Summer of '85

I've visited The House Next Door (now the official blog of Slant Magazine) since it opened for visitors, so I was happy to contribute to its ongoing anniversary series. A View to a Kill, a Bond bellyflop, proved a lot more fun to write about than to rewatch, that's for sure.

Popdose: A Life in Bond-age

Expanding on a post here, I take Popdose on a tour of my 007 addiction, from format to format, with a few observations along the way. Always say always, again and again, as Bond 22, Quantum of Solace, opens today. We're golden.

Sing along with Solace

Writer-producer-performer Jack White has debuted his theme song for "Bond 22," Quantum of Solace, on his record label's website. "Another Way to Die" is the first-ever Bond duet, pairing White with Alicia Keys. I grew to like Chris Cornell's Casino Royale theme (both Daniel Craig-era pictures ditch the lyrics-challenged movie titles) but this one I got right from the start; it's a White mash-up that's aggressively "Bond." Have a listen.

Quantum of Solace...

...even by the standards of Moonraker and Thunderball an unusual title for a Bond picture, but appropriate for the darker path the series is taking. Promising for Nov. 7 release.

Bond's next challenge

Having beaten the odds by successfully casting Daniel Craig as 007, the Bond team has taken on a new challenge: Director Marc Forster, the prestige hack behind Monster's Ball (for which Bond girl-to-be Halle Berry won her Oscar), Finding Neverland, Stay (flee!), and Stranger Than Fiction, which looked too twee for me to bother with. His slick, empty movies have won awards, some praise, etc., but there's not much going on under the hood of his vehicles, and little to suggest he's right for the series. As the gamble on Craig more than worked out, I can only trust the producers on this one, but wish Martin Campbell, who got the series off the ropes with GoldenEye and rebooted it with Casino Royale, had stuck around for the as-yet-untitled Bond 22.