[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

i feel he's the best Bond ever, combination of finesse and ruthlessness

Finesse - yes
Ruthlessness - Absolutely no

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

Sean Connery is a close contender.

He's of a different class entirely

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

The Aston Martin DB5 takes away the cake! It's one of the most sought after, and popular classic bond cars. Used in the 70s bond movie, I think by Sean Connory.

Aston Martin DB5 made famous by the 1964 Bond movie Goldfinger starring Sean Connery. this was followed by the DB5 being used in Thunderball (Sean Connery) > Goldeneye (Pierce Brosnan) > Tomorrow Never Dies (Pierce Brosnan) > Casino Royale (Daniel Craig) > Skyfall (Daniel Craig).

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Keeps the Bond movies fans eagerly waiting for the next flick.
5. Who said there are no cars? The Aston Martin DB5 takes away the cake! It's one of the most sought after, and popular classic bond cars. Used in the 70s bond movie, I think by Sean Connory.

Looking forward to the next installment ..!

The beautiful lithe Aston DB5 was used in Goldfinger. It appeared in Thunderball in the prologue. Then it returned in the Pierce Brosnan movie GoldenEye in that title car chase. It appeared briefly in Tomorrow Never Dies. Now it has returned again in SkyFall. I certainly remember it had a small part to play in Casino Royale.
Six James Bond movies have this iconic car marque and specific model appear in them!

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

i wonder how the movie would have panned out if Pierce Brosnan did the part of 007 in Skyfall. i feel he's the best Bond ever, combination of finesse and ruthlessness. Sean Connery is a close contender.

Yes, after watching a lot of Remington Steele, I always thought Brosnan was Suave in portraying Bond. Personally he has been the best next to Sean

[neofromcapone]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

One interesting parallel in SkyFall. There is that scene with the motorbike chase on top of the roof of Istanbul's Great Bazaar.

They were to shoot this sequence on our Konkan railway. The Railway authorities famed red tape delays, caused them to take that shoot to Istanbul.
"the bureaucratic problems involved with shutting down the world's busiest railway for weeks of stunt work," - Link

And I am so glad that's how things panned out, after watching the Shanghai sequence, we would shone like the emperor in his new clothes.

[Blue_V]

Skyfall: I'd probably rate it below Casino Royale. That had some classic scenes and lines. There is not much "difference" as they have touted. Ofcourse they have stripped away some excessive and grand explosions, aston martin chases, gadgetry. It still does not make a difference, im saying in a positive way. The action is there, hand to hand combat, bike chase, explosions, the same old M. What I had wished for was more of a thriller, darker, scarier and edgier movie. It is there in the beginning but slowly melts away to the familiar bond route. Not the best bond movie. The cinematography is excellent. Craig isnt wittier, loved him in Casino Royale. And a tad too long. I never got what was so fearsome about the villain as claimed by the girl.

[Technocrat]

Watched Lincoln

First things first, if you thought(as I did) that this movie is about the life of Lincoln & how he was elected President 2 times, American Civil War & his death then you would be wrong. This movie should have probably been called the 13th Amendment because frankly that's all its about. Agreed that Lincoln is primarily known for getting the 13th Amendment signed but still calling this movie Lincoln just due to that seems to be done to get more eyeballs.

Anyways, the movie is almost 2.5 hours long. Its more of Political Drama than a biography but does give a good insight into the life of the 16th President of USA. Lot of dialogues, the movie shows the political will & efforts of Lincoln to get the 13th Amendment passed. It also show the kind of vision he had & also his sense of humor even in stressful conditions.

It is interesting to see how *Liberal* Republicans were & how *Conservative* the democrats were some 160 years ago, looks like a role reversal now

And yes as you would expect with a Steven Spielberg movie, great direction & brilliant performances by entire cast.

3.5/5

[Gandhi]

Watched Life of Pi.

Amazing story of survival and determination. Special effects are just so real - specially the tiger, it's a must watch in 3D.

4/5

[YaeJay]

^^The book was a good read. Perfect material for a VFX. Will be watching it this weekend. But I know the book would be better!

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

SkyFall - Vintage Bond.
Probably the best Bond film ever.
I am a long time aficionado who owns every single book written by Ian Fleming as well as a lot of other volumes about the James Bond phenomenon. I also own every single James Bond film each of which I have watched many times.
Yes, including the infamous Casino Royale with David Niven playing Bond which was a spoof more than anything else.
Skyfall lacks to some extent, the "intrigue" element as some have said but what it lacks in intrigue, it more than makes up in the softly sinister character of the villain. More an anti-hero with a fairly justifiable cause for his persecution complex and desire for revenge.
I like the lack of gadgetry, a la the earlier Connery films. I was very pleased to see dear old BMT 216A (the Aston DB5) again!
I like that Craig's portrayal in this film is no more the pure physical Bond, but a slightly tempered emotional Bond too.
Brilliant touch, the SkyFall Estate setting with James being of the "family of local Lairds" etc.
Superb cinematography - the starkly paralysed "ghost town/ island" with lively period music blaring out from those ancient cone speakers! Bizarre and sinister at the same time! Superb potrayal of Malory by Ralph Fiennes - excellently set up for the next M.
A very modern, very stylish yet sinister take on James Bond.
Of course there is no "book" or other reference to compare this storyline and screenplay to, but in my opinion, it is certainly worthy of even Ian Fleming's own acceptance and praise.

S.balan, spoke my mind again and again ...

The VFX is just out of the world! All Bond flicks had the best! But, this one is so real. Making it more real is the thoughest part and deserves the most respect. It is a tough job, but its excellent work.

Ofcrouse, you have the best cast in this flick! best villan ever! (Even though the frames were limited for another hero the CRF250 )

Bond is getting more real by every flick these days, Next flick we might have Mr,Bond with foliage around his waist and a few stones

[amitoj]

Life of Pi (3D)
Saw this yesterday. I think i have a problem with two things:
1. 3D Overkill
2. Indian actors acting and talking in English

And when the two come together, all that happens is, mehhh.

Anyway, I will try to be as objective as possible. The visuals of the movie are stunning and breathtaking. The CG is so good that it spans the entire spectrum of what CG can do. From creating a Royal Bengal Tiger out of mere pixels to elaborate dream sequences where faces of your loved ones morph into million tiny light particles. And the scene of the first storm will have you at the edge of your seat and those who like 3D effects will claim that they even felt the spray mist on their faces during that scene.

But, Irrfan Khan's narrative in the movie is as flat as his expression. Tabu looks beautiful as ever in a timeless manner. The top three actors in the movie who have done well, according to me, were Tabu, Gerard Depardieu and of course Richard Parker.

If it were not for the friend who went with me, I would have totally missed the subtle twist in the end.

[vibbs]

Life of Pie: 3D

I have a major issue with movies in 3D. The experience is highly theater specific. Same movies I have watched in different halls and came out with a different experience. It is very easy for a 3D movie to get spoilt because of the theater due to reasons ranging from bad angles, lighting, glasses etc. PVR ambience Gurgaon normally delivers and so did it this time for me. For the first time I didn't have to replace the goggles.

Comming to the movie, the best thing is ofcourse the visual extravaganza that unfolds in front of you. Breathtaking visuals just engross you and take you to a different world. Once free from the bewilderment, you realize it has a decent storyline too. There are quite a few landmark scenes which I wont mention here and spoil the fun. Go catch it and be amazed.

Oh well and the star is ofcourse Richard Parker, The Bengal Tiger. Really hard to believe that was not a tiger there.

[Eddy]

Guys who watch Life of Pi - please also mention if you've read the book. Its one of the most intriguing books that I have read.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Guys who watch Life of Pi - please also mention if you've read the book. Its one of the most intriguing books that I have read.

Yessir!

Rating : 3.5 out of 5

Expect to be plagued by 3D graphics. That is what is thrown at you, during the entire movie. Even when Irfan and the other dude are just having a simple face to face discussion.

One of the rare occasions where I have been able to relate scene to scene with the actual book, and figure out where the movie deviates from the book. Where the book makes you wonder if you are being taken for a ride, the movie demolishes any such possibility (unless if you are one of those who hasn't read the book)

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed the 3D effects to an extent - they were extremely good, but could have been kept in check. The newbie Suraj Sharma does quite a decent job, but he needs to get his emotional quotient in check when doing the dialogues. Or he could have taken cues from his co-actors (Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain) who do an excellent job in their shorter roles.

For people who have read the book, a must watch.
For people who haven't read the book, debatable. Go only if you enjoy 3D effects.

[vnabhi]

I watched Skyfall in IMAX and it was a terrific movie, though a bit different. The scenes from Istanbul, London and Scotland were magnificent on the large screen.

It was also very nostalgic to see the Aston Martin DB5. bearing registration plate BMT 216A. When I was a kid and not old enough to see a JB movie, my dad had gifted me a scale model that was battery operated, and it was an exact replica. It had all the paraphernalia like machine guns, ejection seat, bullet proof shield popping out at the rear and the tyre shredder. A flick of the antenna would change the registration number to two other---LU 6789 and 4711-EA-62. This movie really stirred memories in me. Sad that the car was destroyed in the end of the movie. Equally sad that I'd gifted it to a kid when I was in my teens, who destroyed the car in a few months (one of my life's biggest mistakes)

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I ovie. Equally sad that I'd gifted it to a kid when I was in my teens, who destroyed the car in a few months (one of my life's biggest mistakes)

OT: A big regret indeed!
Long ago someone I knew at Schwing Stetter gave me a beautiful scale model readymade concrete mixer truck whose mixer used to turn when the vehicle was in motion.
In a moment of misguided generosity I gave it to a friend's kid and that little monster destroyed it in a matter of days...
That truck was a Mercedes Benz and was made in Germany. It was truly of superb quality in terms of finish, fit and feel. it even had that little guiding chute for the cement to be piped into a construction site, and that itself used to turn from side to side. Amazing!
That company used to give them away as compliments to their partners and vendors etc as a desktop ornament.