TV/Movies Megathread

[The Larch]

Going to see it tonight - the length is off-putting though

I was listening to a podcast where they were talking about Bond as basically just a superhero and it seems weird they haven't yet tried to do an extended universe stuff like the MCU and Star Wars have (with different degrees of success). I could be wrong but I suspect any company with a reasonably successful franchise (and Bond's longevity alone is incredible) will now be trying to spin it into a universe.

But that'd involve doing something in the Bond universe without Bond, and what's the point of that.

[Sheilbh]

I feel like that's why they made the new Moneypenny a cool agent, no?

Or maybe a Dalton and Brosnan are needed to help the latest 007?

Or maybe some sort of origin story for M (young Judi Dench in the 70s maybe with that Rogue One Peter Cushing tech with Connery or Moore's Bond in the background)?

[celedhring]

Anyway, now that he's closed shop, time for my Craig's Bond list:

1) Casino Royale (also one of my favorite Bonds of all time)
2) Skyfall
3) No Time to Die
4) Quantuum of Solace
5) Spectra

[celedhring]

I feel that at some point a Felix Leiter movie would've been possible.

[Savonarola]

You've all clearly forgotten the cinema classic which introduced the world to the Bond Extended Universe:



(Also released as Operation OK Connery and Operation Double 007 - the latter made an appearance on Mystery Science Theater 3000.)

[Maladict]

Anyway, now that he's closed shop, time for my Craig's Bond list:

1) Casino Royale (also one of my favorite Bonds of all time)
2) Skyfall
3) No Time to Die
4) Quantuum of Solace
5) Spectra

Is it closer to #2 or #4? The first two are great, the bottom two are a waste of time mostly.

[Duque de Bragança]

You've all clearly forgotten the cinema classic which introduced the world to the Bond Extended Universe:

Not to mention he forgot the best Casino Royale (1967):

[celedhring]

Anyway, now that he's closed shop, time for my Craig's Bond list:

1) Casino Royale (also one of my favorite Bonds of all time)
2) Skyfall
3) No Time to Die
4) Quantuum of Solace
5) Spectra

Is it closer to #2 or #4? The first two are great, the bottom two are a waste of time mostly.

Closer to 2, but still quite a distance away.

[Eddie Teach]

Skyfall sucked.

[Syt]

So, Seinfeld is on Netflix. And they converted the series to 16:9 format.

By cropping the picture.

[The Brain]

What is the show about? I don't see anything.

[Duque de Bragança]

So, Seinfeld is on Netflix. And they converted the series to 16:9 format.

By cropping the picture.

Welcome to the wonderful world of picture cropping for 16:9 !
In the old days, cropping was for 4:3, the format of Seinfeld. 

[grumbler]

So, Seinfeld is on Netflix. And they converted the series to 16:9 format.

By cropping the picture.

(snip)

I thought that that was called letter-boxing.

[Sheilbh]

Bond. I thought it was okay, some great fun scenes (the one in Cuba is delightful), but I didn't care much for the villain and felt the movie lost steam as it went on. [spoiler]Wasn't expecting Bond to die, I thought he'd ride into the sunset with Seydoux and his daughter. Made me feel a bit sad.[/spoiler].

Always liked that all the Craig Bonds have continuity with each other (as this one does, the Spectre arc of this flick was much better than Spectre movie itself).

And I love the idea that the UK [spoiler]would bomb one of the Kuril Islands under the noses of the Japanese and Russian militaries[/spoiler]. Rule Britannia is back babyyy.

So I loved it

I've always agreed with the idea that Craig's Bond was initially a response to Bourne and, I think, latterly Marvel raising the game and expectations in action blockbusters. Much as I adore Pierce Brosnan (and I do) his Bond's were veering into a very outdated self-parody - not as extreme as Roger Moore (who designed his own wardrobe after all) but heading in that direction. I think as Moore was to 70s camp, Brosnan sadly is to turn of the century pomo.

This felt like the most Bond-y Bond Craig's done. It ticked a lot of boxes for me: action sequences in beautiful locations; just the right level of humour/quips; [spoiler]a villain in a slightly daft outfit with an island fortress; Bond fighting through what appear to be levels from the N64 Goldeneye (); a decent recurring henchman.[/spoiler] Though towards the end of the film it does go in a more surprising direction for a Bond film.

We'll see who comes next but it feels like they've managed to get the balance of something that feels and looks like Bond should, while still being a decent modern action flick.

Edit: Re the Cuba sequence, which I loved, that's where I'd maybe look for a spin-off/Bond universe because Ana de Armas is terrific fun.

[Neil]

I feel like they're going to have to take significant liberties with Foundation to make it an exciting action sci-fi show.

Salvor Hardin's 'last refuge of the incompetent' is generally what those shows are about.