Goldeneye (1995)

I'm not quite sure how I missed this movie. Could it be that the only time I've ever fallen asleep in a movie theater was while watching the opening of Brosnan's 007 in Die Another Day (2002)? I guess that came after this one, but you can understand why I wasn't in a hurry to rent this one. If this wasn't part of my Famke-Film-Extravaganza (FFE) I wouldn't have watched it now. No disrespect meant to Mr. Brosnan whom I actually liked as Bond, but once Daniel Craig came along with Casino Royale, none of teh earlier Bonds did anything for me. To be honest, I don't mind the Brosnan or the Timothy Dalton Bonds now, it is just they are more comic booky than I like in a spy film, which is kind of ironic coming from me. I don't think you could pay me enough money to sit through a Roger Moore Bond film and the only way I would put myself through a Sean Connery Bond flick is if I had the right motivation, like a bunch of martinis and a pretty lady.
Speaking of Sean, Sean Bean is the bad guy in this movie. It's nice to look back and see what he was doing pre-Lord of the Rings, much in the same way it's fun to see what Famke was doing when she wasn't playing Jean Grey. I know I've said this before, but he needs to get his named worked out. It needs to be either pronounced "Shon Bon" (like a bon-bon but more rugged) or as "Seen Bean" as in, "Have you seen my grean bean?" This having it both ways is a little too much to ask.
Famke's character Onatop was, um, interesting. She was pretty much the main bad ass in the film. And if someone is going to kill you, being crushed to death by her thighs would not be the worst way to go. Onatop didn't seem to have the most consistent accent throughout the flick and I'm going to blame that on how much make-up she was wearing. I knew that Fameke was playing Onatop going in, but she was young enough and wearing enough make-up that it was a couple of minutes before I recognized her.
Judi Dench was great as M. I don't think I had realized just how long she had been playing the character. Or, that 20 years ago she looks almost exactly like she does now, perhaps a bit more white where she was grey, but alarmist exactly the same.
This was an okay film. Not a ringing endorsement, I know. But, as far as pre-Craig Bond movies go, it was pretty good. You can actually see that they've taken Bond away from the Mooreian Bond and ahd started the slide towards the Craigsian Bond.

Goldeneye at IMDb

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

This film has a great cast - Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson - just to name the most famous. You would expect that anything these folks acted in would be great. And if you expected that for this film, you would not be disappointed.
Most of the film takes place in India. Wow. It's so beautiful and terrifying at the same time. There are so many people, all the time. But the people are  a beautiful people.
I wish I had something profound to say about this movie. I don't. And the movie doesn't have anything profound to say either. It has a simple message and shows both examples of how it works and how it doesn't work. And that is why it works. This is a very well done simple movie that depends on great acting from great actors.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at IMDb

Skyfall (2012)

Is it just me, or is Daniel Craig just a little bit more handsome in each film he does? I'm glad that Sony got over their issues got this movie to us. I think of the three Craig Bond films, this is the most accessible to Bond fans (I mean pre-Craig Bond). Not only was Skyfall packed with allusions to the classic Bond films, but stylistically it was more like them then Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. In no small part this is due to the way Bond is being portrayed. In the first two films, he's shown to be a stonecold killer who is the best of the best. In Skyfall, he's a little off his game for most of the film but more than makes up for it by his patriotism. Bond does what he does, because he's doing the right thing, and he knows it's the right thing because M tells him to do it. He trusts her completely, not only because she is a substitute for his mother, but because he believes she has the welfare of Great Britain at heart.
Ralph Fiennes and Naomi Harris were nice additions to the cast, especially since they were replaying recurring characters. Speaking of which, where as the first two Craig films had the feeling that  they were "the" Bond story, where Skyfall very clearly sets up more adventures at the end.
I think this was the best acted Bond film yet. And numbers two and three are the first two starring Craig. Part of that is due to the fact that this movie takes itself seriously, but I think a larger part is due to the fine actors: Dame Judi Dench, the aforementioned Fiennes and Harris, Daniel Craig of course and the wonderful portrayal of the villain Silva, played by Javier Bardon.
I would remiss if I didn't mention the Oscar winning theme song, written and sung by Adelle. I'm biased because I am a fan of Adelle but I think this is one of the better, say top three at least, James Bond theme songs. I am excited that she got recognized for her work.

Skyfall on IMDb