Stumbled onto the last Bond movie

I missed the cinema. I missed the smell of popcorn, I missed having to turn my phone off (well, put it on silent anyway) and give my full attention to a movie for a certain amount of time. COVID took that away from me. This was not the first movie I watched at a movie theatre post COVID, but from what I have gathered it certainly was thought of as the saviour of the big screen. Was it the fact that this is Daniel Craig's last ride? Was it that not everyone thinks Blockbusters should solely consist of superhero movies? Was it the discounted popcorn that Vue cinemas advertised? We will never know. My money is on the popcorn. 

Consider this a spoiler warning, just because my mother took it upon herself to give away the ending to a whole doctor's lounge and in no way do I want to associate with that type of behaviour. You have been warned. Stop reading. Consider this a second warning. Bond dies.

I have frequently said that I am a nerd and I am a nerd about a ton of nerdy things. I am not a Bond nerd though. I haven't seen Sean Connery's films, I have seen some of Pierce Brosnan and all of Daniel Craig's, but I suspect I couldn't follow Matt Gourley's 'James Bonding' podcast. And I really want to, so I might just have to sit down and watch all of them. I know that some people object to the Daniel Craig take, where Bond is psychologically complex, flawed and physically built to actually look able to carry out all those chases and getaways. I, however, think that these are necessary aspects of an intriguing character in 2021. If James Gunn could make a fuchsia space starfish relatable, James Bond can afford to get a couple of bruises after the bad guys get him. And I will definitely not complain about the less sexist lens to the character, you know, the one where women can do a bit more than just sleep with him and maybe even provoke an emotional response from time to time. 

I thought the movie was great. The hours flew by, the action sequences were fun, the scenery and soundtrack were beautiful and the new characters were likeable. Not the bad guy who was way into plants. I never trusted plant people, it seems so boring a pastime, there must be something sinister going on. But Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch's characters were amazing and they both had so different and so enjoyable interactions with the main character. And the movie actually got a few tears out of me. I am not saying that was an impossible feat, but it's not like Pixar made the movie and it was therefore a given. I would like to know, if anyone has this information, whether the daughter's eyes were edited post production or they literally searched for a child with Daniel Craig's captivating eyes. He is an amazing Bond and I am not only saying this because he is as hot as he is. Even though I said this right after the captivating eyes comment. He is very hot. I remember a time when people complained that James Bond would be blonde this time round, no wonder the same idiots had a nervous breakdown about a black woman getting the 007 title. 

I am grateful to this film for getting the movie-going rolling. I might be hesitant of small indoor spaces, but very eager to go to as many as there are as long as there is a a big screen at the very front, a smell of fake butter in the air and a bathroom near by, because we all know they water down those Cokes and Sprites.

Stumbled onto Walking Dead

I just want to make one thing clear. I did not run out of ideas, inspiration, time and motivation, hence the hiatus. This was a conscious decision to attenuate the importance of my Conan post, to underline the cultural gap left by American Ginger, to magnify his impact on the comedy scene. No, this was not a holiday break from the blog that turned into abandonment, this was a statement! That statement is that Conan O'Brien's departure from late night should not be taken lightly. 

So what else has happened this summer other than my mourning of the 'Conan' show? And doubt not; I have mourned. Well, I watched all of Walking Dead for starters. And I have questions. My main question is why nobody told me to start the show when Game of Thrones ended  and I needed to fill that void? I wasn't into Game of Thrones for the boobs to begin with, and Walking Dead had plenty of main character deaths, a wee amount of ethical dilemmas a GREAT amount of gore and zombies. And for the first few seasons Walking Dead had plenty of nice plot twists. It eventually dived into repetition but it's not like Game of Thrones didn't; those unexpected armies that unexpectedly infiltrated battles got less and less unexpected. 

My second question is whether we are all in agreement that men can have abs, turquoise eyes, the heights of giants, brains, humour and chivalry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan would still be the sexiest man to have existed. Best casting decision ever, because no way would I be rooting for the mass murderer that batted my favourite character to death if it wasn't portrayed by that Lucille-loving bastard. Also, are all Arrested Development fans in agreement that the name 'Lucille' has been forever ruined?

My third question is more relevant to the storyline. One had to be. And it is how come they abandon solutions that have worked for them in the past. It seems that looking and smelling like zombies is a 'do not die' card that should have been played a lot more times during the run of the show. They stumble onto that idea quite early, but do not pay it much of an homage, not as much as that alphabet group did. There is an attempt to hold onto their humanity, which I understand, but you know, how about when they go on food hunts? It doubles as a way to keep those that go get the food from eating it all.

I found out a few things about myself; first of all, I can actually like many characters I initially found annoying as long as Norman Reedus does at some point. Next, even though Andrew Lincoln has, I think, a punchable face, I am very much rooting for his return. Lastly, I have realised I would be useless in a zombie apocalypse. My main plan of survival is I would survive until I could get to a spot where I could relieve myself of my breathing duties, as you say, in the least disgusting and absolutely least painful way possible. Not a Gryffindor.  

I am looking forward to the rest of the season, have no idea which way things will swing, as I know the zombie apocalypse does not end from 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond'. There just seems to be no time; we need some sort of a happy ending, even partly so, explanations about a huge number of things and Jeffrey Dean Morgan to die and be somehow redeemed. Or not. If he is not, that will be very interesting. Possibly also disappointing. But certainly interesting. But, let's have him redeemed.