In Spectre Gadget

Yes, the year has finally arrived for the next chapter in the James Bond film series. The wait was long for 2006's Casino Royale, due to legal issues plus the process of selecting a new Bond actor. Quantum of Solace was a mere two years later, and it showed. Then studio financial issues delayed Skyfall for four years, an eternity for a Bond fan to wait. I bided my time re-watching my Bond DVDs and re-reading the Bond novels. 

Now we are finally back on track... or are we?... with only a three year gap leading up to the Spectre movie this November. It's still a lengthy wait, but it'll be worth it if the film lives up to its title. Spectre instantly conjures up images of the Bond pictures of the 60's, the originals, the classics that set the standards for what we'd come to expect in every 007 movie. High adventure, good escapist fun, and thrills and girls and gadgets to your heart's content.

The James Bond Story, a documentary about the 007

phenomenon; and Goldeneye, a so-so bio-pic about Bond 

creator Ian Fleming.

Spectre will haunt movie theatres come November 6th. For now we have the movie teaser trailer to keep us happy. The trailer doesn't give us much, but what we see is in keeping with the dark tone that crept into the Bond films when Casino Royale came along. I don't want any big reveals at this point anyway; that would only spoil the surprises that will doubtless be crucial points in the movie. 

Spectre picks up shortly after the events of Skyfall, the destruction of the MI6 headquarters and James' ancestral home. Bond's mysterious past again plays a role in the story, some sort of family secret. 

One particular shot in the trailer shows us a great visual setting: the frosty mountains surrounding a lake, with Bond (presumably) boating toward a large cabin on the shore. The isolated spot in the wilderness is a nice switch from the usual urban tank races and free-running. 

We also get a glimpse of the Spectre ring we know and love from the early Bond pictures. Head villainous honcho Blofeld and his crew of terror killers always sported the tentacular piece of jewelry. There were variations in the design over the years, and even in the new film trailer, we see a sleeker, less gaudy styling. 

Just one of the Spectre ring designs from the 60's flms

A scruffy Mr. White, who we know from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, figures into this story. His line in the trailer informs us that Bond is once again up against the huge and powerful criminal organization: "You're a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond". The formality of the warning is standard fare for the polite maniacal characters of 007's world.

Modern day acting great Christoph Waltz plays the main bad guy in Spectre, though that character is not Blofeld, if the small amount of available information is correct. Interestingly, Waltz appeared in the 1989 Ian Fleming bio-pic called Goldeneye (not to be confused with the 1995 official Bond film of the same name) as a German spy. The bio-pic was rather forgettable, poorly paced and not very interesting overall. In fact, the more recent BBC TV offering, Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond, was a more enticing effort, though it was weakened by too much artistic license. 

It's nice to see Skyfall's Sam Mendes back in the director's chair here. His superb skills gave the franchise a solid fuel injection that was sorely needed after the lacklustre Quantum of Solace. Quantum, for me, fell far short of the brilliance that was Casino Royale, though the bar was set ridiculously high by that one. Skyfall achieved Casino success, not by duplicating its dark and gritty tone, but by polishing it with an eye toward 007's early cinematic adventures. Neat little references to 60's Bondisms, plus a focus on his personal history, blend the familiar tropes with the eternal questions of our hero's origins. 

--

From 1962's Dr. No:

Dr. No: I'm a member of SPECTRE.

Bond: SPECTRE?

Dr. No: SPECTRE: Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, Extortion. The four great cornerstones of power headed by the greatest brains in the world.

Bond: Correction: Criminal brains!

Dr. No: The successful criminal brain is always superior. It has to be.

Chewie, We're Home

Time for a reunion, you guys

Everyone in the world with a computer has been looking at the new teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the past few days. And the lucky folks who made it to Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim have been getting a whole lot more: a live demo of the very real new droid BB-8, panel discussions, Q & A's, interviews with cast and crew and director, amazing recreations of SW sets and costumes, everything under the sun related to Star Wars. The best I got was some coverage of the event on YouTube. Still, pretty impressive.

And that trailer.... whoa! And I thought the first teaser looked great. This nearly two-minute glimpse into director J.J. Abram's upcoming addition to the Star Wars universe is a thrill ride. The eerie intro visuals on the desert planet; the mysterious narration by Luke; the heart-pounding action scenes showing us our new heroes and villains; and last but not least, the warm and fuzzy quick shot of Han and Chewie. 

Abrams has successfully captured the look and feel of the original trilogy while introducing new elements and slight updates. New characters are a must. I'm not sure if such a film could survive on oldsters Hamill, Fisher, and Ford alone. Chewie maybe, and definitely the droids. But the young blood Abrams has injected into Episode VII so far seems to fit the bill. Some are familiar faces, but not too familiar. These folks can slip into the brand new characters and hopefully grow with them in sequels to follow. 

My tiny R2 unit guarding my router

The introduction of what we believe is the new robotic star, BB-8, is so well-executed that even the most die-hard R2-D2 fans are all over it. BB-8 seems to have a "young" personality, sort of cute (rolling and bouncing like a child's ball) and innocent and curious. Perhaps not quite as clever, saucy, and mischievous as R2 - at least not yet. I wonder if BB (baby?) will evolve into something like R2, or if this will be his (or her) programmed personality for the next bunch of Star Wars movies. 

The new trailer raises questions: like who got their hands on the twisted remains of Vader's mask? Luke... after the funeral pyre scene in the Jedi film? Somebody else... malevolent or benevolent?

And Poe, the pilot who shouts from the cockpit of his dazzling X-wing fighter... how does he figure into the story? A main character representative of the Rebel Alliance? Will he become part of the lives of Rey and Finn (who according to the trailer become allied)?

You are getting sleepy....

Rey, the young woman who is purportedly the main character, or at least one of them, bears an unmistakable resemblance to Padme Amidala. Is she part of that lineage? Maybe Leia's daughter? Or some relation.

Finn, the always sweaty and frantic fellow in stormtrooper armour in the trailers, has a backstory that we simply don't know yet. How does he fit in? Just a chance encounter that throws him into the fray and into the adventures that'll follow - in Ep. VII and beyond?

The bad guys are pretty cool in their very brief appearances: is that villain in the medieval Japanese style mask and outfit a Sith? He does that Force gesture with his hand, and in his other he holds a light saber. Hm. The stormtroopers are gussied up in  slightly remodelled armour: most notable is the odd grin and dark shades (they look like sunglasses) on the helmet. Another trooper sports highly metallic-looking armour with a snazzy cape. Now that's a cool new look. Not to mention the funky get-up on the T.I.E. fighter pilot... black armour with red trim. There is something familiar about all of this stuff, very old-school Star Wars, reminiscent of the constructions in the original 1977 feature and its two sequels. And yet we've got fascinating little updates that are the eye-candy that fans want to see.

And of course, good ol' Han and Chewie in the final shot. Ford definitely looks his age, over 70, yet there was an attempt to retain the Han Solo haircut, or at least something like that. Chewbacca hasn't aged a day in appearance, though Wookiees are known to live for hundreds of years, so thirty some years is nothing to him. Han's voice and Chewie's roar are familiar and reassuring. We know we are in for a wonderful treat here... nostalgic but with an eye to the future... with new characters who'll carry on the legacy. And I should think that Wookiees and droids will always be part of the picture in the Star Wars universe. 

May the Force be with you....

Sit On It, Potsie

It was on this very day (April 12th) way back in 1954 that Bill Haley recorded Rock Around the Clock. Many consider this the song that put rock and roll on the map - world-wide. 

I first heard the song when the premiere episode of Happy Days aired on TV, shortly after my tenth birthday in 1974. Hard to believe the show began that long ago. And that I was so young at the time. Rock Around the Clock was the program's theme song for the first two seasons, then was replaced by the newly written song Happy Days. I enjoyed both songs, but went so far as to buy the 45-rpm single of the newer theme. 

Happy Days, creation of TV genius Garry Marshall, plunked the viewers into the bygone era of 1950's and 60's Milwaukee. The nostalgic comedy was a huge, long-running hit, spawning spin-offs both good and bad. I loved it. I loved the music, the characters, and the comedy. 

Clean-cut pals Richie, Potsie, and Ralph lived out their teenage and early adult lives during the course of the show, the ongoing story spanning the years 1955 to 1965. Richie Cunningham (played by now-famous movie director Ron Howard) was the well-bred, freckle-faced lad whose parents served as the older and wiser generation in the program. And the Cunningham house was the "home base" for most of the episodes, where many an adventure began.  

Wax on, wax off, Potsie!

- Arnold, owner of Arnold's Drive-In

Of course, teenage shenanigans often began and ended at the malt shop hang-out Arnold's Drive-In. Arnold's was where romances blossomed and withered, and plans for crazy escapades were hatched. And of course, Arnold's was where our innocent trio first met The Fonz, the biker hoodlum who took them under his wing and taught them a thing or two about the world. Fonzie, as he was also known, became a friend, advisor, and protector to Richie and his buddies as they explored more adult territory. Henry Winkler, a great comedic actor, played Fonzie in all of his ducktail haircut glory. 

Sadly, as the TV seasons passed, Fonzie's character became too soft and likable to really have any edge to contrast with the idyllic middle American values of the time. And even if younger generations don't know the source of the popular saying "jumped the shark", Happy Days can remain ashamed that it was responsible for this negative pop-culture reference. In a ridiculous water-skiing challenge, Fonzie - clad in beach shorts, leather jacket and boots - performed a "death-defying" jump over an open-top shark enclosure. Many cite this episode as the beginning of the end for the show, hence the enduring catch-phrase "jumped the shark". It was becoming tougher for me to stick with Happy Days as its stories and characters lost their spark.

Some good things came of Happy Days, like the successful spin-off shows Laverne and Shirley... and Mork and Mindy. Penny Marshall, now a famed movie director, got her start on Happy Days as Laverne, alongside Cindy Williams as Shirley - as a pair of bottlecappers in a Milwaukee brewery. The two gals were introduced in the first season of Happy Days as friends of The Fonz, then a couple of years later they found their own long-running hit TV series, also created by Garry Marshall (Penny's brother!). I enjoyed Laverne and Shirley just as much as Happy Days, even more so once Happy Days began its tailspin.

Robin Williams made his first real mark on TV with his appearance on Happy Days.... as the space alien Mork from Ork. His bizarre and hilarious character was so popular that creator Marshall lined his pockets further with yet another hit show, Mork and Mindy, starring none other than Mr. Williams. This ran for four seasons, but the quality went downhill very quickly. But Williams had a huge and wild stand-up comedy and film career ahead of him. I loved his antics on TV, but less so once he got into more com-dram roles in movies. 

The Fonz, pre-leather jacket, was at least a

little more authentic in the grease department

Movie Sub Genre

I've long enjoyed movies that take place deep below the waves of the ocean. There's something about the often darkened, narrow passages on a submarine - that claustrophobic, tense atmosphere that I like. The setting alone creates such a strong mood for these films that the sub becomes the main character, its human occupants almost secondary. 

As a kid I enjoyed the 1954 Disney version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Captain Nemo hammering away on his confounded organ (an unlikely apparatus to be found on a submarine). I also saw Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, an Irwin Allen (the master of disaster movies) film that sort of put me out of my depth.... not bad but not exciting enough for a youngster. If anything, I was more enamored with Fantastic Voyage, about a sub that is shrunken down to transport miniaturized doctors into the body of a dying man. Now that was a colourful and dramatic story - thanks in part to screen siren Raquel Welch. Oh, and I can't forget the animated Yellow Submarine, starring The Beatles (their characters, but not their voices). Blue Meanies and holes in pockets are key forces in this trip through Pepperland. 

My first visit to the cinema without a parent (with friends instead) was memorable because it was to see the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. This exceptional Roger Moore/Bond flick tells of an evil villain who is arming himself with stolen nuclear missile-equipped submarines.... to destroy the world's surface - and to then live under the sea. Easy as 1-2-3, right?

James Bond's Lotus Esprit converts nicely into

a submersible in The Spy Who Loved Me

Some sub movies were set during wartime, such as Das Boot, an excellent if long German film that dominates the genre. Others  that packed some oomph were Run Silent, Run Deep (one of my favourites), Torpedo Run, and U-571. The Enemy Below, a 1957 war sub picture, got a lot of attention, but I still need to give it a look. It's on my "to watch list". 

There were several submarine stories, some of which were adapted from books, that focused more on spies and espionage outside of wartime... some during the Cold War. The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide were chock full of tension, the first thanks to author Tom Clancy's typewriter, and the second thanks to action movie director Tony Scott.

Ice Station Zebra, based on a novel by Alistair Maclean, paled in comparison to its literary source, but was still engaging enough, especially with its all-star cast (including Rock Hudson and Ernest Borgnine). 

The Abyss proved that a sub story could be effective without military engagement. Instead, the protagonists investigate and discover a mysterious new species in the depths of the Caribbean. An oddly captivating sci-fi tale. 

Down periscope! (no reference whatsoever to what I thought was a very weak Kelsey Grammer comedy)