TWO SERVINGS OF 'PRIME CUT' W/ LEE MARVIN & GENE HACKMAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mXFQ_1O-VnI/VluiFoUyPEI/AAAAAAAApvM/b4Bl2iZXnjQ/s1600/tumblr_n052pwxE5j1r6ivyno1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mXFQ_1O-VnI/VluiFoUyPEI/AAAAAAAApvM/b4Bl2iZXnjQ/s400/tumblr_n052pwxE5j1r6ivyno1_1280.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1972 Director: Michael Ritchie</td></tr> </tbody></table> 1970's crime flicks don't get this strange, although PRIME CUT is also pretty basic and simple, and it takes an eclectic powerhouse actor like Gene Hackman to pull off playing a flawed, perverted character actually named Mary Ann (the boy called Sue had no problems comparably), a Kansas City gangster turned cattle rancher dealing in young prostitutes, initially giving in quickly to leading man Lee Marvin as Chicago mob enforcer Nick Devlin who, with a group of hired (albeit friendly) thugs, travels from big city Chicago to rural Middle America where it's not easy to hide from the bullets: especially once they start flying. And that occurs during the third act, a wonderfully prolonged death hunt within a wheat field (a nod, perhaps, to Alfred Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST), extremely suspenseful despite such a wide open space.<br /> <br /> After Marvin's Nick frees one of the more vulnerable girls from a literal barn auction of young, heroin-addled female flesh, there's sweet but ponderous and even overly-sentimental downtime with Sissy Spacek's sweet-natured Poppy, who ultimately contrasts from Angel Tompkins as rich bitch Clarabelle, a sort of THIRD MAN character more spoken of/anticipated than actually seen in this Neo Noir meets gritty exploitation helmed by Michael Ritchie, who would go on to direct mostly comedies (though classic ones including THE BAD NEWS BEARS and FLETCH), keeping the pace at such a cool, even keel while every second matters. For this isn't just another nickel-plated Lee Marvin vehicle. It truly belongs to the rural location serving as a purgatory that makes Marvin's usual tough guy out of place and more interesting and desperate than ever. Meanwhile, Gregory Walcott, as Hackman's brother/partner-in-crime, catapults the movie in one of the best opening credit sequences ever, and in his own way, within this gritty, hopeless setting, seems more genuine than any actor on board.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oz1KkjvwP7c/VlvTh0GGNXI/AAAAAAAApwA/agfuqx1N9MQ/s1600/prime-cut-cinema-quad-movie-poster-%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oz1KkjvwP7c/VlvTh0GGNXI/AAAAAAAApwA/agfuqx1N9MQ/s400/prime-cut-cinema-quad-movie-poster-%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>title: </b>PRIME CUT<br /> <b>year: </b>1972<br /> <b>cast:</b> Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman<br /> <b>rating: </b>****1/2<br /> <br /> “Chicago is a sick old sow grunting for fresh cream... Someday they’re gonna boil that town down for fat.” This is what Gene Hackman’s Mary Ann (what a name for a thug) tells Lee Marvin’s Nick Devlin, a mob enforcer sent from the Windy City to Kansas to collect a half a million-dollar debt. The opening credit sequence, as a very special batch of hot dogs are created inside a beef factory, could make you never want to go to a ballgame again. And for a reason: Turns out there’s been three different thugs sent to Kansas after Mary Ann and his strong-arm partner. All turn up missing and/or… lunch. Here’s a gritty and bizarre crime flick with a simple premise: one guys owes money and another’s gonna collect. Ex Illinois criminal Hackman owns a plush beef factory and estate, a front for an underage prostitute slave ring. Marvin winds up saving a teenager, Poppy, played by a lovely and vulnerable Sissy Spacek (while poor Janit Baldwin stays put).<br /> <br /> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RIl5LLSWoJg/T6wYb_fqmdI/AAAAAAAAHKo/A3avi78bePY/s1600/MPW-38052.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RIl5LLSWoJg/T6wYb_fqmdI/AAAAAAAAHKo/A3avi78bePY/s400/MPW-38052.jpg" width="400" /></a>Much like TAXI DRIVER a few years later, our antihero wants to protect the ingénue from the bad element with no ulterior motive. But his main job is to first collect from, and then escape from, a lethal Hackman: who’s got the home court advantage. A visual masterpiece that doesn’t need a lot of action to gain momentum or intensity. Rural Heartland Kansas, with the slop and slime and surreptitious criminal underbelly, is seedier than an urban alleyway. And one pivotal scene, when Marvin and Spacek escape from the local Fair into a field of wheat (perhaps a nod to NORTH BY NORTHWEST), proves director Michael Ritchie, most known for making comedies, had a real edge.

angel tompkins, crime, gene hackman, janit baldiwn, lee marvin, neo noir, seventies

TWO SERVINGS OF 'PRIME CUT' W/ LEE MARVIN & GENE HACKMAN

year: 1972 Director: Michael Ritchie 1970's crime flicks don't get this strange, although PRIME CUT is also pretty basic and sim...

SAOIRSE RONAN IN BROOKLYN

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F-eGVVQRNjo/Vlk4Oibo0gI/AAAAAAAApuI/Sm7vAP5zDkk/s1600/banner-brooklyn-Brooklyn_Film_844x476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F-eGVVQRNjo/Vlk4Oibo0gI/AAAAAAAApuI/Sm7vAP5zDkk/s640/banner-brooklyn-Brooklyn_Film_844x476.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2015 cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Domnhall Gleeson</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Ever see a movie or read a story that sets up a young female character on her own, and when she falls completely and hopelessly in love, you wish she had more pain and less... contentment? That happens in BROOKLYN after we begin with Saoirse Ronan's Ellis in her native Ireland, where life seems lovely enough, but she decides to travel to America. BROOKLYN to be exact.<br>

2015, domhnall gleeson, julie walters, romance, saoirse ronan

SAOIRSE RONAN IN BROOKLYN

year: 2015 cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Domnhall Gleeson Ever see a movie or read a story that sets u...

BRYAN CRANSTON IN TRUMBO

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BjYJK6uLAQ/VlgU742R9CI/AAAAAAAAptw/arv_HD5uuPI/s1600/trumbo_nws.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BjYJK6uLAQ/VlgU742R9CI/AAAAAAAAptw/arv_HD5uuPI/s640/trumbo_nws.png" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2015 cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Louis CK, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Dean O'Gorman</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> During the first thirty minutes, it seems like Bryan Cranston's Dalton Trumbo utters the same exact lines; not a broken record, but a scratched one. Moving ahead, the best scenes occur in the middle as the Blacklisted scriptwriter keeps working in secret, using fake names or other people to take the credit while he gets a cut of the action, and surreptitiously wins Academy Awards. A closer, more suspenseful and pointed glimpse into that brilliant scheme during the 1950's, and less attention on making John Wayne look like a complete jerk or Helen Mirren's caricature villain, and there would actually be a story about people rather than a forced agenda involving human cliches. <br>

2015, biopic, bryan cranston

BRYAN CRANSTON IN TRUMBO

year: 2015 cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Louis CK, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Dean O'Gorman During the first thirty minutes, it...

REVIEW OF VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-jiWjezCrY/VlavOd-At9I/AAAAAAAAptU/swsRHlIz-zY/s1600/Victor-Frankenstein-2015-Poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="335" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-jiWjezCrY/VlavOd-At9I/AAAAAAAAptU/swsRHlIz-zY/w640-h335/Victor-Frankenstein-2015-Poster.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 cast: James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Andrew Scott, Jessica Brown Findlay</td></tr> </tbody></table> At first, the famous monster movie hunchback is like someone straight out of AMERICAN HORROR STORY FREAKSHOW as the prologue is bizarre and confounding, but then we meet our title character and he's got more than a cure for an abused circus clown who, after a MATRIX style action-packed suspense fight/escape, is re-named Igor and becomes more than an assistant to VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, an eccentric young man with ambitions just beyond his reach, which is where the surprisingly brilliant Igor comes in...<br>

2015, daniel radcliffe, horror, james mcavoy, max landis, reboot

REVIEW OF VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

year: 2015 cast: James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Andrew Scott, Jessica Brown Findlay At first, the famous monster movie hunchback is lik...

REVERSE NOSTALGIC MOVIE REVIEW OF 'CREED' AKA 'ROCKY 7'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeAJ3TldIC0/XBJWEmPwSHI/AAAAAAAA9XU/-w0YkdOVDGAShK8wE89wzodf8eVk6m2VgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-12-13%2Bat%2B4.52.06%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1364" height="253" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeAJ3TldIC0/XBJWEmPwSHI/AAAAAAAA9XU/-w0YkdOVDGAShK8wE89wzodf8eVk6m2VgCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-12-13%2Bat%2B4.52.06%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2015 cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> We catch sporadic stock footage of Carl Weathers' Apollo CREED while his bastard son, attempting to follow his footsteps but not quite as muscular and confident, strategically ventures from L.A. to Rocky Balboa's Philly dive bar, where the Italian Stallion, at first, is reluctant to be his trainer, but then, quickly and without suspense or creativity, the real story begins...<br /> <br /> The problem with CREED isn't what hindered the last ROCKY film, because it's not exactly boring and has a touch of soul now and again. But there's that similar digital cable TV aura that goes against the grainy aesthetic that made the first three movies so awesome, and the training sessions are way too familiar: including the "Kentucky Fried Idiot" sequence; the local hero contender running along with a group of outdoor fans while triumphant music blares; and this time, women <i>don't</i> weaken legs... <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLlQkhpY-DM/VlVXEqkBgOI/AAAAAAAAps8/IQ24GLKh-fg/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLlQkhpY-DM/VlVXEqkBgOI/AAAAAAAAps8/IQ24GLKh-fg/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Creed Score: **1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Meanwhile, there's not too much detail about how Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Johnson aka Adonis Creed lost his father because, let's face it, ROCKY IV, despite its cult status, was pretty much a cartoon, and Apollo's death, fighting a bionic Russian following a corny James Brown performance, was pure blasphemy to such an otherwise genuine, realistic character who not only served as one of cinema's greatest antagonists, but, after his friendly turnaround, made the superior second half of ROCKY III so edgy, streetwise and wonderfully, timelessly awesome...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxNWe4sp8tY/XBJXwrTHIlI/AAAAAAAA9Xo/gzEIxnL0U4gMHAExOD55GSpR0yt0mkznQCLcBGAs/s1600/maxresdefault.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="740" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxNWe4sp8tY/XBJXwrTHIlI/AAAAAAAA9Xo/gzEIxnL0U4gMHAExOD55GSpR0yt0mkznQCLcBGAs/s400/maxresdefault.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rocky and New Creed's father's so-called secret bout</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Back to the now: The good news is Stallone has almost equal screen time with the young, somewhat lethargic Creed and his way-too-easily-landed girlfriend... And the old man does a good job in a mellow turn without that much brooding as he shares a few worthy moments of nostalgic reverie with pain and feeling...<br /> <br /> And as an actor, Jordan has decent chemistry with Sly, making for a much better "son" than that last whiny businessman in the horrendously forgettable ROCKY 6, and provides the right amount of swift rhythm as a brawler, but despite what people keep telling him, he looks absolutely nothing like Apollo (Weathers) and lacks the cocky charm and charisma that made dad so fun and legendary. And hey, if that private bout between Rocky and Apollo at the end of ROCKY III was such a secret, how did LeRoy Neiman capture the first punch? And here's a spoiler... Not only did Yo Adrian kick the bucket (which is already known) but, as we learn at the cemetery, so did the scene-stealing, comic relief Paulie, which is a real shame: the ultra-serious CREED desperately needs some levity, and Burt Young (or someone like him... which may not be possible nowadays) could have provided it.

boxing, franchise, sequel, sport, sylvester stallone

REVERSE NOSTALGIC MOVIE REVIEW OF 'CREED' AKA 'ROCKY 7'

year: 2015 cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone We catch sporadic stock footage of Carl Weathers' Apollo CREED while his bast...

CONNERY BOND ONE: DR. NO

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZTyGVmXlQE/VlJVTQRPViI/AAAAAAAApsE/MVpaiWnw5qo/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZTyGVmXlQE/VlJVTQRPViI/AAAAAAAApsE/MVpaiWnw5qo/s1600/1.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1962 cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, John Kitzmiller Director: Terence Young</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Couple things to begin. We first learn that Sean Connery's secret agent James Bond likes his Martini "<i>Mixed </i>not Stirred" as opposed to "Shaken." A very bland individual, never to appear again, plays Q and provides 007 a new gun and no gadgets. Bernard Lee is introduced as M while Lois Maxwell's young-enough Moneypenny is worth more than goading flirtation, and the opening credit sequence doesn't have its own song with lyrics or without, but rather, just as we're setting up the Scottish actor in the lead role, the (soon to be iconic) Bond theme is established from the start...<br>

007, espionage, james bond, joseph wiseman, sean connery, sixties

CONNERY BOND ONE: DR. NO

year: 1962 cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, John Kitzmiller Director: Terence Young Couple things to begin. We first lea...

REVIEWS OF ROOM & SECRET IN THEIR EYES

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJ0R1lEwgcE/VlFum-3pvtI/AAAAAAAApr0/Rn-AXZ59qaA/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJ0R1lEwgcE/VlFum-3pvtI/AAAAAAAApr0/Rn-AXZ59qaA/s320/3.png" width="258"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>ROOM: </b>This is an intriguing indie film that really takes its time to figure things out, headlined by the intensity of a young girl simply called Ma, played by Brie Larson, raising her son, Jack... who looks very much like a long-haired little girl... in a "room" that has only a sun-roof window and other necessities, resembling a tiny white trash studio apartment.<br> <br> The harsh reality that slowly unveils means everything, and yet, what's really important is the kind of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL theme of a parent allowing her child to become fully accustomed to a nightmarish situation without a clue that anything is wrong. This is how half the movie plays out, and it's a neatly timed, often intense ride. And yet, since the kidnapper resembles a passive bearded accountant, mother and son never seem in that much danger whenever the suspense mounts. Perhaps this is intentional to make their situation feel mundane, and thus, even more creepy and ironic. And to mention too much about the last half would be a spoiler, but it involves our two main characters struggling to accustom themselves to something quite different than what they, and the audience, experienced, and in that aspect, ROOM, no matter where the location, keeps us closely in touch with the people that matter without too many distractions.<br>

2015, dean norris, julia roberts, nicole kidman, thriller

REVIEWS OF ROOM & SECRET IN THEIR EYES

year: 2015 ROOM: This is an intriguing indie film that really takes its time to figure things out, headlined by the intensity of a young...

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3wGPQc8uZp4/Vk7TtcqOV0I/AAAAAAAApq4/ZE0_g8-v_pY/s1600/Hunger-Games.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3wGPQc8uZp4/Vk7TtcqOV0I/AAAAAAAApq4/ZE0_g8-v_pY/s640/Hunger-Games.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2015 cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> The first MOCKINGJAY was a bonafide war film while this is more or less the end of the beginning of war as response to what were the RUNNING MAN style games provided in the first two ventures, and now we have a cross between war and games...<br>

jennifer lawrence, science fiction, sequel, teen

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2

year: 2015 cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore The first MOCKINGJAY was a bonafide war film wh...

CONNERY BOND TWO: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XuMPSHbqgIk/Vk7GIqT3QUI/AAAAAAAApqQ/1dG0D7W-di8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XuMPSHbqgIk/Vk7GIqT3QUI/AAAAAAAApqQ/1dG0D7W-di8/s1600/1.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1963 cast: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Daniela Bianchi Director: Terence Young </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Considered by many as the best Bond film ever made, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is indeed an extremely fine production with a surprisingly subtle opening credit sequence without any corny lyrics (which began with GOLDFINGER), but the prologue opening the film, involving a guy wearing a perfect Sean Connery Bond mask, is perhaps the weakest catapult in the series. Human masks are always such a banal reach, especially when they're taken off. And yet, what follows is a surprisingly basic story involving Bond hooking up with a Russian beauty to get an important device from the evil SPECTRE, led by a facially-unseen Bloefeld, introduced for the first time in the franchise.<br>

espionage, franchise, james bond, sean connery, sixties, spy

CONNERY BOND TWO: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

year: 1963 cast: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Daniela Bianchi Director: Terence Young  Considered by many as the best Bond fi...

MOORE BOND SIX: 'OCTOPUSSY' WITH MAUD ADAMS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5J3notn1fs/VkVsDNDht5I/AAAAAAAApp4/4a_iwaEsTd8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5J3notn1fs/VkVsDNDht5I/AAAAAAAApp4/4a_iwaEsTd8/s400/1.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1983 cast: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In the 1970's it took directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to make science-fiction matter again, cinematically, bigger and better than ever with CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and STAR WARS, thus morphing a cold war espionage novel by Ian Fleming into a spacey venture jumping on the lunar bandwagon with <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2015/11/MOONRaker.html">MOONRAKER</a>... <br> <br> And then, in 1983, the Bond franchise borrowed from a Lucas/Spielberg collective, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, since OCTOPUSSY is more or less a modern day pulpy adventure vehicle that, whether in crowded Arabian streets (involving a familiar "basket chase"), flamboyant Russian circuses, formidable trains, or behind the scenes where the philosophizing heavies meet in technological war rooms, there's a vintage, primal aura throughout what should have been Moore's final bow in the series.<br>

adventure, eighties, espionage, james bond, louis jourdan, maud adams, roger moore, steven berkoff

MOORE BOND SIX: 'OCTOPUSSY' WITH MAUD ADAMS

year: 1983 cast: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan In the 1970's it took directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to make sc...

MOORE BOND FIVE: SNOW TO SEA 'FOR YOUR EYES ONLY'

<div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AHt76H7-GSM/XG-kZdHoDvI/AAAAAAABAF4/0MDFuTflWTgxq3q3m9Ny6F9o5paHvW8LwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B11.25.20%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AHt76H7-GSM/XG-kZdHoDvI/AAAAAAABAF4/0MDFuTflWTgxq3q3m9Ny6F9o5paHvW8LwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B11.25.20%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lynn-Holly Johnson & Roger Moore YEAR: 1981</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Something about ski chase scenes brings out the corniest disco music in the Roger Moore era James Bond films: And this was the early eighties so the previous decade's cheesy groove still resonated...<br> <br> But that doesn't ruin what was probably created to aptly re-stir what the far-fetched MOONRAKER shook after the wonderful SPY WHO LOVED ME genuinely rebooted the franchise's new mug. In fact, in many ways, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY embodies Roger Moore's sarcastically dapper style better than any other 007 vehicle; even the action sequences fit like his stiff suit that never gets ruffled. Sort of a fancy classy yacht of the series... but with a powerful speedboat engine, on occasion. <br>

action, eighties, franchise, james bond, julian glover, lynn-holly johnson, roger moore, spy

MOORE BOND FIVE: SNOW TO SEA 'FOR YOUR EYES ONLY'

Lynn-Holly Johnson & Roger Moore YEAR: 1981 Something about ski chase scenes brings out the corniest disco music in the Roger Moor...

MOORE BOND FOUR: 'MOONRAKER' FEATURES BÈATRICE LIBERT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qctmkL0vJik/XHEk7FBBR-I/AAAAAAABAKE/NPX2qoKE9K0mD-ekfuaLAQ4Ufkx-QDIkQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B8.23.30%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1120" height="365" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qctmkL0vJik/XHEk7FBBR-I/AAAAAAABAKE/NPX2qoKE9K0mD-ekfuaLAQ4Ufkx-QDIkQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B8.23.30%2BPM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hugo Drax Astronaut Béatrice Libert in Moonraker Year: 1979</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> What's more ironic than the science-fiction James Bond MOONRAKER spending an entire 90-minutes, the length of an average motion picture, on land... from England to California to Italy to Rio to Brazil... before living up to its galactic promise, is that Lois Chiles' progressive, politically-correct ingenue demands respect for being a doctor... and her name is Goodhead.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> With so much eclectic action dealing with one of the more blunt, up-front, un-charming from the get-go heavies, Hugo Drax, when we eventually thrust into outer space, the movie hits a bland, awkward wall... Not that the build-up lacks inside lunar gags: the code to enter a laboratory is the five chord Alien language in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, and before that a bugler begins a pheasant hunt with the first three notes from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. But what happens down on Earth is pretty much everything, more or less a "modern" Western (the last film's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA theme replaced by THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN), despite the obvious attempt to bank on the success of the aforementioned Spielberg UFO flick and of course, the blockbuster, game-changing STAR WARS. <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuI5-he-a9A/XG9-MxJJCTI/AAAAAAABAFQ/omjQMKE6RcInbsyTtR4fcEFle3KMbFoLQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B8.43.24%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="772" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuI5-he-a9A/XG9-MxJJCTI/AAAAAAABAFQ/omjQMKE6RcInbsyTtR4fcEFle3KMbFoLQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B8.43.24%2BPM.jpeg" width="308" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lois Chiles as Goodhead in MOONRAKER</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As usual, Roger Moore does a good job being thrown around like a dapper rag doll, and gets out of a particularly memorable bind by using one of Q's more simple gadgets...<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, when the wise old tech wizard turns up at a rural outpost, it's a visual hoot, as usual... His test experiments are always highly anticipated and rarely disappoint.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zuudRxlmhLk/XG-DQCIRcxI/AAAAAAABAFs/klrZWFUbmhMdmMSe8yG8YyYukgbiPDIPACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B8.49.39%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="508" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zuudRxlmhLk/XG-DQCIRcxI/AAAAAAABAFs/klrZWFUbmhMdmMSe8yG8YyYukgbiPDIPACLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-21%2Bat%2B8.49.39%2BPM.jpeg" width="193" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>MOONRAKER Rates: ****</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In-between continents, Bond's cable car fight with fan favorite Jaws, reprised by the gigantic Richard Kiel, is fun and thrilling, although during the high-flying pre-opening-credit prologue, the once stalking, sinister menace basically gets turned into Wile E. Coyote, falling miles to the Earth and surviving in a hilarious yet banal fashion: He's too indestructible and no longer a believable heavy... though it's still great having him around...<br /> <br /> And so, as a whole, MOONRAKER is a decent action vehicle where the frantic gathering of clues surpasses an ultimate plan for world domination during a bloated third-act, making the film way too long for its own good. And it's not the Earth scenes that need trimming. In fact, a terrific boat chase, literally leading right up to the rocket ship launching pad, is where everything pretty much peaks.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SVFEFWGtPIM/XG981cUP6II/AAAAAAABAEw/-6qxDu-tay0DzavYVH9h94JhGqZRfJLRwCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1446" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SVFEFWGtPIM/XG981cUP6II/AAAAAAABAEw/-6qxDu-tay0DzavYVH9h94JhGqZRfJLRwCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Béatrice Libert in Moonraker </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s01LsBz0N7A/XG981SL336I/AAAAAAABAE0/x0KqkQPB8lsqLfTV9ZSdKRKDJa6_xFQBwCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1600" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s01LsBz0N7A/XG981SL336I/AAAAAAABAE0/x0KqkQPB8lsqLfTV9ZSdKRKDJa6_xFQBwCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Béatrice Libert in Moonraker </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K0PvXmmVL0I/XG981bcS5uI/AAAAAAABAE4/i_PUIuGbXVkCcBT_hy7DaQ61pBxbImrjgCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="1503" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K0PvXmmVL0I/XG981bcS5uI/AAAAAAABAE4/i_PUIuGbXVkCcBT_hy7DaQ61pBxbImrjgCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Béatrice Libert in Moonraker </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xnzShTRpkHE/XG9815lV2AI/AAAAAAABAE8/brNGWI8DRDYEDf6RRE8xoepHszB6xE0tgCLcBGAs/s1600/4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xnzShTRpkHE/XG9815lV2AI/AAAAAAABAE8/brNGWI8DRDYEDf6RRE8xoepHszB6xE0tgCLcBGAs/s1600/4.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Béatrice Libert in Moonraker bookended by Roger Moore and Michael Lonsdale</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

espionage, james bond, roger moore, science-fiction, spy

MOORE BOND FOUR: 'MOONRAKER' FEATURES BÈATRICE LIBERT

Hugo Drax Astronaut Béatrice Libert in Moonraker Year: 1979 What's more ironic than the science-fiction James Bond MOONRAKER spendin...

MOORE BOND THREE: 'THE SPY WHO LOVED ME' W/ RICHARD KIEL

<div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8YC_hBCUG0/Vj3fLo1P-hI/AAAAAAAApnA/G2KuR4ODwbI/s1600/Atlantis_-_Profile.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8YC_hBCUG0/Vj3fLo1P-hI/AAAAAAAApnA/G2KuR4ODwbI/s400/Atlantis_-_Profile.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Spider-like Under Water City in Spy Who Loved Me 1977</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Years before Quentin Tarantino used the funky TRUCK TURNER theme as part of his own KILL BILL... As if, beyond homage, it was made for that story without having been actually created for something beforehand...<br /> <br /> The windswept theme of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA brings Roger Moore's James Bond from one desert location to another, and that's just the beginning... Actually, the middle... The middle of the beginning of a motion picture that takes us all over the place...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wO1_76Aaxb4/Vj3eTiTxoVI/AAAAAAAApm4/Y8yC14ihBu8/s1600/s1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wO1_76Aaxb4/Vj3eTiTxoVI/AAAAAAAApm4/Y8yC14ihBu8/s400/s1.jpg" width="383" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Signed Laserdisc by Caroline Munro and the late Richard Kiel</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In fact there's so much to THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, you can watch it a dozen times and (as once pointed out by a good friend) still forget the order of events. Ironically, this venture, after Hammer Film Frankenstein/Dracula Christopher Lee played the villain in the previous MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, the 007 team created their very own Giant-Monstrous/Neck-Biting "Dracustein" Hybrid in the form of Richard Kiel as Jaws, whose very name derives from the 1975 Steven Spielberg blockbuster...<br /> <br /> And one separate scene includes an actual shark attacking a helpless woman: What's trying to be said here is that SPY is downright epic on all counts. And yet, there's still a very personal touch throughout. The man, Bond, seems more alone and maverick than ever, despite having a gorgeous ingenue/sidekick in Barbara Bach's Agent XXX, keeping a secret grudge/vendetta that, despite her monotone delivery, makes her one of the more complicated and mysterious "Bond Girls," which doesn't mean Caroline Munro's Naomi (bitten by Chris Lee's Dracula in 1972) can't hold her own as the stock "bad Bond girl," an important part of one of many action sequences...<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvhSSSshOgw/Vj3eATuEqDI/AAAAAAAApmw/wJwJfVCsIlI/s1600/s2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvhSSSshOgw/Vj3eATuEqDI/AAAAAAAApmw/wJwJfVCsIlI/s400/s2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1977 cast: Roger Moore, Curd Jürgens, Barbara Bach, </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Mountainous car chases are one thing... A helicopter chasing a car is another... But a land vehicle suddenly going underwater provides a new level of visual glory...<br /> <br /> And with all the intriguing, creative reasons for the ground and water to be covered in the first place, SPY makes for the first Moore outing to lean on espionage over genre-driven action. And on the lighter side, gadget wizard Q gets a bigger, better chance to show his worth after being somewhat neglected in the first two Moore vehicles, and even exceeds what he accomplished in the Connery films: back then, mostly complaining about his doomed hot rods.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zQLMSJTWnwQ/Vj3fYpTHTLI/AAAAAAAApnI/pzqyAOVaF-Q/s1600/s3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zQLMSJTWnwQ/Vj3fYpTHTLI/AAAAAAAApnI/pzqyAOVaF-Q/s400/s3.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Roger and Richard</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Last but certainly not least, the main world-dominating villain and his underwater fortress is something to behold. An intense Curd Jürgens as Karl Stromberg is a great chair-sitting heavy, but pales to... you got it... the roaming henchman, Jaws, who not only takes part in some of the most shadowy, suspenseful, ultra violent and often hilarious scenes including a truck being torn to bits, he's the odds-on favorite of what's become a Bond staple: that is, fighting on a train (FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE to LIVE AND LET DIE to OCTOPUSSY to the recent SPECTRE).<br /> <br /> According to Kiel in a<a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2010/03/richard-kiel-spy-who-loved-me.html"> Cult Film Freak interview</a>, explaining the train bout: "They used a mini-trampoline for Roger Moore to bounce up in the air as I picked him up seemingly with little effort and attached him to a cable so I could bang him against the ceiling of the train." Well that's behind the scenes... but what we get on screen, right before our very eyes, is perhaps the most solidly entertaining Bond feature of any decade... That is, if you can forgive some of the dated disco music and an overlong third act military battle finale, where it's hard if impossible to keep score on who's winning or losing with so many soldiers firing guns at each other, this SPY is one to not only LOVE, but could possibly give even the most rabid Moore haters a reason to sit back, relax, and enjoy.<br /> <br /> RATING: ****1/2<br /> TRIVIA: One year later, SPY WHO LOVED ME director Guy Hamilton would direct Barbara Bach and Richard Kiel, as well as former FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE Bond heavy Robert Shaw, in FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE that also starred Harrison Ford, the maverick hero in STAR WARS in which the next Bond vehicle, MOONRAKER (review coming soon), was obviously banking on. Also, Kiel's Bond name, JAWS, connects with Robert Shaw, who got a short-lived second-wind career after downright stealing the summer blockbuster.<br /> <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/p/bond.html">CLICK FOR ALL BOND REVIEWS</a>

espionage, franchise, james bond, richard kiel, roger moore, seventies, spy

MOORE BOND THREE: 'THE SPY WHO LOVED ME' W/ RICHARD KIEL

Spider-like Under Water City in Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Years before Quentin Tarantino used the funky TRUCK TURNER theme as part of his ...

MOORE BOND TWO KUNG FU 'THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-By5FOZ4c5Rc/XG_PefMo87I/AAAAAAABAJc/SFm6CFjioWgtmRM4yyjaSIWLOIxykkDRQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.24.17%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1600" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-By5FOZ4c5Rc/XG_PefMo87I/AAAAAAABAJc/SFm6CFjioWgtmRM4yyjaSIWLOIxykkDRQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.24.17%2BAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Roger Moore in The Man With The Golden Gun YEAR: 1974</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Gary Oldman in SPECTRE describes 007 as a kite in a thunderstorm, which doesn't fit headstrong Daniel Craig, Timothy Dalton or Sean Connery...<br /> <br /> That kind of vulnerability is what Roger Moore brought to the franchise: a freewheeling dapper suit who bobbed around, depending on the proverbial weather i.e. villains, henchman, good or bad dames, and whatever else got thrown in his direction: always along for the ride, second-fiddle to the creative gadgets and perpetual mayhem...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> And going back to the first two Roger Moore Bond flicks, before the spectacular SPY WHO LOVED ME genuinely cemented the former SAINT star into the Ian Fleming super-spy, keep in mind that a few low-budget genres... what could even be considered Drive-In flicks... were immensely popular, and seemed to have been intentionally injected into the franchise to get it restarted after Sean Connery only quit, twice...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLl_kLI1FAM/XG_P3LVPHQI/AAAAAAABAJk/5--9es5ZsQ0QIC-114Z5ZwGGQ0yCT1kgQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.29.26%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="625" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLl_kLI1FAM/XG_P3LVPHQI/AAAAAAABAJk/5--9es5ZsQ0QIC-114Z5ZwGGQ0yCT1kgQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.29.26%2BAM.jpeg" width="186" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Britt Eckland, Bond Girl</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Moore's debut, LIVE AND LET DIE, was basically a blaxploitation flick with a rural car and boat chase thrown in while this second venture is a cross between a modern Western, including a two-man tropical island outpost shootout/showdown in the beginning and end (controlled by the villain's manipulating sidekick midget, Hervé Villechaize as Nick Nack)... All the while taking full advantage of the previous year's karate craze, ignited from the late Bruce Lee's ENTER THE DRAGON...<br /> <br /> Some of the best scenes, centered in Hong Kong and Thailand, occurs when Moore karate-chops thugs in a rural lair being taken over by Christopher Lee's Scaramanga, who, trying to look and act the Bond persona, is a highly paid maverick assassin stylistically wielding his golden gun with golden bullets, and he's literally worth a million dollars for each score: And whatever his target happens to be is important to the flowing plot and ultimately leads to that island's solar device that can... as usual... help this madman control the world... or something like that...<br /> <br /> Of course, Bond has a golden bullet with his name on it, and what truly carries GUN is the villain saving his best would-be victim for last; even admitting that slaying Bond anytime before a secretly planned showdown-duel would have been "ridiculously easy." Meanwhile, what's left over from the previous LIVE AND LET DIE continues with a similar boat chase and a follow-up car chase: bringing back a now-vacationing white trash hillbilly Sheriff played by character-actor Clifton James, jovially goofing it up and not really fitting in this time around...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NSudXf6aZCs/XG-3tED8CDI/AAAAAAABAHY/vj0Wmj_VGdYa4ybTNSN79ZX5kz3p39_jwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.38.46%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="562" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NSudXf6aZCs/XG-3tED8CDI/AAAAAAABAHY/vj0Wmj_VGdYa4ybTNSN79ZX5kz3p39_jwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.38.46%2BAM.jpeg" width="167" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Score: ****1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> On the female side of things, holding more significance than the faithfully thankless Britt Ekland (and her perfect bikini body), sneaking around within a dangerous, suspenseful maze, is future OCTOPUSSY Maud Adams as the guilt-ridden, ambiguous vixen caught between both men: taking a major risk right when the plot starts to thicken.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jcU8M9hu1ow/Vj3iJzu3FMI/AAAAAAAApnU/1l8VBXFlNl0/s1600/12190074_10208171847316324_8617113084204683943_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jcU8M9hu1ow/Vj3iJzu3FMI/AAAAAAAApnU/1l8VBXFlNl0/s400/12190074_10208171847316324_8617113084204683943_n.jpg" width="391" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Autographed by Maud Adams and Britt Ekland</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> So while THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN never lets up with what made the entire Moore era so splendid...<br /> <br /> A handing-off of non-stop action sequences grooving the plot into endless directions... and each time you watch never exactly remembering what happens when... it's also the most personal and basic 007: An extravaganza masquerading as a low budget rollercoaster ride. Perhaps negative reviews of this and LIVE AND LET DIE don't appreciate (or, dare it be said, failed to comprehend) the aspect of playing to audiences who were more into gritty crime flicks than the brainy, page-turning espionage of the Cold War 1960's, when Mr. Connery reigned.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jVvh5WA6KiM/XG_NS-9Ep5I/AAAAAAABAI8/SCZybLsc2w0GFfjWfImaNqz-AtH68eX4wCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B2.03.27%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1600" height="183" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jVvh5WA6KiM/XG_NS-9Ep5I/AAAAAAABAI8/SCZybLsc2w0GFfjWfImaNqz-AtH68eX4wCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B2.03.27%2BAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hervé Villechaize oversees the final duel, and is actually rooting for...</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> At this point, in the early seventies, the youth culture was grounded into a breezy EASY RIDER/SHAFT mode sans an immense fear of the Atomic Bomb (that would continue cinematically in the eighties)...<br /> <br /> So while journeying back to the primal Bond double feature, leading to the sublime and streamlined, big budget SPY WHO LOVED ME, you might want to brush up on particular Drive-In genres before taking anything too seriously in a franchise that's still taken seriously, to this very day, while Moore is often blamed for ruining a character he championed for over a decade.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jF0iY790-aA/XG_IGYA_MOI/AAAAAAABAIQ/t4bSOYveC9UDcXcBcjlx20fbKdxhc_FTACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.57.27%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jF0iY790-aA/XG_IGYA_MOI/AAAAAAABAIQ/t4bSOYveC9UDcXcBcjlx20fbKdxhc_FTACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.57.27%2BAM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Suspend disbelief as Roger Moore goes kung fu against masters of kung fu!</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x7Pf4h8hCLY/XG_Ba_JchNI/AAAAAAABAH0/JQLtezuQg8w_GBeXJdO-_oSFqBrOhQcYACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.31.03%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="1600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x7Pf4h8hCLY/XG_Ba_JchNI/AAAAAAABAH0/JQLtezuQg8w_GBeXJdO-_oSFqBrOhQcYACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.31.03%2BAM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Roger Moore's James Bond and a gigantic microphone or... something about solar power</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xg6UtqZDma8/XG_BXLqgFQI/AAAAAAABAHw/MxcJ2U0v_AEXzXvuFPLDbNmvpAB2ZRmCgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.25.31%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1600" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xg6UtqZDma8/XG_BXLqgFQI/AAAAAAABAHw/MxcJ2U0v_AEXzXvuFPLDbNmvpAB2ZRmCgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.25.31%2BAM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The ridicuously gorgeous Maud Adams in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TW1BY2SsUI0/XG_BSrRHwKI/AAAAAAABAHs/aezWJcYH36EB6W1ciso_B1bJDTgOIWM9gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.25.14%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1600" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TW1BY2SsUI0/XG_BSrRHwKI/AAAAAAABAHs/aezWJcYH36EB6W1ciso_B1bJDTgOIWM9gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B1.25.14%2BAM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Showering our praise on the lovely Maud Adams in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V7csiJhUfM4/XG_N__LAHOI/AAAAAAABAJE/npv1b5EscDElZjI732t_av0PJWhzqF4CACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B2.23.38%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V7csiJhUfM4/XG_N__LAHOI/AAAAAAABAJE/npv1b5EscDElZjI732t_av0PJWhzqF4CACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B2.23.38%2BAM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Maud Adams, Christopher Lee and Hervé Villechaize in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NPy2dj_hf3M/XG_OkilYd8I/AAAAAAABAJM/RubYRaZDwhMYCnOygQ4A4tPJlBu-0P20ACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.44.00%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NPy2dj_hf3M/XG_OkilYd8I/AAAAAAABAJM/RubYRaZDwhMYCnOygQ4A4tPJlBu-0P20ACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-02-22%2Bat%2B12.44.00%2BAM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A car trick bought by the studio, pulled off in the Astrodome and computerized onto this location</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

britt ekland, christopher lee, franchise, hervé villechaize, james bond, maud adams, roger moore, seventies, spy

MOORE BOND TWO KUNG FU 'THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN'

Roger Moore in The Man With The Golden Gun YEAR: 1974 Gary Oldman in SPECTRE describes 007 as a kite in a thunderstorm, which doesn'...

CRAIG BOND FOUR: SPECTRE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbOTf8qA07c/VjxVgnijQpI/AAAAAAAApmE/AnZuELIz-ls/s1600/craig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbOTf8qA07c/VjxVgnijQpI/AAAAAAAApmE/AnZuELIz-ls/s640/craig.png" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2015 cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux director: Sam Mendes</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The biggest promotion for SPECTRE, the fourth overall Daniel Craig James Bond film and the second collaboration with director Sam Mendes, was the casting of Quentin Tarantino stock exposition-spouting Christoph Waltz... Going back further, it was QT who wanted to remake Ian Fleming's first book, CASINO ROYALE, into a genuine, high-octane adaptation starring the last Bond actor now seeming long, long gone... For our "New Bond" Daniel Craig has really taken over at this point, and the older he gets, the smoother he glides from scene to scene, without having to continuously narrow his blue eyes, purse his lips, jut his muscular chest, and try making up for not being, you know, typical-pretty. By now he's an old, calloused leather shoe that really fits, and is still relatively young.<br>

daniel craig, franchise, spy

CRAIG BOND FOUR: SPECTRE

year: 2015 cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux director: Sam Mendes The biggest promotion for SPECTRE, the fourth overall D...

BRADLEY COOPER IN STARRING IN BURNT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_FyY0-eX4eM/Vjuk2LhG7zI/AAAAAAAAplo/Lsa-iyDuIE0/s1600/JONES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_FyY0-eX4eM/Vjuk2LhG7zI/AAAAAAAAplo/Lsa-iyDuIE0/s400/JONES.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015</td></tr> </tbody></table> Originally titled CHEF, there was an indie film with the <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2014/05/chef.html">same title</a> that refused to be changed, so a promo poster with Bradley Cooper adorning the entire frame was simply called ADAM JONES. Doesn't say much about the story; just a first and last name. Easy as pie, and the A-list star could sell just about anything...<br /> <br /> Well it turns out, what became BURNT centers on a complicated guy who happens to be not only a chef/cook, but he's secretly, for those in the know, the best in the world. He has his share of quirks and neurosis, and can't get along with anyone, despite winding up way-too-easily owning an English restaurant to gain a Three Star rating... slightly less than this vehicle deserves... which could be retitled SILVER LININGS COOKBOOK for Cooper's usual spontaneous aura, at times guided by a documentary-style camera: But without a real plot, an engaging ingenue/romance, and a reason for the talented star to be involved in the first place, Cooper's built-in, natural intensity is all but wasted as he deals with fellow chefs, mafia goons, and worst yet, himself, messing things up as they start getting <i>just right,</i> and things never really do... both in his life and the movie itself: simmering without ever sizzling.<br /> <br /> RATING: **1/2

2015, bradley cooper, drama, food

BRADLEY COOPER IN STARRING IN BURNT

year: 2015 Originally titled CHEF, there was an indie film with the same title that refused to be changed, so a promo poster with Bradl...

ROAMING THE CORRIDORS OF THE ORIGINAL 'HALLOWEEN II'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLxscD2n8aM/VFJ4kG6kJ5I/AAAAAAAAkXk/PVMa1dRbzs8/s1600/halloween-2-the-nightmare-isnt-over-movie-poster-1981-1020144238.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLxscD2n8aM/VFJ4kG6kJ5I/AAAAAAAAkXk/PVMa1dRbzs8/s400/halloween-2-the-nightmare-isnt-over-movie-poster-1981-1020144238.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1981 </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> For the neurotic, paranoid, panic-attacked among us, hospitals are the place to be: The cool white walls, the medicine, the wise doctors and those lovely nurses – it’s a sublime safe haven where hearts can beat comfortably.<br /> <br /> So when Jamie Lee Curtis... reprising her role as sole surviving ingénue Laurie Strode on the same night, Halloween... awakes in a hospital room, she has nothing to worry about, right? <br /> <br /> Well that’s what really works with HALLOWEEN II…The hospital setting is ominous, creepy and best of all, contained as The Shape, Michael Myers, haunts an assortment of expendable characters, practically begging to violently flatline: Two ambulance drivers: one an obnoxious womanizer, the other a nice young sap…<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MBR2XB0cMng/W8vyVdjEUlI/AAAAAAAA6sA/fpbG038NIDUEHErHVIyT0tgE_4Tt0K67gCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-10-20%2Bat%2B8.28.00%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="508" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MBR2XB0cMng/W8vyVdjEUlI/AAAAAAAA6sA/fpbG038NIDUEHErHVIyT0tgE_4Tt0K67gCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-10-20%2Bat%2B8.28.00%2BPM.png" width="184" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ana Alicia H2Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The latter, played by future LAST STARFIGHTER Lance Guest, warms up to a recovering Laurie while Leo Rossi has both leering eyes on Pamela Susan Shoop… Their sizzling "jacuzzi" scene is tops in the body count horror canon. And while Curtis lays around till the scorching 11th hour climax, the “heroic” stature goes to Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis…<br /> <br /> Along with several oblivious police officers, Loomis, in a Noir fashion, is on Myer's trial through the dark Halloween streets: he alone knows the story behind the mysterious suburban killer, and no one else is buying it.  <br /> <br /> With the return of camera-gliding cinematographer Dean Cundey, produced, co-written (with Debra Hill) and scored by John Carpenter and directed by Rick Rosenthal, HALLOWEEN II is a clean slate for the viewing audience and a chance for Michael Myers to be even more present and menacing: covering the ground he broke in the original.   

charles cyphers, donald pleasence, eighties, franchise, halloween, horror, jamie lee curtis, john carpenter, john zenda, lance guest, leo rossi, pamela susan shoop, sequel

ROAMING THE CORRIDORS OF THE ORIGINAL 'HALLOWEEN II'

year: 1981 For the neurotic, paranoid, panic-attacked among us, hospitals are the place to be: The cool white walls, the medicine, the ...