Topic: The Movie Thread

Daniel Craig's Bond is too moody, too self-serious. I still haven't seen Spectre, but of the other three my favourite is definitely Casino Royale. It's perhaps still my favourite Bond film. I would like future Bond films to maybe inject some of the fun back into proceedings. My mind is very foggy at the moment and I'm having trouble thinking, but I'd say each era has had it's own great film, be it From Russia With Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, or the Living Daylights. My favourite Bond is Pierce Brosnan.

Anyway, I watched A Star is Born earlier. Really rather impressed. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were both excellent - Cooper in particular. Well made across the board.

I think I've mentioned this to you before, but do watch SPECTRE if you can. All other aspects aside, I came out of the cinema smiling because I felt like they'd finally allowed Craig's Bond to have a little fun. There's a car chase with just as many gags as a Moore or Brosnan set-piece, and Craig did really well with them. I think he could've been a more rounded Bond were his films in a different age, but "Post 9/11 Edgy" does as "Post 9/11 Edgy" is.

Also, another positive write-up for A Star is Born. Really should see that when I'm stable enough.

@mookysam @RogerRoger
Spectre is a mess.

Some nice set-pieces and stunt work stuffed in to a horribly contrived narrative. Added to that, opening with that meandering, mind-dulling Sam Smith record.... yawn.

@KALofKRYPTON This is the worst thing about the movie. I still can't believe they went with that, when they rejected that perfect Radiohead song.

@Kidfried It's an awful record, it really is. I don't mind the Radiohead one.

Since we've been ranking things - the quality of Craig's films are directly proportional with the quality of the theme songs!

1. Casino Royale - You Know My Name, Chris Cornell. Absolute banger!
2. Quantum of Solace - Another Way To Die, Jack White & Alicia Keys. Another fantastically crafted song, like the film, often dismissed - but significantly better than anything that followed.
3. Skyfall - Skyfall, Adelle. Boring return to the 'name of the film makes the song' form and easily the absolute worst of Adele's output.
4. Spectre - The Writing's on the Wall, Sam Smith. Sticking to his patented, inimitably banal style with grating falsetto as an added bonus - Smith managed to write the worst Bond song of all time to open a poorly laid out film that lazily exploits the now available Spectre moniker and wastes Bond's arch nemesis with gritty emotional baggage.

The Casino Royale title song is really good indeed, and just like Another Way to Die among my favorite Bond title tracks.

@Kidfried I really thought that Supremacy by Muse was going to be the Skyfall track!

@KALofKRYPTON Muse would be a good pick for a James Bond film, never thought about that before.

@Kidfried I think they actually wrote Supremacy for Skyfall, could be wrong about that though.

There's quite an interesting history of 'songs that never made it' for Bond films. Ace of Base - GoldenEye, Alice Cooper - Man With The Golden Gun (I think), Jonny Cash - Thunderball, Pulp - Tommorow Never Dies. Those are a few I can recall of the top of my head. No doubt there are many others!

@KALofKRYPTON Oh wow, that's super interesting. Definitely going to look into that. It's so cool that with these big properties (like James Bond) there is always so much more going on than we know.

@KALofKRYPTON @Kidfried Both the Sam Smith song and the Radiohead one feature the kind of high-pitched whiney vocals that make my teeth itch. They have a quality of (EDIT: that wasn't a well-worded sentiment, apologies) being morose and depressing, and I can't stand that, but apparently (again) Daniel Craig has the final say in musical choice and had been campaigning for Radiohead to submit a Bond song for ages, because he loves them. Not quite sure how / why Sam Smith got the final gig.

All of the Craig Bond songs have made for incredible instrumental versions, though, even SPECTRE. It's how I've integrated them into my playlists. I also love Another Way to Die because musically, it's a relatively-clever reworking of the James Bond Theme.

My personal pick for the best Bond song would be A View To A Kill, though. Even with vocals, and I normally can't stand Duran Duran. I also quite like Licence to Kill and Nobody Does It Better.

I'd have to say We Have All The Time In The World takes it. Licence to Kill maybe second, the A View To A Kill third.

There's really only The Writing's on the Wall, Skyfall, and Die Another Day that I really don't like and are excluded from my Bond Theme playlist.

@KALofKRYPTON Hey, as somebody who cannot stand popular music and songs with lyrics, I think I'm being pretty generous in my praise of at least ONE of their... their "leavings" (and totally not because it's associated with a larger thing I adore)!

Besides...

...saw that coming.

Glad to see I'm not alone with Licence to Kill, though. It's often overlooked by many but it's a powerhouse of a song, and very of-the-moment.

@KALofKRYPTON yeah they were some pretty "iffy" songs if you ask me

as for me i would say my top 3 were "Live and Let Die", "Goldeneye" and "The Man with the Golden Gun"

@RogerRoger Die Another Day is the epitome of boring trash music production! It's sounds like someone spent 10 minutes with FL studio after listening to their favourite bit of electroclash nonsense

@RogerRoger Haha, Duran Duran is the epitome of whiney to me, whereas Radiohead feels subtle. Goes to show how different an impression music can make from person to person, regarding its mood and delivery.

I'm probably alone in liking Die Another Day.

@Kidfried Indeed. I'd argue that music is the most subjective of all art forms.

That being said...

Nope. I love it... and therefore, shockingly, we've finally found something we agree on!!

@KALofKRYPTON doesn't know what he's talking about.

@RogerRoger I always knew you had taste!

I get the criticism on the 00's "cheap sounding" production on the instrumental. It doesn't put me off, but I grew up on that sound, so that probably helps.

But what elevates this song for me is the delivery by Madonna. She's all over the place in this one, and I think the sound of her vocals (and effects) is brilliant. There's a lot of aggression in her voice, which is quite rare with female pop singers.

I find it really difficult to talk about music in English. I've been schooled in very formal English, so talking about "feelings" and such I don't find as easy.

That's OK, neither do most English people

@Kidfried You're doing a fine job thusfar, as I'd completely agree with your assessment of Madonna's vocal performance and the aggressive edge she gives the song (which makes it work really well with the film's pre-title sequence, showing Bond undergoing torture). I'm always the one looking for the message and meaning and I love the idea of the song being Bond's inner monologue; chaotic and erratic, but also defiant and angry.

Genuinely thought I was the only person who liked that about it, too. I also quite like a lot of the remixed versions, including the one played over the end credits. Yes, it's cheesy, but it's of-the-moment and the rest of David Arnold's score is layered with techno, which is awesome.

I was being cheeky earlier; @KALofKRYPTON speaks the truth about the song. I guess Bond being such a long and varied franchise, it really does just depend on which ones find you at the right age.