Hey all.
I have taken a few days off and have spent part of them watching several Bond films in chronological order.
I do not, for the record, recommend this. At least for the first several, it gets kind of grim. Like – you get through the extensive, inexplicable, grimy underwater fight scenes of Thunderball and then you make it to You Only Live Twice.
I spent the entirety of the latter saying to myself, ‘Wow. This is about as racist as it gets….oops. I was wrong, this is about as racist as it gets.’ The recursion lasted through the majority of the film. I had only seen a few of the early Bond films before. To be fair, I also spent most of Thunderball and You Only Live Twice thinking ‘Hey, I would’ve gotten a lot more out of Austin Powers if I had seen these earlier in life.’
Anyhow.
This weekend, I saw the film Book Club. It was a friend’s pick – not one I would’ve seen on my own. I’m glad I did, though. It wasn’t really heavyweight but it was enjoyable. Plenty to laugh at and a stellar cast, with genuinely sweet moments, too.
I will say (with a hint of shame) that you’re likely to get a bit more out of it if you’ve read the book Fifty Shades of Grey. Which I have. My friend had not, though, and she still enjoyed it.
It’s sweet and romantic and has many wonderful female characters with very different lifestyles and agendas. Probably kind of syrupy for some folks’ taste, but I love schmaltz.
Not a must-see in the theater, but worth a watch, IMO.
I really should watch something other than more Bond films, this evening, but honestly, I’m only halfway through Diamonds are Forever and I do kind of want to know what the effing deal is with Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd.