The BJMDDS General Discussion Thread......

[bjmdds]

Exactly. These interviewers have no clue what is cool about Bond. It sure 'ain't' the thug Craig.

[bjmdds]

"The International" looks quite Bondish to me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00874.html

Clive Owen's 'International' Appeal

If "The International" were an article of clothing, it would be a steel-gray cashmere sweater. If it were a place, it would be the first-class lounge of a major metropolitan airport. If it were weather, it would be a wintry mix of drizzle with the occasional flurry.

And if this sleek, stylish thriller were a person, well, it would be Clive Owen, who happens to carry "The International" on his strong and handsome shoulders with the unflappable cool that still makes some of us rue the day he wasn't cast as James Bond. Owen plays Interpol agent Lou Salinger, a gruff, obsessed loner who for years has been on the trail of a corrupt bank (based on the real-life Bank of Credit and Commerce International). Now he's working with the Manhattan district attorney's office, specifically a comely assistant D.A. named Ella Whitman, played in an unobjectionable if undistinguished performance by Naomi Watts.

Directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") with sober forthrightness, "The International" is in many ways a throwback to the monochrome urban thrillers of the 1970s, with the added and topical twist of having a diabolical financial institution at its center. Garbled at times (I'm still confused by a scene at a flower stand in Milan), the movie still hums along with attractive, smooth efficiency. The compulsively watchable Owen makes for an ideal leading man of both action and angst. The film's eye-popping set piece, a shootout at the Guggenheim Museum, is an extravagantly choreographed valentine to philistines everywhere.


-- Ann Hornaday

Owen was not my first tier choice for Bond;however, when you see him in this role and Hugh Jackman hosting the Academy awards next week, you see the missed opportunities out there that were and are at Eon's beckoning. It infuriates the traditionalist Bond fan to watch this 'stunt' by Eon with Craig.

[bjmdds]

IIRC Gemma Arterton said something to the effect of that kissing Craig was like kissing her father (no way to spin that one )

Atherton, then Green. His two leading ladies poking fun at Craig. What the heck is Eon thinking? This mad experiment must end....NOW!

[Kristatos]

(no way to spin that one )

Bbbut Brosnan! invisible cars! CGI windsurfing! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

[katied]

(no way to spin that one )

Bbbut Brosnan! invisible cars! CGI windsurfing! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

LOL There was no excuse for the CGI windsurfing I accept that there are people that like DAD(to use my favorite expression, to each her/his own)

[oscartheman]

Eva Green just admitted kissing Craig in CR was not fun and she is embarrassed to admit she has NOT seen QOS yet.

Looks like Dench is the only girl for Craig's 007

[katied]

Looks like Dench is the only girl for Craig's 007

The tagline for Bond 23: He can only pull grannies

[bjmdds]

(no way to spin that one )

Bbbut Brosnan! invisible cars! CGI windsurfing! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

The great OZ has spoken........

[The Sweeney]

Sweeney, NO actress says something like that about her leading man in a movie. If she's 'not really enjoying herself' kissing the thug, she should clam up and say nothing. Why did you leave out the part where she admitted to not seeing QOS? Too embarrassing for Craig maybe? Carole Bouquet said Moore could have been her father. Same thing. They both spoke the truth. You my friend ,are attempting to spin her statements into a positive thing.

Not at all. I honestly could not care less what Eva Green thinks about having a snog with another actor on a film set. And who cares if she hasn't seen QoS, or any other Bond film for that matter. Does every actress have to see every single Bond film once they've appeared in one? I doubt many of the other Bond girls have religiously watched every Bond film since either.

What I find a little sad is that you are building this up into something bigger than what it is, desperately looking, scouring, hunting the internet for any scrap of negativity towards Craig, whether it's about Bond, or any of his other films, and then hoping this will make Babs sit up one morning and think;

`BJ's right! After reading all that negative info he has gathered over the past few months on Craig, I simply MUST get rid of him. I must not listen to any of the positive reviews on Craig, must not trust my own instinct on him, but instead take more notice of Eva Green's thoughts on having a kiss with another man who in real life is not her boyfriend. BJ was right all along!'

Hate to tell you this mate, but Craig WILL be Bond for the next 2 films....at least! Give this up now while you still have your sanity. If not, I fear the men in white coats will be coming to take you away by 2012, after dedicating 7 years of your life to hunting around for all bad things on Craig, and kidding yourself into thinking he will be axed at any moment because you managed to find another negative article from Eva Green...

[katied]

I see it slightly differently than BJ-I hope that some of the negative press about QOS will make EON take a step back.I'm not particularly hopeful, since all signs point to them messing with the bond film formula even more than they have already,unfortunately.

[Terry]

"The International" looks quite Bondish to me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00874.html

Clive Owen's 'International' Appeal

If "The International" were an article of clothing, it would be a steel-gray cashmere sweater. If it were a place, it would be the first-class lounge of a major metropolitan airport. If it were weather, it would be a wintry mix of drizzle with the occasional flurry.

And if this sleek, stylish thriller were a person, well, it would be Clive Owen, who happens to carry "The International" on his strong and handsome shoulders with the unflappable cool that still makes some of us rue the day he wasn't cast as James Bond. Owen plays Interpol agent Lou Salinger, a gruff, obsessed loner who for years has been on the trail of a corrupt bank (based on the real-life Bank of Credit and Commerce International). Now he's working with the Manhattan district attorney's office, specifically a comely assistant D.A. named Ella Whitman, played in an unobjectionable if undistinguished performance by Naomi Watts.

Directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") with sober forthrightness, "The International" is in many ways a throwback to the monochrome urban thrillers of the 1970s, with the added and topical twist of having a diabolical financial institution at its center. Garbled at times (I'm still confused by a scene at a flower stand in Milan), the movie still hums along with attractive, smooth efficiency. The compulsively watchable Owen makes for an ideal leading man of both action and angst. The film's eye-popping set piece, a shootout at the Guggenheim Museum, is an extravagantly choreographed valentine to philistines everywhere.


-- Ann Hornaday

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_The_Inte ... 34955.html

“The International” – Starring...James Bond

People have started to regret the fact that Clive Owen never became James Bond. Considering his acting skills and looks, the role would have suited him perfectly. But…we do not always get want we want in life therefore, Owen received a part in “The International.” The problem is that he is much better of an actor than the character he was given.

Owen embodies an Interpol agent named Lou Salinger who has been on the trail of a corrupt bank for years. He works with the district attorney’s office in Manhattan and his partner in the movie is none other than Naomi Watts who plays the character of Ella Whitman, a district attorney from New York who joins forces with the obsessed loner agent in order to stop crime. The movie is about a European bank that is involved in international weapons trading and employs killers to ensure that business continues as desired. Most importantly, the idea of this film is actually based on a real story, that of Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

Directed by Tom Tykwer, “The International” turns out to be a talky, mostly slow-moving dull film except for towards the end when it gets revived by an exciting museum gunfight.

Tykwer, who also directed “Run Lola Run,” thought of it as one of those conspiracy movies about widespread corruption at high levels, quite similar to the dark political thrillers in which moral ambiguity and human complexity do not usually go with action movies. In fact, this is actually a message movie disguised as a suspense film. Or is it the other way around?

[stockslivevan]

53% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2 million dollar opening. Yeah, that'll show EON made a big mistake with Craig.

[katied]

Eh,better something that's *trying* to be Bond, than some of the other stuff in the theaters right now, Academy Award nominated films excluded

[bjmdds]

It looks like Clive Owen is no draw whatsoever. The International tanked badly with less than $10 million opening weekend in the USA. Defiance is fading out of site as well. Both actors have limited appeal at the box office on their own leading man merits. It's time for the moronic Oscars Sunday with Hugh Jackman getting the nod as host for the first time I believe. He hosted the Tony's as well I believe. Will Eon be watching? What a coup for them if........? Who looks more youthful, Jackman or Craig, both being identical ages at 40?

[katied]

I'm not particularly a Jackman fan, but I have to say Hugh is more youthful looking, by far.I'll be watching the Oscars on Sunday to see what sort of job Hugh does. He may convert me yet.

[carl stromberg]

The Sweeney wrote
What I find a little sad is that you are building this up into something bigger than what it is, desperately looking, scouring, hunting the internet for any scrap of negativity towards Craig

You don't have to "desperately scour and hunt the internet" for negative reviews of Quantum of Solace: just look on Google news or type in "Quantum of Solace reviews" on Google and you will find most reviews panning the film.

[katied]

You don't have to "desperately scour and hunt the internet" for negative reviews of Quantum of Solace: just look on Google news or type in "Quantum of Solace reviews" on Google and you will find most reviews panning the film.

What he said

There are a lot of bad reviews out there-truly though,the people that claim that there are some here who do nothing but find bad reviews of QOS need to do some Googling for themselves to see that yes,there is no shortage of bad reviews of QOS.

[James]

The Sweeney wrote
What I find a little sad is that you are building this up into something bigger than what it is, desperately looking, scouring, hunting the internet for any scrap of negativity towards Craig

You don't have to "desperately scour and hunt the internet" for negative reviews of Quantum of Solace: just look on Google news or type in "Quantum of Solace reviews" on Google and you will find most reviews panning the film.

Another one for the collection.

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion ... ees-012309

The Five Most Disappointing Films of 2008

3. Quantum of Solace: Like 24 with a Menstrual Cycle

I was all set to accept an introspective James Bond, roiling with quiet anger while seeking revenge for his lost love. "It doesn't have to be all sex and gadgets!" I convinced myself. "It can be understated." Whoops! Turns out it is all about the casual sex, cufflink guns, and unapologetic drunken womanizing. Bond is supposed to make you envious, not make you walk out of the theater thinking, "Phew, that dude's emotionally complicated."

[katied]

3. Quantum of Solace: Like 24 with a Menstrual Cycle

That is classic

[John Drake]

Even the CommanderBond forum has started to turn on this film somewhat. Or this poster has at any rate.

"What exactly has this film (QoS) achieved? As far as I know, outside fandom, no one is talking about it. Haggis has distanced himself from the project (unlike after CR), the Bourne comparisons seem to have stuck, officially making Jason Bourne top dog in the public's eyes. Damon was the very unlikely winner of People Magazine Sexiest Man of the Year last year, strictly off the strength of his Bourne movies. Now that I find funny!

QoS has hardly raised Craig's profile higher than what it was before, and the almost lackadaisical reaction to Defiance hasn't helped his star power (despite it being a very good movie with a strong performance by Craig, only marred by the director going all Hollywood).

I find it laughable some go so far as saying QoS is better than Fleming inspired movies such as FRWL/TB/GF/OHMSS. Why? Well I think those movies were more memorable than QoS, which really didn't have the approach to character and depth that those movies carried. Also a hastily put together script really debunks any suggestion of 'intelligence' or 'depth' or 'Flemingian approach'. Just because Craig's walking around with a scowl on his face doesn't mean Bond's in 'pain' or 'coming to terms with Vesper'.

QoS is just an extended part of the script in CR that P&W wrote before Haggis suggested a 'third act', albeit, probably a worser version. The reboot idea has gone up in smoke because the theme of trust could really have been a center with which to develop the Bond character. Instead, its seems as if its been done to death. I expected a full arc spreading over 3-4 films encompassing all aspects of the character, not just Vesper. What I loved about Fleming's books is the La Vie en Rose references and how Vesper is always at the back of Bond's mind. All this closure stuff was unnecessary, because the arc and reboot is done now. Craig's busy talking about character development for Q & Moneypenny for Bond 23 now! How utterly pathetic. Erm...how about the producers use their gray cells and try to turn Craig's Bond into an icon with great stories that enhance James Bond's mythology and make us understand why this man is as big as he is. Surely that was what they should have been striving for. I fear that now these Bourne comparison's have stuck (outside fandom) Bond's legend and his mythology has been dulled.

B23 will be a better effort than B22 because Eon will have paid attention to the bad reviews and criticism. I find myself falling out of love with the current movies and that stems from the way the producers approached this reboot. No thought behind it whatsoever, e.g. why announce during the CR press conference you've already started working on the B22 script and then start production with a poor draft? You've had two years. Why film a movie with no underlying vision? Forster had no vision, Craig had no vision, and Haggis was in a rush to make a vision for Forster. If this reboot was thought over thoroughly from the beginning, we'd know exactly where Bond is headed because the stories won't need to hang on the hair of CR's balls (which is precisely what QoS does). Their hiring a non action director for a movie filled with action. And the list is endless. Since GE, this series has been a perfect example of missed opportunities. I'll always watch Bond, but I have zero faith in Eon because they appear to be quite amateurish in their approach."