What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Zombie_61]

2014 Godzilla.
Better than the 1990s version and the big boy looks more like the original Toho version...Certainly to much human time in this though...

Yep, once again Godzilla is relegated to being a fourth-tier character in his own movie. Good special effects, but otherwise an overly long and really boring movie.

 

[Big J]

Just watched Kingsmen, a secret group of 'gentlemen' spies Bond genre spoof. Reminded me of the 'Feather men' in the movie Killer Elite.

If anyone is interested in the true story of a bunch of British ex-POW's who ran retired SAS soldiers on operations throughout the former British Empire, they should check Adam Curtis's doc The Mayfair Set. Truth certainly is stranger than fiction.

 

[Fading Fast]

Dr. No

Sean Connery at his finest.

+1. The first three Bond films (and Craig's Casino Royale) are the best Bond films IMHO. Something happened by "Thunderball" that killed the magic - the first three felt like a genuine spy thriller with a meaningful plot line and with Bond as fallible spy, not superhero, and the details and gadgets weren't fully tongue-in-cheek yet. By "Thunderball," Bond - the enterprise - had become a cartoon that didn't take itself seriously. Connery in a toupee didn't help "Thunderball" either.

Do I enjoy almost all of them, yes, but the only really good ones, the only really good movies are the four noted above, again just IMHO.

 

[sergejvandervreede]

+1. The first three Bond films (and Craig's Casino Royale) are the best Bond films IMHO. Something happened by "Thunderball" that killed the magic - the first three felt like a genuine spy thriller with a meaningful plot line and with Bond as fallible spy, not superhero, and the details and gadgets weren't fully tongue-in-cheek yet. By "Thunderball," Bond - the enterprise - had become a cartoon that didn't take itself seriously. Connery in a toupee didn't help "Thunderball" either.

Do I enjoy almost all of them, yes, but the only really good ones, the only really good movies are the four noted above, again just IMHO.

I was under the impression that Connery wore a toupee in all but Dr No.

If you think 'Thunderball' is bad try watching 'Diamonds are forever'.

 

[Fading Fast]

I was under the impression that Connery wore a toupee in all but Dr No.

If you think 'Thunderball' is bad try watching 'Diamonds are forever'.

It's not so much that they are bad, it's that they are so much less than the first three. I enjoy the later ones as cartoonish action adventure movies. I'm no toupee expert - but I thought "Thunderball" was first - at least it's the one I notice it in. And there is no way that James Bond can be credible in a toupee - thinning hair, sure, he's human; a toupee - ridiculous.

 

[AmateisGal]

+1. The first three Bond films (and Craig's Casino Royale) are the best Bond films IMHO. Something happened by "Thunderball" that killed the magic - the first three felt like a genuine spy thriller with a meaningful plot line and with Bond as fallible spy, not superhero, and the details and gadgets weren't fully tongue-in-cheek yet. By "Thunderball," Bond - the enterprise - had become a cartoon that didn't take itself seriously. Connery in a toupee didn't help "Thunderball" either.

Do I enjoy almost all of them, yes, but the only really good ones, the only really good movies are the four noted above, again just IMHO.

I mostly agree with this, though I did enjoy "Thunderball." And Craig did a marvelous job of bringing Ian Fleming's Bond to life in a way that hadn't been done since Connery. (Brosnan's portrayal makes me weep, though I will say that Timothy Dalton didn't do too bad. Roger Moore? Let's not even go there.)

Casino Royale brought Bond back...Quantum had a very poor storyline, but it was a terrific character study of Bond in the aftermath of Vesper's betrayal and his descent into hate-filled revenge. Skyfall was magnificent...and I am very excited to see SPECTRE

 

[2jakes]

The first Bond films for me are my favorites. The characters, storyline plus the music was
great. I bought the album as well.
With the later Bond films, although good, I find myself comparing them to the first ones.
There are three movie sequels or with the same character that I find interesting & will watch again.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I tend to skip directly from Connery to Craig as my Bond favorites. Both Craig and Connery have the macho element, but Connery also portrayed a sense of elegance that Craig seems to have a hard time with.
HD

 

[AmateisGal]

I tend to skip directly from Connery to Craig as my Bond favorites. Both Craig and Connery have the macho element, but Connery also portrayed a sense of elegance that Craig seems to have a hard time with.
HD

I agree. Craig can be a bit thuggish, but then he has his moments of elegance. I tend to go back to the books and see how Fleming envisioned his character, and I think Craig actually is closer to Fleming's Bond than Connery. However, since Connery was the first (notwithstanding the utterly miserable first attempt by David Niven) to play the role, he is the "barometer", so to speak, for everyone else.

I never liked Roger Moore in the role. He didn't have the tough element absolutely essential to the character.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I agree. Craig can be a bit thuggish, but then he has his moments of elegance.

Bond was thuggish. He was not a "gentleman spy". Which is why I agree about Moore. He was a cartoon of Bond.

 

[MisterCairo]

Dr. No was one of a couple of Bond films I'd never seen, incredibly, so during a recent trip to the in-laws' cottage I finally watched it. The first hour was great, but then something happened. The flame-throwing John Deere tractor showed up. Oh well, one silly gadget. But then it went downhill from there. Fast.

Really, fast. Dr. No has to be the weakest villain in the canon, and the whole lair, and I get that this film was made on a shoestring budget, but please, what a joke.

I forced myself to finish it so I could say I've seen it. Frankly, I'm amazed they were able to make a sequel as brilliant as From Russia With Love, in my opinion the best of the Connery Bond films.

I'm loving the Craig Bonds so far (yes, even the much-maligned Quantum, which I think will improve in consideration over the years much as the previously maligned OHMSS was), and also looking forward to SPECTRE on my return from my deployment.

 

[MisterCairo]

Having said that, the last film we watched was Mad Max. The blu-ray is brilliant, you'd think it was filmed last year. Hard to believe it's 36 years old now, and that Mel was only 23 or so at that time! Awesome film.

 

[1mach1]

I tend to skip directly from Connery to Craig as my Bond favorites. Both Craig and Connery have the macho element, but Connery also portrayed a sense of elegance that Craig seems to have a hard time with.
HD

What??!! No Timothy Dalton? lol lol

 

[Zombie_61]

...And Craig did a marvelous job of bringing Ian Fleming's Bond to life in a way that hadn't been done since Connery. (Brosnan's portrayal makes me weep, though I will say that Timothy Dalton didn't do too bad. Roger Moore? Let's not even go there.)...

I thought Dalton was better in the role than Brosnan, and definitely better than Moore, but I didn't think Dalton had the looks or the charisma to pull off the romantic/playboy aspects of the character.

...I never liked Roger Moore in the role. He didn't have the tough element absolutely essential to the character.

The only Moore-era Bond movie I can still watch and enjoy is Live and Let Die, and that's in spite of Moore. He was just...well, let me put it this way: If I think I could win in a fight against him, he's the wrong guy to play Bond. lol

 

[AmateisGal]

The only Moore-era Bond movie I can still watch and enjoy is Live and Let Die, and that's in spite of Moore. He was just...well, let me put it this way: If I think I could win in a fight against him, he's the wrong guy to play Bond. lol

LOL! That's about the truth. He is a bit (okay a lot) of a dandy.

 

[Worf]

"Twenty Feet From Stardom" - Great documentary about the rise and fall of the art of background singing and the women and a few men who made that sweet, sweet sound..... I consider myself quite knowledgeable about popular music but boy did I learn a lot...

Worf

 

[Stearmen]

+1. The first three Bond films (and Craig's Casino Royale) are the best Bond films IMHO. Something happened by "Thunderball" that killed the magic - the first three felt like a genuine spy thriller with a meaningful plot line and with Bond as fallible spy, not superhero, and the details and gadgets weren't fully tongue-in-cheek yet. By "Thunderball," Bond - the enterprise - had become a cartoon that didn't take itself seriously. Connery in a toupee didn't help "Thunderball" either.

Do I enjoy almost all of them, yes, but the only really good ones, the only really good movies are the four noted above, again just IMHO.

Funny, Connery claims Thunderball was his favorite of the series! It is also the one Bond with a real life secret agent in it! The B-17 at the end was on contract to Air America.

 

[Fading Fast]

...I tend to go back to the books and see how Fleming envisioned his character...

I do the same thing and really enjoy the experience. Even thought the books are not great - they are very good and I appreciate that they were early in the genre, so they need to be viewed in that light. What's funny is I can envision a different-from-the-movies Bond when reading them, which I normally can't do with the characters when I see a movie before reading the related book.

It's either because there have been so many Bonds that I don't have one in my head, or (and I think this is the reason) Fleming drew him so well and distinct from the later movies, that he just naturally comes to mind when I am reading them.

 

[AmateisGal]

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell.

 

[AmateisGal]

I do the same thing and really enjoy the experience. Even thought the books are not great - they are very good and I appreciate that they were early in the genre, so they need to be viewed in that light. What's funny is I can envision a different-from-the-movies Bond when reading them, which I normally can't do with the characters when I see a movie before reading the related book.

It's either because there have been so many Bonds that I don't have one in my head, or (and I think this is the reason) Fleming drew him so well and distinct from the later movies, that he just naturally comes to mind when I am reading them.

I remember trying to read Casino Royale and thinking it was awful. I put it down, but picked it up again a few years later and was able to appreciate it more. Good, but as you said, not great.