Skyfall.
BEST. BOND. EVER.
Beg, borrow or steal to go see this in the cinema. Srsly.
Apart from the fact literally EVERYTHING was fabulous - script, acting, cinematography, Richard II - I mean Ben Whishaw - as Q, Skyfall itself and M etc. etc. there were two things that stood out in particular.
1. OMG THEY TURNED MI6 INTO TORCHWOOD! I half expected Ianto to turn up with a tray... And it continued right into Teh Gay Awesum. (I could totally buy Daniel Craig's Bond as bi, btw. It might all have been a game, but... )
ETA: 1a. Darcy & I have talked about it a lot, and about how it's actually a very untypical Bond film - the villain is essentially there just as a catalyst and as a dark mirror, the thing that enables Bond to be just Bond. Also Darcy remarked upon how the second we get to Skyfall, it becomes a completely different film (this is a good thing) - the thing about Bond is that he never talks about himself, so this is a huge departure, but it's perfectly done, and therefore amazing.
Also (remember this is a MA film student talking/flailing): The film follows the rules to the letter, but breaks them in two places (and you can do that when you otherwise follow the rules & know what you're doing): The Villain's long monologue and M's poem. It completely breaks the flow, but it does it beautifully.
2. Everything to do with Empire Lost and Relics From The Past Trying To Be Relevant and I just. *hands* Half of me is itching to write that post I mentioned earlier about Sherlock/Doctor Who/Bond, the Olympics and Britain coming to terms to term with its new role, but the other half is flailing because THE MOVIE USED POETRY TO SPELL OUT THIS EXACT THING, and really, it says it all:
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Alfred,Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) 1833
ETA: Darcy's verdict: 'There are very few perfect films. But that? Was a perfect film.'
Beg, borrow or steal to go see this in the cinema. Srsly.
Apart from the fact literally EVERYTHING was fabulous - script, acting, cinematography, Richard II - I mean Ben Whishaw - as Q, Skyfall itself and M etc. etc. there were two things that stood out in particular.
1. OMG THEY TURNED MI6 INTO TORCHWOOD! I half expected Ianto to turn up with a tray... And it continued right into Teh Gay Awesum. (I could totally buy Daniel Craig's Bond as bi, btw. It might all have been a game, but... )
ETA: 1a. Darcy & I have talked about it a lot, and about how it's actually a very untypical Bond film - the villain is essentially there just as a catalyst and as a dark mirror, the thing that enables Bond to be just Bond. Also Darcy remarked upon how the second we get to Skyfall, it becomes a completely different film (this is a good thing) - the thing about Bond is that he never talks about himself, so this is a huge departure, but it's perfectly done, and therefore amazing.
Also (remember this is a MA film student talking/flailing): The film follows the rules to the letter, but breaks them in two places (and you can do that when you otherwise follow the rules & know what you're doing): The Villain's long monologue and M's poem. It completely breaks the flow, but it does it beautifully.
2. Everything to do with Empire Lost and Relics From The Past Trying To Be Relevant and I just. *hands* Half of me is itching to write that post I mentioned earlier about Sherlock/Doctor Who/Bond, the Olympics and Britain coming to terms to term with its new role, but the other half is flailing because THE MOVIE USED POETRY TO SPELL OUT THIS EXACT THING, and really, it says it all:
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Alfred,Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) 1833
ETA: Darcy's verdict: 'There are very few perfect films. But that? Was a perfect film.'