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.

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