The last movie you saw Thread

[Túrin Turambar]

Spectre.

(Minor Spoilers below)

Observations:
1. Force Awakens trailer!
2. As with Skyfall, I think the first half of the film is much stronger than the second. Like its predecessors the film suffers from having a-near omnipotent villain with bizarrely elaborate schemes that can only be bought undone with increasingly convoluted action sequences. It’s not as bad as Silva’s ‘let yourself get captured for no reason then depend on an impossible series of coincidences to carry out your master plan’, but it leans too far in that direction.
3. I like the tradition of starting Bond films with action sequences, and the Day of the Dead made for an interesting and unusual backdrop. Is that actually how the celebration looks in Mexico?
4. While I admire Bond’s sense of style (despite the fact that Daniel Craig wears his suits too tight) he really needs to find some more practical outfits for chasing people on roofs or tracking villains in the desert.
5. I liked the serious henchman in the Oddjob and Red Grant model (the less said of Jaws the better). Otherwise Spectre seems to employ gunmen who can’t hit a man-sized target thirty feet away. One of the things I really liked about Casino Royale is that there were only a few bad guys, but they were all genuinely dangerous. Sadly subsequent Bond films have reverted to form.
6. On that note, the trope of having the villain basically invite Bond to his lair to wine-and-dine him and explain his master plan rather than just killing him already is really getting old. It didn’t really make all that much sense when Doctor No did it, and it seems to make even less sense now.
7. I liked the fact that the film revolved around surveillance and information. It gives it an element of realism and brings Bond into the second decade of the twenty-first century. I still wasn’t sure exactly what the evil genius’ (whose name is a bit of a spoiler so I won’t write it) plan was, which is a bit of an issue particularly compared with the very practical schemes of some previous villains like Rosa Klebb and Le Chiffre, but it’s a huge improvement over some of the things the Roger Moore-era bad guys had foisted on them.
8. On that note, the more elaborate the hideout and the more henchmen, the harder I find to buy into it. If it’s science fiction or fantasy, you can give the Lord of Darkness a huge fortress and endless mooks to do his bidding, but this is meant to be our world.
9. I like the greater involvement of M, Q, Moneypenny and all. That said, how has Moneypenny gone from being a field agent to M’s Eä?
10. On Lali’s point, Monica Bellucci’s character threw herself at Bond wayyy to easily. Madeline was more interesting.
11. Through the first half there were some genuinely exciting and/or entertaining sequences. The film has a humour to it that doesn’t detract from its seriousness.

I might come up with some other observations later.

[yovargas]

(despite the fact that Daniel Craig wears his suits too tight)

The kind of form-fitting cuts are quite what's been in style of late. Done well, I think it looks very sharp (and sexy). I take it you're not a fan of the trend?

[Túrin Turambar]

(despite the fact that Daniel Craig wears his suits too tight)

The kind of form-fitting cuts are quite what's been in style of late. Done well, I think it looks very sharp (and sexy). I take it you're not a fan of the trend?

I don't mind a close fit, but I don't particularly like the modern trend for clothes to be short and skinny and tight because I find them uncomfortable to wear. A well-fitting suit should feel like pyjamas.

As to Craig's clothes in Skyfall and Spectre, form-fitting is one thing, but there are times where you can see that he can barely button his jacket. There are stretch-marks in the fabric in several scenes. From memory he's wearing size 38R. I'm not sure how Tom Ford's sizing works, but I find that 40L fits me snugly in most brands, too snugly in some cases, and Craig is a lot more muscular than I am.

For a comparison, look at Ralph Fiennes' M. His clothes fit almost perfectly.

[Frelga]

I really dislike short and skinny trend in men's clothing. At its worst, it makes grown men look like boys, and what's the point of that?

Don't remember Craig doing that but I haven't seen Spectre yet.

[Primula Baggins]

Well, I personally think gentlemen's clothing became extremely uninteresting in the 1790's or so, and has stayed that way ever since, so I have no opinion.

[yovargas]

Ah, the 1790s, when men were men....

I don't mind a close fit, but I don't particularly like the modern trend for clothes to be short and skinny and tight because I find them uncomfortable to wear.

As women have known for many an age, clothes aren't supposed to be comfortable and practical, they're supposed to be sexy and stylish.

[Primula Baggins]

The 1790's, when men knew how to wear velvet and lace and make it work.

[Túrin Turambar]

Except the overwhelming majority of men in the 1790s were wearing shapeless brown suits of homespun linen and cotton. It was only the 20th century that put colourful clothes in the reach of most people.

[Primula Baggins]

True, which is why I initially said "gentlemen's clothing." It was, of course, one of that class's ridiculous luxuries, and most people wore the cheapest garments they could get.

Still, gentlemen's wear from that period (and for centuries before) looks wonderful in portraits and period dramas, both of which view through an upper-class lens for the most part and romanticize the condition of the lower classes to at least some degree.

[yovargas]

I googled "1790 mens fashion" and saw this piece which...I think is really cool.

Capture.PNG (243.37 KiB) Viewed 4876 times

With just a few modernizing adjustments, I could totally see a bold person wearing something like that as, say, wedding attire, and not looking weirdly old-timey. I kind wish I was wearing it right now. (Minus the hobbit pants. )

[Frelga]

Except the overwhelming majority of men in the 1790s were wearing shapeless brown suits of homespun linen and cotton. It was only the 20th century that put colourful clothes in the reach of most people.

Yet the overwhelming majority of men today wear shapeless cotton t-shirts.

[River]

With long pants and modern adjustments/coloring that would be a morning suit, yov. For sh*ts and giggles, my dad and the guy I married wore them at my wedding.

[yovargas]

*googles men's morning suit*


Ooooooh, like.


*makes mental note for future wedding attire*

[River]

I thought it looked pretty dapper as well.

[Sunsilver]

My husband's wedding attire would have fitted well in a bygone era! Yes, he had a skean dhu in the top of his sock!

[Alatar]

I wore evening tails for a morning wedding. Horror of horrors!

[Primula Baggins]

In retrospect, that might well be the first sign of the apocalypse.

ETA: Sunny, you were such a lovely couple! And every bridegroom should be armed, don't you think? If it makes them feel a little safer. . . .

[Túrin Turambar]

True, which is why I initially said "gentlemen's clothing." It was, of course, one of that class's ridiculous luxuries, and most people wore the cheapest garments they could get.

Still, gentlemen's wear from that period (and for centuries before) looks wonderful in portraits and period dramas, both of which view through an upper-class lens for the most part and romanticize the condition of the lower classes to at least some degree.

True enough, although when dealing with past times I always keep in mind a quote I read in a Stephen Jay Gould book about the danger of romantiscising times and places that you don't live in. For my part, I am very glad that I don't need to wear velvet and lace and powdered wigs .

Side Note: If you want to get really technical, if you want velvet and lace you want the 1780s. The French Revolution in 1789 caused a backlash against signs of ostentatious wealth in western Europe, hence the much more sombre and conservative clothes you see both the men and women wearing in Austen period dramas.

Side Note II: On topic, I still think Daniel Craig's tight, short suits make him look like a sausage.

[Alatar]

The name's Bean. Mr Bean.

[Sunsilver]

[snort!]

Love this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwzjlmBLfrQ