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As for the second, it's Spectre by a landslide (not often I get to say that). Must say though I haven't paid that much thought to the location cards in QoS (come to think of it, I can rarely muster the enthusiasm to pay that much attention to anything in QoS) and I did find the article you referenced very interesting reading @goldenswissroyale so I will pay particular attention to those when I next watch QoS.
So Bond is surrounded by Krest's people, how else could this have been handled in your opinion? It all works out rather neatly the way it's constructed.
Taking that into account I'm going to vote for the allies, even though the villains are great too.
Concerning the other question, I've got to go for the title cards. I absolutely love those title cards!
Actually, I have a general problem with LTK's Second Act atmosphere, so hardly any action scene would have suited me there. Bond infiltrating Sanchez' gang at the Casino is better because there he has to suppress his revenge feelings.
Absolutely adore them. Love it how they give each location its own style.
and
"The dead are alive"
@Octopussy You know what they say about great minds? ;)
As for the other choice-I love the title cards, but the tracking shot is more impressive. (Yes, I know there was some cheating. Still impressive.)
Next up is a no-brainer if I may say so implicitly. It has to be the title cards from QoS. I was always impressed by how much effort was put into them and it really adds some panache to the proceedings. I'm an unabashed QoS defender of course, but the SP shot just never did it for me, honestly. It feels forced, and indeed it is as it's not even one take. So what's the point? Mendes had an idea and an ego and this is the end result. It's not horrible by any means but it doesn't live up to its reputation from fans in my opinion.
Someone mentioned 1917 and that shot delivers a much more organic experience by comparison. Two soldiers having a conversation while walking through the encampment. We get to observe the horrors of war from the perspective of these two individuals and it feels natural. It's not trying to be cute like SP. So hats off to Mendes because I believe he got it right there. We learn from our mistakes and practice makes perfect and all that jazz.
@Thunderfinger The goodies and the baddies are awful casted in GE? I will always respect all your opinions in the bond universe but we definitely don't like GE the same way ;)
Great to see you back participating here @pachazo and your comment hits the nail on the head.
I have mentioned before that I do like Tcheky Kario and Gottfried John in the film (for the most part). But the rest are pretty bad, and it has more to do with the characters,lines of dialogue, and possibly direction, than the actors themselves. GE is a bottom three film for me.
Ah, I completely forgot that. For which movie did you produce the most of such wonderful “props“? You could start an exhibition!
Gottfried John is the highlight of a splendid cast. His facial reactions are gold. Famke acts over the top...or was it ona top (?), I love this crazy character and I think that she plays it very good. Alan Cumming isn't liked much by the voters but he works absolutely fine for me. Again, sometimes a bit over the top but very memorable (in a good way for me, although I can understand the dislikes...). These three are my favourite henchmen trio of the franchise! And Sean Bean? I'm not sure if he was the perfect man for this role, he was a bit "pale" (I hope this is the right word) BUT I like Sean Bean in general and he has one of the best fights of the franchise. And at least three of the baddies have a great death scene! All in all, the baddies are a main reason why I love GE so much.
It was maybe a bit unfair to start a duel between the only briefly visible location cardsagainst the famous, expensive and memorable tracking shot. However, the location cards are much better in my opinion. They are wonderful. For example the location card for Talamone: Such a beautiful shot of Bond in the boat. Combine it with the location card and it is a "feast for my eyes".
The tracking shot, on the other hand, is a bit unnecessary. No doubt, the last part of it (the walk over roofs) looks great and I'm happy that it was filmed this way. But why do we need to see Bond's back for a minute before? They painted hundreds (or even thousands?) of stunning faces and tailored the same amount of great dresses for all these people and we only see very little of them. I would prefer more shots of the celebrating people instead of Bond's back.
One helluva performance.
Most props: CR (60)
Special mentions: LTK (41); NTTD (40)
Least props: TSWLM (3)
I know she's beloved, but the Dench M was always written to have to try harder and never hesitates to put Bond down, especially in GE. That never failed to annoy me and I was just never a fan of her version. Same with Samantha Bond's Moneypenny, no real flirtation, just an exchange of smutty lines. Zukovsky is overrated. Coltrane is a fun actor but the appeal isn't there, especially when he got turned into a joke in TWINE. Wade is pointless except for comic relief (why use an actor who previously played a main villain?) and I can't even recall Mishkin.
For the second, tracking shot. I'm glad the series attempted this as a lot of the great directors have had memorable such shots, my favorite being Scorsese in Goodfellas. I could honestly just watch the PTS and turn off the rest of the film and be entirely satisfied with the experience.
The location cards are a nice touch rather than the generic descriptions. It's one of those aspects I will pay more attention to on my next viewing of QoS.
B: Tracking shot from SP
Tracking shot
The actors playing the baddies win easily against the allies: 10 : 3
The tracking shot (SP) wins easily against the location cards (QoS): 11 : 3
Let's see if the winners are less obvious this week...
Round 50:
A) Which often repeated Bond moment (sometimes smartly modified) do you prefer?
Hat toss vs. Shaken, not stirred
"Shaken, not stirred is more famous since it was used more often and it was also present in the newer films. But are all these moments great to watch or is it sometimes kind of "forced fan service" (?). YOu can also consider the (successful ?) modifications of the moments...
You certainly know that Moore never used the "shaken line" himself while he was the last to toss a hat in Moneypenny's office:
B) Small and atmospheric or big and authentic...Which Ken Adam set do you prefer? The Tarantula room (DN) vs. Fort Knox (GF)
Into the dessert I go for thirty days and thirty nights (in Matrix time), and will get back shortly...
(an 's' too much, I guess)
Knox.
The second one is tougher, but ultimately Fort Knox takes the cake.