Seven things 007 has that we want
Quantum Of Solace - 03-12-08
James Bond usually operates in a world of pure fantasy. His signature accessories have always been futuristic gadgets cooked up by his fictional spymasters, and if you wanted to, say, visit Dr. No’s lair or dispatch an enemy with a cyanide cigarette just like Bond did, you were out of luck - reports Vanity Fair.
Quantum of Solace is different. Many critics have pointed out that Daniel Craig’s Bond has an emotional depth we haven’t seen before, but that’s not all that makes this 007 more “real” than those of the past. He and his female counterparts wear real clothes, ride in real vehicles, and even chase each other around real buildings.
This new approach is the work of director Marc Forster (and his Casino Royale predecessor, Martin Campbell), but give some credit for the quality of the details to costume designer Louise Frogley.
It goes without saying that the Aston Martin DBS, the Omega Seamaster, and the Prada cocktail dresses are gorgeous, but here’s a list of seven items that really stood out to us:
1. Best Shades. Bond has always had great specs—Sean Connery basically put Ray Ban Wayfarers on the map—and the sunglasses Craig wears in Quantum of Solace are a fresh take on another American classic: the aviator. Tom Ford, the guy who turns classic into hot, designed the FT 108 James Bond specifically for the film. Ford also created the sharp suits Craig wears in and out of the movie. In fact, this is the first Bond film that did not feature Brioni suits. “I wanted something that was beautiful and elegant that would remind us of the type of suit Sean Connery wore in the early Bond films,” Frogley explained.
2. Best Accessory. When we first meet Camille (Olga Kurylenko), she is at the wheel of a Ford Ka, dressed in a striking Jasper Conran outfit and trendy Hogan sandals. But it’s the chunky double-strand chain-link necklace with an upside-down fish pendant by Conran that captivates the eye (although my husband somehow failed to notice it). Honorable mention goes to the brown leather multi-strap high-tops, called the Lizzy, which Camille wears when she and Bond storm the bad guys’ desert- hotel hideout. This modern update of Converse’s Jack Purcell, designed by Kurt Geiger, is the anti-stiletto.
3. Best Conference Room. Say what you will about the evildoers of Quantum, but they sure know how to conduct a conference call. Plugging pencil-eraser-size cellphones into their ears, they murmur to each other while posing as audience members at a performance of Tosca at the Bregenz Festival House, in Austria. The open-air opera house, which floats on Lake Constance, was designed by Austrian architects Deitrich+Untertrifaller. The tiny earpiece doesn’t exist, but we hope it’s only a matter of time before Steve Jobs adds it as an accessory to the iPhone. May we suggest flesh-tones?
4. Best Mile-high Martini. Ian Fleming made the martini famous for being “shaken, not stirred.” And it wouldn’t be a Bond film without seeing our hero ordering his fair share. You may have missed the introduction of the Vesper martini in the Casino Royale movie, but the drink was actually described by Fleming in his 1953 novel of the same name:
Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?
In Quantum of Solace, Bond drowns his sorrow over the death of Vesper Lynd by swilling six of them at a dark, swanky in-flight bar inside a first-class cabin. You can try to match that feat on your next transatlantic flight, as long as you’re willing (and able) to splurge on a seat aboard Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class Cabin service. And if that sounds a bit rich, you can always whip one up on your next staycation.
5. Best Nice-to-Meet-You-and-Yes-This-Is-All-I’m-Wearing Trench Coat. Upon landing in Bolivia, a remarkably non-groggy 007 is greeted by Bond Girl No. 2, Miss Strawberry Fields, played by Gemma Aterton. Under strict orders to apprehend our hero on behalf of the British embassy, she arrives wearing an unmistakable outfit of seduction. We like this trench by Hugo Boss because of the interesting twists on classic details—including the horizontal “gun flaps” and the slightly bulbous wrists sans belted cuffs.
6. Best Vintage Ride. the Douglas DC-3. This plane was first flown in 1935 and is credited with popularizing air travel in the U.S., due to the first sleeping berths and in-flight kitchen. For the movie, DC-3 owner and pilot Skip Evans deftly maneuvered this silver bullet in one of the film’s most exciting action scenes. You can watch Skip describe the experience on the film’s official site.
7. Best Bomber Jacket. In Quantum of Solace, Bond can’t seem to make it through two scenes without being punched, whacked, shot at, chased, or all of the above. Fortunately, his black canvas bomber with a stand-up collar and zipped-front and his aptly named Staypress pants make the perfect all-purpose armor. The jacket was designed by Yohji Yamamoto for the Adidas backed Y-3 Spring 2008 RTW collection.
Come to think of it, President-Elect Obama could take a cue from Bond’s casual look. It just might help get him through what’s sure to be a rough couple of months ahead, and it looks a whole lot better than a White Sox hat.
If not, we can at least rest assured that there is one government agent whose taste in clothes, cars, weapons, and women will never, ever let us down.
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?ite ... mi6&s=news
Quantum of Solace
Moderator: Germangirl
-
Daskedusken
- Posts: 14137
- Joined: Thu May 31, 2007 8:14 pm
- Location: Always heading somewhere
-
Germangirl
- Moderator
- Posts: 47070
- Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:05 pm
- Location: Germany
Over at RottenTomatoes they are at 66% fresh from the critics, but 74% at least from the people, who are the main target, an indication, that most enjoy the film, which also shows in the BO.
Of course, CR had 94% overall - the difference between Martin Campbell and Mark Forster..
From ALL the stuff I have read, its due to Daniel, who caries this film so well, that this somewhat flawed film can still be such a success.
Don´t get me wrong, I think its a powerful, unique film, but with better or more mainstream adapted pacing and some more dialogue, it could and probably would have have matched The Dark Knight BO wise.
Of course, CR had 94% overall - the difference between Martin Campbell and Mark Forster..
From ALL the stuff I have read, its due to Daniel, who caries this film so well, that this somewhat flawed film can still be such a success.
Don´t get me wrong, I think its a powerful, unique film, but with better or more mainstream adapted pacing and some more dialogue, it could and probably would have have matched The Dark Knight BO wise.
Last edited by Germangirl on Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
The top notch acting in the Weisz/Craig/Spall 'Betrayal' is emotionally true, often v funny and its beautifully staged with filmic qualities..
-
Germangirl
- Moderator
- Posts: 47070
- Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:05 pm
- Location: Germany
"Quantum of Solace" is a New Age Bond for women
Daniel Craig's icy blue Caribbean eyes shine in "Quantum of Solace"
A Cape Cod TODAY movie review by Anne Kirby
Daniel Craig once again proves his worth to audiences of all ages as the new James Bond in his latest film, "Quantum of Solace."
Endowed with a sleek physique and the musculature of Steve McQueen, Craig's performance is sheer grace under pressure.
His acting is organic: a perfect blend of mind and body. Endowed with a sleek physique and the musculature of Steve McQueen, Craig's performance is sheer grace under pressure.
His striking, icy blue Caribbean eyes are reminiscent of Paul Newman's as is the intelligence behind them, which defines Craig at once as captivating, unpredictable, complex and brilliant.
As James Bond, Daniel Craig dashes across international borders rescuing the beautiful young femme fatale, played by actress Olga Kurylenko, while tracking political prey with the skill of a cougar.
From the first frames of the movie, you vicariously feel the thrill of action brought on by speed, momentum, and the immediacy of danger that defines James Bond movies.
The opening chase scene in "Quantum of Solace" is so convoluted that this film is truer to character than any other Bond film I have seen.
The sequence is filled with dense, tightly packed dimensions of action - filmed from the inside of one of the chase cars - proving director Marc Foster's pioneering film skill. The chase is a maze of speed and sleek bodies, with the vintage James Bond Aston Martin DBS weaving to and fro, causing a head-on collision with a tractor trailer truck while an Aston Martin follows close behind.
Filled with dense, tightly packed dimensions of action - filmed from the inside of one of the chase cars
Next comes an incredible race track performance inside a narrow two-lane tunnel that moves up and down the inside tunnel walls that serve as surface tension between cars swerving in and out, left and right, between scant seconds of time and space. This is pure Bond.
Soon after the opening scene, as spectacular colorful views of a quaint Italian city light up the screen, the debonair James Bond character we have all come to expect for more than half a century is introduced, but this Bond is decidedly different.
While the same espionage-connected action prevails, Craig shimmers on the screen with sexy male appeal, and the women are beautiful but the mind (as well as the senses) begins to crave and wonder who is this Bond.
One begins to sense the shift in Bond's character when a young and strikingly beautiful Haitian female -- played strikingly well by Olga Kurylenko -- pulls up beside Bond, demanding that he jump into her car before he has a chance to set his foot onto the impoverished Haitian road that lies outside his dingy, undercover hotel.
She immediately informs Bond that she is doing the rescuing, not him. Could this be a female James Bond role reversal?
The encounter sets up a series of events that reveal a very different James Bond - one who is less seductive and almost astonishingly unconcerned with the opposite sex, were it not for a very short love indulgence that passes so quickly, and innocently, that one is not sure it occurred.
Yes, this is a new James Bond: one who is unexpectedly emotional, transfixed and obsessed with seeking revenge for his lover, Vesper Lynd, who was killed at the hands of a foreign agent at end of "Casino Royale".
"Quantum of Solace" may well be the first James Bond movie where a woman plays an integral part
This Bond is so brutishly fixated and indifferent to life outside of himself that when M, played by Judi Dench, becomes overtly concerned with his sanity - on the grounds he has committed more than enough unjustified killings - she relieves him of his duty and his hidden, personal mission.
M's order triggers a highly emotional and disobedient - if not quite yet out-of-control Bond. His body movements spasm with animal-like elegance as feelings of rage intensify to a fever pitch. As he escapes M's authoratative attempt to sequester Bond, his furor is depicted as he walks along the outside of a very high, second-floor staircase railing in a sinuous, graceful yet furiously, daring, snakelike manner. And so it is that we see a James Bond driven by love and the emotions that ensue.
After riveting gambits and thousands of feet of intensely beautiful travelogue-like scenery and splendid architecture beginning on the streets of Siena, Italy, moving through Austria and Haiti, and ending in Bolivia, the film begins drawing to a close - but not until Bond finds he is placated with solace.
"Quantum of Solace" may well be the first James Bond movie where a woman plays an integral part of the Bond psyche, suggesting a Bond who is sympathetic and an empathetic lover capable of loyalty.
Who knows what will happen next: after all, this was an election year and woman functioned heavily in terms of carrying the vote! Perhaps we really are turning over a new leaf.
http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index ... -?blog=209
Daniel Craig's icy blue Caribbean eyes shine in "Quantum of Solace"
A Cape Cod TODAY movie review by Anne Kirby
Daniel Craig once again proves his worth to audiences of all ages as the new James Bond in his latest film, "Quantum of Solace."
Endowed with a sleek physique and the musculature of Steve McQueen, Craig's performance is sheer grace under pressure.
His acting is organic: a perfect blend of mind and body. Endowed with a sleek physique and the musculature of Steve McQueen, Craig's performance is sheer grace under pressure.
His striking, icy blue Caribbean eyes are reminiscent of Paul Newman's as is the intelligence behind them, which defines Craig at once as captivating, unpredictable, complex and brilliant.
As James Bond, Daniel Craig dashes across international borders rescuing the beautiful young femme fatale, played by actress Olga Kurylenko, while tracking political prey with the skill of a cougar.
From the first frames of the movie, you vicariously feel the thrill of action brought on by speed, momentum, and the immediacy of danger that defines James Bond movies.
The opening chase scene in "Quantum of Solace" is so convoluted that this film is truer to character than any other Bond film I have seen.
The sequence is filled with dense, tightly packed dimensions of action - filmed from the inside of one of the chase cars - proving director Marc Foster's pioneering film skill. The chase is a maze of speed and sleek bodies, with the vintage James Bond Aston Martin DBS weaving to and fro, causing a head-on collision with a tractor trailer truck while an Aston Martin follows close behind.
Filled with dense, tightly packed dimensions of action - filmed from the inside of one of the chase cars
Next comes an incredible race track performance inside a narrow two-lane tunnel that moves up and down the inside tunnel walls that serve as surface tension between cars swerving in and out, left and right, between scant seconds of time and space. This is pure Bond.
Soon after the opening scene, as spectacular colorful views of a quaint Italian city light up the screen, the debonair James Bond character we have all come to expect for more than half a century is introduced, but this Bond is decidedly different.
While the same espionage-connected action prevails, Craig shimmers on the screen with sexy male appeal, and the women are beautiful but the mind (as well as the senses) begins to crave and wonder who is this Bond.
One begins to sense the shift in Bond's character when a young and strikingly beautiful Haitian female -- played strikingly well by Olga Kurylenko -- pulls up beside Bond, demanding that he jump into her car before he has a chance to set his foot onto the impoverished Haitian road that lies outside his dingy, undercover hotel.
She immediately informs Bond that she is doing the rescuing, not him. Could this be a female James Bond role reversal?
The encounter sets up a series of events that reveal a very different James Bond - one who is less seductive and almost astonishingly unconcerned with the opposite sex, were it not for a very short love indulgence that passes so quickly, and innocently, that one is not sure it occurred.
Yes, this is a new James Bond: one who is unexpectedly emotional, transfixed and obsessed with seeking revenge for his lover, Vesper Lynd, who was killed at the hands of a foreign agent at end of "Casino Royale".
"Quantum of Solace" may well be the first James Bond movie where a woman plays an integral part
This Bond is so brutishly fixated and indifferent to life outside of himself that when M, played by Judi Dench, becomes overtly concerned with his sanity - on the grounds he has committed more than enough unjustified killings - she relieves him of his duty and his hidden, personal mission.
M's order triggers a highly emotional and disobedient - if not quite yet out-of-control Bond. His body movements spasm with animal-like elegance as feelings of rage intensify to a fever pitch. As he escapes M's authoratative attempt to sequester Bond, his furor is depicted as he walks along the outside of a very high, second-floor staircase railing in a sinuous, graceful yet furiously, daring, snakelike manner. And so it is that we see a James Bond driven by love and the emotions that ensue.
After riveting gambits and thousands of feet of intensely beautiful travelogue-like scenery and splendid architecture beginning on the streets of Siena, Italy, moving through Austria and Haiti, and ending in Bolivia, the film begins drawing to a close - but not until Bond finds he is placated with solace.
"Quantum of Solace" may well be the first James Bond movie where a woman plays an integral part of the Bond psyche, suggesting a Bond who is sympathetic and an empathetic lover capable of loyalty.
Who knows what will happen next: after all, this was an election year and woman functioned heavily in terms of carrying the vote! Perhaps we really are turning over a new leaf.
http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index ... -?blog=209
The top notch acting in the Weisz/Craig/Spall 'Betrayal' is emotionally true, often v funny and its beautifully staged with filmic qualities..
-
Daskedusken
- Posts: 14137
- Joined: Thu May 31, 2007 8:14 pm
- Location: Always heading somewhere
Mark Ronson on missing the Bond theme - `a once in a lifetime situation`
Quantum Of Solace - 04-12-08
It’s fair to say that Another Way to Die, Jack White and Alicia Keys’ theme song for the latest Bond flick Quantum of Solace, is not Mark Ronson’s favourite song, reports The West.
After all, Amy Winehouse and transatlantic producer Ronson, who produced and co-wrote tracks on her Grammy award-winning album Back to Black were poised to record the theme before Ronson was forced to put the kybosh on the studio sessions due to the songstress’ erratic behaviour.
Speaking from his home in New York, the London-born DJ and producer says he wasn’t so much annoyed as worried by Winehouse’s antics.
“That’s somebody I care about,” Ronson says ahead of his first Australian tour with his six-piece group, Version Players.
“I was more worried about her as a person than I was whether we got the Bond theme done or not.
“But, yeah, definitely when somebody offers you a Bond theme, it’s a once in a lifetime situation. (I was) sitting back a bit bummed watching the Jack White video on MTV.”
Two months after pulling the plug on the Winehouse sessions, Ronson did, however, get to do the next best thing to recording a new Bond theme — that was to perform an old one.
In July, he teamed up with his heroes, Duran Duran, constructing a 30-minute medley of their classics (including their 1985 Bond theme, A View to a Kill) using the original multi-tracks and then performing it with the New Romantic icons at a one-off, invite-only show in Paris.
“That was great,” he laughs. “They were the first band I ever had the Smash Hits sticker book for and posters on the wall.
“I’d go to the guy who cut my hair — it must have looked ridiculous — there’s a row of 14-year-old boys waiting to get their hair cut and here I am with a picture of John Taylor. ‘Can you cut my hair just like him?’ ‘No, you’re gonna get the bowl (cut) like everybody else’.”
Ronson speaks in an English accent with a slight trace of the Big Apple. He moved to New York with his mother when he was eight but frequently returned to the UK to visit his father. His mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, so his childhood was immersed in music.
He got involved in the New York hip-hop scene but also brought rock records back from the UK, mixing the two during DJ gigs in the 1990s.
After producing a single for soul-funk diva Nikka Costa and providing music for a Tommy Hilfiger commercial, Ronson unveiled his 2003 debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz — a genre-hopping collection featuring guest vocals from Jack White, Ghostface Killah, Mos Def, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Sean Paul and others.
Ronson says the big names on his debut made it impossible to tour. So, when it came to making album number two, 2006’s Version, he decided to work with some unknown female singers on the lead tracks: Lily Allen sang on the remake of Kaiser Chiefs’ Oh My God, while Winehouse added soul fire to The Zutons’ Valerie.
“The songs are the stars of the record,” he says.
“I thought with this record I’d just get people who weren’t famous to come and do these vocals.
“And then, of course, in the six months after we did the record Amy and Lily turn out to be two of the biggest female pop stars in the world.”
And two of the biggest tabloid trainwrecks of recent times.
His sister, DJ Samantha Ronson, has also had her fair share of the spotlight due to her relationship with Lindsay Lohan. Ronson says Samantha, one of nine siblings, is very headstrong. “She started her career because I couldn’t DJ a club one night and she said, ‘Well, I’ll do it.’ They asked her whether she’d done it before and she said, ‘No, but I can learn on the job’.”
How does he stay out of trouble when everyone around him seems to be falling apart?
“I have my fair share of acting like an idiot, too,” Ronson says. “I’m not nearly as closely watched as some of those people. And maybe it’s the advantage of not having success until a bit later on, like being 31 when you have your first hit single.
“At the end of the day, I’m still a producer which is a bit more of a faceless thing.”
And a very hard working one. Ronson says he feels lazy if he doesn’t hit the studio every day — probably the main reason he keeps his nose clean. He’s producing records for Australian R&B singer Daniel Merriweather, US rapper Wale and UK band the Rumble Strips. In the past two years he’s also worked with Kaiser Chiefs, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, Maroon 5 and Adele.
Ronson says he doesn’t seek out collaborators; most of the big names he hooked up through mutual friends or bumped into them at nightclubs or discovered via a demo tape. Stevie Wonder tops his wish list but he’ll continue to work with whichever artists cross his radar.
One of his next projects might see him attempt another reunion with Winehouse. The pair have been asked to contribute a track to a Quincy Jones tribute.
Funnily enough, Ronson got engaged to Jones’ daughter Rashida in 2003 but they have since broken up. While he was too nervous to ask the legendary producer any big questions about music, Jones nevertheless passed on some useful tips.
Ronson has already made inroads into Jones’ total of 27 Grammy awards, winning three trophies at this year’s awards, including the coveted producer of the year title.
“It sits on my mantelpiece and every now and then, I go, ‘Holy s...! How did I get that?’” he laughs. “My stepdad made music for 30 years, sold millions of records and never won a Grammy. The Beatles never won a Grammy, until they put out the Free as a Bird thing.”
Ronson also shared awards for record of the year and best pop vocal album with Winehouse for Back to Black, but says the producer of the year gong was the ultimate reward.
“But it doesn’t give you anything or pay you a monthly stipend,” he adds. “You still have to go and work and do what you do, and just feel that you got to experience that.”
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?ite ... mi6&s=news
Quantum Of Solace - 04-12-08
It’s fair to say that Another Way to Die, Jack White and Alicia Keys’ theme song for the latest Bond flick Quantum of Solace, is not Mark Ronson’s favourite song, reports The West.
After all, Amy Winehouse and transatlantic producer Ronson, who produced and co-wrote tracks on her Grammy award-winning album Back to Black were poised to record the theme before Ronson was forced to put the kybosh on the studio sessions due to the songstress’ erratic behaviour.
Speaking from his home in New York, the London-born DJ and producer says he wasn’t so much annoyed as worried by Winehouse’s antics.
“That’s somebody I care about,” Ronson says ahead of his first Australian tour with his six-piece group, Version Players.
“I was more worried about her as a person than I was whether we got the Bond theme done or not.
“But, yeah, definitely when somebody offers you a Bond theme, it’s a once in a lifetime situation. (I was) sitting back a bit bummed watching the Jack White video on MTV.”
Two months after pulling the plug on the Winehouse sessions, Ronson did, however, get to do the next best thing to recording a new Bond theme — that was to perform an old one.
In July, he teamed up with his heroes, Duran Duran, constructing a 30-minute medley of their classics (including their 1985 Bond theme, A View to a Kill) using the original multi-tracks and then performing it with the New Romantic icons at a one-off, invite-only show in Paris.
“That was great,” he laughs. “They were the first band I ever had the Smash Hits sticker book for and posters on the wall.
“I’d go to the guy who cut my hair — it must have looked ridiculous — there’s a row of 14-year-old boys waiting to get their hair cut and here I am with a picture of John Taylor. ‘Can you cut my hair just like him?’ ‘No, you’re gonna get the bowl (cut) like everybody else’.”
Ronson speaks in an English accent with a slight trace of the Big Apple. He moved to New York with his mother when he was eight but frequently returned to the UK to visit his father. His mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, so his childhood was immersed in music.
He got involved in the New York hip-hop scene but also brought rock records back from the UK, mixing the two during DJ gigs in the 1990s.
After producing a single for soul-funk diva Nikka Costa and providing music for a Tommy Hilfiger commercial, Ronson unveiled his 2003 debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz — a genre-hopping collection featuring guest vocals from Jack White, Ghostface Killah, Mos Def, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Sean Paul and others.
Ronson says the big names on his debut made it impossible to tour. So, when it came to making album number two, 2006’s Version, he decided to work with some unknown female singers on the lead tracks: Lily Allen sang on the remake of Kaiser Chiefs’ Oh My God, while Winehouse added soul fire to The Zutons’ Valerie.
“The songs are the stars of the record,” he says.
“I thought with this record I’d just get people who weren’t famous to come and do these vocals.
“And then, of course, in the six months after we did the record Amy and Lily turn out to be two of the biggest female pop stars in the world.”
And two of the biggest tabloid trainwrecks of recent times.
His sister, DJ Samantha Ronson, has also had her fair share of the spotlight due to her relationship with Lindsay Lohan. Ronson says Samantha, one of nine siblings, is very headstrong. “She started her career because I couldn’t DJ a club one night and she said, ‘Well, I’ll do it.’ They asked her whether she’d done it before and she said, ‘No, but I can learn on the job’.”
How does he stay out of trouble when everyone around him seems to be falling apart?
“I have my fair share of acting like an idiot, too,” Ronson says. “I’m not nearly as closely watched as some of those people. And maybe it’s the advantage of not having success until a bit later on, like being 31 when you have your first hit single.
“At the end of the day, I’m still a producer which is a bit more of a faceless thing.”
And a very hard working one. Ronson says he feels lazy if he doesn’t hit the studio every day — probably the main reason he keeps his nose clean. He’s producing records for Australian R&B singer Daniel Merriweather, US rapper Wale and UK band the Rumble Strips. In the past two years he’s also worked with Kaiser Chiefs, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, Maroon 5 and Adele.
Ronson says he doesn’t seek out collaborators; most of the big names he hooked up through mutual friends or bumped into them at nightclubs or discovered via a demo tape. Stevie Wonder tops his wish list but he’ll continue to work with whichever artists cross his radar.
One of his next projects might see him attempt another reunion with Winehouse. The pair have been asked to contribute a track to a Quincy Jones tribute.
Funnily enough, Ronson got engaged to Jones’ daughter Rashida in 2003 but they have since broken up. While he was too nervous to ask the legendary producer any big questions about music, Jones nevertheless passed on some useful tips.
Ronson has already made inroads into Jones’ total of 27 Grammy awards, winning three trophies at this year’s awards, including the coveted producer of the year title.
“It sits on my mantelpiece and every now and then, I go, ‘Holy s...! How did I get that?’” he laughs. “My stepdad made music for 30 years, sold millions of records and never won a Grammy. The Beatles never won a Grammy, until they put out the Free as a Bird thing.”
Ronson also shared awards for record of the year and best pop vocal album with Winehouse for Back to Black, but says the producer of the year gong was the ultimate reward.
“But it doesn’t give you anything or pay you a monthly stipend,” he adds. “You still have to go and work and do what you do, and just feel that you got to experience that.”
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?ite ... mi6&s=news
"Love anyway. Live anyway. Choose to part of this anyway”
-
Daskedusken
- Posts: 14137
- Joined: Thu May 31, 2007 8:14 pm
- Location: Always heading somewhere
Alicia Keys and Jack White receive Grammy nomination for `Another Way To Die`
Quantum Of Solace - 04-12-08
The Detroit News reports that Keys received three nominations in ancillary categories, one for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman," and nominations for her duets with John Mayer ("Lesson Learned," from "As I Am," for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals) and the White Stripes' Jack White (the James Bond theme "Another Way to Die," for Best Short Form Music Video).
Jack White was also a nominee with his band the Raconteurs -- his outfit with fellow Detroiter-turned-Tennessean Brendan Benson -- which is up for Best Rock Album, along with Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus." Rock is also nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for his smash hit "All Summer Long."
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?ite ... mi6&s=news
Quantum Of Solace - 04-12-08
The Detroit News reports that Keys received three nominations in ancillary categories, one for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman," and nominations for her duets with John Mayer ("Lesson Learned," from "As I Am," for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals) and the White Stripes' Jack White (the James Bond theme "Another Way to Die," for Best Short Form Music Video).
Jack White was also a nominee with his band the Raconteurs -- his outfit with fellow Detroiter-turned-Tennessean Brendan Benson -- which is up for Best Rock Album, along with Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus." Rock is also nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for his smash hit "All Summer Long."
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?ite ... mi6&s=news
"Love anyway. Live anyway. Choose to part of this anyway”
Totally agree about mainstream direction. Nolan succeded because he has a way of making big movies but Mark doesn'tGermangirl wrote: From ALL the stuff I have read, its due to Daniel, who caries this film so well, that this somewhat flawed film can still be such a success.
Don´t get me wrong, I think its a powerful, unique film, but with better or more mainstream adapted pacing and some more dialogue, it could and probably would have have matched The Dark Knight BO wise.
Martin seems to know how to make Bond movies that people want.
As much as I love this movie I would have preferred it to be more public friendly.
As for Dan's acceptance as Bond Im sceptical because of what I read in the comments on some local movie sites, JB sites, sites like Aint it Cool etc. He's not as accepted by almost everyone as Broz and Christian Bale as Batman.
I don't care about it though cause I love him
Thanks for this woman's review! Beautiful !
-
calypso
- Posts: 17284
- Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:55 pm
- Location: Knitting willy warmers for Daniel's pickle!
Actor Daniel Craig Continues Talking About James Bond, Quantum of Solace and Saving the World
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-balf ... 48330.html
With terrorism afoot seemingly everywhere, where is agent 007, James Bond, when we need him? Well, he may not be available to save us in all his athletic and dashing glory, but in Quantum of Solace--the 22nd official installment--Bond exhaustingly gives it a damn good try. If he can't defeat the bad guys who pose the threat of corporate terrorism, then he at least exacts retribution for the death of his love, Vesper Lynd (who died in Casino Royale).
Not only is this the most traveled James Bond film ever (they shot in 17 countries), but its star, Daniel Craig, has been talking about it to everyone, everywhere (from TV talk shows to newspapers to a HuffPo vidblogger), and even to a small band of reporters --including this one as well. Though he talked for a prim 21 minutes, Craig spoke fast, packing in as much as he could that would serve his interrogators. But judging by the hard-driving workout this 34 year-old British actor endures as the revamped and rebooted Bond, handling wimpy journo queries was the least of his travails.
While the compact Craig has had his limits tested by this character and the demands of extending Bond's emotional color, Craig still has had other opportunities to apply his actorial skills to characters that offered different challenges, such as the Jewish resistance fighter he plays in director Ed Zwick's Defiance (due out at year's end).
Q: Bond is being reinvented in a different world and time now, so he was cast differently. Is there some--if not a "responsibility"--the possibility to add a fresh interplay with the real world and give the Bond saga more of a mission?
DC: They've always done that to a certain extent. It's just that you have to remain apolitical. I don't think you can start getting into making huge comments about society with a Bond movie. Otherwise that defeats the object, really, because it's a fantasy movie, and as soon as you start giving it worthiness, you're shooting yourself in the foot. But it's going to be influenced.
I like that there is a sort of morality to these movies, and I think you should play around with that. That's interesting. People talk about this movie being about vendetta, and I say it's not. It's actually about the fact that when he gets the chance to shoot the guy in the head, he doesn't. He says, "No. You're coming in." And I know that's ingenuous, because he's shot lots of other people [laughs]. But it's an important statement to make. It's not deep and meaningful, but it's there.
Q: You're born with desirable blond hair and blue eyes -- the standards of good looks. Then you're up for this role, and it's, "Oh, a blond Bond? What!?" Did you feel a reverse prejudice?
DC: No, I did not [laughs]. I mean, what could I do? "You're blond, you're too blond." I'm too blond? Someone said to me, "Did you ever think about dyeing your hair" and I went, "God, no."
The whole thing was a nightmare to think about. I couldn't argue... especially when I got older, and started dyeing my hair [for that reason] as well. I mean, a lot of the criticism was directed through the internet, because that's where a lot of people --obviously, for good reason, it's good place to get things off your chest. But I couldn't respond. There's nothing that I could say. I could start my own blog going, "I don't think I'm too blond." But what do you do? You only enter into a crazy world.
Q: It's still going on; on The Today Show they kept saying, "Blond Bond, Blond Bond!"
DC: They're never, ever ever going to get rid of that line. Ah, never mind....
Q: Executive Producer Barbara Broccoli has said you had a hand in collaborating on the script in parts, where the character goes and what he does in these films.
DC: I'm a big Bond fan, always have been. So the idea of introducing, let's say, Moneypenny and Q, into the next movie is very exciting, but I want to give those parts to proper actors, and say "invent it." I mean, because the gags are movie history, to just drop the gags into Bond movies -- I don't think it stands up anymore, not with what we've done with the films. So introducing the gags, and the lines, the Bond line, [like] the martini [bit] -- I want them in the film, but we need the right to say them.
Having Q and Moneypenny back in -- we've got this organization now. We know they're everywhere, we know they're in control of the world, so submarine bases are definitely on the cards. I mean, we can do anything. Because we've opened up this world of fantasy--and it is a fantasy world--as long as we root ourselves in some reality, we can then do what we want.
Q: Was it necessary to enhance Judi Dench's character, M, with more dialogue?
DC: We got a bit more in there. The role wasn't quite as big when we got the first draft of the script. Whether it was me or Mark or whoever, I just thought that we needed to make that relationship solid. She needed to not trust him and think that he failed, but instinctively know that he hadn't. And that little journey that she goes on -- she says, 'fuck you, he's my man,' and he feels confident about that. It's that whole mother-son thing -- I've got no problem with it, it's all great -- more of that, why not?
Q:This movie is populated with great theater actors who know how to build characters and add subtleties that you wouldn't think could be in a Bond movie.
DC: If you get the chance, you give these jobs to the best actors you can find. For me, it cuts my job in half. Acting with Judi Dench, I'm just going to stand there, and I just let her talk. She's phenomenal. She's incredibly skilled as an actress, but she gets a huge kick out of it and enjoys it. Like all actresses or actors I know that have been around for long enough -- stars, we call people stars--those that still love what they do, it's always really inspiring. I want to be doing this for awhile yet and be still getting a kick out of it.
Q: Last time you were here [like this] with the film you did with director/producer Matthew Vaughn...
DC: It was Layer Cake. It's been a few years.
Q: You still look as fit and fine as those days.
DC: Thank you very much [chuckles]. I'm keeping body and soul together somehow.
Q: With that in mind, how much are you like James Bond?
DC: Oh, I'm not even slightly like James Bond. Not even -- nothing, absolutely nothing we share.
Q: Does that make him easier to play?
DC: I think we can take him wherever we want to take him. I think that with this movie, the idea was to finish off the story we started with Casino [Royale] and now he can be who he [is] -- he can be Bond now.
Q: There's a lot of work spent getting in shape for these films, isn't there?
DC: Yes, it is -- it's dreadful. It's seven days a week of obsessive behavior. It's not healthy. It's something we really need -- keeping fit's good - -but so is drinking, and eating, and enjoying life.
Q: Does it amuse you, that though your chief nemesis smokes, drinks, is rail-thin and doesn't look very healthy, he puts up quite a fight? Meanwhile you were working out every minute of the day to stay fit.
DC: I was, I was. There's narcissism involved, and I'm sorry, I'd be lying to you if there wasn't. They said, "there might be a scene where you're taking your shirt off" and I [thought], "Hmmm, I should get in shape then."
I love the casting of Mathieu [Amalric] because in fact that was a great thing. And the fight at the end, I could squash him like a bug. But actually, it's about his character and the fact that he's just waving his arm around and that plays into it. I mean, there's something about having someone like that -- Mathieu wields power really well. There's a great line about walking out with your balls in your mouth, and with your successor smiling over you... He delivers just bang-on.
Q: There's this feeling that you were a lot more reticent to talk to press until these films came out and you were settled into it. Now you've gone into the whole marketing thing.
DC: I knew that when we made Casino, we had made a good movie. That's all I could do. Beyond that, I had this reputation for being anti-press, and "Oh, he won't talk to the press," because I saw no reason why I needed to be out there and self-promoting myself.
Well, when it came to Bond, they asked me, "Are you going to do press?" and I went, "Of course I am." I mean, I can't get all Greta Garbo about it. You cannot say "James Bond" and 'I want to be alone'. They spent how-many-millions of dollars on a movie, and I go and hide away from selling it. That completely made no sense whatsoever.
Q: People have asked a million times before, how many more of these Bond films are you going to do? and you point out, "Well, I've got two more in my contract."
DC: So I'm nearly there [chuckles].
Q: There a certain shelf life to playing Bond -- you get punished playing this character -- so I can't help thinking that you must say "How much longer am I going to do these things?"
DC: God yes, I think so. There is some quote from Harrison Ford which I love, and particularly now it makes much more sense. It's something about his knees going. And we do it until we do it, and we make it as safe as we can. But I'd genuinely love to do another one. I mean, I had surgery on my shoulder this year, which is a long-term thing, that I ripped out when I was doing this movie, and it's crazy. I've seen more doctors this year for stupid things, like stitches and cuts and things like that, than I've seen in the past 20 years of my life. But you know, it really is part of the job. As long as it's still coming across and it's real enough and entertaining enough, I'll continue doing it.
Q: Instead of doing one big franchise, you might have ended up in two if The Golden Compass had been more successful. In some alternate universe you might be talking about playing Lord Asreal in The Subtle Knife. As an actor--Is that strange when you don't know which film is going to be the real winner or not?
DC: I made two movies: this one, which is seeming to become a success, and Casino Royale, which was a huge success. Before that, box office was just not on my agenda. Well, it is, yeah, but it was [to make] a little big movie. It was never about the money it would make, it was about making the movie. And that's the way I've always made movies.
If I'm sitting there with the director in a cinema, and I've looked at it and gone, "Wow, we made it! We made it into a cinema!" -- that was my criterion. So the whole idea of whether or not a movie's made millions and millions and millions of dollars is still, for me, an anathema. I still can't quite relate to it.
(he speaks good enlgish yes? anathema
i had to look up 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathema_(band)
i think he not mean band.
or
A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.
A vehement denunciation; a curse: “the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
One that is cursed or damned.
One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: “Essentialism—a belief in natural, immutable sex differences—is anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a ‘social construct’” (Wendy Kaminer).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-balf ... 48330.html
With terrorism afoot seemingly everywhere, where is agent 007, James Bond, when we need him? Well, he may not be available to save us in all his athletic and dashing glory, but in Quantum of Solace--the 22nd official installment--Bond exhaustingly gives it a damn good try. If he can't defeat the bad guys who pose the threat of corporate terrorism, then he at least exacts retribution for the death of his love, Vesper Lynd (who died in Casino Royale).
Not only is this the most traveled James Bond film ever (they shot in 17 countries), but its star, Daniel Craig, has been talking about it to everyone, everywhere (from TV talk shows to newspapers to a HuffPo vidblogger), and even to a small band of reporters --including this one as well. Though he talked for a prim 21 minutes, Craig spoke fast, packing in as much as he could that would serve his interrogators. But judging by the hard-driving workout this 34 year-old British actor endures as the revamped and rebooted Bond, handling wimpy journo queries was the least of his travails.
While the compact Craig has had his limits tested by this character and the demands of extending Bond's emotional color, Craig still has had other opportunities to apply his actorial skills to characters that offered different challenges, such as the Jewish resistance fighter he plays in director Ed Zwick's Defiance (due out at year's end).
Q: Bond is being reinvented in a different world and time now, so he was cast differently. Is there some--if not a "responsibility"--the possibility to add a fresh interplay with the real world and give the Bond saga more of a mission?
DC: They've always done that to a certain extent. It's just that you have to remain apolitical. I don't think you can start getting into making huge comments about society with a Bond movie. Otherwise that defeats the object, really, because it's a fantasy movie, and as soon as you start giving it worthiness, you're shooting yourself in the foot. But it's going to be influenced.
I like that there is a sort of morality to these movies, and I think you should play around with that. That's interesting. People talk about this movie being about vendetta, and I say it's not. It's actually about the fact that when he gets the chance to shoot the guy in the head, he doesn't. He says, "No. You're coming in." And I know that's ingenuous, because he's shot lots of other people [laughs]. But it's an important statement to make. It's not deep and meaningful, but it's there.
Q: You're born with desirable blond hair and blue eyes -- the standards of good looks. Then you're up for this role, and it's, "Oh, a blond Bond? What!?" Did you feel a reverse prejudice?
DC: No, I did not [laughs]. I mean, what could I do? "You're blond, you're too blond." I'm too blond? Someone said to me, "Did you ever think about dyeing your hair" and I went, "God, no."
The whole thing was a nightmare to think about. I couldn't argue... especially when I got older, and started dyeing my hair [for that reason] as well. I mean, a lot of the criticism was directed through the internet, because that's where a lot of people --obviously, for good reason, it's good place to get things off your chest. But I couldn't respond. There's nothing that I could say. I could start my own blog going, "I don't think I'm too blond." But what do you do? You only enter into a crazy world.
Q: It's still going on; on The Today Show they kept saying, "Blond Bond, Blond Bond!"
DC: They're never, ever ever going to get rid of that line. Ah, never mind....
Q: Executive Producer Barbara Broccoli has said you had a hand in collaborating on the script in parts, where the character goes and what he does in these films.
DC: I'm a big Bond fan, always have been. So the idea of introducing, let's say, Moneypenny and Q, into the next movie is very exciting, but I want to give those parts to proper actors, and say "invent it." I mean, because the gags are movie history, to just drop the gags into Bond movies -- I don't think it stands up anymore, not with what we've done with the films. So introducing the gags, and the lines, the Bond line, [like] the martini [bit] -- I want them in the film, but we need the right to say them.
Having Q and Moneypenny back in -- we've got this organization now. We know they're everywhere, we know they're in control of the world, so submarine bases are definitely on the cards. I mean, we can do anything. Because we've opened up this world of fantasy--and it is a fantasy world--as long as we root ourselves in some reality, we can then do what we want.
Q: Was it necessary to enhance Judi Dench's character, M, with more dialogue?
DC: We got a bit more in there. The role wasn't quite as big when we got the first draft of the script. Whether it was me or Mark or whoever, I just thought that we needed to make that relationship solid. She needed to not trust him and think that he failed, but instinctively know that he hadn't. And that little journey that she goes on -- she says, 'fuck you, he's my man,' and he feels confident about that. It's that whole mother-son thing -- I've got no problem with it, it's all great -- more of that, why not?
Q:This movie is populated with great theater actors who know how to build characters and add subtleties that you wouldn't think could be in a Bond movie.
DC: If you get the chance, you give these jobs to the best actors you can find. For me, it cuts my job in half. Acting with Judi Dench, I'm just going to stand there, and I just let her talk. She's phenomenal. She's incredibly skilled as an actress, but she gets a huge kick out of it and enjoys it. Like all actresses or actors I know that have been around for long enough -- stars, we call people stars--those that still love what they do, it's always really inspiring. I want to be doing this for awhile yet and be still getting a kick out of it.
Q: Last time you were here [like this] with the film you did with director/producer Matthew Vaughn...
DC: It was Layer Cake. It's been a few years.
Q: You still look as fit and fine as those days.
DC: Thank you very much [chuckles]. I'm keeping body and soul together somehow.
Q: With that in mind, how much are you like James Bond?
DC: Oh, I'm not even slightly like James Bond. Not even -- nothing, absolutely nothing we share.
Q: Does that make him easier to play?
DC: I think we can take him wherever we want to take him. I think that with this movie, the idea was to finish off the story we started with Casino [Royale] and now he can be who he [is] -- he can be Bond now.
Q: There's a lot of work spent getting in shape for these films, isn't there?
DC: Yes, it is -- it's dreadful. It's seven days a week of obsessive behavior. It's not healthy. It's something we really need -- keeping fit's good - -but so is drinking, and eating, and enjoying life.
Q: Does it amuse you, that though your chief nemesis smokes, drinks, is rail-thin and doesn't look very healthy, he puts up quite a fight? Meanwhile you were working out every minute of the day to stay fit.
DC: I was, I was. There's narcissism involved, and I'm sorry, I'd be lying to you if there wasn't. They said, "there might be a scene where you're taking your shirt off" and I [thought], "Hmmm, I should get in shape then."
I love the casting of Mathieu [Amalric] because in fact that was a great thing. And the fight at the end, I could squash him like a bug. But actually, it's about his character and the fact that he's just waving his arm around and that plays into it. I mean, there's something about having someone like that -- Mathieu wields power really well. There's a great line about walking out with your balls in your mouth, and with your successor smiling over you... He delivers just bang-on.
Q: There's this feeling that you were a lot more reticent to talk to press until these films came out and you were settled into it. Now you've gone into the whole marketing thing.
DC: I knew that when we made Casino, we had made a good movie. That's all I could do. Beyond that, I had this reputation for being anti-press, and "Oh, he won't talk to the press," because I saw no reason why I needed to be out there and self-promoting myself.
Well, when it came to Bond, they asked me, "Are you going to do press?" and I went, "Of course I am." I mean, I can't get all Greta Garbo about it. You cannot say "James Bond" and 'I want to be alone'. They spent how-many-millions of dollars on a movie, and I go and hide away from selling it. That completely made no sense whatsoever.
Q: People have asked a million times before, how many more of these Bond films are you going to do? and you point out, "Well, I've got two more in my contract."
DC: So I'm nearly there [chuckles].
Q: There a certain shelf life to playing Bond -- you get punished playing this character -- so I can't help thinking that you must say "How much longer am I going to do these things?"
DC: God yes, I think so. There is some quote from Harrison Ford which I love, and particularly now it makes much more sense. It's something about his knees going. And we do it until we do it, and we make it as safe as we can. But I'd genuinely love to do another one. I mean, I had surgery on my shoulder this year, which is a long-term thing, that I ripped out when I was doing this movie, and it's crazy. I've seen more doctors this year for stupid things, like stitches and cuts and things like that, than I've seen in the past 20 years of my life. But you know, it really is part of the job. As long as it's still coming across and it's real enough and entertaining enough, I'll continue doing it.
Q: Instead of doing one big franchise, you might have ended up in two if The Golden Compass had been more successful. In some alternate universe you might be talking about playing Lord Asreal in The Subtle Knife. As an actor--Is that strange when you don't know which film is going to be the real winner or not?
DC: I made two movies: this one, which is seeming to become a success, and Casino Royale, which was a huge success. Before that, box office was just not on my agenda. Well, it is, yeah, but it was [to make] a little big movie. It was never about the money it would make, it was about making the movie. And that's the way I've always made movies.
If I'm sitting there with the director in a cinema, and I've looked at it and gone, "Wow, we made it! We made it into a cinema!" -- that was my criterion. So the whole idea of whether or not a movie's made millions and millions and millions of dollars is still, for me, an anathema. I still can't quite relate to it.
(he speaks good enlgish yes? anathema
i had to look up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathema_(band)
i think he not mean band.
or
A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.
A vehement denunciation; a curse: “the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
One that is cursed or damned.
One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: “Essentialism—a belief in natural, immutable sex differences—is anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a ‘social construct’” (Wendy Kaminer).
Why is that?
Twilight-great. its the kid from Harry Potter-and vampires are "in"-the kid is good-looking, not sure about the movie. Great. What is Bond's biggest audience? Baby boomers? Kids are going to see Twilight-yes? I have heard him on a satellite radio show and he is charming and as humble as our DC...It may be the British accent again???? Thank you for posting the interview Calypso-i cant get some of his words because of his beautiful accent-anathem is a great word and extensive vunacular he has! ~guinnesslaredo wrote:The male star of Twilite was on some ET show and was all excited because Twilite beat Bond in sales this week .
I LOVE WHEN HE USES BIG WORDScalypso wrote:
(he speaks good enlgish yes? anathema
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathema_(band)
i think he not mean band.
or
A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.
A vehement denunciation; a curse: “the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
One that is cursed or damned.
One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: “Essentialism—a belief in natural, immutable sex differences—is anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a ‘social construct’” (Wendy Kaminer).
Intelligence is so sexy, and he is SO INTELLIGENT!!!My books!
-
Germangirl
- Moderator
- Posts: 47070
- Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:05 pm
- Location: Germany
'Quantum of Solace' is an excellent Bond film
A week before Thanksgiving marked the release of the 22nd James Bond film "Quantum of Solace." Quantum picks up right where "Casino Royale" left off, and leaves no questions unanswered from the previous film.
Despite many James Bond films, we have yet to see the development of a true "sequel" or continuation of a previous film. Throughout the film, we see the deepening character that is James Bond. Beyond his devilish good looks, beautiful women, and expensive cars, Bond is human; he has for his new affection Vesper, who died tragically in the end of Casino Royale, and shares a dynamic relationship with his boss M.
The obligatory intro song leaves something to be desired. The intro itself is extremely well done and fits right in with the better Bond intros, yet still lacks that something to make it truly fit. The song feels a little flimsy compared to the scope of the movie; it's not epic enough and doesn't set up the action that is just a few minutes away. Previous intros have felt more powerful and in depth than simply a song over fancy graphics.
Despite a lackluster intro, Quantum gets off to a fast start and audiences are thrust head first into a fast-paced car chase down a narrow mountain road. The movie doesn't let up much from there. Chase scenes are everywhere in this installment, almost too much so, and the camera work during them makes it hard to follow. Throughout a few of the chases, the camera is flicks back and forth between viewpoints, really hampering the action going on. It was difficult to follow who was doing what and who had the upper hand, but not necessarily what was going on.
Even though the attempt at cutting edge camera work was shoddy at best, it doesn't detract too much from the central focus of the film. Daniel Craig has a huge presence on camera; there's no need to be flashing the camera around and taking away from that. His screen presence is what makes James Bond James Bond.
Don't get the wrong idea about this film - it is a great Bond movie. With the introduction of Daniel Craig, the Bond series has been revamped and almost reinvented in a great way. Gone are the over-the-top innuendos and gadgets, and inserted is a more realistic and emotional storyline. Pierce Brosnan made an excellent James Bond, but his time is over and done with; you can't compare the two different styles that the stories are told.
There are certain things you come to expect from a James Bond film. You expect great action sequences, you expect beautiful "Bond girls" and you expect an entertaining movie. While the story in "Quantum of Solace" may not be the deepest Oscar-winning script out there, it's not what James Bond has been aiming for. It aims to be an entertaining and exciting two-hour movie with a quality plot and acting.
The bottom line is that "Quantum of Solace" is an excellent example of a James Bond film that is changing from cheap one-liners and flashy gadgets, to developed characters and story lines that span more than one movie. The new James Bond film is everything you'd expect from a Bond film, and lots more that you wouldn't.
http://media.www.thewhitonline.com/medi ... 9100.shtml
A week before Thanksgiving marked the release of the 22nd James Bond film "Quantum of Solace." Quantum picks up right where "Casino Royale" left off, and leaves no questions unanswered from the previous film.
Despite many James Bond films, we have yet to see the development of a true "sequel" or continuation of a previous film. Throughout the film, we see the deepening character that is James Bond. Beyond his devilish good looks, beautiful women, and expensive cars, Bond is human; he has for his new affection Vesper, who died tragically in the end of Casino Royale, and shares a dynamic relationship with his boss M.
The obligatory intro song leaves something to be desired. The intro itself is extremely well done and fits right in with the better Bond intros, yet still lacks that something to make it truly fit. The song feels a little flimsy compared to the scope of the movie; it's not epic enough and doesn't set up the action that is just a few minutes away. Previous intros have felt more powerful and in depth than simply a song over fancy graphics.
Despite a lackluster intro, Quantum gets off to a fast start and audiences are thrust head first into a fast-paced car chase down a narrow mountain road. The movie doesn't let up much from there. Chase scenes are everywhere in this installment, almost too much so, and the camera work during them makes it hard to follow. Throughout a few of the chases, the camera is flicks back and forth between viewpoints, really hampering the action going on. It was difficult to follow who was doing what and who had the upper hand, but not necessarily what was going on.
Even though the attempt at cutting edge camera work was shoddy at best, it doesn't detract too much from the central focus of the film. Daniel Craig has a huge presence on camera; there's no need to be flashing the camera around and taking away from that. His screen presence is what makes James Bond James Bond.
Don't get the wrong idea about this film - it is a great Bond movie. With the introduction of Daniel Craig, the Bond series has been revamped and almost reinvented in a great way. Gone are the over-the-top innuendos and gadgets, and inserted is a more realistic and emotional storyline. Pierce Brosnan made an excellent James Bond, but his time is over and done with; you can't compare the two different styles that the stories are told.
There are certain things you come to expect from a James Bond film. You expect great action sequences, you expect beautiful "Bond girls" and you expect an entertaining movie. While the story in "Quantum of Solace" may not be the deepest Oscar-winning script out there, it's not what James Bond has been aiming for. It aims to be an entertaining and exciting two-hour movie with a quality plot and acting.
The bottom line is that "Quantum of Solace" is an excellent example of a James Bond film that is changing from cheap one-liners and flashy gadgets, to developed characters and story lines that span more than one movie. The new James Bond film is everything you'd expect from a Bond film, and lots more that you wouldn't.
http://media.www.thewhitonline.com/medi ... 9100.shtml
The top notch acting in the Weisz/Craig/Spall 'Betrayal' is emotionally true, often v funny and its beautifully staged with filmic qualities..