It’s James Bond Day on 5th October, and I’m rather excited about watching Goldeneye again on the big screen next week. The Tina Turner theme song is an underrated ‘90s banger, and I think you could make a solid case for Pierce Brosnan being the best 007.
A YouGov poll released last month asked: “Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for the character James Bond to be female?”, and only 25% said it was okay with them. I wouldn’t have an issue, personally, but each to their own. Other Bond facts...Casino Royale is rated as the most popular, apparently, followed by Skyfall in the UK, whilst the US loves Goldfinger (that Shirley Bassey theme song is rather groovy, I must admit). I’m still a little worried about the Amazon takeover, with the same poll finding 74% of Brits view it as bad news for the franchise. I can imagine the Amazon Prime vans being slotted into a multistorey car park chase, or other such product placement, but let’s see what happens now they have creative control. Another interesting finding from the survey is that the older you are, the more likely you are to love James Bond. Perhaps they should have called it a day after the last movie? Without giving anything away, it would have made a lot of sense.
Meanwhile, I watched a preview of Brides this week. What a powerful film. At a time of pretty toxic political conversations around migration, I think it would open a lot of right-wing columnists’ minds to watch this film. It doesn’t seek to cast judgement on two girls who decide to up sticks and leave their lives in a run down seaside town behind to fly to Syria; it merely tells the story from their perspective. It’s a road trip movie with a difference!
There is one scene that really hit home towards the end, involving some appalling graffiti on a wall, whilst we see snippets of Doe and Muna’s pretty awful life at school and at home. They are filled with hope and fear in equal measure as they embark on their journey to Syria, and there are obvious echoes of the Shamima Begum case, which was tabloid anger fodder for months.
Watch with an open mind, and I am confident you’ll enjoy this film. It’s a movie about friendship, growing up, acceptance, and feeling alienated, and at a time when the political narrative has got more and more heated around the issue of migration, it’s a reminder that there are real humans at the heart of these stories. As parties seek to talk tough and outdo each other, that is often lost. Thought-provoking, well acted, and well shot. I really enjoyed this film.
Next week, the verdict on Emma Thompson’s new one, Dead Of Winter, and a Strangers sequel.
If you’ve seen a film recently and want to give me your thoughts, drop me an e-mail. It’s: alex.cann@notreallyheremedia.com, and I’m on X @alexbcann (if anyone still uses that platform!).
Alex Cann's weekly film blog - 9th January
Alex's Weekly Film Blog - 3rd October
