Queue Tips: Royale With Cheese

In "Casino Royale" there's a scene where this lady is sitting in the shower, fully clothed, with the water running.  Do people actually do that?  Have people actually done that?  That must really signify that she is really troubled or something.  And then James Bond comes in and joins her.  Like, let's just sit together on the shower floor and talk.

Anyways, I don't remember the rest of it.

Queue Tips: Spy Another Way

I was doing the laundry last week, but I forgot all about it.  It's still in the washing machine.  I guess I'll dry another day.  

In the beginning of "Die Another Day", the bad guys have James Bond at gunpoint.  The head bad guy tells them, "Kill the spy".  Instead of just shooting him then and there, they grab him and lead him elsewhere.  Is there a standard killing place for them?  Because they moved in unison in the same direction.  Like they knew exactly where to take him.

Anyway - spoiler alert - they end up not killing him.  He lives to die another day, apparently.  And the head bad guy himself is actually killed a few minutes later.  And then the head bad guy's dad and his army have Bond at gunpoint again.  And they don't shoot him again.  So he lives to die yet another day.

Sunday was a nice day.  I went to the park with my boys.  After a while, it started to get chilly.  So of course, we went to get ice cream.  The nearest place was McDonald's.  So we went.  And then I was like, you know what, it's been over a decade since I've had a Big Mac.  Screw it, I'll order one.  So I did.  And then the kids wanted McNuggets.  So I got about a dozen.  It tasted like cardboard.  I don't know why I did it, but I probably will never eat there again.  I guess I was thinking I would diet another day.

There was a scene where James Bond tries to shoot someone and finds out his gun isn't loaded.  So this guy who shoots people all the time and is very good with gadgets didn't realize his gun wasn't loaded when he carried it in the morning.  I mean, I would expect there to be a weight difference.

It really is amazing that they can keep churning these things, and they keep making money.  The theme song to this film really hurts the ears, and I don't think I can watch it again because of that.  I could tell you this film was worth watching, but I guess I will lie another day.

Queue Tips: I think I've had enough.

You might have noticed I haven't post here for a while.  I think I may finally have had enough of these James Bond films.

The theme song to "The World Is Not Enough" reminds me of "Superstar" by The Carpenters.  I think that latter song kind of fits with the James Bond films, actually.

In this movie, apparently a speed boat can drive through land.  I mean, if a gondola can do it, right?

Anyways, the bad guy reminds me of the guy who stars in "Monk".  Was that him?  Let me googalize it.  No.  That was Tony Shalhoub.  Imagine if Tony Shalhoub was in this film?  What would that be like?

There is also a character named Electra.  What if Carmen Electra played her?  I don't even know who that is or what she does, but wouldn't it be something?

Queue Tips: Val and Bill and Ted

I was a big Val Kilmer fan when I was in high school.  I used to rent VHS tapes from the public library.  In January 1996, I had "Tombstone" and "Beautiful Girls".  And then the next day or so, the Blizzard of 1996 came.  My mom was away somewhere, and I was home alone for those few days.  Everything was closed, so I had extra time to keep the tapes.  We didn't have cable TV, so we didn't have much else to watch.

I just watched "Tombstone" and "Beautiful Girls" over and over.  I rented "Beautiful Girls" because of, I don't know, the title, I guess.  And I liked it.  

I used to listen to WPLJ after school all the time.  They had this show called "The Rocky Allen Showgram".  One of the little contests they have is to quote a movie and stump the hosts.  Listeners would always call in and quote "Tombstone", and they would always guess it easily.  So that's why I rented "Tombstone".

I liked it.  I thought it was cool.  It was very quotable so I quoted it, too.  When I heard Val Kilmer would be the next Batman, I was very excited.  My friends and I all went to see it on the first day it was out, near the end of the school year.  I also liked that U2 was on the soundtrack.  I seemed to be the only kid who listened to that band.

I had been avoiding watching "Val" because I knew it would address his cancer, and I was sure it would make me sad.  Life is sad enough.  One morning, I decided to click on it just to watch a few minutes.  I ended up sitting through the whole thing.

This film is a documentary using primarily Kilmer's home videos.  You get a nostalgic feeling out of them, and the narration adds to the melancholy.  It's interesting that at the time I was watching "Tombstone" over and over, I was alone at home, and it definitely brought back some of that loneliness.

There are a lot of insights on how his career and life turned out.  You can see how his personal life affected him.  I liked seeing his process of auditioning and preparing.  He gives his point of view on why he decided to play the characters he did, such as Batman and why they were successful or not.

My friends and I actually also watched "The Island of Dr. Moreau" in the theatre in 1996.  I remember liking it.  I don't think my friends hated it.  Val gives his insight into what went wrong with that film as well.  Maybe I just liked seeing him, but I ended up buying the tape (I think on Columbia or one of those free trial subscription things) and watching that over and over, too.

I haven't seen a bunch of his later films, before his throat cancer.  I think the last one I saw was "Felon". I thought that was okay.  I think I rented "The Salton Sea" also but I couldn't get into it.  It seemed to be slow, and I had a bunch of other movies I wanted to get to.

One of the things that stuck with me is Val taking about his legacy.  He said, "I'm selling basically my old self, my old career" when he was at a "Tombstone" screening event.  Incidentally, I also watched "Bill & Ted Face the Music" recently.  That was basically what that movie was, selling their old selves and their old careers.  That one was sad to watch on a different level.  I wish they hadn't made it.

I still haven't seen the "Top Gun" sequel though.  I wonder how that made Val Kilmer look.  And I don't know who else is on it.  I don't think "Val" really made a big effort to understand the opposing point of view that he was difficult to work with.  And looking at his Wikipedia page, you can see that he did turn down some opportunities.  You can argue that he has been luckier than most, but regardless, feelings are valid.  It's interesting how much a decision can affect your entire life, like accepting roles like in "The Doors" or committing to a production and making personal sacrifices.  It's a good watch.  I think it will affect you even if you are not a fan.

Queue Tips: Singular Hilarity

I'm watching this movie called "Singularity".  It's just John Cusack watching a couple of characters elsewhere and commenting about it.  It's like an episode of MST3K except they don't mean to be funny.

Anyways, I'm working on a sequel for this now.  It's called "Doublarity".