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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 31, 2019 16:52:29 GMT -5
I recently discovered one of the oddest Bond-inspired heroes ever - Jayms Blonde, the hairdresser turned hero. "He's gorgeous, he's gay, he makes the bad guys pay!" Created by Robert W. Cabell, Jayms has been featured in a comic book and a novel so far: www.jaymsblonde.com/There are also gay-themed Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys pastiches: Nancy Clue and the Hardly Boys.    We used to get them for our Gay & Lesbian section. The author has also done a couple of lesbian Bond pastiche...   By all accounts, they were pretty funny and the Nancy Clue ones were pretty clean, a dn were supposed to be dead-on parodies of the style of the Nancy Drew books. They are set in the period and satirize that, with tons of cultural references. The Bond ones are set in the 60s. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 31, 2019 17:59:02 GMT -5
A View to a Kill
His name is Old, Very Old!
Starring Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, Patrick MacNee, Walter Gotell, Alison Doody, and Fiona Fullerton.
Released in May, 1985.
In the teaser, Bond is sent to Siberia, to recover something from the body of 003. It's a microchip and it is a Russian copy of one, made under government contract, by Zorin Industries. Bond, M and Moneypenny go to Ascot, to observe Zorin. His horse, an underdog, has an amazing last minute sprint and wins. Sir Geoffrey Tibbett, a trainer and MI-6 agent believes there was a fix. He puts Bond in touch with a French private investigator, who has been watching Zorrin. the man is murdered and Bond Chases the assassin, who leaps off the Eiffel Tower and parachutes to the Seine. Bond attends a horse sale, at Zorrin's French Chateau, with Tibbett disguised as his valte. Bond spots Zorrin paying off an American woman, to the tune of $5 million. He alse meets Mayday, Zorrin's assistant, who was the assassin. Tibbett finds a hidden lab, where adrenaline injectors have been secreted into the horse, set off by a control in the jockey's crop. Tibbett is murdered and Bond barely escapes. Zorrin is seen being berated by Gen Gogol, of the KGB. Turns out, Zorrin was trained and outfitted by the KGB, but went rogue.
Zorrin addresses a group of investors about his new project, Mainstrike, which will target Silicone Valley. Bond travels to San Francisco, tracing the woman who was paid by Zorrin. She is Stacy Sutton, a geologist whose family oil business Zorrin was trying to buy. Sutton is trying to hang on to her family house and Zorrin has been trying to get the family property. Bond helps drive off some goons and meets with a CIA contact. He investigates a well, where he runs into a KGB agent, of his acquaintance, whose partner is murdered. Bond's contact is also killed. Bond and Stacy go to City Hall to investigate Zorrin's project plans, where Zorrin spots them and frames Bond for the murder of Stacy's boos, then sets fire to City Hall. Bond and Stacy escape, but must flee, when the police attempt to arrest them. They steal a hook-and-ladder truck and get away. They then go out to Zorrin's site to nose around and discover huge amounts of explosive are being loaded into a mine. Zorrin plans to set them off, triggering earthquakes, which will destroy the Silicone Valley area. Zorrin kills the workers and leaves one of Mayday's friends to die. Bond and Stacy help them escape, while Mayday turns face and moves the bomb to a safer area, where it explodes, killing her. Zorrin grabs Sutton and Bond chases after him, hanging off the mooring line for his blimp. Zorrin tries to shake him off and Bond manages to secure the blimp to the Golden Gate Bridge. Bond and Zorrin fight on the bridge, before Zorrin falls to his death. Bond and Stacy play in the shower, as Q's snooper robot comes in and catches them.
When most reviewers and critics rate the Roger Moore Bond films, this one and Moonraker are usually at the bottom of the list. The film has moments; but, Moore is ridiculously old to be playing master agent Bond. Even Moore felt he was past it; but, once again, the dumptruck of money put those concerns aside, as Broccoli was reluctant to hunt for a new Bond, vs banking on a known commodity. The plot had no background in the Bond novels and seems rather mundane, for a Bond film. More was even older than Tanya Roberts' mother and their being paired as a couple looks rather tacky. It isn't helped by the fact that Tanya Roberts was a pretty bland actress, with a squeaky voice. She was the final nail in the Charlies Angels closet and was box office poison, appearing in a string of duds (Body Slam, Sheena, Hearts & Armor).
Originally, David Bowie was announced to play Zorrin; but, backed out, when he saw how little he would do, vs stuntmen. Sting also passed on the role, before it was offered to Christopher Walken. Walken plays his usual bizarre psychotic; but, he chews scenery in a way that seems less than past villains. Grace Jones, as Mayday, looks great; but is an even worse actress than Roberts. Keeper her dialogue to a minimum helps; but, if they had let her be more like she was in Conan the Destroyer, it would have been more fun. She does help the villain side, though.
Bond doesn't even get Felix Leiter; his contact is Chuck Lee, played by David Yip, to little point, other than to be murdered. patrick MacNee, the third member of the Avengers to appear in a Bond film, gets even less than he deserves, though he and Moore get to have a bit of fun together (Moore was doing the Saint at the same studio where the Avengers filmed and he and MacNee were old friends). MacNee's character seems less worthy of Steed, than Tracy or Pussy Galore did of Emma Peel and Cathy Gale. Poor Linda Thorson never even got to be an extra in a Bond films (Joanna Lumley had a small role, as one of the women at the clinic, in OHMSS).
Dolph Lundgren has a tiny cameo as one of Gogol's bodyguards. He was dating Grace Jones and was on set and they asked if he wanted to be in a scene.
It is obvious that the script was churned out in committee and more concern was made for stunts than plot and director John Glen only talked about stunt scenes, in the documentary feature, on the dvd. His films tended to be light on character and bigger on action, as he started out as an editor and second unit director (who usually handle stunts). he directed every Bond film, from FYEO through License To Kill, with the first being by far the best (as it had the most plot and character development).
One of the stunt parachutists ended up getting fired for an unauthorized jump off the Eiffel Tower. The unit had permission to film a stunt; but, got it on the first take and the back-up jumper wasn't needed. he and another parachutist decided to do it clandestinely, which POd French authorities. They were summarily fired and barred from working on the film series, ever again.
Title song was done by duran duran, who shot a music video with themselves interspersed with scenes from the film, in a pseudo-spy thriller. The song became the only Number One Bond theme song on the Billboard charts.
Ultimately, this is a very mixed and rather weak entry, which performed lower at the box office. Moore retired (he said, Broccoli said he was put out to pasture, though I tend to buy moore's version more, as Broccoli was notorious for his spinning in interviews, shifting blame for bad scripts and lackluster directing to the actors). Now, the search was on for the first new James Bond in 12 years (though there had been tests when they were renegotiating Moore's deals, after his initial contract was up. Broccoli always blinked and paid Moore what he wanted, to return).
The original "A View To A Kill" was featured in the For Your Eyes Only short story collection. It features a series of murders of dispatch riders. Blond sets up a fake run to flush out the killer. Only the title was used.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 31, 2019 18:39:02 GMT -5
Living Daylights
Starring Timothy Dalton, Maryam D'Abo, Jeroen Krabbe, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Walter Gotell, Art Malik, Andreas Wisniewski, and John Terry.
released June 1987.
During a training exercise in Gibraltar, a 00 is murdered and a note says Smiert Spionam. After, Bond is assigned to act as sniper cover for a defection operation that will get KGB General Georgi Koskov out of East Berlin. He spots a KGB sniper, who turns out to be the woman cellist he saw at a concert, where they observed Koskov, before he makes his break. They get Koskov out, via the Russian oil pipeline and to the UK. There, he is kidnapped by a man called Necros, who kills several agents, before Bond can get there. Bond is sent to hunt down Koskov and starts with the cellist. He tracks her to Czechoslovakia and leads her to believe he is there to bring her to Koskov, her lover. She is not a trained sniper and Bond smells a rat. he gets the girl out and they end up in Vienna. There, Bond's contact is killed and Bond believes Gen Pushkin, new head of the KGB is behind it, based on info given by Koskov, before his abduction. While this goes on, Pushkin meets with arms dealer Brad Whitaker in Tangiers and cancels an order. Bond and Kara, the cellist, head for Tangiers and Bond confronts Pushkin, who reveals Koskov was being investigated for embezzlement. Bond fakes Pushkin's death. Kara makes contact with Koskov, who leads her to believe that Bond is KGB. She helps him drug Bond and they are taken as captives, to Afghanistan and jailed on a Soviet air base. Bond escapes when the mujahadeen attack and get help from their leader, who studied in the UK. they discover that Whittaker is selling arms to the mujahadeen, in exchange for raw opium, to be refined into heroin. Bond gets on the plane and fights with Necros. Bond and Necros fight, hanging from a cargo net, out the back of a C-130 Hercules cargo plane. Bond gets inside and gets Kara out, before the plane crashes and they get to safety. Bond takes out Whittaker, with the help of Pushkin's men, who then arrest Koskov.
With Roger Moore's retirement, the search was on for the next Bond. the leading candidate was Pierce brosnan, who had been playing a Bond-like character, on the tv detective series, Remington Steele. When producers met him, during the filming of FYEO, they took a liking to him and kept him in mind. When the tv series was cancelled, they approached him about playing the part and he was signed to a deal. Then, based on the publicity of the announcement, NBC exercised their option and put out an order for more episodes, holding Brosnan to his contract. Eon severed their deal and 5 more episodes aired, before the series was cancelled, ruining Brosnan's chances of being Bond. In the end, Timothy Dalton was signed to the role, after being scouted back in the days of OHMSS, where he felt he was too young. Dalton was filming Brenda Starr (uggghhhh.....) and at first couldn't do the part; but, delays with the brosnan gig led to him becoming available and he was signed. Also, moneypenny was recast with Caroline Bliss, who joined the returning Robert Brown, as M, and Geoffrey Keene as Minister of Defense Sir Frederick Grey. Walter Gotell returns as Gen. Gogol, who was supposed to be the one set up by Koskov; but, was ill and Rhys-Davies was signed to replace him, as Pushkin (note the use of classic Russian writers for the two characters). Gotell made a cameo, at the end of the film, with Frederick Grey telling Kara that Gogol is now with their diplomatic service and has arranged for her to be able to travel the west for concerts, as a reward for her help in exposing Koskov. Jeroen Krabbe was made famous in Paul Verhoeven's Dutch films, including Soldier of Orange and the Fourth Man. he brought a great gusto to Koskov, making him equally likeable and slimy.
Maryam D'Abo had tried out for the KGB agent, in View to a Kill, which went to Fiona Fullerton. Here, she got to be the female lead. Ina change of the times, she was to be Bond's only love interest (though he does meet a woman on a yacht,at the end of the teaser sequence). Because if the AIDS Epidemic, it was decided to portray Bond as monogamous, though they stopped short of references to safe sex. Dalton does play the part more romantically, for which he was better suited than his predecessors.
Dalton read some of the Bond novels and made a conscious decision to emulate the Bond that Fleming wrote, rather than how the character had been portrayed on screen. the Bond of the novels is colder, more guarded with women. he is also more serious and deadly, when on a mission. To Bond purists, this was a welcome change, though film fans saw him as less of a fantasy figure because of it. Sadly, the two scripts he got did not give him much to work with, as both were cobbled together from bits of Bond writings and stunt sequences. Daylights is the better of the two, though both suffer, badly, from weak villains. Koskoff is too weaselly to be the main villain and Joe Don baker's character is too much the blustering buffoon. Personally, it was hard to buy Buford Pusser as a deadly Bond villain, especially after being exposed as a fraud, earlier in the film. Bond villains need to be larger than life.
Dalton acquits himself well and there are far more positives than negatives. He has great chemistry with D'Abo and Krabbe makes for an entertaining character. The basic plot is pretty good and stunts are more in service to the plot, rather than scenes cobbled together to link stunt sequences.
The title song was done by Norwegian pop band A-ha, of "Take on Me" fame. The film was also John Barry's last time scoring the Bond series.
All in all, a good film that suggested the series was on the right track, until the next entry.
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 31, 2019 18:53:27 GMT -5
I had never heard of Dalton before, but was very impressed by his rendition of Bond. Too bad he didn’t get to do more than two Bond movies (unless one counts the Looney Tunes one in which he basically plays an aging 007).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2019 21:03:59 GMT -5
A View to a Kill is my least favorite Roger Moore 007 Film and arguably that movie should had done better. Moore was 58 years old in that movie. Tanya Roberts was 30 years old and Moore was literally twice the AGE of his Bond Girl and that alone made this film downright idiotical.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 31, 2019 22:35:18 GMT -5
I had never heard of Dalton before, but was very impressed by his rendition of Bond. Too bad he didn’t get to do more than two Bond movies (unless one counts the Looney Tunes one in which he basically plays an aging 007). Whaaaaaa? You missed Flash Gordon? You mist the awesomeness that was Dalton with 'tache?  I had also seen Cromwell, when I was young.........  |
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 1, 2019 7:00:27 GMT -5
I had never heard of Dalton before, but was very impressed by his rendition of Bond. Too bad he didn’t get to do more than two Bond movies (unless one counts the Looney Tunes one in which he basically plays an aging 007). Whaaaaaa? You missed Flash Gordon? You mist the awesomeness that was Dalton with 'tache? I had also seen Cromwell, when I was young......... Alas, yes... All I knew about the Flash Gordon movie until I finally saw it on TV ten years later was that its theme song was sung by Queen (a band in which a singer named after a planet also had a great moustache). |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 1, 2019 18:23:53 GMT -5
As Edgar Wright put it, in the Hot Fuzz commentary, "Dalton + 'tache = Gold!"
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 1, 2019 19:32:59 GMT -5
License to Kill
Starring Timothy Dalton, Cary Lowell, Robert Davi, Benicio Del Toro, Talisa Soto, David Hedison, Pamela Barnes, Don Stroud, Wayne newton, Everett McGill, Anthony Zerbe, and Pedro Armendariz Jr.
Released June 1989.
Felix Leiter gets married and James Bond is the bet man. The wedding is interrupted by DEA agents who need Leiter & Bond's help in nabbing drug lord Frank Sanchez. They snatch him and return for the wedding. Sanchez escapes from jail, with the help of a crooked DEA man and murders Leiter's bride and feeds him to a shark, though he survives. Bond is warned off from going after Sanchez, by M, and goes rogue. Bond goes after Sanchez's accomplish, destroying a drug deal, to draw him out. He meets Pam Bouvier, who had been working for Leiter. They travel to the Republic of Isthmus, a puppet dictatorship that Sanchez controls. He offers his services as a killer and bodyguard and works his way inside, though Sanchez is suspicious. Some Hong Kong narcotics officers stop him from killing Sanchez and abduct him for MI-6. He is rescued by Sanchez's men, which gets him in more solid territory. He frames Sanchez's aaly, Krest, then is taken to Sanchez's operation. Bond sabotages the operation and gets caught, dumped on a conveyor to a pulverizer. He escapes and chases after Sanchez, on tractor-trailer rigs, with a big explosion, then romances Pam Bouvier. Oh, Q helps him with some gear, under cover.
The story was directed into more realistic and harder territory, to match Dalton's approach to the character and they cherry-picked elements from the short story "The Hildebrand rarity" and Live and Let Die (the novel). In that novel, Felix Leiter is fed to a shark, by Mr Big's men, with a note that says "He disagreed with something that ate him." Everything else is pretty much a glorified Miami Vice episode, on a feature budget. While Bond seeking revenge and going rogue (the original title was License Revoked but was changed before release); however, Bond taking down a drug lord should take about 20 minutes of screen time. It's like using Delta Force to arrest moonshiners; it's overkill. They use the Yojimbo plot of the protagonist setting two sides against each other; but, it never really comes off that well. One of the biggest weaknesses is Robert Davi, as the villain. He's just not not up to it. Meanwhile, benicio Del Toro is playing his henchman, when he should be the lead, though he was relatively unknown. Everett McGill was wooden as a plank (never thought much of his acting); but, it killed off quickly. Don Stroud is another who is a decent, if unspectacular actor (Anthony Zerbe, too), who just seems to be there because they went cheaper. It really feels like a tv show, with a feature budget, that isn't turning up on screen, except for stunts. The scripts had been done by committee, for years, and stunts were taking precedent over plot. Sometimes its kept balanced; here, it wasn't.
On the plus side, Pamela Barnes makes you care about her in just a couple of scenes and you feel the emotion when she is found dead, especially as she treads on Bond's marital past. Del Toro is great as a psychotic killer and really helps the villain side. Wayne Newton is silly; but, entertaining. Cary Lowell was another model turned actress, but does a decent job, after settling into the role. Talisa Soto is not given much to do; but, handles her part well. The revenge angle works as a plot device; but, the complications in Isthmus just don't carry it out well. Dalton is great and his interpretation of Bond really works well, especially when he reacts to Pamela Barnes faux pas, about marriage. In Dalton, you can see the pain of losing Tracy that you never got from Connery (in Diamonds) or Moore (ever, but especially in Spy and FYEO).
The title song was done by Gladys Knight and was not especially memorable, but not horrible, either. It was just kind of a meaningless song, sung by an excellent performer; but without great commitment to it.
Really, the biggest problem with the film is that it felt like every other late 80s action film. The score was from Michael Kamen, who did Lethal Weapon and Die Hard and you just had that feeling that this was just another action film, not a Bond film.
The Bond franchise was supposed to continue, with Dalton (he had a 3 film deal); but, a sale of MGM and attempts to sell cheap international tv rights for their properties led to a lawsuit from Eaon, which derailed the series until the latter part of the 90s. By that point, Dalton walked away and the search was on for a new Bond; but, they didn't have to go far. Their legal hassles proved to be a second chance for Pierce Brosnan.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 1, 2019 19:42:46 GMT -5
Although it apparently did well enough, I was disappointed by License to Kill. Bond going rogue was an idea filled with potential, but it was barely used at all in the film... Upon being told not to try to avenge Felix, he punches a few British agents and runs away, and then gets to do what he always does (with Q’s help, too). I would have wanted him to be caught between the hammer of MI-6 and the anvil of the crime lord’s organization, but the British just let him be until his unofficial mission was accomplished, and gave him his job back.The phony preacher and his new age Club Med were also kind of embarrassing.
A more serious approach to the series was a welcome move, but the first act was so soaked in despair (with the girl from Three’s Company being murdered and Felix being horribly mutilated) that I found it hard to enjoy it. Even the catharsis of seeing the villain pay for his misdeeds was not enough to balance the scales.
Still, Dalton was one heck of a Bond (even without a moustache!)
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 1, 2019 19:58:07 GMT -5
In a podcast discussion or one of his columns (or both) Greg Hatcher suggested imagining if Dalton had starred in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. That would have been tremendous, with that script, a much better director , a tremendous cast and a romance. Dalton would have killed that film and would have been sensational with Diana Rigg.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2019 22:23:40 GMT -5
In a podcast discussion or one of his columns (or both) Greg Hatcher suggested imagining if Dalton had starred in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. That would have been tremendous, with that script, a much better director , a tremendous cast and a romance. Dalton would have killed that film and would have been sensational with Diana Rigg. I'm shocked to read this ... and seriously I'm surprised to read that he'll be great with Diana Rigg. I'm not complaining at all and I thought Lazenby did a good job as 007. Timothy Dalton to me doesn't appears to me as a James Bond and I just find him difficult to accept as 007. Dalton and Rigg ... this pairing would be interesting and I really do not know him that well and the only films outside of 007 that I seen was Flash Gordon and Brenda Starr. Bond from Best to WorstConnery Lazenby Moore
Brosnan
Dalton Craig The italics Bonds are difficult to place in order but I still think Moore should be on top because of his performance in Spy Who Loved Me. Brosnan as I get older, gotten worse and I just have a hard time enjoying him; Dalton 2nd film was okay but his performance in Living Daylights was kind of spotty with some brilliance here and there. His Bond Girls are pretty much not my cup of tea. I just have a hard time enjoying Dalton, Brosnan, and Moore. They all have their moments ... but Moore come out on top. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 1, 2019 23:28:55 GMT -5
The thing is, Dalton was far closer to Ian Fleming's Bond than anyone else and On Her Majesty's Secret Service is, by far, the best novel. Bond is the closest to being a fully rounded figure in it. Dalton is a tremendous actor, who was saddled with so-so scripts and too many cooks and mediocre directors, within the franchise. Even so, he did a great job of reviving the character for a lot of the audience who were tired of the Moore films, even though we liked Moore. It was just formulaic and lazy and he was too old to be a convincing field agent. Dalton also brought a humanity to things that brought the series back to a sense of reality that really paved the way for Daniel Craig.
I'm not saying Lazenby was bad in OHMSS; I've always championed the idea that he was more believable as Bond than Roger Moore. However, I think a script, a cast, and a story like that one really played to Dalton's strengths, unlike the ones he got to actually play.
If you want to see Dalton, check out Cromwell, The Lion in Winter, The Rocketeer, Hot Fuzz, Wuthering Heights, Scarlett, Mary Queen of Scots. By all accounts, his stage work was impressive, with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He and Rigg would have been perfect together, with their theatrical backgrounds, their looks, their serious approaches, their charisma.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2019 0:42:19 GMT -5
I have seen Rocketeer and he was good, but not great in that movie ... but it was entertaining. Cody, because of my hearing ... I just can't enjoy Stage Work at all and I just don't do anything with Broadway, Theatrical, and all that. Sorry, and most of the British Stuff these days without the Closed Captioning ... I just can't enjoy any of it. Sorry about that.
I tried Wuthering Heights a couple of times and got lost in the shuffle and did not enjoy it at all.
My bad hearing sucks a joy out of entertainment options ... Sad.
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Post by String on Sept 2, 2019 15:56:31 GMT -5
The film's teaser sequence has Bond visiting the grave of Tracy, which, for some reason, is in England, rather than in her home country. Bond places roses on her grave, then is interrupted by a priest who says there is a message for him and that a helicopter has been dispatched to pick him up. The pilot is electrocuted, while in the air and the chopper is remotely controlled by a bald man, in a wheel chair. Bond regains control of the chopper and scoops up the bald man and dumps him into a smokestack, killing him. It is implied that the man is Blofeld, and the actor is voiced by Robert Rietti, who dubbed Aldolfo Celi, in Thunderball, and tetsuro Tamba, in YOLT. The character of Blofeld could not be used, as it was owned in the Thunderball rights, by Kevin McClory, who was attempting to make his own Bond film, with the title Warhead. The scene loses any sense of drama when Moore starts making jokes and he treats the revenge killing of the man who murdered his only wife as a comedy moment, which is not how Bond should be. It is really the only misstep in the production, as the comedy is used where it is appropriate, for the rest of the film. A fair and right point but by now at this spot in the franchise, that's what you expect from Moore's Bond. We aren't going to get any of Connery's cold brutality of dealing with his wife's killer not should we expect any as an audience since we had grown accustomed to Moore's lighthearted aspects and comedy for the character. Based on the superb way Lazenby played that death scene (not to mention the strength of their relationship via Rigg's amazing performance), I'd rather they never referenced it again especially in this comical teaser. Another nitpick I have from Moore's films: unless I'm mistaken, the Minister of Defence started being present during Bond's meetings with M during Moore's run and lasted only that long. I never liked his inclusion and never really understood why he was necessary at all in those scenes. |
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