Sunday

Quantum of Solace

2008

There isn't much I can write about the new James Bond film that has not already been covered elsewhere. The Daniel Craig version of Bond retains minimal continuity from the earlier Bond films. There's almost no witty dialogue. Q and his gadgets are gone, ditto Moneypenny. There's no super-villain, just some hypocritical sleazebags trying to make a dishonest buck in corrupt third world countries. This version of James Bond is not a very sympathetic character unless one remembers his great deeds of yesteryear. In fact, if his name were simply changed to Nigel Ludwick, he would be totally impossible to like if the viewer had not seen Casino Royale, and difficult to like even with the CR back-story.

I'm not saying it is a poor movie. Many people prefer this frigid, serious Bond to the jokey Roger Moore version, for example. It's just not a Bond movie. The entire series has been re-jigged to make 007 into Jason Bourne with a British accent. To that end it is a great travelogue and a spectacular action picture with plenty of shaky cam work and rapid-fire editing rather than long tracking shots. Hell, it even has some surprising character depth. It just doesn't have James Bond in it anywhere.

The nude scene is a nice homage to Goldfinger. After Bond seduces a woman, the baddies kill her, strip her naked and paint her entire body black with oil. Bond next sees her dead, naked, and lying on her stomach. Since oil is called "black gold," one might reasonably call this film Black Goldfinger, except that such a title would make it sound like it should star Jim Brown, or Richard Roundtree, or maybe Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Even with that confusion, "Black Goldfinger" might still make more sense than "Quantum of Solace."

Gemma Arterton film clip

 

 

  • * Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe).

  • * White asterisk: expanded format.

  • * Blue asterisk: not mine.

  • No asterisk: it probably sucks.

OTHER CRAP:

Catch the deluxe version of Other Crap in real time, with all the bells and whistles, here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mulholland Drive

2001

Today the collages. Tomorrow: film clips.

Laura Harring

 

 

Naomi Watts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This section will present Defoe's film clips to accompany Charlie's collages, which are found on his own site.

Today's clip: Caroline Veyt in Le Destin des Steenfort

 

 

 

 

 

Notes and collages

The final batch of Uschi Digard in Getting into Heaven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber Smith ... Raw!

Approximately a gazillion film clips from this tribute to the latter-day Rita Hayworth lookalike.

Here is part 3 of three

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         
   

Reality Sex

2005

Amy Lindsay. Collages below.

This is not a repeat from Friday. (Similar title.)

 

 
   
         

 

 

 

 

 

Sisters

(2006)

If you've seen the 1973 Brian De Palma version of Sisters starring Margot Kidder, the 2006 version will probably disappoint. Even if you haven't, what you'll see is a less than perfect crime thriller/horror flick with uninspired acting and a mediocre script, which helps to spoil an excellent story.

A reporter (Chloe Sevigny) witnesses a murder committed by one of a pair of separated Siamese twins (Lou Doillon). Although she reports it immediately, the police are no help, due largely to the efforts of a psychiatrist who has taken one of the twins under his wing. The doctor quickly moves to cover up the murder, but as the reporter continues to investigate, it appears that the doctor has even more to hide.

Even though it's common for remakes of a movie to be inferior to the original, it is still a shame they couldn't have done better with this one, which is a very interesting and exciting story if told properly.
 

Chloe Sevigny Lou Doillon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pics

Dany Carrel in 1968's La Prisionnere

 

Film Clips

Michelle Trachtenberg in Beautiful Ohio (Not much to see, but that's really her bum.)

Alexandra Martines in Zero Hour

Carre Otis in Wild Orchid. Most people say that Carre and The Mickster were really doin' it on film. They have denied it, but not very plausibly.