2008 Woodie Awards
C.W.'s Picks
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Disclaimer: The Staff here at Arts & Entertainment are fully aware that Casino Royal does not appear on this list and we would like to assure the reading public that this was intentional. In anticipation of the latest installment of Bond excellence we would like to encourage you folks to prepare by getting back to your Bond roots. Warning: Do not, I repeat, do not view On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Golden Eye (1995): This is the first Bond film where James is thoroughly emasculated. Every character that crosses the man's path chides him incessantly for being a "Cold War Dinosaur" and forces him to prove his worth in a world without the hammer and sickle. In that respect Golden Eye is in fact satirizing itself before Austin Powers was even a thought in the head of Mike Myers. In the end though, Bond establishes his worth and avoids getting crushed between the legs of Femke Jenssen.
A View to a Kill (1985): Roger Moore was nearly 60 when he starred as 007 for the last time. This is definitely the funniest and most ridiculous of all Bond films. Add a crazy genetically enhanced concentration camp baby with the tics of Christopher Walken and you have the most insane and hilarious movie put on screen. Instead of "MORE COWBELL," Walken belts "MORE POWER" as he tries to steer his foreboding zeppelin over the Golden Gate Bridge. Oh, and Duran Duran does the theme music, delightfully cheesy.
Live and Let Die (1973): Another Roger Moore Classic, Live and Let Die places 007 in a black-sploitation film a la Shaft or Soul Fly. This film is complete with voodoo and the best boat chase across the Louisiana Bayou I have ever seen. I hope I'm not spoiling anything but our villain, Kananga, expires by being blown up like a birthday balloon. Awesome! Paul McCartney provides the soundtrack and Dr. Quinn (medicine woman) does a splendid job as an enchanting tarot reader.
Dr. No (1962): The first installment of the still ongoing seriese, Dr. No established all the common themes and devices that we see in the preceding films and spoofs. Sean Connery gives us the swagger and raw male charisma we have come to expect from our Bond men. Anytime a villain has his own island you know the movie is going to be good (see Man with the Golden Gun; it just missed the list).
From Russia with Love (1963): The plot of this film is really well thought out and executed beautifully. A good piece of cinema in its own right, From Russia with Love follows our man Connery through Istanbul and across Europe on a train. The presence of the super evil entity is there but muted with the plotting, elusive and unseen Ernst Blofeld. This film flows perfectly and has the really gritty feel we might associate with Noir. Robert Shaw also shines as SPECTRE's Bond equivalent, Red Grant, a homicidal maniac that tails Bond through his endeavors waiting to strike. Bond at its best.
Golden Eye (1995): This is the first Bond film where James is thoroughly emasculated. Every character that crosses the man's path chides him incessantly for being a "Cold War Dinosaur" and forces him to prove his worth in a world without the hammer and sickle. In that respect Golden Eye is in fact satirizing itself before Austin Powers was even a thought in the head of Mike Myers. In the end though, Bond establishes his worth and avoids getting crushed between the legs of Femke Jenssen.
A View to a Kill (1985): Roger Moore was nearly 60 when he starred as 007 for the last time. This is definitely the funniest and most ridiculous of all Bond films. Add a crazy genetically enhanced concentration camp baby with the tics of Christopher Walken and you have the most insane and hilarious movie put on screen. Instead of "MORE COWBELL," Walken belts "MORE POWER" as he tries to steer his foreboding zeppelin over the Golden Gate Bridge. Oh, and Duran Duran does the theme music, delightfully cheesy.
Live and Let Die (1973): Another Roger Moore Classic, Live and Let Die places 007 in a black-sploitation film a la Shaft or Soul Fly. This film is complete with voodoo and the best boat chase across the Louisiana Bayou I have ever seen. I hope I'm not spoiling anything but our villain, Kananga, expires by being blown up like a birthday balloon. Awesome! Paul McCartney provides the soundtrack and Dr. Quinn (medicine woman) does a splendid job as an enchanting tarot reader.
Dr. No (1962): The first installment of the still ongoing seriese, Dr. No established all the common themes and devices that we see in the preceding films and spoofs. Sean Connery gives us the swagger and raw male charisma we have come to expect from our Bond men. Anytime a villain has his own island you know the movie is going to be good (see Man with the Golden Gun; it just missed the list).
From Russia with Love (1963): The plot of this film is really well thought out and executed beautifully. A good piece of cinema in its own right, From Russia with Love follows our man Connery through Istanbul and across Europe on a train. The presence of the super evil entity is there but muted with the plotting, elusive and unseen Ernst Blofeld. This film flows perfectly and has the really gritty feel we might associate with Noir. Robert Shaw also shines as SPECTRE's Bond equivalent, Red Grant, a homicidal maniac that tails Bond through his endeavors waiting to strike. Bond at its best.
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