Hardcore History Podcast

With the annoyance of my co-workers smacking on gum and incessantly gabbing about the most inane things you could ever dream up, I'm constantly on the lookout for ways to ignore them.  For the longest time I have been listening to the top 500 rock and roll albums from a list published by Rolling Stone magazine.

However, the other day I heard an interview on the radio with Dan Carlin, who hosts the Hardcore History Podcast and the amount of praise being delivered to Carlin's show was worth checking out.  Well, after listening to only a handful of episodes I can safely say that I will be devouring anything Carlin releases in regard to the Hardcore History podcast.  It is an incredible, in-depth look at all sorts of topics from history.

The few podcasts I've heard have been interviews with historians and authors James Burke, Gwynne Dyer, and Victor Davis Hanson, so I haven't even really listened to a typical Hardcore History podcast that features only Carlin speaking about a topic.  Yet, the depth of his Q&A with the featured guests is proof of the passion he has for history and I can't wait to hear more of his insight on specific topics, which range from ancient emperors and kings who ruled in Biblical times to the 20th century World Wars.

A specific example of an intellectual nugget from the Q&A episodes was when Burke stated that "history doesn't repeat itself, people do."  We've all heard the old adage that history repeats itself.  It is a pretty common quote that is used when wanting to make a point of trying to show the parallels between two historical moments several years apart or as a warning of not repeating a catastrophic event again.  However, we hardly think about the quote itself and Burke is absolutely correct.  It isn't history repeating itself.  History can't repeat itself.  History isn't a living organism with thoughts and actions.  It is the people who make history and it is the people who repeat their mistakes that results in history repeating itself.

This isn't earth-shattering insight from Carlin or Burke, but it certainly is a way of looking at history that I hadn't done before.  And that is what I like about this podcast.  It makes me re-examine the events I learned about so long ago and consider them in context and delve a little deeper in what was going on rather than just memorize the names, dates, and places of history.

Another example from the Burke interview was that he claims the Dark Ages is a misnomer.  That is a pretty bold statement considering everyone knows the term Dark Ages and has a rough idea of the time period it is referring.  However, Burke believes that the Dark Ages weren't necessarily as terrible as they have been made out to be and that there are perfectly acceptable reasons for why things were the way they were.

A specific case in point Burke used was the disuse of roadways.  It is conventional wisdom that the roads of Europe became plagued with bandits and thieves, resulting in less travel and the roadways went into disrepair (as much as a pathway in a grass field can fall into disrepair).  However, it is Burke's belief that the real reason roadways went by the wayside was due to the fact that once the Roman marketplace was no longer a desired destination point there was no need to travel there, resulting in the roads being less and less traveled.  That makes a lot of sense and I haven't really considered that to be a proper reason for the roadways of Europe to go unused.  I just assumed it was the bandit theory that held the most weight.

The next episode of Hardcore History I intend to listen to will be the first that is simply Carlin speaking about a specific topic.  It is titled "Prophets of Doom" and it takes a look at the millennial preachers and prophets who cropped up following Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation movement.  I'm really looking forward to it and hopefully it stirs the same level of interest in history that these past episodes have done.

Stop It. Just Stop It Right Now

The common occurrence of adults chewing and popping gum in public (especially in a work environment where cubicles are used to a great extent) needs to be put to an end immediately.

I understand that I'm in the minority of thinking the idea that chewing gum is a disgusting act of social behavior in the first place, especially for grown men and women, but even when chewing it you can have some manners and not piss off the people around you.  Don't chew loudly and smack it like a cow chewing on cud.  Don't make bubbles and pop them.  Don't do either of these things repeatedly and excessively (you know, like every day, multiple times a day).

I'm going nuts at my office because the women around me chew their gum and pop bubbles endlessly all day long.  It has taken every ounce of civility for me not to go postal and scream at them for their obliviously rude manners.

So I am going to scream here and let it all out.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Movies That Changed Hollywood

I’ve been a fan of movies for as long as I can remember.  Even as a kid I enjoyed other aspects of cinema than just the story or the Disney songs.  I researched great directors and writers and sought out their filmographies, probably stumbling into genres and movies I shouldn’t have discovered for a couple of years until my pre-pubescent mind could understand the themes and symbolism.

However, I’ve also been a proponent of keeping the history of film at the forefront of moviegoer’s minds.  When I watch a movie with my wife or friends, I try to make sure that any homages to earlier movies or references in general to the industry are known so that they too can understand what the filmmakers are attempting to convey to the audience.

So that is the general purpose of this post.  It is one man’s opinion of the moments in American film history that bookmarks the progression of cinema.  If you have a working knowledge of Hollywood history, you will probably be able to quickly figure out seven or eight of the movies I am going to include and the reasons behind said films.  Yet, for those of you who don’t care as much as I do about movies and really only go to the theater to be entertained, hopefully this will enlighten you a bit.

It should be noted, not all of the films below invented or were the first to do whatever in their field.  What makes these films special is that they were the first to bring their techniques to an American audience or improve upon what was already established.

1903

The Great Train Robbery

I’m pretty confident that if you haven’t enrolled in a history of cinema course you’re likely not to have heard of this film.  It is an 11-minute one-reel Western that is among the first to tell a narrative story.  Written, produced, and directed by Edwin S. Porter, what makes The Great Train Robbery such a milestone film is the number of unconventional technics it used, including composite editing, on-location shooting, frequent camera movement, cross cutting, and, in some prints, the use of color.

As well as the above mentioned notes that make The Great Train Robbery the classic it is, it should also be noted that the final shot of the picture is an iconic moment.  The leader of the bandits, played by Justus D. Barnes, is shown in a close up, emptying his pistol at the audience.  As the legend goes, moviegoers who saw this for the first time ducked in their seats to avoid being “shot.”

The Great Train Robbery was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1990 as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

1915

The Birth of a Nation

Not to be confused with an upcoming period drama that will most definitely be an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture (and possibly a strong contender to win due to the recent diversity backlash the Oscars went through this past year), this silent epic drama was directed by D. W. Griffith and starred Lillian Gish, who was dubbed the First Lady of American Cinema.  By today’s standards this film would never see a public release and is pretty much considered to be a Ku Klux Klan propaganda film, but at the time of its release it was the first 12-reel picture in America.  The film is more than two hours long and included an intermission.  It also spawned the first ever sequel, The Fall of a Nation, believed to now be a lost film.

Although a commercial success, grossing the highest box office return in film history until 1939’s Gone with the Wind, The Birth of a Nation was highly controversial and the NAACP unsuccessfully attempted to have the film banned.  The widespread protests of African-Americans who were upset at the portrayal of black men, with some played by white men in blackface, as unintelligent and sexually aggressive toward white women led Griffith to film another landmark film, Intolerance.

The advanced techniques and groundbreaking storytelling have kept The Birth of a Nation an influential and significant piece of American cinema history.  In 1992, the movie was selected to the National Film Registry for preservation.

1927

The Jazz Singer

It has been revealed that approximately 70-75 percent of all silent films are considered to be lost.  Since the advent of “talkies,” the number of films to have disappeared has dropped substantially.  Yet, that really doesn’t have anything to do with the technological breakthrough The Jazz Singer provided.

Since the release of the Al Jolson-starring musical, the first to include a handful of synchronized dialogue sequences, the decline of the silent film era began and production studios slowly scrambled to keep up with the advent of “talking” pictures.  While it may sound absurd to audience members today and despite its tremendous profits at the box office, studio heads didn’t believe in the fad of sound.

Directed by Alan Crosland, The Jazz Singer featured six audible songs performed by Jolson, a rebellious Jewish man who defies his family’s traditions on the road to success as a jazz singer.  The film won a special Academy Award for its technological breakthrough and received additional nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, from Samson Raphaelson’s short story “The Day of Atonement,” and Best Engineering Effects.  It was ineligible for the two Best Picture categories at the time, titled Outstanding Picture, Production and the Unique and Artistic Production, as Academy members felt it would have been unfair competition for the nominated silent pictures.

Like Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, today’s audiences would balk at the social tone-deafness of Jolson donning blackface.  However, at the time of its release audiences were hysterical with the arrival of sound and dialogue.  The film has been selected for preservation in the U.S. Library of Congress’s National Film Registry and in 1998.

On a side note, the reason “talkies” have fared better than silent films in being protected is the creation of a more enduring film stock beginning in 1950 and an increase in awareness of film preservation.

1939

Wizard of Oz

It’s not the first in Hollywood history to utilize color.  It isn’t even the first to use Technicolor, a major color process invented in 1916.  Despite this, most people think 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is known for being one of the earliest hit films to use Technicolor, but even that is misleading because the now-classic musical was a financial failure upon its initial release.  It wasn’t until subsequent re-releases a decade later and the continual television broadcasting that led to its wide-spread popularity.

Prior to the release of The Wizard of Oz in 1939, MGM had switched to a three-strip color process in 1935, with only approximately 25 pictures having been completed using this new method of filming.

The most logical reason for the connection between the Judy Garland-starring fantasy film and Technicolor is the story-telling technique of using black-and-white photography to bookend the film with the color sequences found when Dorothy is in the land of Oz.  Even an element of L. Frank Baum’s original story was changed in order to exploit the technical capabilities of shooting in color.  Baum’s silver shoes are altered to ruby red for the film.  It also helps that the film is chock-full of sing-along songs and quotable lines found in hundreds of other films, television programs, songs, and books.

Although a box office flop at the time, The Wizard of Oz did garner two Oscar statuettes (Best Song for “Over the Rainbow” and Best Original Score) and four other nominations, including Best Picture.  Judy Garland also won a special Academy Juvenile Award for “Best Performances by a Juvenile” due to her work in this film and Babes in Arms.

The movie was a first-year selection to the National Film Registry in 1989 for preservation.

1941

Citizen Kane

If you have even a fleeting interest in filmmaking, you’ve likely heard that Citizen Kane is the greatest film of all time.  While that is probably a worthwhile debate to have as to the merits of whether Orson Welles’ masterpiece is truly the greatest piece of cinematic offering ever to be shown in theaters, a more accurate, and less controversial, stance would be to say Citizen Kane is the most influential film of all time.

In a nutshell, there is a substantial difference in the way a movie looks prior to this 1941 classic and after.  While Welles didn’t necessarily invent any of the techniques utilized in his directorial debut, he was the first to bring them all together in one movie and perfect the medium.

We will begin with something most modern audience members wouldn’t even ponder could have been a real option in the early stages of cinema: the end credits.  Before Citizen Kane hit theaters, the cast members and moviemakers were listed at the beginning of the film, prior to any action or dialogue.  The credits would be listed in a special font and artwork was provided to give an idea of what the tone of the movie was about, but moviegoers had to sit through the credits right after the previews.  While film crews were much smaller back then and it didn’t take near as long as it does now to list all those involved in the making of the movie, imagine sitting through the entire credits, not to see some sneak peek minute-long vignette teasing an upcoming sequel or cinematic universe companion scene, but just to start the feature you paid to see.

Other techniques perfected by Welles include storytelling (telling Kane’s story in flashback as opposed to the traditional linear, chronological narrative; multiple narrators recounting Kane’s life, sometimes inaccurately), cinematography (use of deep focus; low-angle shots; ceilings being built on set), sound (overlapping dialogue; sound perspectives to create the illusion of distance; lightning-mix, which linked complex montage sequences together with a series of related sounds or phrases), lighting, and long takes.

All that is a long winded way to say that Citizen Kane provided a new tradition of making films that has been upheld for the past 55 years.  The National Film Registry included the movie in its inaugural class of 1989.

1993

Jurassic Park

It might seem like jumping more than 50 years without any kind of advancement in technology, storytelling, or another cinematic element seems disingenuous to the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s filmmakers, but that truly is not the case.  There were some seminal moments in film history during that period, including the threat of television prompting studios to use visual gimmicks like widescreen methods and 3D films to get audiences back in theaters, the abolition of the Hays Code, the influence of French New Wave cinema, and a new era of filmmakers who had been taught their craft in a classroom as opposed to on-the-job training like their predecessors.  However, the scientific advancements that have been made from computers have had an enormous impact on Hollywood and that is what will be focused on in the final four cinematic moments of medium development.

Possibly the greatest innovation in filmmaking is the use of computer graphics, or CGI, for improving visual effects.  Prior to Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, cinematic monsters, make-believe creatures, and long-dead species had to be created with stop-motion videos, animation, miniature models, and blue screen technology (the precursor to the green screen).  Another “special effects” technique prior to computers was editing, which included double exposure, split screens, dissolves, and fades, but after Spielberg achieved a believable-looking dinosaur with computer technology it was no longer necessary to fool audiences with dubious film cuts or Claymation trickery.

The use (or over-use in some cases) of computer-enhanced visual effects has improved by such leaps and bounds over the past two decades that most audience members cannot even tell when a special effects shot has been enhanced with CGI.  We’ve come so far with computers that filmmakers who refuse to rely solely on CGI and instead “do it for real” are garnering more and more support from cinephiles.

CGI effects is a continually improving tool for filmmakers and it is something that has allowed directors and special effects teams to believably take audiences places that wasn’t possible prior to Jurassic Park.

1995

Toy Story

If you cannot legally drink alcohol, then it stands to reason you might not know that prior to your birth, animated movies were drawn by hand.  Yet, that all changed with the critical and box office darling that started an empire at PIXAR.  Toy Story was the first feature-length film to utilize computer animation technology to create all of its characters.

From 2010 to 2015, there have been approximately 150 animated films to be produced by an American studio.  Of those, 91 were made using CG animation and 41 were drawn traditionally.  While hand-drawn animation certainly isn’t a dead art, it has become second-fiddle to the abundance of CG animation making its way into mainstream media.

The impact Toy Story has had is not limited to just film and television either.  It also influenced graphic designers in the way they computed imagery for personal computers, game developers desired to replicate its animation for video games, and robotic researchers were interested in building artificial intelligence that was comparable to the film’s lifelike characters.

In 2005, the Library of Congress included Toy Story in the National Film Registry for preservation.

1999

The Blair Witch Project

You might think I will be going the route of the found footage film by listing The Blair Witch Project, which certainly is a craze that has lasted longer than anyone wanted.  Instead, the legacy this film has had on Hollywood and American filmmaking in general is the way movies are marketed today.

The Blair Witch Project is considered to be the first widely released movie to use the Internet as a marketing tool.  According to Wikipedia, the film’s official website featured fake police reports and “newsreel-style” interviews that amplified the movie’s found footage device and sparked debate as to whether the film was a real-life documentary or a fictional work.  It also contained footage of actors posing as police and investigators giving testimony about their casework, and shared photos of the actors to add a sense of realism.  Even IMDb listed the actors as “missing, presumed dead” for the first year of the film’s release.

The movie is considered the first to go “Viral” despite its premiering before the existence of several technologies that help the spread of such phenomena today.

1999

The Matrix

Like The Blair Witch Project, including The Matrix might be a little misleading as to what impact the film had on the movie industry.  You might think I will be discussing the visual effect known as “bullet time,” which certainly had its heyday in movies and video games during the 2000s, or the overuse of wire fu techniques, which is the combination of wire work and kung fu to create over-the-top fight sequences that defy the laws of gravity and physics.  Yet, the truly lasting influence The Matrix has had on Hollywood action movies is the move toward Eastern approaches to fight sequences.

That may sound similar to wire fu, or even its counterpart gun fu, but it is more than just that.  The success of The Matrix created a high demand for choreographers from Hong Kong cinema to simulate fight sequences of similar complexity.  It is rare today to find an action movie that involves a fight sequence that only involves two men going toe to toe and trading punches.  Instead, an action sequence must include weapons, both traditional and unconventional, intricate dance-like movement from the characters, and quick-cut editing (which was popularized by the Bourne action franchise more than The Matrix).

A little more than a decade after its release, The Matrix was included in the National Film Registry in 2012.

2009

Avatar

The golden era of 3D movies began in 1952, and it wasn’t even James Cameron who reintroduced audiences to the gimmick, but what Cameron did do was tell a story and shoot a movie that complimented the use of 3D instead of prostrating to it in order to make a few dollars more at the box office.

Beginning in 2003 a resurgence of 3D has been making its way back into mainstream films, so much so that it’s believed by many that the market has been oversaturated.  And that oversaturation includes films that have been forced to film in 3D by production companies in order to charge more to audiences.  Yet, Cameron felt so passionate about his alien action love story that he waited a decade for cinema technology to advance to the point that it would look as believable as possible.

Prior to Avatar, audiences didn’t question the necessity of 3D in a movie.  If the film was shown in 3D then you simply enjoyed the spectacle.  However, after Cameron’s film was released, it is now commonplace for people to debate the validity of whether the 3D gimmick was required and some audience members base screening reviews on whether they see the 2D or 3D version of a movie.

While James Cameron’s Avatar hasn’t been very influential in regard to the amount of films being released in 3D, it certainly has been the catalyst for the significance of using the visual device as a complement to improving the spectacle of a movie.

Honorable Mention:

1975

Jaws

The Avengers, Indiana Jones, E.T., Batman, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.  What do all of these characters have in common?  They owe a big thank you to Steven Spielberg.  On June 20, 1975, a movie was unleashed on audiences that would revolutionize Hollywood’s business model.  With the release of Spielberg’s Jaws, the summer blockbuster was born.

Since 2007, the summer blockbuster season has grossed an average of $4.321 billion.  This is compared to $1.429 billion for the spring, $1.028 billion in the fall, and $1.045 billion in the winter.  Summer blockbusters gross more than the three other seasons combined.  This does exclude the holiday box office season, which is defined as the first week of November to the first week of January.  That time period since 2007 has grossed an average of $2.159 billion.  Big-budgeted action/adventure movies are normally slated for the summer because that is when most of the dollars are spent on movies.  It wasn’t like that until Jaws.

It has had such an impact on the business of Hollywood, Jaws was included in the National Film Registry for preservation in 2001.

1977

Star Wars

The legacy of George Lucas has been tarnished over the years, but the one thing he can hold on to is he changed science fiction filmmaking.  Prior to Star Wars, sci fi was made up of either slow-moving operatic think pieces like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Day the Earth Stood Still or it was low-budgeted, cheap-looking space adventures in the vein of Buck Rogers, Forbidden Planet, and Planet of the Apes.

Roger Ebert wrote of the film, “Like The Birth of a Nation and Citizen Kane, Star Wars was a technical watershed that influenced many of the movies that came after.”  The influence it had was beginning a new generation of special effects and high-energy motion pictures.  It also piggy-backed with Jaws to refocus the industry on big-budget blockbusters films for younger audiences.

Star Wars was among the first films inducted to the National Film Registry in 1989.

2008

Iron Man

One of the more recent big changes in Hollywood, like PIXAR’s Toy Story, has jumpstarted a production company, which actually began as a lowly comic book publisher.  Iron Man was the initial wading into new waters by creating a connected universe of films that didn’t simply tie in from sequel to sequel but laid out an entire phase (multiple phases now) of movies that build upon one another and tell an overarching story with multiple heroes.

Marvel’s strategy has been such a success, both critically and financially, it has spawned other studios and franchises to attempt the same thing.  DC comics has initiated their cinematic universe.  The Universal monsters, made up of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Bride of Frankenstein, are getting their own universe to interact with one another.  Godzilla and King Kong will be meeting up in a shared universe.  Even the Men in Black and 21 Jump Street franchises have teased a team-up.

James Bond Rankings (Updated To Include Spectre)

With the release of Spectre late last year I have enough time now to fully evaluate where the latest James Bond film ranks among the previous entries.  I try to update these rankings every couple of years when it fancies me or if a new film is released.  The following lists include the actor playing agent 007, the overall film's enjoyment, the soundtrack, theme song, leading female character, villain, henchmen, pre-title sequence, and title sequence.

I should preface that the female character gets a few categories based on her beauty, character development, and an overall likability.  It may seem sexist that I do that with the females and not the actors playing James Bond or the villain or henchmen characters, but I rationalize it with the fact that the actresses hired to play these characters are selected partly because of the way they look.  Nobody cares how handsome or ugly the villain or henchmen are, and I would feel weird ranking the hotness of the men playing 007.

One of these days I will try to include with my rankings why I put each entry in its specific slot, but today is not that day.  Also, these lists are only made up of the Eon produced 007 adventures.  It does not include the unofficial Casino Royale from 1967 or 1983's Never Say Never Again.

Films

24. The Man with the Golden Gun
23. A View to a Kill
22. Diamonds are Forever
21. Moonraker
20. Die Another Day
19. For Your Eyes Only
18. Octopussy
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. Quantum of Solace
15. Licence to Kill
14. Thunderball
13. Live and Let Die
12. You Only Live Twice
11. Spectre
10. Dr. No
9. The World is not Enough
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. The Living Daylights
6. Skyfall
5. Goldeneye
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Casino Royale
2. Goldfinger
1. From Russia With Love

Theme Songs
24. Moonraker
23. All Time High (from Octopussy)
22. Licence to Kill
21. For Your Eyes Only
20. The Man with the Golden Gun
19. A View to a Kill
18. Diamonds are Forever
17. Die Another Day
16. Another Way to Die (from Quantum of Solace)
15. The Writing's on the Wall (from Spectre)
14. The Living Daylights
13. You Only Live Twice
12. You Know My Name (from Casino Royale)
11. From Russia with Love
10. Skyfall
9. Live and Let Die
8. Tomorrow Never Dies
7. Thunderball
6. The World is not Enough
5. Goldeneye
4. Goldfinger
3. Nobody Does it Better (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1. James Bond Theme (from Dr. No)

Soundtracks
24. Goldeneye
23. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Spectre
21. Die Another Day
20. For Your Eyes Only
19. Licence to Kill
18. Diamonds are Forever
17. Dr. No
16. Casino Royale
15. Moonraker
14. Octopussy
13. A View to a Kill
12. You Only Live Twice
11. The World is not Enough
10. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
8. Quantum of Solace
7. The Living Daylights
6. Goldfinger
5. Live and Let Die
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Skyfall
2. Thunderball
1. From Russia with Love

Actors
6. George Lazenby
5. Roger Moore
4. Timothy Dalton
3. Pierce Brosnan
2. Daniel Craig
1. Sean Connery

Girls - Beauty
24. Melina Havelock (from For Your Eyes Only)
23. Pam Bouvier (from Licence to Kill)
22. Pussy Galore (from Goldfinger)
21. Domino Derval (from Thunderball)
20. Kissy Suzuki (from You Only Live Twice)
19. Tiffany Case (from Diamonds are Forever)
18. Dr. Madeleine Swann (from Spectre)
17. Kara Milovy (from The Living Daylights)
16. Mary Goodnight (from The Man with the Golden Gun)
15. Natalya Simonova (from Goldeneye)
14. Dr. Holly Goodhead (from Moonraker)
13. Vesper Lynd (from Casino Royale)
12. Anya Amasova (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
11. Wai Lin (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
10. Stacey Sutton (from A View to a Kill)
9. Dr. Christmas Jones (from The World is not Enough)
8. Camille Montes Rivera (from Quantum of Solace)
7. Severine (from Skyfall)
6. Octopussy (from Octopussy)
5. Jinx (from Die Another Day)
4. Honey Rider (from Dr. No)
3. Tracy Di Vicenzo (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
2. Solitaire (from Live and Let Die)
1. Tatiana Romanova (from From Russia with Love)

Girls - Character
24. Stacey Sutton (from A View to a Kill)
23. Dr. Christmas Jones (from The World is not Enough)
22. Tiffany Case (from Diamonds are Forever)
21. Mary Goodnight (from The Man with the Golden Gun)
20. Jinx (from Die Another Day)
19. Kissy Suzuki (from You Only Live Twice)
18. Dr. Holly Goodhead (from Moonraker)
17. Severine (from Skyfall)
16. Anya Amasova (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
15. Melina Havelock (from For Your Eyes Only)
14. Natalya Simonova (from Goldeneye)
13. Octopussy (from Octopussy)
12. Kara Milovy (from The Living Daylights)
11. Camille Montes Rivera (from Quantum of Solace)
10. Pam Bouvier (from Licence to Kill)
9. Wai Lin (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
8. Solitaire (from Live and Let Die)
7. Domino Derval (from Thunderball)
6. Pussy Galore (from Goldfinger)
5. Tatiana Romanova (from From Russia with Love)
4. Dr. Madeleine Swann (from Spectre)
3. Honey Rider (from Dr. No)
2. Tracy Di Vicenzo (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
1. Vesper Lynd (from Casino Royale)

Girls - Overall
24. Tiffany Case (from Diamonds are Forever)
23. Kissy Suzuki (from You Only Live Twice)
22. Melina Havelock (from For Your Eyes Only)
21. Mary Goodnight (from The Man with the Golden Gun)
20. Stacey Sutton (from A View to a Kill)
19. Dr. Christmas Jones (from The World is not Enough)
18. Dr. Holly Goodhead (from Moonraker)
17. Pam Bouvier (from Licence to Kill)
16. Anya Amasova (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
15. Kara Milovy (from The Living Daylights)
14. Domino Derval (from Thunderball)
13. Jinx (from Die Another Day)
12. Natalya Simonova (from Goldeneye)
11. Severine (from Skyfall)
10. Pussy Galore (from Goldfinger)
9. Octopussy (from Octopussy)
8. Wai Lin (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
7. Camille Montes Rivera (from Quantum of Solace)
6. Dr. Madeleine Swann (from Spectre)
5. Solitaire (from Live and Let Die)
4. Vesper Lynd (from Casino Royale)
3. Honey Rider (from Dr. No)
2. Tatiana Romanova (from From Russia with Love)

1. Tracy Di Vicenzo (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

Villains
24. Brad Whitaker (from The Living Daylights)
23. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (from Diamonds are Forever)
22. Aris Kristatos (from For Your Eyes Only)
21. Gustav Graves (from Die Another Day)
20. Kamal Khan (from Octopussy)
19. Elliot Carver (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
18. Karl Stromberg (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
17. Max Zorin (from A View to a Kill)
16. Dr. Kananga (from Live and Let Die)
15. Rosa Klebb (from From Russia with Love)
14. Francisco Scaramanga (from The Man with the Golden Gun)
13. Franz Oberhauser (from Spectre)
12. Franz Sanchez (from Licence to Kill)
11. Renard (from The World is not Enough)
10. Emilio Largo (from Thunderball)
9. Dominic Greene (from Quantum of Solace)
8. Alec Trevelyan (from Goldeneye)
7. Le Chiffre (from Casino Royale)
6. Rauol Silva (from Skyfall)
5. Hugo Drax (from Moonraker)
4. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
3. Dr. Julius No (from Dr. No)
2. Auric Goldfinger (from Goldfinger)
1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (from You Only Live Twice)

Henchmen
24. Professor Dent (from Dr. No)
23. Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (from Diamonds are Forever)
22. Elvis (from Quantum of Solace)
21. Ivana Milicevic (from Casino Royale)
20. Emile Leopold Locque (from For Your Eyes Only)
19. Gobinda (from Octopussy)
18. Jaws (from Moonraker)
17. Patrice (from Skyfall)
16. Necros (from The Living Daylights)
15. Helga Brandt (from You Only Live Twice)
14. Nick Nack (from The Man with the Golden Gun)
13. Stamper (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
12. Zao (from Die Another Day)
11. Mayday (from A View to a Kill)
10. Elektra King (from The World is not Enough)
9. Dario (from Licence to Kill)
8. Mr. Hinx (from Spectre)
7. Tee-Hee (from Live and Let Die)
6. Irma Bunt (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
5. Xenia Onatopp (from Goldeneye)
4. Fiona Volpe (from Thunderball)
3. Jaws (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
2. Donald "Red" Grant (from From Russia With Love)
1. Oddjob (from Goldfinger)

Title Sequences
24. Licence to Kill
23. Moonraker
22. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
21. Octopussy
20. The Living Daylights
19. The Man with the Golden Gun
18. Quantum of Solace
17. You Only Live Twice
16. Spectre
15. Diamonds are Forever
14. Skyfall
13. Dr. No
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
11. A View to a Kill
10. Die Another Day
9. Goldfinger
8. Goldeneye
7. For Your Eyes Only
6. The World is not Enough
5. Casino Royale
4. Live and Let Die
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. From Russia With Love
1. Thunderball

Pre-Title Sequences
24. Dr. No (none)
23. Live and Let Die
22. For Your Eyes Only
21. Diamonds are Forever
20. A View to a Kill
19. Licence to Kill
18. Moonraker
17. Die Another Day
16. The Man with the Golden Gun
15. You Only Live Twice
14. Octopussy
13. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Skyfall
11. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10. Casino Royale
9. From Russia with Love
8. Thunderball
7. Quantum of Solace
6. Goldfinger
5. Goldeneye
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
3. The World is not Enough
2. The Living Daylights
1. Spectre

Live Long And Prosper

My youngest child is 2 years old and while he doesn't do a lot of talking, he is extremely observant and a copycat of anything he sees.  Despite a fall from such a height as a bar stool in the kitchen being a deterrent for most children his age, because his older siblings eat dinner at the bar Sawyer has made it clear he must do the same.  He also has to help close the gate or take out the trash because he sees his dear old dad doing it.

Another moment of copycatting took place last night that made my geek heart melt with sweetness and nearly burst from joy all at the same time.  Each night I rock Sawyer for a couple of minutes before putting him to bed.  Some nights prior to turning his music on to set the mood for sleep time we will watch a movie preview or two, depending on what is new.  Last night we looked at the trailer for an upcoming documentary about Leonard Nimoy titled For the Love of Spock.  Likely you have never heard of the film, which was funded through Kickstarter, so therefore I have provided an image from the film's trailer above.

As you can see, it is of Nimoy in character as Spock, displaying the Vulcan salute.  This image is at the end of the preview and when the screen went to black I turned to Sawyer to see if he was ready to go to sleep.  What I saw was probably something I will always remember and carry with me into old age dementia.  Sawyer was holding up his right hand, attempting to split his fingers and mimic Spock's salute.  It was absolutely precious.

With A New Car Comes A New Name

With the hail storm from a few weeks ago destroying my Jetta, I was forced to accept that Mad Max was totaled and a new family car was needed.  Mad Max had a busted front windshield, 16 holes in the rear windshield, dents from bumper to bumper, plastic pieces chipped off the side mirrors and other spots, and the CD player stopped working.

Joanna and I spent most of this past weekend and Monday car shopping, which was really supposed to be reserved for skipping work in order to eat a nice breakfast, see a movie, and watch the Opening Day baseball game at home.  Among the numerous cars test driven we viewed a Nissan Altima, even though it was out of our price range.  The car drove really well and the amenities were extremely nice.  It was the best of all the cars we looked at, which led us to see what a step down in the Nissan family would be.  And that leads me to the introduction of Mr. Draper.

You might be wondering about the name of the car.  I normally select literary or film/television references when naming my vehicles, which is not the norm.  Most roadster people believe a car should have a female name, but I like to pick names that fit me and my likes in life at the time I owned the car.

Mad Max received its name because I bought it when Mad Max: Fury Road was released in theaters and the Jetta had the tightest handling of any car I had ever owned.  I felt like I could out maneuver any scavenger or outlander in the Mad Max world.

Moby D, which was my Toyota Camry, was named in honor of the Herman Melville novel Moby Dick.  Like the whale, the car was white and the book was one of my favorites at the time.

Prior to Moby D, the names of my vehicles were the Boat for a Dodge Intrepid, because of the length of the vehicle being much larger than anything I had driven before, the Beamer for my 1975 BMW (I know it is not that original), and Jimmy, which was the GMC SUV I inherited for my first ever car.

So the reason behind Mr. Draper is because this Nissan Sentra is the nicest car I have ever owned.  Its features include keyless push button ignition and a rear view camera.  Due to these classy features, I felt I needed a classy name.  Don Draper is the main character from the recently concluded AMC series Mad Men, about the 1960s New York advertising world.  While it sounds boring and extremely niche, the show was an enthralling look at our country during a time period that I didn't really get to study in school.  Most history classes end at the dropping of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Although Don Draper isn't a hero or someone to be idolized, he was the epitome of class.  He drank the best liquor, dressed in the best suits, held one of the most prestigious positions in his field, and was always at the side of a gorgeous woman with equal amounts of fashion sense and elegance.

My new car's name is a representation of that refinement because in today's auto industry, most cars with keyless ignition and rear view cameras aren't found in vehicles I should be able to afford.  But I have been blessed with Mr. Draper and hopefully he can avoid the same demise as Mad Max.

It should be noted that Mad Max met a violent end, which is quite fitting considering the inspiration from where his name came from.

The Evolution Of Parenting

Here is an example of the differences in first kid parenting and third kid parenting. With my first kid I went in the Chick-fil-a playground to help with climbing, sliding and overall merriment. The third kid is sent in with his older brother to fend for himself while I sit at a table judging the other parents who also have sent their kids into the Thunderdome (and type this).

Oscar's Best Picture Nominee Viewings

With the recent airing of the 88th Academy Awards, I decided to review how many of the Best Picture nominees I've seen.  Of the 88 esteemed winners, I've seen them all at least one time.  However, once I completed that task I decided to take it upon myself to try and view all the nominees in the most prized category of the Oscars.

In total there are 528 films that have been nominated for Best Picture.  This might alarm some, but I have managed to watch all but seven of those films.  The seven I am lacking are very hard to find and even with watching over the Turner Classic Movies broadcast schedule like a hawk I have still not been able to find a single airing of the seven screenings I lack.

Each year I try to set a goal to finish the list of 528 movies, but it seems that the few I'm missing are so rare I would have to buy them on DVD (if available) or find a bootleg version somewhere.  Maybe 2016 is the year when I finally get the list complete.  But then again, maybe not ...

Reflecting On Comic Book Finale Destruction

Thanks to the countless runs of Man of Steel on FX in the past few years I have constantly found myself flipping to the latest Superman movie any time it happens to be on television.  Even though Marvel happens to be the big man on campus lately in regard to a cinematic universe and filmography, DC is attempting to catch up with the soon-to-be-released Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  With these two titans of comic books battling things out for several decades now, it has obviously led to similar fights (but mostly with just words typed on computer keypads in the basements of lonely boys' parents' houses).

One such fight is in regard to the amount of destruction Superman and General Zod wreak on the city of Metropolis in the final act of Man of Steel.  It is a fair complaint as director Zack Snyder utterly demolishes the architecture and infrastructure of Metropolis (as well as some heavy carnage of Smallville, Superman's hometown).  What is probably not quite as fair is how Marvel (and some DC) fans have clung to the argument like the symbiotic ooze that turns Eddie Brock into Venom and completely vilified the movie.  They ignore any credible merits the film might have and immediately start complaining that Snyder ruins the mythos of Superman because he probably kills more people than he saves by fighting Zod in the middle of the city.

However, after another viewing of Marvel's The Avengers on TV the other night I realized something: Joss Whedon does the exact same thing to New York City in his movie.  When the Chitauri invade, multiple buildings, streets, and vehicles are annihilated during the battle as the Avengers attempt to save the civilians and defeat the alien race.  Now, because it is a Marvel movie, which is much more family friendly and has an up-beat tone throughout the cinematic universe, you don't see a single person die from all the destruction.  The more somber tone of DC does show buildings falling on masses of people running for their lives and leaves nothing to the imagination that death befell several thousands of people (if not tens of thousands).  So why does Marvel's ending not get the same amount of grief as DC's?

I get where you Marvel fans are coming from.  When anything remotely poor comes from the James Bond series, I either find a suitable defense that I likely don't really believe in myself or dismiss it and attempt to move the conversation along.  You have to back your heroes.  But an objective look at the finale of both films will pretty much show that the cities in each film series gets hit pretty hard (although Metropolis' destruction likely would win if you stacked up the construction costs it is going to take to rebuild).

Reasons Mad Max: Fury Road Deserves An Oscar Nomination ...

… that have nothing to do with how good the film actually is.

 

There are plenty of articles out there regarding the merits of Mad Max: Fury Road, from the stunt work and storytelling to the performances and direction.  Most critics found the fourth installment of the Mad Max series to be a refreshing entry that, despite recasting the titular character, fits smoothly in director George Miller’s fictional timeline, not really knowing exactly when the events of this film happen in relation to the other three.  On Rotten Tomatoes the film received a 97% fresh rating, with the consensus being “with exhilarating action and a surprising amount of narrative heft, Mad Max: Fury Road brings George Miller’s post-apocalyptic franchise roaring vigorously back to life.

 

This diatribe is not being written to also gush over the film and provide an amateur analysis of what makes Mad Max: Fury Road so great.  Instead I will be explaining why I feel the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences needed to include this movie as a nominee for the Best Picture category.  Let’s look at three reasons why I believe Mad Max: Fury Road needed a Best Picture nomination in order to improve the Oscars.

 

#1. Expand its horizons and don’t just nominate artsy dramas:

 

It should be stated from the beginning that I don’t think the Academy should base their decisions of what the best movie, director, actor/actress, writing, or any other aspect of filmmaking is simply to appease television viewers.  The award ceremony isn’t for fans of film, but for those actually making the movies.  It isn’t the Academy’s fault that we as a civilization have deified Hollywood.  Although the ceremony wasn't initiated in order to celebrate the industry’s accomplishments and recognize those who are best at their profession, it has morphed into that over the past eight decades.  And during that time it has turned into one of the biggest nights of the year for Hollywood in regard to marketing their films.

 

Mad Max: Fury Road shouldn’t be included as a Best Picture nominee simply to increase TV ratings, but for recognizing any well-made movie, no matter what genre it may fall under.  It shouldn’t matter whether a movie happens to be considered science-fiction, slapstick comedy, slasher horror, or sword and sorcery fantasy, if it has a compelling story, great performances and other superb facets of what makes movies great then it should be a legitimate candidate for any Academy Award category, including Best Picture.  Many have the impression, probably rightfully so, that films considered part of an inferior genre don’t stand a chance of being nominated for the most coveted award the Oscars can give.

 

After 87 ceremonies it is clear that the Academy certainly favors tear-jerking dramas and historical biopics, but it certainly hasn’t excluded other genres.  War films and westerns occasionally will make it in the group, but even those are drama heavy.  Mad Max: Fury Road is the first film since 2009’s District 9 to be so action heavy and still make the final cut of Best Picture nominees.

 

But there is something that Mad Max and District 9 have in common, and that leads us to the next reason.

 

#2. Social themes that are explored through characterization:

 

The recent passing of Alan Rickman has brought to mind one of the greatest villainous roles in film history, Hans Gruber.  It’s not an opinion that Die Hard is one of the greatest action movies of all time.  That’s just fact.  But it is just that, a great action film.  While Die Hard did garner four Oscar nominations, all in technical categories, it undoubtedly doesn’t deserve to be a Best Picture nominee.  It is a straight-forward action popcorn flick.  There are a million action movies just like it, although nowhere close to as thrilling.

 

When most directors and writers set out to make an action blockbuster the motivation in doing so is financial.  I’m not saying that they don’t want to make a good movie, but underlying social themes aren’t really at the forefront of their mind when figuring out how to get the hero in a shootout with the bad guys while swinging from a helicopter and cradling a beauty in his arms.  However, that is where George Miller is different.

 

Mad Max: Fury Road is a two-hour chase movie, but it is a two-hour chase movie that also includes themes such as survival, cult worship, and female empowerment.  In fact, the female empowerment subject is so prevalent, many viewers felt the movie should have been renamed Mad Max: Furiosa Road or simply Mad Furiosa.

 

It is the examination of these themes, along with others from previous films in the series such as vengeance, solidarity, and redemption that sets the Mad Max movies apart from other run-of-the-mill action/adventure flicks.  If you were to explain the plot of Mad Max, but omit the post-apocalyptic setting and over-the-top stunts, you might fool someone into thinking you were describing what many people believe the Oscars are all about, which is a small-budget indie art house film.

 

There aren’t a lot of action movies that if you stripped away the violence and adrenaline you’d find subject material similar to dramas like Thelma and Louise, Eyes Wide Shut, The Master, or this year’s Oscar nominee leader, The Revenant.

 

Did someone mention The Revenant receiving the most nominations at this year’s ceremony?  That is a great teaser for the next reason Mad Max: Fury Road deserved a Best Picture nomination.

 

#3. Nominees by the numbers:

 

Mad Max: Fury Road received a total of 10 nominations, which is second most behind The Revenant’s 12.  The remaining films in the Best Picture category are The Martian (7 nominations), Bridge of Spies (6), Spotlight (6), The Big Short (5), Room (4), and Brooklyn (3).  To receive nine nominations in categories ranging from directing and cinematography to costume design and production design, as well as the technical awards like sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects, but not receive the Best Film nomination would be a major oversight.

 

The movie to receive the most nominations and not be in the Best Picture category is Carol, which received a total of six nominations.  It is unfortunate for the producers, director, and cast of Carol to see films with half its nominations in the Best Picture category.  So if the Academy had excluded Mad Max: Fury Road from the Best Picture category simply because it didn’t fit the mold of a normal Best Picture candidate like Carol, it would probably have lost more credibility with moviegoers than actually including it.  But again, the Academy shouldn’t base its decisions on what we at home would like to see.

Every year people in the real media and on social media gripe about the Academy not recognizing movies the general public has actually seen.  Nominating Mad Max: Fury Road for the best picture of the year is a step in the right direction of giving all movies, regardless of genre, a chance at the most coveted Oscar.  If only the general public would take a step in the other direction by raising their standards in what movies they see and stop giving Michael Bay billions of dollars to keep making the same toy-truck-robot movie over and over again. 

88th Annual Oscar Nominee Predictions

I don't normally make predictions of the potential films to be honored with Academy Award nominations in the Best Picture category, but I figured I would give it a shot this year.  I am pretty good at selecting the winners once the nominees are known, but figuring out what will be the choices, especially in a category that doesn't narrow the field to a single amount of films, is a little tougher.  This may crash and burn after only one attempt and next year I will stick to picking the winners among the smaller field of nominees in each category.

 

So here are my potential list of nominees along with those that will be considered but likely miss the mark.

 

Definite Nominees:

The following films are the minimum amount that can be selected for the Best Picture category.  The rules of the Academy Awards are that a minimum of five and maximum of ten films can be nominated, but there is no limit to how many can be selected within that field.  So one year it could be five, the next ten, and then the following it could be eight.  You just never know.  So here are the five films I believe will definitely be nominated in the Best Picture category:

Bridge of Spies

Carol

The Martian

The Revenant

Spotlight

 

Probable Additions:

Now that I've got my minimum covered, I will go out on a limb and add a few additional movies I think are worthy of receiving a nomination.  The group of films to be included with the above five are:

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

Room

 

So I guess I believe the field of Best Picture nominated films will be eight this year.  But that doesn't mean I am right with the ones I predicted (especially Mad Max: Fury Road, which is more of a hope than a belief).  Also, it leaves the possibility of including some other films that I have omitted.  So here are some other films that have a shot at receiving a nomination.

 

In The Hunt:

These movies are getting enough buzz lately to be considered likely contenders:

The Big Short

The Danish Girl

The Hateful Eight

Steve Jobs

 

Dark Horses:

And finally we have the longshots.  These movies have garnered some nominations in other award ceremonies and received just enough critical acclaim to give it a chance at a Best Picture nomination.  Those films include the following:

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Joy

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Straight Outta Compton

Trumbo

James Bond One-Off Continuation Novel Rankings

Hope all had a good New Year holiday.  With three kids in tow, New Year's Eve isn't exactly the party night it once was in my younger years.  The real party for me was Saturday when my film club got together to watch Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2.  It had been probably a decade since I had watched either of those movies, and I have to admit that with time my appreciation for them has increased.  I will probably get to a ranking of Quentin Tarantino's films after seeing The Hateful Eight.

 

However, that is not what this post is about.  While restoring the house to its normal order and putting our holiday decorations in the attics and closets they collectively belong in for 11 months of the year, I came across a list of the solo books for James Bond continuation authors and saw that I had made a ranking of them.  Yet, that list had not made it to the archives of this blog.  So that is the true purpose of my writing today.

 

The following four books are my ranking of the novels about British superspy 007, otherwise known as James Bond.  I have included the author with each title since no writer was asked to return.

 

1. Trigger Mortis - Anthony Horowitz

2. Solo - William Boyd

3. Devil May Cry - Sebastian Faulks

4. Carte Blanche - Jeffery Deaver

 

It should be noted that Horowitz did have the benefit of composing his work from an unfinished manuscript by original author Ian Fleming, with a single chapter completed by Fleming himself.  However, Horowitz does an excellent job with what he was given and comes the closest to replicating Fleming's original style.

Goodbye 2015

It's been a while since I've posted anything.  I have been overworked with a project the last couple of weeks involving some loans that are part of litigation and with the holidays in full swing I haven't really had any time to group my thoughts and put them down on paper.  I figured I would give a broad brushstroke of what's new in my world.

 

So, I saw the new Star Wars film four times in less than two weeks.  Didn't really mean to.  It sort of just snowballed on me.  That is not to say it isn't worth seeing four times, because it is.  It was really good and as if the first line of the film is referencing what had come a little more than a decade before, it begins to make things right.  I loved all the new characters and seeing the old ones in a new adventure was not just nostalgic, but also a little emotional (or at least as close as I can get to what humans consider to be emotional).

 

Christmas went pretty well.  Jack got a little BB-8 (new Star Wars character) remote that he calls his new best friend.  That was the gift of the year for our family, so I am glad it went over well with Jack.  Unfortunately Joanna didn't love my gift to her as much.  I got her a crockpot with the ability to lock the lid (which is what she specifically asked for), but because it didn't have a few additional bells and whistles it got returned and traded for a deep dish cooker or pot fry pan or steam-baked something-or-other.  I don't know.  She doesn't understand time travel.  I don't understand the differences in a pot, a pan, and a wok.

 

Television/movie recommendation of the week (or maybe month; I don't usually do these) is a Netflix documentary called Making a Murderer.  I don't want to give many details because the 10-part series pretty much covers everything you need to know, but it details a man named Steven Avery and his involvement in Wisconsin crimes that took place in the 1980s and 2000s.  It was a gripping series that I binge watched in a few days time.  Don't research his name or what the documentary is about.  I promise it will be worth the 10 hours.  Just watch it.

 

I guess that is most of it.  Everyone have a safe and happy New Year's Eve.  Don't get beat down by the mediocre music heard on all the telecasts tonight and try to be with someone you love at midnight.  See you in 2016.