MOVIE REVIEW: Through Night and Day

As hopeless romantics, we have been yearning for a love that would last a lifetime, one that would go on through days and nights of romance with the one you love. 

"Through Night and Day" promotional poster for Netflix streaming from Twitter.com

Filipino movie, "Through Night and Day", gave us a love story so watchable you could finish it in one sitting. It won't take you a whole day and night to satisfyingly finish the movie, with the tearjerking romance of Ben and Jen.

The film started off smoothly, a typical opening scene for a love story. Ben asked for Jen's hand in marriage after serenading her in front of a huge local bar crowd. Jen gladly accepted the proposal and the marriage planning was on.

Part of the marriage planning was them going to Iceland for both a vacation and a chance for their prenup photo ops. During this stretch of the film, the struggles of dealing with your significant other were shown effectively. There was Ben's annoyance of Jen's indecisiveness, while for Jen, there was Ben's short temper. The film proved to be prophetic when it said that you would really get to know someone when you're just by yourselves, like when you're traveling.

However, the tragedy of the film was only beginning by then. The persistent misunderstandings of the two led to a break up while they were about to head home, during Jen's favorite time of the day on her favorite place.

Years went on and they were apart with new lives. It was revealed that Ben's got a new fiancée, while Jen's got a new problem to deal with - a disease that would eventually get the better of her by the end of the film.

The events of the third part of the film weren't about resolutions but about redemptions instead. Upon knowing about Jen's sickness, Ben reached out to her by making time to make up for lost chances they should've had, had they not broken up. Ultimately, Jen's exit was ushered through a sunset moment with Ben - a much better sunset moment that would take the place of the tragic sunset moment they had back in Iceland. 

The best bit of the film for me was when they were both lectured about love and long-term relationships from their parents. Compromise, patience, and respect should always be important elements of a relationship. Love alone couldn't do the trick. 

What has Happened to James Bond?

Both shaken and stirred.

Just this August 24, 2018, Bond fans woke up to the news of Bond 25 Director Danny Boyle quitting on the film due to creative differences with the producers. His exit on the film was announced in the official Twitter account of the James Bond movie franchise.

And here is the actual tweet of that announcement:

The official announcement from Twitter

From the looks of it, Daniel Craig is not only the 007 actor, it seemed that he was part of the production personnel as he was in the last film Spectre.

Before the news of his exit, three casting calls were made for what I have thought to be for the main villain, the Bond girl, and the henchmen. Should we say goodbye to that casting calls? Should we say goodbye to that December-set start of the shoot?

Or worse, should we say goodbye to James Bond?

During the Sean Connery era, the Bond films were released year after year. Dr. No in 1962, From Russia With Love in 1963, Goldfinger in 1964, and Thunderball in 1965. It was only in 1965 when they started having a year between Bond films. This was when Connery started being bored" of his character.

Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964)

George Lazenby came for 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Connery was lured back for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. Roger Moore had a regular one-year gap from 1973 to 1985 except when The Man with a Golden Gun released in 1974 to catch up with the martial arts craze in the '70s. 

George Lazenby in On Her majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Timothy Dalton, with his two films, followed the trend of Moore's Bond films having his films released in 1987, and 1989. After this, there was a six-year hiatus due to legal issues which made Dalton leave the franchise.

Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights (1987)

Pierce Brosnan brought Bond back to the cinemas with 1995's Goldeneye. This was followed up with three more, released in 1997, 1999, and 2002. I strongly believe that Die Another Day was only pushed for a 2002 release just to coincide with the 40th anniversary since Bond was shown in the cinemas.

Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day (2002)

Brosnan was fired from the role and the search was won by Daniel Craig in 2005. With him in the role of 007, the producers thought of rebooting the franchise and starting with Bond's debut in the novel, Casino Royale in 2006. This was followed up by 2008's Quantum of Solace. After another string of delays due to the bankruptcy of studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Craig's third Bond film Skyfall had to be pushed for a 2012 release, which also was the 50th anniversary of the franchise.

Daniel Craig in Spectre (2015)

Three years after Spectre was released. This film made critics and fans alike to give some hate to the writers who made all Craig's Bond films tied up complete with recurring characters (Mr. White in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre, and Rene Mathis and Felix Leiter in Quantum of Solace, and Spectre). Not to mention, the return of Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Additionally, they gave the MI6 quartet (which was just a trio before) of M, Q, Moneypenny, and Bill Taner larger screen time than they have had in the previous eras. Honestly speaking, Spectre was more like a Mission: Impossible movie with a whole team working for one aim. 

Bond worked better alone, or with just one ally with him, in the previous Bond films. That is the formula and not with the whole MI6 team.

Bond 25 was set for a November 2019 release, having a four-year gap after Spectre. But with the recent news, would it still be realistic to have a Bond film with just over a year of production?

As it was said earlier, earlier Bond films were released year after year and the longest gap was still the six years between Licence to Kill and Goldenye. 

Other issues that the franchise is having right now is the acquisition of an actor from another color to be Bond, with some people clamoring for Idris Elba to be the first black James Bond. Another one is to have a female James Bond. Might as well have a gay James Bond or any other sexual preference. 

Here's what I have to say about all of this. Bond is a fictional character based on the works of its original author Ian Fleming. Fleming had his description of who and what Bond is and for the sake of a realistic adaptation of the character, I would go for not going far from the descriptions that he had laid. 

James Bond is not Asian, and definitely not a woman. But whether or not James Bond - 007 is a code name is a question for another time.

*Photos are grabbed from the Internet and all thanks are for those who own it. For sharing purposes only. Thank you.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dr. No Part 2

Welcome to the second part of the Dr. No movie review.

Bond is welcomed to Jamaica by an uninvited guest. Bond learns that the driver was not sent by the government, but was from the man who wanted Strangways dead. Bond tried to dig information from the driver, however, he sacrificed himself opting to be kept silent through a cigarette filled with cyanide poison.

Bond learns about Strangways’ colleagues in the island, the most notable one being Professor Dent who also tested Strangways’ samples from Crab Key. Now, Crab Key is a secluded portion where fishermen and the likes do not dare to come near. They were scared of the dragon that is guarding the place. (Bond will know later on that the dragon they are afraid of is just a mechanical robot dragon, perhaps placed by the mastermind of everything that has happened on the island.)

We also meet Felix Leiter, Bond’s friend and ally from the CIA. He will occasionally pop in and out of Bond movies, often played by different actors. In this film, he is almost equal to Bond. They both look cool, wearing suits on sunny beaches, neatly-combed hairs, and menacing physiques that complete the package of being the ultimate spy.

Being an ultimate spy can give you ultimate danger. James Bond is in deep trouble in Jamaica. The Three Blind Mice tried to have a shot at Bond, but for some reason, they did not try at all. Professor Dent becomes bothered by Bond’s investigations leading him to go to Crab Key himself, revealing the lair, and the voice of the main villain Doctor Julius No. We learn here that the doctor does not tolerate failures, which explains the cyanide death scene earlier. Dr. No gives dent the deadliest creature that can possibly end James Bond – 007, a tarantula.

Waking up to a tarantula

Of course, James Bond survives the tarantula with a help of a cartoon-like musical score.

The next few scenes are building up to probably the second best scene in this film – the cold-blood shooting of Bond at Professor Dent. Bond discovers that the secretary, Miss Taro, is working for Professor Dent. He arranges to meet up with her, making her believe that hey we’re going out on a date. Bond insists that they meet.

Before reaching Miss Taro’s house, Bond was disturbed again by the Three Blind Mice in an effort to finish the spy off. Bond survives the very first car chase of the series which, to be honest, has not dated well. It still looked magnificent and massive, though. Bond bangs Miss Taro and then, gives her to the police. He then waits for someone to reach Miss Taro. He has his suspicions proven right after seeing Professor Dent at the door.

Bond, being the spy that he is, creates a decoy on the bed and waits behind the door. Dent shoots the decoy, using up all of his bullets. Bond takes advantage as he says, “You’ve had your six.”

Shooting Dent

Bond, Leiter, and Quarrel, the fisherman friend of Strangways, meet up at the docks. Bond opted to go with Quarrel to help him reach Crab Key, the forbidden island. Reluctantly, Quarrel agrees despite his fear of the dragon. They wait up until the next morning before they make their move as Bond wakes up to the very first Bond girl’s song. 

Honey Ryder

Bond meets Honey Ryder who was looking for shells, while Bond was just looking, at her in her swimsuit. Who wouldn’t?

The next scenes do not do much except that Quarrel is burnt alive by the fire-breathing mechanical dragon, and Bond and Honey Ryder are caught leading to their stay in the Doctor No Hotel.

Yes. A hotel.

Dr. No and Bond

They are treated very well in the villain lair, complete with bed, bath, breakfast and new clothes for their dinner with Dr. No. Dr. No reveals that he is not alone in his evil schemes. He reveals that he is a part of the group SPECTRE – Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. Bond is not happy with his plan, so then he is locked up in a dungeon, or a room which is very escapable.

Bond foils Dr, No’s plan after a lousy fight due to Dr. No’s metal hands. Yes, he has metal hands. And as we go deep into the Bond movie franchise, you will get to know more villains who have physical irregularities.

Dr. No

Honey Rider rides with Bond at the end of the film away from their audience from the theaters, and their rescuers for privacy.

Do I like this film?

 Yes, no reason not to, but to be fair, this film has its flaws. Aside from its technical aspects, there are also scenes in the movie that can really be unaccepted by today’s audience. An example is when Bond tells Quarrel this, “Fetch my shoes.” And of course, another one is the womanizing antics of James Bond.

It is the perfect Bond movie to jumpstart the franchise, this film actually has the right ingredients. Not too much and not too dull. Shaken, not stirred.

This review will return with From Russia With Love.

*Photos are grabbed from the Internet and all thanks are for those who own it. For sharing purposes only. Thank you.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dr. No Part 1

This is going to be good for all James Bond fans around the world, provided that this will reach them all. As we all wait for more news and, ultimately, the release of Bond 25, I am going to review all previous Bond films made by EON Productions.

Whatever that is going to be written here, they are all from my thoughts and does not represent any outside organization nor do they mean any harm to the beloved franchise. Needless to say, I love Bond but this is going to be as honest and factual as much as possible.

1962 Movie Poster

Let's start with Bond 1, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond - 007, Ursula Andress, and Joseph Wiseman as the titular Dr. No.

The film starts with a series of white dots appearing across the screen, only to reveal a mysterious man walking away and firing his handgun as he reached the middle. This is the gun barrel sequence that started it all. It started the movie, yes, but on its own, it started a tradition for the James Bond franchise. After that raw gun barrel sequence, we now go into the title sequence which features a sea of colorful dots and somewhat psychedelic couples dancing to the tune of the James Bond theme song composed by Monty Norman, and arranged by John Barry.

John Barry would then go on to compose songs for James Bond movies up until 1987’s The Living Daylights. He skipped some films though over the course of that period.

The film opens with an introduction to the Three Blind Mice, a group of assassins pretending to be, uhm, blind. They assassinate Commander Strangways and his secretary.

The film then shows the man with a license to kill, dressed in the finest clothes a man could, enjoying himself in a casino with the first Bond girl of the series, Sylvia Trench. During this moment, James Bond utters his most iconic line that is "Bond. James Bond."

However, Bond's affairs in the casino are soon ended as he is needed to report at Universal Export's headquarters, MI6's cover. There, he meets the armorer Major Boothroyd, M's secretary Miss Moneypenny, and M himself. M briefs Bond about the disappearance of Strangways and his secretary. His mission - to find out why, but fast!

In the film's first few minutes, we are already showered with various Bond elements and/or moments which we will still go on to see for the next 23 Bond films (25, if you want to include 1967's Casino Royale and 1983's Never Say Never Again).

Let's turn for a bit and see this list of Bond elements present in this first film.

1. Gun Barrel Scene. A fun fact for old and new Bond fans, it was not Sean Connery on this and the next two film's gun barrel scene. It was stuntman Bob Simmons who walked and fired the gun.

The first gun barrel sequence

2. Title Sequence. At that time, they could've made it a simple presentation of the films cast and crew. Thanks to Maurice Binder, that was not what happened and what we got was a unique take on presenting the title sequence.

3. Bond's Introduction. I personally think that Bond's "Bond. James Bond." is just a response to Trench's "Trench. Sylvia Trench." 

"Bond. James Bond."

4. Casino. Bond is regarded by M as a great card player in the novels by Ian Fleming. It is just right to see him play every once in a while and outsmart his opponents.

5. Bond Girl. Most of the time in the Bond series, the BG's are silly both in their characters as well as their names.

Bond and Honey Rider

6. The MI6 Trio (M, Q, Moneypenny) and the Mission Briefing. The great thing with this Bond element is that almost all action-thriller-adventure films have adapted this sequence. A problem surfaces, the main protagonist is then called up and is told of the mission. Just add bits of helpful pieces of equipment and a flirting secretary to spice things up.

Before I continue onto the movie, I just learned on the news that the very first cinematic Bond Girl Sylvia Trench actress Eunice Gayson has now passed away. Both Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have already released statements honoring the woman who played Miss Trench, Sylvia Trench.

Sylvia Trench

As my way of honoring her, let's pause for a bit, remember and pray for her. This will be continued on my next blog post which will be part 2 of this Dr. No movie review. 

*Photos are grabbed from the Internet and all thanks are for those who own it. For sharing purposes only. Thank you.