Based on some comments on my box office post and on Scott's review of Quantum of Solace, people want to talk about this. I want to talk about it too. So would someone who saw Quantum over the weekend please explain to me why this random action movie was released under the "James Bond" banner?

You know, there was that scene in Casino Royale where Bond, asked if he would like his vodka-martini shaken or stirred, replies: "Does it look like I give a damn?" At the time I -- and most others, it seemed -- thought this was actually pretty cool, part of Bond's facelift for the new millennium. The franchise retained its essence in that terrific film, but Bond was a little different: a little grittier, a little tougher, a little less studied and exaggerated in his suaveness. Besides, this was supposed to be a prequel. Bond is still learning the attitude and affectations that will eventually make him Bond, James Bond. Not to mention the fact that he ordered that martini after losing a fortune in poker.

After watching Quantum, I think back to the Casino Royale martini scene, and I'm dispirited. Because the truth is, his one petulant outburst aside, James Bond does care how he takes his martini. And I'm worried that the people behind this new, fantastically successful incarnation of the franchise really -- wrongly -- believe that he doesn't.

(In anticipation of Quantum of Solace, we're rerunning some of our favorite Bond posts alongside a few new ones. Enjoy!)

By: James Rocchi

Now that there's been a matter of, you know, 24 hours since the release of Quantum of Solace, enough time has passed for an assessment of the canon -- out of the James Bond films, which are the best? Well, it's easy to name the best seven -- and in doing so, draw our week of Bond pop-culture coverage here at Cinematical to an end. Bear in mind that this list is only worth noting as a source of minor-scale arguments -- which is exactly why it's fun. And now that my inner Rob Gordon is ready, let's talk about the best Bond films of all time ... In no particular order, except for number one.

7. Casino Royale

Yeah. It's in there. In the top third, most definitely. There's more in my review, but there's not a single part of this film I didn't enjoy -- or, if I wasn't enjoying it, I was at the very least respecting it as part of the plot, as an attempt to set mood or build character, to tackle the backbreaking stoop labor of thriller-style exposition. Craig is a great Bond, and it felt real -- like the sort of thing that may, in fact, happen in something like the real world. Well, not the kick-ass free-running sequence, but still. Oh, and also: There are computers and cell phones in Casino Royale, and only one piece of gadgetry was essential to the film. Everything else? Guns, knives, fists, phones. It's down-to-the-ground stuff, and it's amazing to watch.

What does Daniel Craig get right in his new outing as James Bond? What does Quantum of Solace get wrong? Can Marc Forster really direct action? Is Olga Kurylenko really the "hottest Bond girl ever?" Which directors could and should take on Bond's 23rd outing? And above and beyond all these topics, what does this week's guest Kevin Kelly, of Joystiq and Spout, think needs to happen to save Bond from both his corporate overlords and world-destroying villains? You can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

Even as the franchise began to shed staples with 2006's Casino Royale and tomorrow's Quantum of Solace, the James Bond series is still known for several keystones across twenty other films: girls, gadgets, guns, martinis, silhouettes of female figures thrusting about during the credits, and so on. Some would say that these were the traditions that helped lead James Bond down the path that would end in 2002's Die Another Day, which some would say made them want to take a top hat to their own throats. (Me? I didn't hate it.)

Among these recurring touches were the last lines, often cheeky turns of phrase that seemed to suggest that everything was going to be just fine between Commander Bond and that chick who we'd never see or hear about ever again. So, out of twenty-one films, I humbly offer up my picks for the seven best of the bunch. I'll leave you to find out if Quantum ends more along the lines of Royale's "The name's Bond... James Bond", or with something a bit sexier...

I guess he'll die another way, to paraphrase Madonna's lousy theme song for the 20th Bond movie. Bond's survival of baroque death traps has been mocked on screen all the way back to 1965, when the noted character actor Robert Easton had the following line as a fruity-accented Bond type in The Loved One: "I think it could be dicey if he decides to use the giant squid." There was a giant octopus in the novel of Dr. No, though no villain ever actually employed sharks with laser helmets as in the Austin Powers films. However, there had been a planned robot shark in the kinda-non canonical Bond adventure Never Say Never Again. Our hero has dealt with seven especially exotic murder weapons over the years:

1. Death by giant yo-yo: Octopussy (1983) Resting after an exhausting shag with Maud Adams, Commander Bond (Roger Moore) is awakened by the sudden arrival in his bed of a razor-ended steel yo-yo as large as a family-sized pizza. This must have been the invention of co-screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser, who was always menacing his hero Flashman with just such stuff. I can't nail down the exact first use of strapping a heroine to a log and sending her into a sawmill, though this was considered so essential to the silent serials that it was parodied in the titles of TV's Fractured Flickers. This particular flying guillotine, some sort of cousin to this ancient sawmill gag, brings the circle around from silent movie heroism to modern day pulp.

A love affair with the James Bond series is like a marriage; it's for life, and it's definitely a "richer or poorer, better or worse" proposition. Some days you get Casino Royale (2006) or Goldfinger (1964), where everything is bliss, but then other days you get Grace Jones or a cameo from Madonna or someone named "Christmas Jones." Some days are Connery and some are Lazenby. Some days your director is Guy Hamilton or Martin Campbell, and some days your director is John Glen or Marc Forster. But, like a diamond, the imperfections are what make it all worthwhile. From among the dregs, then, here are a few of my favorite things:

1. The entire supporting cast in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
I confess it's one of the weakest Roger Moore entries, but come on! Motherf---in' Christopher "Dracula/Dooku/Saruman" Lee is the bad guy! And Hervé Villechaize as his diminutive villainous sidekick! And sex-goddess Britt Ekland as the Bond girl! In a bikini! And Swedish model Maud Adams, who would return as "Octopussy"! And Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn! And Soon-Tek Oh as Lieutenant Hip. The only drawback is that the goldurn redneck sheriff returns (see #2)...

2. The Paul McCartney Theme Song in Live and Let Die (1973)
Some fans like this early Roger Moore entry, but Moore hadn't yet settled into the role yet, and I call it "the one with the redneck sheriff and the idiotic boat chase." But conversely, it has one of the best -- if not the best -- song of the series, with its slow build, peculiar tempo changes and odd lyrics ("in this ever changing world in which we live in.") This was McCartney at his crazy out-there best, and it brings much goodwill to the rest of the film.

At this point, the most dangerous threat James Bond faces does not shoot from the barrel of a gun or glimmer from the lens of a laser but instead springs from the tightly-coiled engine of the audience's expectations. Any new Bond film has to not only compete with the films that have come before but also the other high-end entries in the action genre; any political or moral ideas in the film have to compete with the political and moral landscape of the world we live in. Quantum of Solace, the 22nd Bond film, is Daniel Craig's second outing as James Bond, and the blunt, brutal and brisk Casino Royale set the bar very high; if Casino Royale marked a return to greatness for the Bond franchise, Quantum of Solace represents a return to adequacy.

Directed by Mark Forster, Quantum of Solace has the basic bones of a Bond film -- globe-trotting settings, cars and chases, hair's-breadth escapes, nefarious plots. It does not, fortunately, have much of the fat that the worst Bond films have larded onto the series -- there's a minimum of high-tech gadgetry, no skiing sequences, no invisible cars, no henchmen with metal teeth. While Casino Royale brought Judi Dench's gruff spymaster M back to the series from the Brosnan era, it also brought Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion back to the franchise; in the new Bond era, cars crash and buildings break with thundering, shuddering force as Daniel Craig's Bond smashes, crashes and grunts his way through a hard, painful world. In the film's opening car chase, on the winding coastal roads of Italy, there are a number of moments where the crunch and thud of the action catches you up in a two-fisted grip of exhilaration and terror. Part of that's the stunt work, but a big part of it is Craig's Bond -- who you believe as being capable of executing a perfect shift-and-skid turn while firing an automatic weapon out of what used to be his car window with shards of glass lacerating his face.

(In anticipation of Quantum of Solace, we're rerunning some of our favorite Bond posts alongside a few new ones. Enjoy!)

By: Jeffrey M. Anderson

One of the pleasures of anticipating a new James Bond film is considering which singer or band would be most appropriate to add themselves to the long and diverse list of James Bond themes. (Wouldn't a Radiohead theme song be just great? Or the Pixies?) It's almost like winning some kind of award. These songs will likely be revived and re-packaged for generations to come. Not all of the choices have been particularly timeless ("The Living Daylights" by A-ha), and many others are not without a cheeseball flavor (Tom Jones strutting through "Thunderball"). It's also obvious that a great song does not guarantee a good movie, and vice-versa. Hence, as terrific as Casino Royale was, the song by Chris Cornell was only so-so. But no matter what anyone thinks of Quantum of Solace, the new song "Another Way to Die" (by Jack White and Alicia Keys) rocks!

In choosing my seven, I decided to omit Monty Norman's original, instrumental theme, written for Dr. No (1962), but used again in various forms throughout the series.

1. "Goldfinger," by Shirley Bassey
Bassey and the Sean Connery era go together like "martini" and "shaken, not stirred." She had that bold, brassy voice that sounded not unlike the wah-wah horns or the twangy guitar that accompany all that 1960s music. It's the most instantly recognizable song, and the most closely associated with its specific film. Plus how can you not love those bizarre rhymes, like "Midas touch" with "spider's touch" and "Goldfinger" with "cold finger"? Pure genius! Bassey returned to record "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) and "Moonraker" (1979), the latter for an undeserving Roger Moore.

After the historic election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, naturally everyone's mind turned to the next logical step: Does this mean a black man could play James Bond, too?

At least that's where current Bond Daniel Craig's mind went. At a Rome press conference for Quantum of Solace, which opens in the U.S. on Friday, Craig said, "After Barack Obama's victory I think we might have reached the moment for a [black]* 007. I think the role could easily be played by a black actor, because the character created by Ian Fleming in the '50s has undergone a great deal of evolution and continues to be updated."

He also joked that the idea of a black 007 might have Fleming spinning in his grave. Fleming was considered by many to be racist -- just Google the words Ian Fleming racist to find plenty of people making that assertion -- and the U.K. Telegraph observes that his Bond novels "were laced with the racial prejudices of his era."

Surely there's nothing specific about the Bond character that couldn't just as easily apply to a black actor. There have been a few black Bond Girls romanced by white Bonds. Race doesn't generally play a part in the stories, at least not in the last several films. Then again, some people freaked out when Daniel Craig was cast solely because he was blond (if you can imagine the heresy). Would a complete makeover totally ruin it for the purists? What do you think? And if they did go with a black 007, who should play him?

*The word he actually used was "coloured," which apparently isn't quite as offensive and outdated in Europe as it is in America, as none of the news outlets covering the press conference expressed surprise over Craig's usage of it. He obviously didn't mean it with racist intent, anyway, so let's not dwell on it, mmkay?

If you lived in England, you could have seen Quantum of Solace, like, six times already. Did you know that? How does it make you feel? Is it inappropriate, at this historic juncture, to say that I'm kind of outraged about this? Worse: it will open in fifty-seven (57) new markets this week, while we wait for November 14th. Casino Royale opened in a few countries a day or two ahead, which was mildly pride-rankling, but this is ridiculous.

My (largely tongue-in-cheek) America-centrism aside, Quantum of Solace made $39 million last weekend in the U.K., France and Sweden. According to Variety, that's comfortably a record for a film opening in so few territories. In the U.K. alone, Quantum topped Casino Royale's first-weekend take by 35%.

In America (U-S-A! U-S-A!), Casino Royale opened to $40.8 million around the same time of year in 2006. A UK-type spike domestically would put Quantum at around $55 million in two weeks, which actually seems about right. Casino Royale came on the heels of a bunch of Pierce Brosnan installments that many people considered middling (though I should note that the series' grosses nonetheless rose steadily through the Brosnan years). Bond is back now, and everyone knows it. Quantum of Solace will be the biggest Bond yet.

Cinematical has been handed 10 single tickets for an early screening of Quantum of Solace in Los Angeles, and we were wondering if any of you would like to go? The screening is being held on November 11, which is a few days before the film hits theaters, so see it before your friends, your family and that Bond fanatic in your office who insists on sleeping outside for tickets to the first show even though he can simply go online and buy them. Not only will you snag a ticket for this special secret screening, but the 10 folks chosen will also take home a sweet 007 gift bag that's got all kinds of neat stuff tucked away inside.

Now in order to win a ticket, you have to leave a comment below with an active email address telling us why you'd like to attend, and you MUST live in or around the Los Angeles area (transportation to and from the theater will not be provided). We'll choose 10 random commenters once this whole thing wraps up on Friday, October 31st. Check out the full rules after the jump, and good luck to you!

Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 14.

As of this writing, it's just under a month until Quantum of Solace's November 14th release date. The buzz on it has been oddly neutral; no one's seen it, people still mock the title from time to time, but everyone seems to be calmly assuming that the acknowledged awesomeness of Casino Royale will just sort of carry over. It's been nice to have a build-up to a blockbuster without too much undue hysteria.

Apropos of the calm seas, MSN offers the fairly placid first clip from Quantum of Solace. In it, Craig's Bond has a heart-to-heart with Mathis (the great Giancarlo Giannini), whom he pegged as a double agent at the end of Casino Royale. ("Oddly, right now you're the only one I can trust," he says.) They mourn the death of Vesper Lynd, with Bond understandably conflicted seeing as she betrayed him before she died. Bond drops some pictures on the table and asks for information.

It's not much, but at least it's apparent that Quantum of Solace will embrace Casino Royale's earnestness rather than the Pierce Brosnan films' often annoying snark. And it's good to see that, while I'm sure Quantum will stand alone in most respects, plot threads from Casino Royale haven't just been forgotten, as has been the franchise's unfortunate practice.

UPDATE: Moviefone has just launched a clip from Quantum of Solace as well, and this time Bond and M chat about revenge and Vesper and all sorts of groovy things. Check it out.

Pictured: Ian Fleming in his study with a copy of For Your Eyes Only (April 1960). (Photo by Evening Standard / Getty Images)

Last month, Cinematical was lucky enough to join a few other select outlets on a trip to London for something called The James Bond Experience. One of the cooler activities we took part in (aside from driving an Aston Martin at 150mph and chatting with both Daniel Craig and Marc Forster) was our field trip to the Imperial War Museum London where, to celebrate Ian Fleming's 100th birthday, they're currently housing an exhibit dedicated to the man called For Your Eyes Only.

If you're a James Bond fan or an Ian Fleming fan or both, then I seriously recommend boarding a plane to London in order to check out this exhibit because you'll see so much -- some of which is on display for the very first time. I'm talking a slew of original manuscripts (from Casino Royale to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), props from some of your favorite James Bond films, personal letters, photographs, notes -- essentially Fleming's entire life right there before your eyes.

While there's no photography allowed inside the exhibit, Cinematical managed to snag a bunch of photos showing only a fraction of what's on display across the pond. So, instead of writing a thousand words describing what I saw, I present these two packed galleries full of images from the Imperial War Museum and the For Your Eyes Only exhibit. Show, don't tell ... right?





For a little more info on the exhibit (which runs through March 1, 2009), head after the jump. Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 14.

So last week, the official theme song for Quantum of Solace -- y'know, that new James Bond flick -- was formally released online, and above is the music video for Jack White and Alicia Keys' "Another Way to Die." This managed to slip past us, probably because we were all still drooling over Erik's chance to comandeer an Aston friggin' Martin (no, no, 'jealous' isn't quite the word...), and now that it's out, opinions are becoming considerably divided.

On his personal blog, Bond devotee David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com said "it's, um, not good. Really, really not good. The Coke commercial focused on the catchy hook, which was good. But the rest of the song? Not good. We're talking "Die Another Day" not good. Argh."

Devindra Hardawar of /Film feels a little less harsh about it: "It's not a terrible song (see Madonna's for Die Another Day for a good example of that), but it certainly doesn't feel like anything new for the series. It seems as if it tries to do way too much, and the song ends up feeling overstuffed in the process."

Left in the apparent, admitted minority is Devin Faraci over at CHUD.com, who likes the song, if not the video.

As for me, I dig the thing, though it's stuck stubbornly in my head over the past couple of days, but I rarely think that's a bad thing. What say you guys? Is "Another Way to Die" worthy of our favorite double-0 agent? Or would you rather they had just adopted "Something of Boris" instead?

Click Erik Davis' beautiful face above to head straight to our Aston Martin hi-res gallery

"Now this is a fun one -- when you get to 100mph, just slowly take your hands off the wheel and watch what the car does ..." -- Aston Martin Instructor #1

You may remember how last month Cinematical was invited to travel to London for something called "The James Bond Experience." Part of this "experience" included a chat with Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster. (You can read all about that over here.) Now, however, we're finally allowed to tell you about some of the activities that took place during our four days across the pond -- and how do I not start with the awesomeness that was driving an Aston Martin -- a car, mind you, that's worth more than my life -- at well over 100mph. But let me back up.

Never sit at the back of a bus for more than an hour and a half. By the time our small group of online writers arrived at the Millbrook test track, I felt like I was ready to puke. Millbrook is literally in the middle of the English countryside -- an hour or so out of London, in Bedfordshire, England -- and it's the sort of place that calls for an escort to be with you at all times. See, Millbrook is where they test all sorts of cars and military vehicles before they're called into action. Thus, cameras are everywhere, the public is not allowed in and security is tighter than a seat belt around Santa.