No spoilers.
Went to see it opening night. First things first - Loved it! As someone who loved Casino Royale (it became my favorite 007 film), yet hated Quantum Of Solace (one viewing only, don't own) - a new 007 film has been a long time coming indeed. Skyfall did not disappoint. Great performances all around, great story - again, very grounded.
Javier Bardem was fantastic as the villain, Daniel Craig was at his best yet at fully realizing the character of 007, and Judi Dench had her strongest performance, going well beyond supporting character.
All that said; Naomie Harris (Eve) made the film for me for several reasons, some I can’t discuss (spoilers). Her physical beauty is distracting, in an incredible way, and her performance is perfect. Perfect. Truthfully, I look at her and I can't make sense of how beautiful she is. Add in the amazing voice and her intelligence and she's the Bond Girl of all Bond Girls. *swoon*
I also like the nods to the history of the franchise. They were limited, not at all distracting, and fit within the story. If you caught them, fine – if you didn’t, not an issue at all. In fact, after two viewings there was still one I missed that a friend pointed out to me. It was so subtle that I didn’t see it, but it was a really nice touch.
It was particularly wonderful to get away from shaky-cam, image-a-second editing of Quantum. In Skyfall there were long shots and the scenes are allowed to breathe. Particularly the more cerebral passages. Hats off to Mr. Mendes and Mr. Newman for recapturing the atmosphere of Bond. It’s nice that they finally embraced their past instead of trying to reinvent it or ignore it.
Well done on every level, and that's coming from 40 years of uber nerddom. Where Casino Royale succeeded in refocusing the franchise - Skyfall went one step further and fully returned it. I went for a second viewing Sunday morning - no, not just to see Eve again. ;-)
At this point, after a second viewing and four days of reflection, I'm ready to declare Skyfall my favorite 007 film. It edges out Casino Royale because of its full return-to-form. The ending is a large part of that because the last five minutes of Skyfall are the first five minutes of every classic Bond film (post-title sequence).
For me, my Bond house is back in order. One more viewing at least and then it’s the long wait for the DVD. Until then, the soundtrack will have to hold me. Speaking of which; Along with Thomas Newman’s expert handling of the score, Adele’s theme song is genius. It’s the first theme song in 17 years that I haven’t discarded. In fact, I’m listening to it as I type this.
I give Skyfall an EASY 5 out of 5 cut-throat razors.
“She sent you after me, knowing you're not ready, knowing you would likely die. Mommy was very bad”
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Wonderful film. It has a lot of easter eggs and shout outs to arcade history. It even has a character based on Walter Day! I also loved the animated short Paperman before the film as well.
005 said:
006/007
008?
MINOR SKYFALL SPOILERS AHEAD
I'm not sure what I think of Skyfall. I like what the movie tried to do, bringing the story a bit closer from all the "bad guy wants to blow up stuff" in other films. But the middle of the movie felt like going through the motions.
Okay, we have to go to a few exotic locations.
Okay, we have to see Bond and a sexy dame talk at a bar.
Okay, we have to think the villain was caught when that was part of his plan the entire time (this is probably the most overused tripe in film today).
The third act saved the movie. Otherwise I would have put it below Quantum of Solace. Silva was an interesting villain, but we barely go to know him, and his motivations felt a little underdeveloped/rushed.
I'm a little biased, though. I'm not a huge Bond fan. I never found the character interesting, but Casino Royale was such a fantastic revelation and reinvention. Skyfall was an enjoyable, but I'm surprised people are liking it more than CR.
Oh, and was it necessary to include Wolf Blitzer in a news scene? That kind of garbage takes me out of a movie. I don't need to see Wolf Blitzer's face to realize that it's a news broadcast on the television in that scene. That's another lame Hollywood trend - "If we put an actual news figure in that scene, people will think it's more real!"
Gah.
“Grow up. These are my Disney's movies, not yours.”
The Watch.
meh...Richard Ayoade had some funny lines but otherwise it kinda falls flat.
A bunch of guys get together to form a neighbourhood watch and uncover an alien invasion..
Vince Vaughn plays that same guy he always plays.
1 ball.
georgec said:
MINOR SKYFALL SPOILERS AHEAD
The third act saved the movie. Otherwise I would have put it below Quantum of Solace. Silva was an interesting villain, but we barely go to know him, and his motivations felt a little underdeveloped/rushed.
Really? I thought the third act was the worst part.
MAJOR SPOILERS
I think it would have been much better had the old bird died at the courthouse (or whatever it was) and the third act could have followed from there.
END MAJOR SPOILERS
IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!
"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005
"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM
"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.
Maniac Cop (1988)
What a piece of shit!
4/10
xhonzi said:
georgec said:
MINOR SKYFALL SPOILERS AHEAD
The third act saved the movie. Otherwise I would have put it below Quantum of Solace. Silva was an interesting villain, but we barely go to know him, and his motivations felt a little underdeveloped/rushed.
Really? I thought the third act was the worst part.
MAJOR SPOILERS
I think it would have been much better had the old bird died at the courthouse (or whatever it was) and the third act could have followed from there.
END MAJOR SPOILERS
SPOIIIIILERS
I guess I liked how the themes of old vs. new technology were realized in the third act. The "last stand" at Bond's childhood home was a nice change of pace from uber command world domination centers. And we got to see a different side of M. But I see your point and agree that could have been interesting, too. it seemed the whole point of the movie was to bring in Moneypenny (I didn't like how Eve was absent for the second half of the movie) and replace M. Basically, this movie did what QoS should have done.
NO MORE SPOILERS
Either way, it was a good movie, but not very memorable.
“Grow up. These are my Disney's movies, not yours.”
GIANT SPOILERS OF DEATH
But why would Bond be followed home if the bird was the target?
END SPOILERS OF DOOM
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doubleofive said:
GIANT SPOILERS OF DEATH
But why would Bond be followed home if the bird was the target?
END SPOILERS OF DOOM
EVEN BIGGER SPOILERS THAN 005's
He wouldn't have... Silva could have continued with whatever his other goals were (did he have any?), and a refocused Bond and Ralph Fiennes could have worked to stop him.
I know we would have lost the Kevin Mccallister reveal, which would have sucked, but I think the movie as a whole would have been less ridiculous. Maybe you can have Tim Curry follow him around and ask about his parents.
OKAY, THE SPOILERS WEREN'T THAT BIG AFTER ALL, BUT IF YOU'RE DISAPPOINTED, IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR BUYING THE HYPE
IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!
"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005
"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM
"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.
XHONZI WISHES HIS SPOILERS WERE THIS BIG
I guess Bond would have had to blow up the internet to stop Silva from messing something up. Oh wait, Brosnan-era is over.
END SPOILERS THAT WERE REALLY JUST SILLY SPECULATION
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STOP MAKING FUN OF MY SMALL SPOILERS, 005, IT'S JUST COLD IN HERE
You are mistaken! The names on the internet bit was all part of his revenge on M. Once he had his revenge, and she was dead, there was something else he wanted... right? That huge operation of his had more to do than just kill his old boss, right? I mean, I've had some terrible bosses...
I THINK MINE STILL HAD SOME LEGITIMATE SPOILERS, AND NOT JUST SILLY SPECULATION
IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!
"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005
"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM
"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.
I don't want to open the topic because of such insane spoilers, but at the same time, I don't want to miss the spoiler warnings.
Keep Circulating the Tapes.
END OF LINE
(It hasn’t happened yet)
georgec said:
SPOIIIIILERS
I liked how the themes of old vs. new technology were realized in the third act.
NO MORE SPOILERS
It's like: Technology vs Horse
IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!
"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005
"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM
"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.
SOME SPOILERS
As to Silva and his motivation, yeah, I think it was mostly getting revenge. In that sense, if M died half-way through, the end would, presumably be Bond just going after Silva. But I don't think that would be nearly as interesting.
As for it being a huge and destructive operation to get revenge against M, all I can say is, some men just want to watch the world burn. After Silva was "betrayed" he clearly had a mental breakdown of some sort and is now hell bent on getting revenge on M in the biggest, most explosive ways possible.
And, to further explain what he would do after he killed M, my best guess would be that he would kill himself.
ACTUALLY THAT WAS A LOT OF SPOILERS
THE PRESSURE TO COME UP WITH GOOD SPOILER TAGS IS GETTING TO ME
Want to watch the world burn, or want to watch M die? I'm fine with a villain that wants to watch the world burn, but that's a separate goal from killing M.
If his only goal (I'm not saying it wasn't (nor am I saying it was)) was just to kill M, and then himself... are you saying that he won? Give or take 5 minutes? What kind of Bond film is this???
I think a villain that kills M in the middle of the piece, and then goes on to do whatever else he has planned is a scarier villain than one that walks up to an old mansion in daylight with 10-15 goons and a helicopter.
LET'S JUST FACE IT, NOBODY DOES SPOILER TAGS BETTER THAN 005
IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!
"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005
"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM
"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.
SPOLIERES
What I meant was killing M does not require 'slopsions. But Silvia is as annoyed with the world as he is with M, so that's why he plan is far more than just killing M. He wanted to embarrass her, and, well basically make her feel awful about her decisions - make her feel responsible for the people he killed. Then he wanted to kill her and him and end it. All while causing massive destruction.
Sorry about the Joker quote, really wanted to use it, but I will admit it kind of muddled my point.
As for the other stuff, I guess, in way a way, he did win. But he doesn't know that. He never got the satisfaction. But I think this whole situation just makes the film more interesting. Yeah, it's not a typical Bond villain. He doesn't just want to take over the world. I guess it comes down to opinion, but I loved the story we got. I loved the intricacies of the Silva character. And I think to have the final act focus on him doing whatever else would, in a way, make his character development less meaningful. I like that the culmination of the film has to deal with the culmination of his, and Bond's, character arcs.
EL FIN
SPOILERS ARE FOR BABIES
I didn't get the impression he wanted to watch the world burn. IF he didn't kill himself (which seems likely judging by how he nearly ended it), he would have been happy to keep selling secrets or selling his hacking skills to the highest bidders.
SPOILERS: THE OTHER WHITE MEAT
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oops*
IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!
"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005
"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM
"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.
ME NO READEE THREADEE!
SPOILERS AHEAD
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END SPOILERS
“Grow up. These are my Disney's movies, not yours.”
bkev said:
^What Captainsolo said! I feel as if the Moore Bond movies struggled to remain relevant by picking up on recent trends in pop culture and trying to utilize them; while Moonraker is the most blatant example, you can see it a little in each. While Moore as Bond has a bit of a bumbling aspect to him (the first time I saw L&LD I asked myself why Bond kept ... losing,) his portrayal is certainly fun. He has a suaveness that I'm not even sure Connery ever pulled off. It always made sense why he got the girl. I love him for different reasons than other actors; in fact, the problem I have with picking a favorite is that in my opinion there never WAS a bad Bond actor. Just bad movies that went along with him.
Thanks! I agree with never being able to choose a favorite actor or film. All are individually different.
Trooperman said:
I actually really love Moonraker and I thought Roger Moore was a worthy follow-up to Sean Connery. The strong 70s feel of the Moore movies adds to the enjoyment for me because I love that period of filmmaking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oieAo5NiYjc
Listen to that melancholy, admittedly dated opening song. Beautiful...
"Moonraker" is the most underrated of all the title themes. Brilliantly melancholic song.
Barry's score is quite wonderful and the recording in France gives it an otherworldly quality that perfectly fits the film. Sad that the master tapes were lost preventing a complete score release.
SilverWook said:
Always going to have a soft spot for Moonraker, as it was the first Bond I ever saw in a theater.
I still marvel at all the shuttle launch scenes. Derek Meddings and his crew nailed it two years before the real thing ever happened!
I wonder if anyone at NASA ever toyed with the idea of calling one of the real orbiters Moonraker? ;)
They should have! ;) The effects are quite good, especially for being done by hand on a limited sfx budget. I honestly maintain that Moonraker isn't a bad film, and does not deserve its reputation at all. Overall it's better than For Your Eyes Only for example, and is also the last of the over the top Bond films that went for pure spectacle. Also, it is the 70's version of Thunderball in terms of excess.
Trooperman said:
Skyfall (2012)
My initial reaction:
Holy shit. That was not an action movie. That was a movie warning its audience that they were going to go to hell.
I was there. ;)
Seriously, I am amazed this movie got made.
Same here.
Totally unlike any other Bond film.
Because it isn't!!
xhonzi said:
Skyfall- Maybe a 6.5/10. MINOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT
I'm not very upset about this one, but it didn't really do much for me. I thought some of the scenes were done well, and others not so much.
This was my reaction to it: either James Bond is a fantasy character that hits every unnamed target he shoots at (boss fights last longer) and survives 300 ft falls into shallow pools, can drive/pilot anything, shrugs off bullets and never ages- all in a Tuxedo with perfect hair... or he's something more real, who gets old, gets shot by accident, only gets a gun from the quartermaster, and has the PM asking whether he's relevant in today's cyberworld. In other words- he's Jason Bourne.
In this movie, he seems to alternate betwixt these two and you're never quite sure which one you're seeing. Back to the sex-slave girl- in one scene, the gritty reality of the dark and nasty things that real bad guys do to real people in our real world, and in the next scene she's just a hot chick that's wanted Bond since the moment she saw him. (Just like every other chick.)
Do these movies take place in the real world, or not?
However (this is where I get positive) I did think that it was extremely clever and totally surprising that while I thought I was watching the continuation of a James Bond prequel, I was actually watching a stealth reboot of one of my childhood favourite series. When they showed Bond's parents' graves and they said Peter and Kate Mccallister, my mind was litteraly blown! So, they finally confirmed that Bond is, in fact, a code name given to each 007 they recruit and that this Bond was, in fact, once Kevin Mccallister! GENIUS!
Conclusion- too silly to be serious, too serious to be fun.
P.S. "Haha! Take that! He's ROBIN, FRINK'S MOTHER!!!" Didn't work for me here either. But the last 10 seconds were cool, if a bit headscratching when accounting the logical implications.
Interesting points. The current iteration does indeed flounder between the cinematic legacy, Fleming and the cinematic Bourne.
Loathed the unnecessary character reveal. Loved Fiennes role however.
georgec said:
005 said:
006/007
008?
MINOR SKYFALL SPOILERS AHEAD
I'm not sure what I think of Skyfall. I like what the movie tried to do, bringing the story a bit closer from all the "bad guy wants to blow up stuff" in other films. But the middle of the movie felt like going through the motions.
Oh, and was it necessary to include Wolf Blitzer in a news scene? That kind of garbage takes me out of a movie. I don't need to see Wolf Blitzer's face to realize that it's a news broadcast on the television in that scene. That's another lame Hollywood trend - "If we put an actual news figure in that scene, people will think it's more real!"
Gah.
Yes the bit with The Wolf was a bit too obvious. Hearing his wonderful monotone wasn't what i expected when in Bond-verse.
The film hit me sideways and I still am not sure whether I hated it it or didn't. As someone who actively studies all 007 aspects it's a very mixed bag, which confuses me even more. All I can say is
SPOILER!!
Judi Dench got the boot!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!
SPOILER end.
And NOT SO SPOILER: Purvis and Wade are out as screenwriters. YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do hate plot summarizing and trying to avoid spoilers. I couldn't hardly talk about the film in my blog review, in order to avoid spoiling much of anything.
VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader
Almost forgot my LMS.
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
One of my all time favorites and absolutely the savior of the horror film as we know it. Brilliant, creative, ingenious narrative setup with multifaceted ending, legendary color cinematography, and the unification of Cushing & Lee.
I was able to sample the new UK BD. Oh boy is it baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddd.
4 balls out of 4.
http://thehificelluloidmonster.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/the-curse-of-frankenstein-1957/
VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader
Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
How did this get past me for so long? Here is a film without a Frankenstein Monster as we think of, is an idea film, a morality play of sorts, and a film that truly has balls to do something altogether different. All this topped off by a deliciously ridiculous darkly humorous and damning conclusion.
This combined with the genius of Cushing gets...my full 4 balls out of 4. Wow.
And THIS is how you do a classic early widescreen film on DVD!! HD master, anamorphic 1.66:1, mono sound, grain intact, a few nicks and marks here and there, but stunning transfer and already 10 years old! Whoa, take that Hammer and shove your silly screwy BDs!
VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader
georgec said:
005 said:
006/007
008?
MINOR SKYFALL SPOILERS AHEAD
Oh, and was it necessary to include Wolf Blitzer in a news scene? That kind of garbage takes me out of a movie. I don't need to see Wolf Blitzer's face to realize that it's a news broadcast on the television in that scene. That's another lame Hollywood trend - "If we put an actual news figure in that scene, people will think it's more real!"
Gah.
That trend has been going on since at least the 70's. Possibly as early as the 60's, but Los Angeles newscasters probably wouldn't be recognized outside California.
Didn't Kubrick use a real BBC guy interviewing Dave and Frank in 2001? I know the mission control guy wasn't an actor. Stanely wanted him to sound like the real deal...
Where were you in '77?