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masterminis.net - where we learn to be a better painter!: Win a signed copy of Forge World's Angron! (englis...: Hello everybody! If you are already a subscriber to this blog, and want to find out how to win your copy of Angron, you have come to t...

Best James Bond Theme Song Rendition Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:41:00 +0000

We're all adult enough to enjoy a good James Bond joke, right? And maybe some excessive profanity in song form?

I hope so, because if you can accept good James Bond humor and excessive profanity, then you too can enjoy this version of the James Bond Theme Song that I cannot stop laughing at.

(Via Topless Robot)

Set Pictures from Skyfall

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Bond 23 has been named Skyfall...yeah I missed that news too. But not only that, there are set pictures. A whole bunch of set pictures here. Next year seems an awful long way off right now.

The Case for From Russia With Love

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:07:00 +0000

It is my firm belief that movies can suffer the effects of the “middle child syndrome.” Sequels in trilogies that don’t push the envelope enough or are forgettable for not being the beginning or end of a story, can often fall into this middle child territory. Falling in between the first James Bond(Dr. No), and what is arguably perceived as the best James Bond (Goldfinger), From Russia With Love suffers this inglorious syndrome with no just reason other than its placement. It is superior to Dr. No in every aspect, and if the series had ended with only two movies it would be viewed as a masterpiece. However, the success of FRWL allowed the producers to make a third movie and with Goldfinger the series took off to the stratosphere. Here now, let us take the opportunity to make the case for FRWL and why it should be regarded as a Bond masterpiece.

***Spoiler Alert***This article is full of spoilers, so if for some ungodly reason you haven't seen From Russia With Love then what is wrong with you? Watch it first, or at least don't complain. You've been warned.

Story
The story involves the Bond stealing the Lektor cryptograph, a huge intelligence boon. However the plan is actually a plot by SPECTRE to steal the Lektor and sell it back to the Russians along with killing Bond in payment for killing Dr. No in the previous film. The film is heavy with suspenseful espionage relying on the actions of agents and double agents rather than necessarily some expensive gadget to move the story and action along. It does have Bond’s first true gadget in the shape of a deadly attaché case that Bond uses against the SPECTRE assassin. However Bond has to trick the assassin into opening it. The story has betrayal, suspense, and romance like you would expect in a Bond movie, but the story is very tight and does not suffer from trying to fit into the Bond film mould that movies after Goldfinger were seemed forced into.

Dr. No was an excellent story to start the film franchise with. The scope of the story was focused specifically in just one area with the mystery revealing not only the plan of the primary bad guy, but also revealing SPECTRE who would stand as MI6’s primary adversary through the early films. FRWL married the taut Cold War dramatics that pervaded the novels with an expanded view of the SPECTRE organization. It also introduced the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld who would stand as Bond’s arch nemesis through those early years. In this early film Blofeld is a faceless evil known only as “Number 1” running SPECTRE and overseeing its plans. FRWL is fraught with Cold War dramatics. Specifically featuring the Russians for the first time, they are a primary source of angst that wouldn’t be seen again until The Spy Who Loved Me. There’s a real sense of both sides working desperately to win, not knowing there is a third agency at work.

Setting
Dr. No featured just London and Jamaica. Whether the film was written with only two settings because of the smaller budget or because that’s just what the story needed (which it did only need those two settings) isn’t really relevant to this discussion. However FRWL featured London, Istanbul, Belgrade, Venice, Zagreb, and the unnamed SPECTRE Island. Use of the Orient Express as a means to escape Istanbul provided the story element to allow for the Eastern European sites. These days, the setting doesn’t have the impact, but in 1963 this is the heart of Communist controlled Eastern Europe that really added a depth of suspense and tension to the movie.

Gadgets
FRWL isn’t the first movie to feature Major Boothroyd, aka Q (he was played by Peter Burton in Dr. No) but it is the first film to feature Desmond Llewelyn who would reprise the role in almost every film until his death in 1999. Not only does it feature Desmond Llewelyn, but it also features the first time Q gave a briefing on a gadget to Bond. In Dr. No Boothroyd replaces Bond’s Beretta with the Walther PPK. In FRWL it’s the briefcase featuring a throwing knife, tear gas cartridge, survival rifle with ammunition, and 50 gold sovereigns. Bond also had a car phone which was quite a thought in 1963, as well as a pager and a camera with a tape recorder.

Early on you could see the beginnings of the standard Q / 007 repartee

Bond Formula
While FRWL thrives without having to try to fit within the confines of the so-called “Bond Formula,” it does show the early signs of the formula being put in place. It’s the first movie to feature a pre-credits action sequence, it’s the first to feature a popular song recorded by an artist, and features the first gadgetry. However at this stage it was all fairly new and doesn’t define Bond movies as it did later.

Characters
For all that I love about James Bond, his womanizing, his drinking, his license to kill, and his witty banter, of all the Bond movies, Bond feels most like a real person in this movie. He isn’t just a spy, he isn’t the last line of defense to save the world. He’s not too tongue in cheek, and not too glib. You sense his attraction to Romanova is real, and that he is doing everything he can to get her and him out of harm’s way. Not only that but he really has to claw and fight to defeat the assassin, and it takes more than just a quick battle resolved by a gadget. Bond is pushed to his limits in that fist fight on the train, and you can feel the edge in Connery’s performance as he pushes back.

If I was Bond I'd do everything to save her too.

Romanova is more than just a pair of legs to attract Bond. He’s a womanizer, and his philandering ways are there. But Romanova loves him. Or so she thinks. You can tell she is a naïve woman who’s easily swayed by emotions and likely confuses love for what she felt in bed with Bond. And I think Bond can tell that, but he still cares for her, and is protective of her. And she takes risks to help Bond. She’s more than just a pair of breasts or legs. She is the first woman in the Bond series to have a level of complexity to her. She’s young, she’s attractive, and she’s attracted to Bond, and she is willing to give up the life she knows to give the man she loves what he needs. Perhaps I’m romanticizing her some, but to me she seems a far more real character than Honey Rider in Dr. No or Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.

Conclusion
In the end From Russia With Love may not have the formulaic success of Goldfinger, or the epic nature of Thunderball, but it’s combination of tight storytelling, excellent performances (especially from Connery before he grew tired of James Bond), and its willingness to push the envelope beyond what they did in Dr. No makes it something special. It isn’t just one of the most entertaining James Bond movies, but is likely my favorite Bond movie of the entire franchise.

Bondtastic Wishful Thinking: Blofeld

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:55:00 +0000

I just finished reading the book "The Battle For Bond" and was discussing the following scenario with Steve: In 2004 Sony bought MGM and became a majority partner in the Bond Series. Sony also bought the rights to McClory's Thunderball remake in the 1990s. Isn't it possible with them holding both of those cards, that the division is no longer there, and they could utilize elements of Thunderball (like Blofeld) in the Bond movies again?

This led to the following exchange in chat:

Erhardt: that's the common belief, yeah
Erhardt: but there was apparently the opinion that they were done with Blofeld by then anyway. =\
Erhardt: too much mclory-soured milk, I guess
seanseger: yeah, but I contend with Quantum, they could revive Blofeld, modernize him and give Bond that ultimate bad guy that he needs
seanseger: while also having a nice nod to the past
Erhardt: I agree
Erhardt: though as much as I like quantum, it just won't be the same as spectre LOL
seanseger: no
seanseger: it won't be the same as Spectre....but it would still be cool to have Blofeld back

As with all of our conversations like this, it led past the idea of Blofeld back to...well, you can see for yourself:

Erhardt: who to play him now... may seem fanboyish, but... Patrick Stewart?
seanseger: oooh nice
seanseger: Actually that leads to an unconventional casting I think could really work: Avery Brooks
Erhardt: ooh... nicer yet!
seanseger: because who says Blofeld *HAS* to be white
Erhardt: yeah
seanseger: dammit I'm picturing Brooks with that cool relaxed demeanor behind a desk talking to Craig's Bond....fuck that would be so awesome lol
Erhardt: LOL totally agreed

So here's the deal. Steve and I are both Star Trek and comic book fans, so we know Patrick Stewart from Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men movies both of which got a lot of press and with Star Trek's movies got Patrick Stewart much of the recognition as an actor he so richly deserves. And he would make a great Blofeld. However many of you may not be as aware of Avery Brooks. He is the actor who played Hawk in the 1980s series Spencer for Hire and Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Deep Space Nine. He may not be the first choice as he isn't a widely recognized name outside of Trek fans, and he is black which the character never has been. But that being said, watch this clip and imagine that quiet intensity in a confrontation with Bond.

Who do you guys think would make a great Blofeld, or do you think they should come up with a new character and let Blofeld stay dead? I'd love to hear back from you regarding this.

Bondtastic Locales Updated

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:02:00 +0000

We have updated the Bondtastic Locales page with new and interesting locations. It is not exhaustive, yet, but Steve is hard at work getting it to be as exhaustive as possible.

Bondtastic Congratulations

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:04:00 +0000

To Daniel Craig for being one lucky S.O.B. and marrying Rachel Weisz. I'm not sure what gadgetry Q Branch came up with as a wedding gift for the two of them, but we here at Bondtastic HQ are praying for a leaked video at some point.

A Bondtastic Bond Movie Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Over the weekend I played a lot of Warhammer 40K, and had a James Bond marathon. The James Bond movies were a fun diversion where we sat around watching and talking about movies. I decided to journal the time spent for the blog. We watched Goldfinger, The Man With the Golden Gun, and License to Kill. We had The World is Not Enough and Casino Royale on the list, but after 6 hours we needed a break and never got back to those movies. The cast of characters watching the movies were myself, fellow Bondtastic author Steve, and our friends James and Scott

Just a word of warning, this was written as we watched James Bond and drank (beer, whiskey, and martinis). Comments were not edited for mixed company, and tongues loosened as booze flowed. So if anything offends you, my apologies. Not a lot of swearing, but topics of conversation might offend.

Hit the jump to see my journal while watching these movies.

5:18 Goldfinger starts. We discuss the books, the settlement with Kevin McClory, and some not so subtle (or funny)barbs by Steve’s son Connor that Bond copied some Austin Powers moves. Steve let me borrow his copy of The Battle for Bond which is in my reading queue right after Goldfinger (which I’m reading right now).
5:28 continuing to discuss the differences from book to movie, I’m really surprised how much of the book is in the movie. I’ve read TMWTGG and am now on Goldfinger, and I was expecting Goldfinger to be more like TMWTGG with characters carried over, but the differences are far fewer and in some cases far subtler. I’m looking forward to finishing the book to see what else is different.
5:30 We decide we want to go back in time to see if the hotel was as pristine then as it looks on Blu Ray. We also decide it would be awesome to stay in room 905…especially if Jill Masterson was in there with us. I know it sounds sexist to have 3 guys sitting around discussing Bond girls, but that is half the fun of the Bond movies. He’s a man’s man, and we all want to be like him in many ways. Not the least of which is the gallery of attractive women from his exploits.

Who wouldn't want to open a hotel door and find this waiting for them?

5:34 We actually discuss Sean Connery’s back hair (you can guage when some of the scenes are filmed based on how long his back hair was because it was shaved at one point). Interesting…yeah, that’s about all I can use to describe 3 guys talking about Connery’s back hair…interesting.
5:35 Jill Masterson…dead or alive…she’s eminently doable

You know you'd tap that.

5:36 I love Judi Dench as M, but my favorite has been and always will be Bernard Lee. I mean Judi Dench can dress down Brosnan and Craig, but Lee put Connery in his place and it was believable. I especially like when he’s talking to Moneypenny in that whole no-nonsense way while Connery is checking out her ass. Connery makes being a letch seem so cool.

She is damn good...

But in my opinion, he's better

5:43 First appearance of Q for the night…for all I love about the Craig movies not having Q (or R if they want to retire Q and have only Desmond Llewelyn ever be the man known as Q) with the gadgets is a noticeable missing piece I hope they bring back soon. Yes there is obviously a Q branch, but I do miss having Q himself.

God Bless this man, and every performance of Q he gave us

5:45 My god I can’t believe how good Blu Ray looks. Seriously, at times it looks better on screen than in real life. I had not watched anything on Blu Ray with a High Def TV before, and to be introduced to it in Bond makes me shudder at the thought of going back to the muddied DVD on Standard Def TV for the other movies.
5:47 I wonder how much Slazenger paid for product placement, because I believe it’s a Dunlop in the book.
5:51 Steve points out the missing Goldfinger in the car as Odd Job drives away from the golf course, I had never noticed it before. And then there’s the Carvair plane that I looked up during that mysterious plane search.

Look Ma! No Maniacal Bond Baddie!

5:53 Let the drinks begin. First is a Japanese whiskey in honor of Bond’s love of bourbon in the books.
5:57 Jill Masterson is hot, but Tilley Masterson is cute. I really love how they make that distinction visually, yet still Tilley is a worthy Bond Girl. And they work as sisters.

I'm not sure if Jill Masterson is the kind of girl you could bring home to Mom,

but Tilley Masterson is, well except for the whole revenge killing thing.

6:04 Squealing tires on a dirt road, one of my favorite quirky novelties from 60s movies.
6:07 Old women with machine guns….God Bless James Bond movies

Heh Heh Heh

6:18 We’ve discussed the introduction of Pussy Galore, and how she was the oldest Bond girl. And dammit every time I see a plane I keep trying to see if that is the one in Nassau.

I must be dreaming...

6:21 The horns playing in the background as Pussy’s pilots walk up crack me up. No subtlety there, just blaring sexist horns. The 1960s make me laugh when stuff like that happens. No way could it happen now, and if it did…boy would the complaints be across the board.
6:25 The henchmen who deliver supplies to Goldfinger annoy me as they yell stuff each time he opens something up. I mean I know it’s supposed to make them appear lesser men than Goldfinger, but it just gets annoying.
6:34 The killing of the henchmen by Goldfinger after telling them his plans has become a topic of conversation. We understand why he tells them, so we know what to expect, but the movie takes a bit of a leap in logic at that moment. Why tell them if you are just going to kill them? Yes it gives the audience the exposition we need, but it doesn’t make any sense.
6:38 Junkyard where the car gets crushed, and the body is missing. Man, these missing bodies/people in cars is freaking me out.
6:46 The CIA Agent with Felix Leiter creeps me out the way he smiles at Bond and Pussy Galore walking towards the barn… what a creeper.
6:47 James Bond and Pussy Galore literally roll in the hay….heh I’d take a tumble with her.
6:49 5…4…3…2…0? Man Goldfinger wants to mess with western economies and counting. And yes he counts backward, skips the number 1, and doesn't leave a pause or beat for it either.
6:50 I wonder if the military was embarrassed about how they were depicted collapsing in ridiculous heaps when the nerve spray was introduced. I know it’s just an act to fool Goldfinger, but you would think military men would have a bit more pride.
6:54 The laser got wheeled to Fort Knox, it just doesn’t seem quite so intimidating when it’s not pointing at a man’s crotch.
6:58 Really the army fell for Goldfinger as an officer even though the portly ginger wasn’t anywhere in front of them before that?
6:59 Obligatory “Who throws a shoe?” line as Odd Job chases Bond throwing his hat. Odd Job is probably my favorite henchman. I love Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me, but he was less menacing and more comic in Moonraker and that hurt him. Knick Knack is cool the way he tries to kill Scaramanga, but Odd Job is just a bastard who can take a beating and dish it out…until electrocuted.
7:04 Steve: This is like the rube Goldberg of atomic bombs. Scott: Oh the switch that says off!

Now if I drop the marble here, and it rolls down the shoot and flips the lever to start the compressor

to inflate the balloon, then the mouse might have time to shut the detonator off...or we could hit this switch over here

7:05 We continue to make Austin Powers comments which gets us wondering why only Mike Meyers was able to successfully parody Bond on the big screen (because obviously Archer has that market cornered in TV). Scott mentions the Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin….must check them out.
7:07 Goldfinger was portly, but not portly enough to block the window he was sucked out.
7:20 The Man With the Golden Gun
7:25 Magnetic tape always reminds me of my days at Jacobson’s Stores. It was where Steve, James, and I met. Jacobson’s was a high end retail chain, and I worked 3rd shift in the computer room at the corporate offices. One night I was working the operations side (we had 3 main duties, mainframe operations, Point of Sale system updates, and paperwork sorting) and I got really mad. I had thought I messed something up, reran a bunch of jobs and put myself behind schedule, only to find I didn’t mess up. A number was wrong I was comparing to. I saw red and threw a large magnetic tape at the wall…only problem it went through the wall. The rage and anger drained from me as I saw the tape hanging in the wall and heard the sound of plastic and plaster falling into the wall and onto the floor outside the wall. I stayed late and met with my boss and the Department VP the next morning. The VP (who was known for his temper and opened a door so hard a whole section of drywall had to be replaced) was really mad at me and gave me a good talking to…er yelled at me. As far as I know Jacobson’s never fixed the hole (I left the company about a year later) and they eventually went out of business. We had just put a sign over it that said “Yes We Can at Jacobson’s”. From what I understand that sign was there right up until they closed the doors.
7:28 Knick Knack is a greedy bastard. Tonight must be the night of awesome henchmen. Odd Job and now Knick Knack.
7:30 Was this Satlzman’s last movie producing? Need to look up if it was this or TSWLM. According to Wikipedia this was his last Bond movie.
7:35 Moneypenny looks long in the tooth by now, they really should have changed actresses. I love Lois Maxwell and she gives as good as she gets, but she sounds less like a flirt and more like a dirty old lady as the series progresses.

Lois Maxwell in Dr. No, witty repartee, not overly sexy as I feel the character works best,

but enough age similarities in looks to make it work

By now she's looking old enough that she's more of a creepy older woman

hitting on a younger man (even though she's the same age as Moore).

Maxwell's last role as Moneypenny was in A View To A Kill, by this movie, Moore

looked old enough that he should be settling down with her and not chasing Tanya Roberts' character

7:37 007 has far higher standards than 002. The belly dancer has a nice rack, but *shudder* her face….

She definitely has a great body, but that face, that butter face

7:40 Just saw the crew in the mirror after it got bumped in the belly dancer’s room during the fight. Blu Ray shows everything.

Smile for the camera crew members

7:47 I just finished reading TMWTGG so the differences are quite noticeable…of course the differences far outnumber the similarities, not just little changes, but most of the story is gone.
7:50 Personally I prefer Maud Adams from TMWTGG, Steve prefers her in Octopussy. Her hair is better in Octo, but seeing her in the shower behind the doors in TMWTGG…dayam. Honestly I think it’s because she’s younger. I have no problem with older women, more often than not I find women to be more attractive as they get older and from 35 to 45 is the golden decade in my opinion. But something about Maud Adams in TMWTGG makes her slightly more appealing to me.

I say tomato

You say tomahto

7:52 For all his suave and debonair style, James Bond is willing to do anything for his mission, or in the case of TMWTGG his survival. I mean I hate to see Maud Adams act hurt, but it’s an added dimension to the Bond character that he’s willing to hurt a woman as much as he’s willing to charm and love her.
7:54 Okay I want some place like Bottoms Up to open near where I live. Scantily clad almost naked women serving drinks while on all fours in the middle of a bunch of drunk perverts? Hell Yeah!
7:59 Christopher Lee’s rubbing his gun all over the chest and face of Maud Adams is disturbingly phallic. It’s supposed to be, but knowing that only makes it more uncomfortable to watch.
8:09 “Quite Titillating”…HAH! Roger Moore was great at giving a pun or a great line
8:12 Atomic Wedgie! And then a sumo wrestler holding his crotch…oh the laughs of a Roger Moore movie.
8:14 I flipped off James after he and I have been drinking we start getting a little loose with the comments and insults.
8:17 Laughs galore at the kick while the guy is bowing. Very Indiana Jones-esque...or is it that Indiana Jones' move was very Bond-esque?
8:23 Ah, JW Pepperman. He’s a southern sheriff with a big mouth like Roscoe P. Coltrane (from Dukes of Hazzard), only with twice the racism, and half the humor.

Can I just say Thank You to the producers for not including this guy in any other Moore movies?

8:26 I really love how Scaramanga’s golden gun breaks apart into such random and unassuming golden accessories.
8:30 Britt Eckland has such a great body, but so many of the Bond girls have such prettier faces. I think it’s her mouth.

Best use of a bikini since Jill St. John

8:33 Only James Bond could start the night with one woman (Goodnight), put her in the closet before anything goes anywhere, and finish the night with another woman (Anders)…and still be the hero…and still get the first woman by the end of the movie.
8:36 We’re at the scene at the MMA-esque fight and Miss Anders is the hottest dead girls since Jill Masterson

Even in death she is smoking hot

8:43 So we’ve hit the part where the movie derails a bit (It starts a bit earlier when Goodnight get’s shoved into Scaramanga’s car), but like Bond I groan an “Oh No!” when he realizes that he has JW in the car with him. He has his moments, but for the most part he’s a running commentary on a car chase that doesn’t need it. And I do mean the movie derails at this part. Up until now the idea that James Bond is on edge, not knowing what Scaramanga looks like and fearing for his own life gives the movie and added edge that Moore’s films didn’t always have. But once Goodnight’s bumbling starts moving the story forward, the film loses it a bit. I think if it had kept the edge through the whole movie TMWTGG would have been my favorite Bond movie from Moore’s era. Instead it’s a movie I like, but it was surpassed by TSWLM and For Your Eyes Only as my favorites.
8:46 Any Bond car chase is cool, but it needs a BMW or Astin Martin, not an AMC. *Sigh* So 70s.

We get this in TMWTGG

But it just compare to this (DBS from Quantum of Solace)

Or better yet, this (DB5 from Goldfinger)

8:47 Knick Knack is awesome with his sarcastic little wave.
8:48 If they didn’t actually do this with a real car, the spiral jump would be ridiculous….however the slide whistle was not necessary.
8:51 One of my favorite bad guy gadgets…the flying AMC. It’s really cool that they gave this gadget to Scaramanga, and not Bond. Otherwise following up the flying car with the submarine car for Bond would have diminished what is my favorite Bond gadget, the Lotus from TSWLM.

To say I want one, is a complete understatement

8:53 Bernard Lee’s face and dialogue after Scaramanga disappears are awesome. He’s pissed, he’s shocked, and based on his reaction to Q he’s desperate for someone to yell at.
8:57 Now that we are back on Scaramanga’s island, it’s getting good again (although Goodnight’s bumbling is a little tiresome…I can forgive her for wearing that bikini, though).
9:09 I don’t know any other Bond baddie besides Scaramanaga who not only tolerates his henchman’s attempt to kill him, but encourages it to keep his skills sharp. That makes Scaramanga and Knick Knack both a lot more bad ass.
9:18 I hate to sound sexist….I mean I am, but I hate to sound sexist…but Britt Eckland’s butt can push my buttons any day, even if it is ridiculous that’s all it took to cause the problem in the finale (Scaramanga used the big lever when he was showing the device to Bond)
9:21 Steve: missed opportunity, instead of George, Bond should have called the automatic pilot Otto
9:22 Bond really hates a cock blocker – Knick Knack got between him and Goodnight
9:30 License to Kill, not my favorite of the Dalton movies, but an underrated Bond flick.
9:35 Discussing how some of the Hildebrandt Rarity was used in the beginning of LTK, and digressed into what titles are used, and what movies borrowed only titles from the stories. My favorite anecdote of that topic is that TSWLM was an all new story because Fleming sold the rights to the title, not the story. I need to go read that book now.
9:49 A possible side effect of Dalton’s more serious Bond…we have digressed in our conversation to talking about the character Token Black from South Park…back on track.

I don't remember why we talked about him, but sure enough there he was,

Token Black, distracting us from James Bond

9:56 Felix’s wife was all into Bond during the wedding (uncomfortably so at times), so if you watch closely…when Bond finds Della's body you can actually see Dalton's face portray Bond snapping to kick off the rest of the movie.
10:08 “We’re not a country club 007.” I love how M goes from angry to concerned so quickly with Bond. Robert Brown was good, but not as good as Lee and Dench.
10:14 As happens quite a bit, we have digressed into a Warhammer 40K conversation after talking about the Fleming Bond books for a bit…back to the movie….again
10:15 I’m drinking the closest thing to a Vesper Martini I can drink (martini #4) I don’t have Gordon’s gin, and all I have is vermouth…it tastes okay, but I’m just not a big fan of gin…except with Tonic water. I wonder if it would be better with the Kina Lillet and Gordon’s brand gin (I’m using Seagram’s).
10:17 I think we’re losing James. He’s in Bond overload, had too much to drink, and is really tired…Steve just commented about something and added “Knock on wood” and knocked on the table. James thought somebody was here.
10:25 Just finished discussing the Lotus from TSWLM. This guy found the Lotus and restored it. When he found it, the Lotus was painted red and I couldn’t figure out why until recently when I watched FYEO again. The Lotus gets destroyed but when Q rebuilds it, it’s red. From there I regaled James with the story about the transsexual that was in FYEO. The rumor has morphed over the years to say it’s Carole Bouquet, and supposedly Roger Moore’s reaction when he finds out ranges from upset to horrified depending on the rumor. According to Snopes it’s actually Caroline Cossey aka Tula, one of the bikini clad girls at the poolside.

It may look real 70s, and as far as cars doesn't have the classic look, but

this is my all time favorite Bond gadget

"One of these things is not like the other things

One of these things just doesn't belong

Can you guess which thing is not like the other things

before I finish my song"

10:32 Discussion between myself and Steve about which hair is better for Pamela Bouvier. I think the first hairdo looks better for her character, but Steve likes her hairdo after she “Cleans up” to look the part of Bond’s executive secretary. I think that hair looks too 80s for me.

I'll admit she could use some dolling up here

But to me this hair just screams late 80s.

The only thing she's really missing are some shoulder pads

10:33 Philosophical discussion about death and religion…I need a drink.
10:35 Prof. Joe Butcher…the best comedic role from this movie.
10:48 My daughter called me to say good night, and then I got grief for all my different ring tones. Doctor Who theme for my incoming call, and then a couple ring tones from Archer which resulted in my playing a bunch of Archer sound files
10:52 The best thing about LTK: how much of a part Q has. I’m dead serious on this. Q is one of my favorite characters from the entire series. His banter with Bond works in every movie, unlike Moneypenny whom I discussed earlier as getting too old in some of movies to have realistic sexual tension in her banter with Bond. The first time I watched LTK I was really worried that Bond would not see Q once he went rogue, so to have him show up, and then be an integral part of the entire movie is great.
10:55 That gun that Bond uses to try to snipe Sanchez is bad ass.
10:59 James looks up just as Bond wakes up in Sanchez’s house and sees that freaky statue…”Oh man. Wrong time to look up.”
11:05 Miss Bouvier can strip down to her lingerie/loose fighting swimsuit anyday. I think it’s a swimsuit, but at times it wears like it’s lingerie. Either way, hommina hommina.

Schwing!

11:10 Daly’s Bond is so dark at times in this movie. I mean he doesn’t even flinch when the guy’s head explodes.
11:15 Awesome Q moment: Rolling his eyes as Sanchez’s girlfriend says she loves Bond. Vintage Q.
11:24 Accountants are such whiners. It’s like you expect them to look at you and say in a really nasally voice “Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the ribbon tape calculator.” “But this setup cost 32 million. We have to try to save it.” God what a whiner that kid is.
11:27 Oh my god, I can’t believe how many gruesome deaths this movie has. It may not have the highest body count, but it has to have the highest blood spatter quotient.
11:33 The tractor trailer riding on the driver side wheels to let the missile fly under it cracks me up…everytime.

I'm not sure why I laugh at this, but I'm sure it has to do with how dark this movie is

11:35 For once I cheer the bad guy when he kills the whiny accountant.
11:40 They say Bond is cold in this movie, but damnit Felix’s wife was just raped to death and he’s ready to go fishing? Now that’s cold.
11:49 The next movie on the list was The World is not Enough. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Instead we’ll watch an episode of Archer and call it a night. I’m not going to blog during that because I have a feeling I’ll be laughing too hard to type anything anyway.

A Tribute to the Martini

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:55:00 +0000

While he seems to prefer the *gasp* stirred not shaken method for mixing the martini *gasp*, Cracked.com's Gentleman Bastard has written a wonderful tribute to the Martini.

Personally, I prefer a vodka martini with a twist of lemon, but I will have a gin martini if vodka is not available. I will also have a cocktail onion, but I hate olives so I try to skip those whenever possible.

I think for the next time I'm watching a Bond film that is not at 8:00 in the morning (thank you USA Network) I might try the Vesper Martini:

3 measures of Gordon's Gin
1 measure of vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet
lemon peel for garnish

Or maybe I'll drink James Bond's preferred drink from the books, bourbon (I like mine on the rocks).

Anyhow, enjoy the Martini tribute, and while you're at it, enjoy a good martini too.

The Mysterious Abandoned Plane in the Bahamas

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:23:00 +0000

Take a look at this picture.

This picture was stumbled on by Steve as he was working on his Bondtastic Locales project. He was visiting this page about Nassau. When he saw the caption for the picture said it was an abandoned plane used in a James Bond movie, well thus began the Mystery of the Abandoned Plane in the Bahamas. Now these tangents are fun, and frustrating. So much is learned, and so many little golden nuggets of joy are gleaned, but as Steve puts it, "If it weren't for...tangents like this, I might actually have been finished with the file a long time ago...but that's half the adventure, heh heh."

Here's what we've done on the search. The very first plane I thought of was a Jetstream. But the tail doesn't match this plane. Looking at the tail and the windows we are leaning towards this plane being a DC-3. However, the only DC-3 we can think of being used was in Quantum of Solace (filming of the plane chase was in Mexico). So if it was that plane then the mystery deepens, because the paint job is different (all silver in QoS) not to mention the whole "How in the name of Q did it end up in Nassau?" question that is lingering.

However, as much as we think it's a DC3, the angle of the shot, the foliage, the shadows, the damage to the plane, and the small size of the photo make it very difficult to say absolutely that it's a DC-3.

So we looked at what movies were filmed in the Bahamas to see if we could pin point something that was used that would have been abandoned after filming was done...or was left in the Bahamas and eventually abandoned. Here are the films that actually filmed in the Bahamas:

Thunderball
The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only
Never Say Never Again not officially canon, but cannot be ruled out since the Nassau site didn't specify that it was a canonical Bond film
Casino Royale

From there we looked at the Wikipedia list of aircraft used in Bond movies and the Air & Space Magazine list of airplanes used in all 22 Bond films. Both lists were helpful, but the Air & Space Magazine list didn't include pictures. So that led us to wonder about their entry of a DC-3 used in Goldfinger. However, I know Goldfinger used the ATL-98 Carvair to take his car from England, and that Carvair was actually a heavily modified DC-4. So is that a misprint? I don't have a copy of Goldfinger available to scan through and see.

So back to the list of movies filmed in the Bahamas.

Thunderball
Wikipedia lists the following:

Avro Vulcan - A Delta Wing jet strategic bomber
Boeing B-17 - A 4 engine prop driven bomber from WWII
Bell 47 - a light helicopter.

Air & Space Magazine listed the preceding planes as well as:

Bond's Rocket pack
Sikorsky S-62 Seaguard - a Marine helicopter
Skyhook Rescue System

Obviously we can rule out the Vulcan and the helicopters. We can also rule out the B-17. That bomber was heavily fortified, and there is no evidence of gun ports or guns. Also, while it's hard to see much of the plane, it looks too small to be a B-17.

There is one plane from Thunderball I would like more information on. The plane the Frogmen jump out of before the big underwater battle. You can see it in this video at the the 4:31 mark (the video starts at the 4:29 mark). But here's a screen cap:

I just don't know what that plane is. We need a better look at it to rule it out, but I'd also like to know what plane they jump out of.

The Spy Who Loved Me
Wikipedia actually listed nothing for this movie.

Air & Space listed the following:

Bell 206 - Helicopter
Westland HH-3 Sea King - Helicopter
Wessex HC Mk 2 - Helicopter
Parachute
Undersea-to-air missile
Polaris missile

So we can rule this movie out as the source for the mystery plane.

Moonraker
Wikipedia listed the following:

Handley Page Jetstream - Turboprop plane
Space Shuttle
Lockheed L-188 Electra - Prop driven transport plane
Condorde
Boeing 747

Air & Space Magazine added the following:

Bell 206 - Helicopter
Prop-powered hang glider
Parachutes
Globes filled with nerve gas heading for Earth
Men in EVA suits
Drax’s “space station”

The Jetstream was the very first plane I thought of. The windows of the mystery plane actually match up fairly well with the Jetstream, but the tail of the Jetstream is narrower than the mystery plane. The L-188 Electra is another prop driven plane. However the windows and tail don't match up with what we can see of the mystery plane. All other entries don't match up to be considered.

For Your Eyes Only
Wikipedia lists the following:

Bell 206 - Helicopter
PZL Mi-2 - Military Helicopter

Air & Space added the following:

Cessna U206G Stationair Amphibian seaplane

The mystery plane is not a helicopter, so that rules out the two Wikipedia entries. Air & Space lists a Cessna, but that isn't either. The U206G has the wings on the top of the plane, the windows are much larger, and the plane is shaped far differently than the mystery plane.

Never Say Never Again
No entries in the list from Wikipedia. However Air & Space Magazine lists the following:

XT-7B flying platform
Rockwell B-1A Lancer
C-130
Additional cargo aircraft, possibly a C-17
Cruise missiles
Sea-to-air missiles

The flying platform is fictional. The B-1A Lancer is a modern jet driven bomber that doesn't match the picture (plus it's obviously a model used in the movie), and the 2 cargo jets are far to big to be our mystery plane.

Casino Royale
Wikipedia lists nothing for this movie. However Air & Space Magazine listed the following:

Boeing 747
MD 600N - Helicopter
Airbus A340-600 - Stand in for the Skyfleet S570 Prototype
De Havilland Canada Twin Otter Seaplane

Obviously we'll rule out the Helicopter, the 747, and the Airbus. But looking at it, we can rule out the Seaplane. The Wings are at the top of the plane, and the windows don't quit match up right as a result.

So striking out on any of the planes used in Bond films that were filmed in the Bahamas, I started to go through the movies one by one. I also took a very close look at the picture. If you get in and look really closely you can see that the perspective of the tail fin is such that I'm really convinced that it isn't centered on the plane like the DC-3. I think it's sticking out, as if it had a dual tail fin design. I can't be certain because of the image, but that could be the case.

So here are the options we've come up with that may or may not be this mystery plane:

DC-3 from Quantum of Solace. Damaged (possibly crashed) and painted differently.
The DC-3 that was supposedly in Goldfinger
The Beechcraft Model 18 from Octopussy
Possibly a plane used for one of the Bond films that was used, but never appeared on screen.

So if anyone has any ideas on what this plane might be, I'd love to hear from you. I was convinced it was the Beechcraft Model 18 until I looked at the windows. Now, I'm not so sure. What I do know, is we need a very rich sponsor to fund our research into this mystery plane.