tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post1011781347401499375..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: BIG BRASS BONDTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-33875976306719403252014-11-20T09:02:02.088-06:002014-11-20T09:02:02.088-06:00@Redwood: he coerces sex out of her by threatening...@Redwood: he coerces sex out of her by threatening her job: that is pretty much the textbook example of sexual assault. As is the kiss he forces on her a scene or two earlier.<br /><br />Still not a bad Bond movie - first one I ever saw, actually, and I have a lot of fondness for it - and for me the trapped-in-a-sealed-shark-tank knife-the-henchman-to-distract-the-sharks swim-through-the-tunnel-<i>past</i>-the-sharks escape-out-the-other-shark-tank bit is still the highpoint of clever action in the franchise (I reserve the right to find a better example as I watch through the whole series).<br /><br />And I'm kinda torn on the women tropes: Volpe is clearly the secondary-girl-who-ends-up-dead, except she's also clearly the henchman; Fearing is clearly the secondary-girl-who-ends-up-dead, except she doesn't end up dead; and Paula is clearly the secondary-girl-who-ends-up-dead, except Bond never sleeps with her. Well, playing with the Bond tropes is part of what makes them interesting, I guess. ;)Not Fenimorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135812849405775125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-62368326181732691162014-02-04T03:11:18.154-06:002014-02-04T03:11:18.154-06:00Good job, again, Tim. Yes, "Thunderball"...Good job, again, Tim. Yes, "Thunderball" has always been a decent effort. Not really at the top or the bottom, but somewhere in the middle (when considering a number of the sillier Bonds to come, I'd say on the top half, anyway). Due to Largo and other aspects of story and action, which you mention here, it's just not a very exciting entry. I do agree that Connery may be at his best here, not just for having become so comfortable in the role by this time, but getting the chance to get back to the Terence Young standard - but with the Guy Hamilton wink. I like that, too. However, as your scoring illustrates, the truly classic Bond tropes are missing, for the most part, which I feel only add to the average quality of the whole. Two things I need to mention here, though: the Bahamas may not be your favorite Bond locale, but with the first half of the film already looking 1965 and less stylish than the early 60s, the beauty of the waters only help the picture; I've read time and time again on how Bond sexually assaults Patricia Fearing, with you even stating that she says "no" repeatedly - but this simply isn't true (at least not in the cut I own), where her "no" is more coy, said only once, and there is no apparent force involved whatsoever (outside of the fact that he's toying with her livelihood, although hardly in a serious manner).redwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07359138209814839680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-9028563190886448502012-07-05T09:52:36.869-05:002012-07-05T09:52:36.869-05:00You might also have mentioned 'Mr Vargas' ...You might also have mentioned 'Mr Vargas' under 'Henchmen', the fascinatingly rubbish assassin specifically introduced by Largo as a kind of single-minded, monkish killing machine who might be a sort of polar-opposite foil for Bond ('Vargas does not drink. He does not smoke. He does not make love. What do you do, Vargas?') but who is later unable to assassinate Bond despite standing behind him, and finds himself consequently impaled.groblethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15280329912715932315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-57489665411505946872012-07-05T09:38:03.664-05:002012-07-05T09:38:03.664-05:00Disco Volante is a vague sort of translation of &#...Disco Volante is a vague sort of translation of 'Flying Saucer'.<br /><br />Very enjoyable review, though I'm surprised you didn't mention Paula, the agent who despite an apparently platonic relationship with Bond (she even sneers at his attempts to flirt with Domino; 'I wouldn't call it contact...') very much takes up the standard mantle of 'secondary heroine ending up dead'.groblethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15280329912715932315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-42481495569498681062012-06-19T00:01:56.545-05:002012-06-19T00:01:56.545-05:00Mysterious F.- You probably have a point. And I do...Mysterious F.- You probably have a point. And I do try not to read backwards into social mores that weren't there yet when I watch movies of a certain age. But it just REALLY jumped out at me as a condescending, laddish gesture.<br /><br />Mr. K- I have actually listened to that song. It is... disorienting.<br /><br />Andrew- You have reminded me of two facts that are depressing when taken together: how long it will be until that song arrives, and how much most of the songs between now and then suck.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-77873595099551108302012-06-18T16:26:01.908-05:002012-06-18T16:26:01.908-05:00Also, Tom Jones has admitted that he really did pa...Also, Tom Jones has admitted that he really did pass out after he finished singing the song, so it is true.Mysterious F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08290239526984106990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-40372592951893321172012-06-18T12:44:12.040-05:002012-06-18T12:44:12.040-05:00This Bond series is one of my new favorite things ...This Bond series is one of my new favorite things about this blog. Every week that goes by is a week that brings me closer to Tina Turner.Andrew Testermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17636448677366233823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-71158510455561035472012-06-18T11:31:47.580-05:002012-06-18T11:31:47.580-05:00And just think, we could have ended up with Johnny...And just think, we could have ended up with Johnny Cash doing the theme to THUNDERBALL instead. No joke.Mr. Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01489439585866708542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-79400370737518218592012-06-17T21:55:32.057-05:002012-06-17T21:55:32.057-05:00I always thought that Bond realized that "she...I always thought that Bond realized that "she" was really him because a member of the upper class would have been taught to wait for the door to be opened by a servant. And either way, woman from the upper-class society wouldn't have opened their own doors back then anyway because they had been taught NOT to do it themselves, so opening it himself would have broken established social manners and blew his cover.Mysterious F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08290239526984106990noreply@blogger.com