.
"Tomorrow Never Dies" - Sheryl Crow
"Nobody Does It Better" (from "The Spy Who Loved Me") - Carly Simon
