Bond is back and better than ever in the terrific SKYFALL

After an extended four year break from cinemas, James Bond returns...with a vengeance. Skyfall is the 23rd Bond film since 1962, so it marks the 50th anniversary of that occasion. And let me tell you something...this film is beyond awesome. Daniel Craig returns for this third time and now he fits very comfortable in the role of the super spy. I mean he fits really good. The film begins in Turkey with Bond being assisted by a field agent named Eve (wonderful performance by Naomie Harris) tracking down a stolen hard drive of deep undercover British agents. This leads to a frenetic chase by car, then motorcycle, then train. Things go south, as the two agents fail and Bond is reported missing, most likely dead. M (played by the always terrific Judi Dench) has to take heat from her superiors about the botched affair while Bond spends his time recovering and drinking trying to get over his own personal demons.

Bond on motorbike in Turkey looking dapper

But once an explosion goes off at MI6 headquarters Bond comes home to do what he can. The banter between him and M is distinctly frosty but also caring. This is probably the best onscreen employer/employee relationship ever. Before Bond can go back into the field he must pass a series of physical and mental tests to deem him fit for duty. His skills are decidedly not up to snuff as he can barely hit a target with his PPK. And is severely out of shape. But pass he does..sort of and M sends him back out, much to the chagrin of Gareth Mallory (played by Ralph Fiennes), a new figure in MI6, who is worried that Bond might mess up again. Bond gets a new personal PPK by the new Q (played cleverly by Ben Whishaw) and they get to have some classic Bond/Q banter that recalls the old Bond films.

Okay Bond, let's get these buggers!

On to the mission which sends Bond to Shanghai after the hard drive to encounter the exotic Severine (played by French actress Berenice Marlohe) who winds up taking Bond to her employer and the villain of this film, Silva (a blonde Javier Bardem). Silva's introduction is a classic one as he meets Bond and tells him of a childhood story involving rats. From the first time you meet Silva, you know this guy is bad news. And once you find out his connection to M, it becomes a more personal film for Bond and M too.

The villain of Skyfall...Silva

Skyfall is amazing. I can't praise it enough. I know some have complained of not enough action and being too long but this film is more than just about action. I think it's a great story about three people (Bond, M, and Silva) who are haunted by their past sins and must confront them and each other. This film is gorgeous to look at. The cinematography is excellent by Roger Deakins. Taut direction by Sam Mendes. A great music score by Thomas Newman, who supplies the Bond theme quite a few times through out the film. Also Craig gets to drop a few more one liners that was sorely missed in his first two outings. But he doesn't get carried away with them, just the right amount. The action scenes when they do come are quite thrilling. From the opening chase sequence to a thrilling fight sequence in a Shanghai skyscraper between Bond and an assassin.
There's also the exciting subway chase/courtroom shoot-out that will get your adrenaline going. And then things end with a standoff at Bond's childhood home between him, M, family friend Kincade (played by wily Albert Finney) and a whole passel of Silva's men. The performances are all top notch, especially Craig, Dench and Bardem. They form quite the fractured trio and you are fully vested in their relationship and how it all will end. I also love the homages to the classic Bond films like the aston Martin Craig keeps in storage and finally gets to drive, the introduction of Q and a new Moneypenny as well. Wait till you see her..she's cool as can be. Oh and the theme song by Adele...heavenly!

Bond going old school on some fools

All in all, Skyfall is one of the best Bond films ever. And one of the best films by far of 2012. It's great having you back James! Can't wait for your next adventure.
A

Eve draws down on someone

The exotic Severine

Bond and Severine take a little boat ride

The need for some speed...Great car chases on film: QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

After a rough last week at work which saw layoffs of some of my friends and now a bigger workload for me now, I feel the need for some speed. I will post daily scenes of some of the best car chases in film. Similar to what I did last summer when I posted about an action movie a day. Let's start with this nifty chase sequence from 2008's Quantum of Solace, the second Bond film to feature Daniel Craig. There might still be some naysayers about Craig being Bond..for the record I like him, and this is one of the best car chases ever. Bond film or action film period. Bond is being pursued some bad guys in Siena, Italy through a tunnel and on the side of a mountainside. High octane stuff.

Bond daily quote...QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

M: If you could avoid killing every possible lead, it would be deeply appreciated. 
James Bond: I'll do my best. 
M: I've heard that before.

Bond daily quote...(DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER)

James Bond: Weren't you a blonde when I came in?
Tiffany Case: Could be.
James: I tend to notice little things like that - whether a girl is a blonde or a brunette.
Tiffany: Which do you prefer?
James: Well, as long as the collar and cuffs match...

Bond daily quote...GOLDENEYE

 Xenia Onatopp: You don't need the gun
James Bond: Well, that depends on your definition of safe sex.

SKYFALL, the newest Bond film is underway

Finally after some legal and money issues, the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, went into production a few weeks ago. Bond fans can now rejoice as we will have a new Bond film for next Thanksgiving. Joining Daniel Craig and Judi Dench is one of the more impressive Bond film casts ever. Javier Bardem has been cast as the villian. Ralph Fiennes is on hand. I think is some official M16 capacity. Naomie Harris is a fellow agent helping Bond. Albert Finney was just added to the cast, which is another plus. And french actress Berenice Marlohe is the latest Bond Girl. The story has something to do with M's past now coming back to haunt her and Bond caught in the middle. Sound very intriguing. Can't wait for next November. Due to hit theaters symbolically on November 007, 2012.

Bond daily quote....FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

"Ah, the old game: give a wolf a taste and then leave him hungry. My friend, she's got you dangling." - Kerim Bey (From Russia With Love)

Pierce Brosnan takes over as James Bond in GOLDENEYE

I remember this day like it was yesterday. Back in 1994 when it was announced Pierce Brosnan would be assuming the role of superspy James Bond for the film Goldeneye. I was ecstatic. When they announced it, there was a media blitz rivaling a king or prince coronation. It was that big of a deal. History shows that Pierce was offered the role of Bond a few years ago but could not get out of his contract with NBC for the TV series Remington Steele. Which was a good warm up role for Brosnan as he got to look dapper and be witty. Timothy Dalton ended up getting the role and he lasted just two films. So when the time came again to cast a new Bond, there was no doubt who should play him. Pierce Brosnan. When Goldeneye finally premiered in November of 1995, it was awesome. I saw it three times at the theaters. Loving it more and more each time I saw it. Goldeneye would become my favorite Bond film of all time. Pierce would play Bond in a total of four films. And he would become my 2nd favorite Bond actor. Well I kind of flip flop between him and Roger Moore. Anyway, just thought this would make a cool post describing when Pierce became Bond for the first time. And a new chapter in this long running series was added to this legendary franchise.

Bond daily quote...OCTOPUSSY (1983)

Vijay: Is he still there?

Q: You must be joking! Double-0 seven on an island populated exclusively by women? We won't see him till dawn!

Bond daily quote...CASINO ROYALE

Vesper Lynd: It doesn't bother you? Killing all those people?

James Bond: Well I wouldn't be very good at my job if it did.

Bond daily quote...(THUNDERBALL)

Fiona: Some men just don't like to be driven.

Bond: No, some men don't like to be taken for a ride.

Ranking my favorite Bonds...

So I since I'm doing this James Bond marathon posting all this month, I should begin with ranking my favorite Bonds right? Thought so..here we go.

1. Sean Connery - Even though I didn't start watching Sean's films until after seeing Roger first, he is Bond. Nobody played him better. The right mix of humor and ruthlessness and witty charm made Sean the total Bond package.

2. Roger Moore - Now I grew up when Roger was Bond and I thought he was so cool. With the one-liners and his smoothness with the ladies. Towards the end of his run, he lost a little of his edge but watch his early Bond films and you will see why I thought he was the second best Bond ever.

3. Pierce Brosnan - When it was announced that Pierce was taking over as Bond, I was like hell yeah. Finally Remington Steele gets to play Bond. And he did a damn good job. His Goldeneye is my favorite Bond film ever and that's saying a lot.

4. Daniel Craig - is off to a good start but he needs to lighten up just a bit. His Casino Royale takes Bond in a new direction and he was quite good.

5. Timonty Dalton - not as bad as everyone remembers. In fact, he did what Daniel Craig is doing now, only Tim did it 20 years ago.

6. George Lazenby - Not fair that George only got to do one Bond film. And not it's fault that he had to follow in the footsteps of Sean. His one film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is actually one of the best Bond films ever made. And George acquits himself quite nicely.

Bond daily quote...(Goldfinger)

James Bond: Manners, Oddjob. I thought you always took your hat off to a lady.

James Bond: [to Pussy] You know, he kills little girls like you.
Pussy Galore: Little boys, too.


GOLDFINGER (1964)

Bond at your service...

Tomorrow will begin my marathon of James Bond posting and just wanted to add there will be a daily quote each and every day from the Bond film series.  I will begin with this quote from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) where several bad guys take turns trying to kill Bond (Roger Moore) and Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach):

"You ever get the feeling that somebody doesn't like you?" - James Bond

James Bond hits Hero Worship in November

For the entire month of November, it will be all about one superspy from England. Yep, James Bond 007 will grace Hero Worship in November. Now Classic Film and TV Cafe just recently wrapped up their in depth breakdown of every Bond film made so far. Wonderfully written by Sarkoffagus. And he pretty much hit on everything with some well written articles. So I will be doing lists of different categories, such as favorite Bonds, favorite songs, favorite girls, favorite villians and so forth. And I will rank all the bond films from my favorite to least favorite. So expect adventure, stunning locations, beautiful women, and the dapper Bond all month long. Please do stop by to visit.

Happy Birthday Roger Moore!

Happy Birthday to James Bond actor Roger Moore who turns 84 today. Moore took Bond into a more light-hearted direction and it worked quite successfully to the tune of seven consecutive 007 flicks. He took over from Sean Connery in 1971 with Live and Let Die and retired from the world of espionage in 1985 with A View To A Kill. Moore actually tested the spy waters in the 60's tv series The Saint. As Connery's replacement, he was actually three years younger. But he still brought a youthful edge to the superspy. Happy Birthday Roger!

Action Movie For The Day - DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) Sean Connery returns as Bond after a one film absence

After a one film absence, Sean Connery returns as Bond and it's a nice welcome back. After a solid pre-credit sequence where Bond tears apart casinos and resorts looking for Blofeld, it becomes business as usual. For this mission, 007 goes undercover as a diamond smuggler to find out who has been stealing diamonds out of Africa to use for god knows what. Once again Connery is in top form as Bond, dispensing one liners as quick as he throws punches. Charles Grey makes an okay Blofeld. But Jill St. John is a sight to behold as Bond girl Tiffany Case-beautiful and tells it like it is. Forever has some cool action scenes and a nice change of pace having the film set in America, specifically Las Vegas. Not one of Connery's best Bond films, but it's still pretty good. And look for Natalie Wood's sister Lana as Plenty O'Toole, a fetching Bond girl.

B-


James Bond: "Weren't you a blonde when I came in?"
Tiffany Case: "Could be"
James Bond: "I tend to notice little things like that-whether a girl is a blonde or a brunette".

Action Movie For The Day - DR. NO (1962) - The first James Bond film

The first James Bond film is a good, if not great entry. Sean Connery is perfectly cast as 007. There are no hi-tech gadgets or sensational over-the top action but a simpler adventure which has Bond dealing with bad guy Dr. No. Set in Jamaica this movie is filled with gorgerous scenery and the women are very beautiful. Ursula Andress is drop dead gorgeous as Honey Rider and Zena Marshall as the scheming Miss Taro is quite the beauty also. A fine start for the longest running movie series in history.

B-


Slyvia: "When did you say you had to leave?"
James: "Immediately...almost immediately".






 

Happy Birthday Carole Bouquet

Happy Birthday to French actress Carole Bouquet who is my favorite Bond Girl. She appeared opposite Roger Moore in 1981's For Your Eyes Only, one of my fave Bond films ever. She was only 23 when she was cast as Melina, the Greek daughter seeking revenge for her parents murder.

Top 5's with James Bond

The SyFy Channel recently had a marathon of Bond films. So I thought now would be a good time to write a blog about my personal favorites of the long running series broken down into different categories with my top 5 picks in each of them. So here we go:

FAVORITE BOND
1. Sean Connery - this was actually a close call. I grew up watching Bond when Roger Moore was playing him and recently I loved when Pierce Brosnan took over. But I had to go with Sean...he did start it after all.
2. Pierce Brosnan
3. Roger Moore
4. Daniel Craig - is off to a good start but he needs to lighten up just a bit
5. Timonty Dalton - not as bad as everyone remembers.


FAVORITE FILM
1. Goldeneye (1995) Brosnan's first Bond film and it's awesome. Made Bond more of an action hero to compete with the current stars of action films today, and it works.
2. Goldfinger (1964) This is the one where most people remember when the series started to really click. The cool opening scene, Connery very relaxed in the role now, a dastardly villian, the gadgets, and the unusually named Bond girl of Pussy Galore.
3. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Roger Moore toned down the jokes and played Bond with a serious edge. This is one of my all time favorites and I watched it like a million times growing up.
4. Casino Royale (2006) Bond remade with Daniel Craig taking over the role and knocks it right out of the park. Very entertaining entry.
5. From Russia With Love (1963) Rosa Klebb. Red Grant. Tatiana Romanova. The thrilling train fight and boat chase scenes. Nuff said.

FAVORITE SONG
1. Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) From The Spy Who Loved Me, so good it should be the theme song for the entire series.
2. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney) Hell yeah. Paul rocks it like no other.
3. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey) This woman could belt out a song with very strong vocals.
4. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) Catchy song.
5. Dance Into The Fire (Duran Duran) Probably one of the few good things about Roger Moore's last Bond film, A View To A Kill.

FAVORITE VILLIAN
1. Auric Goldfinger - Goldfinger. Classic Bond villian that set the standard for others to follow.
2. Scaramanga - The Man With The Golden Gun. As played by horror vet Christopher Lee.
3. Blofeld - Appeared in several Bond films, each time by a different actor. The best to me was Donald Pleasance in 1967's You Oonly Live Twice. But Charles Gray in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever is pretty good too.
4. Max Zorin - A View To A Kill. Psychotic bad guy, played by Christopher Walken.
5. Elektra King - The World Is Not Enough. First main villian played by a female and actress Sophie Marceau is fabulous.

FAVORITE HENCHMAN/HENCHWOMAN
1. Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) - GoldenEye. Delicious and sexy henchwoman that loves to kill and thrill.
2. Jaws (Richard Kiel) The only bad guy to play in more than one Bond film. More than a worthy enough adversary for Mr. Bond.
3. Red Grant (Robert Shaw) - From Russia With Love. The ultimate Cold War soldier who fights Bond memorably in a small train compartment.
4. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) - Thunderball. More woman than any man could handle even James Bond. She also has one of the best quotes in the entire series: "But of course, I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond. James Bond, the one where he has to make love to a woman, and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents, and turns to the side of right and virtue... but not this one!"
5. Oddjob (Harold Sakata) - Goldfinger. He may be mute, but he makes quite an impression, especially on James.

FAVORITE GIRL
1. Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) in For Your Eyes Only. There is just something about this beauty who had smarts and looks and was deadly with a crossbow.
2. Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The former Mrs. Emma Peel became Mrs. James Bond for one film. No other actress could have pulled that part off I don't think.
3. Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) in Licence To Kill. Carey brought a gritty new feel as a Bond girl who could handle herself in a fight, chase, or argument. Plus she could fly anything being a pilot
4. Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)in Goldfinger. To be able to pull off this character with a name like that, Honor should have received some type of award.
5. Solitaire (Jane Seymour)in Live and Let Die. The lovely Jane was quite good in one of her first roles.

FAVORITE PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE
1. Goldeneye (1995) Awesome action in Russia at a weapons facility with Bond doing his thing.
2. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Riding inside a helicopter is what most people do, not James Bond..he has to dangle outside the door miles up in the air while his enemy Blofeld remote controls the copter to make it crash. Very cool.
3. Casino Royale (2006) Simple but effective introduction of Daniel Craig to the series. He makes two kills in the space of minutes. One is quite clean and efficient, the other one is quite nasty with a brawl in a men's bathroom.
4. From Russia With Love (1963) Red Grant's training exercise to dispatch Bond will throw you off because you don't realize it's just an exercise.
5. Moonraker (1979) Over the top but still exciting as Bond free falls from a plane without a parachute and also has to contend with Jaws. Classic.

FAVORITE CHASE SEQUENCE
1. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Bond in the Lotus being pursued by the bad guys via cars, motorcycle, helicopter, and undersea divers. Doesn't get any better than that.
2. Quantum Of Solace (2008) Thrilling opening chase scene has Bond eluding the bad guys coming down a mountainside.
3. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Bond on skis being chased by other skiers and bikers. Cool. And later on the car chase with Bond and Melina being pursued by the bad guys.
4. Licence To Kill (1989) The truck chase finale has to be seen to be believed with Bond using a semi as his own personal Tonka toy.
5. Live and Let Die (1973) Probably the most exciting boat chase you will ever see.

FAVORITE BEVY OF GIRLS CAST
1. Octopussy (1983) Stunning women from all around the world for this one.
2. Moonraker (1979)
3. From Russia With Love (1963)Rosa Klebb aside, there are quite the few lovelies in this one.
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)Several stunning women all gather in Switzerland much to the delight of Bond.
5. Dr. No (1962) The first Bond movie features several stunning women including Ursula Andress, Eunice Gayson, and Zena Marshall

FAVORITE FIGHT SCENE
1. From Russia With Love (1963) Bond and Red Grant go at in a small train compartment. Very brutal and well done.
2. The Living Daylights (1987) One of the best fights not to feature Bond. Instead it's another British agent fighting an assassin in the kitchen.
3. Goldeneye (1995) Bond vs his onetime friend an fellow agent Alex.
4. Casino Royale (2006) Bond fights some bad guys in a fancy hotel. Very exciting.
5. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Not the best Bond movie but it does have a good fight scene with Bond against the baddies while trying to romance an exotic belly dancer. Only Bond could do something like that.


I believe that will wrap it up for now but as the credits all say I will return.
Oh one more category..
FAVORITE SECONDARY CHARACTER
1. Q (Desmond Llewelyn) The weapon master. His banter with 007 is always good for a laugh.
2. M (Judi Dench) The best of all of Bond's bosses. Judi rocks.
3. Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) Forever in love with James.
4. Felix Leiter (David Hedison) Bond's CIA counterpart has been played by so many different actors but Hedison is the only one who played him twice.
5. Charles Robinson (Colin Salmon)