Film Thread

[Baz]

Sees the Film Thread bumped

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Sees it’s Alex probably talking about James Bond

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[Giggles]

You mixed up the pictures.

[Alex]

Sees the Film Thread bumped

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Sees it’s Alex probably talking about James Bond

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Sorry mate, in retrospect I should have started a new thread shouldn't I?

There's only two to go now though, I can't be arsed.

I do watch (and have watched since starting the Bond project) other films. I'm not really sure why I don't also post about those to break up the Bond monotony a bit!

[Baz]

Nah it seems like a lot of TTH love Bond.

[Kikó]

I'm finding it interesting. I might go on a little Bond session myself inspired by this.

[Ben]

I watched GoldenEye last night. It's always been my favourite Brosnan effort and Famke Janssen is just exceptional, even if the CGI hasn't aged well.

[Clunge]

Watched No Time To Die on my flight this am. Not bad at all.

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Sillier than I thought it’d be in places, the Russian scientist made me think of Boris from Goldeneye. Kind of poignant in places too. Rubbish ‘baddie’ though, he’s barely in it, and there’s no real back story for him at all. He just arrives, does his thing, and gone.

[Dave.]

One problem I have with GoldenEye is that Sean Bean just outacts Brosnan. It's not as much of a problem as it was with Christopher Lee and Moore in The Man With The Golden Gun but it still exists. Or is it just me that thinks this?

[Ben]

Well I’m not really a fan of Brosnan. I know he’s massively rated as an actor by the industry but I don’t get the hype personally. I also love Sean Bean so I agree with you there.

[Giggles]

Neither of them are very good in it as far as acting goes. Fine for a Bond film.

[Alex]

Spectre

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Urgh. What a fucking let down this was. This isn't the worst Bond, but it's definitely the one that has disappointed me the most. It was a bit like Craig trying to do a Connery era film and it just doesn't work. Most of the actors involved just seemed to be going through the motions, there was a lot of bad dialogue and the plot is a fucking trainwreck.

Blofeld and the whole SPECTRE thing never did a lot for me in the originals, to be honest. It's a pretty daft concept and I don't think it really has a place in the more grounded, modern day Bond. But I get that it's a very big part of the franchise and if they want to try it that is fine, and I was totally up for Waltz giving it a crack but he's great. But honestly? He wasn't......really very good in this at all. I think it's a combination of the script being bad and also it's just being a bit too on the nose putting him in that role, it was almost too obvious a casting choice.

But just the whole handling of his character and SPECTRE in general was terrible. Making him into Bond's sort of step-brother was fucking moronic. As was making SPECTRE the architects of everything in the previous three films, which didn't make sense and served no purpose whatsoever other than "oooh, evil!". Both of these things were just shoehorned into the plot in painfully awkward fashion, added nothing and were not really addressed again.

And then, after Bond finds all this out, he just really quickly escapes, blows up up the entire SPECTRE base by, like, I don't know, shooting a gas canister or something (I've never seen him take down a criminal organisation with less hassle, and these guys are meant to be the top dogs) and then takes Blofeld (who should be dead but apparently survived the massive explosion just so he had chance to show up again with his trademark gammy eye, which looked ridiculous in this by the way) down on a few days later on the Thames, in what has to be one of the least interesting "chases" in franchise history, by just taking a few pot shots at his helicopter with a handgun.

I would honestly score it lower but it is somewhat redeemed by:

- The opening in Mexico City which, aside from Brosnan on the dam in Goldeneye, is my favourite Bond opening. That long tracking shot following him up on the roof was unbelievably cool.
- The fight scene on the train with Batista was proper really good. Batista made for a good Bond henchman. There's not been a big scary goon for him to fight in a while.
- Lea Seydoux is unbelievably easy on the eye, she might be the best looking Bond girl. Although her and Daniel Craig do not have much chemistry I don't think and their relationship was believable, certainly not them suddenly being "in love". That is another gripe I had, I suppose.

5/10

[Kikó]

I'm going to give star wars a watch. According to a few places, Solo is where you need to start, so let's start from there.

[Ian]

What's the rationale for starting with Solo?

[Kikó]

Chronology apparently?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ins...s-movies%3famp

"Solo"
"Rogue One"
"A New Hope"
"The Empire Strikes Back"
("The Phantom Menace" if you wish)
"Attack of the Clones"
"Revenge of the Sith"
"Return of the Jedi"
"The Force Awakens"
"The Last Jedi"
"The Rise of Skywalker"

[Kikó]

Plus the second reboot is not being watched (the jar jar bastard ones).

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

That's not in chronological order, it's just what they think it's a decent order to watch it all in.

I'm a fan of the machete order which just omits episode 1 completely which is really not needed but it does have some cool pod racing and the fight at the end is good. However, it's hard to then fit in the new stuff. It seems they've just bundled them in at the end.

I still haven't watched Solo or Rise of Skywalker which I probably should rectify at some point.

Edit: Oh and their new machete order seems to exclude Rogue One which is the best of the new films that I've seen.

[niko_cee]

Just watch Rogue One and Empire and save yourself a lot of wasted time.

[Kikó]

I've not seen Solo or Rogue One so I'll waste my time wisely.

[Lewis]

- Lea Seydoux is unbelievably easy on the eye, she might be the best looking Bond girl.

As long as she isn't smiling. Jesus.

[Kikó]

Woody Harelson in star wars is weird.

[Baz]

The best way is to watch Episode 2, realise if an IP can involve something this catastrophically shit it’s definitely not worth watching anymore, then hope you get amnesia and scrub the worst blockbuster film ever made out of your mind.

[Giggles]

Just watch them all in chronological order so the story is in order and never mind these stupid ones that people come up with.

[Giggles]

As long as she isn't smiling. Jesus.

Yeah this one was weird and has almost taken the credibility from the reviews. She’s not even remotely close.

[Giggles]

I've not seen Solo or Rogue One so I'll waste my time wisely.

Rogue One is one of the best of the lot.

[niko_cee]

The best way is to watch Episode 2, realise if an IP can involve something this catastrophically shit it’s definitely not worth watching anymore, then hope you get amnesia and scrub the worst blockbuster film ever made out of your mind.

Is episode 2 the Dawson's Creek in space one? The prequel trilogy isn't actually that bad, you know, in relative terms, but that one is a bit of a stinker.

[Kikó]

Just watch them all in chronological order so the story is in order and never mind these stupid ones that people come up with.

What's chronological order? The date they were released?

[Giggles]

What's chronological order? The date they were released?

The order that time goes by in the story.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

So that would be:

"Episode I - The Phantom Menace"
"Episode II - Attack of the Clones"
"Episode III - Revenge of the Sith"
"Solo: A Star Wars Story"
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
"Episode IV - A New Hope"
"Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back"
"Episode VI - Return of the Jedi"
"Episode VII - The Force Awakens"
"Episode VIII - The Last Jedi"
"Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker"

Haven't watched Solo but that's still a lot of guff front loaded.

[Kikó]

Star Wars really lacks any jeopardy. No-one gives a shit about dying.

[Kikó]

Solo

It's a real who's who of big actors in this but actually, it works pretty well. Some good set pieces, decent pace (considering it's nearly 3 hours) and young Hans is pretty well cast (albeit he reminds me more of similar aged Luke Skywalker).

Onto Rogue 1.

[Ian]

Hans Olo.

[Shindig]

Lukes Kywalker. It'd be great if you could do that with all their stupid character names.

[Kikó]

It's the first rule of TTH naming, use the Lewis method.

[Kikó]

"the master switch is over on that console"
*Random console in the middle of the desert*

[Kikó]

Rogue One is really bloody good. They heard the jeopardy criticism from Solo and told me to fuck off. I'm geared up for a new hope tomorrow. 😎

To add

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I think they get the balance of nods to the old films right and stitch it all together really well. The introduction of Darth Vader is very well done and he's brilliantly menacing (with the right amount of force usage).

I'm always struggling on why the rebel fleet main ships are built so randomly (they just seem to be built with obvious weaknesses - but anyway...). Solo doesn't massively fit into this narrative other than knowing he will be coming soon (plus you don't get the "this is the end of Darth Maul" storyline watching it in this order).

[Dave.]

Rather distressingly, this thread appears to have been hacked by a bunch of crazed Star Wars lovers. So to bring it back on topic, here is the start of my James Bond reviews. I will simply review my least favourite Bond film first and eventually end with reviewing my favourite Bond film of all time. I will try to review each one seriously and make them not as fanboy-ish and accessible to all. All of these may contain spoilers. Okay, worst film to kick things off...

Octopussy

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Yes, Octopussy is my least favourite Bond film. On the face of it, this may seem very harsh as there is a lot of things to like about this film.

First off to my main bugbears of this film. The Tarzan Yell has absolutely no place in a Bond film. Also, Bond dressed as a clown - I know this was part of the story but no, doesn't sit right with me. Sorry.

Yes, Kamal Khan is a good villain but villains have been so much better in previous films - Dr No, Goldfinger, Largo, Kanaga, Scaramanga, Kristatos. And would be so much better than him in films to come. He's just average really. Henchman Gobinda suffers from the same problem. Vijay is poor as a Bond ally when compared to the various Felix Leiters, Columbo, Draco, Karim Bey, Saunders etc.

And as for Octopussy herself. She's rather boring really when compared to other leading Bond ladies. Given the film itself is titled Octopussy, I found her character very disappointing.

I also found the film quite hard to follow in places.

Roger Moore is the saving grace for this one. It's one of his better performances. I also enjoyed the opening sequence and the theme song. The scene where he has to diffuse the bomb was reasonably tense but I struggled to take it seriously because he was wearing the clown costume.

5/10.

[Ben]

I like this approach, watching them worst-to-best.

I agree with you on this one; it starts quite strong and could be the platform for a really good film but it goes downhill pretty quick around the time Octopussy herself is introduced.

[Dave.]

Moonraker

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You can tell that this one is bad by a glance at the IMDB reviews. Every good review of this film is followed by an apology!

The Ian Fleming novel is far better than the film which doesn't help matters. Michael Lonsdale does his best as Drax but he's a pale imitation of the novel Drax.

Again, I quite enjoyed the opening sequence which reintroduces Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me - a welcome reintroduction for a popular villain who is very suitable for the Roger Moore era of Bond films. However, half way through the film, an inexplicable decision is made to give Jaws a love interest and he becomes a good guy. Just beyond AWFUL.

Some other good points include the gorgeous cinematography. I'm no film critic here but even I recognise the sheer beauty of some of the scenes pre-space. We also have the rather haunting scene in which Corinne is chased by dogs. In my opinion, the rest of this film could have benefited from this tone rather than the comedic (verging on the slapstick) action we get. The space scenes are passable.

This film would get a higher mark if the slapstick was toned down, the plot was closer to that of the novel and Jaws didn't turn face (the wrestling fans amongst you can have a quick reference).

5.5/10

[Shindig]

The Roger Moore era is probably where they decided James Bond was something you could let the kids watch.

[SvN]

As a kid, I absolutely loved The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, and often watched them as a double feature together. Moonraker could genuinely be a kids film.

[Dave.]

The Roger Moore era is probably where they decided James Bond was something you could let the kids watch.

As a kid, I absolutely loved The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, and often watched them as a double feature together. Moonraker could genuinely be a kids film.

I largely agree with these two posts. I used to love Moonraker but my appreciation for it gradually declined as I got older. It used to be my least favourite Bond film but now Octopussy has that distinction.

[Ben]

It's my least favourite for sure. I've never been into the space stuff so even as a kid I wasn't fussed by it. As an adult, I just don't like the Roger Moore version so all his films are down the bottom for me.

[Dave.]

It's my least favourite for sure. I've never been into the space stuff so even as a kid I wasn't fussed by it. As an adult, I just don't like the Roger Moore version so all his films are down the bottom for me.

Some of his films are at the bottom for me and some nearer the middle. My favourite one of his is Live and Let Die. Interestingly, one of the best performances by a Bond was by him in For Your Eyes Only. He absolutely nailed it in that one. I need a rewatch of this one because I think it'll just fail to make the top ten as I don't particularly like the opening scene or the ending with Maggie Thatcher.

[Ben]

I just looked at the IMDb rankings and to be honest apart from its pathetic Licence to Kill score it's not a million miles off my personal rankings. Moore a bit lower overall and Dalton a lot higher.

[Alex]

Rather distressingly, this thread appears to have been hacked by a bunch of crazed Star Wars lovers. So to bring it back on topic, here is the start of my James Bond reviews. I will simply review my least favourite Bond film first and eventually end with reviewing my favourite Bond film of all time. I will try to review each one seriously and make them not as fanboy-ish and accessible to all. All of these may contain spoilers. Okay, worst film to kick things off...

Octopussy

Toggle Spoiler

Yes, Octopussy is my least favourite Bond film. On the face of it, this may seem very harsh as there is a lot of things to like about this film.

First off to my main bugbears of this film. The Tarzan Yell has absolutely no place in a Bond film. Also, Bond dressed as a clown - I know this was part of the story but no, doesn't sit right with me. Sorry.

Yes, Kamal Khan is a good villain but villains have been so much better in previous films - Dr No, Goldfinger, Largo, Kanaga, Scaramanga, Kristatos. And would be so much better than him in films to come. He's just average really. Henchman Gobinda suffers from the same problem. Vijay is poor as a Bond ally when compared to the various Felix Leiters, Columbo, Draco, Karim Bey, Saunders etc.

And as for Octopussy herself. She's rather boring really when compared to other leading Bond ladies. Given the film itself is titled Octopussy, I found her character very disappointing.

I also found the film quite hard to follow in places.

Roger Moore is the saving grace for this one. It's one of his better performances. I also enjoyed the opening sequence and the theme song. The scene where he has to diffuse the bomb was reasonably tense but I struggled to take it seriously because he was wearing the clown costume.

5/10.

Although I really liked Octopussy and it was one of my favourites, I do agree with you on the actual character of Octopussy herself. I feel like the entire film could have existed almost as well without her. I basically think they threw her in there mostly to justify using that (ridiculous) name as a title.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I haven't watched it for donkey's years. Is the implication that she has eight vaginas?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Phwoar.

[Alex]

I haven't watched it for donkey's years. Is the implication that she has eight vaginas?

Bond would love that. Certainly the Roger Moore version of Bond anyway.

[Dave.]

The World is Not Enough

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Yes, this is my least favourite Brosnan Bond film and not Die Another Day but they are plenty of reasons for this so stay with me...

This was actually a film with so much potential in terms of plot and Robert Carlyle's character Renard and it failed on both counts. More on this later.

TWINE's good points include a terrific opening sequence, a well-written (almost Shakespearean) villain in Elektra King (wonderfully played by Sophie Marceau) and an extended appearance by Judi Dench as M.

Okay, now onto the bad points...

We have a villain in Renard who has been shot in the head, survived for now but will eventually die but for now he is invincible. On the face of it, a very interesting character! Well, a character this film managed to make boring.

The plot that had potential? It's a bit of a damp squib really. Boring at times and hard to follow at others.

And then we have Christmas Jones. The nuclear physicist portrayed by Denise Richards. Just let these two sentences sink in for a while. This actually happened. And, of course, it was a complete disaster. Who actually sanctioned this idea?

5.5/10

[Dave.]

Okay, now we come to the Quantum of Solace. Since I cannot review this film as part of a double bill with Casino Royale , it belongs here as a standalone film. But if watched in combination with CR, I'd rank it slightly higher.

So with the (possibly pointless) ramblings out of the way, here's my review:

Quantum of Solace

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I'll start right away with the major problems in this film. The editing in the action sequences is quite annoying and this is very prominent in the opening sequence. In fact, the opening sequence overall is very poor. It just seems like a random car chase (I know it isn't, we find out that later) but it's sadly lacking compared to other openings.

The "shaky-cam" technique I rather poorly described above becomes a feature of the film and is both annoying and disorientating in equal measure.

Daniel Craig and other prominent figures have stated that the writer's strike of 2007-2008 was a major problem for this film and watching it, I can tell.

General Madrano and Dominic Greene are two of the least interesting villains in Bond franchise history.

Good points include but are not limited to a typically excellent central performance by Daniel Craig, an excellent Bond girl in Olga Kurylenko and a welcome but brief return for Rene Mathis. I also loved Bond interrupting the Quantum meeting at the opera. The closing sequences are also decent.

6/10