Watching - September 2023

Palm Springs (2021)

Another Amazon Prime free trial, so another chance to watch this excellent time loop film (which for some reason I can't find on DVD, at least not in a UK edition).

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)

Very probably as a result of the previous film, Prime recommended me this - another time loop film! This is a YA romcom (yes, I should probably grow up sometime), gentle on both the rom and com, but in a nice way. Sticks to the conventions of the time loop genre - the two main characters learn something and once they do, they get out, in the this case, together. Very sweet.

The Rainmaker (1998)

Having just thoroughly enjoyed the book, I wanted it to continue, so decided to watch the film. It is, of course, necessarily compressed and although in a couple of places this makes no sense (what is Kelly doing in the jewellery shop in the middle of the night?), mostly it works. Unfortunately, the area where it works least is what is meant to be the culmination of the whole plot, the court scenes. In the book these work fantastically well, but in the film they have a lot less power because of all the previous cuts. As a result, the film is only a partial success for me.

The Sound of 007 (2022)

Made as an accompaniment to No Time To Die (big spoilers in the last fifteen minutes), this is nevertheless a very interesting and pretty complete look at the whole of Bond music, from Monty Norman's original theme (as far as I can tell, he hummed it to John Barry, who then did the rest - for 25 years!) to Billy Eilish's latest song. Very interesting and fascinating to see snippets of Hans Zimmer at work, but needed more Johnny Marr (obviously).

Casino Royale (2006)

While watching the previous documentary, I realised that although I was aware of (and in fact, own) the Daniel Craig Bond films, I hadn't actually watched them. So since I had some time off work, it seemed like a nice way to spend a couple of afternoons - y'know, watching people be injured, maimed, blown up and generally killed, that kinda thing. Casino Royale makes complete sense as a franchise reboot: a somewhat updated but otherwise pretty faithful retelling of the first novel. Hits all the right notes, apart from the last big action scene, which I thought was not in character with the book but is obviously needed for a Bond film.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Received wisdom is that Quantum of Solace was a bit too overdone compared to Casino Royale, but I found it perfectly watchable. It was a bit of a shame that Agent Fields - a deliberate throwback to old-style Bond girls, just eye candy and canon-fodder - was killed off early, as more could have been done with the character, and the whole "it's been ten minutes, let's go to another country!" thing is a bit over-the-top. But you can't argue with the set pieces and quality of filming, and I enjoyed it.

Skyfall (2012)

Daniel Craig's Bond seems to have got old very quickly, given that only two films ago he had just been given his "00" license, and now he's weary and wanting to retire! And if we're griping, the whole super-technology-3D-virus thing is a bit silly and put me off a bit. Otherwise though, a great romp with a revealing - albeit perhaps slightly tacked-on - look into Bond's backstory for the ending. I didn't realise that Judi Dench dies at the end though, that surprised me!