My latest album project is the soundtrack release for John Barry’s (mostly unused) score to the 1977 film, First Love, released today by La-La Land Records. In this particular instance, I handled the art direction. This film is probably best known as “the film where Susan Dey takes it all off”, and it was surprising to discover that Paramount Pictures didn’t even have it listed in their online asset system. This resulted in some manual work, where the lovely folks …
Holy crap, I only have like 3 days left to get through six Bond films. I guess I know what I’ll be doing! The Living Daylights: This was weird to watch. It’s Timothy Dalton’s first outing as Bond, and this time he’s up against a corrupt Soviet general – and it takes him all the way to Afghanistan, where he joins up with the Mujahadeen. Yeah, it’s pre-Osama Bin Laden, but hey, go Taliban! (Eeks!!) Licence to Kill: Bond goes …
After dinner, Liz and Josh and I decided to watch the next flick in the series, bringin Roger Moore’s stint as Bond to an end: A View to a Kill: Bond takes on genetic superchild Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), and his evil scheme to become the world’s leading provider of microchips by destroying Silicon Valley with a double fault earthquake that will sink it below San Francisco Bay. Basically, it’s a retread of the plot from Superman: The Movie, but …
We were gonna watch The Last King of Scotland, but my dad was tired – so my mom and I watched the next Bond film in the queue: Octopussy: Bond goes to India and joins the circus to stop a rogue Soviet General from setting off a nuke on a US Air Force base in Germany. Along the way he gets caught up with black market jewel smuggler Octopussy (Maud Adams – previously seen as a Bond girl in The …
Finally had a chance to swallow one of the worst James Bond films of all time. After Casino Royale, it was hard, but I managed to get through it. Moonraker: Bond goes to outer space to stop a madman determined to wipe out humanity and replace them with his Aryan race of superhumans. Mmmmkay. I really don’t think I need to go into too much more detail on this one, do I? The jokes start coming fast and furious, and …
It’s election night, so I figured I would manage to squeeze two more flicks in. Live and Let Die: Bond has jungle fever, goes to Harlem and the Caribbean, and gets some soul! Roger Moore’s first outing as James Bond gives us plenty of indications of the direction that the series would take under his portrayal as 007. More jokes than excitement, and let’s not forget Geoffrey Holder as Baron Samedi, who was a pretty good villain, but will always …
I don’t think I’m going to make it! Diamonds Are Forever: Sean Connery returns to the franchise for one last (official) bow, and he’s not exactly going out with a bang – his age is really starting to show, and the one-liners are starting to get hammy, not slick. This first Bond film of the 70’s feels dated through the excessive use of day-for-night, and the Vegas setting hampers, not helps, the production. The plot is somewhat dull, and the …
I need to watch more than one a day if I have any hopes of making this work!! On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: George Lazenby takes over from Sean Connery as James Bond. So we have an Australian playing a British spy who poses as a Scottish geneologist. Heh. It’s closer to the novels, in the grittiness and violence. The pre-title sequence was fast-paced and well choreographed. The ski chases are good, as well as the climax with the bobsled …
Managed to squeeze another Bond in before I headed out for the evening. You Only Live Twice: This is the Bond film that worked with the “formula”, expanded upon by author Roald Dahl. From The Official James Bond Movie Book: 25th Anniversary Edition: “There are two cast-iron rules in Bond movies that cannot be broken. The first concerns the Bond character, which is fixed and unchangeable, and the second relates to the Bond girls and the order of their appearance …
It’s slow going, and I’m going to need to pick up speed if I want to be realistic about this!! Thunderball: This movie has some slow parts, but it all builds up to an awesome underwater battle sequence that is a highlight of the entire Bond series. Connery is starting to show his age just a little in this one though, but he’s still pretty damn cool!