Overnight Thread
By Wyatt Earp | April 24, 2011
Yeah, it’s another early thread for two reasons. First, I start daywork tomorrow, so I have to get to bed sooner. Second, no one is really reading the blog on Easter – rightly so – so I would have even less people gazing at it tonight.
That being said, tonight’s thread is a debate-apalooza. Feel free to chime on these two factual statements. (Factual because they are my opinion.)
Let’s begin:
1. The best James Bond movie is Goldfinger. Hands down No question about it. For the record, Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale is the second-best, and Pierce Brosnan’s Goldeneye is third.
2. In a film trilogy, the second film is always the best. Always. The Empire Strikes Back, The Road Warrior, Spider-man 2. It’s clinically proven.
Discuss.
Topics: Movies | 31 Comments »
April 24th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
1. Not having seen all of them, I can’t comment. I have seen the three you mentioned, so I guess, according to you, I’ve seen the best.
2. Not true. Case in point: The Matrix Revolutions, Twilight: New Moon, Return of Jafar, The Mummy Returns, The Santa Clause 2.
April 24th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
I was going to argue with you on your second point. Then I did some research and found that 4 Indiana Jones movies were made.
April 24th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
‘Glory’ screenwriter Kevin Jarre dies at 56
Kevin Jarre, 56, a screenwriter steeped in American history who wrote the Civil War saga “Glory” and the western “Tombstone,” died April 3 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He had a heart ailment.
April 24th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
1. I mostly agree, but I’d switch Goldeneye and Casino Royale.
2. More exceptions: Jurassic Park (First of 3), Back to the Future (Part 1), Blade (overall meh, but first is still the best), Chronicles of Narnia, Predator, Crocodile Dundee, The Delta Force, Man With No Name/Dollars trilogy (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: movie 3), Evil Dead (Army of Darkness: movie 3), Troll (seriously, unless you’re a masochist, don’t watch 2 or 3), The Wizard of Oz, Starship Troopers, The Neverending Story (again, unless you’re a masochist, only 1…maybe 2)
April 24th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
Hey DustyVet – that’s a shame – his two movies that you mentioned were painstakingly researched and pretty close to the real thing!
April 25th, 2011 at 1:17 am
You are wrong, wrong I say, in that MOST trilogies follow a very strict pattern of getting worse as they go along, very noticably, and very dramatically.
So the fact that Empire and Road Warrior DON’T suck, and are actually pretty kick ass, make you think they are even better than the original, just because of the surprise. Wow! A sequel that doesn’t suck? That’s a pleasant surprise…
There is NO WAY you are gonna convince me Empire (which is kick ass) is BETTER than Star Wars. Just look at the climax of the Death Star destruction, where all those disparate elements in the end are woven into one tight ass narrative of we gotta blow up the death star. The whole damn movie, and every thread in the movie come together when Luke is down to the last fighter in his wing, with his last shot at blowing the death star, Leila’s fate riding on his hands, as Vader prepares his final attack, and then Han comes out of nowhere to save Luke’s life, and then Obi Wan makes his last appearance as a spiritual Force voice, and then Luke fires his last torpedos into the death star…
BAM! You can’t tell me that Empire has that sort of finish.
What Empire does do very well… is leave us with a great transition as the credit rolls and we await Return of the Jedi with our hearts in our throats….
Which gives us frickin’ Ewoks and the spectacle of George Lucas beginning his epic self-beclowing.
So yeah, Empire was really good, and ended with a good transition.
But as great as Star Wars?
Feh.
And if you disagree with me? You probably thought Jar Jar Binks was pretty damn cool.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:38 am
Do you expect me to comment?
April 25th, 2011 at 1:41 am
Oh, and since as Wyatt said, this overnight thread is gonna be pretty dead, I figure this is a good time to show all the shut-ins, malcontents and cronic masturbators who might wander over something rarer than hen’s teeth.
A pretty hot chick with big hooters who and your role playing with it.
Yeah, it’s kinda like running into BigFoot and Nessie the Loch Ness monster together at your local city swimming pool. Technically possible, but statistically, pretty much impossible.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:43 am
Number 7, thread winner.
What the hell is wit doing here, on this blog?
Like pearls before swine…
April 25th, 2011 at 5:54 am
Best of luck on the Day Walker beat Wyatt. Shifting topics just a bit but still kinda on film – what’s your take on citizens capturing video of the police?
April 25th, 2011 at 7:54 am
Picky – I so don’t want to know why you watched Twilight: New Moon.
Orbitup – Temple of Doom is one of my automatic exceptions.
Dustyvet – That’s a damned shame. He was a great talent.
Ranba – I love the Blade films, so I was pretty bent with the third one. And they made a sequel to Dundee? Why?
Real – Hard to find effort like that in Hollywood anymore.
Ed – Jar Jar Binks needed to be killed by the troop transport in his first scene. Run right over that rat bastard. That being said, I still think Empire is just a bit better than Star Wars. AT-ATs, Boba Fett, Han shooting at Vader, who brushes the bolts aside. And, as they said in Clerks, the movie is a complete downer, just like real life.
Sully – “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!” Arguably the greatest line in movie history.
Ed – She will be my new bride!
Brian – I have no problem with it. We should act like we’re being taped all the time. Arresting someone for it? Big freakin’ stretch.
April 25th, 2011 at 8:34 am
1. Goldfinger may have been the best (still wrestling over that or Thunderball), and Casino Royale and GoldenEye were excellent, but I’d also include For Your Eyes Only and either The Living Daylights or Licence To Kill.
2. I’d call your attention to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men’s Chest. Even though a fourth film is in the works, I have found only the first film in the franchise to be any good. The third film especially sucked.
April 25th, 2011 at 8:45 am
My son want to start collecting the Star Wars books much like I collect the Star Trek books. The Boy has no taste. Who knew they even had books beyond the movies in print???
As for James Bond, the only movie I have ever watched (was forced to sit through) and pretty much decided people made way too much about the whole James Bond thing was Octopussy. To be fair, I was also 12 or 13 at the time.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:41 am
I always liked “From Russia with Love” best. Goldfinger would have been 2nd. At least I can admit I have never seen those stupid Twilight flicks.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Yeah, I wondered if I should include that one. I’m a sci-fi junkie, and although I usually avoid the whole vampire side of things, my niece is waaay into Twilight, so I watch to get ammunition to mock her. I refuse to spend money on it, though.
I watched the first Twilight movie on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) because it was the only thing on at 1am, and there was nothing else to do. So when the second one was on during a “HBO (or Starz…I forget) free preview weekend” I recorded it. It was worse. I fast forwarded through big sections.
April 25th, 2011 at 9:56 am
Morgan – Agreed. Third film was terrible, especially the ending.
Kim – Damned shame. Your first Bond film was one of the all-time worst.
TonyF – Robert Shaw is great in that one!
Picky – Okay, then you are excused. Worried me for a minute.
April 25th, 2011 at 10:11 am
For the record, Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale is the second-best, and Pierce Brosnan’s Goldeneye is third.
You speak with such absolute conviction, I think it’s adorable!
April 25th, 2011 at 10:21 am
Mrs. Crankipants – I’m on 3.5 hours sleep, so I am ignoring your sarcasm for now.
April 25th, 2011 at 11:36 am
Wyatt:
Bless you…another Bond fan!
“Do you expect me to talk. Goldfinger?”
“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE.”
PRICELESS!
(and that wonderful Aston Martin DB5)
I also liked Casino Royale, BUt my favorite Brosnan is Tomorrow Never Dies (Michelle Yeoh AND Terry Hatcher – mmmmmmmmmm)
Hard to decide about multi films in a series….BTTF – liked all three.
SW- ditto, but Empire was a lot more “tense”.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – actually a “prequel” to Raiders.
Superman 2 – definitely good (General Zod)
ST 2: TWOK – best in the series followed closely by ST: FC (imho)
LOTR? THIRD movie is the kicker!!!
(but ya need the other 2 to set the stage)
…just my 2 cents.
Lots of good comments here, too.
Stay safe.
April 25th, 2011 at 11:51 am
OK, let’s throw a mohnke wrench into the mix
Who was the best Bond?
One vote for Sean Connery
April 25th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Bob G. – Superman 2 is another great example.
L Frame – Connery. No question.
April 25th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
“‘Empire’ had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader’s his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that’s what life is, a series of down endings. All ‘Jedi’ had was a bunch of Muppets.”
-Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran), Clerks (1994)
April 25th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
1. Best Bond film is clearly From Russia With Love. Goldeneye, really? I didn’t care much for it. As for Best film with each other actor, OHMSS, For Your Eyes Only, Living Daylights, The World Is Not Enough and Casino Royale.
2. Temple of Doom, nothing else to say.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Connery, without a doubt, although Craig is closer to the actual book character.
Temple of Doom – big thumbs down.
“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die” – best. line. ever.
FWIW, I liked all the Mummy movies and all the BTTF films, looking forward to Pirates 4 – yeah, I got a high tolerance for schlock.
There was more than one Starship Troopers???
April 25th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
John D – Such a great scene. That and the debate over the Imperial construction crews in ROTJ.
Ingineer66 – I liked Goldeneye because it had Sean Bean. He’s a great villain. And TOD. It has its moments, but the kid angle ruins it.
Lergnom – I didn’t know there was a sequel, either. And I think Craig is great, but a lot of it is writing. Like the new Batman films, they made Bond darker and more serious. It’s a winning combination.
April 25th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Sean Bean was a great villain in National Treasure.
April 25th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
Wyatt, First Blade was pretty good. The meh was for the trilogy overall. And, I have no idea why they did another 2 Dundees. Can’t say I’ve seen 3, but given how I never heard of it until I looked up movie trilogies, it has to be a worse investment of time than flaying your own hand with a blunt spoon.
April 26th, 2011 at 1:34 am
You forgot Aliens
April 26th, 2011 at 10:55 am
I figure this would be appropriate here.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:27 am
Ingineer66 – Good point. Great in that, too.
Ranba – Actually, that would be more entertaining!
The flaying, that is.
Deadcenter – Another one that proves the rule. At least in my opinion.
Kim – That’s brilliant!
April 26th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Goldfinger was Connery’s Bond at his best.
Diamonds Are Forever was Connery’s Bond at his worst.
You Only Live Twice was a good Sean Connery movie, but if you watch the credits to the very, very end you see how the studio had turned Bond into a factory-produce franchise – they already had OHMSS planned for release! No wonder Connery walked away.