You Know Who I Want To Be The Next President?

Although we are a year away from the general election to find a replacement for President Obama, the American people have had to put up with a lot of debates, questions, stories, and pointless headlines regarding the potential candidates.  The most recent question that has been making the rounds, and started with Jeb Bush, is if the candidate could travel back in time would he/she kill baby Hitler.  Bush provided a candid response of, "Hell yeah, I would," and "You gotta step up, man."  This has led to reporters asking other presidential hopefuls the same question, which seems like a scene right out of Mike Judge's Idiocracy.

 

After careful consideration and countless hours of contemplation on the topic (a total of about 90 seconds of rational thought and 10 minutes of typing), I've decided the presidential nominee who would get my vote is the one who responds to the baby Hitler question with this: "The idea of killing baby Hitler falls under the grandfather paradox of time travel.  While time seems to be linear and accessing the past or future is a frequent avenue for science-fiction literary trope, it probably in reality is another dimension in the fourth plane of existence.  Therefore your scenario is moot and not worth consideration.  Let's move on to foreign policy, shall we."

 

That guy or girl is the candidate for me.

Quick Question

Who was the Hitler before Hitler?  What I mean by that is when people in 1930 needed to drive home a point on Internet message boards about how atrocious a person was being, at that point in history they couldn't compare them to Hitler or the Nazis.  So, who did we use as the villain of all villains prior to Hitler's reign of terror?

A Brief Review Of 'Spectre'

The wait is over and my initial fears and expectations have been replaced by reflection and critique.  Spectre was an enjoyable film that didn't quite live up to what I was hoping for, but it was still a satisfactory entry into the 007 film series.  Because of the great success and astounding praise I have heaped on the previous Sam Mendes-directed Bond picture, Skyfall, I was hoping this one would be just as good, if not better.  While there certainly were elements that exceeded Skyfall, as well as other Bond movies of the past 53 years, overall it didn't quite reach that level of quality I had formulated in my mind.

 

A new list of rankings will have to be put together, which will break down more thoroughly what I liked and didn't like about the movie, but after only two viewings this past weekend, Spectre is most likely going to land just outside the top ten for me.

 

Some highlights of the movie include the pre-title sequence in Mexico City, and especially the opening tracking shot that is reminiscent of what Birdman did for an entire two hours, the henchman Mr. Hinx, the overall atmosphere of a classic Bond adventure from the 60s, as well as the performances of Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux.

The Spectre Just Got Real

It's official.  It's really happening.  It's really real.  Tickets have been purchased for my viewings of the upcoming James Bond film, Spectre.

 

You didn't read that wrong.  It does say tickets and viewings; as in multiple tickets and multiple viewings.  I'll be attending a late Thursday showing with my friend Danny and then follow that up with an encore the next night with my wife and a group of friends.  Most likely it won't end there either.  I'll probably see it at least once more in a few weeks after the hype and personal elation has died down a bit.

 

Things finally sank in for me yesterday that my expectations might not be fulfilled with this movie.  Normally I don't let critical reviews or overseas box office receipts sway my excitement level (at least not until the night of when I'm standing in line with the velvet rope being the final barrier to me and a new Bond adventure; at that point I'm like Riley from Inside Out with fear in total control of the console), and you'd think that having Sam Mendes at the helm for his second 007 picture would soothe me after the great success of Skyfall.  However, for some reason I'm already freaking out about whether I am going to be disappointed or not.

 

While critics have mostly been generous with their praises, it seems they believe Spectre isn't quite as good as Skyfall.  The general consensus among fans is that there is no consensus.  I've seen it ranked as high as the second best of all time and as low as the second worst.  Some have it near the same spot as Skyfall while others consider it to be nothing like the quality (whether good or bad) of the previous Mendes movie.  These two things alone aren't the reasons I have started overthinking the new film and been overcome with pre-show jitters.

 

What ultimately got me to start questioning the upcoming film is a ranking I found on a fan message board that included Spectre at number 17 on this individual's list.  Okay, big deal.  So one person had it in the bottom third of the series.  Well, what makes this single list stand out more than the rest is where his other films fall.  His rankings are eerily similar to my own.  We agree on both the top two films of the series (From Russia with Love and Goldfinger) and are dead on with another two.  We differ only one spot on five other films and another two are separated by two spots.  It would seem this person has about the same level of taste when it comes to James Bond movies, so finding his or her ranking of Spectre at 17 is what has me worried.

A new comic was released today featuring James Bond titled VARGR.  It is the first original 007 comic book series to be produced in 20 years, so this is an exciting day in itself.  Hopefully it will placate me through the next 24 hours or so until I can get to the IMAX theater in Dallas for the first of several Spectre viewings.

By early Friday morning I will know for sure whether I liked Spectre or not and by about 11 that night I will have a great idea of where it falls in my overall list of all the films.  My hope is to have updated rankings for all aspects of the 007 film series, from movie and music to characters and title sequences, by early next week.