Movies | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: GoldenEye

Posted on January 24, 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.

GoldenEye saved James Bond. Bond had wallowed in obscurity for six years by the time that Pierce Brosnan’s first appearance in the role was released. As a kid, James Bond was something that was dead to me. Sure, it came on television from time to time (mostly on holidays) and they filled up a shelf at the videostore, but I always felt like they were something that had happened in the past – like the original Star Wars movies, or any Star Trek films featuring Captain Kirk. Even though I lacked the sophistication to articulate it at the time, I think I felt that the entire James Bond franchise would be reruns for me. There was nothing new happening.

And then GoldenEye was released.

Brosnan is Bond...

And it meant business.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 006, alan cumming, alec travelyn, bond, Cold War, famke janssen, films, GoldenEye, jack wade, james bond, james bond january, joe don baker, martin campbell, Movies, non-review review, pierce brosnan, revenge, review, sean bean, sean connery, Soviet Union, Tina Turner, Wii, xenia onatopp | 12 Comments »

The Very British Mr. Bond: The Habits of Empire & The American Fixation on Bond

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Darren

James Bond is a peculiarly British phenomenon. He’s a charmingly debonaire socialite with great taste in women and suits, but also a coldly professional killer. I’ve had debates on him where I’ve classified him as a gentleman, a sociopath, a sexist, a piece of nostalgia in a tuxedo, one of the last true cinematic heroes and the very distillation of cinematic class – sometimes within the context of the same argument. Why is Bond so fascinating? What makes him so gripping? Is it perhaps the fact that Bond is, in all his personas, so incredibly British?

Is he mostly armless?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: angelina jolie, Atlantic Ocean, brad pitt, British Empire, daniel craig, england, Falklands War, films, james bond, james bond january, Movies, nostalgia, sam mendes, the queen | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Mission Impossible

Posted on January 22, 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.

I can understand you’re very upset.

Kitrich, you’ve never seen me very upset.

Tom Cruise really wants to be James Bond. I mean, I think that’s the driving force behind the Mission: Impossible films, an attempt to construct an American James Bond franchise around the character of Ethan Hunt – they certainly aren’t the biggest of the blockbuster movies, and yet Cruise has used his influence to produce a trilogy of films (with a fourth one in the works). Between that and Knight & Day, I think the role of a globe-trotting secret agent action hero just appeals to the actor. I think he pretty much wants to be an American James Bond and – truth be told – I think he’s a great candidate for it.

Just hangin' out...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Brian dePalma, ethan hunt, films, imf, impossible mission force, mission: impossible, Movies, non-review review, review, tom cruise, your mission | 2 Comments »

Is 300 Racist? A Counter-Argument…

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Darren

I know that we’re officially about five years past this discussion, but I was thinking about it lately. 300, as imagined by Zack Snyder and Frank Miller, gets a lot of slack for its perceived Islamophobia and racism towards Persians (modern-day Iranians). There’s a rather excellent article here outlining one perspective, which makes the argument that it’s a fundamentally racist film. I sat down and I watched it, and I kept the ideas in mind, and I jotted down some thoughts. it should be noted that I’m just a layman, I’m an expert or a professor in film or literature, but it seemed to me that a lot of the critics were taking the film far too seriously at face value.

I'd want to make this argument on sure footing...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 300, 300 (film), avatar: the last airbender, dark knight strikes again, film, frank miller, graphic novels, iran, is 300 racist, islamophobia, media, media studies, Movies, persia, propaganda, race relations, racism, social media, Sparta, Spartan army, Spartans, zack snyder | 65 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Living Daylights

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Darren

The Living Daylights is a forgotten Bond film, sitting as it does between the twin “duds” of A View to a Kill and Licence to Kill (although I am not quite as critical of those films as most). It’s the first of the Bond films to feature Timothy Dalton, taking over from Roger Moore – who by this stage seemed as likely to be getting a free bus pass as he was to foil enemy spies. Although the word didn’t quite exist in media circles when the movie originally came out, there’s a strong smell of “reboot” about the film, as if the powers behind the scenes are attempting to consciously remodel the franchise in the wake of a disappointing previous film. Though not quite as obvious (or as far-reaching) as subsequent reboots in GoldenEye and Casino Royale, The Living Daylights isn’t a bad Bond film – it’s just a really poorly dated one.

Tim, you scared the Living Daylights out of me…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: A View to a Kill, afghanistan, bond, Caroline Bliss, defectors, films, GoldenEye, james bond, james bond january, kara, Living Daylights, Movies, non-review review, pierce brosnan, review, Roger Moore, Soviet Union, taliban, the living daylights, timothy dalton, ussr | 15 Comments »

The Cat’s Out of the Bag: Catwoman and Bane Confirmed as Villains of The Dark Knight Rises (Batman 3)

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Darren

Read our in-depth review of the film here.

Yesterday was a big day for fans of superhero cinema. Along with photos from X-Men: First Class (and an interview with Kevin Bacon which suggests he’s having a lot of fun, so I likely will too), Warner Brothers released some more photos of Green Lantern and a little bit of news concerning The Dark Knight Rises. Tom Hardy will be playing the steroid-fueled villain Bane, while Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman. I’ll just let that sink in.

“Tell me who the villains are!”

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: anne hathaway, bane, batman, batman forever, catwoman, Christopher Nolan, films, Harley Quinn, Movies, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, tom hardy, Warner Brothers | 18 Comments »

On Second Thoughts Re-View Review: The Town (Extended Cut)

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Darren

Sometimes when I see a movie a second time, I see a little bit more. Sometimes it’s watching an alternate cut or something, but it can be as simple as watching the movie a second time and knowing how it’ll end the whole way through. So I thought I’d try something new. I’d make notes on what I thought of certain films when I saw them a second time – let’s call it a “re-view review”, eh? Maybe they’ll become a semi-regular fixture.

When I first caught The Town, I admitted to being a bit disappointed with it. It was a good film, but it wasn’t quite as consistently brilliant as many people had led to me to believe. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed it (get more of my thoughts on it by checking out the review) but it just seemed like something was missing from the film, even if I didn’t know what. So, when dad returned from the video shop with it on Friday, we all sat down to watch the special “extended cut” of Ben Affleck’s film. And I absolutely loved it.

Hamming it up a notch...

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Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: al pacino, arts, ben affleck, boston, Federal Bureau of Investigation, films, heat, John Hamm, michael mann, Movies, re-view review, robert deniro, the town, Town | 17 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Moonraker

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Darren

James Bond has always been susceptible to trends. Be it a nod to the kung-fu craze of the late seventies in The Man With The Golden Gun or the more modern focus on the Bourne film series in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, the film series has always been aware of popular tastes. While certain unions might seem a little eccentric (the fusion of the series with Miami Vice to produce Licence to Kill), there’s probably not a more bizarre blend than the attempt to emulate the success of the original Star Wars films within the framework of a film franchise based around a suave British spy.

Roger Moore’s hanging on in there…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: dolly, films, holly goodhead, Hugo Drax, james bond, james bond january, jaws, moonraker, Movies, non-review review, review, reviews, Roger Moore | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Spy Who Loved Me

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Darren

The Spy Who Loved Me was just what Bond needed after The Man With The Golden Gun. Let’s be honest here, the movie has perhaps the strongest and most iconic opening sequence of any Bond movie – even those who haven’t seen the film know the beats off by heart. Bond is skiing, escaping a Russian ambush in the snow. He’s giving as good as he gets, but he’s cornered – out numbered and outgunned. In a moment of desperation, Bond flees his attackers, skiing off the side of a cliff.

It’s a cliffhanger…

For a moment, there is nothing but silence. As the stunt man tumbles through the air, the music stops cold. It’s not just the audience holding their breath as they watch Bond enter free fall. Is this it for our illustrious secret agent? You know it can’t be more than a couple of seconds, but it seems to last an eternity. And then…

And then…

The Bond music kicks into gear as the parachute opens – a Union flag. And then the opening beats of Nobody Does It Better sound in the background as Bond makes good his escape. Let’s face it, the movie could end there and it would be the best thing to happen to Bond since Sean Connery left.

Nobody does it better…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anya Amasova, barbara bach, bond, Bonds, films, GoldenEye, james bond, james bond january, List of James Bond villains, Man With The Golden Gun, Movies, nobody does it better, non-review review, review, sean connery, Spy Who Loved Me, the spy who loved me | 2 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.