Nov 10 2019

Franchise Weekend – Mythica: The Darkspore (2015)

Director: Anne K Black

Writer: Anne K Black, Jason Faller, Kynan Griffin, Liska Ostojic, Justin Partridge (Screenplay)

Starring: Melanie Stone, Adam Johnson, Jake Stormoen, Nicola Posener, Rocky Myers, Christopher Robin Miller, Kevin Sorbo

Plot: Marek and her company must go on a journey and prevent Szorlok from obtaining all the shards of the Darkspore, or all will be lost.

Tagline – Evil lies within all men.

Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Sequel

Story: Mythica: The Darkspore starts where the last film ends, with Teela’s (Posener) sister getting killed trying to return a mystical stone to safety, this stone will guide somebody to the Darkspore an item which will see somebody want to take control of the land, with Marek (Stone) having a connection and draw too.

Marek does get her team Thane (Johnson), Dagen (Stormoen) and Teela back together for this latest quest, with Teela only agreeing to go, to watch over Marek and the darkness that is deep within her, that could make her a threat in the future.

Thoughts on Mythica: The Darkspore

Characters – Marek still happy after her first adventure, she wants to help Teela with her latest mission, which will see Marek need to battle the darkness within herself that could make her one of the most dangerous people in the world, if she doesn’t learn to control her abilities. Thane has turned to drink once again after what happened to Teela’s sister, while being the strongest in battle, Dagen still doesn’t want to go on adventures, but the mention of treasure will always turn his head, with this latest quest offering him the biggest one in a lifetime. Teela is in mourning after her sister’s death, she sees the darkness in Marek and wants to makes sure she doesn’t become a danger to her Goddess and her followers.

Performances – Melanie Stone continues to do a strong job in the leading role, as do the whole cast, Adam Johnson continues to have great banter and battles with Jake Stormoen, while Nicola Posener shows us just how she works in the spiritual role.

Story – The story continues to adventures of Marek and her team as they go on their latest quest which will see them needing to do battle against evil that wants to gain control of the world. by continuing the adventure we get to see just where the characters we learnt about in the first film have gone next, we don’t need to spend anytime getting to learn them, we need to up the stakes in the battles, which they do and bring us into the bigger picture park of the world we are in. we do get to see each character get a chance to show their abilities and importance to the team which will become important for the future, well you imagine it would. This story does everything it needs to, to push the story to the next level leaving us ready for the next chapter.

Action/Fantasy – The action is still simple battles, which do feel like they are going at a slower pace than they need to, with simple dodging along the way, the fantasy world continues to grow as we learn about more mystical creatures that are in the world.

Settings – The film does continue to build the world we are in, with the settings showing us worlds that might not be visible with the naked eye.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are TV movie standard, they do the job well enough without looking the most realistic.

Scene of the Movie – The dragon attack.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Teela does have a moment which makes her look like a damsel in distress.

Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining second chapter in the franchise which will see the world grow, the characters learn more about their abilities and prepares us for the bigger adventures in the future.

Overall: Entertaining sequel.

Rating

Nov 10 2019

James Bond Month – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Movie Rob’s Review

Head Over to Movie Rob’s site for more reviews

“I’m certain that two such perceptive talents will enjoy working together in Sardinia and that it will help to make Anglo-Soviet cooperation a reality. ” – General Anatol Gogol

Number of Times Seen – At least 5 Times (cable in the 80’s and 90’s, 11 Dec 2014 and 7 Nov 2019)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – James Bond is paired with a female Russian agent and are sent on a mission to try and find two missing submarines; one form each of their countries.

My Take on it – This is a film that I have always had fond memories of watching it and since I hadn’t seen it in almost five years, I decided that it was time to check it out again for this series.

This is a great James Bond film because not only does it have all of the elements of what makes a fun Bond film, but it also gives us a few more bonuses along the way.

Roger Moore is back for his third outing as the British Super spy and finally hits his stride with this film.

The way that he delivers his lines is so enjoyable to watch especially when many of these lines have dual meanings.

The story itself, like most Bond plots is quite simple, yet they find ways to keep things fun and entertaining the whole way through.

The biggest problem with this film is the main villain Stromberg who is completely two dimensional and feels like he wan’t developed very well when originally this part was created.

Thankfully, his two henchmen are both great and give Bond a hard time the whole way through.

This film is the one that introduces Jaws to us and makes him one of the most iconic Bond villains in history.

The film’s theme song – Nobody Does it Better is great to listen to and gives off such a great 70’s vibe throughout.

The thing tho that I mostly love about this film is the added layer that they add here to the action sequences.

The idea to take three detained submarine crews and have them work together against a common foe works so well and in some points feels quite poignant.

The way that these brave men must work together in order to escape from the enemy base adds so much to this film and helps keep it enjoyable to watch unfold.

Bottom Line – Another great Bond film that gives us everything that we can expect from a film in this franchise. Moore is once again great in this role and delivers his double entente lines as perfectly as he can. The story itself is quite simple but still keeps things very fun and entertaining throughout. Stromberg is a pretty weak foe yet he has two great henchmen that make things worth following including the introduction of Jaws to the Bond canon. The main theme song is also great and allows us to get the 70’s vibe that is present throughout this movie. The film does a great job adding a new element to the franchise by giving us a great action scene where the crews of the three missing submarines try to fight their way out of the enemy base and that has always made this film stick out among most of the films in the series. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – By the time this movie was made, the James Bond film franchise was the most lucrative in the world, and many manufacturers wanted their products featured. There was great competition for the company that would supply Bond’s car. Don McLaughlin, Public Relations Manager of Lotus, realized that the best way to win this coveted position was to make the producers chase after him, rather than going begging to them. One day he turned up at Pinewood driving a brand new unreleased Lotus Esprit, with all identifying names covered up. He parked it outside the Bond set, knowing that the producers would see it when they broke for lunch. Once the car had attracted a crowd, all clamoring to know what the car was, McLaughlin nonchalantly got in the car and drove away without answering any questions. As he had expected, the producers were desperate to discover what the car was, and Producer Albert R. Broccoli later chose it for this movie. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10) (no change from original review)

Nov 10 2019

James Bond Month – The Spy Who Loved me (1977)

Director: Lewis Gilbert

Writer: Christopher Wood, Richard Maibaum (Screenplay)

Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jurgens, Rich Kiel, Caroline Munro, Walter Gotell

Plot: James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. Agent, whose lover he killed.

Runtime: 2 Hours 5 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Moore’s Best Bond

Story: The Spy Who Loved Me starts when both a British and Russian submarine are hijacked with nuclear weapons on board, James Bond (Moor) and Russian agent, Agent XXX (Bach) are assigned by their countries to learn the truth, putting them on a collision course with each other.

The mastermind behind the hijacking is Karl Stromberg (Jurgens) who is using his men including Jaws (Kiel) to kill anyone who was involved in the project, it is up to Bond and Agent XXX to stop this mastermind before he uses the weapons.

Thoughts on The Spy Who Loved Me

Characters – James Bond we can’t really say anything new about this character, only to talk about his role in this film, he must work with a female agent from Russia to track down nuclear weapons, he doesn’t get everything his own way when it comes to the ladies this time and gets to face his biggest opponent in Jaws. Agent XXX is the Russian agent that is forced to work with James on her mission because Russian warheads have been stolen too, she isn’t going to fall for James seductive ways and is easily the smartest Bond girl to date so far. Karl Stromberg is the marine biologist that has taken the weapons in an attempt to cash in, he lives under the ocean and sends his hitmen out to kill anyone that can give away his secret. Jaws is arguably the most iconic of all the Bond villains, his size is huge which only makes him a threat in a fight with mental teeth one character you will never forget.

Performances – Roger Moore is wonderful in this leading role, this is his best performance to date in the role, where we do believe everything that is going on for his character. Barbara Bach is a delight in the Bond girl role going against the normal character mold we have seen in recent film and while Curd Jurgens is a good villain it is the introduction of Richard Kiel to the franchise that will give you someone to remember.

Story – The story pits British and Russian spies together to locate nuclear weapons and submarines that have been taken by an unknown mastermind. By putting two rival intelligence agencies together this does become more interesting because both agents know they can’t give away secrets while also knowing they are both just doing a job. The story also gives us the most iconic of all the henchmen in the Bond franchise Jaws. The villain does have a good plan and does feel like a threat to everyone involved which is a big plus from the last outing, this puts the franchise back where we like to see it.

Action/Adventure – The action in the film follows chase sequences, a massive base battle and the fights with Jaws which show his pure power. The adventure does put Bond on a trip around the world to locate the truth which is big for the film, showing us this could be a worldwide threat.

Settings – The film uses the settings well because the bases that we see our characters fight in are wonderfully constructed for this movie and our worldwide trip takes us to Egypt this time around.

Scene of the Movie – Jaws.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The villain does seem average compared to his henchmen.

Final Thoughts – This is easily the best Bond outing for Roger Moore, it increases the peril involved in the film which was need after the last one and gives us a character we will never forget in Jaws.

Overall: Back on track.

Rating