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Whippersnapper. 
"A fourword thinking guy."
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 Posted - 11/22/2006 : 13:43:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
quote:
Originally posted by Whippersnapper
quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
LOS ANGELES - James Bond has met his match � not a fellow spy but a tap-dancing penguin. The Warner Bros. animated penguin romp "Happy Feet" debuted with $42.3 million, grabbing an edge for the weekend's No. 1 slot over Sony's Bond adventure "Casino Royale," which opened with $40.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Now we know Bond's next mission...
That one looks familiar...
http://www.fwfr.com/display.asp?ID=14047
Oops. 
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Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 11/22/2006 : 15:09:37
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Oh my God this movie is so bleeping awesome.
Everything about it was pure Bond except fresh and new...the only things I can think of that were "un-Bond-like" was seeing him bleed and the lack of dancing nude silhouettes in the opening credits (where were otherwise perfect).
Seeing that Bond is indeed a mortal man and not some comic book superhero did not feel forced at all. It never seemed out of sorts to see "that human side," as that's precisely how I would have expected James Bond to act if he discussed the things he discussed in some of those personal conversations. And anything that seemed in any way out of character clearly was a part of his past that's simply never been revealed before, but which explains quite perfectly how he became the man we know. I can't really elaborate on this because I don't want to give away spoilers to a film that just came out...but I think those who've seen it probably know what I'm talking about.
Nits to pick? It could have been 15 minutes shorter. I don't agree with anyone that thinks Bond was too serious but it's possible Le Chiffre was. Wright's Felix didn't really seem like someone that will eventually become Bond's closest friend and ally. I didn't like the way some of the fight scenes were shot - so close that it was hard to tell who was hitting whom - but that seems to be trend these days so I may just have to get used to it.
I want a Vesper martini. I hope bartenders know the recipe. |
Edited by - Downtown on 11/22/2006 15:32:49 |
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silly 
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 11/22/2006 : 16:15:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
I want a Vesper martini. I hope bartenders know the recipe.
I just want a Vesper.  |
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 11/26/2006 : 18:51:56
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We just got back. The new CASINO ROYALE kicks ass. That's the Bond I'd been pining for, without really knowing it. Since every previous movie slightly upped the ante on explosions, gadgets and weird-ass villains, the Bond audience was kind of like the proverbial frog sitting in the gradually heating pot of water on the stove, and as the temperature rises incrementally he doesn't notice it until he finally boils to death. Or, um, something like that.
Wilson and Broccoli have thrown all that out the window. Stunts, yes. Firebombs, sure thing. Bond-sized baddie, check. But for the first time in decades, you get the idea that the events depicted on screen could have actually happened in the real world! [That is, assuming you were chasing a bad guy on foot through some dangerous terrain -- I won't say any more about the opening setpiece -- and every possible ounce of luck was on your side. Thrilling but unlikely, but so what: thrilling!]
Two minor quibbles. (1) It goes on too long, and that's partly the fault of the script. After a large amount of money changes hands at about the two-hour mark, that's the climax, and we rest and breathe. But there's much more to come, as longtime Bond fans will instantly realize during a lyrical "closing" sequence that is about as far from the real end as is the first set of goodbyes in THE RETURN OF THE KING. (2) Too much running time is spend on watching playing cards being dealt at the titular casino, with Giancarlo Gianinni telling us -- excuse me, our stand-in, the clueless Bond girl -- what's at stake on this particular hand. For the same reason that computer hacker plots which depend on staring at a screen don't work, it slows us way down every time we go back to the fricking card table.
But what an entertainment. Our highest praise for a popcorn movie like this is, "They earned our money." Boy howdy, did they ever.
[I noticed during the opening credits that one stunt actor was credited not with the crew, but alongside the featured actors, for "Running Stunts." I was wondering, "How does he get such a big credit for running?" Ten minutes later, I had my answer.] |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 14:05:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
LOS ANGELES - James Bond has met his match � not a fellow spy but a tap-dancing penguin. The Warner Bros. animated penguin romp "Happy Feet" debuted with $42.3 million, grabbing an edge for the weekend's No. 1 slot over Sony's Bond adventure "Casino Royale," which opened with $40.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
HAPPY FEET beat it again last weekend, but the Bond guys aren't exactly crying. Even if they're both hits, the much longer movie will always lose to the shorter one. Not as many performances are possible in a day. |
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Rovark 
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 19:48:29
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Yup, what Downtown and Randall just said.
This is the first Bond in over 15 years I've actually shelled out some hard-earned on, and frankly it was worth every penny.
Minor quibbles with the cell phone trace and medical diagnosis gizmo, but hey, I'm actually thinking " I wonder what the next one will be like" and looking forward to it.
nb. She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed doesn't like Bond but went along 'cos it's my birthday today (yay me!) and she said it was good. so it really must be. 
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 20:33:56
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Yes, I must say they had some excellent cell phone reception, as well as battery life that is somewhere along the likes of "months."
Totally off-topic, but I just read that Anne Hathaway is close to being signed to play Agent 99 in the new Get Smart. I can't wait for that...
*rubs hands together and cackles* |
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 21:09:21
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What looked like an ordinary cell phone to us might have been a satelite phone, a real technology that's existed for many years and which can get a signal anywhere in the entire world. And with the medical gizmo...I wouldn't expect to see something like that in real life, but it's also quite possible with our modern technology.
It's not like either of these was an invisible car. |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 22:47:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
What looked like an ordinary cell phone to us might have been a satelite phone, a real technology that's existed for many years and which can get a signal anywhere in the entire world. And with the medical gizmo...I wouldn't expect to see something like that in real life, but it's also quite possible with our modern technology.
It's not like either of these was an invisible car.
You can definitely get portable defibrillators in real life (my woman, being a cardio nurse, would have had something to say about it if not), so the medical gizmo was do-able. My only problem with it was it harked back to the previous Bond films where the gadget you're given just happens to be of use later on. I mean, why would anyone equip a car with a defibrillator of all things? (And a shoddy one where the cables fall out at inappropriate times at that...)
And was I the only person who laughed when Bond fell unconscious? I was responsible for this rather embarrassing short laugh in an otherwise silent cinema at the screening I saw  |
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 22:50:18
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| They put defib kits in commuter trains, sports stadiums, even most McDonalds have them now. I wouldn't be surprised if many police forces include them as standard equipment in vehicles now. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that ANY government issued vehicle might have one. |
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Rovark
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
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Posted - 11/27/2006 : 23:10:58
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Spoiler alert
Sorry, I was being vague in case anyone reading still intended seeing it.
No problem with the defibrillator, it was the diagnostic gizmo capable of providing instantaneous blood analysis quicker that my blood doner centre can id something as basic as anaemia that I meant was bollocks.
And again no problem with the cell phone in itself, but the bit where he retrospectively traced a call being made from a point accurate to within a 6 foot radius and could then identify the individual who made that call through the relevant CCTV. Hmm.
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 11/28/2006 : 01:16:22
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I assumed that was the device you meant, but I also wanted to address benj's comment.
The responsiveness of the device is completely unrealistic, but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility to have a miniature device that monitors certain vitals like pulse and relays them via wireless technology. |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 11/28/2006 : 02:42:47
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I thought CR was pretty good - I got back from a cinema triple header today in which it was the final course. I did like it but I had my doubts, which are easily explained by commenting that every Bond I can remember since I started seeing them in the cinema in the late 80s has left me cold, particularly Brosnan's smug, perfectly groomed dullard Bond, pressing big red flashing buttons to save the world, as if the audience are all really 14. The Connery's and some of Moore's I really liked from TV (Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me all spring to mind). Seeing how little I've liked modern Bond, particularly in light of action films moving into a new Century and leaving the cold war superspy behind with his quips, gadgets and ludicrous villains, this was a very pleasant surprise. Craig was excellent - utterly brutal and very unpleasant on the whole, which in the real world is probably more likely to be the case (thank you Mr Fleming for that insight, thank God the producers and screenwriters have finally decided to show what he actually wrote about in his novels). Eva Green is utterly gorgeous and must be the most rounded, most complex and utterly edible Bond girl on film. Not so convinced by Le Chiffre, the world's first asthmatic Bond villain complete with tears of blood gimmick. I loved the action sequences, particularly the construction site and the Ventian denouement, but there were a large number of embarrassingly trite moments where they seemed to be trying ever so hard to prove Bond is gritty rather than just getting on with it and let us decide. Breaking into M's house, vanishing off to the Bahamas to crack your first case without any authorisation, all that stuff was dumb. Oh, the defibrilator in the car was the worst moment. Good job that Vesper had full medical and electronic equipment training at the Treasury, having worked out that Bond had gone into cardiac arrest, obviously had a defib unit strapped to him (easily recognisable?), knew what was wrong with it and plugged the cable into the right place immediately. 
Bodes well for the franchise I think. Gritty psycho Bond is infinitely preferable to invulvernable preening Bond. Hope they remake the books in order now! |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 11/28/2006 : 10:34:35
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In Brosnan's defence, I feel I should mention he was doing the whole injured Bond thing before the newly invented Bond.
If there's one thing in DAD's favour, it's that the shoulder injury Bond sustained at the start of TWINE seems to be continuing to plague him in DAD. Brosnan seemed to have a canny knack of throwing in little details and quirks like that. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 11/28/2006 : 13:58:19
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
In Brosnan's defence, I feel I should mention he was doing the whole injured Bond thing before the newly invented Bond.
If there's one thing in DAD's favour, it's that the shoulder injury Bond sustained at the start of TWINE seems to be continuing to plague him in DAD. Brosnan seemed to have a canny knack of throwing in little details and quirks like that.
Yes, Brosnan was really the first vulnerable Bond. He got dirtier than any of the previous Bonds and was able to admit (and sometimes suffer) his weaknesses. One of my favourite scenes in TND is when he wants to use Yeoh's computer and it opens up to a keyboard in Chineese and he has to let her do it. Other Bonds would have suddenly been fluent in Chineese and been able to use that keyboard.
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Casino Royale
