SirHenryLeeChaChing's For Original Fans - Favorite Moments In NTTD (spoilers)

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  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Couldn't agree more. Bloody brilliant. SMG was just sublime too. Breathtaking when she was hurting.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Christopher Reeve as Superman.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Yes, I was never a big fan of the character of Superman, but Reevee makes him endearing and engaging.

  • Chris Reeve was the only actor to portary Clark Kent as having a different body language than that of Superman. An elementary position to take for an actor who is portraying a character who needs to persuade the rest of the world that he is actually two different guys. George Reeves (as much as I appreciate his take on the character/s) held himself the same way as both Superman and Clark Kent. Only the glasses and suit were different from Clark to Superman. Chris slumps a little as Clark, his Superman stands tall and proud. Chris' Clark mumbles and is a little jittery, simply stated, he ACTS LIKE A DIFFERENT GUY than Superman...and he's the only actor to portray that character so far to take that simple, logical step. Don't even get me started on anybody else who has attempted to essay the role -- well, Kirk Alyn was okay, but nobody else has even come close. Henry Cavill needs to start with a script that understands his character/s...and then we'll see what he can do with it.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Chris made Superman accessible to me.

    On another note, Oh Jackie, where art thou? :-c
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2015 Posts: 12,480
    I'm here, @chrisisall! And those vibey waves of solid satisfaction & happiness you feel coming your way are from me to all of you ... all the way From Japan With Love ... love for Bond and a heaping measure of great pleasure that was my experience with SPECTRE.
    A happy and content 4EverBonded reporting in.
    SPECTRE was a blast! The theater experience was a gas.

    I'll stop rhyming now (I hope; all of those were accidental, believe it or not).
    Here is my report:

    FAB theater experience! (I never want to go back to a regular theater again).
    ~ Simple, low elegant lounge (separate from rest of lobby) with own entrance from lounge into the Gran theater.
    ~ I had a choice of about 30 dif. kind of drinks with my drink ticket that came with my theater ticket. I chose the red wine. It was a huge glass; I drank half.
    ~ Reclining super cushy lounge chairs, foot rest electronically controlled (natch) and slippers if you choose (yes like you may get offered in business class on a flight), drink holders on both sides.
    ~ AND each row of seats (all recliners) were on an elevated plane. There was no obstruction for viewing no matter where you sat. Superb.
    ~Great sound, too.

    SPECTRE
    Succinctly put, I enjoyed it tremendously. I was happily surprised to find I did not know a lot of what was going to happen (which is amazing, as I was on here a long time!). So it did feel fresh. I could give a few quibbles, and I will later, but they are fairly minor. For me, it was a rollicking Bond adventure, with outstanding cinematography, fine direction and acting, a story that was perfectly acceptable, good pacing (this film moved; I did not feel it dragged at any time), good running length, and the MI6 team working well together.

    I very much enjoyed this one, I went along for the ride, it was fun, it was entertaining, it had a few serious undertones but not heavily. Definitely a throwback to the earlier Bond films, yet I did not feel it was too reverential or put homages in our face so much that it took away from enjoying the film for itself. This one is Craig's showcase; his Bond totally in command. This was a Bond completely confident, his skills sharp, his mojo in prime shape. He was altogether in prime shape. Including in the opening credits! Which made me smile. I remember saying to myself, "Oh, Daniel's in the opening credits!" :D

    With Skyfall, I was moved very much at times, I went on the journey with Bond ... but it was a conflicted, worn out & psychologically hurt Bond; and that story was an important one, a hinge sort of, for Craig's Bond. Skyfall is still one of my favorite Bond films, no doubt. The feelings it tried to give the audience, the whole tone, and the story itself are definitely different from SPECTRE. With Skyfall, I left the theater emotional, happy, yet wanting Bond to move on and have less angst. I felt like he had triumphed and I felt that myself.

    So we have SPECTRE picking up directly from Skyfall. I liked that. I liked M giving Bond a last direction. I like the way SPECTRE brought in Mr. White and tied in Quantum (without mentioning them by name) in, bringing loose ends together. Yet it did not get bogged down in explanations (I expect many will quibble about that!). Plot holes? I suppose there are, but I just saw the film 3 hours ago and nothing was glaringly wrong about the film for me. This time, I left the theater bouncing, happy, having just had a fun adventure.

    Music? Ahhh. Okay, that is where the biggest improvement is needed. But what's done is done and it wasn't bad. Just definitely not great. The theme song was perfectly fine, like I had hoped it would be, when enveloped in the orchestra and lovely, interesting opening titles sequence. Do I still wish someone else had sang it? Yes, I honestly do. But it was really okay when in the film; the experience was good, it was not jarring. I've still no desire to listen to it on its own though. Was there Bondian music throughout? Yes. In several cues, too. Was the theme song woven it at times? Somewhat yes; and I think that song's refrain was particularly good for that. I did feel the "suspense" and "action" music pieces were just redundantly bombastic a bit. I noticed that a little, but the movie was so good I just ignored it and got back into the movie. So the music was disappointing .... but not so strongly as to really matter for me.

    GREAT opening sequence.

    I loved the way all the MI6 team worked together. And no, they were not out in the field being a sidekick to Bond; their parts were very well done, I thought, with this story. And I do love the actors playing them (M, Q, Moneypenny, Tanner).

    Lea Seydoux? Great! Beautiful. And still underused somehow, I think.

    Monica Bellucci? Fantastic! Gorgeous. And criminally underused. Honestly, there should have been at least one more good sequence with her. That is too bad she was in it after all so little. That surprised me a little.

    There are many other things I will talk about later (Blofeld? Ah yes, that too!). But just to say, I think it is a great Bond film, not just good and nowhere near middle of the road. I enjoyed it a whole lot. Not disappointed; very satisfied, actually. :)

    We will be reviewing and critiquing SPECTRE now on this thread in any way you'd like. Just opening up the conversation floodgates. But no actual numerical ranking until a good deal later; probably January. We will look at reviewing SPECTRE through different categories. And starting in about a week, I think we will also look at Daniel Craig in particular, his Bond.

    Oh that reminds me - I do not feel this is his last Bond film. Just my take on it. It may be; but I don't believe that is at all definite at this point.

    That's all for now. I'm seeing SPECTRE again in one week. Meanwhile, let the spoilers spill out here (at last) and discuss what you liked, didn't like about SPECTRE.
    Cheers!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2015 Posts: 12,480
    Let me just add that Bond films have been most fortunate indeed with their last two Directors of Photography/Cinematographers in particular. Roger Deakins did a glorious job with Skyfall, and now Hoyte Van Hoytema. ^:)^ That goes for both gentlemen.

    Cinematography, folks. It does make a difference.
  • She's back! She's back! Let the trumpets sound, let the spoilers flow!!

    I'm glad you enjoyed Spectre so much, @4Ever! I agree with much of what you wrote, although I do have some fairly strong quibbles with various aspects of the film. I think we're all a little tired of angsty Bond, and with that in mind, I didn't appreciate having Blofeld suddenly become "James'" pseudobrother. It just doesn't work for me. They shouldn't even BE on a first name basis! It ought to be "Mr. Bond" and "Blofeld" between them. Next thing you know, somebody will be telling us that Moriarty was really Holmes' math teacher! (What's that you say? Nicholas who???) Still & all, I'd give this film a B. Not the best but far from the worst of Craig's tenure. And I too don't think it will be his last. I'm not sure Mendes will return though, I think he's said his piece for this franchise & may well be ready to move on.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    @4EverBonded, I suspected you'd like the film about as much as I did!
    I didn't appreciate having Blofeld suddenly become "James'" pseudobrother. It just doesn't work for me.
    Not my first choice if I were writing it, but they knew each other for a short time as kids, no big deal to me.
  • It's Blofeld's "Dad liked you best" thing that gets under my craw. What, you went out & became a supervillain because of parental indifference? Oh, please!
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    @4EverBonded!!!!! So happy you liked it, I knew you would ;) That theatre experience sounds incredible, it must be a Japanese thing, I have never encountered anything like that anywhere (ah, those chairs!).
    chrisisall wrote: »
    @4EverBonded, I suspected you'd like the film about as much as I did!
    I didn't appreciate having Blofeld suddenly become "James'" pseudobrother. It just doesn't work for me.
    Not my first choice if I were writing it, but they knew each other for a short time as kids, no big deal to me.

    I am completely with you on this one @chrisisall and I couldn't have put it better.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited November 2015 Posts: 17,789
    It's Blofeld's "Dad liked you best" thing that gets under my craw. What, you went out & became a supervillain because of parental indifference? Oh, please!
    No no no... as I said elsewhere, in Blofeld's river of psychosis, Bond is just an eddy. You don't think there were a few others along the years he took some quantum of solace in targeting for whatever imagined reasons?
    :))

    Giving Bond & Blofeld a shared past, however brief, is an old narrative ploy. Hey, they could have gone for making Blofeld Bond's father!!! What a cliche that'd be, be grateful, young Beetle! ;)
  • I should be grateful for the cliche we got, rather than another one they might have given us? I suppose hoping for something original is out of the question then...
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I hear you, @BeatlesSansEarmuffs, but I cannot put my oar in fully with you on this one point. It simply didn't bug me at all. I knew, from the trailer, there was a shared past. As Sandy mentioned, it is an old ploy but the way it was employed in this film was okay for my enjoyment of SPECTRE. They did not overdo it; it was barely there, in fact. If they had hammered it in, been far more melodramatic about it, or as Sandy also mentioned had it been turned into Blofeld being Bond's father, I would have been royally pissed off. That would be far too much. But just the family connection and that being one key that started Blofeld off - he is psychotic, after all - it doesn't jar, seem over the top, or bother me. Perhaps I rather expected it, but the way it was handled was fine for me. However, I have no problem with other people being irked and annoyed by things that I like. And vice versa. We can all definitely share our opinion here without the fear of being bashed or ridiculed. This thread is still a respite from that kind of crap, thank goodness.

    So now that I have time off and on this week to delve into all the threads, read the old spoiler ones, the Sony leaks, etc. And I think it will be quite interesting for me. I expect that several folks now are taking this film apart bit by bit and getting riled up, disappointment overload, etc. Or maybe they are past that, as most have seen it a few times by now. As Bond fans ... serious fans ... we are far more sensitive to even small things at times.

    Oh hey - gunbarrel right at the beginning! Awesome! That was one "little" thing that I was happy to see. But I didn't keep a scorecard, checklist as I watched the film; not even mentally. I tried to just let it open up for me and show me what it had. Barbara B. had said the "money is up on the screen" and I must say it looks to me like a whole lot of the money was there. A beautifully produced, gorgeously filmed, and I think well directed film.

    I have a few things that I would have changed a bit, sure - and I will talk about them in a while. But overall, there was nothing that stood out like a sore thumb or truly disappointed me with this film. It was a fun, grand Bond adventures. And also the locations were spot on for me - I loved every place they filmed in this one.

    More later ... carry on, everybody! B-)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2015 Posts: 12,480
    Yes! @Sandy, @chrisisall, @BeatlesSansEarmuffs, and everybody ~
    I found the link to the theater where I saw SPECTRE! It's awesome. Feels like a private club. The smaller "Gran" theater. Scroll down the page. The photos show the seats and the layout. You can tell that every seat has a good view of the screen. Doesn't show the slippers, though. There was a small new pair (cotton I think) wrapped in plastic waiting at each chair when you walk in. The lounge is open an hour before the film starts. Drinks, gourmet popcorn and scones. Note: Each chair has two (2) drink holders. ;) The audience is quiet and respectful (they would be anyway here, and this was not billed as a young child's movie). Simply splendid. Thank you, Japan, for enhancing my Bond experience. 8->

    http://www.aeoncinema.com/event/gran-theatre/
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I paid only an extra $5 (equivalent) for the special theater and that included the drink - which was a large glass of red wine (my choice). About 30 drink choices, though. :)

    Be jammed in a crowded (though new, still crowded) theater in "regular" seats and maybe not the best view if Mr. Sumo is sitting in front of you ... or pay an extra $5 and get total bliss? Not a tough choice!
  • Posts: 2,341
    @4EverBonded, glad you finally got to see SPECTRE and even more glad to see that you enjoyed it as much as the rest of us.

    I was thrilled to see the gun barrel open the movie and the look of it! It looked like a classic old school gun barrel. Loved the women, loved the villains, and even the homage paid to some of the earlier films. (train fight, action in the snow, DB5, Blofeld's scar)

    The theme song was good, I like it. It may not be as good as "Skyfall" but it was heads and shoulders better than the Jack White/Alicia Keyes train wreck.

    so a quick questions for my fellow Originals: Do any of you plan on seeing the film again before the DVD comes out?


  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2015 Posts: 12,480
    Thanks, @OHMSS69. I was thrilled with the gunbarell too. The nods/homages in SPECTRE were thankfully, for me anyway, not overdone.

    I am seeing it every week it is shown in English here. Which may be at least 2 more times. Yay! :)
  • Lancaster007Lancaster007 Shrublands Health Clinic, England
    Posts: 1,874
    OHMSS69 wrote: »
    @4EverBonded, glad you finally got to see SPECTRE and even more glad to see that you enjoyed it as much as the rest of us.

    I was thrilled to see the gun barrel open the movie and the look of it! It looked like a classic old school gun barrel. Loved the women, loved the villains, and even the homage paid to some of the earlier films. (train fight, action in the snow, DB5, Blofeld's scar)

    The theme song was good, I like it. It may not be as good as "Skyfall" but it was heads and shoulders better than the Jack White/Alicia Keyes train wreck.

    so a quick questions for my fellow Originals: Do any of you plan on seeing the film again before the DVD comes out?


    Have seen it three times now. And that's it till the blu-ray comes out. Still not too sure about it. Would have been better if it had been a stand-alone film about SPECTRE with no Bond/Blofeld connection and by not tie-ing together all DC Bond movies.
    Thought the movie was well paced, thought the cinematography was not as good as Skyfall, very muted, lots of cream, brown colour schemes, the fight on the train gets better with each watch - Bond really looks like he's met his match. And I would have preferred if the ending had resolved itself at Blofeld's base instead of coming back to London. But all in all a great ride and DC's Bond is more like Bond of old - though still 100% DC.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    There are a few things I would have done a bit differently, but overall it was very satisfying for me. Having seen it once. :)

    Yes, it was like an older style Bond movie - but Craig was still Craig, as you say. I liked the cinematography throughout, didn't mind the more muted tones at times, the browns and creams. I think Skyfall for me is still the better film overall, including cinematography. But I view these two as different films. I liked that SPECTRE tied in to the other Craig films, though. Glad you enjoyed it overall, @Lancaster007.
  • Lancaster007Lancaster007 Shrublands Health Clinic, England
    Posts: 1,874
    There are a few things I would have done a bit differently, but overall it was very satisfying for me. Having seen it once. :)

    Yes, it was like an older style Bond movie - but Craig was still Craig, as you say. I liked the cinematography throughout, didn't mind the more muted tones at times, the browns and creams. I think Skyfall for me is still the better film overall, including cinematography. But I view these two as different films. I liked that SPECTRE tied in to the other Craig films, though. Glad you enjoyed it overall, @Lancaster007.

    Good to have you back, @4Ever, you've been missed.
    I too think Skyfall edges it, but will have to wait till I can do a back-2-back viewing. Did love the 'Touch of Evil' opening shot and thought there was some great humour in the film. I seem to be one of the very few who enjoyed the car chase, thought it was well done, some nice touches along the way and a great gag to finish. Found it refreshing that it wasn't a Hamilton-type smash-crash-bash-em-up chase - that's been done to death!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I loved the car chase! I have not read many comments yet. Strange to me people would not like that. I liked it a lot.

    The opening is amazing, one of the best. I bet there are conflicting feelings about Hinx and Blofeld, but I hope not the women - both were splendid, both underused (especially Monica).
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,244
    Good to have you back @4Ever!! And glad you enjoyed the film that much. The cinema looks fantastic. Even better then the best I've ever been to, at the Paragon in Bangkok. It's a similar setup, but a bit closer together and no slippers..

    I'd argue that Lea was underused, but I'd still say that if the film was just 180 minutes of Lea parading around, so that doesn't count. I fully agree on the car chase, felt like ballet at some points. And the PTS is one of the best. I was increadably impressed by the one-shot filming.

  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Glad to see you back @4EverBonded. And my word, you're well cared for in Japaneses cinema!

    Just a quick comment of the cinematography in Spectre - I thought it had much more depth than we're used on Bond. Still, I prefer the shinier framed of say Skyfall and Moonraker.

    Although not a fan of Smith's vocals in general, and Writing's on The Wall in particular, I thought the song and the titles worked superbly together. Not up their with Goldfinger, Spy, Casino Royale and Skyfall as my fav one-two punches in the series, but not far from it.

    And what a PTS the titles segued from! The opening tracking shot* was just excellent. And the way Craig carried himself. This is the Bond film that I've been waiting for since Casino Royale.

    I wrote this piece post Skyfall -

    Reflection -
    At the end of Casino Royale, we thought that Bond was back, a fully formed agent. Then we got Quantum of Solace.

    At the end of Quantum of Solace , Bond learnt his lesson, hence the gun-barrel at the end, signifying Bond was back. Then we got Skyfall.

    At the end of Skyfall, we got the traditional office, and all Bond's cohorts have been introduced. What will B24 have in store for us?

    We still haven't seen a Bond movie from Craig, in which he can be Bond, full of the gentlemanly conduct and charm, casual insouciant and Joie de vivre that one expects.

    With Spectre Craig has comes up trumps. I think he may be my 2nd fav Bond, behind Sean Connery. Of course. Well, maybe 3rd, after Tim. Or 4th behind Sir Rog.

    I'm not sure about the Blofeld/Obi thing though. I did enjoy Blofeld being just another bad guy for Bond to defeat, and yet Blofeld having this big "Daddy didn't love me!" complex.

    * production spoiler!
    actually 3 separate shots, blended together to seem as if it was one continuous shot. I think?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Hi, @Birdleson - I know you've been keeping quiet. But I want us all to feel free to chat about things, even when we really disagree. You had a quite different experience with SPECTRE than many of us it seems, but you don't have to stay completely silent here. We're not going to jump on each other's throats. This is the Originals thread, thank goodness.

    So ... I cannot really relate to what you say you felt regarding SPECTRE, but I appreciate you chatting with us about it in a nice way, which you are. Craig's attitude, demeanor, and whole take on Bond did change in this film - however, it was a change that I welcomed and had been waiting for. It fit the development of his Bond, the growth of Bond, the resurgence of his confidence and now being a very experienced 00 agent (no rookie at all), angst free (first time), and solid self assurance. It is the first time we saw this Bond act like that. So people would either accept it, warm to it, or not like it. Because this is a very different portrayal, yes.

    I took the changes in Bond as a positive, yet you were jarred by the differences and it came across to you as prissy and unsatisfying. Your feelings and opinion are valid; they are just quite different from mine. I'm sorry it did feel that way to you because surely if you are annoyed with or disappointed in Bond, then that pretty much ruins the film for you - which, come to think of it, is exactly what ruined OHMSS for me. Lazenby was the elephant in the room that I could never believe was Bond. I found him annoying and disappointing at nearly every turn. So when I compare my OHMSS thoughts on Bond to yours on SPECTRE, I can relate a little to what you are now experiencing. Which means the film was mostly a drag for you, and that is a shame. We have a long wait with Bond films and I know you enjoyed Skyfall a lot. But I do thank you for participating with us here.

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2015 Posts: 12,480
    @royale65, you said this (from your list after seeing Skyfall):
    We still haven't seen a Bond movie from Craig, in which he can be Bond, full of the gentlemanly conduct and charm, casual insouciant and Joie de vivre that one expects.

    And now this:
    With Spectre Craig has comes up trumps.

    That puts it neatly for me. My post-Skyfall list was similar to yours. I felt only fun and satisfaction as I watched SPECTRE unfold.

    Well ... I think perhaps we are so used to Craig's Bond being so heavily torn, psychologically damaged (while still strong & growing), and dealing with such heavy issues ... for 3 films ... that to have a lighter, more fun adventure (throwback to earlier Bond films like TSWLM, yes!) is a big change. So big a change that I think Birdleson is not alone in being taken aback and not enjoying Craig's new take on Bond; though I do think that is a minority opinion. But it being such a clear change, there must be others who did not like that either.

    I really enjoyed Craig's Bond a lot. I enjoyed the whole movie. I take it in the same vein as I enjoy TSWLM and FYEO. And TLD. And LALD. And GE. And TND.

    I have a few things I'd do slightly differently and will talk about that either later today (it is early a.m. for me as I type this) or tomorrow.

    As for lucky me, with this theater experience: I'm eating slightly less lunch this next time and getting some gourmet popcorn to go with my wine, which I will take into the cinema with me. Still don't need the slippers (I wear comfy socks), but this theater is a sublime experience and now I am spoiled for life. ;) Stressed? need a break from reality? Films always do that, but it is not usually like being in a spa ... the comfort level at this theater melts stress or tension away before the film even starts.

    Looking forward to hearing more from all of you, especially Originals but others too, for your full feelings about SPECTRE, and we don't need spoiler tags now. ;) (Your tag is for a production note, @royale65, and probably not necessary either, but I think considerate you put in in spoiler tag). Cheers!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    All generally loved Bond films are hated by someone. And all generally detested films have their fans.

    I am sure many can t wrap their heads around me not liking Goldeneye for instance.

    So what?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    @CommanderRoss, I'm glad you enjoyed the film. I'm happy that Lea survived! Quite happy about that, that was on my wish list for this film. (See we are not using spoiler tags any more here). How refreshing! And she is a fine actress. I understand you wanting her in pretty much every scene. ;)

    I do think the opening is very strong, one of the best. And the helicopter stunt was amazing! I enjoyed the car chase - basically I'm repeating myself, I know - I LOVED the locations in this film and how they were used. :-bd

    I also think the pacing and editing was very good overall.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2015 Posts: 12,480
    You don't like Goldeneye ...?! Oh, Thundy! Ppppppppfffffffffffffffttttttttt! :P >:)

    I mean: you are entitled to your opinion, dear chap. ;)

    (Yes, I knew you didn't like it, @Thunderfinger. We all have our flaws ... and most here would say that OHMSS is my Waterloo. I just disagree.)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Between the two of us, you are more of a nut than me.
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