(NOT SO) Random (JAMES BOND BLU-RAY) Movie Mention: “A VIEW TO A KILL” (1985)

Yeah, That’s What’s On.

I Just Happen To Have This Classic JAMES BOND Caper On Ye Ole BLU-RAY, Now!

Exciting, Eh?!

😀

For The Longest Time, I Insisted To My Friends ((and anyone else whom might/might-not care)) That This BOND Adventure…

“A VIEW TO A KILL“

…Was MY ULTIMATE-FAVORITE BOND Flick.

Period.

And, For The Bulk Of My Youth, It Honestly Was.

While It May Not Be MY FAVORITE Any Longer, It Remains A True Joy For Me To Kick-Back And Watch.

“A VIEW TO A KILL” And “OCTOPUSSY” Actually Started My Personal Love Affair AND Adventure With Ole –007– And His Amazingly Wonderful World.

I Sincerely Haven’t Looked Back, Since.

I’ve Been Hooked From The Onset.

I Do So So SO Love This Movie, And Think It To Be Very Very VERY Underrated.

Yeah, I’ll Grant That ROGER MOORE Was A Little “Long-In-The-Tooth” At Times During This One.

It Can’t Be Denied, So I Won’t Even Try To Do So.

But, Did It Honestly Bother Me???

Nope.

NOT. AT. ALL.

I’m A Huge ROGER MOORE Fanboy.

He Shall Always AND Forever Be MY FAVORITE BOND, And It’s Pure Bliss For Me To Watch Him Go On A Mission As The World’s Most Famous Spy.

😀       😀       😀

“A VIEW TO A KILL” Co-Stars CHRISTOPHER WALKEN As Our Baddie, The F-in’ Brilliantly Insane “MAX ZORIN“, Whom Is Hell-Bent On Destroying Silicon Valley, California, With A Man-Made MEGA-DISASTER!

He Wants To Corner The World’s Microchip Market, You See.

Honestly, He’s The Icing On The Sweet Sweet Cake That Is A ROGER MOORE Bond-Fest.

And, If CHRISTOPHER WALKEN Is The Icing, Then GRACE JONES As The Evil Henchwoman “MAY-DAY” Is The Strawberry On-Top!

(((I hate raw cherries, so those don't come anywhere near my sweet sweet cakes with icing!)))

Just Sayin’.

😉

This Flick Is Truly PRICELESS.

It’s Over-The-Top At Times, But It’s Totally Worth It, My Peeps.

The Chase Scene Going From The Eiffel Tower, And Ending With A Crashed Wedding On A Barge, Is Simply Wonderful FUN.

And, That’s Exactly What The Whole Flick Is…

…FUN!!!

Sometimes, That’s Really All I’m Lookin’ For.

I’m Very Happy To Have Now Added This BOND Caper To My Blu-ray Collection, And Now I’m Going To Get Back To Watching It.

I’ve Likely Seen It 412’ish Times…

…BUT It Has Yet To Get Old.

OH, And Don’t Forget About The Film’s Theme Song!

It’s Performed By Another Person Favorite…

DURAN DURAN

!!! !!! !!!

It’s STILL My Absolute Favorite BOND Theme Song.

Period Period Period.

Y’all Should Give This BOND Flick Another Chance, My Peeps.

It Is Deserving Of At Least That Much.

Who Knows, Maybe You’ll Encounter A New Found Appreciation For It.

I Know I Did, And I Already Really Enjoyed It.

You Just Can’t Beat JAMES BOND On The BLU-RAY!!!

😀

Happy Movie Watching, Kiddies!!!

😀       😀       😀       😀       😀       😀       😀

What’s On Now?! ORSON WELLES’ Production Of “THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI” (1947)

“THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI“

…May Not Be Exactly What ORSON WELLES Had Envisioned…

(((His Original-Cut Was About 155-Minutes, The Studio Release-Cut Was About 87-Minutes)))

…But You Can Totally Still See Plenty Of His Vision.

I Will Say It’s Loaded With Intrigue…

…Murder…

…Plot Twists…

…Exceptional, Quirk’ish Acting…

…And Quirk’ish’ly Exceptional Directing.

The Film Stars…

RITA HAYWORTH as “Elsa Bannister“/“Rosalie“

(((HAYWORTH Was Actually Still Married To WELLES At The Time This Flick Was Made)))

ORSON WELLES as “Michael O’Hara“

(((WELLES Also Wrote The Screenplay, Produced AND Directed)))

&

EVERETT SLOANE as “Arthur Bannister“

(((SLOANE Was Also A Performer With WELLES' "Mercury Players")))

*** *** ***

Michael O’Hara, against his better judgement, hires on as a crew member of Arthur Bannister’s yacht, sailing to San Francisco. They pick up Grisby, Bannister’s law partner, en route. Bannister has a wife, Rosalie, who seems to like Michael much better than she likes her husband. After they dock in Sausalito, Michael goes along with Grisby’s weird plan to fake his (Grisby’s) murder so he can disappear untailed. He wants the $5000 Grisby has offered, so he can run off with Rosalie. But Grisby turns up actually murdered, and Michael gets blamed for it. Somebody set him up, but it is not clear who or how. Bannister (the actual murderer?) defends Michael in court. Written by John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> (Via The IMDB ((http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040525/plotsummary)))

*** *** ***

“THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI“

…Is Now Over 65-Years-Old.

Yet, It Remains As Wildly Fun As It Ever Has.

As Others Have Said Of This Film…

…It Is TOTALLY Classic ORSON WELLES.

Kinda Hard Not To Be Since He Wrote, Starred-In, Produced, And Directed It.

“CITIZEN KANE“

…Is The Flick Most People Remember When Thinking About ORSON WELLES.

Of That, There Can Be No Debate.

But, Sometimes I’d Much Rather Kick-It-Back And Watch…

“THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI“

Period.

It’s A Lot More Fun, That’s A BIG Fo SHO.

When I Watch “CITIZEN KANE” I Say…

"Well, Now I've Seen It. I Can Totally Understand Why It's Such An Important Flick. I Might Watch It Again At Some Point."

When I See “THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI” I Say…

"Did I Just See What I Think I Just Saw?! I'm Gonna Have To Watch This One Again!"

See The Difference?

Trust Me, Watch Them Both.

Then You’ll Totally Get My Jive, My Peeps.

And It’s Worth It!

It’s So VERY Worth It!

No Foolies, Kids.

Sooo…

…If You Like Quality Murder-Mystery-Noir-Thrillers…

…And ORSON WELLES‘ Unique Filmmaker Qualities…

…I Say Give This One A Go.

“THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI“

…May Very Well Be Right Up Your Proverbial Alley, My Peeps.

You Really Should Trust Me On This One.

Give It A Go, Fo SHO Fo SHO!

M’Kay?!?

MMM’KAY!!!

😉       😀

So, I’m A Little Late In Posting My “2012 In Review” Thingy. My Bad, Kids. But, It Was Better Than Bad For A First-Full-Year Of Bloggin’ing. ;)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 150,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Action Sequel Double-Shot: “THE EXPENDABLES 2” and “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” (2012)

Last Night, I Double-Dosed Myself On A Pair Of Action Sequels…

“THE EXPENDABLES 2“

(2012)

…And…

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES“

(2012)

😀       😀

I Can EASILY Say This…

“I Liked Both Flicks MORE Than Their Preceding Flicks, Fo SHO!“

😉

In Regard To…

“THE EXPENDABLES 2“

…It Was One Of The MOST FUN Hardcore Action Cheese-Fests I’ve Ever Experienced.

Period.

I Had A Total BLAST Giving It A Go!

Almost All Of My Classic Faves Were Present!

SYLVESTER STALLONE

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

BRUCE WILLIS

CHUCK NORRIS

DOLPH LUNDGREN

…And…

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME

😀

WOOT!!!

Yeah.

It Was Fun, Fo Flippiddy-Flippin’ SHO!!!

And As For…

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES“

…I Can Tell You Was BETTER Than…

“THE DARK KNIGHT“

…Though, Sadly, That’s Not Saying Too Much.

I Didn’t Like…

“THE DARK KNIGHT“

…And Felt That…

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES“

…Was Fun, But Horribly OVER-LONG.

I Was Gearing-Up For A Big Finish…

…Only To Realize There Was Still An HOUR Left In It.

Sheesh.

BUT…

…It Was Pretty Entertaining.

I Liked It.

That’s About All I Did, Though.

I Haven’t Been Much Of A Fan Of This Batman Trilogy.

I Wanted To Be.

I Still Want To Be.

I’m Just, Ya Know, Kinda Not.

Oh Well.

Shit Happens.

My Bad.

ANYWAY.

You Know I Hate Spoilers, So I Won’t Delve Too Deeply Within These Two Flicks.

All I’ll Say Is The Same Thing I’ve Already Said…

…BOTH Were BETTER Than The Flicks That Preceded Them.

What More Could You Ask Of Me?!

What?!?

“THE EXPENDABLES 2“

…Was FUN.

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES“

…Was FUN.

So, I Suppose Complaining Would Only Be Done In The Event Of An Argument.

Otherwise…

…Nah…

…I Won’t Complain.

I’ll Likely End-Up Owning Them Both.

Well…

…Okay…

…Perhaps I Won’t…

…But I’ll Buy Them For Someone Whom Has No Issues With Letting Me Borrow Them.

That Way I Don’t Feel Scummy Or Dirty.

I’ll Just Need Them Once A Year Or So.

That’s What I’m Banking-On, Anyway.

Sound Like A Plan To You?!

GREAT!!

It Does To Me, ALSO.

😉

😀       😀

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” …That Wasn’t. :(

Alright…

…This Is A Spontaneous Post.

I Just Finished Watching…

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN“

(2012)

…And I Have To Say, It Really Was NOT So Amazing.

I Was Bored To NEAR Tears.

I Ain’t Shittin’ Y’all, Neither.

It Was Worse Than I Expected.

And I Really Wasn’t Expecting Much In The First Place.

I Felt Drained When It Was Over, But THEN Perked Right-On-Up When The Credits Started Rolling.

The Special F/X Were Great.

I Had Fun Watching Those.

But The Rest Of The Film Was Just Boring.

The Rest Really Kinda Did’ish Did Blow A Bit.

No Foolies, My Peeps.

Bored To NEAR Tears.

That Lizard Dude Was Cool.

The Guy Playing Spider-Man Was All Wrong.

I’d Take Him To Dinner…

…But I Wouldn’t Cast Him As Peter Parker.

Period.

Just Sayin’…

…

…ANYWAY…

…This Time Around…

…A Fan, I Am Not.

At Least, Not Yet.

Perhaps They Will Make Me One With

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Part DEUX: The SEQUEL“

???

They WILL TRY, I’m Sure.

😉

😀       😀       😀

Sooo… …What To Say About The JAMES BOND Adventure “SKYFALL” (2012)???

Well…

…Honestly…

…I LOVED IT.

Period.

I Enjoyed The Ever-Living-Hell Out Of It, To Be Fo SHO.

It Was New.

It Was Fresh.

It Was Unlike Any JAMES BOND Adventure I’d Ever Had The Privilege Of Seeing Before.

I Kept Trying To Make Comparisons To Other BOND Flicks As I Watched Along…

…And I Sincerely Found That Next To Bloody Impossible.

But I Did…

…I Tried To Muster All My Powers, Madams And Misters.

And I Simply Couldn’t Do It.

That’s Just How Fresh And Engrossing This Adventure…

“SKYFALL“

…Actually Was.

It Had Some Elements Of…

“DR. NO“

…And…

“FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE“

…But Also Some…

“LICENCE TO KILL“

…And Even A Little…

“GOLDENEYE“

…Yet…

…In The End…

…It Was EXACTLY What I Wanted…

…It Was JAMES BOND As I’d NEVER Seen Him Before!!!

KUDOS, Movie Makers…

…KUDOS, INDEED!!!

😀

They Totally Just Went For It.

They Totally Just Went Off The Map.

They Totally Just Sold Me That JAMES BOND Does Indeed Continue To Live Onward Into The 21ST-Century…

…And He Has Plenty Of Room To Grow Grow GROW!!!

Now How The Hell Could One Ask For More Than That?!?!?

EXACTLY, My Peeps!!!

You Couldn’t.

They Gave Us What We Wanted…

…And Even A Little Bit More.

It Was Tough.

It Was Gritty.

It Was Edgy.

It Was Drama Filled AND Action Packed.

It Was Cold AND Dark…

…Yet…

…Retained Its Sense-Of-Humor.

It Was NOT…

“CASINO ROYALE“

…Nor…

“QUANTUM OF SOLACE“

…It Was Its Own.

It Was Imaginative.

It Had Its Twists And Turns.

In Short…

…It Was THE BEST BOND FLICK In The Past 30 YEARS.

PERIOD.

For ME…

“SKYFALL“

…Ranks Right Up There With…

“FOR YOUR EYES ONLY“

(My Fave Fave)

…And…

“THUNDERBALL“

(The Best BOND Adventure)

!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!

It Was THAT Good, My Peeps.

JAVIER BARDEM

…Was Twisted…

…Was Evil…

…Was Believable…

…Was A SPOT-ON-PERFECT BOND-BADDIE.

I Don’t Think They Could Have Cast His Part Any Better.

And I Do Believe That…

DANIEL CRAIG

…Totally Cemented Himself As OUR BOND…

…As MY BOND…

…As THE BEST BOND.

He Impressed The Shit Out Of Me, My Peeps.

So…

…All-In-All…

…It Was Worth It, My Peeps.

I Don’t Hit The Theater Too Often Anymore.

The Price And The Hassle Have Simply Tarnished The Experience For Me.

It’s Sad…

…But It’s True…

…And I Feel It’s The Same Way For A Lot Of Y’all.

“SKYFALL“

…To ME…

…Was TOTALLY WORTH ALL OF IT!

If You’re Going To Hit-Up The Big Screen For ANYTHING This Fall…

…Well Then…

“SKYFALL“

…Should Be That Flick.

PERIOD PERIOD.

Do I Think It’s “THE BEST BOND ADVENTURE” Of Them All?

No.

Was This “MY FAVORITE BOND ADVENTURE” Of Them All?

No.

Could Either Of Those Statements Be Easily Argued, And Potentially Overturned?!

YES YES YES, INDEED!!!

I’ll Close By Simply Saying This…

…If You LOVE LOVE LOVE JAMES BOND…

…You’ll Simply LOVE LOVE LOVE…

“SKYFALL“

!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!

!!! !!! !!!

😀       😀       😀

What’s On NOW!?!: ALFRED HITCHCOCK’s “FRENZY” (1972)!!!

One Of My All-Time-Faves…

ALFRED HITCHCOCK‘s

“FRENZY“

…Remains As Potent Today As It Was When I First Saw It More Than 20-Years Ago.

In Short…

…I. LOVE. THIS. FLICK.

Period.

😀

Released In 1972…

“FRENZY“

…Was The First Film From ALFRED HITCHCOCK To Receive An “R” Rating.

Trust Me, My Peeps…

…When You See This Flick, You’ll Understand WHY They Saddled It So.

“FRENZY“

…Stars…

JON FINCH

&

BARRY FOSTER

&

ALEC McCOWEN

…And Was, Of Course, Directed By “The Master Of Suspense” Himself…

ALFRED HITCHCOCK

🙂

The Gist Of The Flick Is As Follows:

The “Necktie Murderer” Continues To Strike Fear Deep Into The Heart Of London…

…And A Man (FINCH) Is Desperately In Search Of The Real Killer (FOSTER), As The Police (McCOWEN) Are Already Convinced He (FINCH) Is The Murderer!

😀

I Don’t Honestly Know How Many Times I’ve Seen…

“FRENZY“

…But It’s A Metric-Ass-Ton Of Times, Fo SHO, My Peeps.

While I Love Most Flicks From ALFRED HITCHCOCK…

“FRENZY“

…Ranks Right At The Tip-Tip-Tippy-Top For All-Time Faves!

To ME…

“FRENZY“

…Has Been Too Often Overlooked And Is GREATLY UNDERRATED.

Period.

In Fact…

…I’d Take Watching It OVER The Bulk Of Other Such Wonderful HITCHCOCK Flicks.

I’ve Always Felt…

“FRENZY“

…Was Simply Too Cool, All The While Other Folks Totally Dismissed It.

It’s Truly A Forgotten Classic.

Everyone Remembers…

“PSYCHO“

&

“VERTIGO“

&

“REAR WINDOW“

&

“THE BIRDS“

(just to name a few)

…But You Rarely, If EVER, Hear Anyone Mention…

“FRENZY“

…And I Think That’s A Shame.

“FRENZY“

…Is A Wonderfully Made Motion Picture…

…And It Deserves MUCH MORE LOVE Than It Generally Garners.

I (totally) Love It.

You (should) Love It.

We All (except for you) Love It.

😉

If You’ve Not Seen This One, My Peeps…

…PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Give It A Go!

I Do Promise…

…If You Enjoy Supremely SUSPENSEFUL Flicks…

…With A Healthy Touch Of Dry Whit…

…A Wonderful Cast…

…And…

…Of Course…

…Classic Storytelling At Its Very VERY BEST…

…Then A Flick Like…

“FRENZY“

…May Be EXACTLY What The Ole Doctor Ordered!

As I Said Before…

…It Is A Truly UNDERRATED Flick…

…And It’s VERY DESERVING Of Your Sweet-Sweet-LOVIN’!!!

😉

Have A Damned Decent Day, My Peeps.

Work Hard…

…Play Harder!

😀

Worst Attempt At Movie-Making For 2012?? Sadly It Was “PIRANHA 3DD”. Period.

Alright, Kids.

Y’all Know Me.

Y’all Know I Love Me Some Horror Flicks.

I Love Me Some Suspense/Thriller Flicks.

I Love Me Some Slasher Flicks.

I Love Me Some Monster Flicks.

And…

…I ESPECIALLY LOVE…

…

…

…”CHEESE-TASTIC” Flicks!!!

😀

Sadly, My Peeps…

“PIRANHA 3DD“

…Is None Of These.

Period.

What Is It?!

To Be Blunt…

…It…

…Was…

…AWFUL!

Just Plain Ole AWFUL!

I Was Excited To Finally Be Watching It On The Blu-ray…

…And That Quickly Turned Into A Big Ole…

…”WTF!?!?!“…

…Type Of Feeling.

😦

Y’all Know I’m Always On The Hunt For A “CHEESE-TASTIC” Gem Of A Flick.

Sadly…

“PIRANHA 3DD“

…Was Just Plain Ole CRAP.

Even With Personal Favorites In The Mix Like…

GARY BUSEY

&

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD

&

DAVID “THE HOFF” HASSELHOFF

…I Can EASILY Say…

“PIRANHA 3DD“

…Not Only Missed The Mark…

…It Threw-Up On It…

…Ate It Again…

…And Then Lumpingly Sank To The Bottom Of The Tank.

😦

I Know I Know I Know…

…It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Good.

It Was Billed As A Horror/Comedy Flick.

But It Really Wasn’t That Funny.

Sure…

…There Were Some Cool Scenes Of Gore And Carnage.

Sure…

…VING RHAMES Did Have A Shotgun-Leg.

Sure…

…There Was A Boat-Load Of T&A.

But…

…Honestly…

…None Of That Could Save It.

It Just Sucked-Ass, My Peeps.

It Really REALLY SUCKED.

Period Period.

😦

Oh Well.

My Quest For “CHEESE-TASTIC” Gems Continues.

Perhaps I’ll Find Something Else To Bring To Your Attention.

There’s Always Something Being Made Out There That I’ll End-Up Loving.

It Just Wasn’t…

“PIRANHA 3DD“

PERIOD PERIOD PERIOD.

😉

The Search Continues!!!

ONWARD TO GLORY!!!

😀

“Wow. “LAST RESORT” Was More Like “STAR TREK: UNDERWATER” Than Any Navy I Remember… …And I Liked It.” –BRADLEY ALAN

Yup.

Me.

I Said That.

It Was The First Thing That Popped-Out After The Show Was Over.

That Was My First Processing Of What I’d Seen.

And I Think The “STAR TREK UNIVERSE” Is Pissed They Didn’t Make It An Alien Planet And Call It Like I Saw It.

I So Promise.

They’re Like…

"Dammit, Hanrahan! We Should Have Done That!"

…Like For Real.

I Love My “Trek”…

…I Really Do…

…But That’s Not Why We’re Here.

This Is About The Show They’re Pissed They Didn’t Make.

REMEMBER?!?

Sheesh.

Crazy Kids.

ANYWAY…

…Yeah…

…I Liked It.

“LAST RESORT“

…On The ABC Channel…

…Was An Engaging Show.

I Will Admit A Military Bias.

I Enjoy Watching Navy (And Other Military Related) Films, Docs, Shows, Etc Etc.

Mainly Because I Wanna See What They DID And DID-NOT Get Right.

At Least…

…Based On The Navy I Lived Through.

Sometimes, I See It…

That’s A Whole Other Blog Bloggin’ing, Itself.

…BUT…

“LAST RESORT“

…Was Fun!

It Took Off Really Well.

Kept You Wondering…

…”WTF!?!?”…

…A Lot Of The Time, Which Is A GREAT THING!

I LOVE The Ole Classic…

…”WTF!?!?” !!!

Good Or Bad…

…”WTF!?!?…

…Is Generally An Equalizer With Me.

If I Go “WTF?!?! THIS IS TERRIBLE!”…

…Then It’s Bad.

If I Go “WTF?!?! Awe, NEATO!!”…

…Then It’s Likely Pretty Awesome.

See, There’s A Difference.

Either Way…

…It Makes You Like Something…

…Or Hate Something…

…Just By Being Itself.

Powerful.

SO…

…When This Sub Captain In The Show Fired Off A Nuke…

…Yeah…

…They Had My Attention.

“LAST RESORT“

…Gives Us An Interesting Concept/Storyline/Evolving-Plot  To Work With.

And It Was A PILOT EPISODE.

The First One Always Is.

And They’re Always Problematic.

They Hook Ya…

…Or Sink Ya.

😉

Right?!?

RIGHT!!!

So…

…I’ll Be Back On-Board For Week Two.

We Shall See…

…We Shall See.

As They Say.

Whom Ever They May Be… …Or Have Been… …Or Will Be.

I Dunno How That Stuff Works.

But It’s What They Say.

I’m Just Stoked To Finally Have A Series To Watch.

I HATE Regular TV.

Drives Me Crazy.

I Do Admit Having A Secret Crush On A Certain Show…

…But Whatever.

I’ll Watch This One.

This…

“LAST RESORT“

…Entity, Could Last One Season.

I Hope It At Least Gets That Far.

I Just Wanna Make Sure I’m Going To Find-Out How The Material Ends?

Please?

I Wanna See The End Of The Story.

Don’t Just Cut Our Collective-Asses Off.

We Need To See This Story Through.

I’m Curious!

😀

😉     😀     😉