Bond, James Bond: Prepping for Quantum of Solace

Last night we pulled out Casino Royale, because The Girlfriend had never seen it and I purchased Quantum of Solace earlier in the day. I have not seen Quantum, but I am given to understand it plays directly off Casino, and wanted both of us to enter it with a heads up.

First things first, since Daniel Craig is still young in the role. I like him best since Sean Connery. Other Bonds, especially Roger Moore, have seemed too polished to me. Bond in the Fleming books is far more brutal than he has usually been portrayed on screen. Craig fits the part, the side of Bond that M is referring to when she calls him a "blunt instrument." The determination and single-minded pursuit of the mission that Fleming created shines through in Craig's performance.

The Girlfriend had no objection to Daniel, but wasn't wowed either. She was set aback a moment by the lighter hair, as she pointed out that to her Bond will always be a brunette. She liked some aspects of him in the role, but her most interesting thought was that she liked the shape of his mouth and thought he would make a very sexy Batman, with that unique and sexy chin and mouth beneath the cowl.

Casino Royale was an update that backdates. By taking Bond back to his roots, they reinvent the character and make him more acceptable for today's audience. The brutal killing in the opening scene is an immediate wake up call. Moore or Pierce Brosnan would never have been involved in that kind of struggle unless it was against a guy with metal teeth and genetic enhancements. But a common thug? No, those get killed in ways that don't mess up your suit.

Casino also gets to indulge in some genuine character development for James, a rarity in this series. Not too much, of course. We know that he will start the next movie as a loner, so we know part of the ending. It is one of the frustrating things about writing a series. You can't change too much if you want to continue with the same characters. But the filmmakers attempted to set up a motivation for Bond's later interactions with the romance in this film. They do a fair job and much of their ability to sell James commitment to Vespa is hampered by circumstances beyond their control. We know she will die, because its James Bond.

While the movie is deliberately short on some of the gadgetry that once was more important to the series than plot, I think that is a change for the better. Everything we see is perfectly plausible or even commercial. Things like GPS are not science fiction to today's audience.

The new Bond relies more on the strength of his will than his technology and I like that. We also see a bit more of the detective in him, as when he figures out a code for a security door from a text message. But the thing that got the most press was the way this Bond gets bloodied, and to me that is a very correct change. Because of the genre, there is never a doubt that he will survive and win. But I like the fact that he has to struggle to do so.

I loved Casino Royale. It made me a fan again, and I can not truly say that I have been one of Bond since the seventies. Is Casino as good as From Russia With Love or Goldfinger? I don't know. Sean Connery is so iconic for me. But it at least holds its own in the discussion.

I'm looking forward to watching Quantum of Solace sometime this week.

Watching New Episodes of An Old Friend

So, sat with The Girlfriend last night after ballroom dance and watched a couple episodes of Babylon 5. I watched the first three season a couple years ago, but am now starting Season 4. The show ran for five seasons back in the nineties.

It is hard not to mention the appearance of the show. The graphics are very dated already. It is amazing how far we have come with special effects in such a short time.

So why watch something that out of date?

Because good writing NEVER goes out of style. Plus, in our modern world where 140 characters constitutes an entire blog, and blogging was itself a reduction from fanzines and diaries... it can be truly wonderful to watch subplots play out over five seasons. This is not a forgotten art, by the way. Josh Whedon still does this. (Give Dollhouse time, folks.) The writing/production team at Battlestar Galactica still gets it. Even the episodic comedy How I Met Your Mother understands that letting its audience wonder who mom is for a while won't hurt.

J. Michael Straczynski wrote a five year arc and stayed with it, even though he could have continued the series, setting a precedent that BSG is following now. Good for him.

Babylon 5 features characters that actually change, conflicts that occasionally get resolved and a plot that actually develops. I like that.

I also like spaceships, aliens and things that blow up. I'm a guy, remember?

Harvey Milk and The Nature of Courage

So, Milk was released on DVD yesterday, which prompted a trip to Best Buy and a purchase. This one I didn't have to make her watch; She wanted to see it as badly as I did and our interest was only increased by Sean Penn's Best Actor nod and the win for Best Screenplay to Dustin Lance Black.

I grew up in San Diego and I remember hearing about the slaying of George Moscone and Harvey, but I was only peripherally aware of the story of the man. I knew he was an activist and I knew what he did was important.

This is a fantastically compelling tale and it is well told to boot. The acting is amazing, not just Penn but many others besides. The writing is top notch and the director did a great job of capturing some of the feel of San Francisco (one of my favorite cities, actually. Though I'm more about Chinatown than the Castro. the food, you know.)

Sean Penn deserved Best Actor. Other performances that I feel absolutely have to be pointed out are James Franco as Scott Smith, Lucas Grabeel as Danny Nicoletta (a brave step as an actor, here. Typecasting is always a career danger)and most especially Josh Brolin.

Brolin got some Oscar buzz and deserved it. The man showed some serious cajones choosing roles last year. It could be argued that playing George Bush and Dan White back-to-back opens him up for some major hate mail. Bush pisses many of us off for many reasons, but it must be remembered that a great majority of the people who know Dan White's name view him not just as a villain but as a monster.

Brolin portrayed White as a deeply conflicted man who was horribly uncomfortable and uncertain of his own ethics. White was a fireman and a family man before becoming a politician and eventually a murderer. The character could have been written or played as a cliche and it is to the lasting credit of the film and the actor that he is not. He is shown as a deeply troubled person. His appearance, clearly drunk, at Harvey's birthday party strongly shows this side, as does his uncertainty of how to act when Harvey is the only Supervisor to show at his son's christening.

It is a good movie and one with an important message that will resonate for many in these times of Prop 8. The opening credits will force you to focus on how much we have changed, while the reality of Proposition 8 forces you to remember how far we have yet to journey.

But the message of Milk, the film and the man, is hope. We can change the world. Harvey Milk did, and he paid the ultimate price. The film makes it clear that Harvey knew what he risked. He knew it and confronted it everyday.

He would want you to take up his fallen banner and carry it, even if only in small ways. He was a proud American and he cared about people of all races, genders, backgrounds and orientations. When watching the scene where he brings in his new campaign manager, remember that today's GLBT community did not exist then. Gay and Lesbian were separate worlds, a reality that Harvey refused to acknowledge.

This film is a moving portrayal of a committed and courageous man. Enjoy it, be touched by it, and remember how far we have come and how far we have to go.

The Truth About Romance

There is this idea that men hate romance. Its not true. Men like romantic things, they just don't want to admit it to other men. And they can't admit it to their girlfriends because then it might get back to other men.

Okay, so I can't speak for all men. But I think most of us would admit to liking romance if for no other reason than what we hope romance leads to. Yes, it is all about sex. There, I fooled you. Some of the women out there might have thought for a second that I was the second coming of Alan Alda. (Sure, they ignored the title of this blog long enough to think I was sensitive. Anybody wanna take that bet? Thought not.)

So, to the guys and gals who may or may not pay attention to this blog once or twice (or hopefully more) let me state a warning/teaser. We will be covering romance and romantic comedy here. Just because this blog is written by a guy who takes martial arts and plays with swords does not mean Ang Lee will always be ignored in favor of Bruce Lee or that the only mention of Vienna will be when we discuss Blade or Underworld.

That's all for today. I will be actually talking about movies and TV shows here, I promise. But right now I am at EPICon in Las Vegas and am concentrating on other things. Like pulling my head out of my WIP file long enough to learn how to use Digg after Penny Sansevieri suggested it (Fellow authors, check her out at http://amarketingexpert.com/rhip.html or on Twitter @Bookgal .)

See? Look, there is a little button where you can Digg this! Penny, aren't you proud of me?