tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post4405007857717155420..comments2024-03-03T10:32:45.969-08:00Comments on Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur: If You Can't Feel AliveMr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-53357485300232074462012-11-10T12:10:59.860-08:002012-11-10T12:10:59.860-08:00I just found this post after you linked to it on T...I just found this post after you linked to it on Twitter. <i>TWINE</i>, like too many Bond movies, is schizophrenic in tone. You have some good dramatic moments surrounded by cartoonish crap (Brosnan's "plutonic" pun and, of course, his closing line are particularly lame, although, like you said, Robbie Coltrane is enjoyable here). They clearly wanted to do a more serious Bond movie, but that's kind of hard to pull off when you're adhering to the (tired, in my opinion) formula established by <i>Goldfinger</i>, which Eon slightly departed from in <i>For Your Eyes Only</i> and Timothy Dalton's films and then finally broke free from in <i>Casino Royale</i>.<br /><br /><i>TWINE</i> is also Bond at his shoutiest. Bond does more yelling in this movie than any other. I don't think Bond should be Dylan McDermott-y, but I guess you'd be McDermott-y too if you broke your arm and had to see Denise Richards act. <br /><br />"You get the feeling that it’s a film being directed by somebody who is engaged with working with some of his actors—particularly Brosnan and Marceau—but not particularly interested in the film that’s happening around them."<br /><br />That's a great point. It explains a lot about why there's no oomph to the action sequences, other than the pre-title sequence in Bilbao and London (Brosnan rehashing his tie-straightening tic from the <i>GoldenEye</i> tank chase is my favorite bit too). I read somewhere that the London speedboat chase was originally supposed to take place after the opening titles, but they shoved it into the teaser. I assume it's because they didn't think Brosnan's badass rappelling stunt in the photo at the top of your post was a dramatic enough way to conclude the teaser.<br /><br />"The Thames Chase, “Come in 007, Your Time Is Up” on the album, may be Arnold’s best work in the series to date"<br /><br />I think "Surrender" from <i>Tomorrow Never Dies</i> is Arnold's best work in the series, but that "Come in 007" cue's pretty good too.J. John Aquinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07702933519743370125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-59208083382560558892011-12-10T12:12:06.314-08:002011-12-10T12:12:06.314-08:00Yep, what Ned said.Yep, what Ned said.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00274916206944493165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-15691745978477710392011-12-07T12:21:44.911-08:002011-12-07T12:21:44.911-08:00Peel,
I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on...Peel,<br /><br />I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on LICENCE TO KILL, should you revisit it. For anyone who likes the Craig films, particularly CASINO ROYALE, LtK is very much in the same vein, although Davi's bad guy remains much less ambitious than the run-of-the-mill Bond villain. This guy has no designs on ruling the world and I appreciate that departure from the norm. The violence is pretty hard and they apparently had to make a good many cuts just to get a PG-13. This film is so much better than the live action video games that the Brosnan films feel like. Davi is excellent and I really appreciate the casting of Anthony Zerbe (OMEGA MAN, PARALLAX VIEW, DEAD ZONE) as the secondary bad guy. Carey Lowell (Mrs. Gere) is a great Bond girl--convincingly tough and beautiful and Talisa Soto is very good as the secondary Bond girl.<br /><br />Also interesting is the fact that Maibaum and Wilson modeled their script, in part, on YOJIMBO. And, believe it or not, it works within that context.Ned Merrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15436251586131278302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-58716731120953657612011-12-06T21:49:38.863-08:002011-12-06T21:49:38.863-08:00Ned--
Thanks for your comments on this one to pro...Ned--<br /><br />Thanks for your comments on this one to provide the point of view of someone who saw it away from all the hype when it came out. I've had problems with LICENCE for a long time...maybe I'll have to take another look at it one of these days. <br /><br />Emily--<br /><br />I like the idea behind the twist, I just wish the movie pulled it off better. Just like I wish that it did more with Robert Carlyle. <br /><br />Anon--<br /><br />And we agree on Carlyle too! Thanks for seconding my thoughts on Apted. <br /><br />SteveW--<br /><br />My memories of seeing each of them surrounded by all the hype probably prevent them from blurring together, but that aside I totally see what you're saying. And I also agree about the strong work Brosnan has sometimes done for other directors. <br /><br />Bob--<br /><br />Well, at least the title of TWINE comes from Fleming. I always thought they should have had two titles with DIES or DIE so close together. I'm still hoping that they use THE HILDEBRAND RARITY or 007 IN NEW YORK one of these days! Very glad you liked the piece!Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-56063496021486099752011-12-03T14:07:50.234-08:002011-12-03T14:07:50.234-08:00The problem with the Brosnan-era Bond films is sum...The problem with the Brosnan-era Bond films is summed up in the titles. What did they mean, these bloodless, bland ciphers? Not much, actually. Too bad, as I liked Brosnan as 007, but the films are blanks ("Die Another Day" being the nadir). This one, honestly I've ALREADY forgotten the title ("The World is Not Enough"?), has some nifty elements: Brosnan, Carlyle and Sophie Marceau, but it seems to go on forever and it is permanently hobbled when "Dr. Christmas Jones, Nuclear Physicist" arrives on the scene. Who thought that was a good idea? I imagine Apted directed this with an air of being above it all. Still and all, better than "A View to A Kill"! Keep'em coming, Mr. Peel!Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00274916206944493165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-60206241361334420822011-12-01T20:37:06.032-08:002011-12-01T20:37:06.032-08:00Sadly, all of the Brosnan Bonds blur together in m...Sadly, all of the Brosnan Bonds blur together in my mind--a series of journeymen directors and a corporatist cabal at the helm rigidly adhering to an overpriced action-movie formula make them pretty interchangeable. Brosnan was more interesting as an actor in his other work with directors like Boorman and Polanski.<br /><br />I think of the series in this era as sleek and anonymous, designed by committee--a Lexus or Infiniti, compared with a vintage Aston Martin or Lotus Esprit.SteveWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-47457352164009209982011-12-01T18:33:22.255-08:002011-12-01T18:33:22.255-08:00TWINE was a waste, and I think you're correct ...TWINE was a waste, and I think you're correct in putting it on Apted (hey, throw a tantrum and demand a coherent screenplay, whydontcha?). Never to keen on Brosnan as Bond to begin with, shame to also waste Carlyle in a do-nothing role, cuz that guy can act!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-54825944185547375092011-12-01T14:41:03.509-08:002011-12-01T14:41:03.509-08:00I like this.
I also like that this film tried a p...I like this.<br /><br />I also like that this film tried a plot twist, which none of the others really did.<br /><br />And it's a real testament to Robert Carlyle's acting ability that this is him, because it's really difficult to reconcile that modern day Robert Carlyle and World is Not Enough Robert Carlyle are the same person. It doesn't seem possible.Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-3753632767566063552011-12-01T12:51:12.262-08:002011-12-01T12:51:12.262-08:00Being a casual Bond fan growing up, I can't sa...Being a casual Bond fan growing up, I can't say I saw every installment upon release or even later during the inevitable TBS or TNT holiday marathons. Picking up all of the available Bond Blu-rays during a Black Friday sale a couple years ago, I was able to catch up on many of the films I'd missed the first time around. This was one of 'em. After watching all of the Connery and Bond titles on Blu-ray, this film and Brosnan just paled in comparison. <br /><br />Yes, Denise Richards was absolutely laughable and an easy target for haters, but I also had no love for the constant, clumsy'90s-era CGI effects nor Brosnan's persona. Maybe it's because I remember that decade so much more than the '70s and '80s, but where the Moore films succeed handsomely for me (save for A VIEW TO A KILL) almost solely based on the nostalgia factor, the '90s-era Brosnan Bonds hold none of that for me. <br /><br />An entry that holds up better than any of the Brosnan Bonds is the unfairly maligned LICENCE TO KILL (which I just revisited on Blu-ray), the second film in the sadly short-lived Bond run of Timothy Dalton. THAT is a film ahead of its time, which looks forward to the more gritty, realistic Bond of CASINO ROYALE and Craig that most everyone has championed from Day 1. It's a shame that legal issues between Danjaq and MGM/UA prevented Dalton from continuing as 007 and caused the series to molder until '95s GOLDENEYE.Ned Merrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15436251586131278302noreply@blogger.com