I Just Watched (Films)

[Solitaire]

Fracture, 2007 - free with ads on YouTube (in the US, at least)

Caught my eye while I was scrolling through YouTube. Solid, predictable performances by Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins - who puts on a bit of an Irish lilt, understated enough that my American ears were fine with it, at least. The main twist in the film wasn't something I could figure out, until the end of the movie, when it's spelled out by the protagonist. This is a rarity for me. Last time I was surprised or confounded by a script was "The Sixth Sense," which is eons ago. Decent movie, overall, and I always like to see eclectic, cool Los Angeles houses and architecture. Also, Rosamund Pike is seductively charming, slender, doe-eyed, and fresh faced, if you're into that sort of thing

[Animalmother]

It's on Netflix next month, I'll give it a look.

[Wrathbone]

No Time to Die

Spoiler

I come to Bond for some thrilling spy action, and in that regard it delivered in spades. It was like a Best-of-Bond compilation, almost to the point of distraction with the number of easter egg callbacks to previous films. But this film also tries to take a more tragic tone for Craig’s swan song and sadly I had absolutely no emotional response to any of it. Maybe it’s because it’s not what I watch Bond for, or maybe it’s because his daughter is the most sullen, miserable child actor they could possibly have found. It just doesn’t hit the mark.

I did enjoy it, and it’s not Craig’s worst (I’m looking at you, Quantum of Snorage), but it’s no Casino Royale.

In terms of the future of the Bond franchise, what do people think of the idea that there have been multiple agents assuming the name of James Bond? i.e. It’s an alias given to agents who fit a profile for making 00 status. I think they might finally address that in the next film and loosely canonise it.

[Raid]

I haven't seen the film yet (and haven't read that spoiler) so I'm not sure what's provoked that question, but I think you either have to assume that the whole series does not consist of one continuity, or that there have been multiple James Bond 007s. It just doesn't make sense that the same man was fighting the Soviet Union and then driving a recognisable car that only started being built in 2014. I seem to remember the killing of Bond's wife in OHMSS being referenced in later films, despite that happening in Lazenby's only appearance, so I like to think it was the producers' intention that all of the actors represent the same man, but from what I remember you can explain that away fairly easily.

For me personally, it's multiple continuities. I'm likely forgetting something, but I don't think it's easy to reconcile the Daniel Craig films with earlier entries, I can't remember the exact reason, but I have a feeling that Skyfall suggests Bond was still named Bond when he was a child.

[Rossell]

I had the same feeling as Wrath because it would make a lot of sense. It's the ultimate diversion isn't it? Everyone thinks 007 is the codename but it's to detract from the fact the real codename is James Bond. What spy will tell you their real name?

Which is a shame as I watched Skyfall a few weeks ago and there is indeed a scene with Bond looking at his parents headstone like Raid mentioned.

[Mantis]

Isn't part of the Spectre plot that Blofeld and Bond had known each other since childhood? If his name was anything other than James Bond then you'd have at least expected Blofeld to mention or hint at him not going by his original name anymore. Coupled with Skyfall, it does blow up any continuity of it being a code name passed down from agent to agent. Though who really cares about continuity in James Bond? It'd be like trying to justify why Batman passed on his mantle and real identity to Val Kilmer and George Clooney.

If anything it just makes it more amusing at how poor of a spy he is. He literally waltzes up to the big bad in every movie and introduces himself by his real name.

[Wrathbone]

It’s a bit of a stretch, but the gravestones could be explained if Bond was orphaned when he was too young to remember and MI6 groomed him from that point to be James Bond. In other words, his parents weren’t the Bonds and Skyfall wasn’t actually their home - that’s all invented by MI6 as a controlled means to raise prospective agents.

As for past Bonds, I think Lazenby and Moore would have to be the same person because of references to his wife. Connery could also be that Bond, but Dalton is different enough from the rest to suggest he’d be another agent. Given he doesn’t last long and there was a big gap between films, that suggests Brosnan had to be brought up to 00 status as a new Bond.

I like it as a theory because it’s not so outlandish as to be dismissed out of hand and it builds on the greater story of the franchise, but it’s not airtight by any means.

[Animalmother]

I got the impression when Daniel Craig took over that it was a bit like a reboot of the series. In the previous films you had M and some of the other characters played by the same actors through multiple Bond's. Your not really meant to think too much about it anyway. Could you imagine if they did a Spiderman and redid his origin story with every single new actor, it doesn't help.

[Achtung Englander]

its just a character. The idea that Bond films are continuous is just ridiculous. The Bond character is in the time the adventure is set, so to me, a reboot is not necessary. He is merely a device to get an action movie going

The Amazing Mr Blunden 2021(Sky) - its like watching a poster print of a masterpiece. Not a patch on the wonderful 1972 film
5/10

[Snowy]

Could you imagine if they did a Spiderman and redid his origin story with every single new actor, it doesn't help.

Isn't that what has happened pretty much? I have lost track of the number of Spiderman origin stories there have been, where my brain has sat screaming "This story is arse, you have Spiderman so fucking use him, don't waste half the film on a bellend teenager". The obsession with origin stories grinds my gears.

Bond though? There is no canon, the films are not a long story staggered over 20-however-many episodes. Now and again there are links between films with a particular actor (Sherriff J W Pepper for example) but in general they should be taken in isolation as a slice of Bond-flavoured escapism and not thought about too much. No Time To Die was cracking fun but telegraphed the ending way ahead of time and then took much too long to get there. Also Rami Malek was wasted as the villain.

[Raid]

Isn't that what has happened pretty much? I have lost track of the number of Spiderman origin stories there have been, where my brain has sat screaming "This story is arse, you have Spiderman so fucking use him, don't waste half the film on a bellend teenager". The obsession with origin stories grinds my gears.

There've been 4 different "first" films for Spiderman in the last 20-something years, and only two of them did the origin story. I think the MCU ones ignored it entirely, and they actually took the piss out of it in Spiderverse.

[Raid]

The Incredibles 2
The Incredibles remains my favourite Pixar film; the spy-thriller tropes, the retro aesthetic, the killer soundtrack and the amount of fun they have with the hero powers made it damned near perfect. The sequel still has these things, but it's a bit messy and not as compelling. It doesn't have a strong antagonist and doesn't really do much that's new, in fact the end scene is practically identical to that from the first film (the family all look at each other knowingly as they put their masks on). It's still perfectly enjoyable, but it feels a little unnecessary.

Ghost in the Shell (2017)
It's worth noting that I've never seen the anime adaptations of GITS. Much like Akira was, it's another of those strange omissions from my viewing history considering what a perfect fit it probably is for my tastes, but it's another series that has numerous different versions and none of them are on a streaming service I can access. Anyway, this Hollywood adaptation was pretty decent. I don't think the general response to it was all that positive when it came out, so I went into it with no real expectations which probably helped. The concept's a good one, sort of Blade Runner with a bit of Robocop thrown in, but I get the feeling it could have done more with it.

Spoiler

It delves a little bit into the concept of memory defining who we are as people, but only really in a handful of lines. It's never explained whether the burning gate that Major hallucinates is a memory that's been suppressed and resurfacing, intentionally implanted, or just a reference to the tattoo indicating the link to Kuze. I don't recall anything coming from Major intentionally stopping taking the memory-suppressing medication either.

The cinematography is probably fairly good, but I think I've been spoiled recently by Denis Villeneuve's films. The city seems to be fairly well realised, although the CG is far more obvious than in BR2049, and the film has an overall.... glossy look to it that's a bit reminiscent of stuff from the 2000s. The casting's a bit off though; the film definitely appears to be set in a Japanese city, so it's a little white-washy, and the only major character played by a Japanese actor, Beat Takeshi, almost feels like a token inclusion because he's recognisably Japanese. But then it gets a little... meta, as Major...

Spoiler

was in fact originally a Japanese woman (or at least her biological mother is very obviously Japanese) whose mind is transplanted into the body of a Caucasian-looking robot that her mother doesn't recognise. It's never referenced as being a choice by anyone involved.

Either way I can't say I was hugely impressed with the acting, but it could be that everyone's trying to replicate their anime counterparts and it's not offensively bad by any means, so I'll give it a pass.

I think I'd recommend it. There are a few things with the production I'd perhaps have changed, but the story's good.

[Raid]

And the second half of the christmas quadruple bill:

Wreck it Ralph Breaks the Internet
Oh dear. Wreck it Ralph was great. This is a mess. I did notice at the end that it had two directors, which might go some way to explaining the inconsistent tone and humour that's bordering on asinine. Rather than the upbeat anti-hero he was in the original, Ralph in this is just annoying, constantly whining and doing stupid things that suggest he's less of a loveable oaf and instead just toxic. It's filled with jokes and references that maybe would have been fresh in 2010 (the after-credits scene is a Rick Roll for goodness sakes), and it already feels really outdated, such is the nature of the subject matter. It also has a horrible feeling of pandering self-indulgence, with an entire section devoted to cross-promoting other Disney properties (as well as name dropping pretty much all of the major social media and bigger tech companies, which feels much worse than the game references in the first film). That being said, the bit with the Princesses is probably the only scene that actually lands well (and kudos to them getting so many of the original voice actors in for it), so I suppose I shouldn't be so critical.

And it's such a shame because it feels like it had so much effort put into it, but a dreadful script and voice acting that really grates from the two main characters ruin this. Don't bother.

Chappie
Another of those films that I've been meaning to watch for years, and finally got around to. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's probably not as good as District 9, which I believe it's the directorial follow-up to, and it's so reminiscent of my childhood favourite Short Circuit but with the childhood wonderment replaced with "fuckermothers" and holding a pistol sideways. It's got a ton of plot holes and I can't say it's particularly intelligent sci-fi stuff, but it's a lot of fun and the effects work on the Scout robots is stunning (to the point where I'm not sure whether there were practical robots on set). Chappie itself is a wonderful creation, and I love how quickly the human characters take to it, even if they sorta ignore what a miracle of technology it is.

[Animalmother]

I think Elysium was the follow up to District 9, then Chappie. After D9 his films started to go down a sliding scale in quality. But apparently he's working on District 10 next.

Don't Look Up
A giant meteor is detected on a collision course with the Earth and a group of scientists try to convince people to take action, but no one gives a shit. Was enjoyable if a little overlong by the end. Really takes the piss out of Trump style politics, US media and the cult of personality around billionaires. It's getting pretty mediocre reviews which is a shame as it is good and very funny in places.

[Achtung Englander]

could be because it sounds too realistic given where the heads of most politicians are at....