Bourne Again

Last week I watched the new Jason Bourne movie. With no James Bond film on the foreseeable horizon – this seemed the next best thing (aside from The Night Manager).

In terms of Bourne, I’m in the minority who is not a fan of The Bourne Ultimatum (which most people consider the best). Whilst I can appreciate it on some levels (eg. the excellent Waterloo sequence) I’m a far bigger fan of the first two (The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy). Both of these films have the heart and humanity of Marie (Franka Potente) which is contrasted nicely against the duplicitous cunning of Abbott (Brian Cox). These characters are both sorely missed in the later installments. The new film (which isn’t a strictly necessary addition to the series) plays like a greatest hits album but with slightly different renditions. It’s fun, familiar but not as good as the originals – but that’s not to say it’s not still enjoyable.

I’m also a massive fan of the musical scores from the first two Bourne movies. John Powell’s score for Identity was rather unique at the time – mixing throbbing percussion, atonal electronics, stabbing staccato strings against occasional acoustic elements. Supremacy expanded on these themes in the best possible way and introduced some new material (‘To the roof’ being my personal favourite). Much like the films, by the third installment everything was feeling familiar (in fact they even dropped cues from the first film over the top of some parts). The most recent (Jason Bourne) score is credited to both John Powell and David Buckley. I was sad to learn that John Powell’s wife died earlier this year, I suspect this is why David Buckley has also been involved this time around. He does a good job of weaving together some of Powell’s familiar themes.

I decided for fun I’d also like to try to emulate John Powell’s style and create an imaginary Bourne score. Had tremendous fun writing this! That said it tested my playing ability (the end is some of the fastest track work I’ve done – probably a rebellious response to the torn ligament in my index finger I’m still nursing). Hopefully fans of these scores can have some fun trying to see how many of the original themes they can spot!

Glory: James Horner (1953-2015)

Today started in an unusual manner. I woke on a normal school day and the children were already up and dressed (odd). Whilst making a cup of tea my wife told me to read the screen on her mobile phone. I read it, but it took a moment to fully digest: “Film Composer James Horner aged 61 dies in a plane crash”. I was quietly devastated.

The very first time I recall remembering his music was for the trailer of Backdraft back in 1991. I remember thinking “WOW”, that music has a real emotional punch to it.

When I watched the film I came away bitterly disappointed that this wonderful music was nowhere to be heard! What was this music? I needed to know and I discovered (long before the days of Google or Shazam) that it was James Horner and the piece was taken from the ending credits of Glory:

This is the piece I am going to remember James Horner for, it made me sit up and take notice (really at a point when I didn’t do this much). It feels more poignant today than ever.

It wasn’t long before I discoverd he had composed music to other film scores I loved – most notably Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (I honestly thought it was Jerry Goldsmith), Aliens (I’ve lost track of the number of trailers which use Bishop’s Countdown in them), The Name of the Rose (I still find those bells creepy).

He would go on to win an Oscar for both his Titanic score and the song ‘My Heart will go on’. He was nominated for six other films. At the risk of being somewhat controversial – I didn’t rate Titanic as one of his better scores, but he did so many other memorable scores such as Apollo 13, Avatar, Braveheart, Casper and Field of Dreams – that there really is something for everyone.  The thing about James Horner for me was the way he could emotionally connect an audience to the scene in a beautiful yet bittersweet manner. Knowing we will never hear another of his majestic scores makes me feel a little emptier inside. RIP James Horner.

Eye Spy

If you are a fan of the spy genre (which is my favourite) you are in for a treat this year. We have been spoiled with three new trailers just within the last week or so:

Spooks: The Greater Good
Based on the TV series (known as MI5 in the States). Great to see the wonderful Peter Firth back as Harry Pearce (plus Tim McInnerny playing the shifty Oliver Mace). Those familiar to the series will know no-one is ever safe, which should keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation
Rather aptly as abbreviated as MI5. This one was a bit of a surprise, looks great fun. Yes, Tom Cruise did that plane stunt for real! It was also filmed at nearby Blenheim Palace. I just hope it hasn’t given all the best bits away. It also has the original Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) who will hopefully add an additional degree of class.

Spectre
Last but definitely not least – the new Bond teaser. This one also filmed at Blenheim. I must confess, I was worried it would be eclipsed by the MI5 trailer. I needn’t have worried! It is very much its own beast and wisely takes and entirely different (and more broody) approach than the usual slam-blam antics of other trailers. It does exactly what it should – it leaves you wanting more. Fantastic to see a washed-up Jesper Christensen spouting some lovely dialogue in amongst all of the stunning cinematography (which I think looks even more impressive than Roger Deakins efforts for SkyFall).

The only thing I wasn’t entirely convinced about were the toy-chromatics at the end, followed by familiar trailer blasts (I would have opted for something more creepy/less cheesy). But hey, it works well enough.

I should also give an honorary mention to The Man From Uncle.

This looks like Guy Richie keeping his lighter tone and substituting Sherlock Holmes with the 60’s TV series – much like his former collaborator Matthew Vaughn did with violent comic-books (Kickass’ superhero antics vs Kingsmen gentleman spies – yet another spy film which was released this year). For me it offers the opportunity of watching short-listed Bond candidate Henry Cavill in action.

There is also Steven Spielberg’s cold-war thriller “Bridge of Spies” starring Tom Hanks which I can’t wait to see. Also nice to see the ladies get a shout as well in the comedy “Spy” (which stars Rose Bryne who made the short-list for Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale). But right now for me – it’s all about that Bond teaser!

It looks like 2015 is shaping up to be the year of the spy.

Day 23: Favourite Christmas Movies

Disclaimer: This is my own personal list, but feel free to agree, disagree or add more in the comments section below.

In alphabetical order:

Batman Returns (1992)
I’m sure I’ve called this the most criminally under-rated Batman film recently. I’ll stick by that!  Tim Burton mixes Gothic and Christmas together to brilliant effect. Gotham has never looked better than this offering amidst the snow. Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it!

Black Christmas (1974)
This cult film is for those who have overloaded on Christmas sentimentality. The perfect anti-Christmas film in many ways, directed by Bob Clark who would later go on to make another genuine Christmas classic “A Christmas Story” (although I’ve not seen it). This film was the inspiration behind John Carpenter’s Halloween. Rich on atmosphere and character without relying on shock jumps or gore (but *is* disturbing and gets under your skin – even 40 years on!). Avoid the horrible remake. Billy!!!

Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
Personally I wasn’t a huge fan of the other Christmas offering from “Richard Curtis” – Love Actually, but I know I’m probably in a minority. This is the one which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy (in that Vicar of Dibley kind of way) – right down to the naff woolly jumpers, and scenes of snow falling majestically. Just don’t mention the terrible follow-up!

Die Hard (1988)
“This *IS* a Christmas movie!” (said in the voice of Argyle the  limo driver). And you already know this film is the best in the series thanks to Alan Rickman. Honorary mention to Die Hard 2, which “tries harder”, brings the Christmas snow, but just isn’t in the same ball-park (despite still being reasonably solid).

Gremlins (1984)
Remember kids, pets aren’t just for Christmas. This has a largely uneven tone – but is essentially a Christmas monster movie for kids (just not really for young kids). Currently enjoying a revival in cinemas (Christmas Eve) for its 30th Anniversary. Who can forget that heartwarming story Phoebe Cates’ character recalls of her dad playing Santa and coming down the chimney. Aww – bless!

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra’s classic is set around the heart-warming tale of a suicidal man played by James Stewart. Sounds a bit dark? Well strangely – probably the most uplifting film on this list! Sure it’s got its fair share of cheesy moments and over-sentimentality. It does however remind us money is not what makes us rich (and what better time to remember this than the over-commercialisation of Christmas). No man is a failure who has friends.

Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
So is Kris Kringle the real Santa? That would be giving the film away surely! This covers some darker themes also, but essentially at its heart is another feel good Christmas movie. Richard Attenborough’s remake makes for a more colourful and accessible Kringle, but Edmund Gwen is the real deal. I now want to go and shop at Macys.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
There are only so many interpretations of the classic Dickens novel I can include!  But this one has the Muppets in and Michael Caine as Scrooge (sorry 1951 version), so enough said!! This one also put Muppet movies back on the map after a bit of a break.

Nightmare before Christmas (1993)
Once again Tim Burton mixes macabre gothic with Christmas to great effect. Okay so this one is perhaps more Halloween based, but watching Jack’s awe at discovering Christmas Town singing “What’s this?” never fails to puts me in the Christmas spirit. Kidnap the Sandy Claws!

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Had to get Bond in there somewhere. This is one of the rare exceptions where a Bond film takes place during a named season (most are nondescript). The fact that the main part is set in Swiss alps helps tremendously (even if the ending isn’t full of the usual festive Bond cheer). Do you know how Christmas Trees are grown?

The Polar Express (2004)
This isn’t Robert Zemeckis’ only performance capture Christmas film, but this one (his first) is the best. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched parts of this one on TV over the past few weeks. It is pretty much one set-piece and cliché after another. Even so, it has everything you need to put you in a feel good mood for the festive spirit.

Scrooged (1988)
Once again another Christmas Carol remake, but much like the earlier inclusion – this one has Bill Murray at his cynical best. Enough said! Honorable mention (and perhaps double-bill) to Blackadder’s A Christmas Carol – which covers similar ground (just in reverse). Bah Humbug!

The Snowman (1982)
A bitter sweet work of art (long before the days of CGI which now make this sort of thing easier). Sometimes shown as part of a double-bill with Raymond Briggs’ other Christmas classic “Father Christmas” – voiced by Mel Smith. It transcends the language barrier even when “we’re walking in the air”. Who can forget that ending?

Trading Places (1983)
As we know – Christmas is a time for giving and remembering those less fortunate than yourself.  This is a deliciously twisted role-reversal comedy which I remember watching for the first time with my parents a few years ago (sorry Mum, I know now that in the 80’s Eddie Murphy swears a lot). How can you not enjoy watching Dan Ackroyd as the original Bad Santa?

Not so super

The other night I watched the latest Spiderman film (The Amazing Spiderman 2), Spiderman 2.2 if you like. There was a lot to like about it on some levels: it looked fantastic, it was exciting + well paced considering the two and a half hour runtime, the lead characters (Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone) were superb and had genuine chemistry. In fact I’d even go so far to say that Garfield is pitch perfect as both Peter Parker and Spiderman (especially if you are familiar with the comics). Yet despite having much in its favour, there was an awful lot “off” about it.

1. Some scenes were far too convenient for their own good. Plausibility was beyond breaking point in the same way Silva calculated all of Bond’s moves in Skyfall (and interestingly one such scene is also set in an abandoned subway station).

2. The baddies were all under-developed (a shame as Dane DeHaan did some fine work here). Everything plotting their fall from good to evil felt rushed, incomplete and false. It appears they tried to juggle too many baddies in a single installment again, generally a recipe for disaster (even if it is isn’t anywhere near the disaster Batman and Robin or Spiderman 3 were).

3. It seems the script-writers were ticking boxes for the studio. The actors are let down by a clunky/poor script which is more interested in setting up merchandising and future installments rather than actually telling a good story (Iron Man 2 syndrome)!

4. The core problem (which ties in with the other points): it was really two movies masquerading as one. So instead of having two good movies with genuine punch/pay-off we end up with a frustrating mess of a movie.

5. Inappropriate music. Songs are shoe-horned in but they don’t fit the tone of the film (the end-credits in particular). Hans Zimmer (the “new” Danny Elfman?) turns in another bland super-hero score – the “wub-wub” stylings trying too hard to be edgy and cool (no – it’s like every other damn action trailer I’ve seen in the past two years). Shouldn’t it be “ELECTRO” rather than “DUBSTEP” anyway? The score feels a mixed bag (much like the film itself) despite a nice rousing brassy-blast for Spidey’s theme and suitably sinister motif for Osborn (which is itself ripping off Inception and Inside Man). Personally I like more consistency in my scores. The last three Spidey films in the franchise have all had different composers/themes, time to give Mr Elfman a call again!

Ultimately what is my real problem? I’m suffering Franchise fatigue towards Superhero films (which seem to be all that play in cinemas these days – thanks very much Marvel!). The initial blame could perhaps be leveled at The Dark Knight. Now we have Marvel setting up The Avengers universe and releasing a new film each year, DC trying to get in on the action with Superman/Batman/Justice League. X-men has already had spin-offs with Wolverine, there is a new X-men film out this summer. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Mystique film in the near future. Now there is Spiderman setting up The Sinister Six. The Spiderman franchise was already rebooted in its relative infancy and everything still feels a retread of the Raimi films. I’ve just read that Daredevil will be the next to get the reboot treatment. Great, we all want that one!

To be perfectly blunt – this genre is becoming dull and clichéd. Even the marketing falls into cliché: the director of the current installment always announced in advance as being the director of future installments (ala Captain America 2/3, Man of Steel/Superman vs Batman/Justice League, X-men, The Amazing Spiderman 2/3) as if to create a false sense of spectacle. Of course the next installment will always be bigger better etc. and will end in yet another destruction of some city. And please remember to stay for the end-credits if it’s a Marvel film (This new Spiderman film features perhaps the most bizarre “Easter Eggs” ending of all – completely unrelated to the franchise). I’d love to see this genre take a sabbatical and come back when it has something which is fresh and new to say. Sadly this doesn’t appear to be the case and it looks like we are going to endure many more years of spin-offs and “the same old”. Hmm – perhaps Batman and Robin wasn’t so bad after-all!

Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013)

Yesterday the world learned the sad news that stop-motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen had passed away. To me he was one of the most important special effects geniuses within the film industry, with a career spanning 5 or so decades. It all began for Ray after watching the original 1933 version of King Kong. This clearly inspired him and he began making his own stop-motion films in his garage. It wasn’t long before his talents were spotted. He went on to create some of the most startling on-screen beasties, although for me the most impressive was his skeleton army for Jason and the Argonauts back in 1963. Yes 1963!

This really upped the ante from his original (but also brilliant) solo skeleton fight in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), by a factor of seven. It has proved so enduring that even popular video games such as Golden Axe (one of my favourites as a youngster) paid homage to it.

Anyway, point being – without his work would we have had the likes of Henry Selick, Peter Jackson, Phil Tippet, Rob Bottin, Aardman, Tim Burton, ILM or countless other talented animators? They are all clearly big fans and indebted to his efforts. Personally give me his stop-motion animation over most of the glossy but clinical Computer Generated Imagery we see today.

The web and YouTube are rightly being flooded with tributes, so to end here is a short compilation of Ray’s creatures:

Die Hard-R

R vs PG-13. Fight!

Warning: wild rambling post alert!

Recently I watched two rather similar films back to back. One was The Raid (still loving the viseral punch of this movie) and the other was Dredd (which  has more meat on the bones). The reasons for watching these could be attributed to the strains of making a small bear who can walk! I’ve already covered The Raid. So I’ll just write a couple of quick lines about Dredd.

After the mis-guided mid-90’s Stallone effort (which I see more as a sequel to Demolition Man than a Judge Dredd movie), you could say I was “Dredding”  this film. Thankfully the latest incarnation is a significant improvement. In particular I would single Olivia Thilsby out as the heart of the movie. Then there is Karl Urban who grunts his way through the movie as the eponymous character mixing in some elements of Dirty Harry and Robocop (both iconic characters and movies in their own right).

Similarities between Dredd and The Raid are unavoidable – even if Dredd is set in the future. Both were released at roughly the same time (despite the fact Dredd was made much earlier and had a much longer post-production period because of all the special effects). They have the same exactly the same premise : underdog protagonist(s) trapped in a high-rise building with vast hordes trying to make sure no one escapes. There are nasty slimy villains who do their own dirty work when necessary but are more happy to hide behind technology where possible. Both are ludicrously violent.

Doesn’t this sound familar to another action movie? Possibly the most iconic action films of recent times? The title of this post has given it away. Let’s just say there is a reason people use the phrase “It’s Die Hard in/on a …”. For me, I doubt Die Hard will ever be bettered in this particular genre. I also enjoy many of the other  mid-to-late eighties Joel Silver action films (Commando, Lethal Weapon 1/2, Predator). They were daft, spectacular, over the top with a charming/witty quality about them – a quality sorely lacking from today’s gritty post 9/11 films.  Plus I wasn’t quite old enough to watch them legally in the cinema, which only increased their appeal.

Today it seems most films are marketed at the teen-market PG-13 (or 12A in the UK’s case) audience rather than an adult R rated (15/18) audience to increase the demographic. They did this with the fourth Die-hard installment and this is where the franchise lost its way. I have lost count how many recent “horror films” I’ve seen which have a PG-13 rating.

Recently the movie going public were inflicted to yet another Die Hard movie. I say this although I must confess I didn’t see it (thanks to the terrible looking trailers and scathing reviews). I really wanted to rally behind this film, but it was clear from that this franchise is out of steam. Long gone is the original under-dog blue-collar cop John Mclane (who now just seems Bruce Willis playing a gruff wise-cracking – er – Bruce Willis for a hefty pay-day). There was no memorable side-kick. There was no memorable uber-villain. The focus shifts to his offspring (presumably as some sort of cynical passing the batton exercise). The film was colour-graded so much so that it looks sterile. It was handled by a sub-par director. Sure – it is pretty noisy, flashy and looks slick – but nothing really separated it from any other action film. Just like the previous entry (but at least this one was going to be R-rated – hence wanting to like it). However reviews made it clear that there was very little in the film to make it R-rated bar some curse words. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they originally intended it for the PG-13 market – which clearly isn’t the Die-Hard I remember.

Thankfully these Die-Hard sensibilities were satisfied by the gloriously “dumber than a bag of spanners” Olympus has Fallen (“Die Hard in the White house” – you just know this is how it was pitched!). In some ways the timing is interesting being as it has a group of North Korean terrorists on the war-path (I’m sure this country has been in the media about something recently?). My expectations were admittedly low going in and yes – it can be argued it is mostly predictable/generic – yet it knows exactly what it needs to do. It follows the gritty violence trend a bit too much which detracts charm despite the daft premise. It pilfers mercilessly from the original Die Hard as well as other clones Under Siege and Air Force One. So much so it was almost laughable spotting these liberally lifted scenes – which DID give it a certain charm (for me anyway). I was willing to forgive some of the mortar-sized plot holes as this is clearly a “switch your brain off” movie. Actually I’d wager this is by far a more satisfying Die Hard film than Die Hard 5  is. Much like Dredd/The Raid, there is another film with exactly the same premise out later this year (Roland Emmerich’s White House Down). This practice is not uncommon in Hollywood. However, I’ll bet that one is a PG-13!

Technically both Dredd and The Raid were not traditionally made Hollywood films. With Olympus it’s nice to see someone in Hollywood has identified that the adult audience doesn’t always want profound works of art or teenie stuff. Now they just need to lighten up a bit with the “gritty” stuff. Sadly – news such as this won’t help the cause much.  News like this hopefully does!

I’m not sure if this in part inspired me to write the following track:

I really enjoyed making this one even if I was originally intending to do something more along the lines of Hans Zimmer (who I find a bit Marmite at times). The plan was to make it feel less orchestral and more electronic (I even had some dub-step elements in at one point). For whatever reason these didn’t make it in and this was the result. To be fair it is normal for me to compose a section but later realise – even if I like it – it should be removed. I will share one such unfinished moment with you from this current track which you can download from here:

Hostile Takeover outtake (mp3)

Anyway hope you enjoy and sorry for the rambling post!

Top 100 Bond moments (part 10 of 10)

Casino Royale

89. Not well

Dryden is on the receiving end of Bond who is about to earn his double-0 stripes. Before he departs, Dryden asks how his associate dies. “Not well” replies Bond, as we start to flash backwards/forwards to a surprisingly visceral brutal fight in a gents toilet. At the end of the scene, there is a play on the infamous Gun-barrel sequence (a bog-barrel if you like) which then segues into some rather lovely main-titles.

90. Parkour

Bond chases terrorist bomber Mollaka (played by Sebastien Foucan who created Free Running and is one of the Parkour founders) to a building site. Both the chase and stakes get higher and higher eventually leading to the top of a crane. Some wonderful aerial photography plus a few breath-taking leaps later, another truly iconic Bond moment is cemented. Other nice touches include Mollaka seemingly bouncing down a lift shaft and Bond breaking through a wall in a seemingly uncooth manner.

91. Swimming shorts

Giving something back to the ladies, there is no doubt that Daniel Craig set tongues wagging with his buffed up appearance in this scene. For the men, well apparently gym subscriptions and sales in blue speedo trunks went through the roof afterwards. Solange (Caterina Murino) on her beautiful white horse wasn’t so difficult on the eye either.

92. All eyes on you

There are lots of lovely little character moments in Casino Royale, such as the wry smile Bond gives after a bomber has just unknowingly detonated himself. Bond and Vesper have sized each other and have bought each other costumes for the casino. Bond tells Vesper he needs her looking fabulous, so that when she arrives all the other players will be thinking about her rather than about their cards. Vesper sizes Bond up also and give him his first tailored tux, which initially he isn’t too pleased about. In a lovely little twist, when Vesper enters the Casino – all eyes are indeed on her. I’m not sure Mr Bond’s eyes were on the cards either. Oops…

93. Obano

Firstly this was a great stinger moment when Obano and his henchman ambush Valenka and Le Chiffre in their hotel demanding to know what has happened to their “investment”. Things get dark when Obano threatens to cut off Valenka’s arm. Bond and Vesper realise something is up and find themselves embroiled in a rather brutal fight involving the machete wielding Obano. Nasty stuff, Obano’s death is another rather messy affair. After this, Bond does damage control on his battered body but goes back to finish the game in his original tux. After the game he goes to check on Vesper, who is clearly upset by the whole incident sitting in a cold-shower fully clothed. He sits next down next to her and puts his arm around her for comfort and starts sucking her fingers to “take the blood away”. Then he turns up the hot water and continues comforting her. I’m sure Roger Moore would have just bedded her.

94.  Shaken or Stirred?

Bond gets a bit ahead of himself and loses all his money when going “all in” against Le Chiffre. During “a short break”, Vesper tells Bond that she won’t stake any more money on him. Clearly a bit miffed, Bond decides he needs a stiff Vodka-Martini. “Shaken or Stirred?” asks the bar-man. “Does it look like I give a damn” replies Bond rather rudely. After quaffing that, he figures he has nothing to lose and decides to go after Le Chiffre with a dinner knife. Thankfully “our brother from Langley” (aka Felix Leiter) intervenes and pledges Bond the money he needs to re-enter the game.

95. This is torture

Another superbly tense scene with some interesting dialogue. Bond is tied naked to a chair with the bottom of it cut out and given a Fleming-esque number with a knotted-rope to his nethers. It was amazing how many men were wincing and squirming during this particular scene. And somehow they even managed to inject a bit of humour into the proceedings. Or maybe that was just nervous laughing on my part.

96. Bond, James Bond

Bond confronts Mr White on the phone, who is a member of the sinister organisation known as Quantum. Before White can finish asking who is calling, there is a final jolt as Bond fires a round into his leg which echoes around the Italian mountains. Crawling to the steps by his entrance, Mr White is greeted with a chap holding a stupidly large gun. He proceeds to tell us his name “Bond, James Bond”. Cue music and end credits. Woo!

Other great scenes:

Bond breaks into M’s apartment, “Hey valet” and Bond tracing Dimitrios via the security recordings, Bond winning the Aston Martin, Body worlds, “Ow!”, “Being dead does not mean one cannot be helpful”, dirty martini, that final poker-hand reveal, the Aston Martin crash/roll, is Mathis good or bad? Oh, and Mendle should definitely bring the Chocolates next time!

Not so great:

The train scene between Bond and Vesper is generally a very good scene, but it might have been much better if it wasn’t advertisement for Rolex or Omega watches. When asked to put in his pin-code, it might help if 007 is shown entering the correct pin (which is later revealed in the film). The ending goes on a bit once things move to Venice. Plus the character Infante is way too cheesy for this grittier take, but probably would have been at home in a Moore/Brosnan movie.

Quantum of Solace

97. Aston Martin chase

Okay, so we open with a reasonably nice shot – but where is the gun-barrel? After an Aston Martin commercial we are thrown head-first into a chase between the Aston Martin and pursuing Alfa Romeos around some beautiful Italian scenery, which leads to a dangerous looking marble quarry. Originally the scene had three Alfa Romeos chasing, but director Forster decided to make it shorter and took one out. Perhaps this is part of the reason the editing is slight erratic once the action begins.

98. Tosca

A real life set which is definitely worthy of a Bond movie. The scenes in Bregenz are by far the high-lights of this movie, right from Bond infiltrating the show to confronting Quantum members who are holding their meeting here. The majority get up and leave once exposed, so he snaps them for identification purposes. Calmly Mr White doesn’t even stir and remains sitting. “Tosca isn’t for everyone” he notes. Meanwhile the play Tosca gets intercut to shots of 007 escaping/shooting. The soundtrack drops to silence, making the scene more powerful.

99. Mathias

Sadly Mathias gets mortally wounded by some corrupt police officers, who soon after get quickly dispatched by Bond. Holding his friend in his arms as he dies, Mathias tells Bond to forgive both Vesper and himself. It’s a nice poignant scene (one of the few in this film). After which Bond steals his money and dispatches of his body in a dumpster. Cheers mate! Clearly a spies death, but I’m sure Mathias appreciated the hug before-hand.

100. Hotel escape

Not a happy bunny, M shuts Bond down and takes his weapons, forcing him to return back to England escorted by MI6 personnel. By the time Bond has emerged from the hotel lift, he has casually taken out all of his “child minders” (casually kicking the hand of one back so the lift door can shut),  and just flies over the hotel balcony, scaling along the wall to escape. Making it all look so effortless.

Other great scenes:

Mr White’s interrogation, the swinging ropes fight, M and Bond in Mitchell’s flat, the Slate fight where Bond nonchalantly waits for him to die after stabbing him in the neck with scissors, Bond receiving a slightly frosty reception from former pal Mathias when he goes to him for help, the beautiful reveal of the underground reservoir in the sink-hole, Bond shooting the chief of police in cold-blood (partly as revenge for Mathis), the scene where the completely underutilized Elvis gets his clothes and toupee blown off (astonishing level of detail – watch it in slow-mo), the confrontation in Russia at the end. Plus Medrano also makes for a skin-crawling slimy Flemingesque bad-guy.

Not so great:

The editing, arrgh – the editing! I honestly reckon my kids could put together something more coherent. It destroys a number of otherwise interesting action scenes such as the Palio/rooftop chase, the boat chase (although this chase is pretty redundant anyway) and the plane chase. You get the sense that half of the good bits are still left on the cutting room floor. The free-fall scene is embarrassingly handled. The bad guy is rather dull, as is his scheme. The film is one of the shortest Bond films, yet some reason feels like one of the longer ones. And the gun-barrel at the end – just doesn’t work and it’s far too quick. Basically, I think I am saying that it wasn’t anywhere near as good as Casino Royale!

Hope you enjoyed these. For reference here are the other parts:

• Part 1: Dr No and From Russia With Love
• Part 2: Goldfinger and Thunderball
• Part 3: You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
• Part 4: Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun
• Part 5: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker
• Part 6: For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy
• Part 7: A View To A Kill and The Living Daylights
• Part 8: Licence To Kill and Goldeneye
• Part 9: Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day

Hope to get a SkyFall review out later on! Enjoy the film folks.

Images (C) 2006/2008 Danjaq/EON.

Top 100 Bond moments (part 9 of 10)

Tomorrow Never Dies

77. Backseat driver

Topping the superb Goldeneye pre-titles was always going to be a tall order, but kudos for trying. There is a nice build to the pre-titles in Tomorrow never dies. We don’t see Bond until a bit later on, and the tension builds nicely with some wonderful banter between Dame Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer as a gruff Admiral (who they really should have brought back for another go!). Bond escapes via plane but is also pursued by another pilot. Not only that, he has a dazed passenger in the backseat who also comes around and begins to attack him. Cue a nice moment where he ejects the passenger through the bottom of the pursuing plane. “Back seat drivers!”.

78. An urgent phone-call

I’ve always loved this scene. Bond is called away for “An urgent phone-call”. Bong being Bond knows full well this isn’t a genuine, the wry smile soon giving way to a more concerned look. Lead into a room, he is beaten by a baseball and informed “It’s a sound-proof room Mr Bond, nobody hears you scream”. The scene is nicely inter-cut to scenes with villain Elliot Carver being megalomaniac at his German media launch. The fight has some nice touches: Bond using half an orchestra to take out people in the background and perhaps my favourite: sadistically testing an ashtray’s strength before calmly planting it over an opponents head.

79. Dr Kaufman

They kill off Teri Hatcher’s character (if they went with the original actress  Monica Bellucci in the role, we might not have cheered). Further reason to rejoice happens when the brilliant Vincent Schiavelli playing Dr Kaufman appears to finish Bond off alongside. There is some brilliant comic timing on his part, I particularly like his over-confidence “I could shoot you from Stuttgart und still achieve ze proper effect”. Unfortunately for Dr Kaufman he falls foul of Q’s phone and cold-blooded Bond just pops him  in the head. I felt far more emotion when he died frankly!

80. Backseat Driver part 2

Another backseat driving scene. This one gets points for originality and Bond’s childish “boy with a toy” attitude whilst driving. All pumped up by a David Arnold/Propellerheads track. But it’s not perfect, I could have done without the fact that the car is as sexy as a brick (it is quite possibly the least desirable Bond vehicle ever) and that BMW wire-cutter is extremely groan-worthy.

Other great scenes:

Carver’s checks his sources for media headlines, Bond brushing up on Danish in Oxford (we could use a few more blonde Bond ladies soon – most since this film have been brunette), Bond breaking in to Carver’s facilities/the printing press brawl, the superb bike chase with Wai Lin (in particular the jump over the rotar blades – which almost made it in), “every now and then you get to sail on a beautiful evening like this. And sometimes work with a decadent agent of a corrupt Western power”. Be sure to look out for young versions of Gerard Butler and Hugh Bonville on the sub, by the way.

Not so great:

The film is rather shallow and whilst the first half seems pretty balanced, the second half is noisy action sequence after noisy action sequence (and little further character development). Elliot Carver as a concept is interesting, but Pryce makes for a pretty wimpy adversary. The “BMW brick” as already mentioned. Teri Hatcher “acting”. Final gripe “Surrender” the end-title song by David Arnold and KD Lang is a significantly stronger Bond song than the terrible Sheryl Crow effort (perhaps they should have switched them).

The World Is Not Enough

81. Bilbao Escape

Bond gets stuck in a Swiss bankers shoot-out in Bilbao. “If you can’t trust a Swiss banker, then what’s the world come to?” observes Bond. Naturally he ties a chord around one of his dazed opponents, grabs the suitcase of money, smashes the window and casually jumps out the window onto the street below. As you do!

82. Thames chase

The World is Not Enough has (to date) the longest pre-title sequence in the series. The Thames boat chase is clearly the biggest highlight of the film, making the film peak very early. The Q Boat swishes, bobs, jumps and rolls around all over the place whilst The Cigar Girl blasts at it from her Sunseeker. It’s thrilling stuff which climaxes on a hot-air balloon over the Millenium Dome. Originally this whole sequence was set after the main-titles, but the test audience demanded more action – so things were moved.

83. I never miss

Elektra is revealed as the films main antagonist. She initially tortures Bond, but thanks to Valentin, Bond manages to escape and chase after her. Pointing a gun at her, he pleads with her to call off her planned assault or he’ll shoot. She flirts with him saying “But you’d miss me”. When she doesn’t comply, without question he fires a bullet into her claiming “I never miss” and dives after the submarine trying to prevent the attack. Unknown to Bond, M has seen most of what happened with that “none-to-proud of what she has created” look that Dame Judi does so well.

Other great scenes:

The use of Eilean Donan castle as an MI6 base is lovely, it also has both Tanner and Robinson in this one. Q’s escape plan (particularly poignant being Desmond Llewelyn’s last appearance as gadget man Q before his fatal car crash). The concept of Renard dying, not feeling pain but becoming more powerful each day is a great (with some reservations). The Para-skis are cool (with some reservations). Sophie Marceau is wonderful. The devils breath scene.”You wanna put that in English for those of us who don’t speak Spy?” and “First things first”. The caviar factory assault (for once they have a half-decent BMW, which does nothing again except get cut in half – “Q’s not gonna like this!”). Take that BMW, Bond will go back to his superior Aston Martin’s after this installment!

Not so great:

The editing is slightly ponderous, bordering on dull. The action scenes (save for the boat chase) have a rather mundane feel about them (perhaps in part down to the fact that director Apted was not known for doing action films at that point). The slow editing destroys the impact what could have been very exciting (eg. the para-ski sequence). As mentioned, the idea of Renard is great and yet it goes absolutely nowhere. He also seems unthreatening (odd considering he played Begbie in Trainspotting) and he feels like a cheap Dr Evil knock-off. Oh and Denise Richards, possibly the least convincing Nuclear scientist – ever!

Die Another Day

84. Surfs up!

This was filmed in the aptly named location “Jaws”. We open to some huge waves, and three tiny little surfers riding them. Some great work by Laird Hamilton and his team.

85. Bond in his PJs

Isn’t there something refreshingly cool that even when strutting around in his pyjamas with his moobs on display and that scruffy beard – Bond can still walk into any international hotel and demand his “usual suite”?

86. Jinx emerges

Not a patch on Ursula’s scene naturally. But it tries hard, as does Berry – perhaps a bit too hard (with all its oozing slow-mo shots). But there is no denying that Halle Berry still looks fantastic in the orange bikini. It’s just a shame that a few moments later she is given some painful dialogue with Bond and then worst – an arkward grinding sex scene.

87. Cock Fight

Okay, let’s ignore Madonna at the beginning of this scene shall we? There, that’s  better already! There is something fun about this sword fight with Brosnan going head to head against Toby Stephens sneering villain. The ante keeps getting upped and this is one of the highlights of the film.

88. Aston vs Jag

Whilst the ice lake chase in The Living Daylights is superior, this one does have a gadget laden Aston Martin going head to head with a gadget laden Jaguar XK-R. It becomes clear that the gadgets are going to even each other out, so things a crazier turn when they start racing around inside the ice palace set. Now that’s a bit more like it!

Other great scenes:

Very enjoyable visuals from the main-title sequence (if you have a mute button that is), Bond making the most of a rather obnoxious South African character to gain Wheel-chair access, a shot of Bond walking down a corridor of mirrors/spinning DNA strands, Bond and Raoul discuss conflict diamonds, the VR simulator, Bond using some rather random bolt-cutters on a fence (it made me laugh anyway).

Not so great:

Where to begin? “Yo Mama!”. For a start all that rubbish CGI (which even tarnishes the gun-barrel), an invisible Aston Martin, the torture of Madonna both singing/acting, plus some additional over acting from Mr Kil/Brosnan/Berry/Stephens/Cleese, Bond and Jinx grinding at it, that horrible para-surfing scene (possibly the series nadir). Generally all plausibility is gone once things move to Iceland and beyond! Oh, and once more the editing lets the film down with too much slo-mo/speed-ramping – clearly a hang-over from The Matrix.

The Final Part (10) coming soon: Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace

Images (C) 1997/1999/2002 Danjaq/EON.

• Part 1: Dr No and From Russia With Love
• Part 2: Goldfinger and Thunderball
• Part 3: You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
• Part 4: Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun
• Part 5: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker
• Part 6: For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy
• Part 7: A View To A Kill and The Living Daylights
• Part 8: Licence To Kill and Goldeneye
• Part 10: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace

Top 100 Bond moments (part 8 of 10)

Licence to Kill

68. He disagreed with something that ate him

Another scene inspired from Fleming’s Live and Let Die  novel. Bond’s pal Felix Leiter (played by David Hedison who also played the role 16 years earlier in Live and Let Die ironically) gets a savage mauling from a shark at the hands of Sanchez. Sanchez spouts some wonderful dialogue at him such as “I just want you to know that this is nothing personal. It’s purely business” and “There are worse things than death, hombre”. Even Benicio Del Toro’s Dario get in on the act telling Leiter they gave his wife “a nice honeymooooon”. Once Bond realises Sanchez has escaped (keep up 007!), he heads to straight to Felix’s house. There he finds Felix’s new Bride dead on the bed and a body bag containing Felix in it along with a blood soaked note. The look of rage in Bond’s eyes, believing his pal is dead is pure killer (along the same lines as the balloon scene in The Living Daylights). A few seconds later his mood changes when Felix splutters and he desperately struggles to save his friend.

69. Harpoon escape

Bond tries to escape underwater but is set upon by several divers. His oxygen supply is cut, so he resorts to desperate measures and fires a harpoon into the  bottom of a float plane which is about to take off. Instantly he is pull away from his attackers and pulled to the surface for air. Cue a catchy version of the Bond theme, whilst Bond water-skis bare-foot, catches up to the plane, dispatches of the goons inside and flies “off like a bird” with all of Sanchez’s drug money. Easy!

70. Launder it

Following on from the previous scene, Bond proceeds to set up Milton Krest (played by the great Anthony Zerbe) as the culprit who stole Sanchez’s drug money. Naturally Sanchez is not a happy bunny. Bond grimly watches Krest’s head splat over all the money in the decompression chamber. One of Sanchez’s men asks “What about the money?”. Sanchez dryly smiles and says “Launder it”.

71. Discarded gadget

A lovely little throwaway moment from Q, who thankfully gets a lot more time in the field in this entry. In his final scene he is under-cover as a road sweeper. After years of berating Bond about mistreating his equipment, he reports in and casually tosses the gadget aside when it has performed it use. Superb!

72. Tanker Finale

This is clearly where the budget went, and it is one of the most satisfying action climaxes in the series. Bond jumps off a plane, and manages to commandeer one of the trucks to get Sanchez. Rumour has it in one shot that the bullets play part of the Bond theme as an in-joke. Topped off with a satisfying warm reception for the film’s main-villain and a rather large bang (in which Timothy Dalton’s trousers got pretty much blown off apparently) – smashing stuff!

Other great scenes:

Capturing the plane with the helicopter (which clearly inspired the same sort of thing on a bigger scale for The Dark Knight Rises’ opening). Really wanted to put this moment in my top 100 – but alas – only so much space! Felix being fed to the shark is harsh, “Bon appetit”, “You earned it, you keep it”, “We’re not a country-club 007!”, “Compliments of Sharky”, “Problem eliminator”, Uncle Q visits, the signature gun/Bond getting attacked by Ninjas and later interrogated, “You’re never gonna believe who this guy is”, “Don’t judge him too harshly, my dear. Field operatives often use every means at their disposal to achieve their objectives.”, Bond vs Dario, “Don’t you want to know why?”.

Not so great:

It sags somewhat in the middle section, especially the Professor Joe Butcher scenes. Felix looks remarkably spirited for someone who had his leg torn off from a shark and had his bride murdered. The glamour is lacking quite a bit in this entry, plus Bond even has a bar-brawl. It has some pretty horrendous 80’s styles/overtones which make it feel more like James Bond by way of Miami Vice and Die Hard/Lethal Weapon (which is may be in part to do with the fact it was scored by Michael Kamen). The film was more real and sadistic than all previous entries (the first Bond film to get the 15 certificate in the UK), which was perhaps a bit too much for pre 9/11 for audiences to take in after Roger Moore. Plus it was marketed extremely badly at the time, against the likes of Lethal Weapon 2, Batman and Indiana Jones and the last crusade.

Goldeneye

73. Bungee Jump

After a 6 year absence, Bond returns with a big stunt and what a blinder it is: bungee jumping off a dam. None of your CGI rubbish, Wayne Michaels doing things real and jumping 720 feet down the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland. Thankfully he just about managed to get the gun out in time for the shot before the view was obscured. The dam now offers thrill-seekers the chance to follow in his/James Bond’s footsteps.

74. Straight up with a twist

Onatopp is a fun/over the top character who likes to crush men to death with her thighs whilst moaning in an orgasmic manner (no really!). She plays one-upmanship with Bond through-out the film. I particularly like the casino scene where Bond orders a Martini in his usual manner. He then asks how she takes it. “Straight up, with a twist”. Subtle! Classy!

75. Sexist misogynist Dinosaur

Poor old Bond is given a bit of a PC bashing by the ladies in this film. If it’s not Onatopp, it’s MoneyPenny threatening “sexual harassment”. Worse, his Boss M who has always been a man, is now a lady played by Dame Judi Dench. It seems many of the team have already taken quite a disliking to her. Michael Kitchen’s Bill Tanner calls her “The evil Queen of numbers”, which she unfortunately overhears asserting herself with “if I want sarcasm, Mr Tanner, I’ll talk to my children, thank you very much”. Bond also believes her to be a number-smith, so when things turn ugly over a drink she calls him “A sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the cold war”. “Point taken” admits Bond. But she hasn’t quite finished tearing strips off him just yet.

76. Tank Chase

What’s not to love about a completely destructive chase through St Petersburg with Bond pursuing in tank to the Bond theme? Not much! Some rather nice stunt work here.

Other great scenes:

Any time John Gottfried (playing Ourumov) gives that bemused look of his, the superb main-titles with all the falling communist icons, Aston vs Ferrari, Bond quickly dispatching of the guy on the Admirals boat (and later finding the Admiral dead, with a slight smile on his face – what a way to go!), “Walther PPK, 7.65 millimeter. Only three men I know use such a gun. I believe I’ve killed two of them”, “No more foreplay”, “No pithy comeback?” (which would have been a great surprise had it not been ruined by the billing and full trailer), “No one takes the time to do a really sinister interrogation anymore”, “I am invincible”.

Not so great:

Free-falling to catch the plane. Some of the Eric Serra music is completely out-of-place (such as the Outrun inspired score he uses during the Aston Martin/Ferrari chase, the admittedly lovely but overpowering casino scene music or the terrible song he sings over the end-credits which was also used in Leon in part). Plus don’t get me started on the BMW, which barely even features in the movie.

Part 9 coming soon: Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day

Images (C) 1989/1995 Danjaq/EON.

• Part 1: Dr No and From Russia With Love
• Part 2: Goldfinger and Thunderball
• Part 3: You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
• Part 4: Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun
• Part 5: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker
• Part 6: For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy
• Part 7: A View To A Kill and The Living Daylights
• Part 9: Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day
• Part 10: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace