Ranking the James Bond Films

I was so excited for the new Bond film No Time To Die to be released in April and was saddened last month when it was announced they would postpone it's release to November due to the Corona Virus pandemic. At the time I'm writing this it is impossible to see any new movies in theaters.

During this down time, I've been thinking about my favorite 007 movies and I decided to rank them. I am including the bootleg Bond movie Never Say Never Again, but I'm not including the 1967 Casino Royale spoof movie or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which is technically a Bond film.

I didn't really start watching Bond films until the late 70's so I grew up with Roger Moore as Bond, but I have seen every movie multiple times. I appreciate what each of the actors who have taken the role have brought to the table. I love Connery's charisma and power. Lazenby did better than he is given credit for in his one installment. Moore and Brosnan were both good but usually kept their hands clean and relied heavily on gadgets and technology. Dalton was an angrier more brooding version of 007. Daniel Craig revitalized the character by showing a very inexperienced and unpolished Bond who has grown and matured over each installment.

I know many of you will scoff at some of the rankings on my list but it's just how I feel. Several years ago I wrote that I liked Die Another Day but after several viewings it has plummeted due to the invisible car and the windsurfing scene. I know that some of these are not the greatest films but many still have memorable stunts and action scenes so I can kind of turn a blind eye to their weaknesses.

Casino Royale	2006
Golden Eye	1995
Skyfall	2012
Goldfinger	1964
From Russia with Love	1963
The Spy Who Loved Me	1977
Thunderball	1965
Dr. No	1962
For Your Eyes Only	1981
Man With The Golden Gun	1974
On Her Majesty's Secret Service	1969
The Living Daylights	1987
Live and Let Die	1973
Octopussy	1983
Licensed to Kill	1989
Moonraker	1979
Spectre	2015
Quantum of Solace	2008
Tomorrow Never Dies	1997
Diamonds Are Forever	1971
A View to A Kill	1985
You Only Live Twice	1967
The World is Not Enough	1999
Die Another Day	2002
Never Say Never Again*	1983

There you have it. I look forward to November and hope the theaters are able to safely open soon. I also hope No Time to Die ends up with a ranking near the top of this list after I finally get to see it.

3 New Reviews

I flew to Kenya last week which meant I got to catch up on some movies on the plane. I was fortunate to fit in 4 of them and as much as I like watching movies on long flights, I'm sure they would be more enjoyable if the film didn't pause each time an announcement was made over the PA system.

Ad Astra- I love science fiction movies but the previews for this one looked like an even slower version of Interstellar. It was not super exciting but I still liked it. Brad Pitt portrays an astronaut who is sent on a mission to save the earth from electromagnetic flares originating from Neptune. The story develops as we find out his father was a famous astronaut who went missing in that area of space many years before. There were some interesting details in the film showing space travel to the moon and beyond. Any time you have a plot about someone on a mission for the government who is second guessing their motivation it adds some suspense. I liked the first 2/3 more but it was still ok. I give it 6.9 stars.

FYI- I got a second dose of Tommy Lee Jones when I watched The Fugitive which was an awesome 90's action/suspense film. Harrison Ford always seems to be great in everything he's been in. I'm not going to review it, but it's a great movie if you haven't seen it.

Knives Out- I wanted to see this when it was released, but it was only in African theaters for less than 2 weeks. Of all the movies I saw, I was by far most excited to watch this one. I really liked it. It was like an American version of Poroit and was sprinkled with plenty of current events and pop culture to make it comical and entertaining on another level. The talented cast was very diverse and I was entertained by all their performances. I still have a hard time hearing Daniel Craig speak with a southern accent as he also did in Logan Lucky. He certainly breaks the James Bond mold with this performance. I'm sure I would have enjoyed this movie even more in a relaxed setting as opposed to an airplane. It's kind of stressful when you start a movie and know you will be pushing it in order to finish by the time the plane lands and you have to disembark. I give it 7.9 stars.

Ford vs. Ferrari-   I had heard this was a good movie but I am not a car guy and had no intention of seeing it. I'm glad I decided to watch it. The acting was great and the movie was well done. It was much more than a historic film about car racing. I liked how they captured the rivalry between these two car manufactures and their drivers and the subsequent races that took place in the mid 60's. Bale was so emaciated for this role that he looked almost like he did in the Machinist. Matt Damon was also very likable in this. It was interesting to have the villains be business executives but it was still very intense and well done. I give it 8.0 stars.

The Invisible Guest

Usually when I decide to watch a movie on Netflix, I spend more time scrolling through options than I do actually watching anything. I get frustrated when I just want to watch a movie but most of the recommendations are TV series. Even if they might be good, I'm not looking for a long term binge relationship, I just want to watch a 2 hour movie. I finally found a good one this week.

I watched a foreign film on Netflix that is not really new, it came out about 4 years ago. It is a Spanish film called Contratiempo. The English title is The Invisible Guest. It is a murder mystery about a successful businessman who is being tried for the murder of a woman he had been having an affair with. He claims he was set up and recounts the events that led up to his current situation with a high power attorney who is attempting to help him clear his name.

The story quickly gets interesting as he confessed about an auto accident that happened while he is having an affair. The other driver died but the main character and his girl friend don't dare to call the police for fear of what will happen too their careers and marriages so they end up rationalizing the situation and just disposed of the evidence.

The rest of the film features the complications that develop as he attempts to hide his secrets. The Invisible Guest has plenty of twists, turns, and suspense. Anyone who likes Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, or M. Night Shyamalan films should enjoy this well made mystery.

Not only is this a well made and suspenseful movie, but you also get culture points for watching a foreign film. I speak Spanish but those I watched it with don't but they didn't have any problem following along with the subtitles. I give The Invisible Guest a solid 8.0 stars.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

You may have noticed that the final Star Wars movie has generated some controversy as well as lots of money. It's been my observation that casual Star Wars fans liked it but many of the hard core fans (those who might own Jedi robes) were upset with it. I think I may have liked The Rise of Skywalker slightly more than The Last Jedi just because there was less Rose Tico who picked up the mantle of Jar Jar Binks in my opinion. I also struggled with Luke's portrayal in the last movie as well as the whole useless side story of sending Finn to the Galactic version of Monte Carlo for no reason.

I felt this movie made some course corrections from the prior installment. You can tell JJ Abrams was back at the Helm and trying to make changes back to how he envisioned the Star Wars universe compared to Rian Johnson's efforts in The Last Jedi. There were definitely some aspects I did not care for like the overkill of having an infinite number of Star Destroyers with planet destroying capabilities. The death star threat is getting old since they've used it in most of the movies. I'm all for a quick pace and lots of action but it felt rushed like they were cramming too much stuff in the movie without enough character and story development. They could have made two final movies like Harry Potter and The Hobbit did for their final installments. If they did, it would not have been so rushed and they would make twice as much money by dragging the movies out a little longer.

One thing this movie had going against it was that fact that we've been spoiled getting Star Wars movies every two years for some time now. I remember how excited everyone was for The Phantom Menace after a 16 year Star Wars fast. That movie had some of the worst dialogue in the entire series yet I was just excited to see Darth Maul and hear the sound of light saber fights so I enjoyed it when it came out. With each subsequent viewing it's flaws became more apparent and it dropped in favor with me. If we had to wait 10 years between these installments I don't think the fans would be so critical of this last movie.

The special effects were great as usual. Overall the Rise of Skywalker was entertaining and was a nice attempt to bring closure to the series, even though I'm sure there will be more prequels, side stories, and future Star Wars movies that are sure to follow.

I give this movie 7.4 stars in honor of the series but I am still confused and unsure of how much I liked it.

Jumanji: The Next Level

Yesterday I took my son to see the new Jumanji sequel. I appreciated how they expanded on the prior story line and made the characters better friends and a little more likable. The plot was a little more complicated with additional characters as well as swapping around their avatars for who we are used to seeing in those roles. I thought the writing was done well but I actually liked Welcome to the Jungle slightly more since it was so fresh and original at the time (Yes I know it was a sequel/remake, but you know what I mean.)

I was impressed with the Rock channeling Danny DeVito so well. I love Dwayne Johnson but it's always nice to see him expand his acting and break his usual mold. Kevin Hart did a great job sounding like and elderly Danny Glover most of the movie, but it also kept him from being able to shine and be his high-energy funny self.

There was also more variety with the setting. They start in the jungle but also have scenes in the dessert and in a snowy climate. This movie was fun and a little more family friendly (cleaner) than the prior one. It is entertaining and has a good cast but it just didn't make me laugh as much as the prior movie did. I still like it and give Jumanji: The Next Level 6.8 stars.