Monday, August 26, 2013
B1G Predictions week 1.
Thursday August 29th
Indiana 49 Indiana State 21
Minnesota 38 UNLV 17
Friday August 30th
Michigan State 31 Western Michigan 7
Saturday August 31st
Nebraska 52 Wyoming 24
Iowa 20 Northern Illinois 17
Michigan 45 Central Michigan 10
Northwestern 42 California 27
Illinois 42 Southern Illinois 9
Ohio State 48 Buffalo 3
Penn State 31 Syracuse 20
Cincinnati 34 Purdue 20
Wisconsin 44 Massachusetts 7
Monday, July 29, 2013
Nebraska Cornhusker 2013 Football preview.
Offense: It’s great that Taylor Martinez has no loss of confidence but
let’s put the delusions of grandeur to bed here and now. Nebraska’s
offense will baring injuries be really good and could be great. It will
not however be the best in school history. They will not score 53 points
a game like the 95 Huskers nor 52 points a game like the 83 Huskers
however 40 points a game is not out of the question.
Nebraska is set at everywhere on offense but tight end. Taylor Martinez already owns much of the record book. If he stays healthy you may as well rename the record book The Taylor Martinez memorial playbook. Running back still looks strong but not as strong as it did before Braylon Heard’s transfer to Kentucky. Amir Abdullah ran for over a 1000 yards last year and is set for another big year. Ball security appears to be his only weakness. Imani Cross was the short yardage back last season. He lost 15 pounds to try and add some speed. 2 Highly touted Freshman provide back up. Nebraska doesn’t use Fullbacks to run much anymore but they do still use the to block and receive the ball. CJ Zimmer and Andy janovich are both solid there. Kenny Bell, Jamal Turner, Quincy Enunwa, Taariq Allen simply put make this is the best wide receiving crew in Nebraska history. There are also some youngsters like Jordan Westerkamp that the coaches are excited about. Tight End is the only question mark on the offensive side Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed are gone. Only Jake Long has any game experience. Long is a great blocker but hasn’t caught many passes. This is expected to be the best offensive line of The Bo Pelini era. The line 4 starters from a line that was good but inconsistent last season.
Defense: Can we talk about offense some more? First the good news. Nebraska had a very good secondary last season for the most part and it returns 3 starters and 4th man who played enough to be a starter. This is the strength of the defense which would be great if Nebraska were back in the Big 12 and not in the Big 10. The Front 7 is Oscar The Grouch Green. Since Nebraska’s front 7 struggled so much last year that could in time be a good thing but there will be growing pains. Only Jason Ankrah has any starting experience on the defensive line. Thad Randle also has playing some experience but that is it. The coached believe what this group doesn’t have in experience it makes up for in talent. The Linebacking group is greener if that is possible. Atheism in the front 7 has been a huge problem for Nebraska sans Lavonte David for the last 2 years. That appears to be somewhat rectified. Still it’s hard to think of a front 7 less experienced than this one other than maybe 2007. Do I have to remind you how that season turned out?
Special Teams: Great Kicking is almost getting to be a Nebraska trademark. At Field Goal kicker since 1995 Nebraska has had Kris Brown, Josh Brown who both had long successful NFL careers. David Dykes and Jordon Congdan were both sold. Alex Henery was the greatest College Kicker I have ever seen and Brett Maher followed him with great success. Now the job falls to Maurio Baundi. If the Spring game is any indication he’ll be fine. He made one kick from 50yards and barely missed from 58. If Anything Nebraska’s punting game has been stronger longer than it’s field goal kicking game has. Going back to the late 80’s Nebraska had a string of great punters. This year the job will fall to Freshman Sam Foltz who is also a back up receiver so maybe you can expect some fake punts this year. When Nebraska catches the ball on Punt and Kick returns they have been solid returning kicks. The problem is catching the ball. Amir Abdullah, Kenny Bell, and Jamal Turner were all tried a year ago and all struggled to a field a kick. Eventually Nebraska put Rex Burkhead back to catch punts sacrificing a return for just catching the ball. Rex now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. It got to be such a problem last season that when kicks were successfully fielded the fans cheered. Obviously this needs to be fixed.
The Schedule. It’s hard to find a major college football team with one much more friendly. Thanks to buying off Southern Miss’ ex coach the first 5 games are at home and only UCLA would seem to be a threat. Here Nebraska get’s a break by the TV gods putting the game at 11. There is no Ohio State or Wisconsin. Home games against Northwestern and Michigan State will be anything but easy and road trips to Michigan and Penn State will be a chore. Still If Nebraska stays healthy on offense and plays at least average defense it’s hard not to find 10 wins here.
Finally: If they stay healthy Nebraska will average at least 38 points a game on offense and with their schedule that should guarantee another 10 win season whether or not Nebraska takes the next step up off the 10-4 merry go round will be up to a very green defense. A good goal for this defense would be to average holding their foes to 21 points a game or less. 99.9% of the teams in College Football are going to lose a game from time to time and this team almost certainly will as well. Another sign of progress will be what will the loses be like? Too often the last two years by halftime I was smoking a cigar and looking and reading a Modesty Blaise comic strip while keeping only a half eye on the massacre on the screen. Those days have to stop. Ohio State is the class of the Big 10 but the legends race appears to be a 3 horse photo finish between Nebraska, Michigan and Northwestern with Michigan State behind by just a nose. If there was any reason to believe Nebraska’s defense is going to be much improved despite their inexperience there then I’d say this could be a very special season. But I haven’t seen it yet. The Spring game didn’t which isn’t a great way to judge such things anyway didn’t ease any fears. Nebraska will be good again. There will be many great memories this year again. There will be 10 wins again. Whether or not there will be 3 or 4 loses will depend on whether or not Nebraska wins the Legends…again.
Nebraska is set at everywhere on offense but tight end. Taylor Martinez already owns much of the record book. If he stays healthy you may as well rename the record book The Taylor Martinez memorial playbook. Running back still looks strong but not as strong as it did before Braylon Heard’s transfer to Kentucky. Amir Abdullah ran for over a 1000 yards last year and is set for another big year. Ball security appears to be his only weakness. Imani Cross was the short yardage back last season. He lost 15 pounds to try and add some speed. 2 Highly touted Freshman provide back up. Nebraska doesn’t use Fullbacks to run much anymore but they do still use the to block and receive the ball. CJ Zimmer and Andy janovich are both solid there. Kenny Bell, Jamal Turner, Quincy Enunwa, Taariq Allen simply put make this is the best wide receiving crew in Nebraska history. There are also some youngsters like Jordan Westerkamp that the coaches are excited about. Tight End is the only question mark on the offensive side Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed are gone. Only Jake Long has any game experience. Long is a great blocker but hasn’t caught many passes. This is expected to be the best offensive line of The Bo Pelini era. The line 4 starters from a line that was good but inconsistent last season.
Defense: Can we talk about offense some more? First the good news. Nebraska had a very good secondary last season for the most part and it returns 3 starters and 4th man who played enough to be a starter. This is the strength of the defense which would be great if Nebraska were back in the Big 12 and not in the Big 10. The Front 7 is Oscar The Grouch Green. Since Nebraska’s front 7 struggled so much last year that could in time be a good thing but there will be growing pains. Only Jason Ankrah has any starting experience on the defensive line. Thad Randle also has playing some experience but that is it. The coached believe what this group doesn’t have in experience it makes up for in talent. The Linebacking group is greener if that is possible. Atheism in the front 7 has been a huge problem for Nebraska sans Lavonte David for the last 2 years. That appears to be somewhat rectified. Still it’s hard to think of a front 7 less experienced than this one other than maybe 2007. Do I have to remind you how that season turned out?
Special Teams: Great Kicking is almost getting to be a Nebraska trademark. At Field Goal kicker since 1995 Nebraska has had Kris Brown, Josh Brown who both had long successful NFL careers. David Dykes and Jordon Congdan were both sold. Alex Henery was the greatest College Kicker I have ever seen and Brett Maher followed him with great success. Now the job falls to Maurio Baundi. If the Spring game is any indication he’ll be fine. He made one kick from 50yards and barely missed from 58. If Anything Nebraska’s punting game has been stronger longer than it’s field goal kicking game has. Going back to the late 80’s Nebraska had a string of great punters. This year the job will fall to Freshman Sam Foltz who is also a back up receiver so maybe you can expect some fake punts this year. When Nebraska catches the ball on Punt and Kick returns they have been solid returning kicks. The problem is catching the ball. Amir Abdullah, Kenny Bell, and Jamal Turner were all tried a year ago and all struggled to a field a kick. Eventually Nebraska put Rex Burkhead back to catch punts sacrificing a return for just catching the ball. Rex now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. It got to be such a problem last season that when kicks were successfully fielded the fans cheered. Obviously this needs to be fixed.
The Schedule. It’s hard to find a major college football team with one much more friendly. Thanks to buying off Southern Miss’ ex coach the first 5 games are at home and only UCLA would seem to be a threat. Here Nebraska get’s a break by the TV gods putting the game at 11. There is no Ohio State or Wisconsin. Home games against Northwestern and Michigan State will be anything but easy and road trips to Michigan and Penn State will be a chore. Still If Nebraska stays healthy on offense and plays at least average defense it’s hard not to find 10 wins here.
Finally: If they stay healthy Nebraska will average at least 38 points a game on offense and with their schedule that should guarantee another 10 win season whether or not Nebraska takes the next step up off the 10-4 merry go round will be up to a very green defense. A good goal for this defense would be to average holding their foes to 21 points a game or less. 99.9% of the teams in College Football are going to lose a game from time to time and this team almost certainly will as well. Another sign of progress will be what will the loses be like? Too often the last two years by halftime I was smoking a cigar and looking and reading a Modesty Blaise comic strip while keeping only a half eye on the massacre on the screen. Those days have to stop. Ohio State is the class of the Big 10 but the legends race appears to be a 3 horse photo finish between Nebraska, Michigan and Northwestern with Michigan State behind by just a nose. If there was any reason to believe Nebraska’s defense is going to be much improved despite their inexperience there then I’d say this could be a very special season. But I haven’t seen it yet. The Spring game didn’t which isn’t a great way to judge such things anyway didn’t ease any fears. Nebraska will be good again. There will be many great memories this year again. There will be 10 wins again. Whether or not there will be 3 or 4 loses will depend on whether or not Nebraska wins the Legends…again.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
A Word Of Advice
You may notice if you read older threads that many of them are littered with junk and spam in the comments. DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS!!!!
The Count.
The Count.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Modesty Blaise A Taste For Death
Modesty Blaise A Taste For Death by Peter O'Donnell **** 1/2 / *****
The fourth Modesty Blaise novel starts with Willie Garvin noticing the grisly death of Judy Pilrim while her blind sister Dinah escapes. The murder was ordered by the criminal mastermind Gabriel and Dinah was kept alive because although blind she has a psychic ability to find buried objects. pipes, treasure...etc. Garvin rescues Dinah and threw a series of coincidences Modesty Blaise and her sometimes boyfriend Steve Collier become involved and it become apparent that not only Gabriel but the giant killer Simon Delicata working with Gabriel need to use Dinah Pilgrim to find buried treasure. It's difficult to judge the Modesty Blaise books by The James Bond Books even though they are the same genre. The Books are clearly designed to be fun fast reads. And that they are. There's violence and sex o'pleanty and O'Donnell proves just as adept at moving a story a long in novel form as he is in Comic strip form. Willie Garvin gets a bigger role here but as always it's clear it's Blaise who is at the end of the day the boss. That Garvin (the male) is Robin to Blaise (the female) batman is what makes these stories work so well.
The first four novels in the series were all well done and there isn't much to separate them in terms of merit. I would put A Taste Of Death just below Sabre-Tooth and just above I Lucifer and Modesty Blaise. The Next book in the series is The Impossible Virgin.
The fourth Modesty Blaise novel starts with Willie Garvin noticing the grisly death of Judy Pilrim while her blind sister Dinah escapes. The murder was ordered by the criminal mastermind Gabriel and Dinah was kept alive because although blind she has a psychic ability to find buried objects. pipes, treasure...etc. Garvin rescues Dinah and threw a series of coincidences Modesty Blaise and her sometimes boyfriend Steve Collier become involved and it become apparent that not only Gabriel but the giant killer Simon Delicata working with Gabriel need to use Dinah Pilgrim to find buried treasure. It's difficult to judge the Modesty Blaise books by The James Bond Books even though they are the same genre. The Books are clearly designed to be fun fast reads. And that they are. There's violence and sex o'pleanty and O'Donnell proves just as adept at moving a story a long in novel form as he is in Comic strip form. Willie Garvin gets a bigger role here but as always it's clear it's Blaise who is at the end of the day the boss. That Garvin (the male) is Robin to Blaise (the female) batman is what makes these stories work so well.
The first four novels in the series were all well done and there isn't much to separate them in terms of merit. I would put A Taste Of Death just below Sabre-Tooth and just above I Lucifer and Modesty Blaise. The Next book in the series is The Impossible Virgin.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Not Guilty.
Late Edit by Mr. Brown: Regardless of anyone's opinions on the Zimmerman trial, the tragedy about what happened cannot be ignored: if Mr. Zimmerman had just stayed put in his car and not followed Trayvon Martin, like what the dispatcher told him to do in the first place, there wouldn't have been a trial, George Zimmerman wouldn't be the most polarizing figure in America currently, and Trayvon would have been 18 years old.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Game 3 San Antonio 113 Miami 77
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| Credit as always goes to the Great Yoga Frog check out his website at Yoga Frog caps |
Monday, June 3, 2013
Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 Miami Vs Indiana
Game 7 Boys and Girls. No way in Hades did I think we'd be here tonight. On an off topic note Greg Brady was on Adam 12. His Mother's Boyfriend was drunk and holding her at gun point. Tell me that wouldn't make a bitching episode of The Brady Bunch.
LeBron had better decide to take this game over because LeBron the facilitator will be home tomorrow to fire up the hibachi.
Indiana better learn how to hold on to the damn basketball
Steve Kerr says Indiana has to keep their turnovers down to 15. They'll have more than that at halftime.
Glad they don't seem to be calling the flops but this game is getting away from Indiana.
Poop. Miami 52 Indiana 37 at half. Really disappointed in Indiana. Gonna go take a shower put on a T-shirt in Pajamas. If Second half doesn't improve I'll be heading out to have a smoke.
Miami 76 Indiana 55 after 3 quarters
Final Score Miami 99 Indiana 76. NBA Finals start Thursday. San Antonio Spurs Vs The Miami Heat.
LeBron had better decide to take this game over because LeBron the facilitator will be home tomorrow to fire up the hibachi.
Indiana better learn how to hold on to the damn basketball
Steve Kerr says Indiana has to keep their turnovers down to 15. They'll have more than that at halftime.
Glad they don't seem to be calling the flops but this game is getting away from Indiana.
Poop. Miami 52 Indiana 37 at half. Really disappointed in Indiana. Gonna go take a shower put on a T-shirt in Pajamas. If Second half doesn't improve I'll be heading out to have a smoke.
Miami 76 Indiana 55 after 3 quarters
Final Score Miami 99 Indiana 76. NBA Finals start Thursday. San Antonio Spurs Vs The Miami Heat.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness Or: My Final Farewell to Eileen.
Dear Eileen,
One month before your passing, our phone conversations varied among many topics, but they would, somehow, revert back to the science-fiction/fantasy genre. Granted, even before then, when we talked chatted on Facebook, the subject would return to the genre that made you a fangirl of said genre, from The Boy Who Lived and the Seven Realms, to Star Wars and Star Trek. Hell, I can't even remember how many times you you quoted the line where C-3PO tells Han that the chances of navigating through an asteroid field successfully was approximately three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one! (Damnit, now you've got me saying it!) Just before you passed, you continued to geek out over how you wanted to watch Star Trek Into Darkness, the big follow up to director J.J. Abrams' prequel of the original Trek movies. The other movies I was jazzed about seeing: Iron Man 3, The Hangover Part III, Man of Steel - they didn't hold a candle to how badly you wanted to see the continuing adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew, traveling the realms of space at warp speed.
Unfortunately, you weren't able to get that opportunity.
I wish you had, if nothing else, for the opinions and analysis that we would have, because there's much doing on in this latest installment. After Kirk (played once again by Chris Pine) disobeys Starfleet's directive of extinguishing a volcano before it can destroy an indigenous race without being spotted by said indigenous people, now Rear Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), along with the rest of the board in the Federation, strip Kirk of his status of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and his role as captain. The situation changes dramatically as the Federation is attacked by one of they own, the mysterious and deadly agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch of the BBC's Sherlock) through a series of terrorist attacks, from a bombing of the Starfleet library in London, to the attack at headquarters in San Francisco, killing several captains and officers in the process. Kirk is re-instated as Captain of the Enterprise and he is given a green-light to find, capture and bring back Harrison to justice by Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller).
That's pretty much the plot to Abram's second outing in the Trek universe, and I'm not going to comment further because doing so would invoke spoilers, which I won't reveal here.What I can say to you, Eileen, is that Into Darkness is everything you'd expect from Abrams: an engaging story, great characters, and expertly staged action set pieces that dazzling and thrilling to watch. The entire cast returns for the second installment, including First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), Communications Officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Senior Medical Officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg), Lieutenant Commander Sulu (John Cho) and Ensign Checkov (Anton Yelchin)., and each character gets their chance to shine, though Yelchin's Checkov is mostly reduced to running around the engineer deck whenever the ship is thrown into chaos. In fact, Pegg, Saldana and Cho are give much more to do in this installment than last time, as all three become integral parts to middle section of the film.
Again, i'm being vague out of fear of spoilers, but i'd be doing a disservice if I didn't bring up the biggest flaw of Into Darkness, namely the fact that Abrams takes a crucial plot twist from the Star Trek movies of yesteryear and slaps it in this film. Granted, it did work, as it demonstrated that Kirk finally understands humility and that there are no-win scenarios in being the commander of a ship, but then, kind of like how Bill Condon pulled the rug right out under Twi-hards everywhere towards the end of Breaking Dawn: Part II, Abrams more or less does the same thing here, and for you, being the sci-fi/Trek fan that you were, it may leave a sour taste in the mouth.
Still, besides Abrams almost hitting the copy and paste keys with Into Darkness, there's still so much to like in this film. You would have enjoyed all the banter between the crew of the Enterprise, especially between Spock and Kirk. They may have settled their differences between each other in the first film, but their philosophies - Kirk leaping without looking, Spock searching for a logical solution before he leaps - still put the two men at odds with one another. And what good would a team of protagonists would do without a villain, and Cumberbatch has it in spades as Harrison. He's a cunning, ticking timebomb, always putting himself two steps ahead of Kirk and his crew and the Federation, who want nothing more than him in a body bag. You should see the interaction between him and Pine's Kirk on board the Enterprise as he says, "I am better than you...at everything." He's a brilliant actor, hiding the madness of his character's motives. Pine is also solid as Kirk, as he begins to learn this his arrogant, rule-breaking ways has consequences, as he must learn to respect his power as Captain. And I don't know what else I can say about Quninto as Spock, except that he was born to play this iconic character. Not only is he the spittin' image of Leonard Nimoy's character, he understands he is a man in war with himself - the cold logic of his Vulcan side, vs the emotional and feeling Human side.
I believe you would have enjoyed this movie, Eileen, and I wish to the Gods, both the Old and the New, that you could have seen it and we could talk about it. But maybe you already have, and that the Gods were able to get a copy of the movie and you were able to see it from the opening notes to Michael Giaccino's wonderful score, to the end credits which play the 60's Star Trek television theme. Maybe one day we'll get that chance to discuss and compare notes, but until then, to quote Spock himself: "I have been, and shall always be, your friend. Live long, and prosper."
*** stars out of ****
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Remembering James Bond A Licence To Kill 1989
After finally reaching a mutual understanding with the 58 year old Roger Moore that it was time for Both he and the James Bond series to got their separate ways the folks at EON had turned to the man everybody said was the perfect choice for the role and it just so happened that with his American TV series coming to an and end he was more than happy to take the role and make it his own. Then NBC brought back Remington Steele for another 6 episodes thus taking Pierce Brosnan out of the running to be the next James Bond and forcing the folks at EON to go to plan B. The Eternally joyless Timothy Dalton.
Dalton was quick to claim he was Ian Fleming's Bond and his many fans in the James Bond fan boy community still maintain this point of view. And while it's not entirely wrong neither is it entirely right. Dalton read Casino Royale The first James Bond novel and the one novel where Bond is a genuine asshole. Even Ian Fleming new he could make his hero such a prick and with the next novel Live and Let Die began to soften his personality. Timothy Dalton was not the hero of the novels but the hero of but one of the novels. Even Daniel Craig's James Bond whom Daltonites use to prove Timothy was just "ahead" of his time is a likeable guy. Something Dalton's Bond never was.
The films had begun steering away from the family action adventure comedies of the 70's with 1981's For Your Eyes Only and had completely changed course with the humorless Dalton. The next step in the progression was to make a movie violent enough to shed the uncool PG rating that would prove...
If you're watching James Bond films in order then Licence To Kill's abrupt change in tone and demeanor from the other Bond films is striking. If you hadn't ever seen it or any other Bond film since before Pierce Brosnan then the violence of the film is most likely to register a yawn. In the near 25 years since it's release violence in film has risen to the level that LTK now would seem almost tame to a modern movie goer. So a guys head explodes and a woman gets beat with the tail of a stingray Yawn...
Bond is a screw up through out the film. He stops the DEA from getting the villain Sanchez, He quits MI6, then he stops Hong Kong narcotics bureau from getting Sanchez all in the name of his own a personal vendetta because his friend Felix Leiter was fed to some sharks (but lived) and Leiter's newlywed bride was murdered by Sanchez and Killifer a turn coat in the DEA. Doing the honors of Felix Leiter is David Hedison for the second time his first try at Leiter was Live And Let Die. Hedison is most's people's choice as best Felix Leiter. Of course in the near 25 years since the film was released Leiter has gotten his limbs back is now Black. The shark scene would cause some headaches for the then current Bond literary maestro John Gardner more on that later.
Bond: Dalton is a fine actor but he just doesn't have enough it pull of the hero of a major action film. Roger Moore in the only slightly less dour For Your Eyes Only commanded the screen far more than Timothy Dalton ever did in either of pictures but at least in The Living Daylights he's a hero here he just a dick. Case in point when he discovers Q in his hotel room he knocks the 60+ year old man on his ass. Really? He continually treats CIA agent Pam Bouvier (and Q) like garbage though of course she still falls for him in the end.
Women: Priscilla Barnes plays Della Leiter is not particularly memorable.She dies in early in the film and you don't miss her much. Talisa Soto plays Sanchez's girlfriend the well named Lupe who ends up falling for Bond of course. She has one saving grace She's not in the film that much. Anymore of the air-headed Lupe and she would have honors in the Tanya Roberts Bond Girl hall of shame.Carey Lowell is the tough talking CIA pilot Pam Bouvier AKA Ms Kennedy. She's really the proper Bond Girl and She's rougher and tougher than your average Bond girl though she still cowers when Bond treats her like shit. I doubt Ms Lowell has ever been up for any acting awards but she's worlds better than Soto or Barnes and is one of the bright spots of the film.
Villains: Here is where LTK gets it's best marks. Robert Davi is solid as the drug selling psychotic Franz Sanchez. Young Benicio del Toro is great as Sanchez's henchman though he did accidentally legitimately injure Timothy Dalton's hand. Anthony Zerbe is fine as the uber creepy Milton Crest. And let's not forget Wayne Newton who is solid as the slimy, campy, though highly believable TV evangelist Professor Joe Butcher. Newton who has a lot of practice as a fund razor allegedly improvised many of lines. Whether or not his catch phrase "Bless Your Heart" was his or not I have no idea. The only bad guy that gets on your nerves is the nerdy, forever panicked Truman Lodge and Sanchez finally does we all would have done to him.
The Bit Players: Robert Brown's M as usual is pretty unsubstantial. he has one memorable line "This isn't a country club 007" Then he tells his bodyguards not to shoot Bond because "there are too many people around" (There actually didn't seem to be anybody) Caroline Bliss' Moneypenny gets a very short scene. She's sniffling about Bond and sends Q out to find him. And then there is Q. The biggest role for good ol' Desmond Llewellyn and probably his finest hour. As with everybody else in the film sands Felix Leiter Bond treats him like garbage. First knocking him over a chair then constantly telling him to go home. What a prick.
Odds and Ends: The film had several issues in production. In fact director John Glen swears the Mexico City shoot was haunted and for proof offered up the now famous picture of a fireball making a hand
The fact that the film was the first to not have any of it's scenes filmed in Britain made many purists upset and continues to be part of the criticism of the film to this day. Licence To Kill was the first bond film to not have either a Fleming Title or very close to a Fleming title. The original title was suppose to be Licence Revoked but tests showed the American audiences weren't sure what "revoked" meant. Which is sad if true. There is some Fleming in the film. Milton Crest was a character in the short story The Hildebrand Rarity. The seen where Lupe get's beaten with the tail of the stingray comes from the same short story though in the book it's Mrs Crest being beaten by Milton Crest. The scene where poor Felix Leiter get's his arms and legs eaten off by sharks (he disagreed with something that ate him) happened in the book Live and Let Die. Then current Bond
Novelist John Gardner wrote the novelization of the film and made the curious decision to keep the movie in the same continuous universe as the literary James Bond. Thus he actually had poor Felix Leiter getting his prosthetic arms and legs eaten off by a shark. That poor poor man. The marketing for the films was sub-par by Bond standards. Many still point to this film as having some of the poorest teaser posters of the series and they were. The film did not do well by Bond Standards grossing 40 million dollars less The Living Daylights; The film did especially lackluster business in America which was a huge disappointment since this with it's Miami Vice like plot was by most standards the most Americanized Bond film to date. Part f the reason the film did not do as well as others in the series is the summer of 1989 was a huge year for movies and had to compete with Batman, Star Trek V, Indiana Jones And The last Crusade and others.
Overall Thoughts: I may seem harsh on Dalton's Bond and it's true I think his Bond was Bland at best and down right dickish mean at worst but both his movies are fine entries in the cannon even if, and this goes for 80's Bond films in general, it isn't particularly memorable. This maybe along with Thunderball and A View To A Kill my least re-watched official Bond film though I think it better than both of the other films I mentioned and the reason is the film is just joyless. It's brightest moments are the Q scenes and that is never a great thing to say about a Bond film is it? Ms Lowell is fine as the Bond girl and Davi and Newton often make for better viewing than Bond. And about Mr. Davi and Newton. One played a psychotic girl friend beating, murdering drug dealer and the other played a slimy con-artist who sells the drugs through his bogus television ministry. And what is the only thing of note that either of these two men have done recently? Campaigned fast and hard for Conservative Republican politicians. Just sayin.
With all that I have said here one might think I dislike the film and that simply isn't true. I like the movie plenty. In fact there is no official Bond film I dislike. What is true is the film is not high on my list of favorite Bond films. It moves along at a brisk pace and is never boring like say Thunderball is at times but Bond is best when it's objective is to be Bond. Here Bond just seems to be following the current flavor of the month drug related violent action films. It also probably didn't help that this was the second Bond film in a row that had drug smuggling as a plot. For all of the work that went into the movie to make it feel fresh it's the one thing that LTK doesn't feel. Unlike the 60's Bond films and even most ofthe 70;s Bond films LTK feels dated though it does serve a reminder the 80's weren't all that damned great. Oh and that damn ending with the winking fish doesn't help matters.
Dalton was quick to claim he was Ian Fleming's Bond and his many fans in the James Bond fan boy community still maintain this point of view. And while it's not entirely wrong neither is it entirely right. Dalton read Casino Royale The first James Bond novel and the one novel where Bond is a genuine asshole. Even Ian Fleming new he could make his hero such a prick and with the next novel Live and Let Die began to soften his personality. Timothy Dalton was not the hero of the novels but the hero of but one of the novels. Even Daniel Craig's James Bond whom Daltonites use to prove Timothy was just "ahead" of his time is a likeable guy. Something Dalton's Bond never was.
The films had begun steering away from the family action adventure comedies of the 70's with 1981's For Your Eyes Only and had completely changed course with the humorless Dalton. The next step in the progression was to make a movie violent enough to shed the uncool PG rating that would prove...
If you're watching James Bond films in order then Licence To Kill's abrupt change in tone and demeanor from the other Bond films is striking. If you hadn't ever seen it or any other Bond film since before Pierce Brosnan then the violence of the film is most likely to register a yawn. In the near 25 years since it's release violence in film has risen to the level that LTK now would seem almost tame to a modern movie goer. So a guys head explodes and a woman gets beat with the tail of a stingray Yawn...
Bond is a screw up through out the film. He stops the DEA from getting the villain Sanchez, He quits MI6, then he stops Hong Kong narcotics bureau from getting Sanchez all in the name of his own a personal vendetta because his friend Felix Leiter was fed to some sharks (but lived) and Leiter's newlywed bride was murdered by Sanchez and Killifer a turn coat in the DEA. Doing the honors of Felix Leiter is David Hedison for the second time his first try at Leiter was Live And Let Die. Hedison is most's people's choice as best Felix Leiter. Of course in the near 25 years since the film was released Leiter has gotten his limbs back is now Black. The shark scene would cause some headaches for the then current Bond literary maestro John Gardner more on that later.
Bond: Dalton is a fine actor but he just doesn't have enough it pull of the hero of a major action film. Roger Moore in the only slightly less dour For Your Eyes Only commanded the screen far more than Timothy Dalton ever did in either of pictures but at least in The Living Daylights he's a hero here he just a dick. Case in point when he discovers Q in his hotel room he knocks the 60+ year old man on his ass. Really? He continually treats CIA agent Pam Bouvier (and Q) like garbage though of course she still falls for him in the end.
Women: Priscilla Barnes plays Della Leiter is not particularly memorable.She dies in early in the film and you don't miss her much. Talisa Soto plays Sanchez's girlfriend the well named Lupe who ends up falling for Bond of course. She has one saving grace She's not in the film that much. Anymore of the air-headed Lupe and she would have honors in the Tanya Roberts Bond Girl hall of shame.Carey Lowell is the tough talking CIA pilot Pam Bouvier AKA Ms Kennedy. She's really the proper Bond Girl and She's rougher and tougher than your average Bond girl though she still cowers when Bond treats her like shit. I doubt Ms Lowell has ever been up for any acting awards but she's worlds better than Soto or Barnes and is one of the bright spots of the film.
Villains: Here is where LTK gets it's best marks. Robert Davi is solid as the drug selling psychotic Franz Sanchez. Young Benicio del Toro is great as Sanchez's henchman though he did accidentally legitimately injure Timothy Dalton's hand. Anthony Zerbe is fine as the uber creepy Milton Crest. And let's not forget Wayne Newton who is solid as the slimy, campy, though highly believable TV evangelist Professor Joe Butcher. Newton who has a lot of practice as a fund razor allegedly improvised many of lines. Whether or not his catch phrase "Bless Your Heart" was his or not I have no idea. The only bad guy that gets on your nerves is the nerdy, forever panicked Truman Lodge and Sanchez finally does we all would have done to him.
The Bit Players: Robert Brown's M as usual is pretty unsubstantial. he has one memorable line "This isn't a country club 007" Then he tells his bodyguards not to shoot Bond because "there are too many people around" (There actually didn't seem to be anybody) Caroline Bliss' Moneypenny gets a very short scene. She's sniffling about Bond and sends Q out to find him. And then there is Q. The biggest role for good ol' Desmond Llewellyn and probably his finest hour. As with everybody else in the film sands Felix Leiter Bond treats him like garbage. First knocking him over a chair then constantly telling him to go home. What a prick.
Odds and Ends: The film had several issues in production. In fact director John Glen swears the Mexico City shoot was haunted and for proof offered up the now famous picture of a fireball making a hand
The fact that the film was the first to not have any of it's scenes filmed in Britain made many purists upset and continues to be part of the criticism of the film to this day. Licence To Kill was the first bond film to not have either a Fleming Title or very close to a Fleming title. The original title was suppose to be Licence Revoked but tests showed the American audiences weren't sure what "revoked" meant. Which is sad if true. There is some Fleming in the film. Milton Crest was a character in the short story The Hildebrand Rarity. The seen where Lupe get's beaten with the tail of the stingray comes from the same short story though in the book it's Mrs Crest being beaten by Milton Crest. The scene where poor Felix Leiter get's his arms and legs eaten off by sharks (he disagreed with something that ate him) happened in the book Live and Let Die. Then current Bond
Novelist John Gardner wrote the novelization of the film and made the curious decision to keep the movie in the same continuous universe as the literary James Bond. Thus he actually had poor Felix Leiter getting his prosthetic arms and legs eaten off by a shark. That poor poor man. The marketing for the films was sub-par by Bond standards. Many still point to this film as having some of the poorest teaser posters of the series and they were. The film did not do well by Bond Standards grossing 40 million dollars less The Living Daylights; The film did especially lackluster business in America which was a huge disappointment since this with it's Miami Vice like plot was by most standards the most Americanized Bond film to date. Part f the reason the film did not do as well as others in the series is the summer of 1989 was a huge year for movies and had to compete with Batman, Star Trek V, Indiana Jones And The last Crusade and others.
Overall Thoughts: I may seem harsh on Dalton's Bond and it's true I think his Bond was Bland at best and down right dickish mean at worst but both his movies are fine entries in the cannon even if, and this goes for 80's Bond films in general, it isn't particularly memorable. This maybe along with Thunderball and A View To A Kill my least re-watched official Bond film though I think it better than both of the other films I mentioned and the reason is the film is just joyless. It's brightest moments are the Q scenes and that is never a great thing to say about a Bond film is it? Ms Lowell is fine as the Bond girl and Davi and Newton often make for better viewing than Bond. And about Mr. Davi and Newton. One played a psychotic girl friend beating, murdering drug dealer and the other played a slimy con-artist who sells the drugs through his bogus television ministry. And what is the only thing of note that either of these two men have done recently? Campaigned fast and hard for Conservative Republican politicians. Just sayin.
With all that I have said here one might think I dislike the film and that simply isn't true. I like the movie plenty. In fact there is no official Bond film I dislike. What is true is the film is not high on my list of favorite Bond films. It moves along at a brisk pace and is never boring like say Thunderball is at times but Bond is best when it's objective is to be Bond. Here Bond just seems to be following the current flavor of the month drug related violent action films. It also probably didn't help that this was the second Bond film in a row that had drug smuggling as a plot. For all of the work that went into the movie to make it feel fresh it's the one thing that LTK doesn't feel. Unlike the 60's Bond films and even most ofthe 70;s Bond films LTK feels dated though it does serve a reminder the 80's weren't all that damned great. Oh and that damn ending with the winking fish doesn't help matters.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Thank You Eileen.
We love you. You will be so very missed. Words fail me at the minute so that is why this is so short. Comments are shut off to everyone except Jonathan and I for the time being.
Comments are back on. They will be moderated. We welcome any positive thoughts and stories on such a wonderful person.
Comments are back on. They will be moderated. We welcome any positive thoughts and stories on such a wonderful person.
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