The FMR Ranking of Bond Films. All 23 From Worst to First.

Ok, Bond fans. This is it, the last Bond related post for the foreseeable future. 😦 Non Bond fans, bear with me one last time, with the exception of Wednesday’s (title pending), we’re going to move on back to our regularly scheduled movie talk starting tomorrow. I promise. 😀

But there’s one more ranking that needs to be done, and it’s a big one. The films themselves. The Bond series has had numerous ups and downs over the five decades that its been around, giving us some great movies, and some awful ones. And this weekend brought us one that wants to shoulder its way to the top, people are already talking about it being the “Best Bond Ever”.

Click through to read my ranking of all 23!

Skyfall

In his 50th year of onscreen existence, James Bond proves he is more vibrant and vital than ever by offering an intense, state of the art action film; one that is both pointed and personal. More than any other Bond film to date, it has things to say about security, espionage and intelligence gathering in today’s world, while at the same time revealing more of the history and character of James Bond than ever before.

It’s brimming with car chases, shoot outs, and explosions but it also features well crafted, damaged characters complete with backstories and understandable motivations. “Skyfall” is that rare breed of action film. Full of exciting, pulse pounding set pieces, while also deriving tension from worthwhile dramatic content.

The Great Debates: Who is the Best Bond?

The big question. For years, Sean Connery was the pat answer, but lately, Daniel Craig has been making a serious run at the throne. Will the strength of the modern movie-making in his films help him unseat the King? How many fans of the campy Roger Moore era are out there? Dalton has his supporters, but just how many? Can people forgive Brosnan for the movies he was in and judge him as the Bond he was? Will anyone vote Lazenby?

Click through to read the tale of the tape!!

New Episode of the (title pending) Movie Podcast with Tank and Fogs! The Supersized Bond Spectacular!!

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of James Bond, and this week sees the release of a brand new Bond movie… as a way to celebrate both, Tank and I proudly present our break down of the entire Bond series. Our Supersized Bond Spectacular!!

From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, Tank and I discuss every movie in the series. “Dr. No”, “The Spy Who Loved Me”, “Goldfinger”, “Goldeneye”, “Casino Royale”… they’re all here.

As always, you can either download the episodes or listen to them directly here (Part 1 Sean Connery and George Lazenby) and here (Part 2 Roger Moore through Daniel Craig). You can also look for us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio by searching for (title pending) or Tank and Fogs!

Movies That Everyone Should See: “Casino Royale”

In 2002, Eon Productions released the 20th Bond film in the series, “Die Another Day”.

Though it was critically panned (57% on Rotten Tomatoes) and generally reviled by hardcore fans, it was still a huge hit. The combination of Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry provided an enormous box office draw. Without taking inflation into account, it was the highest grossing Bond film ever released. It earned $432 million worldwide, and was the sixth highest grossing film of 2002.

The producers were faced with a difficult decision. Brosnan, though still wildly popular, had fulfilled his contract and was about to turn 50. The series had also begun to lose credibility during Brosnan’s run, with the quality of the movies gradually devolving until they were cartoonish action films.

They made the difficult decision to recast the role of James Bond, replacing Brosnan with the relatively unknown Daniel Craig. They also decided to create a more grounded movie… to return 007 to more believable territory.

The result? A movie that not only overtook “Die Another Day” as the series’ box office champion, but one that many fans list as the greatest film in the franchise’s proud history.

“Casino Royale”.

James Bond: Classic, Cheese or Crap? – Casino Royale

“Casino Royale”

2006

Bond: Daniel Craig

Classic, Cheese, or Crap?: CLASSIC

In the mid 00s, 007 was in the need of a change of direction.

2002’s “Die Another Day”, although a huge box office hit, had not been received well critically and wasn’t sitting well with fans. Bad CGI? Obnoxious product placement? A Madonna cameo? The franchise had returned to cartoonishness reminiscent of the worst of the Moore era.

Pierce Brosnan expressed willingness to return as Bond, but his four picture deal had been satisfied. EON Productions was also considering recasting the role with a younger actor (Brosnan was about to turn 50). After a period of deliberation, when an agreement on a one picture deal could not be reached, Brosnan announced he was retiring from the role, and EON announced they were giving the Bond franchise a “reboot”.

The new Bond? Daniel Craig.

PODCAST!!

What’s up everybody? We’re back!

Another episode of The (title pending) Movie Podcast with Tank & Fogs is available for you to download!

In this episode, we go over two of the big Holiday releases this season… “The Adventures of Tintin” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”! I also quickly touch on a couple of other big movies out now that I had a chance to see, “We Bought a Zoo” and “War Horse” :D!

As always, you can look us up on iTunes, or you can download it directly, here. Happy listening, and I hope you enjoy!

The 2011 FMR MAJOR Awards: Nominees for most Disappointing Movie

To order our nominee announcement and awards presentation threads over the next couple of weeks here, I decided let’s let the “Worsts” go first, and Ladies before Gentlemen.

Thus I present to you the nominees in our first category for the inaugural FMR MAJOR Awards. The most disappointing movies of the year, all vying to be called “The Biggest Disappointment.”

In order to qualify for this category, the movie first has to have raised some degree of promise or expectation, and then have not lived up to it. “Don’t believe the hype!”

Here are the candidates for “Biggest Disappointment” of 2011.

The Adventures of Tintin

“The Adventures of Tintin” is the story of an intrepid reporter and his scrappy dog who get swept up into a global adventure after purchasing a replica wooden ship from a street vendor. Based on the series of comics by Belgian artist Hergé, “Tintin” is the first animated feature to be directed by Steven Spielberg, and his first full length forray into the world of motion capture technology.

His influence is unmistakable, as Tintin takes off on an Indiana Jones-esque adventure in search of treasure. There are wild action sequences, interspersed with family friendly comedy, and an overarching spirit of adventure.

There were a few missing elements for me which keep me from calling it great, but there’s no doubt that anyone who was looking forward to it will be pleased, and it’s well worth your box office dollar this holiday season.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Ho. Ly. Shit.

That. Was. Sick.