Be My Guest: Antoinette Miceli

Back with a new guest this month....the awesome Antoinette Miceli, a friend I met on Facebook over two years ago. Let's get things started shall we...Oh and Antoinette answers are slanted more towards the modern era which I told her was fine...we all love movies here!

1. What made you start blogging?  (Disregard this one) As Antoinette currently does not have a blog

2. Who are your favorite classic or modern film stars? Name as many as you want

 Classic: Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, 

Modern: Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Catherine-Zeta Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, Helen Mirren, Lena Olin, Samuel Jackson, Angela Bassett. 

Me:I love all of your choices Antoinette!!!!!

3. What are some of your favorite films? All vary in different genres, drama, comedy, action and adventure. 

 The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Dirty Harry,  Escape to NY, Alien, Blade Runner, Superman, The Exorcist,  Some of the James Bond flicks, To Live and Let Die, Goldfinger, Octopussy,  Witches of Eastwick, Tootsie, Moonstruck, Working Girl, Thelma & Louise. Chicago, Black Widow, Basic Instinct.  

Me: Glad to see you're a James Bond fan too..

4. Describe your first movie experience. Like where and when..at a cinema, on TV, etc..

I can remember as little girl watching Superman on the big screen, (1978),  Christopher Reeve in my opinion was the best Superman ever.  My parents took me to the Loews theater downtown in my city. Walking on  the red carpet into the dark theater, smell of popcorn in the air. Feeling really excited. The credits blazing on the screen! Incredible. 

Me: I bet that was an awesome experience..

5. What films upon first viewing did you not like, then later on when re-watching them, loved them?

Hard question. I have mixed feeling about Thelma And Louise.  Great story about friendship, but the  ending sucked!  

Me: I feel the exact same way..

6. Describe the perfect way for you to watch a film.

Usually on the couch, with snacks. LOL

7. How many friends, family member or co-workers share your love of films?

 A few friends. But we all have different tastes. 

8. What is your favorite time period: the 70's, 80's, 90's, or now?

 I always liked the 70's. 90's are ok. 

9. What are some of your favorite film quotes?

 LOL!!!  *I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse", 
Leave the gun, take the cannoli”,

"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.

"Snap out of it!",  "You expect me to talk?", "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!".

Me: HAHA

10. What classic films have you yet to see for one reason or another?

 Can you believe , Gone with the Wind. .. really. I ve seen parodies done on that film. But actually never saw it from beginning to end.  Also, The Third Man.  Many of my film friends rave about this movie.  I should watch  it soon.

Me: Oh you have to see The Third Man..It is a great film!

11. What is your favorite genre? Action, Psychological thrillers, I like to be kept on the edge of my seat. :)

12. If you threw a movie theme party, describe how you would do it. The costumes, decorations, food, etc.

The 70's , Something like the movie 54.  or Saturday Night Fever, The club scene, Hanging disco ball, The bell bottoms, Go-go costumes, platform shoes. Disco music.  

Me: COOL!!! 

13. What are some films that are widely loved that you couldn't care less about?

 The Batman movies like The Dark Knight , etc....and the endless sequels!  starring  Christian Bale. Too dark and overrated for me. I call it over saturation. 

Me: Oh I will keep the Batman fans at bay for as long as possible Antoinette!

14. Who’s the biggest film fanatic that you know? Besides yourself of course. My husband. I think we both like mob themed films alot like The Godfather, Goodfellas and Casino. Combination of  great actors ,  great movies and well written stories. 

15. And finally who are some of your favorite film characters? 

Oh boy, James Bond, Margo Channing, Katharine Parker, Col. Nathan Jessup, Snake Plissken, Jules Winnfield, King Leonidas,  Loretta Castorini,, Jack Torrance , Don Vito Corleone, Michael Corleone, Tommy DeVito, Inspector Harry Callahan , Dorothy Michaels, Ripley. 

I would like to thank Antoinette for be my guest this month as she did a wonderful job. She has some great favorites for sure. Hope everyone having her here this month. 

Can you believe this year marks the 50th anniversary of James Bond?

When a film or series reaches a milestone such as 25 or 50 years, that is reason for a celebration. Well the James Bond film series will hit 50 years come May 8th, marking the original release of the first Bond film, Dr. No. The 23rd film, Skyfall will debut later on this year with Daniel Craig returning as the superspy for the third time. I am kind of surprised that this anniversary has been kept under the radar so far. I know it's only January, but this is pretty big news. How many film series have gone this long and are still running. Very impressive! Well I intend to do something about it. Here on All Good Things, expect Bond posts all year long. About the actors who played Bond to the films and anything else I can think of. Should make for a grand time. 50 years. Well done James, well done.

First Aid: From Movies to Real Life

At my work today, I had a class on first aid training. I recently volunteered to be one of the first responders for my department. That means I would be responsible for rendering aid to anyone that is injured or becomes ill. But first I would need to go through the six hour training class. And it was very interesting. The instructor was a 30 year EMS veteran and he knew everything you could possibly think of. And as the class went on I kept noticing how certain topics always had a connection to a film or some TV show. So I thought I would do a post about it.

The first topic we covered was rendering CPR to a person who is unconscious. Be it from a heart attack or drowning, that person is not breathing now. So they need to be revived quickly before brain damage sets in. By doing the quick compresses to the chest and breathing into their mouth. And then if you have a defibrillator handy, give them a shock to their system. Well that made me think of the scene from Pulp Fiction, where Uma Thurman nearly overdoses on drugs and John Travolta has to jam the needle into her chest.



And then immediately I thought of Casino Royale when Bond is poisoned and he has to use his defibrillator on himself.

http://youtu.be/hxPIJFNsUzU

The instructor told us that a person has a better chance of being revived from drowning in cold water during a cold period as opposed to warmer waters in warmer days. That reminded me of the scene in The Abyss where Ed Harris lets his wife drown in the cold water because they only have one suit. He swims back to the base and tries to revive her. And it works eventually. Very intense scene.



We also talked about burns, cuts, and more types of possible injuries a person could get. It was a very helpful class and we got plenty of hands on practice with mannequins, where we got to perform CPR. And we also got to perform the heimlich manuever on each other, simulating a person choking on food.

One of the most intense scenes has to be from Flatliners in this clip below as the guys do everything they can to save Julia Roberts.


And with that I willl wrap up this post and let everyone know that I received my training today and a certificate of completion. I feel pretty good about that.

BEWARE THESE WOMEN! - Rosa Klebb of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

I'm not evil, just misunderstood.

When you think of most James Bond baddies, you think of hulking giants ala Jaws or Asian henchmen with a penchant for bowler hats that can decapitate you. So imagine this 5 foot woman named Rosa Klebb who actually comes pretty close to taking out Bond in the entertaining film From Russia With Love. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little but Lotte Lenya who potrayed the sadistic Klebb makes a memorable Bond villian and she is definitely one woman you don't want to mess with. After her opening scene with Spectre head Number One, where she thought she was about to be executed for her past failures, Klebb is hired for a sinister plot to kill James Bond 007 once and for all. She recruits the top agent Red Grant (menacingly played by Robert Shaw) as the muscle and the lovely Tatiana Romanova (played by Daniela Bianchi) to woo Bond. With all this coming at 007, you think he wouldn't have a chance. But he is Bond (played for the second time by Sean Connery) and he will find a way to defeat the bad guys.


Really, Mr. Bond...you have no chance with me at all

Anyway Rosa Klebb who despite her small frame is adept in hand to hand combat and her subtle manipulation of Tatiana borders on lesbanism. She convinces our young Tatiana that Bond is the enemy and she must do her assignment for the good of her country. Klebb scenes with Tatiana are a little disturbing as you can see her coming on to the young and naive girl. Klebb may be tender with Tatiana but she is strict with Grant as in one scene where she wants to see how tough he is, she punches him in the gut...with BRASS KNUCKLES! Ouch!

I do a little house cleaning on the side as well.

After Bond escapes his encounter with Grant, it falls to Klebb to take on our debonair agent. Klebb has a little blade that protrudes from the tip of her shoe with which she tries to take out Bond. Her almost spastic and uncontrollable lunges at Bond border on hysterical and deadly. Klebb goes down as one of the best Bond villians (male or female) ever. And Lenya was perfect. You would be surprised to know that despite a short film career of less than 10 films, including her Academy nominated performance as a Supporting actress in 1961's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone with Vivien Leigh, Lenya was a successful and classically trained singer and dancer. But of course most film fans know her as Klebb. It is a truly wicked performance and one woman to definitely be wary of. Check out the scene below as she tells Tatiana her assignment in her own special way.



ROSA KLEBB Ratings:

SCHEMINGS - 5
MANIPULATIVE - 4
SMARTNESS - 4
TRUSTWORTHY - 1
TOUGHNESS - 3

Here are some choice quotes from Rosa Klebb herself:

Training is useful, but there is no substitute for experience.

Corporal, I have chosen you for an important assignment. It's purpose is to give false information to the enemy. If you complete it successfully, you will be promoted.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is not just a great Bond film, but a great romance as well

Connery's second Bond film is a winner. Better than Dr. No in so many ways. Part romance, part thriller with a little humor and great villains. Of course Connery is perfect as 007, without question. But this film has some truly twisted and effective villians. Robert Shaw is terrific as Russia's premier super assassin Red Grant. And Lotte Lenya is memorable as Rosa Klebb. his boss. And let's not forget Daniela Bianchi, who is just stunning as Tatiana, the girl who is forced to betray Bond, but winds up with him anyway. She is truly breathtaking. Definitely one of the best Bond films ever made.

B+

Kerim Bey: "Ah, the old game: give a wolf a taste and then leave him hungry. My friend, she's got you dangling".

A little story behind Live and Let Die (1973)

Flixster - Share Movies

I've been reading this book called Bond Girls Are Forever and it's filled with tons of pics and history of all the women who have been in a Bond film. And there are lots of stories that happened while making these films. Here is one interesting story. It involved Jane Seymour who played the tarot reading Solitaire in 1973's Live and Let Die, the first Bond outing by Roger Moore. Anyway Ms. Seymour was all of 21 years old when she landed the part and was a little nervous. During one particular scene the film-makers decided it was safe to allow Jane to take part in some very nerve-wracking stunt work. The stunt involved a double-decker bus going through a bridge and the top level coming off. Just before Jane was do it, she asked where was Roger? And they said his stunt man was going to do the scene. Who also happened to be an expert bus driver. Jane said the man even looked like Roger and thought that was cool. And then it dawned on her, waitaminute, "Where's my stunt double?" So Jane asked the stunt man did he have much experience doing this and he replied not with a double decker bus. So Jane was terrified and almost walked off the set but the producers and the press were there that day on set to see the scene. And being a newbie, she didn't want to jeopardize her career. So they did the scene and it worked out one one take, which was a good thing, since they had only bus setup for the shot. Jane says her brief look of sheer terror on her face before the bus hits the bridge isn't acting...it was for real. But she made it through and when the film wrapped and finally came out she was more than pleased with the final outcome. I thought that was a cool little story to share.

Top 5's with James Bond

The SyFy Channel is having a marathon of Bond films on Thursday and Friday. So I thought now would be a good time to write a blog about my personal favorites of the long running series broken down into different categories with my top 5 picks in each of them. So here we go:

FAVORITE BOND
1. Sean Connery - this was actually a close call. I grew up watching Bond when Roger Moore was playing him and recently I loved when Pierce Brosnan took over. But I had to go with Sean...he did start it after all.
2. Pierce Brosnan
3. Roger Moore
4. Daniel Craig - is off to a good start but he needs to lighten up just a bit
5. Timonty Dalton - not as bad as everyone remembers.


FAVORITE FILM
1. Goldeneye (1995) Brosnan's first Bond film and it's awesome. Made Bond more of an action hero to compete with the current stars of action films today, and it works.
2. Goldfinger (1964) This is the one where most people remember when the series started to really click. The cool opening scene, Connery very relaxed in the role now, a dastardly villian, the gadgets, and the unusually named Bond girl of Pussy Galore.
3. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Roger Moore toned down the jokes and played Bond with a serious edge. This is one of my all time favorites and I watched it like a million times growing up.
4. Casino Royale (2006) Bond remade with Daniel Craig taking over the role and knocks it right out of the park. Very entertaining entry.
5. From Russia With Love (1963) Rosa Klebb. Red Grant. Tatiana Romanova. The thrilling train fight and boat chase scenes. Nuff said.

FAVORITE SONG
1. Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) From The Spy Who Loved Me, so good it should be the theme song for the entire series.
2. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney) Hell yeah. Paul rocks it like no other.
3. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey) This woman could belt out a song with very strong vocals.
4. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) Catchy song.
5. Dance Into The Fire (Duran Duran) Probably one of the few good things about Roger Moore's last Bond film, A View To A Kill.

FAVORITE VILLIAN
1. Auric Goldfinger - Goldfinger. Classic Bond villian that set the standard for others to follow.
2. Scaramanga - The Man With The Golden Gun. As played by horror vet Christopher Lee.
3. Blofeld - Appeared in several Bond films, each time by a different actor. The best to me was Donald Pleasance in 1967's You Oonly Live Twice. But Charles Gray in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever is pretty good too.
4. Max Zorin - A View To A Kill. Psychotic bad guy, played by Christopher Walken.
5. Elektra King - The World Is Not Enough. First main villian played by a female and actress Sophie Marceau is fabulous.

FAVORITE HENCHMAN/HENCHWOMAN
1. Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) - GoldenEye. Delicious and sexy henchwoman that loves to kill and thrill.
2. Jaws (Richard Kiel) The only bad guy to play in more than one Bond film. More than a worthy enough adversary for Mr. Bond.
3. Red Grant (Robert Shaw) - From Russia With Love. The ultimate Cold War soldier who fights Bond memorably in a small train compartment.
4. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) - Thunderball. More woman than any man could handle even James Bond. She also has one of the best quotes in the entire series: "But of course, I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond. James Bond, the one where he has to make love to a woman, and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents, and turns to the side of right and virtue... but not this one!"
5. Oddjob (Harold Sakata) - Goldfinger. He may be mute, but he makes quite an impression, especially on James.

FAVORITE GIRL
1. Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) in For Your Eyes Only. There is just something about this beauty who had smarts and looks and was deadly with a crossbow.
2. Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The former Mrs. Emma Peel became Mrs. James Bond for one film. No other actress could have pulled that part off I don't think.
3. Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) in Licence To Kill. Carey brought a gritty new feel as a Bond girl who could handle herself in a fight, chase, or argument. Plus she could fly anything being a pilot
4. Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)in Goldfinger. To be able to pull off this character with a name like that, Honor should have received some type of award.
5. Solitaire (Jane Seymour)in Live and Let Die. The lovely Jane was quite good in one of her first roles.

FAVORITE PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE
1. Goldeneye (1995) Awesome action in Russia at a weapons facility with Bond doing his thing.
2. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Riding inside a helicopter is what most people do, not James Bond..he has to dangle outside the door miles up in the air while his enemy Blofeld remote controls the copter to make it crash. Very cool.
3. Casino Royale (2006) Simple but effective introduction of Daniel Craig to the series. He makes two kills in the space of minutes. One is quite clean and efficient, the other one is quite nasty with a brawl in a men's bathroom.
4. From Russia With Love (1963) Red Grant's training exercise to dispatch Bond will throw you off because you don't realize it's just an exercise.
5. Moonraker (1979) Over the top but still exciting as Bond free falls from a plane without a parachute and also has to contend with Jaws. Classic.

FAVORITE CHASE SEQUENCE
1. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Bond in the Lotus being pursued by the bad guys via cars, motorcycle, helicopter, and undersea divers. Doesn't get any better than that.
2. Quantum Of Solace (2008) Thrilling opening chase scene has Bond eluding the bad guys coming down a mountainside.
3. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Bond on skis being chased by other skiers and bikers. Cool.
4. Licence To Kill (1989) The truck chase finale has to be seen to be believed with Bond using a semi as his own personal Tonka toy.
5. Live and Let Die (1973) Probably the most exciting boat chase you will ever see.

FAVORITE BEVY OF GIRLS CAST
1. Octopussy (1983) Stunning women from all around the world for this one.
2. Moonraker (1979)
3. From Russia With Love (1963)Rosa Klebb aside, there are quite the few lovelies in this one.
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)Several stunning women all gather in Switzerland much to the delight of Bond.
5. Dr. No (1962) The first Bond movie features several stunning women including Ursula Andress, Eunice Gayson, and Zena Marshall

FAVORITE FIGHT SCENE
1. From Russia With Love (1963) Bond and Red Grant go at in a small train compartment. Very brutal and well done.
2. The Living Daylights (1987) One of the best fights not to feature Bond. Instead it's another British agent fighting an assassin in the kitchen.
3. Goldeneye (1995) Bond vs his onetime friend an fellow agent Alex.
4. Casino Royale (2006) Bond fights some bad guys in a fancy hotel. Very exciting.
5. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Not the best Bond movie but it does have a good fight scene with Bond against the baddies while trying to romance an exotic belly dancer. Only Bond could do something like that.


I believe that will wrap it up for now but as the credits all say I will return.
Oh one more category..
FAVORITE SECONDARY CHARACTER
1. Q (Desmond Llewelyn) The weapon master. His banter with 007 is always good for a laugh.
2. M (Judi Dench) The best of all of Bond's bosses. Judi rocks.
3. Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) Forever in love with James.
4. Felix Leiter (David Hedison) Bond's CIA counterpart has been played by so many different actors but Hedison is the only one who played him twice.
5. Charles Robinson (Colin Salmon)