I Guess

 

Without a word of warning

I saw you mildly dancing

With somebody else

Was the smile you're wearing

Beneath that mask and hiding

For somebody else

Can't help but to guess

But I guess I'm a bit late now

Don't want to confess 

Yet I can't conceal the pain, how? 

Such a bloody mess

That I'm starting, try'na fix now

Who could ever guess 

Nothing's gonna matter anyhow

Love Goes Full Circle in “Rocketman”

Sir Elton John had one of the best biopics ever made (or at least, it was a better biopic than “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was for Queen frontman Freddie Mercury). Aside from the historical realignment made on BohRhap, another thing that let it down for me was the presentation of the songs.

“Rocketman” did better for as for me, it was aware of what it was. A musical biopic featuring the songs made by the power duo of Elton John and Bernie Taupin to celebrate the trials and the redemption that Reggie Dwight had overcome to be Sir Elton John.

Elton John's "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from umusic.ca

There are two songs that perfectly highlight the greatness of this film. There was a clear story, complete with the conflict, and ultimately, the resolution, as presented by the songs “I Want Love” and “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”.

“I Want Love” was a ballad release din 2001 from the album “Songs from the West Coast”. A music video was released to accompany the single featuring a lip-synching Robert Downey, Jr. in a one long shot.

The song was used in the film in a very effective manner. Right from the start, the viewers were made aware of the challenges that young Reggie had in his family, comprising his father, mother, and a grandmother.

“I Want Love” speaks about a long-standing longing for love. In the song, love was described as something that is of “a different kind”, something “that don’t mean a thing”, and on his “own terms”. Considering these vague descriptions about the love that he is longing for, I think it would be safe to say that these were like shots in a dartboard.

"I Want Love" album art from wikipedia.org

A vague description was given probably because the writer was unsure whether having his chance at love would even be possible. In the film, it was masterfully presented as parts of the song were given to the mother, the father, the grandmother, and Reggie as if that was their best shot at explaining why love on the family had been elusive.

Fear not though, for Reggie or Sir Elton John would figure it out eventually in the film and in real life. As the song “I’m Still Standing”, another song about redemption, the song “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” starts to play, completing the 360-degree turn of the film’s arc about love that was addressed by “I Want Love”.

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” was written originally for the biopic. From the title, it could be inferred that the love that he had been longing for could only be satisfied by the love coming from within, from himself. The song which spoke about embracing the imperfections and visible and non-visible flaws, also told us that loving oneself is a decision that one must be inclined to achieve.

The line “Unbound by any ties that break or bend; I’m free, don’t you know?” reiterates that loving yourself first can lead you to being free, by not relying on somebody else’s love for you hold on.

Folks, let’s love us again.

 

 

The Many Disguises of James Bond in Octopussy

    James Bond, as a secret agent at the disposal of Her Majety’s Secret Service, holds probably the toughest job in the world – to stay unknown and in stealth mode while doing whatever task is at his hands (or lips, *wink*).

    With that, we saw Bond do different disguises and covers throughout the 24 Bond films up until    “Spectre” (2015), the latest as of writing. There was Mr. and Mrs. David Somerset in “From Russia with Love””, Peter Franks in “Diamonds are Forever”, and Sir Hillary Bray in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, among many other covers. Ironically though, these covers often get blown eventually.

    From all he 24 Bond films that we have as of writing, there is one film that boasts the greatest number of disguises and covers, and that is “Octopussy” with Sir Roger Moore as James Bond.

    “Octopussy” was released in 1983 and had the trouble of going up against another 007 movie in the form of Sir Sean Connery’s return to the role with “Never Say Never Again”. However, that would have to be a story for another time. Although it was still campy and there were cringe-worthy moments (*Tarzan yell*), “Octopussy” was one of the better Moore Bond films. From the seven, I would rank it in the middle for “Octopussy” had equal portions of the seriousness of “For Your Eyes Only” and the breathtaking, big-budget stuff that “The Spy Who Loved Me” had. It had neither Sir Paul McCartney nor Duran Duran though.

 

    With that, let’s get on with the list.

 1. Col. Luis Toro

Right from the start, we are graced with Bond’s first disguise – Col. Luis Toro. This was back when pre-title sequence had no significant relation to the actual film’s plot and the introduction had one of my favorite one-liners from the Moore era (even better than the “Fill her up please” moment later on in the pre-title sequence) – “Toro, sounds like a load of bull”.

Bond and Col. Toro, small world

2. Dead Body

While infiltrating Kamal Khan’s castle, Bond had to disguise as a lifeless human in a body bag to not get seen by Kamal’s henchman, Gobinda. During the transport, Bond escaped. Luckily, there were only low-level guards who were easily scared by Bond’s ghost-like scream.

Bond hidden in a body bag

3. Crocodile

Bond infiltrated Octopussy’s castle disguised in a Crocodile-like submarine. This was Moore’s version of the bird-like disguised used by Connery in the pre-title sequence of ‘Goldfinger” (1964).

Bond swimming his way to Octopussy's castle

4. Circus Worker

While in East Berlin, Bond put on a workers’ uniform for Octopussy’s Circus to investigate further on the anomalies between Kamal Khan, Octopussy and General Orlov (who delivered a SUPERB performance in this film as a secondary villain). 

Bond doing heavy lifting as a Circus worker

5. Mischka

Bond encountered one of the twin knife-throwing acts of the Circus, who were the murderers of 009 as seen in the opening sequence of the movie. After a brief fight, Bond took Mischka’s dress as his own to disguise which led him to his face off with General Orlov who then revealed the true plans of him and Kamal Khan.

Bond and General Orlov at gunpoint, with Bond dressed as the knife-throwing villain

6. Gorilla Suit

The Circus was indeed like a walk-in closet for Bond in this film. He had lots of choices for disguise, which made hiding very convenient for him. In another scene, Kamal, Gobinda, and Grischka were together in the same carriage with Bond and he had no time to move out of the carriage. Thanks to a Gorilla suit large enough to fit him, he had bought time before he could escape.

Promotional still of King Kong doing a cameo role in "Octopussy"

7. Circus Clown

This would have to be the most unexpected out of the bunch. Bond in a clown uniform, complete with makeup. But then again, Sir Roger Moore was able to pull it off without being cringe-worthy. Two notes though, why couldn’t Bond just told the authorities and even Octopussy about the bomb? And last, the more explosive question, how the hell could Bond have prepared the complete clown uniform and makeup within the time left before the bomb would go off? 

News reports placed Christopher Reeve with Sir Roger Moore in the same filming location in Pinewood Studios for Superman 3. Apparently, it was the Joker that had a meet-cute with Clark Kent.

Just James Bond things, I guess.

Restart

 

    Getting back to writing after an unwanted drought can be hard. Getting back to how you started writing can help though.

On the day we first came to be

Hardly I could believe

Love was staring right at me

Each moment after was a relief

'Twas a night of love

Magical but wasn't ours

Engaged, encouraged, and dearly loved

Best wishes to the man and woman of the hour

Ended the bargaining during a wedding

The night was set to bring something new

Hey, let's head out, time is running

Eagerly, I just wanted to be close to you

Relax your mind, I got you covered

Enjoy the escape that for us I prepared

For I knew that when life's got you cornered

Often times you'd forget, that ain't what you deserve

Restart, hold on to me, I guess

Yes, I'm bluntly stating this request

Or should you not prefer the way I express

Unlocking your smile should then be my first quest, but

Escaping wouldn't take us anywhere

Life shouldn't be lived unplanned

It could get smoother if we would stick together

And if you'd start seeing me as someone who could be your man

Honestly, it wouldn't be easy

Keep in mind, at times it could be tiring, but

I'd be here for the whole journey, and I'd

Make you mine; stopping at nothing.

x

21st

 (08 / 21 / 21)

    August 21st marks the commemoration of the death of Filipino hero, Benigno Aquino II, or simply, Ninoy. But also, August 21st marks a unique date being that we are in the year 2021.

    Here's a little something about peace, love, and everything in between.

To want you is to want to have you accompanied

For the whole infinite journey

Never going back to zero

Proving I can be your hero

To do that is to do all things possible

Everything that I can control

Rest assured they'll be delivered

I'll always have you under my cover

To see you smiling is to see a heart filled up hard

One smile is already the utmost reward

One hug assures I'll always be on your side

One kiss ensures enjoyment for a lifetime

To fail in doing these is to fail miserably

You can argue I don't love you too deeply

Yet I'm banking on having a second shot

On giving your daily dose of love, care, and whatnot 

x

How Die Another Day Paid Homage to Previous Bond Films

    The James Bond movie franchise is regarded as one of the longest movie franchises in history, dating back from Sir Sean Connery's first Bond film in 1962, "Dr. No."

    In 2002, the movie franchise held its 40th anniversary and to help celebrate it, EON Productions gave us Pierce Brosnan's 4th Bond film "Die Another Day", which is also the 20th in the series.

Bond surfing the tsunami in "Die Another Day" from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

    The film was quite watchable in its own right even though the suspension of disbelief would have to be really stretched out when  watching. There was the tsunami surfing, "Your mama", and the invisible car to blame for that. However, there were still something that wasn't easily regarded as nuisances to the film, and that's because some viewers love what this things do to movies - and these are the references, or the callbacks to past movies in a references.

    Since the release of "Die Another Day" coincided with a big anniversary, I guess it couldn't be helped that there were a lot of callbacks, with at least one for each previous films.

    Here they are.

1. Dr. No

It was quite obvious what they did to tick off the "Dr. No" Callback Checklist. Bond was in Cuba, investigating the person that he thought betrayed him. All of a sudden, a woman in an orange bikini, Jinx, appeared from the sea as Bond was watching from a distance. The "underneath the mango tree..." was replaced with "now, there's a mouthful" though.

Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder from wikipedia.org

Halle Berry as Jinx from Pinterest.com

"Casino Royale", Daniel Craig's first Bond film, also did this homage but better.

2. From Russia With Love

In the hotel room, just as Bond was shedding the beard he grown when he was a prisoner of the Korean Army, there was some flirting going on with the hotel hostess, presumably as compliments of the hotel owner. It was revealed, however, that the hostess was working for an intelligence agency and their interaction was being filmed with a camera hidden by a one-way mirror. 

Bond and Tatiana Romanova with Rosa Klebb watching behind the mirror from cowbird.com

Bond and Mr. Chang's operative from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

3. Goldfinger

A laser machine was used again as an aid for interrogation. Only this time, it wasn't Bond who was strapped but Jinx instead.

Another reference to Goldfinger was when Bond reveals a different type of clothing beneath his wet suit after emerging from a body of water, both in the pre-title sequences.

Bond revealing his white tux from bondsuits.com

Bond revealing his double-leather jacket from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

4. Thunderball

John Cleese was the Q for this film and with him in his laboratory were the past gadgets used in past Bond films to serve not only as a major reference, but also as continuity to the character and purpose of the Quartermaster in a Bond film. Long-time Q tragically died in an accident after the release of "The World is Not Enough" in 1999. In the film, R portrayed by Cleese was introduced as some sort of intern . With this film, he rose to being Q.

Aside from the jetpack used in "Thunderball", there was also the rebreather which Bond used in underwater exploration.

Bond using the rebreather in Largo's shark-filled pool from Quora.com

Bond using the rebreather in Grave's ice palace from tvtropes.org

5. You Only Live Twice

In both films, Bond visited health clinics which were supposed covers of a bigger criminal operations. In "You Only Live Twice", Bond visited Mr. Osato, head of Osato Chemicals and Engineering while in "Die Another Day", Bond infiltrates a health clinic in Cuba which did the villain's gene therapy.

Bond in Osato's clinic from twitter.com

Bond visiting the gen therapy clinic from them0vieblog.com

6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

In both films, Bond had a heated conversation with M which ultimately led to Bond wanting to file resignation from Her Majesty's Secret Service in George Lazenby's Bond film. As for "Die Another Day", Bond was retrieved in a prisoner exchange and his license to kill was revoked to prevent leaking of sensitive information to his captors.

M (left) and Bond (right) from jamesbond007.se

Bond escaping M's custody from bplusmovieblog.com

7. Die Another Day

The villains of both films underwent changing of their physical appearance with Blofeld changing his facial features and having a clone and Col. Moon transforming into Gustav Graves.

Blofeld's clones from puzzledpagan.com

8. Live and Let Die

The only times when Bond used a revolver were in this films. Bond used a .44 Magnum at the end of the film, similar to Dirty Harry's, While in "Die Another Day', Bond used a .38 revolver which he borrowed from his contact in Cuba.

Bond using a .44 Magnum from imfdb.org

Bond using a revolver from bamfstyle.com

"Mind if I borrow these?"

9. The Man with the Golden Gun

Bond faced an obstruction in the health clinic similar to the mirror set up in Scaramanga's fun house.

Bond in Scaramanga's fun house from secretagentlair.blogspot.com

Bond infiltrating the health clinic in Cuba from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

10. The Spy who Loved Me

In both films, Bond got to be paired with his female counterpart from another country's Secret Service, Agent Triple XXX Anya Amasova in "The Spy who Loved Me" and Agent Jacintha Johnson in "Die Another Day".

Bond and Anya from bondvsbond.wordpress.com

Bond and Jinx from Hollywood.com

11. Moonraker

The best scene in "Die Another Day" was probably the fencing fight scene with Bond and Gustav Graves, minus the cringey double-entendre with Madonna. This fencing fight scene served as the scene wherein Bond would have the chance to provoke the villain (e.g., Bond and Goldfinger's golf match, Bond and Largo's shooting exhibition, also with Drax').

Additionally, the breaking of glasses and the swordfight was similar to the fight in "Moonraker" with Drax' henchman. "Play it again, Sam."

Bond versus Chang in "Moonraker" from musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog

Bond and Graves' swordfight from warpedfactor.com

12. For Your Eyes Only

Both films featured the singer of the theme song in the actual film. Sheena Easton appeared in the title sequence of "For Your Eyes Only" while Madonna made a cameo appearance as the fencing trainer of Rosamund Pike's double agent character.

Sheena Easton in the film's pre-title sequence from imdb.com

Madonna in "Die Another Day" from popsugar.com

13. Octopussy

One of the interesting side of "Octopussy" was the many disguises Bond did, especially the one in the pre-title sequences Col. Toro. Also in the pre-title sequence, Bond hijacks a merchandise exchange between a thug and the gang of Col. Moon. However, Bond's disguise was made and he was eventually captured.

Bond and Col. Toro from 007museum.com

Bond intercepting and disguising from bondsuits.com

14. A View to A Kill

During the pre-title sequence of "Die Another Day", Bond's cover is blown when his face was scanned on a facial recognition device. A similar equipment was used in Zorin's office as Bond was having small talk with Zorin in "A View to A Kill".

Max Zorin's facial recognition device from spywhothrills.com

Bond getting his cover blown in "Die Another Day" from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

15. The Living Daylights

At the climax of both films, cargo planes were instrumental to the plot of the film. In "The Living Daylights", Bond placed a bomb to the location of the smuggled items which he and Kara Milovy would hijack. Due to the impending crash of the film, the pair escaped through a jeep located on the back exit of the plane. They drove off as the plane went plummeting.

Kara Milovy (left) and Bond (right) escaping from the crashing cargo plane from tgemm.home.blog

 

It was the same escape scenario with Bond and Jinx. Only for this film, a chopper was used.

The chopper escaping from the cargo plane from whatculture.com

16. License to Kill

In both these films, Bond had his license to kill revoked by M, portrayed by Robert Lee, and Dame Judi Dench.

Additionally, Bond aimed a sniper rifle but never actually fired them in these films.

Bond setting up his personalized sniper rifle from imdb.com

Bond aiming at Grave's plane from ballisticmag.com

17. Goldenye

With the Pierce Brosnan era embracing the BMW Bond cars, the few times that an Aston Martin was used in a car chase scene were in "Goldeneye" and "Die Another Day".

In the latter, the car chase was between Bond and Xenia Onattop's Ferrari while on the former, it was Bond versus Zao's Jaguar.

The Aston Martin versus Ferrari car chase in "Goldeneye" from Pinterest.com

The gadget-filled car chase in "Die Another Day" from theguardian.com

18. Tomorrow Never Dies

Bond was introduced to the remote controlled BMW Bond car in "Tomorrow Never Dies" and it was featured in a fun, and gadget-filled car chase in the film.

Bond controlling the remote-controlled BMW from imcdb.org

In "Die Another Day", the remote control feature of the Aston Martin was used when Bond infiltrated and investigated Gustav Graves actions after the presentation of the Icarus.

Bond controlling his Aston Martin to infiltrate Grave's ice palace from mi6-hq.com

19. The World is Not Enough

In both these films, viewers were reminded of the cover that the MI:6 had been using, the Universal Exports. Bond used this cover for the I.D. he needed as he infiltrated the pipeline station in 'The World is Not Enough" while in "Die Another Day", it was used to locate his contact in Cuba.

Bond using his "Universal Exports" I.D. as cover from bondmovies.com

Bond in Cuba, using the "Universal Exports" cover from bondmovies.com

    Unfortunately for the film, despite the numerous callbacks to past glorious Bond moments, the 20th James Bond film is still remembered for the CGI Tsunami surfing, and the invisible Aston Martin.

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Battle of the Bonds: A Comparative Analysis

    A lot can happen while watching James Bond movies. This weekend, as I was rewatching "The Man with the Golden Gun", a thought had occurred to me. Aside from the fact that that line was a favorite of that film, I also thought about how that film was alike with some elements present in "Dr. No", the series' first offering.

    Although Bond films would follow a formulaic template, there's still distinctive elements for each one. However, with the films in this list, some clear similarities are present.

    Due to their lengthy tenures as James Bond, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore are both regarded as the best ones to play the role, the classic Bonds. Also due to that lengthy tenure, Bond actors who came before and after them are often lost in the mix (George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton).

    Both Connery and Moore have seven Bond films and here are how each of their films seemed to fit one another.

1. You Only Live Twice (1967) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

    Starting off with the most obvious ones, these films were both directed by Lewis Gilbert and both featured Bond in a naval uniform. And with what they say about the Bond films of Gilbert, YOLT and Spy shared a seemingly similar premise, to instigate a war on two different countries after sabotaging space and naval operations of each countries. Blofeld was the main villain on the former, while Stromberg was on the latter.

Sean Connery as James Bond in M's office in "You Only Live Twice" from bondsuits.com

Roger Moore as James Bond from a promotional photo of "The Spy Who Loved Me" from bamfstyle.com

    Both films featured Bond pairing up with a different secret service agency other than the MI-6. Additionally, these were two of the films that featured a "Team Good" versus "Team Evil" battle by the end of the film, complete with contrasting costumes.

2. From Russia With Love (1963) and For Your Eyes Only (1981)

    It is not often that Bond films would have a McGuffin like what Ethan Hunt films tent to do, but when Bond films do, it is done quite beautifully.

Bond with the Lektor decoder in the final confrontation scene of "From Russia With Love" from screenrant.com

    From Russia With Love's "lektor" gets an update with For Your Eyes Only's "ATAC". Both items have no severe impact onto any of each film's characters, aside from helping our heroes and villains from one place into another.

ATAC Device in For Your Eyes Only from universalexports.net

3. Goldfinger (1964) and A View to A Kill (1985)

    Sir Sean Connery's most iconic outing, Goldfinger, gets to be paired with Sir Roger Moore's swan song due to the fact that these film's villains share almost identical villain goals. 

    Auric Goldfinger wants to have the monopoly of the gold deposit after securing Fort Knox's gold supply, while Max Zorin plans to supply Silicon Valley with a man-made earthquake to monopolize the deposit of microchips. With these films, the saying that "the old Bond films were just as good as their villains," can be actually taken to be a fact. Most of the memorable scenes often feature Goldfinger and Zorin.

Goldfinger's exposition scene for the Operation: Goldfinger in the film from reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com

May Day and Zorin aboard the blimp in "A View to  a Kill" for Project: Mainstrike from bondsuits.com
"Does anybody else want to drop out?"

    Do yourself a favor and watch out for the interrogation/laser scene in Goldfinger and the city hall and the mining shoot out in A View To A Kill.

    Additionally, both these films have the creepiest henchman/woman in Odd Job and May Day.

4. Thunderball (1965) and Moonraker (1979)

    The next films on this list may be good ones for some Bond fans, and these are also the bigger Bond films, big in production, a spectacle in the visuals, and higher level of stunts were made for this film to be Bond-level. 

    However, I find these films to be unwatchable and a legit snooze fest. Perhaps I just don't like watching the same plot for a third time (Moonraker is just You Only Live Twice, and The Spy Who Loved Me in space).

    Thunderball had some good scenes though, especially the Spectre meeting, and they were great with Bond's one-liners and witty quips. 

    Another similarity that these films have? The local parade in the night where terror would commence. 

The Junkanoo parade in "Thunderball" from huntingbond.com

Bond at the Carnival in Rio (Moonraker) from pinterest.com

5. Dr. No (1962) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

    Dr. No, the villain, was great as the first one to match against 007. After his death, extreme and heavily obsessive and excessive villains would face Bond in the likes of Red Grant, Goldfinger Largo, Blofeld, and even Dr. Kananga. It was only by the time of "The Man with the Golden Gun" where Bond would face a villain that was almost his equal, Francisco Scaramanga.

    Additionally, by the film's end, at the Hotel Crab Key and Hotel Scaramanga, Bond girls Honey Ryder and Mary Goodnight would be taken by the villain, awaiting Bond's rescue.

Bond and Honey Ryder having their escape in the end of "Dr. No" from chrism227.wordpress.com

Bond and Goodnight having their escape in "The Man with the Golden Gun" from 007.com

    Maybe a time at the beach after some explosions? Only to be followed by more explosions off of course, of course. 

6. Diamonds are Forever (1971) and Octopussy (1983)

    In Diamonds are Forever, Bond would have to overcome various Blofeld clones in the process of saving the world, this time from the hands of Spectre, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, and Bambi and Thumper. 

    While in Octopussy, Bond would face Kamal Kahn and General Orlov in the middle of the Fabergé Egg as this film's McGuffin. 

    Aside from the use of a circus setting, both films also displayed Bond's ability to disguise himself as another man, or even another living thing like an animal, or a non-living thing such as a mummy as he did in Octopussy. 

Peter Franks (left) and Bond (right) in "Diamonds are Forever" from express.co.uk

Bond (left) and Col. Toro (right) in "Octopussy" from 007museum.com
"Toro? Sounds like a load of bull."

"Small world, you're a Toro, too."

    Bond disguised himself as Peter Franks in Diamonds are Forever, complete with Franks' fingerprints (through Q), while in Octopussy, Bond disguised himself as Col. Toro in the pre-title sequence, among many other disguises he had in that film (which in itself is a topic for a different blog). 

    Another side note, these films had some of the best one-liners from both Bond actors.

7. Never Say Never Again (1983) and Live and Let Die

    Sir Sean Connery's final Bond outing is paired with Sir Roger Moore's first one. Although these are both good ones, with great Bond films, Felix Leiter's and stunts/action, these were quite hard to watch. 

    There's a certain part of these films which seemed to make them a bit dated, even as if these were made before You Only Live Twice. 

    Additionally, both films had two memorable but very lengthy chase scenes. The boat chase in Live and Let Die and the motorcycle chase scene in Never Say Never Again which was also quite hard to watch due to the cheap way of disguising a stunt double for Sir Sean, put a helmet on. A full-faced one! 

Bond in the motorcycle chase scene in "Never Say Never Again" from bmt216a.dk

Bond in the boat chase scene in "Live and Let Die" from 007museum.com

#TheList ends here, and I'd love to know about your thoughts about these! 

Keep 'em comments coming! 

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