Bond 25: No Time To Die

Bond 25, now titled No Time To Die, is hitting theatres in April 2020. A cross between (likely) film footage and some behind-the-scenes shots, the trailer certainly gives us a feel for this latest film's Jamaican locations.

And (wow!) an actual Panavision film camera is visible in one of the set shots!

But more importantly, the Jamaican location hearkens back to Bond One (O.B. if you prefer), back in 1962, Dr. No:





With Daniel Craig returning as Bond for (reportedly) the final time, and a mix of seasoned Bond writers (Neal Purvis and Robert Wade from the Pierce Brosnan era), and fresh talent like Scott Z. Burns (Netflix's The Laundromat), the proceedings should get a fresh coat of paint to be sure, especially with new writer-director Cary Fukunaga (True Detective Season 1), at the helm and with a hand in the script as well. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of the  award-winning Amazon Prime phenomenon Fleabag, is on hand as well at Craig's behest, to ensure that the new entry in the Bond series has a strong female perspective in the post MeToo era, as it should.

Should be interesting for sure!

MTMG

Happy 25 Shawshank Redemption!

Gonna sound like an old fart here.

But I don't really care.

Because the truth is...

...they just don't make movies like this anymore.

A movie about friendship in prison? That isn't Suicide Squad?

Wow.

And I know firsthand how special The Shawshank Redemption is.

Because I was at its Edmonton theatrical premiere at the downtown Eaton Centre Cinema on a Wednesday night in October 1994

When my buddy Ron Clark, then working at Edmonton's movie premiere powerhouse Power 92 FM, happened to mention in his introduction of the movie that it was based on a novella by Stephen King.

A woman two rows down from me yelled, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Is it gonna be scary?"

I assured her that I didn't think it was going to be.

And it truly wasn't.

Instead it was a deeply affecting story about a deep and lasting friendship that forms between Andy (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman) who meet while serving life sentences in prison.

Even sitting in the theater back then, I thought that movies such as Shawshank were made very rarely, if at all.

It opened in 12th place, according to Box Office Mojo.

A dud, by industry standards.

The People review even began, "No, this isn't the sequel to The Hudsucker Proxy..."

But here's what happened:

Thanks to word-of-mouth among people after its VHS and DVD release,  The Shawshank Redemption resonated over the years.

And let's not forget its repeated showings on TBS and other cable channels.

People discovered it slowly...and loved it!

The chemistry between Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Their depiction of strong and true friendship.

And the very real sense of time passing very slowly, as it likely would in a prison.

And a life lived.

Two friends and soul mates.

Locked up, yet hopeful.

All in just over two-and-a-half hours.

Not every movie can achieve that, to be sure.

It is #1 on IMDb's list of Top 250 Movies.

So thank you Tim Robbins.

Thank you Morgan Freeman.

Thank you writer-director Frank Darabont.

Of course, thank you Stephen King!

Red and Andy forever!

Happy 25 Shawshank!

MTMG

The Rise...And The End Of A Saga

This looks outstanding.

Really it does.

I think there's an OMG moment involving Rey, similar to the one way back in The Empire Strikes Back.

Could be wrong. But she does look pretty pissed off.

And I'm not spoiling that classic OMG moment.

Because I once ran into one guy...

...who absolutely did not know.

So for that guy (who probably still hasn't seen Empire or anything Star Wars related lol)...

...I will keep my silence.

And I know my nieces will probably see everything eventually, all in due time.

So I don't want to spoil it for them either.

Apparently all films, even the middle trilogy, will be wrapped up.

All in The Rise Of Skywalker.

Yes, in one film.

They might need David Copperfield's help with that one.

But it will sure be interesting to see how they get there!

MTMG

Fred And Barney Live It Up!

Hard as it may be to believe...

...yes Fred and Barney and the gang did like to smoke and drink, back in the day.

But how can that be, you ask?

We never saw them smoke when we saw them on CFRN (that is a joy to type, I have  to say!)...

...every weekday at noon for over 35 years, did we?

Nope, we sure didn't, due to the joys of daytime syndication.

Because in its original run, from 1960 to 1966, The Flintstones was a nighttime show on ABC...

...with sponsors such as Busch Beer and Winston Cigarettes.

Now that I think about it, I think that some of the topics covered, such as Betty and Barney's loneliness after the birth of Pebbles brought Fred and Wilma such joy...

...seemed a little heavy for a show aimed exclusively at children.

But at least we saw The Twitch:





Hey, that was so cool, I'm gonna play it again...



MTMG