#john don baker

[questintheskies]

[mariocki]

Cape Fear (1991)

"Let's get something straight here. I spent fourteen years in an eight by nine cell, surrounded by people who were less than human. My mission in that time was to become more than human. You see? Granddaddy used to handle snakes in church, Granny drank strychnine. I guess you could say I had a leg up, genetically speaking."

[simbelmyne20niniel]

CLASSIC ROCK BOOKMARKERS PART 19: DRUMMERS

ALL THE PARTS

[clemsfilmdiary]

GoldenEye (1995, Martin Campbell)

9/6/24

[musicmags]

[nerds-yearbook]

The 25th anniversary Bond film and first Bond film since Roger Moore retired, The Living Daylights premiered on July 31, 1987. Pierce Brosnan was set to take on the Bond mantle when at the last moment, the makers of the TV show Remington Steele decided to capitalize on all the Bond buzz and hold him to a new season of the cancelled show. This was a failure as the new season only managed 6 episodes before cancelling. The failed season also prevented Steele costar Stephanie Zimbalist from taking a major role in the sci fi blockbuster Robocop. Brosnan was replaced by Timothy Dalton who had decided to pass on the role years earlier because at the time he felt he was too young. However, he only made one more movie before the franchise was forced into hiatus. After years of limbo, Dalton decided to move on and Brosnan was once more offered the role. The Living Daylights and the following Dalton movie both protrayed a Bond closer to the novels, possibly the closest till the Daniel Craig era years later. Following the success of the Duran Duran theme for View to a Kill, Ah-Ha of "Take on Me" fame was tapped for the theme song. Besides the darker and violent take on the character, the movie also had a couple of scenes of actual nudity outside of the opening credits (including Virginia Hey of Farscape). Long time iconic Bond composer John Barry made a cameo as a conductor in the movie. Walter Gotell returned as General Gogol (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View to a Kill), Robert Brown as M (Octopussy and A View to a Kill) and Desmond Llewelyn as Q (every previous Bond film except Dr No and Live and Let Die). For the first time in the series, the role of Moneypenny was taken over by Caroline Bliss. Previously, since the first film Dr No, the role of Moneypenny had been played by Lois Maxwell making her the most consistent actor to play a role in the Bond franchise. The title and opening teaser was based on a Bond short story written by Ian Fleming. ("The Living Daylights" movie event)

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[allhailthe70shousewife]

Every year since 1993 I have made it a tradition to watch this the night before Thanksgiving. Enjoy now, with me, the 1975 Joe Don Baker classic, “Mitchell”, with Joel and the bots on commentary.

[sasa-chan]

The Living Daylights (1987)

Starring:

Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, Art Malik, John Rhys-Davies, Jeroen Krabbé

Directed By:

John Glen

Genre:

Action/Thriller

Rating:

PG

Run Time:

2 Hours 10 Minutes

Release Date:

29 June 1987 (London, premiere)

31 July 1987 (United States)

Synopsis:

British secret agent James Bond (Timothy Dalton) helps KGB officer Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) defect during a symphony performance. During his debriefing, Koskov reveals that a policy of assassinating defectors has been instated by new KGB head Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies). But as Bond explores this threat, a counterplot surfaces, involving a shady American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker) and a pair of Russian assassins, Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) and Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo).

[davealmost]

Reality Bites

[ljones41]

"GOLDENEYE" (1995) Review

"GOLDENEYE" (1995) Review What can I say about 1995’s "GOLDENEYE"? For one, it marked a series of firsts for the Bond franchise. The movie happened to be Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as James Bond. "GOLDENEYE" also turned out to be Dame Judi Dench’s first time portraying Bond’s MI-6 boss, "M". And the movie also proved to be a first Bond film for director Martin Campbell, who returned eleven years later to direct 2006’s "CASINO ROYALE".

After 1989’s ”LICENSE TO KILL”, I found myself frustrated by talk that it was time for EON Productions to give up on Timothy Dalton as Bond and find a new actor. To be frank, I did not want them to give up on Dalton. I thought he could have done at least one or two more Bond films in the 1990s. Needless to say, a lengthy lawsuit and Dalton’s reluctance to return to the role had put an end to my hopes. I was quite prepared to dislike ”GOLDENEYE”, until I heard that Pierce Brosnan had took over the Bond role. As much as I had grown to love Dalton’s interpretation of Bond, I had always been a Brosnan fan since his four-year stint as TV detective, ”REMINGTON STEELE”. I felt certain that he would be the right man for the job. Needless to say, ”GOLDENEYE” proved me right. Brosnan’s introduction as the British agent proved to be a major success. The man had the talent and the presence to pull off the job. I must confess that originally, he did not strike me as possessing his own originally style to portray Bond. Critic Roger Ebert once described Brosnan’s Bond as a combination of both Sean Connery and Roger Moore’s styles. To be honest, Ebert’s comments did not impress me very much. True, Brosnan’s style seemed like a combination of his two predecessors on the surface. But in time, I realized that he had his own style – that of a well-dressed dandy who hid his emotions and insecurities behind a poser façade. And yet, sometimes that façade cracked whenever faced by betrayal . . . as it did when he learned that his late colleague – Alec Trevelyan (Agent 006) - had faked his death in order to create a crime syndicate and eventually wreck havoc upon Britain with the aid of a stolen Russian weapons system. Many claimed that Brosnan did not really come into his own as Bond until his next film, ”TOMORROW NEVER DIES” (1997). Frankly, I disagree. I think that Brosnan did a very good job in establishing himself as the James Bond of 1990s, right off the bat. Looking back on the Brosnan era, I realize that the Irish-born actor had been very lucky with his leading ladies. And that luck began with Izabella Scorupco, the Polish-Swedish actress who portrayed Natalya Simonova, a Level 2 programmer at Russia’s Severnaya Satellite Control Station. With her exotic looks and no-nonsense attitude, Scorupco seemed to have no trouble at all keeping up with the more experienced Brosnan. Her Natalya is an intelligent and plucky woman who proved to be a very tenacious survivor . . . no matter what came her way. My only problem with the Natalya character was her tendency to use the ”Boys with toys” phrase or comment upon Bond’s destructive uses of vehicles. I found it tiresome after the second or third time. Brosnan had even better luck with the actor who portrayed 006 Agent-turned Janus crime syndicate leader – Alec Trevelyan. What can one say about Sean Bean? This guy is a true professional and his Alec Trevelyan turned out to be – at least in my opinion – one of the best Bond villains in the franchise. Because he was trained as a MI-6 agent, he proved to be a true match for Bond, as a nemesis. This was never more apparent than in the exciting martial arts fight between the two in the film’s last 30 minutes. Did I have any complaints about Bean’s performance? Nope. Did I have any problems with his character? Unfortunately, yes. Poor Alec Trevelyan seemed to suffer the same malaise as other Bond villains – setting up the agent for an over-the-top death. Shame. He could have been the best amongst the bunch. As I had stated before, ”GOLDENEYE” marked Dame Judi Dench’s first appearance as the head of the British Secret Service – M. I am a great admirer of Dame Judi, but her debut as M seemed a bit stiff to me. I realize that her character is supposed to be new in the position, but I got the feeling that not only did the character went through great lengths to prove that she could be Bond’s supervisor, but the actress also went to great lengths to prove that she could portray a ruthless and no-nonsense head of intelligence. Thankfully, Dame Judi will get better in the role. Bond is assisted by two characters in ”GOLDENEYE” - CIA agent Jack Wade (portrayed by former Bond villain, Joe Don Baker) and former KGB-turned-entrepreneur Valentin Zukovksy (Robbie Coltrane). Baker was his usual competent self and he had some good moments during Bond’s initial meeting with Wade. But eventually, I found the character a little tiresome, especially with his nicknames for Bond – namely “Jim” and “Jimbo”. Coltrane seemed more effective to me. He was just as funny as he was in 1999’s ”THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH”, but Zukovsky came off as a little more intimidating in this film. Trevelyan also had his assistants – namely former Soviet pilot Xenia Onatopp (Famke Jenssen) and the computer geek Boris Grishenko, who had betrayed Natalya and other programmers at the Severnaya Satellite Control Station. I had been worried that Jenssen would prove to be as over-the-top (please, no jokes) as Barbara Carrera’s Fatima Blush in ”NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN”. Thankfully, my fears proved groundless. Well . . . somewhat. There were moments when Onatopp’s penchant for rough sex seemed a little tiresome. However, those moments seemed few and far in between. As for Alan Cummings (both he and Jenssen would go on to portray costumed mutants in the comic book franchise, ”X-MEN” with other Bond girl Halle Berry), his Boris Grishenko seemed at times very amusing and at other times, downright annoying. I must admit that he and Scorupco managed to create a nice little screen chemistry. And Minnie Driver had a hilarious cameo as Zukovsky's girlfriend, who happened to be a singer with a lack of talent. The plot for ”GOLDENEYE” revolved around former MI-6 agent Alec Trevelyan’s desire to exact revenge upon Great Britain for betraying his family and other Leniz Cossacks (former Nazi collaborators) to the Soviet Union following World War II. Trevelyan’s parents managed to survive the purge, but they eventually committed suicide in the face of survivor’s guilt. After Alec learned of his bloody past, he decided to get his revenge. He defected secretly during a routine mission in Soviet Russia with Bond and immersed himself in the underground world of the Russian Mafia. Nine years later, Trevelyan emerged as the mysterious Janus – leader of the Janus Crime Syndicate. And how does he get his revenge? First, he stole “keys” to the secret Russian EMP weapon, "GoldenEye", before disappearing into Cuba. With the keys to “GoldenEye”, he planned to electronically rob every bank in the UK setting off the GoldenEye blast – crippling every electronic device in the Great Britain and disguising his theft. Not a bad plot. Of course, Bond and Natalya foiled him in the end. Although the plot seemed to have similar nuances to those “megalomaniacal” plots to destroy the superpowers and rule the world . . . it seems bearable without going over the top. And despite the almost out-of-this-world aura of Trevelyan’s scheme, director Martin Campbell managed to film ”GOLDENEYE” as a tight and suspenseful thriller with good performances and believable action sequences like Trevelyan and Onatopp’s theft of the NATO Tiger fighter helicopter, General Ourumov and Onatopp’s theft of the GoldenEye satellite keys, Natalya’s survival of the massacre and destruction of the Severnaya Satellite Control Station, Bond and Natalya’s escape from both the Russian holding cell (the tank chase aside) and their escape from Trevelyan’s ICBM train. But the piece-de-resistance for me turned out to be the Bond/Trevelyan fight. I have commented upon how much I enjoyed it. But I more than enjoyed it. For me, it was the best hand-to-hand fight scene in the entire franchise. I consider it superior to the Bond/Grant fight in ”FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE”. However, I doubt that many would agree with me. However, there were scenes that defy reality . . . and logic. I never could understand why Trevelyan did not simply have Bond shot dead in that icon graveyard, instead of setting both him and Natalya up to be blown up inside that Tiger helicopter. Bond’s escape from that chemical weapons facility in the pre-title sequence . . . a tad unbelievable. Although the tank chase through St. Petersburg is considered one of the best in the franchise, I hated it. I’m sorry but I do. By including a tank in a chase scene, it simply bogged down the story for me. And I am not particularly fond of the finale at Trevelyan’s Cuban facility. The acting seemed in danger of going over-the-top and the method of how Trevelyan finally met his death (having the entire complex) fall upon him seemed to ridiculous to believe. He should have died after that fall he had suffered. If there is one thing about ”GOLDENEYE” I truly hated, it was the theme song, performed by diva Tina Turner. Poor Ms. Turner. I think she had the bad luck to perform what I consider to be the absolute worst song in the entire Bond franchise. And the musical score (written by Eric Serra), with its computerized tones combined with music to be . . . I will simply state that I hated it as much as I did the song. End of story. Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed ”GOLDENEYE” very much, after twenty years. It possessed enough good performances and action sequences to be a worthwhile entry for EON Productions. As far as I am concerned, ”GOLDENEYE” is probably Brosnan’s best Bond film and Campbell’s second-best film overall. And it is number eight on my list of favorite Bond films.

[flashfuckingflesh]

Prudish EVIL Takes on the Arcade in "Joysticks!" reviewed! (MVD Visual Rewind Collection / Blu-ray)

Get Your Herky-Jerkey Hands on “Joysticks’ on MVD Blu-ray! Arcade manager Jefferson Bailey runs his grandfather’s business like a nonstop party lined with token-operated video game machines, stocked with a complete concession counter, and welcoming beautiful women to enjoy not only the endless entertainment of the arcade machines at all hours but also to gush over his handsome, easygoing…

[jazzdailyblog]

Exploring George Russell's Sonic Frontier: A Deep Dive into "The Stratus Seekers"

Introduction: In the rich tapestry of jazz history, certain albums stand out as both groundbreaking and enigmatic. George Russell’s “The Stratus Seekers,” released in May or June 1962 on Riverside Records, is undoubtedly one such masterpiece. This article embarks on a journey through the corridors of time, revisiting the historical and sonic landscapes painted by Russell and his septet. A Sonic…

[clemsfilmdiary]

The Living Daylights (1987, John Glen)

7/26/24

[from-beyond]

Tumblr user from-beyond’s Queer Horror rec list

Happy Pride!

I do not consider Queer Horror to exclusively mean horror with queer characters or plot points. Many of the films on this list have no explicitly queer characters, but rather deal with themes such as Sexuality and repression, isolation, othering, discrimination, self loathing or acceptance, forbidden love, and fear of discovery. They make use of things like homoeroticism, queer-coding, camp, phallic and yonic imagery, and contextually significant themes (ex: the AIDS epidemic). 

This list is by no means comprehensive as I am only including films that I personally have seen. This is just a personal rec list. I encourage you to do more research into this subgenre and discover more films. 

Final disclaimer: Many of the films on this list are “problematic”. Within the Queer Horror community, there is a lot of reclaiming and personal interpretation. If that’s something you can’t handle, then this probably isn’t this area of study for you.

Queer Directors with horror films:

Frank Henenlotter (Brain Damage, Basket Case, Frankenhooker, Bad Biology)

Clive Barker (Hellraiser series, Nightbreed)

Don Mancini (Child’s Play series)

James Wale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man)

John Water (Serial Mom, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos)

The Big Ones (these are brought up most often):

Psycho (1960)

Sleepaway Camp

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge

Fright Night (1985)

Hellraiser (1987)

More 80’s Horror with Queer Subtext (AKA my niche):

The Hitcher

Night of The Creeps

Re-Animator

Bride of Re-Animator

Slumber Party Massacre II

The Hunger

Gothic

Society

Witchboard

Dressed To Kill

Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker

Vamp

Hide and Go Shriek

Fear No Evil

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Apartment Zero

The Fly

International Queer Horror:

Martyrs

Stranger By The Lake

The Wild Boys

The Living Dead Girl

The Lure

The Blood Spattered Bride

Titane

Jack Be Nimble

Criminal Lovers

Miscellaneous (didn't fit in the other categories but I wanted to mention):

Crash (1996)

Ravenous (1999)

Jennifer’s Body

[lisbeth-kk]

Sherlock fandom.

Heartbreaking Lure

“Are you ready, John?” Sherlock shouts from the bedroom.

“Probably not,” John mutters under his breath.

“Sure,” he says out loud.

John must blink several times when his so-called boyfriend appears in the doorway. If he hadn’t been so familiar with Sherlock’s body and demeanour, John wouldn’t have recognised him. Sherlock looks like someone taken out of the hippie era. A golden-haired wig, long and wavy. He has a cerise coloured hairband across his forehead. The shirt is a loose-fitting thing in denim blue embroidered with yellow and red flowers. Low on his hips, a pair of tight white trousers cling to his muscular thighs and widen considerably just below his knees. Worn trainers complete the outfit.

“You don’t do things halfway, do you, love?” John says rhetorically and approaches the figure he almost can’t fathom is Sherlock Holmes.

Before John reaches him, Sherlock puts on a pair of round spectacles with red glasses, which hide those peculiar eyes of his. 

“You know my ways, John,” Sherlock purrs and pulls John in for a languid kiss.

“I do,” John confirms a bit out of breath after the lovely snog. “Now get your gorgeous arse moving, and I’ll see you later.”

John gives Sherlock’s arse cheeks a good squeeze to emphasise his words and Sherlock gives him a wink before bouncing down the stairs.

***

John feels utterly ridiculous when he’s dressed himself. It’s Sherlock who has bought the costume, and of course it reflects one of the many kinks of the detective. However foolish John feels dressed up as a sailor, he knows it’ll be worth it in the end.

The only way John can get Sherlock to attend a carnival, is for a case, like now. They are both undercover trying to catch the jewellery thief red-handed. 

When John arrives at the posh apartment in Mayfair, Sherlock’s nowhere to be seen.

Clueing for looks somewhere, John thinks to himself and chuckles. 

John’s disguise doesn’t stand out at all. There are all sorts of costumes, from the pompous Marie Antoinette figure to something reminiscent of Jean Valjean when he was imprisoned. A few hippies emerge from another room, but none of them is Sherlock.

John wanders around, his hands clasped on his back as if inspecting a regiment. 

Old habits die hard.

A murmur in his ear, startles him.

“As you were, sailor.”

“Git,” John hisses. “We don’t know each other, remember.”

Sherlock’s rumble is low and makes John’s knees weak with desire. The power Sherlock’s voice has over him should be alarming, but the feeling is far too delicious to fight. 

“The library in five minutes. Second door to the right,” Sherlock whispers and gives John’ earlobe a lick before he’s gone.

John takes a deep breath and steels himself for the confrontation that will happen in a few minutes.

***

“Stop laughing,” John complains when they’re back at Baker Street.

“But, darling, you look so sweet when you’re like this,” Sherlock explains, his voice filled to the brim with glee.

The confrontation had gone well, until the thief had tried to flee. John had tackled the woman, dressed as Zorro, in some sort of boudoir. She had been like an eel in John’s hands and had gotten a hold of a jar of glitter that she had thrusted at John. Sherlock and Lestrade came to his rescue, but the glitter stuck to John’s face, neck, hair and hands.

“I’m taking a shower!” John exclaims while Sherlock still shakes with laughter.

“Jo…John, don…don’t be upset. You look ador…”

“Shut it, Sherlock! Not funny anymore,” John spits and marches to the bathroom.

It takes forever to get rid of all the twinkly bits, and John’s mood has not improved. When he finally turns off the shower, he hears familiar music being played in the sitting room. It’s something John always describes as a heartbreaking lure. “In the Cluster Blues”. One of his favourites, and Sherlock’s way of apologising.

John smiles, his mood suddenly lightening, something only one person in the world is able to make happen so quickly. His beloved Sherlock Holmes.

@flashfictionfridayofficial @totallysilvergirl @keirgreeneyes @calaisreno @a-victorian-girl @phoenix27884 @helloliriels @safedistancefrombeingsmart @gregorovitchworld @peanitbear @topsyturvy-turtely @raina-at @7-percent @ninasnakie