tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post5668639562893132766..comments2023-08-20T06:16:15.362-05:00Comments on Getafilm: Terminator IV: The Bond Ultimatum (Quantum of Solace)Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-50708595240206322642009-02-23T13:35:00.000-06:002009-02-23T13:35:00.000-06:00What can I say? I had a lot to say about the film....What can I say? I had a lot to say about the film. My own review for the film was so long people barely bothered to read it.<BR/><BR/>I could tell you liked the campy Bond from your review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-11618703182128493202009-02-20T13:18:00.000-06:002009-02-20T13:18:00.000-06:00Wow, an exhaustive review of my review - thanks fo...Wow, an exhaustive review of my review - thanks for reading all the way through it.<BR/><BR/>So we seem to agree on some of the weaknesses of QoS - notably the song and some technical pieces. But we clearly differ on the presentation of Bond in this film.<BR/><BR/>I should have made it more obvious if I hadn't here, but my preference for Bond definitely points toward the campy Roger Moore years, which many people despised. But even the Connery, Dalton, and Brosnan films had at least a smidge of humor and wit, not to mention the gadgets.<BR/><BR/>And that's why I think QoS was such a shock to my system. Had it been a stand-alone movie outside of the franchise (excluding Casino Royale), I might not have been so critical. But to me it went against everything that I knew about the character.<BR/><BR/>Essentially I think it comes down to a line drawn between Bond fans who prefer the old or the new, and we happen to be on different sides of the line.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-49105150466857437242009-02-19T12:49:00.000-06:002009-02-19T12:49:00.000-06:00“that Moore was 45 years old in Live and Let Die a...“that Moore was 45 years old in Live and Let Die and 58 years old in his last of the series, A View to a Kill, which despite Christopher Walken's weirdness still remains an underrated Bond movie.”<BR/><BR/>A View to a Kill is one of my favorite Bond films. <BR/><BR/>“what must have amounted to several thousands of hours of playing the N64 game with my friends, I came to include GoldenEye as one of the most watchable of the series.”<BR/><BR/>Friends on mine played Bond so much they had the reemerge points memorized. <BR/><BR/>I don’t think I have ever seen Thunderball , sorry, but I still found Austin Powers funny. Casino Royale all in all is probably my favorite Bond film.<BR/><BR/>“This is no surprise, of course, as the movie is meant to be a full-on sequel.”<BR/><BR/>I agree and it is about time they followed the story for the preceding film.<BR/><BR/>“Aside from being too confusingly edited (which continues throughout the movie, I might add), this opening scene is also way too serious - a real harbinger of the mood to come. Bond is all business now, and he's got no time to have fun or crack a joke about the car he sends off a cliff. As the pre-title sequence ends, we're indeed emotionally ‘shaken, not stirred’.”<BR/><BR/>I’m glad they took the film and its action scenes seriously. I was so sick and tired of the quips that no one would make in a highly stressful situation. Imagine if The Dark Knight had not taken itself serious. We would have another Batman and Robin, shudder.<BR/><BR/>"Another Way to Die" is possibly one of the worst Bond songs to date, hampered even further by a terribly unimaginative, weirdly futuristic title sequence. I couldn't wait for the beginning to end.”<BR/><BR/>I agree. That song is MI6 poodoo. They should have kept Amy Winehouse, even with her “problems”. GoldenEye had the best opening song. They should hired Tina Turner again.<BR/><BR/>“with a boring new Bond girl (Olga Kurylenko) and a completely dispassionate villain (Mathieu Amalric)”<BR/><BR/>During the fire finale, neither were boring or dispassionate to me though during the rest of the film, maybe.<BR/><BR/>“This James Bond has no gadget weaponry, no tricky killing schemes - not even a cool car! Like Jason Bourne, he's just an amazing athlete with a chip on his shoulder who knows how to use a gun, and like The Terminator, he uses the gun with the same amount of emotion that we use operating a calculator. That the piercingly blue-eyed Daniel Craig doesn't smile one time throughout this movie is about all the proof you need that this isn't good ol' Bond. ”<BR/><BR/>Thank god the “cool car” bs was dropped. I was sick of the bond films promoting BMW or some other car company filled with gadgets perfectly suited for just the sort of situations Bond encounters. It was nonsense.<BR/><BR/>Why would Bond be smiling? He is in pain, mourning. Do you smile at funerals or when someone close to you dies? I can not believe you mentioned him not smiling. His heart was ripped out of his chest by betrayal and then he had to contend with the betrayer’s death. What do you expect from him? He is a human being and he finally acts like one.<BR/><BR/>“a cold-blooded robot awkwardly trying to crack a joke about not being able to find stationery.”<BR/><BR/>He should not have slept with Agent Fields in the first place. <BR/><BR/>“Since when were you driven by vengeance and a broken heart, like Jason Bourne?”<BR/><BR/>At the beginning of Diamonds are Forever is when Bond is driven by vengeance. He is enraged at the death of his wife, Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, at the hands of Blofeld in the Bond film that preceded it, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. <BR/><BR/>“Please move on, because I need you back, too, Bond.”<BR/>Stay buried old joke master, please. “Fall into shadow.” <BR/><BR/>I will say though that the jump out of the plane was horrible. They should have used stunt people and done it for real. The editing of that scene needed some work.<BR/><BR/> I was disappointed by some aspects of the film but as I say in my review: Quantum of Solace is to Casino Royale what the Two Towers was to the Fellowship of the Ring. <BR/><BR/>“The lack of plot and character development following Casino Royale, however, most likely will.”<BR/>@Alexander Coleman. I thought Bond was developed a little more in this film. We got to see that he is not made of stone. That he does feel emotional pain.<BR/><BR/>@Miranda. You liked the Alicia Keys song? Lol!<BR/>@teeblah. The water plot could have been modified. And you’re right, he didn’t use the gun from the poster. I guess they were referencing the end to the last film with that. <BR/>@Daniel. Haggis deserves the accolades he has received for films you listed.<BR/>@K.Bowen. Me too it seems.<BR/>@Daniel. I’m almost at 500 posts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-67547877542533216092008-12-01T09:25:00.000-06:002008-12-01T09:25:00.000-06:00Thanks, Nick! I didn't realize it was an accomplis...Thanks, Nick! I didn't realize it was an accomplishment until I saw others celebrating 300. In hindsight I can see the significance. It's been a lot of work, as you well know.<BR/><BR/>Don't go out of your way to either see or review this anytime soon. The market has been saturated and people are Bonded out. But maybe I should speak for myself...Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-26017071535675902632008-11-30T05:51:00.000-06:002008-11-30T05:51:00.000-06:00Congrats Danny, on your 300th post, and the fact t...Congrats Danny, on your 300th post, and the fact that your reviewed a film I feel so indifferent towards I doubt I will ever bother reviewing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-168258051839424152008-11-21T11:10:00.000-06:002008-11-21T11:10:00.000-06:00Well, depends on how you frame it, KB. Maybe more ...Well, depends on how you frame it, KB. Maybe more than most of us in this particular blogging circle, but I've definitely seen enough people defending it, yourself included.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Marilyn. I have that one waiting for me in my reader. I'm sure it will be a great look back on the first Bond film.<BR/><BR/>Let's just say we're both validated, Fletch. You in calling the overhype, and me in calling the misdirection of the franchise after the glory years.<BR/><BR/>I wonder where it will go next...<BR/><BR/>P.S. I just realized that this was my 300th post!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-26533637653982840642008-11-21T09:52:00.000-06:002008-11-21T09:52:00.000-06:00Well, I guess then that I have to feel validated b...Well, I guess then that I have to feel validated by the meh reviews as well. :)<BR/><BR/>To clarify my stance, though - I didn't have negative feelings about the quality of the film so much as I just wasn't on board with the amount of hype it was receiving (especially when combined with how much love the last got, which I didn't fully grasp).<BR/><BR/>I will surely be waiting for the DVD.Fletchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17299302086449086987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-42673974198811432112008-11-21T08:15:00.000-06:002008-11-21T08:15:00.000-06:00I'm not really sure what skin suffocation is, but ...I'm not really sure what skin suffocation is, but that was my understanding, too; silver is also toxic and could poison the system in large quantities.<BR/><BR/>Daniel, if you haven't read Rod's review of <I>Dr. No</I> on my site, I think you should - it really gets to the heart of the Bond franchise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-41646393040185934772008-11-20T22:13:00.000-06:002008-11-20T22:13:00.000-06:00I liked it more than most, it seems.I liked it more than most, it seems.K. Bowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18130942010358018154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-33485856545096006442008-11-20T21:04:00.000-06:002008-11-20T21:04:00.000-06:00Weird. I have to say I've never encountered it any...Weird. I have to say I've never encountered it anywhere else. My understanding from Goldfinger was that it actually suffocated the skin and not directly the lungs, which never made physiological sense to me. If you ever see Quantum of Solace, you'll see a lazy reinvention of that same scene from Goldfinger...Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-50319698505337095772008-11-20T17:49:00.000-06:002008-11-20T17:49:00.000-06:00There is one thing I find really interesting about...There is one thing I find really interesting about <I>Goldfinger</I>: murder by gold dust. It seems unique, even today, but a film from the 1930s that I reviewed on my site, <I>Bedlam</I>, actually has a similar action. It's silver dust and used as a costume rather than a method of execution, but the entire film is about the mistreatment and murder of inconvenient inmates in an insane asylum, so it definitely tracks pretty closely with <I>Goldfinger</I>. It makes me wonder if there have been other films that have used this unusual device.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-90069668581925047082008-11-20T10:31:00.000-06:002008-11-20T10:31:00.000-06:00That's alright, Marilyn. I didn't read too much ne...That's alright, Marilyn. I didn't read too much negativity in your comment. It just got me riled up as you explained the Bond "backlash" that I referenced in the post. I still say people don't know what they're missing if they've only seen the new ones, but I admit it's a lot harder to introduce someone to something like Goldfinger or You Only Live Twice in 2008.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-32623305216459223012008-11-20T09:17:00.000-06:002008-11-20T09:17:00.000-06:00It's ok, Daniel. I didn't mean to make it sound ne...It's ok, Daniel. I didn't mean to make it sound negative, only to put the Bond franchise in context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-13570112638150314712008-11-19T16:49:00.000-06:002008-11-19T16:49:00.000-06:00Unbelievable week happening. Almost forgot I had a...Unbelievable week happening. Almost forgot I had a blog.<BR/><BR/>Miranda, I have a full load of yours to catch up on, and I'll definitely link to all of them, albeit a little late. I agree that Craig wasn't really the issue here. I haven't seem him emote a whole lot in any particular role, but in interviews he seems pretty loose. They just wrote him as a robot here.<BR/><BR/>So you LIKED the song? I'll read more about at that CP...<BR/><BR/>TB, the Bourne jump wasn't just better - it was first. They should have been proud. <BR/><BR/>The opening sequence overall just bored me. The song didn't grate on me necessarily, but paired up with blah visuals I found it pretty pathetic. Even just looking back at the Casino Royale intro on YouTube - even though they discarded the "classic" intros with naked women doing gymnastics, they still kept your attention with shattering bodies.<BR/><BR/>Hmm, interesting point about the location titles filling in for the jet-setting. They didn't do those before, though, so this seemed kind of lazy. However, the actual shooting locations were pretty cool - I saw part of the "making of" thing on Comcast.<BR/><BR/>I don't want to call Haggis overrated because I still stand by Crash, but between Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima and In the Valley of Elah, I find some of his writing...haggard.<BR/><BR/>Marilyn, I really love all of those thoughts. Definitely this is a new era. The Cold War is over and spies are ridiculously captured in garbage like Body of Lies instead. I guess all I'm holding onto, as you say, is a cultural artifact for the sake of nostalgia. I guess I just couldn't put my lamentation of the franchise in such concise words as you did!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-47165674454053196512008-11-19T10:04:00.000-06:002008-11-19T10:04:00.000-06:00I can't comment on this film because I probably wo...I can't comment on this film because I probably won't see it until it comes to cable (which is how I finally saw Craig's <I>Casino Royale</I>).<BR/><BR/>The problem with the franchise is that audiences ain't what they used to be. Audiences no longer need a globe-trotting James Bond to take them to worlds they'll never explore--they can see it on the Internet. Explicit sex on theatre, tv, and computer screens is so ubiquitous that Bond's nymphomania seems kind of quaint, as does the notion of a "Bond girl." Diabolical conspiracies in the age of irony and political correctness makes people like No and Goldfinger objects of parody or scorn. I might even argue that the successes of feminism have made unfeeling action heroes unacceptable even as it has made automaton women in films like <I>Aeon Flux</I> and all of Milla Jovovich's <I>oeuvre</I> very cool (and I say that as a fan of many of these films).<BR/><BR/>I loved James Bond at his inception because it was the spy era - Cold War intrigue was everywhere, on TV, in movies, in books, in <I>Mad</I> magazine! In my adolescent, getting a hold of an Ian Fleming book was the same as sneaking looks at pornography. Who cares about spies anymore? It's a cultural artifact that few people, save for our blog host Daniel, want to relate to. Even I've moved on, finding the Bond films too thin for my enjoyment anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-23875190486573380832008-11-17T15:51:00.000-06:002008-11-17T15:51:00.000-06:00Oh, and the cell phone as the gadget gimmic was la...Oh, and the cell phone as the gadget gimmic was lame and he didn't use that sweet gun from the poster.teeblahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15370548652382414661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-27305558016165035652008-11-17T15:45:00.000-06:002008-11-17T15:45:00.000-06:00Minutiae: The Bourne people were pretty happy with...Minutiae: The Bourne people were pretty happy with themselves with the balcony jump you mention, they actually had the camera man jump too, in Bond I noticed they don't. Ends up being a little cooler in Bourne.<BR/>I heard the new Bond theme a while back, I think on Sound Opinions and I felt the same in the theater as I did the first time; meh. I can't really see how people get fired up to actively dislike it, but it doesn't do a ton for me either. I remember kind of liking the little gun smoke swirls graphic design thing they had going so I may have missed the overall aesthetic and its pairing with the song. <BR/>I wonder if the question with the intro relates or expands to all these questions we're asking. Are people looking for that retro feel redone again but still fresh? It may be an unfair ask of the series at this point but regardless a bad movie is a bad movie.<BR/>I thought the locations were alright, they had those location announcements that were stylized and kind of blending into the first shot. I think they met there requirements for jet-setting, he's in Port-Au-Prince and then that opera adn then gives Mi6 a little head fake when they turn off his credit card and meets his buddy before they go to Bolivia or whatever. The problem I had is with the plot, as evidence by that horrible timeline I just gave. I didn't really know what was going on and if I did, then it was pretty lame. If Haggis is so good, how did he get mixed up in this hot mess? The big plan of this extensive evil organization that nobody knows anything about is to hoard Bolivia's water? And then replace dictators until someone is willing to pay their prices? Wow, that's boringly obtuse.teeblahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15370548652382414661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-73324952385425628422008-11-17T01:14:00.000-06:002008-11-17T01:14:00.000-06:00Danny, my review of QOS is up now...and I found it...Danny, my review of QOS is up now...and I found it pathetically directed and edited miserably. I like MARC FORSTER a lot. He just shouldn't be allowed to helm an action movie.<BR/><BR/>EVER AGAIN.<BR/><BR/>I thought JUDI DENCH, GIANCARLO GIANNINI and JEFFREY WRIGHT were all fantastic. <BR/><BR/>DANIEL CRAIG CAN DO NO WRONG. It wasn't his fault. He gives it his all. It was the film that let him down. <BR/><BR/>He's still one of the finest actors of his generation. BY FAR. He's got those cool azure eyes, that maddeningly distracting physique and that solid masculine presence. <BR/><BR/>He's the perfect BOND. This wasn't his fault.<BR/><BR/>So I adored him regardless.<BR/><BR/>Also loved: the JACK WHITE/ALICIA KEYS song, James' relationship with M, the ending (PERFECT) and the retro stylings of the classic JOHN BARRY theme over the closing credits. <BR/><BR/>Aside from the wonderful acting that I pointed out previously in my post and the other things that I outlined that were great, everything pretty much blew. <BR/><BR/>But there's always next time. I won't give up on DANIEL so easily.<BR/><BR/>I'll be reviewing BOND films all week at CINEMATIC PASSIONS. <BR/><BR/>So y'all come have a look if you're into it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-55760880687808002592008-11-16T22:49:00.000-06:002008-11-16T22:49:00.000-06:00Well, Nick, I won't go so far as to say it taints ...Well, Nick, I won't go so far as to say it taints the entire franchise, but I definitely don't think it improves on anything. Obviously I'd love to hear what you think if you also like the older Bonds!<BR/><BR/>Haha, media boy, that about sums up the obsession with the action, alright. Seriously, he had like a toxic touch in this, having to promise M that he wouldn't kill anyone, just like, oh, the Terminator to John Connor: "He'll live."<BR/><BR/>Thanks for commenting, anonymous. Maybe you're right - I mean obviously you are, you're Haitian. I just haven't heard the patois in the accents of the native Haitians I know, and when I was in Haiti in the late 90's, those who spoke English sounded much more like they had a French accent, I assumed that being an influence of Creole.<BR/><BR/>In any case, maybe it was a stretch to call out Forster for that in particular (even though it really wasn't filmed in Haiti). I just didn't get the travel thrill in QoS that I did from the other Bonds.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-89361739249205279642008-11-16T18:11:00.000-06:002008-11-16T18:11:00.000-06:00Haitian people speak English mostly with a Jamaica...Haitian people speak English mostly with a Jamaican accent. <BR/>I am Haitian and people always think that I am from Jamaica.<BR/>Here is your explanationAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-5078758690466947102008-11-16T11:50:00.000-06:002008-11-16T11:50:00.000-06:00Quantum of Solace was entertaining for sure, but s...Quantum of Solace was entertaining for sure, but sometimes i got the feeling that the movie was making fun of itself... everywhere pane of glass Bond crosses was broken, he can't get a gallon of milk from the store without it turning into a chase scene, and every time he punches someone in the face, they dieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-12915455930198261662008-11-16T01:28:00.000-06:002008-11-16T01:28:00.000-06:00I skipped my press screening of it to study for an...I skipped my press screening of it to study for an exam, lol, and will only be able to see it next weekend now, but I don't mind, not if it sucks this bad. I like the old Bonds, I really do, and I liked Casino Royale, but have no clue if I want to bother seeing something that will taint the entire franchise, but perhaps I should just see it, and if I don't like it, just forget about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-38944455877373877622008-11-15T18:15:00.000-06:002008-11-15T18:15:00.000-06:00It's hard to tone down my disappointment, Christia...It's hard to tone down my disappointment, Christian. I don't know about anybody else. Obviously in anxious suspense for other verdicts here.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-62360367528051258362008-11-15T15:09:00.000-06:002008-11-15T15:09:00.000-06:00Ouch. Youse guys are scaring me.I'll find out toni...Ouch. Youse guys are scaring me.<BR/><BR/>I'll find out tonight...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-7087432106217158592008-11-15T13:20:00.000-06:002008-11-15T13:20:00.000-06:00Well, Sam and Alexander, I can only feel validated...Well, Sam and Alexander, I can only feel validated that I wasn't out of my mind in disliking this movie, especially in relation to the older Bonds but even as its own stand-alone action flick. <BR/><BR/>I won't try to persuade you on Moore, Craig. He was one of the first that I latched onto, and as you've noticed I appreciated his humor as much as anything else.<BR/><BR/>I like to think of N64 GoldenEye as more of a "life experience" than a simple video game. Ten years later and I'd love to get into again right now.<BR/><BR/>The video game for Quantum of Solace might as well be Duke Nukem.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.com