Ever since I read my first Ian Fleming novel I have been hooked on to the whole espionage (as they say now) genre and have consumed several stories in print and film. James Bond has some sort of aura that is goofy at times yet hard to resist. I am convinced the marketing genius behind the franchise has me sold on this one. So much so that I have also amassed the movie collections on DVD format so I can watch it over and over. That is addiction. Trying to see what I might have missed the last time so I can regale in the sequences of exotic girls swooning and trying to say something clever at the same time; to the humanly impossible stunt that transports this modern superman to battle his nemesis.
The reincarnations of the role have occured in film by changing who plays that role - from my memory its Roger Moore, Sean Connery, a rat faced Timothy somebody to the suave Pierce Brosnan to the current hunky Daniel Craig. Its funny and I am sure I would not get too many agreements on this but my favorite has been the newest Bond - Craig. Connery is the next best.
The three films that Craig has portrayed 007 have been Casino Royale (sort of a prequel to the whole Bond series now released again with a new cast) to Quantum of Solace (by far the most idiotic plot ever conceived yet somehow I own it on DVD) and the latest with Javier Bardem as the villian in Skyfall. The last role for Craig also had Madame Dench kicking the bucket in her role of M. We will never know if her name was indeed Emma or something else?
The plot thickens as we await the next release with perhaps more of the luscious Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Ralph Fiennes' finesse as he plays the new M.. after 50 years its still a wonderful timepass.
On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...
By a strange coincidence, I watched parts of Die Another Day on TV last night..the one liners are a great part of its charm, I think. Mel Brooks is the only American equivalent for those I can think of.
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