My Name is Blog….James Blog.

April 21, 2010 1 Comment

Greetings and welcome to Blog….James Blog. Before we get into it I want to let you dear reader know that I know about as much about how to run and produce blogs and websites as a Geico caveman. I’m learning as I go so any suggestions you may have that I can do (easily) to improve the look or usability of this site, I’m all ears. Also, I hope that this site improves as time goes on.

Right. The name of this site is taken from one of the more famous lines said by the greatest gentleman secrete agent the world has ever know, James Bond. I enjoy writing, I love movies, and I’ve been fascinated by Bond films all my life. From when I first saw them on Sunday afternoons on local PIX 11, up until today, they have, for me at least, come to represent everything that is right and wrong with action films. They are also a fascinating prism to use in viewing where we were as a society as well as filmmaking. This is a franchise that has been around since 1962. Think about how much we as a culture have changed since then. Think about everything politically that’s happened since then. Think about how film making has changed since then. I intended to use the Bond films to look at these bigger ideas. But, this is also meant to be a record of all things Bond. How many women did he sleep with in this film? How many people did he kill in that one? What gadgets did he use? Who was the villain? Was the theme song any good? Is Sean Connery really the best Bond and if so why? And, most important, where does this one film we are discussing fit in with the other 22 “official” James Bond films? We will rate the films at the end of each review with one through seven martini glasses. (In honor of 007) All drinks will of course be shaken, not stirred.

This is the game plan. I’m going to watch every film in order. Then, I’m going to write about it. With that, some thoughts. As I’m rewatching them all in order, I’m going to be much more backward thinking than forward. In other words, I’m more likely to compare Thunderball (1965) to From Russia With Love (1963)  than to Diamonds Are Forever (1971) as that film was not out yet. That said, I have seen all the films and may on occasion look forward but I will try to avoid that. Also, this is the Bond of the films and films only. No comic books, video games and no Fleming novels. I know the books are the source material but to be 100% frank, I have no interests in the books. (I have never read any of Flemings novels) I want to look at Bond as a film character. Someone else can handle the Fleming novels. The idea is at the end of this, to have all the Bonds movies listed in order with some useful information, more useless information, and my ramblings about each. More than anything I would love for this to become a place where people can come, read, and think about these movies. Then maybe even re-watch them and add to the discussion.

Also, I will be talking about some other stuff, Bond related, in between. Maybe unofficial Bond movies like Never Say Never Again and Peter Seller’s Casino Royal. Perhaps we will dip our toe into the laser-beam shark infested waters of Austin Powers. Who knows, this thing is growing as we speak.

I encourage all feed back and discussion. More than anything I hope you enjoy the site and maybe even think about the Bond films a little differently. If you enjoy, tell a friend. If not, don’t.

Thanks for visiting, and just for the record, the 22 official James Bond Films (as of April 2010)

  1. Dr. No. (1962-Sean Connery)
  2. From Russia With Love (1963-Sean Connery)
  3. Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery)
  4. Thunderball (1965-Sean Connery)
  5. You Only Live Twice (1967-Sean Connery)
  6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby)
  7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Sean Connery)
  8. Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore)
  9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Roger Moore)
  10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Roger Moore)
  11. Moonraker (1979-Roger Moore)
  12. For Your Eyes Only (1981-Roger Moore)
  13. Octopussy (1983-Roger Moore)
  14. A View to a Kill (1985-Roger Moore)
  15. The Living Daylights (1987- Timothy Dalton)
  16. License to Kill (1989-Timothy Dalton)
  17. GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan)
  18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Pierce Brosnan)
  19. The World is Not Enough (1999-Pierce Brosnan)
  20. Die Another Day (2002-Pierce Brosnan)
  21. Casino Royale (2006-Daniel Craig)
  22. Quantum of Solace (2008-Daniel Craig)
  23. “The 23rd Bond Movie” (2011-Daniel Craig)

Filed under Introduction to Blog