Category: Studios and Franchises
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James Bond, Mr. White, Dr. Madeleine Swann, and No Time To Die
Dr. Madeleine Swann is a major character in the Bond franchise, set to reappear in No Time to Die. In the trailer, Oberhauser warns Bond, “When her secret finds its way out, it will be the death of you.” Who is this beautiful girl with a deadly secret? What is her relationship to Bond? And…
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The Giant James Bond Rewatch – GoldenEye (1995)
GoldenEye is an important Bond film. It ended the six-year hiatus since License to Kill, during which Timothy Dalton quit and Alfred R. Broccoli stepped down as producer. It introduced Pierce Brosnan in his first outing as James Bond. And it was the basis for an extremely popular video game, one which I have fond memories…
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Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye Official Trailer
Marvel Studios released the first Hawkeye trailer and it looks fantastic. Lots of potential for humor and action. I can’t wait. There are eight episodes airing weekly on Disney+ — starting November 24th. Cast Jeremy Renner will of course star as Clint Barton. And this series introduces Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. I remember first…
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The Giant James Bond Rewatch – License to Kill (1989)
The 1980s were a weird time. Children’s cartoons became both commercial and dark. A group of singing raisins released an album. MTV actually showed music videos. Jazzercise was a thing. And they made a Bond film that sucked all the joy out of the franchise. What I dislike about License to Kill Let me start…
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Movie Review – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
TL;DR Shang Chi was enjoyable, but not great. Visually appealing, whimsical, and has plenty of humor without being forced. For me, the most sensible way to grade an MCU movie is against the other MCU movies. Generally speaking, Shang Chi falls in the middle third for me. Not the cream of the MCU crop, but…
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The Giant James Bond Rewatch – Casino Royale (2006)
I don’t know for sure, but I’m fairly confident that when the next Bond is announced the collective sphincters at Eon Productions will be decidedly twitchy. They must have been going like a randy spaniel at a Miss Lovely Legs competition when Casino Royale was announced. More realistically, the tension arose thanks to the casting…
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Movie Review – Jungle Cruise
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I don’t know about you, but Jungle Cruise reminds me an awful lot of Disney’s other theme park movie inspiration: Pirates of the Caribbean. I distinctly remember the first time I saw a movie trailer for Pirates and I thought to myself: OMG, you can’t be serious. This is going to suck. And then we…
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Who was that woman in the end credits of Black Widow?
That would be Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. (You know, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes in Seinfeld.) Her character only has a few short scenes in The Falcon and Winter Soldier. Val, as she advises people not to call her, is a secretive and powerful person out to recruit the services of enhanced people. Read on, but there are…
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The Giant James Bond Rewatch – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a strange entry in the Bond series. Sean Connery left the series partly due to money disputes (only to return for a bigger salary in Diamonds Are Forever). This is the only film in which George Lazenby plays Bond. There’s no title song during the opening sequence, making it the…
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Celebrate Captain Picard Day with Jean-Luc’s top Next Generation episodes (and one movie)
If you’re looking forward to a glass of Chateau Picard — red — or a cup of Earl Grey — hot — then you’re off to a great start, celebrating like they do on the Enterprise NCC1701-D. Captain Picard Day (June 16th by our calendar) was introduced to the viewers of Star Trek: The Next…
