From Russia with Love (1963)

A live training assassination by a vicious blond thug in the shape of Richard Shaw as Grant. Eeeeeexcellent intro.

To have a henchman introduced by winning at chess, is also a stroke of genius. Particularly as he is so brilliant at it that he can win whenever it suits him. And it does give credence to what is one of the finest plots of the franchise. To top off the list of henchmen with the little, but lethal Rosa Klebb, just shows how strong an instalment this is.

The characters in general have much more meat on the bone, and makes the movie as such all the stronger in most scenes, giving it many legs to stand on. Even Bonds helper, Kerim Bey, is a fine part, with his own life, wisdom, pride and agenda played to perfection by Pedro Armendariz. Armendariz, sadly, died before the film's release.

The film furthermore has the debut of Desmond Llewellyn as Q (with very fun gadgets) and something as rare as a re-occurring love interest from the previous instalment in Sylvia Trench. Connery is growing into the part, finding a better balance in a movie that is, on the whole, more serious and dark than Dr. No.

As usual there is stunning, exotic scenery. The scenes from the gypsy camp are, of course, legend. And at least what they're cracked up to be. There never was a better and more intense catfight than here and the gunfight and melee that ensues is top notch for its time.

FRWL takes place in the sixties, and naturally there are plenty of dark alleys, secret meetings taking place in dark corners of busy buildings and many shadows lurking. All done expertedly and mostly with huge suspense.

The action is also state of the art, the fight-sequence between Shaw and Connery a particular highlight, that would set the bar for later fights. A claustrophobic fight in a dark, small room between two grown men with knives and garrottes. That they rip off North by Northwest towards the end must be forgiven, as the last fight with Klebb is fantastic. The little maid with the poisonous shoe-tip being fought off by Bond and a chair. You can't make this shit up.

9/10

Best car used: 1935 Bentley Drophead coupe. Bond never drives any car though.
Memorable drink served: None
Henchmen: Grant, Klebb, Kronsteen. Perhaps the best of the series
Villain: Blofeld, though never visible apart from the petting of the cat.
Best one-liner: She should have kept her mouth shut
Song: Matt Monroe - Fantastic bit of crooning, perfect for Barry's sound
Bond-girl: Daniela Bianchi - A bit demure but utterly lovely and actually a rare feature as she is an integral part of the plot.

Dr. No (1962)

Ah. The majestic riff of John Barry (Or Monty Norman, I won't get into that here). Was there ever such a defining piece of music? And let me answer that for you: No.

The "Three Blind Mice" makes for a riveting introduction and with a swift assassination at a very exotic location, we are off to a good start. With Bond introduced gambling, stating his name only his second line. Genius.

Connery is suave on the verge of comedy seen in these days, but his appeal and danger are both undeniable from the first scene. Charming when it suits him, violent and deadly to men and women alike when he has to be. He even shoots an unarmed man from point blank. Truly the killer Ian Fleming created. Not to mention ridiculously flirtatious.

The introduction of characters is generally fantastic here, and the Bond-Girl Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) is the stuff of legend. So great they made a remake with Halle Berry 40 years later. Even for an early Bond-girl, she is a spunky one. She is introduced too late to make any impact though, and mostly strengthens the feeling that all characters are props for 007 to shine as different henchmen and girls (some both) come and go.

As a villain Dr. No is introduced in a futuristic and strange room only through a calm and callous voice. As most early villains he is very courteous until Bond starts provoking him, but Dr. No doesn't really fall for Bond's petulant attempts. Joseph Wiseman plays him with great stoicism. 

Made in 1962, this flick still has plenty of low-tech smartness that Bond uses throughout and with the recent explosion (pun intended) of CGI instead of script, it's quite titillating for the brain to see a spy that's actually smart and thinking on his feet. It doesn't have the set-pieces Bond-flicks were later known for but there is suspense and action in decent doses.

It has some pace-issues at times, but all in all this is a fine start to perhaps the most successful franchise in Hollywood to date.

And in closing: What's Bond without a bit of trivia?

Best car used: 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
Best drink served: Medium dry martini, lemon peeled, mixed, not stirred
Henchman: No one of note
Villain: Dr. No representing SPECTRE
Best one-liner: "That's a Smith & Wesson. And you've had your six."
Bond-girl: As good as they come.

7/10

Logan (2017)

The trailer was one of bleakest things I've ever seen and very bold with its low pace and depressingly sad tune. So does it deliver as promised? To an almost startling degree. General and extreme spoiler-alert.

It starts off with an utterly run down Wolverine, dishing out some worryingly brutal force, though far from with his usual panache and confidence. More like a force of habit, and because it is all he knows. Wolverine, as ever, the hero that tries so hard not to be, but always seems to be in the wrong place at the right time, helping the right people. Then, entrance Professor X. A shadow of himself, rapidly losing his mind and being cared for by Wolverine in an old factory, helped only by the aesthetically and otherwise shadow of a man, Caliban. All friends are gone. There are no uniforms, no air-planes and certainly no usable powers to speak of between them.  Only the prospect of scraping together money and medicine in a dusty outworld. Then it all gets much, much worse.

The introduction of Dafne Keen as Logan's daughter-in-genes and the dignified optimism of Patrick Stewart carries a glimmer of hope, particularly in a sweet scene with a mid-west family, but it is all taken away as one of the most beloved characters in Marvel is stabbed to death in a heartbeat. No honour, no dignity. Just cold death.

This flick is absurdly violent for its pace and it sets up the depressing mood perfectly. The violence is disturbing and uncomfortable to watch, director Mangold taking full usage of his R-rating. Mangold has full focus on making superhero-violence as bloody and realistic as possible, only trying to be cool once (and succeeding). From start to finish (with the two aforementioned exceptions) this film is quite frankly hard to stomach. The wounds are scarily real, with both Stewart and Jackman having bloodshot eyes in almost every scene and generally look ready for death physically and mentally.

Jackman has played this part so many times, he can probably sleepwalk it. But he does, like his character, have enough in him for one last push, one desperate attempt at redemption. His somewhat tired and subdued rage blending with the occasional extreme desperation and lack of hope. Stewart never could avoid being brilliant and Keen is just the perfect blend of disturbed, seeking and bitter. Holbrook is a bit dull though.

The pace is much slower than we've gotten used to lately and Mangold has great patience with his story and characters, few as they may be. It works a charm. The general slow pace makes the suspense much better, and has the viewer on very uncomfortable pins and needles as the plight of the protagonists hit you. None more than the last scene of Jackman and Keen. Wolverine his rugged, cold self until the last but two seconds. Another devastating scene to witness.

Combined with the sheer emotional fatigue of so much hopelessness, evil, despair, brutality and sacrifice, it's a film that is as easy to love as it's painful to watch.

9/10

The Children Act (2017)

When BBC produces a film, you certainly would expect it to be something others would be unwilling to pay for. And that it is.

For me, it's enthralling in today's filmmaking that it is ridiculously slow-paced. Director Eyre has no qualms with lingering, making the best of his excellent cast. Regularly, he will use several seconds more than usual to show someone walk down a hall, think, remove their shoes or other seemingly insignificant actions. If you pay attention though, they are nowhere near that. Today, when films are mostly exhausting to watch, due to the extreme pace, BBC's money has certainly allowed Eyre to be brave, making something that forces the audience to show patience and attention.

The cast is delectable. Emma Thompson excels as the workaholic, that has lost touch with her surroundings as she delves ever deeper into her work. Stanley Tucci is a very underrated actor, and is perfect as the husband that tries so hard to get his marriage and wife back. Eyre never falls for the temptation of making him a stereotype, cheating bastard, and Tucci delivers a marvellous character, with his own shortcomings, but a highly understandable attitude towards his estranged marriage. This is by far the best element of the film.

Unfortunately it all takes a somewhat strange backseat as Thompson meets a patient over which she has to give ruling (The very good Ben Chaplin). Their first scene together is brilliant, but after a while, their relationship fails to really find its way or relevance, leaving you wondering what Eyre is trying to show or learns us.

The story is also brave in the sense that if you've watched many movies earlier, you think you know what the next logical step is. But Eyre is not interested in any of that. Leaving some viewers feeling cheated, whereas the rest of us like that not every film has to take the same direction when dealing with the same issue.

So all in all, it has a fantastic slow pace that allows you a different experience from mainstream these days. And Jason Watkins provides the most British comical relief in decades. Many hats off to him.

It doesn't quite seem to find it's theme though. After an enthralling start, it takes a left turn, and doesn't really find it's way back.

7/10