Topic: James Bond Marathon

[Kathy]

Hmmm, with overall good reviews here it seems that "The Spy Who Loved Me" would be a good addition to my Wish List...

I think I might have an extra copy of this. I'll check when I get home and let you know.

[Najemikon]

I only have a handful of Bond films. They're on every Bank Holiday in the UK! So I've seen all of them several times while growing up and found I was sturggling to keep up with this marathon, even though I don't have many. But then I saw, apart from Richie, a lack of love for my personal fave, Live and Let Die. So...

Live and Let Die
4 out 5

For me this is the most memorable Bond film. A fantastic change of pace for the new Bond in Roger Moore. Somehow I can't see Connery managing to pull off this story.

First, Moore himself. Richie said Connery could have him in a scrap; I'm not so sure. I love the way he plays him as an arrogant prick, wandering around like a lost English business man and well out of his depth. But just try something and he'll snap your neck as soon as look at you. That line to Rosie is a classic, when he threatens to kill her and she say's "you wouldn't after what we just did". "Well, I wasn't going to before..." 

Witness possibly my favourite moment in any Bond film: when the booth spins and he realises he's in a trap. Impossible odds, but he still flirts, still teases the bad guys. Moore's style is brilliant as he walks in with an icy glare and theatrics for the thugs and a wink for Solitaire. And his grin while they drag him off! I do think Connery was the definitive Bond overall, but nobody else has come close to Moore since. Daniel Craig, much as I like him and he's perfect for the current mould, looks like an identikit agent compared, and no way would Matt Damon's Bourne been able to handle that situation.

This was a Bond back from the days when they were trying to be different and stand out, rather than play to the masses. Moonraker will change all that, though I do rate Octopussy pretty high. Therefore it is dated, it does drag in places and can be a bit too silly, with several contrivances that simply don't make sense, but I repeat, it is the most memorable for me.

I'm in full agreement on that bloody Sheriff. He's a poor character, badly played. I like the idea of him taking the lead throughout the chase sequences (Bond is a background character for a bit), but he's so awful it doesn't work. Really the whole film is dragging at this point. After the cracking mood of the opening hour or so, it just loses momentum. Still, the crocs are classic Bond and we finish with an underground lair and sharks! Sadly without frickin' lasers on their heads. Shame Kananga (bloody great villain) had to go in such silly fashion.

[Dragonfire]

I only have a handful of Bond films. They're on every Bank Holiday in the UK! So I've seen all of them several times while growing up and found I was sturggling to keep up with this marathon, even though I don't have many. But then I saw, apart from Richie, a lack of love for my personal fave, Live and Let Die. So...

Live and Let Die
4 out 5

For me this is the most memorable Bond film. A fantastic change of pace for the new Bond in Roger Moore. Somehow I can't see Connery managing to pull off this story.

First, Moore himself. Richie said Connery could have him in a scrap; I'm not so sure. I love the way he plays him as an arrogant prick, wandering around like a lost English business man and well out of his depth. But just try something and he'll snap your neck as soon as look at you. That line to Rosie is a classic, when he threatens to kill her and she say's "you wouldn't after what we just did". "Well, I wasn't going to before..." 

Witness possibly my favourite moment in any Bond film: when the booth spins and he realises he's in a trap. Impossible odds, but he still flirts, still teases the bad guys. Moore's style is brilliant as he walks in with an icy glare and theatrics for the thugs and a wink for Solitaire. And his grin while they drag him off! I do think Connery was the definitive Bond overall, but nobody else has come close to Moore since. Daniel Craig, much as I like him and he's perfect for the current mould, looks like an identikit agent compared, and no way would Matt Damon's Bourne been able to handle that situation.

This was a Bond back from the days when they were trying to be different and stand out, rather than play to the masses. Moonraker will change all that, though I do rate Octopussy pretty high. Therefore it is dated, it does drag in places and can be a bit too silly, with several contrivances that simply don't make sense, but I repeat, it is the most memorable for me.

I'm in full agreement on that bloody Sheriff. He's a poor character, badly played. I like the idea of him taking the lead throughout the chase sequences (Bond is a background character for a bit), but he's so awful it doesn't work. Really the whole film is dragging at this point. After the cracking mood of the opening hour or so, it just loses momentum. Still, the crocs are classic Bond and we finish with an underground lair and sharks! Sadly without frickin' lasers on their heads. Shame Kananga (bloody great villain) had to go in such silly fashion.

That Sheriff is one of the most annoying characters ever.  It would have worked better if he hadn't been turned into such a bumbling idiot redneck. 
The underground lair was good..with the sharks.  I agree about what happened with Kananga..that was kind of weak.

[Tom]

Title: Moonraker
Year: 1979
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 121 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Roger Moore
Lois Chiles
Michael Lonsdale
Richard Kiel
Corinne Clery

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

A decent Bond movie. Great opening stunt! The first 90 minutes are rather fun, but then it gets to space. If they would have left out the ridiculous laser fight, it wouldn't have been so bad. Though Jaws is rather enjoyable, it was getting ridiculous what he surviving. First a free fall without parachute, then a big waterfall, and he even survived the exploding space station!

Rating:

[Najemikon]

All the stunts are great in Moonraker. In fact I think the parachute fight is one of my favourites from any film. Astonishing. But if I want to see a string of impressive gags, I'll go to the circus. In a Bond film, they need a decent story, a decent villain, and to stay on Earth! For me, one of the worst Bonds. Along with Diamonds Are Forever and Die Another Day... 

[richierich]

Moonraker



Agent 007 blasts into orbit in this action-packed adventure that takes him to Venice, Rio de Janeiro and outer space. When Bond investigates the hijacking of an American space shuttle, he and beautiful CIA agent Holly Goodhead are soon locked in a life-or-death struggle against Hugo Drax, a power-mad industrialist whose horrific scheme may destroy all human life on earth!

Clumsy special effects, disappointing storyline, and Moore possibly his worst as Bond. Drax (Lonsdale) was not a good villain in my opinion, but the return of Jaws (and speaking!) was a highlight.
The settings were pretty spectacular all round, Venice and Brazil standing out, but must of eaten in to the huge budget considerably. There are action spectaculars within the film, the girls of course are beautiful (how do they get away with calling one Holly Goodhead??) especially gorgeous was Corinne Clery, and the opening halo descent was amazing.
But it is all a bit too tongue in cheek - Star Wars in mind - tick the boxes - for my liking, so I would only go as far as saying this 007 was just above average.
 

[Tom]

Title: For Your Eyes Only
Year: 1981
Director: John Glen
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 122 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Roger Moore
Carole Bouquet
Chaim Topol
Lynn-Holly Johnson
Julian Glover

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Music Videos
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Storyboard Comparisons
Trailers

My Thoughts:

A good Bond movie. A really hot Bond girl.
But the movie just doesn't really stand out as something special.

Rating:

[Dragonfire]

I'm trying to get caught back up here. 



James Bond blasts into orbit in this pulse-pounding adventure that takes him from Venice to Rio de Janeiro and to outer space! Roger Moore stars for the fourth time as Agent 007 and joins forces with NASA scientist Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) to prevent a power-mad industrialist (Michael Lonsdale) from destroying all human life on Earth.

My Thoughts

I first saw this movie years ago and I think it was actually one of the first Bond movies I did see.  That's probably why I like it more than other people.  The plot didn't bother me that much since space exploration had been going on for a while when the movie came out and the space shuttle was really being designed at that point.  It does seem like it was a blatant attempt to make the movie more relevant.  The plot is interesting and not any more far fetched than many of the other Bond movies for the most part.  Things went too far once the shuttles were in space and there was a laser battle.  The effects for that didn't look that great either.  I did like that Jaws was back.  It did get ridiculous how he kept surviving so many things that should have killed him or at the least really hurt him.  James was back to romancing several women, including Dr. Holly Goodhead who wasn't that believable as a scientist or NASA trained astronaut.  There wasn't anything special about any of the women in this movie.

Overall, I like this movie, though I know it has some issues.  I still need to watch all the extras on my DVD, though I have started working on a review to post on Epinions eventually.

 

[Najemikon]

Ok, so I've wandered into the Twilight Zone. Pete is watching me type this in one of his marathon episodes! Let me see if this is right:

On this forum, Moonraker seems to be finding more fans than Live and Let Die.

That's just wrong. On many levels.

Oh and regards extras, you really are missing a treat if you haven't got Roger Moore commentating. The man is a legend!

[Dragonfire]

I do like Live and Let Die.  I probably should have used  for my rating instead.

I'll probably get around to the commentaries at some point..but right now I'm doing good to get to the other extras..I still have to go back and watch them for The Spy Who Loved Me...and now Moonraker too..and I still have to watch For Your Eyes Only.  And I'm already behind on the Hitchcock one too.  I need like 20 extra hours for a few days and maybe I'd be caught up. 

[richierich]

For Your Eyes Only



Moore makes his fifth appearance as 007 in this, the twelfth Bond film. In this outing, the renowned British double agent must locate a weapons system known as ATAC, which controls Great Britain's submarines, after it is sunk on a ship in the Ionian Sea. While he must contend with a formidable foe in the villain known as Kristatos (Glover), he does have the lovely and talented Melina (Bouquet), the daughter of a scientist killed by Kristatos, on his side. For fans craving their old favorites, Blofeld, Moneypenny and Q all put in appearances. The stunts come fast and furious, most notably a breathtaking race down a ski slope at the film's opening. Academy Award Nominations: Best Original Song ("For Your Eyes Only").

Fun Bond film, with an amusing intro of remote controlled helicopter and Blofeld, swiftly followed by an amusing car chase with 007 in a Citreon 2CV. The stunts and action come thick and fast, the punny jokes cannot fail to raise a smile, the storyline an aside but willingly so.
One of my preferred theme tunes, and great to see all the old favourites such as Moneypenny, M and Q (gadgets galore), of course several beautiful women and suitable baddies (Particularly the subdued Glover and loyalty challenged Topol). As with most Bond films, the photography, scenery and backgrounds spare no expense, and still remain a hallmark of the complete series.
I particularly liked the 3d identifier, with dot matrix printer, oh we have come so far!
Not the most memorable - but still enjoyable viewing.
 

[Achim]

I believe For Your Eyes Only was the first Bond I saw in the cinema. While, looking back now, not the best by far, it is a solid entry in the series with good action (isn't there more skiing stuff in this one?) and fun humor (at least when I saw it ). I remember that cross bow that gets used by the girl and thought that that was one of the coolest things I had ever seen (did I mention I was a teenager then...?).

[richierich]

I believe For Your Eyes Only was the first Bond I saw in the cinema. While, looking back now, not the best by far, it is a solid entry in the series with good action (isn't there more skiing stuff in this one?) and fun humor (at least when I saw it ). I remember that cross bow that gets used by the girl and thought that that was one of the coolest things I had ever seen (did I mention I was a teenager then...?).

You are correct, multitudes of skiing action, snow bikes, leaps across alpine restaurants, ski jumping, cross country skiing etc etc

Anyone know what dvd is next, is it Octopussy or Never Say Never Again - what came first??

[Dragonfire]

I just looked.  Octopussy was first.  It came out in June of 1983 and Never Say Never Again came out in October.

[Achim]

Octopussy...

Sounds like something that Jimmy would watch