Jack The Giant Killer

Jack The Giant Killer

Rabu, 31 Oktober 2012

The 23rd Bond Movie: Skyfall



Directed by: Sam Mendes
Produced by: Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Brocolli
Written by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Based on James Bond by: Ian Fleming
Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw, Helen McCrory, Rory Kinear, Albert Finney, Judi Dench
Music by: Thomas Newman "Skyfall" performed by Adele
Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Studio: Eon Productions, Danjaq LLC
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures
Release date: 23 October 2012 (London, premiere), 26 October 2012 (United Kingdom), 1 November 2012 (Indonesia), 9 November 2012 (USA)
Running time: 143 minutes
Budget: $150 million


Skyfall is the twenty-third spy film in the James Bond series, produced by Eon Productions and distributed by MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Directed by Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig reprises his role as James Bond and Judi Dench reprises her role as M. The film was released 26 October 2012 in the UK & Ireland and 8 November 2012 On IMAX screens in the USA & Canada and a day later for regular screens. It will be the first Bond film released on IMAX. As a stand-alone adventure, it doesn't continue the story arc of Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace.

Synopsis

Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Character

Daniel Craig as James Bond
Director Sam Mendes described Bond as experiencing a combination of lassitude, boredom, depression and difficulty with what he's chosen to do for a living.


Judi Dench as M
The head of MI6 and Bond's commanding officer. Skyfall was Dench's seventh and final appearance in the role.


Naomie Harris as MI6 field agent Eve Moneypenny
Harris' role was initially presented as that of Eve, an MI6 field agent who works closely with Bond.


Javier Bardem as the film's main antagonist Raoul Silva
Silva is a former MI6 agent turned cyberterrorist who is seeking revenge against those he holds responsible for betraying him.

Ralph Fiennes as a British government agent Gareth Mallory
The Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. His position gives him the authority to regulate MI6. Fiennes stated that he could not say anything specific about the role other than that it was a really interesting part which is really quite fun.


Berenice Marlohe as Severine
arlohe described her character as being "glamorous and enigmatic", and that she drew inspiration from GoldenEye villain Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen) in playing Sévérine.

Albert Finney as Kincade
The gamekeeper of the Skyfall estate.


Ben Whishaw as Q
Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner
Ola Rapace as Patrice
Helen McCrory as Clair Dowar

Production

After Quantum of Solace was released many fans and other people thought that the title would use a Ian Fleming title that hasn't been used which were "007 in New York", "Risico" and the "The Hildebrand Realty"and since those rumours the movie was for the time being called "Bond 23" as a working title.
According to producer Barbara Broccoli, the title will have emotional context to be revealed in the film, similar to Quantum of Solace. The title refers to a building named Skyfall Lodge, a critical location in the film. Skyfall is also the first one-word Bond film since GoldenEye.
Shooting began in and around London, with scenes shot in Southwark and Whitehall, the National Gallery, Smithfield meat markets and St Bartholomew's Hospital, Canary Wharf, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Charing Cross station and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, with residents reporting further filming as taking place in Cadogan Square, Tower Hill, and Parliament Square. The Vauxhall Bridge was closed to traffic for filming the aftermath of an explosion at the MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross. 




Selasa, 30 Oktober 2012

Bond 50: Bond Villain



The James Bond films are notable for their memorably despicable villains and henchmen. From Le Chiffre's encounter with Bond in the original Casino Royale novel in 1953 to Dominic Greene's attempt to gain a monopoly over Bolivia's natural resources in the 2008 film, Quantum of Solace, Bond's foes have been one of the most important reasons for the book and film series' continued popularity.

Dr. No (1962)
Dr. Julius No
Actress: Joseph Wiseman


Dr. No is a brilliant scientist with an implied Napoleon complex, a self-described "unwanted child of a German missionary and a Chinese girl of a good family". He later "became treasurer of the most powerful criminal society in China", in this case, the Tongs. He then "escaped to America with $10,000,000" of Tong gold bullion. He specialized in atomic energy, which cost him both of his hands, which were replaced with crude bionic ones that were made out of either iron or steel. No's metal hands apparently had great strength (he could crush a stone figurine into powder), but were seriously lacking in manual dexterity.

From Russia with Love (1963)
Rosa Klebb
Actress: Lotte Lenya


Colonel Klebb is a high ranking member of the feared Russian counter-intelligence agency SMERSH, where she serves as the supervisor of Department II (operations and executions). She has a reputation for overseeing the interrogations of enemy agents in which, after exacting various methods of torture on the target, she speaks to them in a warm and motherly tone in an unusual and apparently effective method of extracting necessary information.

Goldfinger (1964)
Auric Goldfinger
Actress: Gert Fröbe


Goldfinger is a strange millionaire with an obsession for gold. His plan is to blow a nuclear bomb in Ft. Knox to devalue US gold and increase the worth of his own.

Thunderball (1965)
Emilio Largo
Actress: Adolfo Celi


SPECTRE's number two and one of their best agents, Largo hijacks two nuclear missiles in Thunderball and threatens to launch them if the US won't pay ransom. Largo is a very ruthless man, and goes as far as torturing his own mistress when he finds her untrustworthy.

You Only Live Twice (1967)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Actress: Donald Pleasence


For appearing in a total of seven Bond movies, SPECTRE head Blofeld is probably the most famous Bond villain ever. The cat-loving madman first pitted against Bond in From Russia With Love although we didn't see his face; It wasn't until 1967 that the producers decided to reveal his face in You Only Live Twice.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Actress: Telly Savalas


Blofeld reveals his face in 1969's OHMSS. Bond accompanies Blofeld in his Swiss Alps headquarters, where his plans for the production of a super-human race would be carried out.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Actress: Charles Gray


Charles Gray returns to the Bond series after playing Bond's contact in You Only Live Twice. In Diamonds Are Forever, Blofeld stockpiles diamonds to make a laser satellite capable of destroying targets on earth. Gustav Graves' plan for world domincation to Die Another Day is very similar to this plan.

Live and Let Die (1973)
Dr. Kananga (aka Mr. Big)
Actress: Yaphet Kotto


Mr. Big is a business man and owner of a chain of restaurants in New York City and New Orleans called "Fillet of Soul". Big is also the head of one of the most vicious street gangs in Harlem. On the fictional tiny island of San Monique, Big is known by his alter ego Dr. Kananga. Kananga is the de facto dictator of the island and thus has certain diplomatic immunities in the United States easily allowing him to smuggle drugs into the country. Kanaga is named after the real-life owner of the crocodile farm, who was also the stunt man who jumped along the crocodiles backs.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Fransisco Scaramanga
Actress: Christopher Lee


Francisco is a high-priced assassin, supposedly the best in the world, charging one million dollars per kill. He's best known for being "The man with the golden gun", after his weapon of choice. All of Scaramanga's dealings go through his henchman Nick Nack, which allows Scaramanga to be anonymous. Francisco Scaramanga was a British national born in a traveling circus. His father was the ringmaster, a former Cuban national and his mother was the snake charmer.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Karl Stromberg
Actress: Curt Jürgens


The webbed-fingered Karl Stromberg is a successful self-employed businessman as head of his own shipping firm. Stromberg's obsession and passion is the ocean where he lives in his palace, named Atlantis, that could submerge itself underwater so as not to be seen or detected. Stromberg also owns a huge tanker, named Liparus, that serves as his headquarters away from Atlantis. Aboard the tanker he has a small army of soldiers clad in orange jumpsuits.

Moonraker (1979)
Hugo Drax
Actress: Michael Lonsdale


Hugo Drax is a billionaireliving in California in a château that was imported brick-by-brick from France. He owns Drax Industries, which constructs space shuttles. In addition, Drax supposedly owns the Eiffel Tower, but apparently couldn't export it from France because they wouldn't issue him an export permit. Drax portrays himself as an accomplished pianist.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Aris Kristatos
Actress: Julian Glover


A smuggler and a thief, Kristatos earned a medal during the war when he was actually serving as a double agent. In For Your Eyes Only, Kristatos is again working for the Soviets, trying to obtain the ATAC tracking system before the British. He also tries to manipulate Bond to kill his competitor, Columbo.

Octopussy (1983)
Kamal Khan
Actress: Louis Jourdan


Khan is a suave exiled Afghan prince living in India in the Monsoon Palace. He has a penchant for fine food and liquor, priceless jewels, and atomic weaponry. In the film, he associates with the power-crazed General Orlov in an attempt to unleash nuclear holocaust in Western Europe, by planning to detonate a nuclear bomb inside a US airbase, using Octopussy's Circus as a cover.

General Orlov
Actress: Steven Berkoff


General Orlov is an aggressive, hot-tempered, power crazed Communist hardliner who wants the Soviet Union to invade Western Europe. While Orlov tries to convince the Kremlin leaders to attack Europe, the majority want to make peace with the West. This leads to the partnership with Kamal Khan.

A View to a Kill (1985)
Max Zorin
Actress: Christopher Walken


Zorin is an ex-KGB psychopath who plans to monopolize the microchip industry by destroying Silicon Valley through a tremendous earthquake. Zorin's interests include racing horses, which leads Bond to find out his scheme.

The Living Daylights (1987)
Brad Whitaker
Actress: Joe Don Baker


Brad Whitaker is an international black market arms dealer from the U.S. He is fascinated by war, but his actual military career is a failure, so he turns to arms dealing to organize his own personal military force. Expelled from West Point for cheating, he spends a short stint as a mercenary in the Belgian Congo before working with various criminal organizations to help finance his first arms deals. He resides in Tangier, Morocco. He loves military history, and it is implied that he Wargames various historical conflicts using automated miniature figures and effects. Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this collection is that all representations of these "surgeons" are sculpted to resemble Whitaker himself, which is highly noticeable when Whitaker hides among the statues waiting for Pushkin to visit.

General Georgi Koskov
Actress: Jeroen Krabbé


Koskov is a deceitful, sociopathic Soviet general in business for himself, who carefully plays both sides of the Cold War. Initially, Koskov gives the impression of a somewhat anxious pawn in the battle between the Soviet Union and the West, when he is, in reality, a mastermind using all means to his own advantage. He is prepared to dote on his mistress and give her all manner of expensive gifts, but when necessary will easily sign her death warrant.

Licence to Kill (1989)
Franz Sanchez
Actress: Robert Davi


An international drug lord, Sanchez uses TV envangelism to sell heroin. After his escape from jail, he has Felix Leiter maimed, angering Bond and triggering his personal vendetta against him. In spite of his illegal business, Sanchez is very trusting and even allows Bond into his organization.

GoldenEye (1995)
Alec Trevelyan
Actress: Sean Bean


revelyan is a British spy turned into a Russian mafia head. Once working for MI6 as agent 006, he defected to a life of crime during a mission with 007 in a Russian nerve gas factory. Nine years later he masterminds a villainous plan to rob and then destroy London with the GoldenEye satellite under the name Janus.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Elliot Carver
Actress: Jonathan Pryce


Carver is a media mogul who wants to start World War III for better ratings and exclusive stories in his Tomorrow newspaper. Capable to make and break people and governments with a single story, Carver's scheme involves manipulations of war tactics using his stealth ship to start a war.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Renard
Actress: Robert Carlyle


Renard was trained by the KGB until he was expelled due to his mental instability, becoming a terrorist after the Cold War. Renard kidnapped Electra King years before The World Is Not Enough takes place. When Elektra's father asked MI6 for help, M sent 009 to kill Renard. 009 shot him in the head but it didn't kill him; instead disabling his feeling for pain.

Elektra King
Actress: Sophie Marceau


Elektra is the daughter of Sir Robert King, whose mother's side of the family is of Azeri descent and fled the country immediately after the Soviet Union was established. She was kidnapped as a teenager by the terrorist Renard, and her father refused to pay the ransom on the advice of family friend (and James Bond's boss) M. 

Die Another Day (2002)
Colonel Moon
Actress: Will Yun Lee


In Die Another Day, Colonel Moon changes his identity to diamond tycoon Gustav Graves by using gene therapy. Graves uses his alleged 'hunger-fighting' satellite Icarus as a weapon that North Korea can use to destroy South Korea. Bond doesn't realize the switch in identity has taken place until the unveiling of Icarus, where he sees Koreans at the party, hinting to him Graves isn't who he seems.

Gustav Graves
Actress: Toby Stephens


Gustav Graves is an identity adopted by North Korean Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, the son of General Moon. In a hope that a Western education will help bridge the gap between East and West, General Moon sent his son to study at Oxford and Harvard. It was an experience which would prove formative on the young Moon, providing him with the contacts which he would later use; including Miranda Frost. General Moon would later regret the decision, coming to believe that his son had become corrupted by the ideas and greed of the West.

Casino Royale (2006)
Le Chiffre
Actress: Mads Mikkelsen


Le Chiffre was earliest seen during 1945 as a inmate of the Dachau DP camp in the US Zone of Germany. Then in January 1946 he became the paymaster of the "Syndicat des Ouvriers d'Alsace" (SODA), a SMERSH controlled trade union. He made a major investment in a string of brothels with money belonging to SMERSH. 

Mr. White
Actress: Jesper Christensen


Jesper Christensen plays Mr. White in 2006's Casino Royale and acts as Le Chiffre's superior. At the end of the movie, we find that Mr. White is actually an underling in a much larger criminal organization that will be central to the plot of Bond 22. Bond eventually tracks him down in Royale thanks to the foresight of the late Vesper Lynd.

Quantum of Solace (2008)
Dominic Greene
Actress: Mathieu Amalric


Greene is a member of the sinister Quantum organization and head of Greene Planet, a worldwide utilities provider that exploits newly formed governments and corrupt politicians - most notably in South America in Quantum Of Solace. Although his rank in the Quantum organization is not revealed, his colleagues are several in number and can only indicate that James Bond is up against a criminal syndicate not seen since SPECTRE. Greene meets his maker when Bond drives him out to the remote Bolivian desert, leaving him with only a can of motor oil to quench his thirst. Greene is later found dead with oil in his stomach (a death similar to Agent Fields) and two gun shots in the back of his head (likely executed by fellow dissatisfied Quantum members).

Skyfall (2012)
Raoul Silva
Actress: Javier Bardem


During his years in MI6, Silva had worked alongside M in Hong Kong. M, who was section chief at the time, noticed that the operative had engaged in unauthorized hacking of the Chinese. Whilst she was overseeing the transition in Hong Kong from a British colony to a special administrative region she sold out Silva in exchange for prisoners held by the Chinese government.


Bond 50: Bond Girl (Part III)



A Bond girl is a character or the actress portraying a love interest or sex object of James Bond in a film. Generally, Bond girls are victims rescued by Bond, fellow agents or allies, villainesses or members of an enemy organization, or merely eye candy that have no direct interaction with James Bond whatsoever. 
The role of a Bond girl is typically a high-profile part that can give a major boost to the career of unestablished actresses, although there have been a number of Bond girls that were well-established prior to gaining their role. There is no set rule on who a Bond girl will be or what role she will play. She may be ally or enemy, pivotal to the mission or simply eye candy.

The Living Daylights (1987)

Kara Milovy
Occupation: Musician
Actress: Maryam d'Abo

James Bond has been informed that General Georgi Koskov is willing to defect from the Russians. As Koskov runs across the road to meet Bond, 007 spots a sniper, whom he recognizes as the beautiful cellist he spotted during a concert earlier. Defying his orders to kill her, Bond shoots the rifle out of her hands, only marginally injuring her.

Licence to Kill (1989)

Lupe Lamora
Occupation: Sanchez's Mistress
Actress: Talisa Soto

Lamora is Franz Sanchez's mistress and helps Bond win Sanchez's confidence in an effort to bring down his organization. Bond has to reject her at the end of the movie in favour of Pam Bouvier, though.

Pam Bouvier
Affiliation: Franz Sanchez, CIA
Actress: Carey Lowell

A former army pilot, Bouvier works as a CIA informer, posing as a courier for drug lord Franz Sanchez. Bond tracks her down to a bar in Bimini, just in time to help her escape from Dario. She agrees to help Bond track down Sanchez, playing Bond's executive secretary. At the same time, she meets Colonel Heller to set up a deal granting him immunity if Sanchez is arrested.

GoldenEye (1995)

Natalya Simonova
Occupation: Level 2 programmer
Actress: Izabella Scorupco

Simonova is a Russian computer programmer and one of the two Severnaya survivors and teams up with Bond to help him to stop Alec Trevelyan's plan. She later helps him track down the villain's hidden base.

Xenia Onatopp
Occupation: Former Soviet Pilot, Enforcer
Actress: Famke Janssen

Onatopp, born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force. After the collapse of the USSR, she joined the crime syndicate Janus, led by renegade MI6 agent Alec Trevelyan. Her main characteristic is that she apparently can receive sexual satisfaction through killing. Her sadistic sexual proclivities, coupled with her overall lack of conscience as well as remorse for the deaths she causes, would seem to qualify her as a psychopath.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Paris Carver
Affiliation: Wife of Elliot Carver
Actress: Teri Hatcher

Carver is the villain's wife in Tomorrow Never Dies. She and Bond had a short-lived affair in the past. Elliot Carver eventually has her killed after she interacts with Bond a second time.

Wai Lin
Affiliation: Chinese Intelligence
Actress: Michelle Yeoh

Wai Lin is a spy for the Chinese People's External Security Force in the rank of colonel and skilled in martial arts. She first encounters Bond when she is sent (under the disguise as a Xinhua News Agency reporter) to investigate the disappearance of stealth material from a People's Liberation Army base that is connected to media mogul Elliot Carver's plan to start a war between the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom.
Wai Lin later learns that Bond was sent by MI6 to work on the same case. The two initially believe they have been ordered to kill each other, but eventually develop a wary mutual trust when they are both captured and imprisoned by Carver's secret partner, General Chang.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Christmas Jones
Affiliation: IAEA
Actress: Denise Richards

Jones is a nuclear chemist that saves Bond's life on more than one occasion. She defuses the nuclear bomb that is set to blow up, foiling Renard's plan.

Elektra King
Occupation: Oil Tycoon
Actress: Sophie Marceau

Elektra is the daughter of Sir Robert King, whose mother's side of the family is of Azeri descent and fled the country immediately after the Soviet Union was established. he lies to Bond that she he is on his side throughout most of the movie. When Bond finds out she is sided with Renard, Bond doesn't hesitate to kill her in cold blood.

Cigar Girl
Actress: Maria Grazia Cuccinotta

The Cigar Girl seems to be an innocent beauty in the pre-title sequence but when Bond gets back to MI6 and Sir Robert King is killed, we find out that she is responsible for his death. Bond proceeds to pursue her in a spectacular boat chase down the River.

Die Another Day (2002)

Miranda Frost
Occupation: MI6 Agent
Actress: Rosamund Pike

Miranda Frost is a Harvard-educated, gold medal-winning Olympic fencer (trained by Verity) posing as Graves' publicist and fencing partner. She won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics by default, after Graves organized the real gold medalist's death by drug overdose. She is sent by M to work alongside Bond, but does not approve of Bond's methods. Unfortunately for Bond, she is sided with Gustav Graves.

Jinx
Occupation: NSA Agent
Actress: Halle Berry

Jinx is the NSA's leading woman in Die Another Day. Although tough and hard-nosed, Jinx finds herself in trouble on a couple of occasions, with Bond coming to the rescue.

Casino Royale (2006)

Vesper Lynd
Actress: Eva Green

Vesper is introduced on a train headed to Montenegro with James Bond. They quip at each other and he establishes that she was an orphan who worked her way up to become a liaison from Her Majesty's Treasury to monitor MI6's finances in the high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. Bond used her beauty during the game to distract the other players. Vesper reluctantly aided Bond in killing Obanno and suffered a breakdown in the shower, where Bond consoled her. The two then became lovers. 

Solange
Actress: Caterina Murino

Bond meets this Italian beauty at his Bahama hotel while investigating the text message clue "ELLIPSIS" found on Mollaka's cell phone. Solange's boyfriend, Carlos, is the source of the message, and Bond quickly switches gears from lover to secret agent as soon as he leaves for Miami on a suspicious trip. Unfortunately for Solange, she "talked too much" and was found strangled in a hammock outside of the hotel.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Strawberry Fields
Occupation: MI6 Agent
Actress: Gemma Arterton

Agent Strawberry Fields is an MI6 agent who works at the British consulate in Bolivia in the 2008 film Quantum of Solace. She is described as always getting in Bond's way; in the film he seduces her. During a fundraiser at Dominic Greene's estate, Ms. Fields helps Bond escape by causing Greene's henchman Elvis to fall down the stairs. However she's drowned in crude oil by Quantum. Her naked, oil-covered body is left at the hotel room in which the two had slept together.

Camille Montes
Actress: Olga Kurylenko

Camille is of Russian-Bolivian descent. She first meets Bond in Haiti where she has her own agenda in killing General Medrano, due to the fact that he killed her family when she was only a girl (shooting her father in the head, then raping her mother and older sister before strangling them to death). She seduced Dominic Greene as a way to get to Medrano, but it didn't work. At first she clashes with Bond, but soon begins to realize he is the only one she can trust. They then team up and go after Greene and Medrano.

Skyfall (2012)

Severine
Occupation: Prostitute
Actress: Berenice Marlohe

Severine is an associate of the villain Raoul Silva in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. Marlohe described her character as being "glamorous and enigmatic".

Eve
Occupation: MI6 Agent
Actress: Naomie Harris

Eve is an MI6 field agent, who during a mission with Bond in Turkey, ends up shooting 007 while he struggled with a henchmen atop a train. Afterwards she is suspended from field work. At the end of the movie, Eve states she is not fit for field work, and will remain only in a desk job at MI6. As Bond says that they have not been properly introduced, she says her full name is Eve Moneypenny.


Oz: The Great and Powerful

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