Bond Blogathon Round-Up

So, the day's finally here.

Please check back later in the day or during the weekend, as Will updates his blog with his own thoughts on the movie, which he's not seeing until 9 tonight.

My initial thoughts on Quantum of Solace are now up over at my blog, Jamais Vu. I saw that film last night during a pretty packed midnight screening and wrote up my thoughts this morning. In retrospect, the review is much harsher than my thoughts on the film, which are more ambivalent than it might seem on a first read. There were things I deeply loved about the new film (unexpectedly so), but overall it didn't quite work for me.

I had meant to blog a little bit more on Bond, but I got caught up in finishing the first draft of my diss to meet a self-imposed deadline. All in all, though, it looks like a lot of good material from a lot of bloggers.

As usual, please email me with more links and I will update.

Some other links:

First off, a lot of good links over at Lazy Eye Theatre's Bond blogathon--please check them out.

Aaron Brady at the Valve offers a fascinating account of how Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace fundamentally shift the nature of Bond's notorious misogyny to one rooted in a particular personal trauma.

Erich Kuersten has a great post on "the Amnesiac Bond": the ways in which Craig's Bond manages to emerge without the collective weight of all the other actors who previously defined the role.

Reel Whore's tribute to Shirley Bassey. Also check out the piece on the new Bond theme song, the memorable Bond heroines and henchmen. One thing I had thought about blogging on was that's been a really long time since there was a great henchman in a Bond film (Goldeneye, maybe?)--its a lost art, even in the Craig era.

Scott's great post on the marginal cult texts of Bond--I can honestly say I never watched or read any of it, even though I was aware of all of it at an early age. FWIW--interesting was the rumor earlier this year (or last) that none other than Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) was rumored to do a new franchise based on James Bond, Jr.

Will's interesting post on the after-life of Bond actors, the careers they had after being typecasted. I would add to his list that my favorite pre-Bond role for Daniel Craig was actually his work as a psych ward inmate coming to grips with the fact he murdered his wife in The Jacket (2004), an otherwise forgettable Adrian Brody thriller. The movie's junk, but Craig will blow you away.

Finally, my tribute to Bond songs and to Timothy Dalton.

And here are some older links from the blogathon:

My autobiographical initiation to Bond: "Bond and Nostalgia."

Based on Will's similar post: "Nostalgia for the Present."

Will, meanwhile, documents his own anticipation for Quantum of Solace (taking my feelings about Marc Forster to task): "World Premiere of Quantum of Solace."

Scott's take on the "Another Way to Die" Music Video.

A few more posts of mine over at Jamais Vu:

"Spoiler Alerts" on the danger of UK audiences posting all the secrets (I've already stumbled upon one plot development I'd wish I hadn't).

My ranking of the best and worst Bond films.