And then there was Bond (And Mickey Mouse)
Disney has bought LucasFilm for $4 billion. Which, not bad, Mr Lucas, not bad. Especially as he's donating it to an educational foundation.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm all kinds of excited about this. Because, look, I love the original trilogy but the prequels suck on a level that is truly awful. But now, Disney have them, and after watching what they did (or didn't do) with Pixar and Marvel, I'm really looking forward to see what happens with Star Wars VII. Plus, Kathleen Kennedy is going to be in charge. And she's awesome.
Plus, and because Star Wars is being focused on, no-one is really thinking about how they also have the rights to Indiana Jones (because if Disney could wipe my memory of Indy 4 that'd be awesome) and ILM. Which is all kinds of cool.
So, yeah. Roll on 2015. Star Wars and Avengers. It'll be a good year.
Movie what I have watched
So, last weekend thisissirius, tahariel and seektheinfinite came and visited and we went to see the new Bond film. (I even got see it twice because seektheinfinite wasn't here when we all went to see it)
And, wow.
- Holy shit! They killed M. They fucking well killed M!
I get it. But, God, they killed M! The first time I was so convinced that they'd not kill M that I couldn't even react. The second time, there were definitely tears in my eyes.
- In all honesty, the end kind of made me uncomfortable. Like, the set up. Because we went from M being a woman (and, god SO kickass) with a male secretary/assistant/whatever to M being a guy (and, yes, I liked Mallory but that's not really the point) and Eve being Moneypenny and a secretary and the suggestion that, what? She wasn't good enough to be an agent? It really felt like they were going backwards in a way and I didn't like it.
- I loved the beginning with the car chase and the train chase and Eve being all 'it's kind of hard to describe' when asked what Bond was doing. Because, really, how could you describe that without sounding like a crazy person. Even to those already familiar with Bond's ability to destroy EVERYTHING.
- The way Bond was concerned about Rolston (that was the name of the guy who dies at the beginning, right) totally made me want to hug him. See? He does care!
- Bond appearing in whatshername's shower was, well, all kinds of creepy. I thought it the first time I watched it, and had it confirmed the second time. Because, really? A guy you've met for less than an hour walks naked into your shower? I, really?
- When Bond walked into the club in Shanghai and told Eve not to touch her ear, I loved the callback to Casino Royale and how Bond had to take another junior agent to task
- Did anyone else think Star Wars: Return of the Jedi when they saw the pit with the Komodo Dragon's in it?
- Silva's entrance was awesome. Him calling M 'mummy' was all kinds of creepy. But him hitting on Bond and Bond going with it was awesome because you don't know if he's really hitting on him or if it's two agents (or one agent and one ex-agent) testing each other and seeing where the line is. It made me laugh muchly and I enjoyed it a lot. And, apart from that one comment about who might end up on top, it's never mentioned again.
- Bond standing behind Q, like he's standing guard was, well, I liked it
- And Bond working out the code was awesome
- And Bond being about 3 steps ahead of Q when the security started to go was awesome. I love Bond being clever and the way his brain works
- Also, Q and Bond's first meeting is all kinds of awesome. I'm relieved they didn't give it all away in the trailer and the bit about the pajamas was golden. Ben Whishaw was bloody marvelous.
- I could watch James Bond/Daniel Craig run all day long
- The idea of young James hiding in the tunnel for two days after his parents died, make me want to give him a massive hug because, oh my heart
- James Bond wears damn good coats. How can one man make a coat so damn attractive? It's really not fair.
- The fight in Shanghai, all in silhouette was my favourite. It was shot beautifully. I could watch that fight about 1000 times and not get bored.
- The way London was framed at the end was gorgeous, too
- M left Bond the Bulldog! So totally awesome. And sweet.
- James' face when M tells him that they sold his flat and put his stuff into storage and that he really should have called, was a picture. I loled. And then she topped it all off by telling him he couldn't sleep at her place. God, I could watch hours of those two snarking back and forth. No wonder he's her favourite.
- Talking of snark, James and Q's back and forth while Bond was running through the underground was hilarious. Q describing a train coming towards you as 'vexing' was genius. Also, James' 'And now there's a train coming' reminded me very much of the way Sean Bean delivered 'They have a cave troll' in LOTR:FOTR
- I actually rather liked Mallory, especially how he literally jumped over the table to save M. And then got shot for his trouble.
- Everything in the highlands was golden. That house. God, so remote and standing on it's own. So very Bond. I liked how, even though they delved a little into Bond's past, they still don't say too much or over egg it.
- James taking out the bad guys more or less single-handedly in Scotland was great, although both M (nail bombs. Well, shit) and Kincade (Welcome to Scotland - got a big laugh every time) got to take out people too.
- Blowing up the Aston Martin was Silva's final big mistake, right? The look on Bond's face said it all.
- When Silva was throwing in all the grenades and Bond was setting up the gas canisters to explode, and was just walking through the burning inferno of his home, every else thought of this, right:-
I know seektheinfinite did.
- But the big question I have is about Bond's return.
So, he disappeared for 3 months and when he came back his assessments were...kind of shit. But how much of that was real and how much of it was Bond faking it?
Because, bear with me here.
I don't doubt that at least some of it was real - the bit where he collapsed after everyone left the room while was doing the pull-ups was too real to be faked. And when he finished swimming in Shanghai he was a tad out of breath, sure. But could he have been that out of shape (and I can't help but laugh at the idea of Bond being out of shape because, well, he never looked even a second out of shape, but I'm getting distracted by Daniel Craig's shoulders, so I'll stop)?
Can you run through the underground, all the way to Westminster and then engage in a gun fight all with hardly breaking a sweat if you're all out of shape? Surely, he should have been asking the bad guys to give him a second to catch his breath?
Watching it the second time, and thinking about it, was his shot a bit off because he still had that depleted uranium fragment in him (or however they described it)? I can't believe you can be at peak performance if you've got shrapnel in your shoulder. Because, also when he's hanging off the bottom of the elevator, and he lets go with one hand, it's the shoulder he got shot in, right? That would certainly explain it. Because he just looks annoyed that he's let go, not worried, like at any moment he might plunge to his death.
Plus, the shrapnel would also explain why he looked like death warmed over until he cut it out of his shoulder. he is one hardass mother fucker. He cut into his own shoulder. Just. OW!
And I do question both his psych evaluation and his marksmanship. When he had that drink with the scorpion his hand was a still and steady as it's ever been. And then it was shaking like crazy in the target practice? And by the time they're up in the Scottish Highlands, his marksmanship is definitely back on form.
Not to mention, well, the way he took out Silva's men. That was some class marksmanship right there. Not to mention the fact that he had to be quick and fast.
Because, well, he knows that Silva (or someone) has managed to hack M's system, it makes sense that he'd use that against them and give them incorrect information so that when they meet they underestimate him. So an utterly abysmal evaluation makes perfect sense to me - far more than the idea that Bond has lost all his mojo in three months.
In short, I loved it. I'm not surprised that it's being described as the best Bond. It's certainly up there with the greats. And it well and truly gets rid of the bitter aftertaste of Quantum of Solace, which was rubbish.
And I get to see it at least once more, with a friend who wants to see it on Monday. I might even have to go and see it again by myself because I loved it just that much. I may end up watching it more times than The Avengers. Which, yeah. I didn't think any film could be that for me this year.
TV Shows what I have watched
So, we still have the voiceover, but, if Dig is there with him next week, maybe it'll have gone by then.
And Dig! Oh, Dig. I loved the scene between him and his sister-in-law. And the scene where he tells Ollie exactly what he thinks about him was golden.
I'm really hoping that this is a continuing theme - Dig telling Ollie various truths while being awesome.
And I loved his line about not being a sidekick *G* I can't really see Dig being a sidekick, to be honest. Can you?
I really liked the scene of Ollie and Thea both unable to sleep and reconnecting.
I'm still not the greatest fan of all the Laurel and Ollie stuff. I know that in the comics they get together and everything, but these are radically different characters from the comics and I really feel as though they have Laurel forgiving Ollie far too easily. I'm fairly certain that it'd take me more than a couple of weeks to forgive the guy who got my sister killed.
I find the Laurel from the first episode, the time where she told Ollie she wish he'd died, far more believable than where they seem to be taking her now. Maybe if they'd done this, in the second half of the season I'd be less concerned about it, but as it stands, 5 episodes in seems far too early to have her hanging out with Ollie and defending him to her father.
Walter found the yacht. Well, crap. I'd been all ready to write him off as the bad guy, but he's going to be the patsy, right? He's probably going to be set up to take any fall.
And, Moira, really, if you've had a yacht sabotaged, if you find it, get the thing destroyed. Don't keep it in a warehouse to be randomly found by your new husband.
I liked how understated John Barrowman's performance was. I'm really hoping it stays that way because I'm more than a little fed up of him being so OTT all the damn time.
I really like Felicity Smoke. She's awesome. I want her and Ollie to have more scenes together because they really sparked (no pun intended).
No Tommy this episode. I missed him.
And, well, shit, I got all this way without mentioning the rather important bit where Ollie was arrested. Now, obviously, he's got to get out of that and have a reasonable explanation because people can't know who he is for the rest of the show. But I like that they aren't having the cops being stupid and that there are consequences for his actions.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this show moves forward.
Well, shit. I think that might have been Damien Lewis's Emmy episode, because, well, fuck. That was amazing.
The way they deconstructed Brody and stripped him bare again. I really, really want him to have a happy ending because, all that shit he went through, the way he was manipulated, broken and put back together, only to go through it all again is heartbreaking.
And Claire Danes as Carrie was just quietly awesome in this too. The way she uses her connection with Brody and the truth to gain his trust. I like that although Carrie is in love with him, that doesn't prevent her from taking him down. And the concerned look on Saul's face kind of said it all.
Although, I have to say, I could have done without the teenage daughter and Vice President's son accidentally killing someone in a hit and run because, really, in with all the Brody stuff, it was boring and I just wanted to get back to that interrogation room.
Seeing as we've still got, what? five or six? episodes left to go, I can't wait to see where they are going to go with this.
So, we're gearing up for a Cora v Regina showdown, aren't we?
I liked that Emma didn't believe Hook, because, really, that was the flimsiest story, EVER!
And, Rumple is searching for Bai (or whatever his son is called), right? That's why he wanted the magic back and why he's so pissed the barrier now takes away your memories.
Plus, is his son going to end up being whoever Michael Raymond-James is playing? The guy who we haven't seen since the first episode?
Books what I have read
23) The Julius House by Charlaine Harris
24) Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale - Amazing. Loved it. But then I seem to love everything she's written so far.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm all kinds of excited about this. Because, look, I love the original trilogy but the prequels suck on a level that is truly awful. But now, Disney have them, and after watching what they did (or didn't do) with Pixar and Marvel, I'm really looking forward to see what happens with Star Wars VII. Plus, Kathleen Kennedy is going to be in charge. And she's awesome.
Plus, and because Star Wars is being focused on, no-one is really thinking about how they also have the rights to Indiana Jones (because if Disney could wipe my memory of Indy 4 that'd be awesome) and ILM. Which is all kinds of cool.
So, yeah. Roll on 2015. Star Wars and Avengers. It'll be a good year.
Movie what I have watched
So, last weekend thisissirius, tahariel and seektheinfinite came and visited and we went to see the new Bond film. (I even got see it twice because seektheinfinite wasn't here when we all went to see it)
And, wow.
- Holy shit! They killed M. They fucking well killed M!
I get it. But, God, they killed M! The first time I was so convinced that they'd not kill M that I couldn't even react. The second time, there were definitely tears in my eyes.
- In all honesty, the end kind of made me uncomfortable. Like, the set up. Because we went from M being a woman (and, god SO kickass) with a male secretary/assistant/whatever to M being a guy (and, yes, I liked Mallory but that's not really the point) and Eve being Moneypenny and a secretary and the suggestion that, what? She wasn't good enough to be an agent? It really felt like they were going backwards in a way and I didn't like it.
- I loved the beginning with the car chase and the train chase and Eve being all 'it's kind of hard to describe' when asked what Bond was doing. Because, really, how could you describe that without sounding like a crazy person. Even to those already familiar with Bond's ability to destroy EVERYTHING.
- The way Bond was concerned about Rolston (that was the name of the guy who dies at the beginning, right) totally made me want to hug him. See? He does care!
- Bond appearing in whatshername's shower was, well, all kinds of creepy. I thought it the first time I watched it, and had it confirmed the second time. Because, really? A guy you've met for less than an hour walks naked into your shower? I, really?
- When Bond walked into the club in Shanghai and told Eve not to touch her ear, I loved the callback to Casino Royale and how Bond had to take another junior agent to task
- Did anyone else think Star Wars: Return of the Jedi when they saw the pit with the Komodo Dragon's in it?
- Silva's entrance was awesome. Him calling M 'mummy' was all kinds of creepy. But him hitting on Bond and Bond going with it was awesome because you don't know if he's really hitting on him or if it's two agents (or one agent and one ex-agent) testing each other and seeing where the line is. It made me laugh muchly and I enjoyed it a lot. And, apart from that one comment about who might end up on top, it's never mentioned again.
- Bond standing behind Q, like he's standing guard was, well, I liked it
- And Bond working out the code was awesome
- And Bond being about 3 steps ahead of Q when the security started to go was awesome. I love Bond being clever and the way his brain works
- Also, Q and Bond's first meeting is all kinds of awesome. I'm relieved they didn't give it all away in the trailer and the bit about the pajamas was golden. Ben Whishaw was bloody marvelous.
- I could watch James Bond/Daniel Craig run all day long
- The idea of young James hiding in the tunnel for two days after his parents died, make me want to give him a massive hug because, oh my heart
- James Bond wears damn good coats. How can one man make a coat so damn attractive? It's really not fair.
- The fight in Shanghai, all in silhouette was my favourite. It was shot beautifully. I could watch that fight about 1000 times and not get bored.
- The way London was framed at the end was gorgeous, too
- M left Bond the Bulldog! So totally awesome. And sweet.
- James' face when M tells him that they sold his flat and put his stuff into storage and that he really should have called, was a picture. I loled. And then she topped it all off by telling him he couldn't sleep at her place. God, I could watch hours of those two snarking back and forth. No wonder he's her favourite.
- Talking of snark, James and Q's back and forth while Bond was running through the underground was hilarious. Q describing a train coming towards you as 'vexing' was genius. Also, James' 'And now there's a train coming' reminded me very much of the way Sean Bean delivered 'They have a cave troll' in LOTR:FOTR
- I actually rather liked Mallory, especially how he literally jumped over the table to save M. And then got shot for his trouble.
- Everything in the highlands was golden. That house. God, so remote and standing on it's own. So very Bond. I liked how, even though they delved a little into Bond's past, they still don't say too much or over egg it.
- James taking out the bad guys more or less single-handedly in Scotland was great, although both M (nail bombs. Well, shit) and Kincade (Welcome to Scotland - got a big laugh every time) got to take out people too.
- Blowing up the Aston Martin was Silva's final big mistake, right? The look on Bond's face said it all.
- When Silva was throwing in all the grenades and Bond was setting up the gas canisters to explode, and was just walking through the burning inferno of his home, every else thought of this, right:-
Click to viewI know seektheinfinite did.
- But the big question I have is about Bond's return.
So, he disappeared for 3 months and when he came back his assessments were...kind of shit. But how much of that was real and how much of it was Bond faking it?
Because, bear with me here.
I don't doubt that at least some of it was real - the bit where he collapsed after everyone left the room while was doing the pull-ups was too real to be faked. And when he finished swimming in Shanghai he was a tad out of breath, sure. But could he have been that out of shape (and I can't help but laugh at the idea of Bond being out of shape because, well, he never looked even a second out of shape, but I'm getting distracted by Daniel Craig's shoulders, so I'll stop)?
Can you run through the underground, all the way to Westminster and then engage in a gun fight all with hardly breaking a sweat if you're all out of shape? Surely, he should have been asking the bad guys to give him a second to catch his breath?
Watching it the second time, and thinking about it, was his shot a bit off because he still had that depleted uranium fragment in him (or however they described it)? I can't believe you can be at peak performance if you've got shrapnel in your shoulder. Because, also when he's hanging off the bottom of the elevator, and he lets go with one hand, it's the shoulder he got shot in, right? That would certainly explain it. Because he just looks annoyed that he's let go, not worried, like at any moment he might plunge to his death.
Plus, the shrapnel would also explain why he looked like death warmed over until he cut it out of his shoulder. he is one hardass mother fucker. He cut into his own shoulder. Just. OW!
And I do question both his psych evaluation and his marksmanship. When he had that drink with the scorpion his hand was a still and steady as it's ever been. And then it was shaking like crazy in the target practice? And by the time they're up in the Scottish Highlands, his marksmanship is definitely back on form.
Not to mention, well, the way he took out Silva's men. That was some class marksmanship right there. Not to mention the fact that he had to be quick and fast.
Because, well, he knows that Silva (or someone) has managed to hack M's system, it makes sense that he'd use that against them and give them incorrect information so that when they meet they underestimate him. So an utterly abysmal evaluation makes perfect sense to me - far more than the idea that Bond has lost all his mojo in three months.
In short, I loved it. I'm not surprised that it's being described as the best Bond. It's certainly up there with the greats. And it well and truly gets rid of the bitter aftertaste of Quantum of Solace, which was rubbish.
And I get to see it at least once more, with a friend who wants to see it on Monday. I might even have to go and see it again by myself because I loved it just that much. I may end up watching it more times than The Avengers. Which, yeah. I didn't think any film could be that for me this year.
TV Shows what I have watched
So, we still have the voiceover, but, if Dig is there with him next week, maybe it'll have gone by then.
And Dig! Oh, Dig. I loved the scene between him and his sister-in-law. And the scene where he tells Ollie exactly what he thinks about him was golden.
I'm really hoping that this is a continuing theme - Dig telling Ollie various truths while being awesome.
And I loved his line about not being a sidekick *G* I can't really see Dig being a sidekick, to be honest. Can you?
I really liked the scene of Ollie and Thea both unable to sleep and reconnecting.
I'm still not the greatest fan of all the Laurel and Ollie stuff. I know that in the comics they get together and everything, but these are radically different characters from the comics and I really feel as though they have Laurel forgiving Ollie far too easily. I'm fairly certain that it'd take me more than a couple of weeks to forgive the guy who got my sister killed.
I find the Laurel from the first episode, the time where she told Ollie she wish he'd died, far more believable than where they seem to be taking her now. Maybe if they'd done this, in the second half of the season I'd be less concerned about it, but as it stands, 5 episodes in seems far too early to have her hanging out with Ollie and defending him to her father.
Walter found the yacht. Well, crap. I'd been all ready to write him off as the bad guy, but he's going to be the patsy, right? He's probably going to be set up to take any fall.
And, Moira, really, if you've had a yacht sabotaged, if you find it, get the thing destroyed. Don't keep it in a warehouse to be randomly found by your new husband.
I liked how understated John Barrowman's performance was. I'm really hoping it stays that way because I'm more than a little fed up of him being so OTT all the damn time.
I really like Felicity Smoke. She's awesome. I want her and Ollie to have more scenes together because they really sparked (no pun intended).
No Tommy this episode. I missed him.
And, well, shit, I got all this way without mentioning the rather important bit where Ollie was arrested. Now, obviously, he's got to get out of that and have a reasonable explanation because people can't know who he is for the rest of the show. But I like that they aren't having the cops being stupid and that there are consequences for his actions.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this show moves forward.
Well, shit. I think that might have been Damien Lewis's Emmy episode, because, well, fuck. That was amazing.
The way they deconstructed Brody and stripped him bare again. I really, really want him to have a happy ending because, all that shit he went through, the way he was manipulated, broken and put back together, only to go through it all again is heartbreaking.
And Claire Danes as Carrie was just quietly awesome in this too. The way she uses her connection with Brody and the truth to gain his trust. I like that although Carrie is in love with him, that doesn't prevent her from taking him down. And the concerned look on Saul's face kind of said it all.
Although, I have to say, I could have done without the teenage daughter and Vice President's son accidentally killing someone in a hit and run because, really, in with all the Brody stuff, it was boring and I just wanted to get back to that interrogation room.
Seeing as we've still got, what? five or six? episodes left to go, I can't wait to see where they are going to go with this.
So, we're gearing up for a Cora v Regina showdown, aren't we?
I liked that Emma didn't believe Hook, because, really, that was the flimsiest story, EVER!
And, Rumple is searching for Bai (or whatever his son is called), right? That's why he wanted the magic back and why he's so pissed the barrier now takes away your memories.
Plus, is his son going to end up being whoever Michael Raymond-James is playing? The guy who we haven't seen since the first episode?
Books what I have read
23) The Julius House by Charlaine Harris
24) Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale - Amazing. Loved it. But then I seem to love everything she's written so far.