I dig into another classic James Bond novel by Ian Fleming this week. Up this time is the sixth novel in the series, and one that served as the basis for the first film. The story stays fairly close to what has been explored in the film, with a subplot involving bird guano and conservation,…
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From Russia With Love (1957) – Ian Fleming
This week I dove into Ian Fleming’s fifth James Bond novel, and the one that was most closely adapted for the big screen, though SPECTRE is slipped into the film version, whereas in this tale it is simply east versus west as SMERSH, the Russian spy organisation comes up with a plan to humiliate the…
Moonraker (1955) – Ian Fleming
James Bond is back… On the book shelf. This week, I dig into the third of Ian Fleming’s novels about secret agent 007, license to kill and reveled in the rapid fire pace of the story while being surprised at how confined the story is, while still allowing the plan at the heart of the…
Casino Royale (1953) – Ian Fleming
Some twenty years ago, my sister gifted me with six of Ian Fleming’s original James Bond adventures. First printings from the Macmillan Company, these wonderful little hardcovers were in great condition but sans books jackets. I hadn’t read any of the Fleming Bonds since my early teens, when I was in the midst of discovering…
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – Roger Spottiswoode
Pierce Brosnan’s second outing as Ian Fleming’s James Bond, 007, is the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following a screening of Goldfinger, and I quite happily make the argument that this may be Brosnan’s best outing in his four Bond films. From the opening White Knight sequence, to…
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) – Stephen Norrington
The Sci-Fi Chronicles plunges us into the world of Alan Moore’s graphic novels with this film adaptation of his work directed by Stephen Norrington, which suffers from a bit of a haphazard script that hinted at great potential, and just failed horribly to have it pay off. It’s a great idea (mostly), using characters…
Spectre (2015) – Sam Mendes
The new James Bond film opens today, with Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as Ian Fleming’s special agent, 007. And as an avid Bond fan, I had to be there. So what did I think? Gorgeous locations… check. Beautiful women… check (though Monica Bellucci is extremely under-used, as well as Naomi Harris’ Moneypenny). Style… check….
The Third Man (1949) – Carol Reed
Joseph Cotten finds himself caught up in a dark thriller in this next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my viewing of The Big Sleep. Cotten plays Western novelist Holly Martins, who arrives in post-war Austria to see his friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Unfortunately after his arrival,…
Casino Royale (2006) – Martin Campbell
James Bond returns to the 101 Action Movies list with Martin Campbell’s second Bond film, the first being GoldenEye. It amazes me that he can direct a Bond film so well, arguably two of the best, while anything outside of that, his films are less than stellar. Anyway. With Casino Royale, we get the…
GoldenEye (1995) – Martin Campbell
Welcome back to the 101 Action Movies list 007. After a number of years that had Pierce Brosnan’s name bandied about for taking over the role of James Bond, he finally takes on the coveted role and makes it his own. It also features one of my favorite pre-credit sequences in the Bond saga,…
The Mind Reels 