1 day - favorite character(s)
Emma Frost
For starters, I became an X-Men fan about 10 years ago, based on the movies... And now I've come back to them after quite a long time, and I'm disheartened to find that, as far as the movies are concerned, the memories have been very, very kind to me. I've never actually read the comics, just now a few excerpts that interested me more, thus, what I know about Emma Frost is what "Wolverine and the X-men" told me, and what Wiki advised me, or what I've gleaned from fanfictions, of which there is an incredible lack. From what I know at the moment, she's an interesting character to me, probably the most interesting one I know in the x-men with a lot of potential. I like her look, how her powers work, and her contradictory nature. She's complex and has both strengths and weaknesses, she's very strong but not impossible to defeat, which to me is more interesting than an invincible entity. Her performance in the film is poor, though I actually find January Jones to be a pretty appropriate choice. But, who hasn't been done a disservice by these movies?
Rogue
Well, maybe listing Rogue as one of my favourite characters is quite an exaggeration, after all, I don't really care for her character in the movie, she didn't really interest me in the TAS series either, she showed up in the anime for about a second at the end if I remember correctly, and I don't remember what she did in Wolverine and the X-men at all... Still, I really liked her in Evolution. Which is why she's here. I enjoyed how they adapted her character into Emo mode, her partially conflicted status on the team, her endearing crush on Scott. She was really strong while having a balanced mix of negative and positive qualities. I was really disappointed that we didn't see a fifth season, because I believe the writers would have handled the Phoenix story and we would have seen Scogue, which given the parallel with their uncontrollable abilities is quite an interesting pairing.
Jean Grey
She was my most favorite character years ago. And for a very good reason. I had a really really big crush on Famke Jannsen. No well, yes I really liked Famke after watching x-men and obsessively watched every one of her movies... Yes every one... Even the really really bad ones... What a man won't do for love... But I liked Jean for several reasons. First: So her abilities even without the phoenix are simply the best. And I, the busty, had a weakness for strong characters. Also, I enjoyed the whole split personality story, actually a lot more than the comic book version, if only it was handled better... Also, she was a doctor. And I wanted to be a doctor at that time. And her whole resurrection and dying and resurrection story was just thrilling. In the present, I still enjoy Jean, despite of her Deux Ex machina persona at times, I like that she is treated partially as a being that is out of this world. I'm more interested in her as a mover and go-between for the other characters, I like her interactions with Emma, what she represents for Emma, I like her relationship with Scott, but I think they should move on, I like what she represents for the X-men community, but I think she should be dead by now.
Honorable Characters: Rachel Summers, Ruby Summers, Magik, Boom Boom, Kitty and Madelyne Pryor.
PS: I'm starting quite late, but I'll try to catch up by Sunday, so hopefully I'll be forgiven.
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Preview: 2024 Boston Underground Film Festival
The Boston Underground Film Festival returns to the Brattle Theatre (Cambridge, MA) from Wed. March 20 to Sun. March 24, 2024! The fest is now in it's 24th edition celebrating bizarre, weird and alt cinema!
Here at Green’s Party, I’ve been lucky enough to cover the festival since 2016 (the fest took off in 2020 and 2021, and I was unable to attend 2022, but I returned in 2023). Here are some of the highlights of this year’s BUFF:
Wed. March 20:
Opening Night film is the East Coast Premiere of Immaculate, which stars current It Girl Sydney Sweeney as a nun in a new covenant as nightmarish things start happening. The film opens nationwide on Friday from Neon, but BUFF fans get to see the East Coast Premiere! Then it's time for the North American Premiere of the new restoration of the 1990 Hong Kong action film Fatal Termination.
Thurs. March 21:
Day 2 kicks off with a Strange Kindness, which was filmed in Cape Cod and focuses on a small town shaken by a violent crime resulting in a house to house manhunt. This thriller is joined by the VT filmed short The Thaw. Then it's Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (CANADA), a vampire coming-of-age film. Then it's Femme (U.K.), set in London's drag scene where a victim of a homophobic attack encounters the assailant months later in a gay sauna and slowly plots revenge.
Fri. March 22:
The day kicks off at 5PM with The Dunwich Horrors, a short program made up of all New England-based horror stories. Then it's the road movie Off Ramp about some Juggalos making their way through the South and a series of misadventures ensue. Sleep (KOREAN) is about an expectant couple in which the husband is developing a dangerous sleepwalking habit.
Sat. March 23:
One of my favorite portions of BUFF is the Sound + Vision music video program. This year there's 27 music videos including some from The Hives, The Chemical Brothers and more. One of the highlights of 2016 BUFF was Little Sister, directed by Zach Clark (who I interviewed at the fest). Now he's back with the alien road movie The Becomers. A deadly infestation of spiders in a French apartment building is the center of Infested (FRANCE) from Shudder.
Sun. March 24:
In the afternoon there's With Love and a Major Organ (CANADA) set in an alternate world where hearts are made of objects and suppressing emotions, a woman literally gives a suitor her heart and it sets this drama in motion. Omen (BELGIUM) was actually Belgium's submission for Best International Feature to the Academy Awards this past year. It's about a Congolese expat who prepares to return home to present his pregnant girlfriend to his family. Then the Closing Night film is Boy Kills World (GERMANY / SOUTH AFRICA / USA), which boasts the most star power with Bill Skarsgard, Famke Jannsen (who I worked with on Monument Ave), Sharlto Copley and was produced by Sam Raimi. It's about a man who was orphaned as a child and deaf, but he becomes a killing machine and adapts the voice of his favorite video game. The trailer has some very Matrix-like action to it!
For tickets and info on 2024 BUFF
Stay tuned to Green’s Party for my coverage of this year’s fest!
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January 14, 2021: GoldenEye (1995) (Part 1)
He’s suave. He’s sophisticated. He’s spy. He’s...
The late, great Sean Connery.
Ignoring the less then savory aspects of his personality (AKA the Barbara Walters interview...both of them), Connery is undoubtedly the most famous Scottish actor of all time. Sorry, Whovians, I love David Tennant, too. But Connery’s got him beat. He’s been in so many iconic films and roles, his influence is undeniable. But most famous of all is his turn as Agent 007, the man himself, James Bond.
I’ve seen all of Connery’s original Bond films (not counting Never Say Never Again), and my favorite is Goldfinger, in case you were wondering. But outside of that...I haven’t seen any Bond movies. Since him, the character’s been played by David Niven, George Lazenby (now THAT’S an interesting story, lemme tell you), Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and the two I’ll be looking at this month: Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
I’ll be looking at Brosnan tomorrow, in Casino Royale. But today, I’m looking at arguably the third most-famous Bond, Pierce Brosnan, in one of the most famous modern Bond movies, GoldenEye.
Also, yeah, never played the game I KNOW IT WAS A ‘90S CLASSIC I WASN’T ALLOWED TO HAVE VIDEO GAMES.
So, what to expect from a Bond film? Well, I’ve got a checklist here, hold on...HERE we go:
Gadgets
Girls
Good-for-Nothings
...Good music?
I’m feeling a little alliterative of late. But, yeah, looking for the Bond Girl, looking for cool gadgets, looking for dastardly villains, and listening for the theme song for the film. Got my list set, and expectations are set to Connery levels. Let’s do this, shall we?
Recap
We start at a dam in Russia. Bond James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is infiltrating the dam, and we get our gadgets checked off right away, as he whips out an acetylene torch. He barges in on a guy in the bathroom (rude, and awkward), then meets up with Alec, AKA Agent 006 (Sean “he dies, he’s the villain, or he’s the villain who dies” Bean).
Yeah, calling it now, Alec here’s gonna die, or he’s the villain, or he’s the villain who’s gonna die. It’s Sean Bean. More importantly, it’s Sean Bean in the ‘90s. There are very few options for him. Anyway, the Russians try to stop them from blowing up the plant, and...well, Alec’s being held hostage. Yyyyyyup. And he gets shot?
I don’t know how...but I’m betting that he’s still the villain. He’s Sean Bean. C’mon. He doesn’t die this early in a movie.
The unambiguously evil Russian general (hey, the Cold War just ended) almost get Bond, but he escapes in typical Bond fashion. They chase after him, and Bond chases an airplane. How, do you ask? I WILL FUCKING SHOW YOU HOW.
WHAT??? WHAT??? Physics just broke, and Issac Newton just tunneled to China. And then the facility blows up.
And THEN the opening begins. Let’s hear the Bond song and check out the opening.
...WOW. Just...I mean...OK, so Bond songs. From the first Bond movie, Dr. No, up until the one before this one, Licence to Kill, the intros were designed and directed by Maurice Binder. They were all composed of silhouetted women, often against colorful backgrounds, and almost always nude or skimpily dressed. There would often be themes or objects seen in the film itself, and sometimes actual scenes, often projected onto women themselves. They all definitely had a similar feel and style. And then, Binder sadly passed away in 1991.
Enter Daniel Kleinman. This is Kleinman’s first take, and this is also the first movie to use CGI. While it’s not terribly obvious or gaudy in the film proper, Kleinman uses this new technology to make this intro SURREAL AS HELL. It expresses the film’s connection to the fall of Soviet Russia, and a post-Cold War society. And is does that in a pretty obvious, if abstract and dramatic, manner. And honestly, on retospect...yeah. It definitely works. Even the song, which is sung by Tina Turner and written by Bono (yes, really), works well by itself, and in my opinion, better when with the actual film. So, crazy and weird as this sequence it...kinda grew on me. I like it! Weird, but I like it a lot.
We cut to nine years later, with Bond taking a woman on a drive/race on a cliffside highway with...well, there’s our Bond girl! This is Famke Jannsen, playing...Xenia Onatopp.
Yes. Really. Oh boy. We aren’t being even slightly subtle about this, huh.
The woman in the car demands him to stop, and they make out, as one would expect. That night, he heads to a party, as James Bond does. At the party, James enters a card game with Xenia. Again...as James Bond does. This is immediately followed by him hitting on Xenia, ordering a vodka martini (shaken not stirred), introducing himself as “Bond, James Bond,” commenting on the Bond Girl’s name, and saying suave shit.
HOLY SHIT THAT SENTENCE ALONE HAPPENED WITHIN 1 MINUTE OF SCREEN TIME
Look, movie, when you got a Bond...you gotta space that shit out. Ration it a little bit, not front load all of it WITHIN FIVE MINUTES AFTER THE OPENING’S FINISHED. It’s like giving someone a beer, and then they EAT THE FRIDGE.
Jesus. OK, Miss Moneypenny (Samantha...Bond, that’s neat!) gives Bond some information, tells him not to have sex with Xenia until they tell him to (yes, really), and then say’s that she trusts he’ll say…”On-a-Topp of things.”
YES. REALLY.
Speaking of Xenia, she’s with an Admiral, having the most TERRIFYING sex I’ve ever seen in a movie. And I’m legit not sure if he survived after it. Like, real talk, it was...frightening. Somebody steals his ID, real nonchalant like, and we cut to the next morning, after his maybe-death? James makes it onto the yacht the next morning (they were on a yacht, by the way), planning on getting some information.
Meanwhile, the ID is used by...someone...to get into a leader of global military leaders. Pretty sure the Admiral got Kegel’d to death; not even joking, it’s a real possibility, and I am shaken AND stirred. And so was the Admiral.
See? Toldja.
Looks like their unveiling a new tactical helicopter, the Tiger. However, the pilots are shot by Xenia and someone else, and they take their place, stealing the helicopter. Bond tries to stop it...even though there’s literally no way he could’ve known they were going to steal the helicopter? I mean, I guess you could assume that, but...I dunno, it’s a stretch.
Meanwhile, in Siberia, a group of radar analysts or some such, where we meet Boris (Alan Cumming, who I feel like I never see play an actual Welsh person...or in a good movie) and Natalya (Izabella Scorupco). Boris is a thirsty computer nerd who hacks the US government for fun (because ‘90s nerds in movies were basically only this), and Natalya puts up with him.
The Tiger helicopter arrives, carrying Xenia and the General (Gottfried John, by the way) from the dam 9 years ago. They show up here, seeking something. Xenia shoots up the place, killing everybody except Natalya (and maybe Boris, since we didn’t see him die). Xenia, by the way, appears to be a straight sadist, enjoying inflicting pain on unsuspecting victims. The two leave, getting what they came for.
London! James Bond returns to MI6 headquarters, and meets his secretary Miss Moneypenny, who calls him the fuck OUT. She is my favorite character now.
MI6 has intercepted a distress call from the station in Siberia, and found the helicopter. The mission is heard by both Bond and M (Dame Judi Dench herself, pre-Cats). Meanwhile, the base in Siberia is hit an electromagnetic pulse originating from an orbiting satellite, which causes EVERYTHING to explode. Pretty sure that’s not what EMPs do, but why not? Suspension of disbelief.
Natalya’s still alive in there, by the way. And she’s not having a great day. You know those work days, right? Your coworkers are all dead, your equipment and office space explode, you’re trapped in a burning building, two American jets get hit by an EMP and crash into the building. Mondays, amirite?
And in case literally everything didn’t make it clear by now, this is a Cold War movie, taking place after the Cold War was concluded. See, the McGuffin for this film (it’s a Bond film, it’s kind of a requirement) is Project GoldenEye, a nuclear weapon meant to detonate in the upper atmosphere, creating an EMP. The weapon was developed during the Cold War, and has now been stolen by the Janus Crime Syndicate, whose heads include Xenia Onatopp. General Ourmunov is also suspected to be a part of it.
This information all comes out during an exposition speech, as is standard for a Bond movie. But after that speech...OH...OH, it’s so good. See, up until now, Miss Moneypenny was really the only major female recurring supporting character in Bond’s life. But we’ve flipped the script, having M played by Dame Judi Dench. And lemme tell ya...what follows is Dench REAMING BOND THE FUCK OUT. And it’s glorious.
Mind changed, M is now my favorite character. She tells him what’s what, then gives him his mission: get GoldenEye back.
We finally get our big gadgets showcase, as we see...Q (Desmond Llewelyn)! First introduced in From Russia With Love in 1963, Q is the MI6’s spy gadget man, and has been played by Llewelyn since then! He’s the only remaining cast member from the original Connery films, and it’s awesome to see him here! He’s been in more James Bond movies than anyone else, at 17. Sadly, he died in 1999, but it’s still cool to see him! We get cool gadgets, of course, including a pen grenade, a car with missiles behind the headlights, a leather belt with a grapple, a LOT of shit in the background, and a missile hidden in a leg cast and wheelchair. This is such a funny sequence, and absolutely the best scene in the movie so far, holy shit. More of THAT, please.
Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, the General finds out that Natalya is alive, as well as Boris being missing. Calling it now, he’s been taken by Janus, or he’s working with them. Bond arrives and meets up with CIA Agent Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker), whom I also really like. He’s had enough of Bond’s spy bullshit, and he cuts to the point. He also identifies himself by showing a rose tattoo with the name of his ex-wife, Muffy. Yes, really.
Bond meets up with a Russian gangster whom he has a...pre-existing relationship with. Apparently, he shot him in the knee, then slept with his wife. You stay classy, Jimmy. You stay classy. This man is Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane), an ex-KGB agent and current gang leader. He tells him that the head of Janus is descended from Cossacks, a group of Russians that worked for the Nazis in World War II.
Natalya finds a way to contact Boris over the internet, who tells her to trust no one, and sets up a meeting with her at a church. This is, of course, a trap, as Boris is working with Janus. Xenia, for her part as a Bond Girl, does her duty and finds James to have sex with. Xenia, it should be noted, is ABSOLUTELY THE FREAKIEST of the Bond Girls. Like, Goddamn is she kinky, you have no idea. Like...is this sex or a fight scene? The film genuinely can’t decide.
Bond forces Xenia to take him to the head of Janus, who’s in a Soviet statuary of some kind. And who’s waiting there but…
Yup. Called it.
See you (and Sean “died, but didn’t die, and is a villain, but is still gonna die” Bean) in Part 2!
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