casino royale | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Darren

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol reminds me – and, I feel the need to specify this, in a good way – of one of the Bond films from before Casino Royale made them all grittier and edgier. No disrespect to that fantastic film, but the relatively serious remodelling of Britain’s most famous secret agent left a bit of a gap in the market for an espionage thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And while Ghost Protocol takes a great deal of pride in doing what it sets out to do with a great deal of skill, it certainly never takes itself too seriously. And that proves to be a very good thing, indeed.

Keeping me on edge...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Brad Bird, casino royale, film, Ghost Protocol, imax, Michael Nyqvist, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Movie, non-review review, pierce brosnan, review, Simon Pegg | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Quantum of Solace

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Darren

Note: I have another review of the film here, but this was written as part of “James Bond January”, after watching all 22 films in quick succession. This post is part of James Bond January, being organised by the wonderful Paragraph Films. I will have reviews of all twenty-two official Bond films going on-line over the next month, and a treat or two every once in a while.

Quantum of Solace is a strange film. In many ways, it feels more like a return to the Bond formula than its direct predecessor, and yet it feels like less of a Bond film. It isn’t a case that film takes the franchise in a new direction while retaining its core identity (as Licence to Kill did, for example), but the feeling that there’s been a fundamental shift in the series, occurring under the radar. It feels as if, though the movie can talk the talk, there’s something different in the step – it can’t quite walk the walk, unfortunately.

Don’t leave us dangling…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bond girls, British Empire, casino royale, daniel craig, films, james bond, jason bourne, Movies, non-review review, quantum, quantum of solace, review, Roger Moore, sean connery, sex, villains | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Casino Royale

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Darren

This post is part of James Bond January, being organised by the wonderful Paragraph Films. I will have reviews of all twenty-two official Bond films going on-line over the next month, and a treat or two every once in a while.

Casino Royale was breath of fresh air for the Bond franchise. The twenty-first film in the series, it represented something akin to a “back to basics” philosophy, pulling back from the camp excesses of Die Another Day to offer us a version of Bond which was a thriller rather than an action comedy. It’s a familiar pattern for low-key entries to follow over-the-top instalments (after all, the producers followed Moonraker with For Your Eyes Only), but arguably not to the same extent. While other movies made the pretense of operating within the same continuity (with numerous references, for example, to Bond’s marriage from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Casino Royale was an attempt to completely start from scratch, with a new actor playing a James Bond who was new to his 00-agent status.

What’s on the cards for Bond?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: casino royale, daniel craig, eva green, GoldenEye, james bond, james bond january, mads mikkelson, Movies, non-review review, pierce brosnan, quantum of solace, quentin tarantino, review, Roger Moore, vesper, vesper lynd | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Licence to Kill

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Darren

This post is part of James Bond January, being organised by the wonderful Paragraph Films. I will have reviews of all twenty-two official Bond films going on-line over the next month, and a treat or two every once in a while.

Licence to Kill is the Bond movie that almost killed the franchise. The gap between the release of this movie in 1989 and GoldenEye in 1995 is the longest period that the film series has been left dormant. Although the legal issues surrounding the series hardly helped ensure the British secret agent’s return to the big screen, there’s also the fact that this movie was something of a box office dud in the States. (Although it was quite successful elsewhere.) Licence to Kill is perhaps the most divisive of the Bond movies – even more so than On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Detractors see it as a poor attempt to emulate Miami Vice, indulging in ridiculously over-the-top violence and darkness for the sake of darkness. Fans argue that the movie is a lot closer to Ian Fleming’s original novels, and feels more like the recent relaunch of the franchise – it’s a perfect bedfellow with Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace. My opinion is somewhere in the middle.

Bond always uses protection in bed…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: casino royale, film, GoldenEye, ian fleming, james bond, james bond january, Licence to Kill, Movie, non-review review, pierce brosnan, review, robert davi, Roger Moore, timothy dalton, United States | 9 Comments »

Let Bond Be Bond: What We Want from Bond 23

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Darren

The 23rd Bond movie had its release date confirmed as 9th November 2012, putting an end to the perpetual development hell that it seemed trapped in. With Oscar-winner Sam Mendes in the director’s chair, there would seem to be very little to worry about, but I thought – nonetheless – I’d collect some thoughts on what I’d like to see in the 23rd instalment of the long-running film series.

Shaken... but not stirred...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bond 23, casino royale, daniel craig, films, ian fleming, james bond, jason bourne, Man With The Golden Gun, matt damon, Movies, quantum of solace, sam mendes | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Austin Powers – The Spy Who Shagged Me

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Darren

I have to admit that I’m quite fond of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Perhaps it’s the way that the film vindicated its direct predecessor – although Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery did very well on video, the sequel made more money at the box office in its opening weekend than the original film did during its entire theatrical run. Sure, watching the film one can spot the cracks developing which would completely envelop the franchise when the third film, Austin Powers: Goldmember, was released. However, while it’s probably not quite as good as the original, it’s still a damn entertaining film.

Time to put the franchise to bed...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, casino royale, Denise Richards, Fat Bastard, Heather Graham, Jay Roach, Movie, non-review review, review, Shirley Bassey, tim robbins | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: You Only Live Twice

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Darren

You Only Live Twice was my favourite when I was younger. It was energetic, witty, bright, colourful and adventurous. The stakes were ridiculously high – no less than the Third World War. Bond’s trip to Japan painted the country as an exotic wonderland to a mind as young as my own. The script was smart and the action was fast-paced – the movie still breezes along even today. The cost of the speed is that the movie is ultimately fairly light – it doesn’t carry anything particularly heavy or thought-provoking. This means that it ends up feeling relatively light-weight when measured against some of Sean Connery’s earlier outings like From Russia With Love or Goldfinger, which worked at least as much with suspense as with action.

Is Bond turning Japanese?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: blofeld, bond, casino royale, Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, ernst stavro blofeld, film, GoldenEye, Goldfinger, ian fleming, james bond, james bond january, japan, Movie, non-review review, on her majesty's secret service, oriental, quantum of solace, review, roald dahl, Roger Moore, sean connery, you only live twice | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Thunderball

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Darren

Thunderball perhaps gets a bit of a bad wrap because it’s perhaps not quite as good as From Russia With Love or Goldfinger. I’d argue that very few Bond films are. Thunderball perhaps represents the first moment that the series came to a rest – the first three installments had been built around establishing the character, his world and the tropes and clichés that viewers could expect from movie to movie. Sometimes concepts evolved gradually (for example, the novelty henchmen grew from the three blind assassins to Klebb and her knifey boots to Oddjob), while sometimes they were introduced suddenly (Bond’s Aston Martin), but by the time the fourth film came around, all these elements had been fairly firmly established. As such, the fourth film seemed to be more intent on consolidating the series than in breaking new ground. Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that.

Bond isn't washed up... yet...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aston Martin, Aston Martin DB5, casino royale, film, From Russia with Love (film), Goldfinger, james bond, james bond january, Movie, nato, non-review review, nuclear wepons, Pussy Galore, review, sean connery, spectre, thunderball | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Quantum of Solace

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Darren

It seems that the cast and crew took the entirely wrong message out of the hugely successful (commercially and critically) Casino Royale. A brilliant combination of fancy stunts and grittiness that called to mind the series’ recent challengers in the Bourne series, Royale reinvented Bond for the naughties, in much the same way as GoldenEye did for the nineties. Unfortunately, Quantum of Solace seems to be based around the assumption that the reaction to Casino Royale was based solely around the modern aspects of the film, rather than the fusion of the old with new, so Solace ends up being Royale without the knowing grin. And it’s a shame, because the knowing grin is part of what makes Bond Bond (perhaps moreso than gadgets, gizmos and world domination plots). Don’t get me wrong, the action in the sequel is nothing short of fantastic (possibly surpassing even its progenitor in the action sweepsteaks) and the movie is well put together, but it just lacks the firm sense of identity which defines the best of the Bond movies.

Bond admits he might be getting a bit old for these crazy college nights out...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bond, casino royale, daniel craig, film, ian fleming, james bond, Movie, non-review review, quantum of solace, review | 1 Comment »

My Top 50 Movies of the Decade…

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Darren

Alright here it is, my top fifty films of the decade. I’ve decided to stop complaining about Donal Clarke’s list in the Irish Times and just let rip myself. There’s more than a few crazy choices down there, but – after a week in the works – I’m happy with it. I doubt that a lot of other people will be.