[James Bond] The next movie directed by Denis Villeneuve

[payn]

To be honest, what would make me happy is if the new Bond Movie imitated Slow Horses. Otherwise I'll probably stay home.

I need apple TV...

 

[Ruin Explorer]

To be honest, what would make me happy is if the new Bond Movie imitated Slow Horses. Otherwise I'll probably stay home.

I mean, it's not going to happen but I'd also love that, and honestly Jack Lowden remains my favourite choice as the currently-working right-age actor I'd like to see play Bond. He's got the charm, he's got the look, he's the right height (185cm - weirdly people seem to doubt this but just look up shots of him next to 168cm Saorise Ronan, who was/is his GF), I know he can do the action stuff, he's got range, he can do menace, and he's a Scot who can do excellent English accents.

I just know we're going to get some model-ugly twonk who can't act and only lasts 2 movies before they have to replace him because he's so awful instead but I can dream!

I need apple TV...

Apple TV is very worth having for a few months, like, really. Slow Horses, For All Mankind, Murderbot, Severance, and Bad Sisters (S1 anyway, haven't seen S2) are just absolutely A grade and for some people, Foundation, Silo, Mythic Quest and Ted Lasso are worth seeing. I'm hearing good things about Smoke too.

 

[payn]

Apple TV is very worth having for a few months, like, really. Slow Horses, For All Mankind, Murderbot, Severance, and Bad Sisters (S1 anyway, haven't seen S2) are just absolutely A grade and for some people, Foundation, Silo, Mythic Quest and Ted Lasso are worth seeing. I'm hearing good things about Smoke too.

Yeap, I was letting Apple build up stuff before subbing up and I just kept forgetting about it. Seems like im ready now.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Apple TV is very worth having for a few months, like, really.

Exactly. They has several absolutely brilliant shows. And not much else to keep you occupied whilst waiting for the next season to drop.

Oh, they do have a couple of cheesy-but-watchable movies too.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Yeap, I was letting Apple build up stuff before subbing up and I just kept forgetting about it. Seems like im ready now.

I don't do my streaming rankings anymore (after all, what's the point... more and more it's Netflix and everyone else) but I think that the difference between AppleTV and Amazon is interesting.

Amazon is going vast library, and has made acquisitions to the library. But the interface is terrible, 95% of the content on it is terrible, and I only ever go there when I have something specific I want to watch. That doesn't mean that there aren't some gems, but they spend a LOT of money to produce content that is usually awful (Citadel???) or ruin things given time (I thought the first season of Reacher was a fun popcorn watch, but the most recent season was only watchable in the MST3k making fun of it way ....).

Apple, OTOH, is definitely approaching it like the old HBO model. Few shows, but quality, and with a very high hit rate. Not all of them are great, and some of them aren't good, but as a general proposition I know that if a show is on Apple, it's going to be worth checking out.
Here's some of the ones that I have enjoyed off the top of my head:
Severance, For All Mankind, Slow Horses, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Silo, Mythic Quest, Pachinko, Foundation, Dickinson, Masters of the Air, Your Friends & Neighbors, Tehran, Sugar, The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin..... and more.

Now, sometimes there will be a show that you might not get into. A lot of people I respect tell me that Manhunt is great, but I've tried to watch it three times now and ... dunno. Haven't made it past the first twenty minutes.

Right now, I just finished The Studio. Which is ... so so so good if you're into the Business. The penultimate episode made me laugh harder than anything I've seen in years. I was in physical pain from laughing so hard for so long. I'd recommend getting it just to watch that show. And I just started Murderbot, and while I'm only two episodes in, I'm already loving it.

Oh, and James Bond? Look, I think the announcement of the director is good news. But arguing about whether the reboot will be successful or not is a mug's game until we see the finished product. I do think that it bodes well since it shows that the new rights-holder is taking it very seriously and will invest in it.

But let's save our serious Bond arguments for when they announce the new Bond, because that's when things tend to spin out of control. A BLOND BOND???? Yeah, remember that?

ETA- now that I think about it, maybe we can all just re-use our arguments about D&D (tradition v. change) and apply them to Bond!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Amazon is so full of rubbish that it’s hard to find the good stuff. Meanwhile Apple is so lacking in filler that there is no reason to keep a subscription going for more than a couple of months.

 

[billd91]

Amazon is going vast library, and has made acquisitions to the library. But the interface is terrible,

I'm quoting that one for emphasis. This issue is so bad it cannot be overemphasized.

 

[trappedslider]

ETA- now that I think about it, maybe we can all just re-use our arguments about D&D (tradition v. change) and apply them to Bond!

we could rehash the arguments from the three other bond threads instead.. but i think i already boiled them down to the essence

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

we could rehash the arguments from the three other bond threads instead.. but i think i already boiled them down to the essence

Honestly, I think Morrus put it best above, when he was talking about the various signifiers of James Bond.

I've written various essays about design decisions in D&D, and a lot of it comes down to the idea of why designing for a brand and for a popular market is a lot different than designing something from scratch.* Yes, designing for a brand and a mass market is great, because you have a built-in audience and advantage!

But it's also a gilded cage. Because you don't have a blank slate- you have to make sure of two things- first, of course, that you make something "good" that is also definitely in the continuity of the product- in other words, you have to be careful about what things you are changing, and how much they change. Second, designing for a mass market is different than just making something that you like. Broadly popular things have to appeal to lots of people, and lots of people have different tastes.

With Bond, things do change, so there is always a question of what is really the core of his identity. For example, arguably Aston Martin is a signifier of Bond, but Bond has also used other high-end cars.

The martini** is also a Bond signifier. It's hard to imagine him drinking anything else, even though he does (everything from frequently drinking champagne, to a mint julep in Goldfinger). But this is a Bond movie signifier- in the books, he was a heavy drinker, but his drink of choice was scotch and soda. Followed by "more."

And so on. There are so many Bond signifiers. Gambling (casinos). MI6. British (albeit played by Connery (Scottish), Lazenby (Australian), and Brosnan (Irish)). He's very classy, but some of the portrayals have also given him ... let's say a bit of earthiness that existed in the books (Connery, Dalton, Craig).

But there's also been a lot of play within the structures of Bond- perhaps most easily identified in the "camp" factor. There is a massive difference between the apex of the Moore films and the Craig films, for example.

In short, Bond is both always changing, but must maintain certain continuities. And whenever a continuity is challenged, people will yell and scream (A BLOND BOND??!!!!) unless and until they see that it works.


*And commenting on the internet about what the designer should do.

**I will call it that, even thought it's just a VODKA COCKTAIL. Real martinis are made with gin. And yes, I will die on that hill.

 

[payn]

I don't do my streaming rankings anymore (after all, what's the point... more and more it's Netflix and everyone else) but I think that the difference between AppleTV and Amazon is interesting.

Amazon is going vast library, and has made acquisitions to the library. But the interface is terrible, 95% of the content on it is terrible, and I only ever go there when I have something specific I want to watch. That doesn't mean that there aren't some gems, but they spend a LOT of money to produce content that is usually awful (Citadel???) or ruin things given time (I thought the first season of Reacher was a fun popcorn watch, but the most recent season was only watchable in the MST3k making fun of it way ....).

My opinion on Prime is pretty low. I think they have a handful of interesting shows, but they simply dont know what to do with them. Its pretty common to launch a decent even excellent first season (usually produced by someon else and Amazon buys the rights) and then the show is run into the ground (usually when Amazon takes it in house).

Amazon is so full of rubbish that it’s hard to find the good stuff. Meanwhile Apple is so lacking in filler that there is no reason to keep a subscription going for more than a couple of months.

Prime catalog is like a flea market DVD bin. Though, I dont mind lack of filler at all. For example, I get two months of P+ every year on sale for black Friday and its all I need to cover Parmount's offerings (most of which sucks). So, if I sub to Apple for 2-3 months and im done that dont bother me.