O-dot wrote:The Man with the Golden Gun (Hamilton, 1974) pro
Was pretty surprised to pop over to IMDb and find out that some consider this one of the worst 007 movies. It is a silly movie, sure, but only a real grouch could outright hate it. There's plenty to enjoy: Chases by boat and car (the latter of which ends when the villain's car sprouts wings (!) and flies off); Britt Ekland as the ditzy blond secretary Goodnight; Christopher Lee hamming it up as the titular bad guy; and some weird business involving third nipples.

That reminds me that I had many of the Bond movies on audio tape (!!!) when I was younger, including The Man With the Golden Gun and The Spy Who Loved Me. They basically just used the German dub and cropped it to 90 minutes. This weirded me out, as the German voice of the Moore Bond was the same that had the role of William Tanner on Alf.

I think I have to dig out these tapes again. Just to find out how they narrated the love scenes or explained a flying boat. Oh god, the third nipple ...

The Spy Who Loved Me (Gilbert, 1977) mixed
Regarded as one of Moore's better outings as 007, this one actually left me kinda bored. Seems to have had a bigger budget than the preceding movies in the series, so we get lots of excellent widescreen images and expansive underwater sets. Yet despite all the gloss and Moore's usual quips and double entendres, the movie never exactly clicks. Various sources say that Stanley Kubrick supervised the lighting of the supertanker set, as a favor to the production designer Ken Adam, who also worked on Barry Lyndon.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (McKay, 2006) pro
The expected silliness from Will Ferrell and Co. Jokes and sight gags galore, several of them quite funny. Highlight is Gary Cole (i.e., the most underrated character actor in America) as Ferrell's beer can-chucking dad.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Verbinski, 2006) mixed/pro
Pleasantly surprised here; it's substantially better than the first. Should've been about 30 minutes shorter, though, and I can't imagine having sat through it all in the theater, as old and cranky as I'm getting. I love that we've got Johnny Depp giving this supremely bizarre kabuki performance in a hugely expensive Disney movie franchise.

O-dot wrote:Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Verbinski, 2006) mixed/pro
Pleasantly surprised here; it's substantially better than the first. Should've been about 30 minutes shorter, though, and I can't imagine having sat through it all in the theater, as old and cranky as I'm getting. I love that we've got Johnny Depp giving this supremely bizarre kabuki performance in a hugely expensive Disney movie franchise.

I would have to say con on this one. I found it far worse than the original, even if I did see the original for the first time when I was drunk. This one just bored the everliving fuck out of me, and the plot line was a mess. There were far too many scenes that were completely irrelevant.

Draegonis wrote:I would have to say con on this one. I found it far worse than the original, even if I did see the original for the first time when I was drunk. This one just bored the everliving fuck out of me, and the plot line was a mess. There were far too many scenes that were completely irrelevant.

I think the problem with Pirates is that people are just not interested in all that East India Trading Company stuff. They could care less if anyone but Depp, Knightly, or Bloom is on the screen. But I love it, giving some depth to the Pirates universe. I hope the third instalment expands the world even more. Shanghai anyone?

"Only" a "pro" from me though, as I didn't like the villain. He was well done, but it just didn't have the impact of Barbossa. And skeleton armies always beat fish monsters.

dhn wrote:They could care less

Special hell.

got it for my older boy for xmas, so i'll report my thoughts next week.

Little Miss Sunshine (Dayton and Faris, 2006) pro
Dysfunctional family takes youngest child to California to compete in a kids beauty pageant. Hilarity ensues. A bit predictable and unchallenging, but the casting is topnotch, and it all culminates in a twisted beauty pageant sequence that may be the single most disturbing sight on film this year.

Moonraker (Gilbert, 1979) con
Also known as "James Bond in Space." (I guess the Muppets were unavailable.) The worst 007 movie? Possibly. The Brosnan pictures actually don't seem as bad now. Saving grace: The Bond girl's name is Holly Goodhead.

O-dot wrote:Moonraker (Gilbert, 1979) con
Also known as "James Bond in Space." (I guess the Muppets were unavailable.) The worst 007 movie? Possibly. The Brosnan pictures actually don't seem as bad now. Saving grace: The Bond girl's name is Holly Goodhead.

Yeah, but without it, we wouldn't have had the Moonraker laser in the N64 Goldeneye game, and that's just not on.

O-dot wrote:...it all culminates in a twisted beauty pageant sequence that may be the single most disturbing sight on film this year.

<3++

For Your Eyes Only (Glen, 1981) mixed/pro
The 007 series receives a course correction with this traditionalist Cold War thriller about a box that performs all sorts of super-secret spy stuff. While it's good to see the franchise treating the character seriously again, this movie has a few problems: a nonthreatening villain, a plot that only occasionally manages to rise above autopilot, and a lead actor (Moore) who's wearing himself out holding in his stomach for all the medium shots.

Octopussy (Glen, 1983) mixed
Down to Roger Moore's last two flicks in the 007 series. (It'll all be over soon!) After the somber For Your Eyes Only, the franchise lurches back toward Moonraker goofiness, with Bond bidding on Faberge eggs, fighting off circus performers and disguising himself in clown makeup just before the climax. The women this time (Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn) are a cut above, and Steven Berkoff chews scenery as a Soviet general.

A View to a Kill (Glen, 1985) mixed
Sir Roger's swan song as Bond, it's the one with Christopher Walken, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee and Midge from That 70s Show. One of the least-loved 007 movies but actually less cheesy than some of the episodes that preceded it. Moore was only a couple years shy of 60 at the time of shooting, and it showed.

O-dot wrote:A View to a Kill (Glen, 1985) mixed
Sir Roger's swan song as Bond, it's the one with Christopher Walken, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee and Midge from That 70s Show. One of the least-loved 007 movies but actually less cheesy than some of the episodes that preceded it. Moore was only a couple years shy of 60 at the time of shooting, and it showed.

You know, I almost took a class about a year ago entitled "The history of the action film", with focus on the Bond-movies. I quit after about two weeks when I first realized it would mean watching tons and tons of Bond-movies, and analyzing the smelly crap out of them... How do you do it?

_Marcus_ wrote:I almost took a class about a year ago entitled "The history of the action film", with focus on the Bond-movies. I quit after about two weeks when I first realized it would mean watching tons and tons of Bond-movies, and analyzing the smelly crap out of them... How do you do it?

Alcohol? I dunno. I was able to watch almost a dozen Andy Sidaris movies last spring, so the Bond movies are nothing in comparison.

Black Dahlia - no, not that one, the one by Ulli Lommel. by mistake. i have to go along with the viewer comments that this may be the worst film ever made. i got through 25-30 minutes before my DVD player vomited it out like a bad kidney.

The Dark - with Sean Bean from LOTR fame (seen bean? shaune bawn?). not a bad movie, just not really good either. kind of just there. the lead actress wanted to be naiomi watts so badly. it could have been much better. i'll probably never watch it again.

Monty Python & The Holy Grail - got the 3-disc set for xmas. what a brilliant film. still great after all these years.

Pirates of the Caribbean & The Dead Man's Chest - dunno, fell asleep after 20 minutes. might try to watch again soon, maybe not. didn't feel like i was missing much.

Superman Returns - well, it was interesting to say the least (most?). not sure i like the superboy crap. no, i am sure - i don't like it. but i did like kevin spacey. all in all, i'd rather watch Smallville for 48 hours straight.,

TC wrote:Sean Bean from LOTR fame

Of Sharpe fame, thank you very much.

Draegonis wrote:

TC wrote:Sean Bean from LOTR fame

Of Sharpe fame, thank you very much.

Goldeneye, Ronin, and he would have been my choice for the new Bond before Daniel Craig was considered (that would have been a funny twist after playing the villain in Goldeneye).

dhn wrote:and he would have been my choice for the new Bond before Daniel Craig was considered (that would have been a funny twist after playing the villain in Goldeneye).

haha YES!

I like Sean Bean.

dhn wrote:he would have been my choice for the new Bond before Daniel Craig was considered (that would have been a funny twist after playing the villain in Goldeneye).

Alas, he'll have to settle for playing the Rutger Hauer role in a really dumb looking remake of the really dumb '80s movie The Hitcher.

O-dot wrote:

dhn wrote:he would have been my choice for the new Bond before Daniel Craig was considered (that would have been a funny twist after playing the villain in Goldeneye).

Alas, he'll have to settle for playing the Rutger Hauer role in a really dumb looking remake of the really fucking awesome '80s movie The Hitcher.

ftfy.