Friday, November 17, 2006

shaken not stirred....

ok, so my spouse and i picked up our youngest after school and went to the 3:55 showing of casino royale......wow.....golly-gee-wow......i was expecting cookie-cutter bond, and what i saw was formula taken to an extraorindary level......in fact, characters that figured in midling-era bond films were 'introduced'.....giving the distinct intention of starting a daniel craig dynasty.......and while i fully recognize that sean connery is the penultimate bond, daniel craig surely gives the revitalized franchise a thoroughly updated take on everything double-oh-seven.........this from salon.com...In Martin Campbell's blissfully entertaining "Casino Royale," the 21st picture in the 007 franchise, Craig is Bond reinvented and reborn, a creature so unexpectedly distinctive that even though we all think we know what we want in a Bond, we could never have dreamed this one up. He's not what we think of as the classic Bond type: His body isn't a tuxedo-ready balanced equation but a wedge of muscle that demands clever tailoring. His profile, with its coulda been a contender nose, is so strong and beautiful it wouldn't be out of place on a Greek amphora -- yet his ears, jutting out with boyish awkwardness, look more like the handles. But his charisma both overrides and enhances any physical attributes. Emerging from the sea after a swim with his lady love, he's a scrappy blond god in tiny blue swim shorts; the moment is a clear visual nod to Ursula Andress in "Dr. No," but also an unwitting reference to Venus on the half shell. This is Bond as we've never seen him, more naked, alive and mysterious than ever. Anyone who has followed the James Bond series even casually over the years knows that there have been serviceable Bonds (Roger Moore), blasé Bonds (George Lazenby) and vaguely unobjectionable Bonds (Pierce Brosnan). But if the greatest Bond is still Sean Connery -- his chipped-ice elegance so clearly defined the franchise that there's no replacing him -- then Daniel Craig is the first Botticelli Bond.

and as i already mentioned.....wow.....

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