Reviews

First let me say this. Meryl Streep was phenomenal in her role as Margaret Thatcher. Her Oscar was truly deserved. Her mannerisms, her accent, the way she mimicked an old woman without exaggerations simply took my breath away. Close runner ups were Alexander Roach who played the Young Margaret Thatcher, Harry Lloyd who played the Young Dennis Thatcher and Jim Broadbent who nearly stole the show from Streep as her phantom husband.

Despite this eclectic ensemble, the film sadly was a disappointment. The film centered mostly on her dementia with intermittent flashbacks of her political career triggered by occasional memory related objects.The result, instead of a real biopic, what we have is an opera which is not even worthy of the designation. At times, I felt myself wishing that it was Oliver Stone or Clint Eastwood who would have directed this movie about one of the modern 20th century most iconic characters. A pity. The Iron Lady deserves a better film instead of this maudlin vaudeville.

Meryl Streep did justice to Margaret Thatcher. This film did not.

When I saw that this cast contained a mixture of recognizable Hollywwod names such as Isaiah Washington and Vivica A.Fox, and Nollywood stars such as Genevieve Nnaji and Stephanie Okere, I had high hopes for this movie. However, the film turned out to be a big disappointment. I should have suspected that this film was going to be thrash when I saw that it was MTN that financed the movie, an act they kept on reminding us of throughout the movie with their blatant advertisements. One scene actually made me want to throw up.

Washington plays a cancer doctor coming to grips with the the death of his daughter. Adding to his burden, is his alcoholic wife played by Fox who holds her husband responsible for their daughter's death. The good doctor, in his desperate quest to save a boy dying from cancer, meets a Nigerian doctor who has strange healing powers.The Nigerian doctor is Doctor Bello delivered by Jean Louis in an intense performance.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Isaiah. Ever since his faux pas on a gay person which led to his being fired from the Grey's Anatomy, Washington has rarely appeared in a movie and it shows. If there was ever an actor sleepwalking in his role, it was Isaiah Washington. His performance was so terrible that I felt myself cringing with sympathetic embarrassment at the man who has shown some competence in other movies such as Out of Time with Clooney and another drama with Eastwood. Vivica A Fox, another Hollywood D list has been was not better.

On the Nigerian side, Genevieve Nnaji the so called Nollywood Queen was not allowed to showcase her talents as an actress. She was almost invisible in her scenes. Unlike Stephanie Okere whose bubbling character made her dominate the screen.

The story itself was apiece of thrash. What started as a poor version of Grey's Anatomy, then escalated to a watered down version of a medical thriller pitting a young doctor against corrupt medical corporations then degenerated into a boring Indiana Joneseque journey of looking for a miraculous healing potion on a Nigerian mountain.

Apart from a hilarious cameo from Jide Kosoko, the film was a waste of two hours. It promised much and delivered less than little.

Ask any Nigerian movie fan his best Western movie(In Nigeria we call the genre the more unpretentious "cowboy movie") and nine out of ten will tell you without hesitation The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. In a country where cowboy movies are at the bottom of ladder in the scale of movie genres, it is amazing that The Good remains an evergreen classic in Nigeria.

But then, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is an amazing film and with each viewing, the film simply becomes better and better.

The plot is a bit lacklustre and maybe a bit confusing, with countless other sub plots that may or may not drive the main narrative and is too long with paced out scenes. But despite all this-or maybe because of it-the film is a three hour spectacle of shameless thrills that will glue you to your seat.

The film revolves around three crooks searching for $200,000 in stolen gold. It is not "good guys against the bad guys", but who will win among the bad guys. Don't expect morality tales like Dancing With Wolves, Shane or John Wayne movies. All the protagonists are mainly selfish opportunistic greedy killers wanting to steal the proceeds of a heist by another bunch of killers.

Clint Eastwood is "The Good", an anti-hero, a crook who masquerades himself as a bounty hunter. He is The Man With No Name (Nicknamed Blondie by his Mexican ally) who has his own code of honour. He does not hesitate to kill without mercy when threatened but is not a sadist. In fact, he shows little acts of kindness like when he shares his cigar with a dying confederate soldier. He does not talk much, using his eyes and his gun to do the talking for him. In all of Eastwood's strong silent roles, I consider this his most riveting.

Lee Van Cleef "The Bad", paradoxically named "Angeleyes" is the opposite of Clint. He is a gun for hire, a soldier of fortune(literally) and one ruthless bad ass. He relishes his killings and indulges in sadistic torture to get what he wants. In a brutahl scene, he kills two men who hired him to kill each other. One was a cripple with a family, the other a sick old man in his bed. Cleef played this bad ass role with an aplomb that will always make him a powerful screen presence in all his movies. His menacing evil and "don't mess with me" attitude is obvious even when he is motionless.

Eli Wallach in the role of "Tuco The Ugly" is not much better than Angeleyes, except that Angeleyes is more refined in his crimes. He is a Mexican bandit whose list of crimes include robbery, murder, rape, and having sexual relations with a "female member of a white race". He is the most complex of the characters who oscillates between being Blondie's friend/ally, and his deadliest enemy. Eli Wallah was born for this role. Even though he has third billing, he is the most recognizable character and effortlessly stole every scene he was in with his garrulous comic antics. And that makes us perversely love him, even more than Blondie.

Worthy of mention, is Ennio Morricone's score. Check out the incredibly haunting score during Tuco's mad dash in the cemetery or the mournful score in the prison camp. They were amazing but both pale to nothing in comparison to the film's incredible score in the credits. It will stick in your mind forever. It is easily the most recognizable film score in the world.

Sergio Leone delivered a masterpiece and none of his films can hold water to it. In fact no Western can be compared to Leone's masterpiece. He captured the grit of that era like no mainstream Hollywood Western can achieve. The barren landscapes, the deserts, the bleak depressing environment, the hard characters with their lined faces and hard eyes. The gun duels are exaggerated but beautifully executed and the last triangle duel had a touch of spiritual poetry which is hypnotic.

This film is stunning and remains one of my favourite film and definitely my favourite Western.

I sat down to watch this movie INSIDIOUS with mixed feelings. I love horror films nut recently Hollywood, has been churning out thrash in this genre with few notable exceptions like THE DESCENT. Even the much over hyped PARANORMAL ACTIVITY seemed to me to be a boring experiment in cinematography.

Then a film like INSIDIOUS comes along to breath a fresh air into the genre and revitalized a story telling style of haunted homes that is reminiscent of the old horror movies.

Its greatest strength perhaps is that it does not rely on gore, surprising considering that the director is James Wan who made his directorial mark in the hyper bloody and extremely gory SAW. Script writer Leigh Whannel creates a story about a family that moves into a cute old fashioned house to begin a new life. Soon, odd things, spectacles, noises, begin to occur which makes Renai Lambert, the matriarch start to suspect that the house is haunted. Suspicion becomes conviction after her son falls inexplicably into coma. Faced with baffled doctors and a semi-skeptical husband, she is forced to force the truth of the horror that her family is about to face.

Anyone with even a passive interest in horror will see the clichés in INSIDIOUS. The afflicted child, the haunted house, the distraught mother (not the father), the hair rising music. We have seen them all in such movies like THE EXORCIST, THE UNBORN, HAUNTED, etc.

But in INSIDIOUS, the clichés are refreshingly told with a simplicity and a style that makes you hooked right from the spooky credits (again reminiscent of old movies style) to the heart stopping conclusion. And unlike in other horror movies, halfway through the movie, the couple decides to do the most sensible thing a family will do in real life if confronted with an inexplicable evil in their own house instead of waiting till all the family members are killed.

Both the director and the writer deserve a lot of credit for this outstanding horror piece. Rose Byrne was good as the distraught mother who would believe anything to save the son's life. So was Patrick Wilson who at first is hesitant in accepting a supernatural explanation for what was happening to their son. Their acting was not really outstanding but still good enough to support a low budget horror movie. (It had a reportedly budget of $1.5m and grossed over $50). Great scary movie.

I have read all the IMDb reviews of this fantastic TV series and I agree that Nicole Kidman, Denholm Elliot and Hugo Weaving did a superb job. The story was excellent, tightly woven and after the first 20 minutes or so will keep you glued to the screen.

However, only one reviewer seems to remember the extraordinary performance of Joy Smithers who played the role of Mandy Engels, Kidman's cell mate.

Her performance was tortured, harrowing and unforgettable, not to talk of her wild beauty. I don't know about her career beyond The Bangkok Hilton but her performance was definitely Oscar worthy in a best supporting role if there was an Oscar for TV shows.

After battling megalomaniacs under the water and outer space, and saving the world from annihilation/domination, it was time for 007 to return down to earth to face his old adversaries, the KGB.

And this he does in this high octane action packer gritty thriller which saw him become more of a grittier secret agent instead of a playboy messiah.

In Roger Moore's fifth installment as James Bond, 007 is sent to retrieve the ATAC that was sunk in the sabotage of a British spy ship. The ATAC is a device that whoever gains control of it can order the submarines to attack any country even Britain. Of course, the Russians want it and the British want it back. The problem is that neither knows exactly where it sunk.

The pre credit sequence starts with Bond's old nemesis (presumably Blofled) using a remote control to take over a helicopter that was carrying Bond. Needless to say Bond survives.

The movie then continues with the sinking of the British spy ship, Bond's briefing by Bill Tanner the Chief of Staff. Bernard Lee was dead by then so as a mark of respect, his character was made absent from the film, rather than get another actor to step into a role that Lee made as iconic as that of 007 himself. Instead it was explained that he was on holiday.

Bond's assignment takes him to Greece where he meets a woman with a deadly crossbow who has her own agenda to pursue, a killer who never utters a word and a Blond Aryan looking hit-man who pursues Bond in one of the most exhilarating ski chases in the Bond franchise.

Roger Moore gave one of his best Bond performances in the movie. Here we see a more serious, harder, grittier and colder blooded Moore. In one occasion he has no mercy in a man trapped in a car hanging on a mountain edge. Even the film toned down the glamour of Moonraker and TSWLM and the result was a gritty picture.

But Moore fans should not be disappointed if they think Moore was too serious. He still delivered some of his witty one liners which is his hallmark but on the whole he was more serious than his previous performances.

Both Carole Bouquet who played the Greek woman on a mission to avenge her parents' death) and Julian Glover (Kristatos, the Greek millionaire and World War II hero decorated by the Queen of England for his acts of valour who tried to assist Bond to disrupt a smuggling ring) gave decent performances. It may be worthy to note here that Julina Glover has been a previous Bond contender.

But the stand out was Topol who plays Columbo, the Greek smuggler who in an interesting twist of events reveals why he wants Kristatos dead.

The action was fast and furious, even though I'm sure fans may be disappointed at the anticlimax of the final battle scene on a mountain top. Nevertheless, the movie fast paced and remains of my my favourite Bond movies.

This is a great show. I've only watched 3 episodes and am already addicted. Geena Davis makes a credible president inadvertently thrust into the most powerful office in the world with the death of her predecessor. The problem facing her is not just her femininity but also that she is an independent candidate. Brilliant plot! However, I wish to review the Nigerian sub plot in the movie that portrayed a lot of factual inaccuracies.

In the movie, one Odia something, a Nigerian Muslim woman has been convicted of adultery and condemned to death by stoning. The President (then Vice President) in an effort to save the woman from her death tries to enlists the help of the French Government to intercede with poor results. Then when she suddenly becomes the President she invites the Nigerian Ambassador to the White and threatens military option if Nigeria does not release the woman to American marines.

This sub plot is an obvious reference to the story of Amina Lawal who was convicted for having a child out of wedlock and sentenced to death by stoning. That is where the similarities end.

The TV show implies that the punishment was sanctioned by the Federal Government. Not true. Lawal was convicted by a Sharia court in one of the Northern states where sharia law is most dominant. On appeal to the Sharia High Court, her appeal was dismissed. A lot of protests were staged both in Nigeria (among both Christians and Muslims), and overseas. Her lawyers comprised Muslim women who vigorously defended her. On further appeal to Sharia Court of Appeal, she won and the sentence against her was dismissed.

In an almost laughable scene, the Nigerian Ambassador to US(who seems too young to occupy such a highly rated position)is invited to the White House where President Mackenzie threatens our country with military invasion if Lawal is not released. The ambassador takes the threat seriously and acts accordingly.

In actual fact, the Nigerian Ambassador A.A. Agada was opposed to the death sentence and came out vigorously to defend Amina and assured the world that her constitutional right to fair trial will not be violated.

In addition, the Federal Government could not take any official position as her case was still being determined by the courts. In all honesty, even if she had been found guilty at the end of all appeals, it is most likely that President Obasanjo (himself a Christian) would have stepped in to grant leniency. The Federal Government has never supported such barbaric death penalties like stoning.

Another angle in the TV show that rankled was that Odia was incarcerated in the Kirikiri Prison in Lagos. This also goes to imply that she was a prisoner of the Federal Government. Kirikiri Prison is a maximum detention facility for those perceived to be political dissidents, drug barons and extremely dangerous criminals. There is no way that a person tried under a Sharia criminal jurisprudence in the North can be sent to Kirikiri. NO WAY! She will be sent to one of the prisons in Northern Nigeria because that is their jurisdiction but never to Lagos and certainly not to Kirikiri.

Now that I have done my patriotic duty by showing the flaws where it concerns my country, I can continue to enjoy the show.

I watched this movie in the Christmas of 1983 when I was in Jos, the Northern part of Nigeria. I was just 12. Then the military had just taken over and the political climate of the country was uncertain. As Christian kids enjoying a Christmas vacation in a predominantly Muslim area, we were understandably scared of whether the Muslims will use the coup as an excuse to massacre Christians.

Then out of the blue, this wonderful whimsical movie was aired on TV.

The film centered on an ex convict and his relationship with a poor Mexican family, especially the little boy that inadvertently brought out the heart the ex con never knew he had. The ex con now finds himself trying to help the family overcome their poverty and finds himself pitted against a reluctant white community who felt they had given the Mexican family all the help they deserved.

Despite all the problems facing the Mexicans, the little boy still has time to pray for the ex con. The prayer is answered in the form of a cowboy angel. The angel had died years ago but the con knew him when the angel was alive. It is up to the angel and the boy to show the con that he was a better man than he believed himself to be.

In today's Hollywood with the pervading sense of cynicism and materialism and atheism, the movie will be scoffed as being corny and clichéd. Definitely its a low budget movie with a simple storyline. But still a beautiful movie with even a more beautiful message of hope and love. The final scene when the ex con was leaving the Mexican family and the kid was chasing him for a final goodbye was a tear jerker. I can still remember how my younger sister and myself cried silently.

The film is a gem and I thank both the movie producers and the channel that aired it on TV. At least, because of it, some frightened kids that were hiding in unwarranted terror of being killed by Muslims, were able to lose some of their fear and realize that hope really sets us free.

James Bond movies typically exploit current headlines or the most recent craze in order to ensure the success of their movies and no more was it shamelessly done than in Moonraker (the science fiction craze of the 80s), followed by the Man with the Golden Gun( the kung fu craze of the 70s and Live and Let Die(the blackploitation craze of the 70s too).

Obiously cashing in on the sensational success of Star Wars, Brocolli and his team decided to bring out their own science fiction cum espionage movie and Moonraker with the scifi sounding title was the obvious choice.

The film starts with the hijack of space shuttle called Moonraker from the back of a 747. It beats the imagination why a shuttle fully loaded with fuel will be transported on the back of a 747 but then Bond movies never make sense. Neither is it explained why the shuttle was being sent to Britain in the first place. We just have to accept it.

Bond is sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance and "the most obvious place to start" is Drax Industries, the builder of the space shuttles.

There he encounters the megalomaniac who has his own plans to dominate the world(what else is new?), the sexy space guide Dr. Holly Goodhead who may not be all she seems, Chang the Chinese henchman and the return of (Yikes!), Jaws.

This was Roger Moore's fourth outing in James Bond's 11 installment. And he really hammed it up here. With his classic one liners, his humorous double entredes, Roger Moore was a hoot to watch. Simply hilarious and most memorable was a scene involving a would be assassin in a tree.

Moonrakers suffers from trying to be a balance between a serious action packed film and a comedy. There is no tension at all or excitement in the action, mainly because all actions were heavily overtoned with comic effects.

The movie becomes totally ridiculous ( but somehow strangely entertaining) when Bond's adventure takes him to outer space to battle the evil Darth Vad...(oops!) sorry, Drax in his space city. The weapons are not machine guns but laser guns. Thank God, the script writers resisted the temptation of adding light sabers.

Michael Londsdale gave an understated performance as the villain Drax, obviously modelled on Wiseman's performance as Dr. No. He did not have the brilliance of Gert Frobe(Goldfinger) or the seductive menace of Donald Pleasance (Blofeld in YOLT).

Bowing to criticisms of his films being sexist, Lois Chilles was given a more physically aggressive role as Goodhead and was the first Bond girl to kick ass. For once, a Bond woman stood alongside Bond fighting the bad guys and did not need to be rescued by Bond. In a subtle reversal of roles, she is the one giving Bond instructions on how to thwart Drax's plan for global annihilation.

Jaws (Richard Kiel) made a surprising entrance first as Bond's adversary in the stunning aerial dominated pre credit sequences and eventually as his ally.

Moonraker is not one of Roger Moore's best efforts but not his worst. The action sequences were not terribly exciting, especially as Roger Moore remained completely unruffled throughout. But then, only James Bond can take the rough so smoothly, even when he is out of this world!

The Fall of The Roman Empire, a blockbuster Roman epic that nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox, sounded the death knell for major films about the Roman Empire for decades, until the genre was revived by Ridley's Scott masterpiece, Gladiator.

Gladiator is centered during the last days of the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his military campaign against the barbarian hordes of Germania. The person leading the campaign is his greatest General, Maximus, an honourable soldier and faithful servant to Rome. After Maximus wages a successful battle against the Germans, the emperor who is dying, hands over succession of the Roman Empire to Maximus. Maximus is to hold the crown in trust until Rome becomes a republic.

Of course, Aurelius's decision does not go well with his son Commodus and in a fit of rage or hyper emotional surge, he smothers his father. Maximmus suspecting foul play in the death of the emperor refuses to show fealty to Commodus.

This singular act of rebellion attracts the death penalty on his head and the consequences present a Homer epic like tale of tragedy, love, courage, loyalty, incest, betrayal and vengeance.

With the exception of The Insider and possibly A Beautiful Mind, I have never seen Russel Crowe deliver such a credible performance as he did as the vengeful tortured Roman General who became a slave, a slave who became a gladiator, a gladiator who defied an emperor. His performance was outstanding and his burly frame helped him. Unlike most actors who would produce finely sculpted muscles developed in gyms, Crowe's body was more realistic as a veteran soldier whose body is exercised in the battle fields.

But even his performance was matched by Joachin Phoenix as the disturbed incestuous Commodus. Phoenix was a delight to watch and one of the most complex characters. Despite his hatred for Maximus, it was obvious he admired and envied the the General's courage and would have rather had him as a friend than as an enemy. There was also the subtle jealousy of the affection his father had for Maximus.

Interestingly enough, Richard Harris who played Aurelius had the most moving lines in the movies. Harris, despite his fondness for the bottle, could be always be counted on to give a dependable acting and in his 15 minutes in Gladiator, it is easy to see why he will always remain as one of the greatest character actors ever. This was his last movie and it was a befitting tribute to him.

Another actor whose this was the last movie was Oliver Reed who plays the slave owner, Proximo. He did not finish the move and his face was superimposed on another actor. Still, his performance was mesmerizing.

Connie Nielsen plays Lucien, Commodus's sister who is compelled to join forces with Maximus to protect her son. Other actors Like Derek Jacobi and Djimon Housnou also gave strong supporting performances.

From the opening battles on the plains of Germania to the final scenes of Maximus' stand against Commodus, Scott does not waste any second with cheap melodrama or boredom. Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer produced a haunting magnificent score that will echo in your minds after the movie has finished.

Kudos has to be given to the Scott's eyes for details. The battles were fierce and captivating, the Collosus was intimidating, and the costumes were top notch. Of course, he took a lot of fictional license with the movie. Historically speaking, Aurelius was never murdered by his son, Commodus. He actually handed over succession to Commodus and died later. Commodus was never killed in the arena, although as unbelievable as it may sound, he actually as the Roman Emperor participated in gladiatorial contests in the arena. Although it can be argued, that his rivals may have been much less aggressive in their battles with him, fully aware of the repercussion of killing a Roman emperor, even in sport.

SKG and Universal took a brave stance in forking out the money to bring out this dream masterpiece. Gladiator simply rocks!

"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" With that classic comeback, Gert Frobe launched himself as one of Bond's most memorable villains, Goldfinger, which was the movie's title name.

This was third Sean Connery's third entrance as debonair British Agent James Bond 007, following the runaway successes of the previous entries, Dr.No and From Russia With Love.

Returning from a mission in Mexico where he blows up a crate filled with banana flavoured heroin, he makes a transit stop at Miami and receives instructions to place Auric Goldfinger under observation. Typical of Bond, he gets entangled with Goldfinger's woman, Jill Masterton, played by the bombshell sex kitten Shirley Easton and sabotages Goldfinger's crooked card game. Goldfinger's response leaves unpleasant circumstances especially for the delectable Jill whom, in one of the movie's most iconic scenes, Bond finds dead covered with gold paint.

Bond is now dispatched to follow Goldfinger and find evidence of his supposed gold smuggling. In the process, he comes across a female sniper who has her own reason for wanting to kill Goldfinger , Goldfinger's killing machine, Oddjob, a Korean with a bowler hat that can cut off the head of a statue, and Goldfinger's lesbian pilot Pussy Galore(Yikes!) played by Avenger girl Honor Blackman.

What started as a simple gold smuggling operation evolves to become a daring operation to break into US's Gold bullion depository in Fort Knox.

For many Bond fans, the appeal of Goldfinger is almost universal. It was the vintage movie that started the Bond formula. The violent pre credit openings, title credits showing silhouettes or statues of naked women, the gadgets, the grand masterplan to dominate the world.

Connery's confidence shows in the movie. Afterall, he had navigated the two previous entries to solid commercial successes. At 34, he was still top form, and his performance was top notch.

Gert Frobe who plays the megalomaniac Goldfinger was outstanding in his performance. Almost nazi like in his posturing and his clipped accent, his acting shows why he is regarded as one of the most memorable villains in movie history. From the moment he engages Bond in a game of golf and warns the latter not to interfere with his business, to the scene where he has Bond strapped onto an operation table and tortures him with a laser saw that can cut through solid steel, from the part where he delivers his captivating crime speech to several mob bosses, ("Man has climbed Mount Everest, gone to the bottom of the ocean. He's fired rockets at the Moon, split the atom, achieved miracles in every field of human endeavor... except crime!")to his revealing the true operation to Bond, Gert Frobe easily stole every scene that he appeared in.

His performance was nearly matched by Harold Sakata, who plays Oddjob. Sakata never utters a word, but his physical menace is seen throughout the movie. Never again has a Bond henchman acquired a cult status as Oddjob, with the possible exception of Richard Kiel's Jaws (whose later comic interpretations robbed him of his menace).

Naturally there was a bevy of beauties, but none came close to Shirley Easton. Her opening scene with Bond, wearing black underwear and swinging her leg in a bored sexy fashion as she spies on Goldfinger's game was outstanding. I remember how we cheered in delight when Connery introduces himself to Easton in his trademark fashion, "Bond, James Bond" accompanied by John Barry's thrilling Bond theme.

All the Bond regulars were present, Bernard Lee as "M", Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny, and Desmond Llewelyn as Q. Llewelyn who had earlier made his debut in From Russia With Love, had his role expanded and established in Goldfinger. And why not? After all he was the one who handed over one of world's most famous cars to Bond, the Astor Martin a car with enough gadgets to destroy a battalion. His scenes with Connery were simply hilarious and established the trend in the following movies.

Guy Hamilton did a masterful directing job here. While the film may not be action packed like the other Bond movies (and even so, the action is tame even by those day's standards), Hamilton kept the movie tightly paced with excitement and breathless suspense. Only the golf scene, may seem to drag a little but the rest of the movie was top notch.

Hamilton a much as possible stuck to Ian Fleming's novel however with some noticeable difference. In the novel, Bond killed the Mexican hit-man in the streets with his hand and not by electrocution in the room of a cabaret dancer. Bond's first encounter with Goldfinger was on the request of an old acquaintance from the past, a rich fellow named Dupont who suspects that Goldfinger was cheating him in a game of Canasta. In the movie, it was on the instructions of M. In the book, Bond never saw the death of Jill Masterton but heard of it from her vengeful sister. The most outstanding difference was the operations itself. In the book, Goldfinger's plan was to poison the city's water supply and then proceed to cart away the gold from Fort Knox. However critics scoffed at the sheer physical improbability of removing all the gold bullion within a limited time frame as espoused by Fleming.

As a result of the criticism the book faced, Hamilton and his screenwriters ingeniously changed the operation to become more sophisticated, more daring and more diabolical.

Hamilton's improvisation while as incredulous as Fleming's was more exciting and heart pounding.

Goldfinger is a treasure and pure vintage Bond!

After the lackluster commercial and critical performance of The Man With the Golden Gun, Brocolli and his team decided to go back to their drawing room and flesh out a more exciting Bond that would appeal to movie audiences that were besotted with the magical action of Star Wars and the heart stopping thrills of Jaws.

In fact, the future of the James Bond franchise depended on the outcome of their project. The Bond team was well aware of this fact so they decided to make it bigger, more action packed, higher stakes, etc. And it worked.

In Roger Moore's third entrance as James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me revolves around two missing nuclear submarines belonging to Britain and Soviet Union. James Bond is dispatched to locate the submarine by finding the person who is offering to sell the submarine tracking system to the highest bidder. Of course, the Russians too are interested in finding the tracker and send their KGB agent played by Playmate Barbara Bach. A so so actress.

Both agents are forced to join forces to find their common enemy. However, unbeknownst to them both, their lives already shared an intersection when Bond killed her former lover in self defence. An interesting twist which was disappointingly, not exploited to its full potential.

Their mission takes them to the deserts and pyramids of Egypt, and the beaches of Sardinia. In their journey they encounter one of Bond's most famous nemeses, the man who replaced Oddjob as the scariest henchman. The person is none other Jaws who made his chilling debut in this movie and was effectively played by the giant, Richard Kiel. Aptly named Jaws, the killer sports a row of steel teeth that can cut a metal chain or padlock. On human flesh, it was put to effective use.

As the movie progresses, it becomes more apparent that the person responsible for the disappearance of the submarines is not interested in money but in using the subs to provoke World War III. Why? So that he can create a world beneath the sea. Talk about perverted ambitions. The person was megalomaniac billionaire Stromberg, a man obsessed with the sea and actually lives on or beneath the sea. Curd Jurgens who plays Stromberg was quite effective in his role but not exceptionally menacing as Donald Pleasance's Blofeld in You Only Live Twice.

The film was action packed. From the pre credit breath taking ski chase on the Alps to the combat fistcuffs in Cairo, from the amazing car chase (featuring Bond's outstanding gadget, a Lotus car that can turn into a mini submarine) to the climatic battle on a submarine dock cleverly disguised as an oil tanker, the movie breathes with explosive action and stunts.

Roger Moore was in one of his best performances. Still cracking with his wit and one liners, he still exceptionally showed a gritty edge that bordered on cold blood murder. An example is when he throws a helpless man from the rooftops after collecting useful information or when he executes the defenseless Stromberg. Sorry for the spoiler guys, but we know that Bond always kills the bad guys.

And we know the bad guys maybe smart enough to implement a world domination operation but still dumb to know they should kill Bond once he is captured. Don't they ever learn? Haven't they watched enough Bond movies to realize that their predecessors' biggest mistakes was to use elaborate schemes to kill Bond instead of keeping things simple and put a bullet through his head? And the operation itself like in all Bond movies lacked subtlety. Since their intention was to destroy the world, and repopulate it beneath the sea, where are the women that will be used for the procreation? After all, it was just by happen stance that Bond's female accomplice happened to be around when the operation was being launched.

What was the strategic benefit of hijacking the submarine belonging to the Americans? And when captured, why not kill all the seamen at once? A man wanting to destroy the world will feel no qualms murdering sailors.

As I said before, Bond movies are all too fantastic. But still they are a lot of fun and this movie stands out in the fun department.

Featuring a solid score "Nobody does it Better" and the haunting lyrics of Lawrence of Arabia, abound with tight packed action, filled with gorgeous women (like the helicopter pilot who still has time to exchange air kisses and winks with Bond as she tries to kill him,) elaborate sets, it was no surprise that TSWLM was a commercial mega hit, and saved the Bond franchise from extinction.

It was really golden Bond and Beyond!

The Hunt for Red October should be one of the greatest political/espionage thrillers ever to hit the cinematic screen. Adapted from Tom Clancy's novel of the same name, it still remains in my estimation his best and most successful adaptation. I may even go further to say that the movie is better than the book, an aberration in Hollywood.

And why not? When a top action director like John McTiernan of "Die Hard" fame is thrown together with samurai actors like Sean Connery, a young Alec Baldwin, James Earl Jones, Scott Glen, Joss Ackland, Stellar Skarsgard, Tim Curry, Jeffrey Jones, Sam Neil, to make a movie based on a top selling novel, the film has to deliver.

And boy, does it deliver! Right from the opening scenes of Sean Connery's world weary eyes as he gazes over the Soviet Navy dock to the film's climatic underwater battle scenes, this movie will hold your attention and captivate you completely. Not that the film is action packed. Far from it. The film is an endless cycles of plots and counter plots, meetings, etc. But still the entire film reverberates with tension and doom that can only emanate in a world where a few men literally hold the key to dooms day in their hands.

Sean Connery plays the brilliant and maverick Soviet sub Captain Marko Ramius who has been placed in command of the latest submarine called the Red October. The Red October is equipped with a hydro propulsion system that can effectively make the submarine run soundlessly. The result? The submarine is capable of evading sonar or satellite detection. As US Naval analyst Skip Tyler played by Jeffrey Jones chillingly puts it "this (submarine) could park a coupla hundred warheads off Washington and New York and no one would know anything about it till it was all over" Such a device could easily counter balance, if not end, US military supremacy of the seas. Naturally, the Americans consider it a serious threat to their naval superiority and want to know more about the submarine. However, there is a major problem. The submarine has gone dark, embarking on its own solo mission and deviating from the course authorized by the Soviet Navy.

All hell breaks loose as both US and Soviet Governments, run around frantically, in blind panic, as they try to fathom the motives behind Ramius's action. But there is one known fact to both countries. The submarine carries several nuclear warheads and the captain Ramius is a famous Soviet hero, a strong party leader who has just been cast in a wave of turbulent emotions because of the death of his wife. The most likely scenario is that Ramius' grief has led him to seek the ultimate act of misdirected vengeance by bombing the US and thus provoking World War III.

Enter CIA analyst Jack Ryan who propagates a different but outlandish theory for the Soviet Captain's aberrant behaviour. His theory is rejected as incredible and insane by the Americans and in any case they cannot risk such a ridiculous theory against the possible outcome of nuclear holocaust. It is better to prepare for war.

Jack Ryan is then saddled with the unenviable responsibility to prove his theory. What follows is a cat and mouse hunt between Soviet and US navies as each has different motives to want to blow Red October out of the water. Aided by skeptical sea captains, Ryan effectively played by Alec Baldwin, has to contact Ramius in time. Otherwise what could happen is the destruction of Red October or nuclear holocaust or even both.

This movie showed that John McTiernan is a master in bringing unbearable tension to the movie. Despite the fact that the film was made immediately after the cold war, it is still a cliff hanger movie which all the James Bond and Jason Bourne movies put together cannot equal.

The main stars, Connery and Baldwin, also put in excellent performances. Why Connery did not win an Oscar for his electrifying performance as the world weary but exceptional sea strategist in sub warfare is a mystery to me. Baldwin too was a treasure to watch. The uncertainty on his face as he goes on a mission for which he has no training for, his fear when inadvertently put in a hunt and kill situation, and his metamorphosis into a cold blooded executioner, were simply first class. It was a shame he did not reprise the Jack Ryan role in "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger" ("The Sum of All Fears" does not count). Instead the role went to Harrison Ford who did well with the character but Baldwin still remains the best Ryan.

The supporting cast also put in strong roles. Mention should also be made of Courtney B. Vance who almost stole the show playing the exceptional sonar operator.

In true Hollywood fashion, the film makers took advantage of the average movie goer's ignorance of naval warfare. Clancy adopted a more realistic approach in the portrayal of Captain Ramius as a brilliant captain who is still limited by the submarine's capabilities and the natural forces of the sea, and is worried about the unpredictable dangers he is facing. McTiernan on the other created an extraordinary seaman, almost supernatural in his approach and mildly contemptuous of the forces, both technological and natural, arrayed against him and his submarine. He is ultra cool and confident, an older and more intellectual equivalent of James Bond.

Nevertheless, the movie depiction, while exaggerated and unrealistic, still adds more entertainment value to the film. Tight, claustrophobic, suspense and tension driven, this film is a classic and one of the best submarines movies.

The Man with the Golden Gun is Roger Moore's second movie as James Bond in which he is pitted against a world first class assassin called Scaramanga who has three trademarks; his working tool is a golden gun, his price is $1m a hit and he has (yikes) three nipples.

Under the belief that he has been marked for assassination by Scaramanga, Bond begins a subtle cat and mouse hunt game to kill his killer first.

Later his personal quest merges with his earlier assignment; to resolve the energy crisis by finding one of their solar scientists.

This movie just like the novel is arguably the weakest in the Bond franchise. It still has some elements of fun though; like Bond's encounter in the karate training school(trust the Bond filmmakers to exploit the current raging movie cliché), a car chase, Bond's fight with a dwarf.

There were several scenes that beggar beliefs.

A "police officer" arrests a "dangerous criminal" like Bond and feels comfortable to holster his gun while enjoying a comfortable ride with Bond in the back.

Scaramanga who spares Bond's life temporarily in order to have a pistol duel with him, unaccountably does the unexpected.

At the beginning of the film, a gunman is inexplicably hired by Scaramanga's man servant to kill Scaramanga.

The plot holes can sink the titanic.

Despite Roger Moore's enjoyable performance and Christopher Lee's chilling performance as the The Man with the Golden Gun, the film just managed to scale the level of being above average.

Live and Let Die was Roger Moore's first appearance as Agent James Bond 007, a role he so obviously relished over the years. Then he was better known as a TV star following his role as the Bondesque Simon Templar in the Saint, and the follow up as Lord Sinclair in the less successful The Persuaders.

When the film starts, Bond's briefing is not in the familiar office of his boss M, but in his apartment where he had just finished cavorting with a delectable Italian agent.

M gives Bond the unfortunate news that three British agents have been murdered presumably by one Mr. Kananga, the dictator of a Caribbean country called San Monique. Bond is then ordered to investigate the deaths.

Bond's assignment takes him to New York where he meets the beautiful and mysterious Solitaire, a tarot card reader with seemingly possible powers to predict the future. Solitaire played by Jane Seymour (her first acting role) was a virgin who will lose her power if she loses her virginity.

He also encounters Tee Hee, the henchman with a hook instead of a hand. (In the Bond novels, Bond's friend Felix Leither had the hook); the seductively menacing Baron Samedi, supposedly The Man Who Can Never Die, and finally the big bad guy himself, Mr. Kananga played charmingly by Yaphet Kotto. Both Julius Harris and Geoffrey Holder who played Tee Hee and Samedi respectively were sadly underused but still their performances as the grotesque bad guys were arresting.

Sadly, Desmond Llewlyn did not make an appearance but his character, Q, was still referred to in a comic altercation between Bond and M.

Kotto has the distinction of being the first and only black villain in the James Bond franchise. And it was a role he played with equal measures of charm and menace. Kotto always has a magnetic screen presence and it show in this movie, almost matching that of Roger Moore himself, despite his lesser screen time. It was obvious that the Bond film makers were cashing in on the successful blaxploitation movies of the 70s, (although in a reverse order since the black guys are the villains). The racist theme was prevalent in the movie and which begs the question- were they black because they were villains or where they villains who just happened to be black? Roger Moore's interpretation of Bond was radically different from Connery's. He eschews Connery's sardonic wit and roughness to assume a more affable finesse and comedic persona. That charm is what made Roger Moore a more likable Bond in Nigeria (not in my opinion though).

He smokes cigars, struts through the street of Harlem dressed like The Prince of Wales, speaks in refined English (his one liners where excellent like when his quip "sheer magnetism, darling" as he pulls down a zipper with a magnetic watch), shows no anxiety in being in the midst of violent black drug runners (when he is being taken away to his execution, he calmly advises Solitaire not to leave as he shan't be long) and tells a massive henchman called Whisper to keep the change when the henchman serves him with drinks and takes his gun in exchange.

LALD is a fast paced movie which unusually for the superficial Bond movies skirts the supernatural world of voodooism, occultism and human sacrifices. The drug theme is also explored via Kananga who wants to monopolize the drug world in US by an operation that does not really make sense.

As Kananaga puts it "I sell to anyone…black, white-I don't discriminate" Like most Bond films, LALD has its plot holes. It is never explained why the British Secret Service was interested in Kananga in the first place that led to the murder of their three agents, or even why their agents were murdered. Fantastically, one was murdered right in the General Assembly meeting of the United Nations! Or why Kananaga's dummy killers would kill one of their own agents on the verge of revealing information to Bond when they could have nipped the whole problem in the bud by just easily killing Bond. Wrong strategy, bad guys.

Despite these plot holes, it is still an arresting movie with such highlights as the climatic boat chase, Bond's nifty watch that could emit a magnetic field, his nerve wracking entanglement with the alligators and a brilliant disco cum spooky song theme song from Paul Marcartney.

It is better that its predecessor, the silly Diamonds Are Forever; not the best of the Bond movies but still a lot of fun to watch.

Despite the hype, I was not really interested in watching the King's Speech being more of a thriller/horror/action/sci-fi/buff. But when I did watch it, I could then understand what the hype is all about.

Once in a while, comes a film which is almost flawless, a delight to watch, an event that relies more on the story telling, superb acting and excellent directing than on any other movie gimmick.

In this circle of movies, you get such ultimate experiences like The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption, The Usual Suspects, The Hunt for Red October etc. Films that prove you do not need action or sex or vampires or boy wizards or hobbits to make a good story.

The King's Speech definitely belongs to this movie treasures.

It tells the unlikely friendship that develops between King George VI (formerly Prince Albert), a stammerer and his unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Louge.

It is in the mid to late 30s. England is on the brink of war. The shadow of Hitler is looming over the West while that of Stalin's is creeping from the East.

England desperately needs to look up to their leaders for hope but even at the top, there is turmoil. The Prime Minister keeps on downplaying the menace of Hitler to the not so gullible citizens. King George V is an old sick man and relies on his two sons to hold up the country's morale and maintain their faith in the monarchy.

Alas, the elder son Edward has gained the disfavour of both his own family and the British Government because of his relationship with an American twice divorcée called Wallis Simpson. This liaison is threatening his ascension to the throne.

The younger son, Prince Albert (or Bertie) as his speech therapist insists on calling him has a serious speech defect that hinders his public speaking, and makes him afraid of making public appearances. If his country cannot hear his voice, how can he govern and lead them in this dark hour?

Enter his wife, Queen Elizabeth played by Helen Bonham Carter who plays the role with a fine restrained and quiet dignity. She introduces the Prince to the therapist and what follows is a strong compelling drama of quirky friendship and courage.

It was amusing to watch the quiet face off between the two men. At first, Louge (Geoffrey Rush)observes his new patient with a sense of bemused curiosity while Prince Albert regards his therapist with distrust and suspicion. It is highly enjoyable to watch the budding wariness between the two men develop into an awkward endearing friendship.

Colin Firth plays the stammering Prince Albert to a hilt. It is no wonder that he won an Oscar for his performance. I enjoyed watching his initial pomposity towards his therapist which sometimes changes to hostility or irritation and gradually turns to reluctant acceptance.

Geoffrey Rush was the perfect complement to Colin Firth. Both men were simply amazing and show why they are among the most versatile actors in the industry. His dry wit in the film reminded me of his stellar performance as the deranged Marquie De Sade in Quills.

Both men were strongly supported by Helen Boham Carter and Guy Pearce who plays the Prince Edward that abdicated his throne for the American. Mrs. Simpson. Pearce was a delight to watch and a scene stealer in every scene he appeared. I'm sure he had a lot of fun playing this complex man that abandoned his royal duties because of love, or for as Helen Carter scathingly and uncharitably puts it, "the skills acquired at an establishment in Shangai".

Tom Hooper did a masterful job in directing this movie. And it helped that he had a wonderful script written by the talented David Seidler.

Now if only the duo will team up to give us movies about Edward & Mrs. Simpson or Prince Charles & Lady Diana, or hell!, even Prince William & Kate Middleton!

A touching movie obviously inspired by the real events that took place in the early 1920s in England. Two girl cousins claimed to have seen fairies and took photographs with them. The fairies came to be known as the Cottingley Fairies. Their claims generated a lot of interest and followership including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who believed their stories after subjecting the photographs to authentication tests.

It was later in the 80s that the cousins admitted the photos were fake after advanced technology in computer and photography showed discrepancies in the pictures.

However, this film is still a gem

Diamonds Are Forever is no doubt Sean Connery's worst Bond outing. In Dr. No, Connery was charting in untested waters. It made him tight and wound up. In From Russia With Love, Connery had grown more comfortable in his role and appeared more relaxed than in the movie than its predecessor. With the solid performance of the two movies, Connery had every right to be confident about the Bond franchise and the confidence showed in Goldfinger and Thunderball. That confidence metamorphosed into a slight arrogance in You Only Lie Twice when he announced his intention to resign from the Bond movies.

In Diamonds Are Forever, the arrogance became over bloated and Connery's performance was the nonchalance of a sleepwalker who knew that no matter where he walked, he was not going to fall off the cliff. His nonchalance could be understandable. George Lazenby and announced that he will no longer revive the role of 007. The James Bond owners were desperate. They needed someone to reaffirm the Bond fans that Bond was still alive. So they licked their wounds, went back to Connery and paid him US$1.7million which made him the highest paid actor of the year and earned him a spot in Guiness Book of Records as the highest paid actor. Connery also managed to convince them to bankroll two or three movies of his choice.

With all this drama, it was no wonder that Connery's performance bordered on conceit. He hardly put in an effort. The energy that drove him in the previous movies was missing. And the plot itself was…(shudder!) Diamonds are being smuggled out of the British Mines in South Africa (the apartheid policy is conveniently ignored) at an alarming rate. Bond is sent to discover who is responsible and poses as a diamond smuggler to infiltrate the organization. While doing that, he has to contend with such flamboyant characters like the homosexual hit duo called Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, his beautiful handler-Tiffany Case, and a host of other unsavoury characters. Of course, it turns out that his old nemesis, Blofeld is behind the diamond smuggling intending to use the diamonds as a brilliant weapon that will hold nations to ransom.

Of course, most Bond plots are completely ridiculous, and DAF falls into that category. But it was not just ridiculous, it was like a parody or spoof of Bond films. And the actors were just behaving like incompetent clowns trying hard to make us laugh.

Charles Gray gives a witless performance as Blofeld. Jill St. John was the hapless female is distress who was working for the bad guys until she met Bond and started working for the good guys.

All the other regulars were present, Bernard Lee as M, Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny, and always the scene stealer Desmond Llewywn as Q.

The film still was a money maker, mainly based on fans excited to see Connery back in the role again. It was just a pity that Connery refused to deliver to his fans.

This is one of the laziest movies I have ever watched. Lazy in the sens that the script writers did not try to develop an idea that started well. In the opening scene, we see a father attempting a murder-suicide act.

The film jumps to our heroine Molly who has just moved to a new town with her father for a fresh start after a traumatic experience she had. And after a few scary chills, the film lapses into a boring predictable cliché with such a lousy ending, that I felt the movie makers should pay me for having to sit through this utter crap.

The only two redeeming factors was the beauty of the actors and the acting was above mediocre.

Outside that, the film was stupid with enough plot holes to sink ten Titanics.

Just stupid.

One Her Majesty's Secret Service still remains one of my most favourite James Bond movies. It was the film that introduced an unknown Australian model called George Lazenby as the debonair agent 007, following the iconic Sean Connery's first exit from the Bond franchise.

In this sixth Bond installment, 007 is on the hunt for his arch nemesis, Enrst Starvo Blofeld, the head of the world wide criminal organization known as SPECTRE. Fate brings him into contact with Draco, another criminal boss who is the head of the Corsican Union, the French equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia. Both of them strike an unholy alliance. In return for Draco using his contacts to find out the whereabouts of Blofeld, Bond will marry his only daughter, Theresa. To sweeten the deal, Marco promises to give him a dowry of 1million pounds on the day of the wedding. As the charming Draco puts it, he has no reason to give information to an employee of Her Majesty's Secret Service but may give it to his future son in law.

With Draco's assistance, Bond posing as a genealogist penetrates Blofeld's lair in the Alpine mountains of Switzerland where the environment is as dangerous as the enemy itself. Blofeld himself is now posing as a count doing some research work into finding a cure for allergies.

Typical of all James Bond movies, there is a bevy of gorgeous girls. In this movie the girls representing almost every race in the world are angels of death orchestrated by Blofeld to carry out a diabolical corruption of the world's agricultural industry.

When this movie came out, reviews were mixed and mostly negative. Pepole were still not used to the idea of a different person playing Bond but with the passage of time, the movie shows why it is a classic.

First, the movie eschewed all those fantastic plots of world domination and in Lazenby we see a grittier, more down to earth Bond. For the first time since Dr. No, there are no survival gadgets for Bond to rely on, not even a gun. It is just his fists and wits against a bevy of gunmen and a terrain that is dangerous as the enemy itself. A lot of credit must go to Peter Hunt who as much as possible stuck faithfully to Fleming's novel and was still able to eke out an action packed suspenseful thriller without any reliance on gadgetry.

Check out the ski scenes which still remains the best and most suspenseful ski scenes in all the Bond movies accompanied with a wonderful score by John Barry. That score is among my favorites movie scores of all times. A gritty suspenseful score that for the first time, I enjoyed more than the traditional James Bond theme.

George Lazenby's performance may be average but his interpretation of James Bond was more realistic than the super cool Sean Connery (whom I still idolize nevertheless). You could see his emotions thinly veiled because of the circumstance he finds himself in-his anger with M who forces him out of Bedlam (an operation to hunt down Blofeld), his tenderness with the emotionally disturbed Theresa Draco, his fear when being pursued by Blofeld's henchmen, his helplessness as for once he has to depend solely on a woman to survive, his agony at the loss of his loved one at the end of the movie. Lazenby displayed a Bond that was not a superman but just an ordinary man as depicted by the Fleming novels.

Telly Savalas of Kojak fame easily stole the show as the charming Blofeld. He departed from the menacing specter of Donald Pleasance's Blofeld in You Only Live Twice and displayed a physical presence that could easily match Bond in physical combat. That being said, Pleasance still remains my favorite Blofeld of all times.

Using the precedent set by Goldfinger, the producers hired gorgeous Avenger girl Diana Rigg to play the ill fated Theresa Bond which she did solidly. She was not the typical helpless girl relying on Bond to save her. In one of her greatest scenes, the movie makers surprisingly and wisely made her sit behind the wheel instead of Bond in order to outrun Blofeld's men; she skis with Bond to evade capture and defends herself against two henchmen with just a broken bottle. Her performance and Savalas' performance were enough to cover Lazenby's acting shortcomings which were not much by the way. It is a pity that Lazenby did not continue with the Bond role after his agent convinced him that the Bond franchise had no future. I'm sure he would have made a great Bond actor in the future Bond films.

Of course like most Bond films, there were some illogicality, chief among them being how come Bond and Blofeld did not recognize each other after they had both crossed swords in You Only Live Twice. This was a big plot hole which has never been explained to me.

Also there were hints of racism in the movie when the angels of death were given their nations' traditional gourmets to dine on. The dark skinned Jamaican girl was given a banana, a fruit traditionally associated with monkeys and which has been a bane of racist jokes against blacks. That scene up till now rankles me whenever I watch it but I put it down to the attitude of the sixties then. Now, in this era of political correctness, I seriously doubt any Bond movie would allow such a racist gaffe.

Despite all this, OHMSS is a high octane adventure movie. The main action starts in the second half of the movie and never stops until the last tragic scene where Lazenby shows that he had the potential of making a great actor.

I recommend this fine movie to all Bond fans.

You Only Live Twice marked the part where Bond movies lost their realistic plot (Not that they were that realistic anyway) and delved into the realm of fantasy bordering on science fiction. It also was the first film to be radically different from the novel in its story line and plot. The only similarities are the existence of Japan, the Japanese secret service and Blofeld. In the novel, the mission had nothing to do with the Space Race between the superpowers that was the central theme of the movie. Probably because of this, YOLT has been a source of debate about its entertainment value. While most Bond fans agree about the excellence of films like Goldfinger, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, YOLT generated a lot of negative criticisms.

Despite all this, YOLT still brought in a hefty profit and impossibly remains one of my favourite Bond movies.

Here, the stakes are even higher than that of Thunderball. The stake is World War 3. The catalyst for this threat to world peace is a spacecraft of unknown origin that has hijacked a US Space capsule in space. The Americans predictably accuse the Russians of the theft which Russians deny. The US Government then announces that they will be sending another spacecraft in 3 weeks and that if this one is stolen as well, they will declare war on Russia.

When the British announced that their satellites picked up the Unidentified Flying Object going down the seas of Japan, nobody believes them. It is now up to them to send their white knight in the form of Agent 007 to find those responsible for the theft. Because of the high stakes and the time pressure, British Intelligence needs Bond not to be distracted by his old enemies. So they fake his death and the world hears that our beloved hero was assassinated in Hong Kong.

Bond travels to Japan where he forms an alliance with Tiger Tanaka, the Head of the Japanese Secret Service, Tiger's competent (and of course female) agent called Aki, and naturally the Ninjas. In Japan, he uncovers SPECTRE as the real people behind the hijacking but then the pressure shifts to high gear when a Russian capsule is hijacked in a similar manner as the US space capsule. Now the Russians accuse the Americans who in retaliation (and illogically) decides to bring the launching date of their next rocket nearer. And threatens immediate war if their property is hijacked-again.

The future of mankind now rests on Bond and his Japanese alliance. And also on Q to give Bond the gadgets which he will use to accomplish his mission. The gadget is one nifty toy like helicopter that is actually a killing machine, incongruously called Little Nellie.

Notwithstanding the silliness of the plot, the action is tight, fast paced, the story is simple to follow and very exciting. The directing was excellent, the cinematography driven with the rich pictures of Japan and the haunting theme song by Nancy Sinatra was outstanding and still remains one of my best Bond themes.

The only let down was impossibly Sean Connery. Sean Connery gives an average performance, certainly nothing as good as in his previous movies. Having announced his resignation from the Bond movies, his lack of enthusiasm showed and got worse in Diamonds are Forever. Tetsuro Tanba who plays the Tiger almost steals the show from Connery. Kudos should also be given to Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi). She displayed the correct balance of competence, humor and vulnerability that made her a delight to watch. Her exit from the movie was one of the most moving and tragic deaths of a Bond ally.

But the most memorable character in YOLT was Ernst Stravo Blofeld. Finally, the film makers decided to show his face and it was worth the wait. Donald Pleasance who played Blofeld with chilling effect is easily the best Blofeld ever. Safely ensconced in the amazing artificial volcano where he is hatching his plot for world domination in tryst with what his presumably the Chinese, his soft voice, his blank but menacing expression, his white cat, his pool pf piranhas that he does not hesitate to use with chilling efficiency, Pleasence created a villain unrivalled by any in the Bond series. He had a screen time of maybe only 15 minutes but in that small time, he totally dominated the film and his verbal stand off with Bond was the most climatic in the movie. Why he did not reprise his role in the other Bond movies that featured Blofeld has always been a mystery to me. I believe that the Bond franchise suffered because of his absence. In fact when reading the Bond novels, the image of Blofeld is Pleasance and nobody else.

In one of their last scenes in the movie (which is almost my favourite), a captured space man's space helmet is removed to reveal Bond. In response to Blofeld's query about the reports of his death, Bond quips, "Yes, but this is my second life" In an emotionless monotone but with a subtle hint of menace, Blofeld chillingly assures him, "You Only Live Twice Mr. Bond".

But Blofeld was wrong. Bond Lives Forever.

The success of Goldfinger ensured that the James Bond franchise had a solid footing in the entertainment industry. It was inevitable that in their next Bond outing, they would make it bigger, more action packed, and louder than Goldfinger. The result was Thunderball a high octane action packed movie with high stakes. Sadly, despite the potential of the movie and the action, it still could not measure up to the entertainment quality of Goldfinger. That does not mean to say that Thunderball was a droll. Far from it. It was still very entertaining in its own right.

The film features the return of SPECTRE and Bond's old nemesis, Ernst Stravo Blofeld. SPECTRE has managed to hijack twin atomic bombs from NATO and is planning to use it against the civilian population unless the sum of 100 million pounds is paid.

Again, Bond is called to save the world. This was Sean Connery's fourth outing as Bond which he does with considerable charm in the exotic scenery of Nassau. From the exciting pre credit sequence where he straps on a rocket bag to make his escape from a château after a vicious combat with a SPECTRE member, to another entanglement with another SPECTRE member in a health centre, from his being drawn into the operation to retrieve the bombs and his lethal cat and mouse game with the beautiful female assassin Fiona Volpe and her boss Largo which culminates in an epic underwater battle, Connery holds his own and proves without a doubt why most people still regard him as the best Bond ever.

Largo, played by Italian Adolfo Celi with considerable charm is No 2 in the SPECTRE organization and is the one entrusted with the job of stealing those bombs. He is aided by his assassin the voluptuous Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) who proves that she is more than a match for Bond. She is the first woman (since the Chinese lady of Dr. No) smart enough and strong enough not to succumb to Bond's charm after making love and shows that her alliance to SPECTRE is stronger than any seduction trick Bond may out of the hat.

That is not to say that Bond does not have another chink in Largo's armour. The chink is in the form of Largo's mistress called Domino who has her own personal motive for wanting to help Bond. Despite her beauty and being on the good side, Volpe still made a much more interesting and arresting character. What can I say? Evil seduces and bad girls are always more magnetic than good girls. Remember the song of the Pussycat Dolls? "Don't you wish your girlfriend was bad like me..?" The other Bond regulars also featured, Bernard Lee(M), Lois Maxwell(Moneypenny) and Desmond Llelwyn(Q).

An entertaining film. Definitely.

From Russia With Love is one of the few Bond films that remains as close as possible to the espionage game as it was played during the Cold War. That was the Bond era before the Blofelds, the Strombergs and the Draxes decided that playing tin god was not enough. They had to become God by taking over the world. In FRWL, SPECTRE decides to pit British Intelligence against Soviet Intelligence and profit from the fall out. Did I hear you say that's familiar? Well, the prize in this film is not the ruler ship of good old Mother Earth but a Leptor Machine-a KGB encryption/decoding device similar to the WWII German Enigma Machine. Blofeld (whose face we still cannot see) assigns one of their members, KGB Colonel Rosa Klebb (chillingly played by Lotte Lenya) to head the operation. Klebb recruits naive Cipher Girl Tatiana Romanova to steal the machine. Romaonva in line with her instructions enlists the help of British Intelligence on the ground that she wants to defect because she fell in love with the picture of James Bond. Her gift for the defection is the Leptor Machine. Of course, the poor girl believes that she is working for KGB (believing the mission to be a fake defection), not knowing that she has unwittingly become the pawn of SPECTRE and that their choice for picking Bond was to have the added bonus of avenging their member Dr. No who was killed by Bond. SPECTRE would then have achieved two goals-selling the Leptor to the highest bidding country and killing Bond.

It was a perfect plan, except that it had one fatal flaw. They picked the wrong fall guy-James Bond 007! In Sean Connery's second outing as the suave sophisticated secret agent, his acting had greatly improved. The harshness and impatience he had exhibited in Dr. No was gone. In FRWL, he was more relaxed showing that he had grown comfortable into the role of the world's most famous spy.

In his quest, he was aided by Kerim Bay, a Turkish chieftain working for British Intelligence. Part of the film's success rested on the jocular Bay played with disarming appeal by Pedro Armenderiz who nearly stole the show from Connery. His performance outshone all the actors that have played Felix Leither. Impressive, considering that FRWL was his only Bond appearance. Aremenderiz soon after the filming of the movie tragically committed suicide because he was ravaged by cancer. I felt inexplicably sad when I read it up on IMDb. He was one of those endearing Bond characters that will remain in my memory.

Another outstanding performance was given by Lotte Lenya. She proved to us that an elderly, frail looking woman could be as dangerous and worthy an adversary as any Bond could encounter. In fact, it is note worthy that after Bond's lethal combat with Rosa Klebb, the shaken Bond slumps in a seat and leans emotionally to Romanova for support.( Sorry about that spoiler but we all know that Bond would survive).

Then Romanova….aaaah….Daniela Bianchi. The former Miss World or Universe may have ordinary thespian skills but there is nothing ordinary about her drop dead gorgeous looks. She can easily pass as one of the most beautiful girls ever to grace the Bond movies. Probably realizing that she will never be Meryl Streep, she eventually gave up acting to marry a wealthy shipping magnate. Don't blame him for falling for her. The lucky bastard! FRWL may not be as action packed as the subsequent Bond movies, and it sometimes drags, but it is still one entertaining ride.

It also has the distinction of introducing one of the most lovable and enduring Bond characters, Q(then called Major Boothroyd) endearingly played by Desmond Lellwyn.

The line of extra powerful, seemingly indestructible, blond henchmen that were to plague Bond's movies found their origin in FRWL in the form of KGB assassin, Donald Grant.(Robert Shaw).

As one of the most realistic Bond movies, From Russia With Love is a film worthy of a Bond fan's love.