What I'm watching

Hi all, this tumblr mainly exists as a way of tracking all the movies I've been watching and some of the initial thoughts, and general feelings, I've had about them.

5/5 - Fantastic movies; movies which need to be seen and enjoyed by everyone.

4/5 - Movies which are very good but don’t have that spark which compels you to make others watch them as well.

3/5 - Average movies; watchable and enjoyable, but nothing which elevates them higher. The baseline all movies are given before watching.

2/5 - Can be watched but really bland and forgettable.

1/5 - Minimal to no reason to watch these films. It may have some redeeming factors e.g. it’s so bad it’s good or there’s one character that’s awesome enough to make it not a total waste of time.

0/5- Total waste of time. Nothing redeemable about these films.

As with every review blog/site, this is all my own personal opinion so feel free to take everything with a grain of salt.

Also I'm Scottish so all reviews will be in UK English. Get used to theatre, colour and words ending in -ised.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

How I rank the James Bond Movies #1 Goldfinger 5/5 #2 From Russia With Love 5/5 (These two are basically joint first. Goldfinger is a better Bond film while FRWL is a better film overall) #3 The Spy Who Loved Me 4.5/5 #4 Goldeneye 4.5/5 #5 Casino Royale 4.5/5 (This would be #16 If taken purely as a Bond film rather than a really good action film) #6 The Living Daylights 4/5 #7 You Only Live Twice 3.5/5 #8 Tomorrow Never Dies 3.5/5 #9 Live And Let Die 3.5/5 #10 Licence To Kill 3.5/5 #11 Moonraker 3/5 #12 The Man With The Golden Gun 3/5 #13 The World Is Not Enough 2.5/5 #14 Dr No 2.5/5 #15 Thunderball 2.5/5 #16 For Your Eyes Only 2/5 #17 Diamonds Are Forever 2/5 #18 Quantum of Solace 1.5/5 #19 View To A Kill 1/5 #20 Die Another Day 1/5 #21 Octopussy 1/5 #22 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 0.5/5

How I rank the James Bond Movies

#1 Goldfinger 5/5

#2 From Russia With Love 5/5

(These two are basically joint first. Goldfinger is a better Bond film while FRWL is a better film overall)

#3 The Spy Who Loved Me 4.5/5

#4 Goldeneye 4.5/5

#5 Casino Royale 4.5/5 (This would be #16 If taken purely as a Bond film rather than a really good action film)

#6 The Living Daylights 4/5

#7 You Only Live Twice 3.5/5

#8 Tomorrow Never Dies 3.5/5

#9 Live And Let Die 3.5/5

#10 Licence To Kill 3.5/5

#11 Moonraker 3/5

#12 The Man With The Golden Gun 3/5

#13 The World Is Not Enough 2.5/5

#14 Dr No 2.5/5

#15 Thunderball 2.5/5

#16 For Your Eyes Only 2/5

#17 Diamonds Are Forever 2/5

#18 Quantum of Solace 1.5/5

#19 View To A Kill 1/5

#20 Die Another Day 1/5

#21 Octopussy 1/5

#22 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 0.5/5

Order in which I rank the James Bonds #1 Sean Connery (Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever) - The first and the best. #2 Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day) - Made Bond fun again after the seriousness of the late 80’s. #3 Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill) - A little bit too intense in the role but what the series needed after the descent into comedy with Moore. #4 Roger Moore (Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill) - A different type of Bond but enjoyable all the same. Stayed with the series to long however. Should have stopped after FYEO. #5 Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, signed on to do Bond 23 and Bond 24) - Good actor but trying to make Bond too real. Bond needs a touch of the extreme and the fanciful to work properly. To much of a thug. #6 George Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) - Bland Bond in a Bland film. Glad he only did one.

Order in which I rank the James Bonds

#1 Sean Connery (Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever) - The first and the best.

#2 Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day) - Made Bond fun again after the seriousness of the late 80’s.

#3 Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill) - A little bit too intense in the role but what the series needed after the descent into comedy with Moore.

#4 Roger Moore (Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill) - A different type of Bond but enjoyable all the same. Stayed with the series to long however. Should have stopped after FYEO.

#5 Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, signed on to do Bond 23 and Bond 24) - Good actor but trying to make Bond too real. Bond needs a touch of the extreme and the fanciful to work properly. To much of a thug.

#6 George Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) - Bland Bond in a Bland film. Glad he only did one.

This would be the last time we see Blofeld or have any links to SPECTRE in a James Bond film. Blofeld isn’t named or his face shown in this film due to on going legal matters with Ian Fleming’s co-author on an original Thunderball screenplay Kevin McClory. The problems with McClory and United Artists are almost as long as the Bond series itself and quite interesting to read about if you want some further back story. It is because of this dispute that Never Say Never Again would eventually be made in 1983 (the same year as Octopussy) and why it’s just another interpretation of Thunderball. This scene also gave us some of the oddest lines in the series “I’ll buy you a delicatessen Mr Bond….in stainless steel”. Maybe Blofeld is the only one that knows of Bond’s long held dream of owning a restaurant.

This would be the last time we see Blofeld or have any links to SPECTRE in a James Bond film. Blofeld isn’t named or his face shown in this film due to on going legal matters with Ian Fleming’s co-author on an original Thunderball screenplay Kevin McClory.

The problems with McClory and United Artists are almost as long as the Bond series itself and quite interesting to read about if you want some further back story. It is because of this dispute that Never Say Never Again would eventually be made in 1983 (the same year as Octopussy) and why it’s just another interpretation of Thunderball.

This scene also gave us some of the oddest lines in the series “I’ll buy you a delicatessen Mr Bond….in stainless steel”. Maybe Blofeld is the only one that knows of Bond’s long held dream of owning a restaurant.

Initial unsure if Roger Moore would return to the role for another film, the writers of FYEO wrote this pre-title sequence, in which Bond lays flowers on his wife’s grave, in order to cement the idea that a new actor in the role would be connected to the past. Eventually it turned out Moore would return but this sequence was kept anyway.

Initial unsure if Roger Moore would return to the role for another film, the writers of FYEO wrote this pre-title sequence, in which Bond lays flowers on his wife’s grave, in order to cement the idea that a new actor in the role would be connected to the past. Eventually it turned out Moore would return but this sequence was kept anyway.

#107 For Your Eyes Only (Rewatch) After one of the British spy ships is taken down by an old WWII mine in Greece the race is on for the British to recapture their ATAC device before the Soviets can. A British archaeologist is set the task of discreetly finding the wreckage but he and his wife are killed before anything can be unearthed. With time being of the essence, MI6 decides to send in Bond (Roger Moore) and with the help of the couples daughter Melina (Carole Bouquet) begins the hunt.  After Moonraker, it was felt that Bond should return more to his roots this time around. As such this film focuses more on a simpler spy thriller than saving the world and significantly tones down the gadgets and cars. This is the film I consider the tipping point for Moore in the role of Bond. Although older than Connery in even his first outing as Bond he looked significantly younger throughout his first 4 films. Here his age is beginning to show and it’s becoming weirder and weirder to see him bedding the women he does (especially with the level of infatuation Bibi (Lynn-Holly Johnson) shows him (he was 54 during filming) and then later considers the villain Kristatos (Julian Glover) much to old for her (he was 46 during filming)). Kristatos, while not the most interesting of villains, did play the duel role of trusted ally/double agent rather well. Both he and Milos Columbo (Chaim Topol) each excelled as being both good and evil at different points in the film. Bouquet as Melina was both beautiful and correct for the role but overall a largely uninteresting Bond girl. Her desire for revenge on her parents killers seems almost tacked on in places and she’s just there for the ride because we are expected to have a main Bond girl doing that. The stunt work and locations are where this film really shines however. The mountain monastery at St Cyril’s and the whole final lead up, especially the tension filled scene when Bond is dropped off the cliff, are the best parts of the film. Additionally, the underwater dragging scene over shark infested waters with sharp coral beneath, also makes for an exciting action sequence. It has its moments but nothing really spectacular compared with the rest of the series. 2/5

#107 For Your Eyes Only

(Rewatch)

After one of the British spy ships is taken down by an old WWII mine in Greece the race is on for the British to recapture their ATAC device before the Soviets can. A British archaeologist is set the task of discreetly finding the wreckage but he and his wife are killed before anything can be unearthed. With time being of the essence, MI6 decides to send in Bond (Roger Moore) and with the help of the couples daughter Melina (Carole Bouquet) begins the hunt. 

After Moonraker, it was felt that Bond should return more to his roots this time around. As such this film focuses more on a simpler spy thriller than saving the world and significantly tones down the gadgets and cars.

This is the film I consider the tipping point for Moore in the role of Bond. Although older than Connery in even his first outing as Bond he looked significantly younger throughout his first 4 films. Here his age is beginning to show and it’s becoming weirder and weirder to see him bedding the women he does (especially with the level of infatuation Bibi (Lynn-Holly Johnson) shows him (he was 54 during filming) and then later considers the villain Kristatos (Julian Glover) much to old for her (he was 46 during filming)).

Kristatos, while not the most interesting of villains, did play the duel role of trusted ally/double agent rather well. Both he and Milos Columbo (Chaim Topol) each excelled as being both good and evil at different points in the film.

Bouquet as Melina was both beautiful and correct for the role but overall a largely uninteresting Bond girl. Her desire for revenge on her parents killers seems almost tacked on in places and she’s just there for the ride because we are expected to have a main Bond girl doing that.

The stunt work and locations are where this film really shines however. The mountain monastery at St Cyril’s and the whole final lead up, especially the tension filled scene when Bond is dropped off the cliff, are the best parts of the film. Additionally, the underwater dragging scene over shark infested waters with sharp coral beneath, also makes for an exciting action sequence.

It has its moments but nothing really spectacular compared with the rest of the series. 2/5

Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Charle Gray in Diamonds Are Forever Ok try this one on for size: Bond (Sean Connery) meets Blofeld (Pleasence) in YOLT. Then he meets him again in OHMSS but neither of them recognise each other even though they’ve already met and should. This is even more confusing for the audience now as both Bond and Blofeld are being played by different actors, George Lazenby and Savalas, but are supposed to be the same characters with no facial alteration (except Blofeld cutting off his earlobes). They then meet again in DAF but Bond is now Connery again and Blofeld is Gray. At least this time Blofeld is supposed to have undergone plastic surgery. But it’s not done yet, Gray already played Bond’s ally in Japan, Dikko Henderson, in YOLT with Connery. Finally Bond (Roger Moore) kills Blofeld (probably) in For Your Eyes Only but his face is never seen. The dubbed voice used for this is Robert Rietty, who also dubbed the voices of Emilo Largo in Thunderball and Dr Strangways in Dr No. My head hurts :S

Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice

Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Charle Gray in Diamonds Are Forever

Ok try this one on for size: Bond (Sean Connery) meets Blofeld (Pleasence) in YOLT. Then he meets him again in OHMSS but neither of them recognise each other even though they’ve already met and should.

This is even more confusing for the audience now as both Bond and Blofeld are being played by different actors, George Lazenby and Savalas, but are supposed to be the same characters with no facial alteration (except Blofeld cutting off his earlobes).

They then meet again in DAF but Bond is now Connery again and Blofeld is Gray. At least this time Blofeld is supposed to have undergone plastic surgery.

But it’s not done yet, Gray already played Bond’s ally in Japan, Dikko Henderson, in YOLT with Connery.

Finally Bond (Roger Moore) kills Blofeld (probably) in For Your Eyes Only but his face is never seen. The dubbed voice used for this is Robert Rietty, who also dubbed the voices of Emilo Largo in Thunderball and Dr Strangways in Dr No.

My head hurts :S