Top 5 Thursday: James Bond Theme Songs

I recently rewatched all the Bond movies. One thing I love about those movies is the opening credits, with a different theme song every time. Well, not always, because some songs aren’t all that good (wink, “Die Another Day”). But this gave me the idea to create a top 5 of my favorite Bond songs. I read some list online and I clearly have a different taste than the rest of the world. Here are my five favorites.

5. Skyfall by Adele (“Skyfall”)

I’m not an Adele fan, one of the few probably. From the opening burst of horns and the suddenly alluring tap of piano keys, everyone knew this was going to feel like a classic, old-fashioned Bond number. It’s a more dramatic balad, but it fits the feel of “Skyfall” very well.

 

 

4. A View to a Kill by Duran Duran (“A View to a Kill”)

This is the sound of the eighties baby! Not one of the best Bond movie, but definitely a great Bond song. This is the best Bond song to dance to!

 

 

3. Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight (“Licence to Kill”)

This captures the Bond feel very well. I love this song! I don’t understand why many find this a bad Bond song.

 

 

2. GoldenEye by Tina Turner (“GoldenEye”)

I take Tina over Shirley Bassey any time! This is such a cool song, very Bondesk. It’s very similar to the Gladys Knight song, at least the beginning is. “GoldenEye” is a beautiful song to an great Bond movie!

 

 

 

1. You Know My Name by Chris Cornell (“Casino Royale”)

This is the kind of music I listen to in my spare time, this is a song I pump up the volume to. With a rougher Bond, we get a rougher voice and lots of guitars. This song is awesome!

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Goldfinger by Sihrley Bassey (“Goldfinger”), Live and Let Die by Paul McCarthy & Wings (“Live and Let Die”), The Living Daylights by A-Ha (“The Living Daylights”)

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 3: Skyfall

Director: Sam Mendes

Genre: Action/ Crime/ Thriller

Runtime: 142 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe, Helen McCroy, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench, Ben Wishaw, Albert Finney, Ola Rapace

Description: Bond's (Daniel Craig) loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. Whilst MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Review: Fifty years before “Skyfall”, the first James Bond movie came out: “Dr. No”. That this franchise would become the longest running movie series ever, no one expected that in the sixties. With “Skyfall” we have 23 movies and six different men who played James Bond. And the end is very far away.

“Skyfall” is a treat. The previous two movies, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace” had connections, but “Skyfall” is a completely new story. The movie opens with a spectacular chase, that ends in James Bond getting shot. The MI6 organization thinks he is dead. When he returns after six months, MI6 is under attack of cyberterrorists and M’s position is in danger as well.

After the opening scene, you know “Skyfall” will not disappoint. The action is spectacular and it’s all filmed beautifully. However, “Skyfall” isn’t just an action movie. The focus is on the relationship between Bond and M. Especially the middle part, in Shanghai and Macau, does the spy thriller justice. But how gorgeous those scenes look, they make you wait for action a tad to long.

  Where Daniel Craig proofs again that he’s a great James Bond, it’s Javier Bardem that steals the show as villain Silva. The eccentric character is a pleasant addition to the film, in combination with the somewhat cold Bond. And also Judi Dench does a great job, as usual.

If “Skyfall” is the best Bond movie, I don’t know. But it is definitely recommended for both Bond fans and the ordinary movie fan. And even if the runtime of the film is a bit too long, it’s an entertaining movie. “Skyfall” makes you forget about the mediocre “Quantum of Solace” and shows you James Bond is not going to retire any time soon.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (39)

This weeks trailers are about a possessed girl, Gatsby, James Bond, Irish mob and a man in his mid-30s who's still living with his parents.

The Possession
Description: Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick) see little cause for alarm when their youngest daughter Em becomes oddly obsessed with an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. But as Em's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, the couple fears the presence of a malevolent force in their midst, only to discover that the box was built to contain a dibbuk, a dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.
Director: Ole Bornedal
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick
Trailer: Trailer "The Possession"

The Great Gatsby
Description: We follow would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Director: Baz Luhrman
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher
Trailer: Trailer "The Great Gatsby"
Comment: It looks amazing.

Skyfall
Description: Bond's (Daniel Craig) loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes
Trailer: Trailer "Skyfall"
Comment: Not a James Bond fan, but Daniel Craig is sooooo worth watching.

Whole Lotta Sole
Description: We follow Jimbo (Martin McCann), who in a misguided attempt to protect his family and pay back gambling debts to the local mobster, robs a fish market which is owned by the same gangland boss Mad Dog Flynn (David O'Hara) and finds himself in a hostage standoff surrounded by the police.
Director: Terry George
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Martin McCann, Colm Meaney, David O'Hara
Trailer: Trailer "Whola Latta Sole"

Dark Horse
Description: In his mid-30s, Abe (Jordan Gelber) clings to the trappings of his adolescence. Still living with his parents Jackie (Christopher Walken) and Phyllis (Mia Farrow), Abe works for his increasingly disappointed Dad and spends evenings ruthlessly trouncing his Mom at backgammon. When Abe meets Miranda (Selma Blair), whose personal and professional disasters have sent her scrambling back to the safety of her parents' suburban home, he sees what he thinks is a chance at true love. As the couple haltingly prepares to start a new life together, the film swerves into Abe's subconscious, where his crippling self-doubt and dark fears begin to undermine his nearly realized dream of a fuller life.
Director: Todd Solondz
Starring: Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow
Trailer: Trailer "Dark Horse"