#i think my bond with her is in the 70s? my style's almost at 19

[talietikasero]

i need 1.5 more levels before i get my second mastered style (cammy) but i hit max style with ryu tonight 🥳

[chasemisprintedlies]

Thank you for the tag, @moonchildwildheart! I honestly love these things so much. 😂

1. What is your middle name?

Raeshell. Pronounced RAY-Shell.

2. How old are you?

25

3. When is your birthday?

September 23rd

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Libra

5. What is your favourite colour?

Black

6. What’s your lucky number?

13 or 23

7. Do you have any pets?

One dog (a chow named Maurice), two cats (Gary and Snoopy, who is currently missing), a savannah monitor (Gem, who was originally named Jim after the Lizard King himself, but we ended up finding out she was a girl), and a ball python (Edgar)

8. Where are you from?

Kentucky

9. How tall are you?

5'4″

10. What shoe size are you?

8

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I don’t know, it’s been a while since I counted. Probably bordering on 100.

12. What was your last dream about?

I was under my sister’s house, walking through a drain system, looking for my cat Snoopy. 

13. What talents do you have?

I can draw pretty well. 

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I have dreams that end up coming true quite often, so... Maybe?

15. Favourite song?

Nutshell by Alice in Chains or Spooky by Classics IV

16. Favourite movie?

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

I have my ideal partner! He's hilarious, kind, caring, fun to be around, adventurous, determined, motivated, encouraging, artistic, and so, so much more. 😊🖤

18. Do you want children?

Maybe one day.

19. Do you want a church wedding?

I never really cared where I got married until Tyler showed me this cute church that's over 100 years old and told me that's where he'd want to get married... And it's cute because he's not religious at all, but he's so set on that church.

20. Are you religious?

Somewhat.

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Multiple times!

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

I've had quite a few speeding tickets. One was double the speed limit, but that's about it.

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

I've met a lot of bands members. Ronnie Radke, Brian Welch, all the members or Black Stone Cherry, Spencer Charnas, Hugo Ferreira, and quite a few more that I can't remember off the top of my head.

24. Baths or showers?

Baths when I'm alone or showers when Tyler takes them with me. Lol

25. What color socks are you wearing?

I'm barefoot right now... And basically all the time.

26. Have you ever been famous?

Nope

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

No, I like my privacy.

28. What type of music do you like?

Classic rock and metal

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Nope

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

2

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

My side

32. How big is your house?

Small. Big houses make me uncomfortable.

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

I usually don't eat breakfast

34. Have you ever shot a gun?

Plenty of times

35. Have you ever tried archery?

Yeah, not my favorite.

36. Favourite clean word?

I don't think I have one.

37. Favorite swear word?

Fuck. It's very versatile. 😂

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

Almost 72 hours

39. Do you have any scars?

Lots. From surgeries and various injuries.

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

Yes

41. Are you a good liar?

No, I'm terrible.

42. Are you a good judge of character?

Definitely.

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Not very well

44. Do you have a strong accent?

I don't think so.

45. What is your favourite accent?

I don't really have one.

46. What is your personality type?

Laid back and mostly reserved

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

I have like a $200 black Victorian style coat. It's so freaking warm.

48. Can you curl your tongue?

If I try hard enough

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

Innie

50. Left or right-handed?

Right

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Terrified

52. Favourite food?

Lasagna or broccoli casserole

53. Favourite foreign food?

I'm not really sure

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

Clean

55. Most used phrase?

“but anyway" because I get sidetracked a lot.

56. Most used word?

Okay

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

Depends on if I really feel like trying. Sometimes and hour, sometimes 10 minutes.

58. Do you have much of an ego?

Nope

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Both

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Sometimes

61. Do you sing to yourself?

All the time

62. Are you a good singer?

Absolutely not

63. Biggest Fear?

Drowning or losing someone I care about

64. Are you a gossip?

I'd like to say no, but I can be sometimes.

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

66. Do you like long or short hair?

Long. I don't look good with short hair. Lol

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Yes, but I'm not going to.

68. Favourite school subject?

English or Art

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Introvert. I'm trying to formulate a plan as we speak to get out of a team bonding dinner for work tonight.

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No, I'm not really a good swimmer so that would be a terrible idea.

71. What makes you nervous?

Starting a new job. When Tyler and I move and I have to transfer to a different office, I'm screwed.

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Not anymore.

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Sometimes, but I really try not to because I feel rude when I do.

74. Are you ticklish?

Only on my feet

75. Have you ever started a rumour?

I'm sure that I unintentionally have at some point.

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Often

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Once, but I've never really been into drinking. Nothing about it is enjoyable to me.

78. Have you ever done drugs?

Nope

79. Who was your first real crush?

One of my close friends in fourth grade that I'd known since first grade. 

80. How many piercings do you have?

Well I have three in my nose (two in the right side and septum), my ears are stretched and then pierced once above that on both sides, and then my left ear has four additional piercings. So... 11?

81. Can you roll your R’s?

I can't.

82. How fast can you type?

Fast enough

83. How fast can you run?

Pretty fast, but not for very long.

84. What colour is your hair?

Black

85. What color is your eyes?

Blue

86. What are you allergic to?

Any animal with hair and basically anything outside

87. Do you keep a journal?

Not really

88. What do your parents do?

My dad works at a Toyota Manufacturing plant and my mom works in retail

89. Do you like your age?

I guess

90. What makes you angry?

My sorority girl neighbors that like to party until past midnight and scream and yell for no reason so no one in our subdivision can sleep. Like, Tyler wakes up for work at 4am. Some people work. Don't be dicks.

91. Do you like your own name?

I guess so

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

Kind of, I don't know.

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

I'd like to have both.

94. What are your strengths?

I'm a problem-solver and I try to do as much as I can to help people.

95. What are your weaknesses?

I have a hard time saying no to people sometimes.

96. How did you get your name?

Janet came from my dad's mom and my mom just heard a variation of Rachelle somewhere and it inspired her to alter it to Raeshell.

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

Actually, yes.

98. Do you have any scars?

Pretty sure this was already asked, but yes.

99. Colour of your bedspread?

Dark grey

100. Colour of your room?

Grey

So... Now I'm tagging @autumnfell, @astarkey, @i-have-no-username-idea, @edyaleda, and @bonjourmiamigo 🖤

[hedwigencyclopaedia]

David Bowie (Pt. 2)

“There’s old wave. There’s new wave. And then there’s David Bowie.” [1] 

After his brief foray into “plastic soul” with 1975’s Young Americans, Bowie released Station to Station— the first in a string of albums heavily influenced by both contemporary German musical artists like Kraftwerk and Neu!, often referred to as krautrock, and German philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche. [2] Bowie was no stranger to philosophical references in his work, having previously referenced Nietzsche’s works with “Oh! You Pretty Things,” “Quicksand,” and “Supermen,” all off of 1971’s Hunky Dory. [2, 3]

Station to Station introduced the Thin White Duke persona; a character he later referred to as “a nasty character for me.” It was during this era he made controversial comments referring to Hitler and had the infamous incident at Victoria Station that took what was meant as a wave at the gathered crowd and alleged it to instead be a Nazi salute. He had also been detained in Poland for having Nazi paraphernalia. [4]

Having picked up Iggy Pop on his Isolar Tour, David took a short break from producing his own music to help Pop produce his first solo album The Idiot (1977) and to an extent workshop the new sound he had wanted to explore. They headed to Switzerland to create the album with Iggy often “scribbling lyrics” while David and the other musicians worked at crafting the sound of the album. [1]

For Bowie’s next album, he picked up frequent collaborator and producer Tony Visconti as well as newcomer Brian Eno to work on the first of what would become known as the “Berlin Trilogy” or the “Berlin Triptych” in Low (1977). Although known as part of the Berlin Trilogy, work on Low started at the same Swiss chalet that had seen the creation of The Idiot. The move was partly inspired by Bowie’s larger goal to get himself and his friend off of their respective drug addictions and largely to give them both a new mindset away from the fame, fans, and record labels they faced in either the US or the UK. After its completion, Bowie sent a copy of Low to Nicolas Roeg with a note stating “This is what I wanted to do for the soundtrack,” referring to The Man Who Fell to Earth, the film they had completed the previous year and for which Bowie had initially been promised he’d be able to write the soundtrack. [1]

The release of Low was delayed by Bowie’s record label RCA not caring for half the album being instrumentals and the critical reception — what little there was due to a lack of promotion — was mixed to the point that over the years, it was referred to as almost entirely negatively received upon release. [5]

Bowie’s next album, “Heroes” (1977) expanded on the themes explored in Low, distilling and blending them into the next phase of his career. Recorded ‎at Hansa Studio, which overlooked the Berlin Wall, it loosely used the same format as Low with more accessible lyric songs on Side A and instrumentals making up the majority of the B side. Furthering the similarities, both albums featured use of the “cut-up technique” of writing in which an author takes a poem or written work and cuts it up, rearranging the pages to form an exquisite corpse. [1, 6] Where it differed was while Low’s lyrics were largely inspired by Bowie’s life and current troubles, “Heroes” was considered as a whole to be a less personally inspired project and heavily informed by the culture, history, and “essence” of Berlin. [1]

Bowie continued his experiments not only with sound techniques, but recording and writing styles with the final album in the Berlin Trilogy, Lodger (1979). In writing it, he used techniques such as having his band switch instruments to create a more “garage band” “just learning their instruments” feel for “Boys Keep Swinging,” playing chords from “All The Young Dudes” backwards to create new song “Move On,” reusing the musical track from Iggy Pop’s Sister Midnight, from Bowie-produced The Idiot for “Red Money,” and taking further inspiration from producer Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards, which Eno had introduced while he, Bowie, and Visconti worked on “Heroes.” [1]

Going into the 80s, Bowie was determined to have a hit record. [5] Despite previous fame and relative successes, Bowie wanted to not just be a hit artist; he wanted to be the hit artist. And with his divorce from Angela and his split from MainMan officially finalized, now was the time. The next album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980), reached #1 on the UK charts going platinum [7] and #12 in the US. [8]

The follow up three years later, Let’s Dance (1983) outdid its predecessor, both reaching #1 in the charts and going platinum in both countries. [7, 9, 10] The supporting tour, the Serious Moonlight Tour had the distinction of selling out every one of the 96 shows and being one of the largest shows of the time. [11]

The two subsequent albums Tonight (1984) and Never Let Me Down (1987), offered diminishing returns in terms of chart performance [12, 13] and critical reception, with Bowie later disowning Never Let Me Down saying in 1995 “My nadir was Never Let Me Down. It was such an awful album. … I really shouldn’t have even bothered going into the studio to record it. In fact, when I play it, I wonder if I did sometimes” [13] and later in 2002 “There was a period when I was performing in front of these huge stadium crowds and at that time I was thinking 'what are these people doing here? Why did they come to see me? They should be seeing Phil Collins'…And then that came back at me and I thought 'What am I doing here?” [14]

In 1987, as part of the Glass Spider Tour, Bowie had one of the most profound experiences of his touring career while playing a stage that butted up to the Berlin Wall. The sound from the fans on the East side singing along was so loud that Bowie could hear it about the din of his own concert. Part of the concert lives on on YouTube as well as a clip of David’s speech in German addressing both sides of the Wall. The influence of this show was acknowledged by the German Foreign Office in 2016 after Bowie’s death with a tweet reading “Good-bye, David Bowie. You are now among #Heroes. Thank you for helping to bring down the #wall” and linking to a live performance of David performing the song. [15]

As the 80s came to a close, Bowie chose to take some time away from his solo career and formed the band Tin Machine with Reeves Gabrels, and the brothers Hunt and Tony Sales.

He married his second wife, Somali supermodel, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Iman, twice in 1992; the first in a private ceremony and the second in a lavish ceremony in Tuscany. According to David, he was already naming their future children the night he met her. [16] His next album Black Tie, White Noise (1993) was as much a wedding album as it was a reflection of the things currently going on in his life from being in LA when the Rodney King riots started to the death of his beloved half-brother Terry and was a distinct return to “eclecticism” over marketability. [17]

The nineties continued the theme of “eclecticism” with 1995’s Outside, an exploration into the budding industrial movement framed by a murder mystery in support of which he toured with alterative/industrial band Nine Inch Nails [18], 1997’s Earthling, which examined electronic music, and 1999’s hours… which while more conventionally mainstream than its two predecessors in tone, was less well received. [19]

Between albums, Bowie was expanding his horizons beyond his music and film careers such as 1997’s release of Bowie Bonds, an early return for him on future earnings that was presented as an opportunity for the bearer to receive a 7.9% return on their investment [20]; BowieNet, a dial-up internet service provider that also gave subscribers exclusive content and a BowieNet email address [21]; and Omikron: The Nomadic Soul, a futuristic video game that featured songs from ‘hours…’ and featured David and Iman’s voices and likenesses. [22]

Bowie also had started work on Toy which would become his first unreleased album since The Man Who Fell to Earth soundtrack had been scuttled in the mid-70s. Some of the tracks from Toy ended up on his next album, 2002’s Heathen. [23]

His last album before taking a ten year hiatus was Reality (2003) During the supporting tour, he had a lollipop thrown in his eye, (later memorialized in a self portrait) [24], and had the heart attack that stopped him from touring his own music outside of occasional guest appearances with other artists such as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and at events such as Fashion Rocks in the US. His last live performance was at a benefit for Alicia Keys’ Keep a Child Alive campaign where the pair sang a duet of Bowie’s song “Changes.” [25]

In 2013, he ended his hiatus with the unexpected release of The Next Day, the cover art for which featured a large white box overtop of the iconic “Heroes” album cover. The same year, he partnered with the Victoria and Albert museum in London to exhibit the David Bowie Is collection that later that year began a world tour with stops in Chicago, Paris, the Netherlands, Melbourne, and ending at the Brooklyn Museum on July 15th. [26] A digitized version of the collection became viewable on January 8th 2019 with the David Bowie Is app with narration by Gary Oldman. [27]

Despite the album reaching #2 on the US charts [28] and #1 in the UK [29], producer Tony Visconti said that Bowie had no intention of touring the album [30], a comment that music magazine Pitchfork chose to run with to mean that Bowie would never tour again. [31] Regardless of the intent of the statement, Pitchfork ended up being correct in saying the Bowie would never tour again.

In 2017, Bowie’s long standing ambition of writing a musical was realized when Lazarus opened in New York. Following what happens after The Man Who Fell to Earth, the plot sees lead character Thomas Jerome Newton in the modern day having not significantly aged since the events of the original story. Its composition took inspiration more the original novel by Walter Tevis than from Bowie’s role in the 1976 film. [32]

Bowie’s last album was released January 8th 2016, two days before his death from terminal liver cancer. ★, pronounced “Blackstar” incorporated some of the new songs Bowie had written for Lazarus with originals. Recent successes, past fame, and his very current death made sure that Blackstar placed #1 in 24 different countries including the US, UK, and Germany. [33]

After his death, Bowie was honoured not only with fan memorials and tributes, but with official plaques in Berlin and around England noting places of “historic significance.” [34, 35]

[1] Bowie in Berlin by Thomas Jerome Seabrook. 2008.

[2] David Bowie and Philosophy by Theodore G. Ammon. 2016.

[3] http://loudwire.com/songs-inspired-by-german-philosopher-nietzsche/

[4] https://www.thedailybeast.com/on-race-david-bowie-delved-deep-into-the-darkness-and-came-back-human

[5] Starman by Paul Trunka. 2011. Advanced Galley.

[6] https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/apr/13/construct-exquisite-corpse

[7] http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/faq.htm#m09a

[8] https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2017/9/24/anciant-album-focus-scary-monsters

[9] https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=david+bowie#search_section

[10] https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8457017/david-bowie-no-1-hot-100-1983-chart-rewind

[11] http://www.electricmud.ca/2018/david-bowie-toronto1983/

[12] https://www.billboard.com/music/david-bowie/chart-history/billboard-200

[13] https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/how-david-bowies-biggest-disappointment-became-a-posthumous-reworked-album-702189/

[14] David Bowie interviewed on Jonathan Ross,  June 29th, 2002.

[15] https://twitter.com/GermanyDiplo/status/686498183669743616

[16] http://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-black-tie-white-noise/

[17] http://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-black-tie-white-noise/

[18] https://www.revolvermag.com/music/see-david-bowie-sing-hurt-nine-inch-nails-1995

[19] https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/881-hours/

[20] https://web.archive.org/web/20130620051917/http://www.commodityonline.com/news/david-bowie-bonds--ip-securitization-1896-3-1897.html

[21] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/11/david-bowie-bowienet-isp-internet

[22] https://www.polygon.com/2016/1/11/10749686/david-bowie-omikron-nomad-soul-david-cage

[23] http://www.davidbowieworld.nl/mijn-bootlegs-2-2/bbc/attachment/david-bowie-toy/

[24] https://twitter.com/dark_shark/status/692853482512977921?lang=en

[25] https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/inside-david-bowies-final-years-237314/

[26] https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/davidbowieis

[27] https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2019/1/8/david-bowie-is-virtual-launched-today

[28] https://www.billboard.com/music/david-bowie/chart-history/billboard-200/song/775880

[29] http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/features/thenextdaycharts.htm

[30] https://www.spin.com/2013/01/david-bowie-producer-the-next-day-album-details/

[31] https://twitter.com/Tonuspomus/status/289810690338856960

[32] https://lazarusmusical.com/about

[33] http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/features/blackstarcharts.htm

[34] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/22/david-bowie-berlin-plaque-commemorates-singers-time-in-city

[35]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/david-bowie-three-blue-plaques-bbc-music-day

General Resources:

https://www.davidbowie.com/about/

[aion-rsa]

James Bond Movies Ranked From Worst to Best

https://ift.tt/2Y4vnBu

When Ian Fleming first created the character of 007, he settled on calling him James Bond because it was the “dullest name I’ve ever heard.” How ironic that nearly 70 years after that decision, and almost 60 years since the first James Bond movie, Dr. No (1962), that moniker is still associated around the world with thrilling action and exotic danger.

Beginning with the first Bond film from producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and which starred Sean Connery as the international man of mystery, 007 has burrowed into the global zeitgeist. And he’s never left. There have been 24 canonical Bond films produced by either Broccoli and Saltzman, or their successors Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and six actors who’ve donned the tuxedo during that run. Over the years, the debate has been endless over who is the Best Bond, and which is the best Bond movie. Well, we’re here to settle that latter argument once and for all. The entire Den of Geek staff, as well as our readers, have been asked to pick their favorite 007 adventures, and to rank which are the best. Below is the definitive list.

*Editor’s Note: We have chosen to only rank films in the official series and that were produced by Eon Productions. For that reason, unconnected Bond films like Never Say Never Again (1983) and Casino Royale (1967) were not included.

24. Die Another Day (2002)

Like his two most famous predecessors, Sean Connery and Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan ended his four-film run as James Bond on a particularly low note. In fact, Die Another Day (which was also the 20th film in the official series) has ended up on many lists, including this one, at the very bottom. It is certainly the nadir of the Brosnan era, although whether it fulfills the same role for the entire series is debatable. I might even argue films like Quantum of Solace and A View to a Kill could say “hold my beer” to that dubious honor.

Die Another Day starts off promisingly enough, with Bond captured and tortured in North Korea for 14 months, leading M to decommission him on fears that he may be compromised. But a potentially intriguing thriller involving North Korean double agents and the smuggling of conflict diamonds devolves into a ludicrous romp about an ice palace, giant lasers redirecting sunlight, an invisible car that’s indestructible, and a fight aboard an airplane literally coming apart in mid-air. Throw in one of the series’ worst theme songs (courtesy of Madonna), uninspired performances from a tired Brosnan and Halle Berry, and you ultimately find yourself wishing that the movie itself would die—not another day, but right now. – Don Kaye

23. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

What is it with Bond and diamonds? This is one of two 007 escapades involving the world’s hardest substance (the other is Die Another Day) and based on that, the series should stick to gold. Diamonds Are Forever marked the return of Sean Connery after a one-film absence from the series, but it’s clear from the start that the doughy-looking star is just phoning in his performance (from which, to be fair, he donated his salary to charity).

Directed by Bond mainstay Guy Hamilton, Diamonds goes for a jauntier, campier tone after the grim ending of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, with Bond tracking a diamond-smuggling operation that ultimately leads him to arch-nemesis Blofeld (whose murder of Bond’s wife in the previous movie is inexplicably never addressed, not even once). The movie is just entertaining enough that you can keep it on in the background while doing something else, but its dreary ending on an oil rig, dated homophobia (Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, anyone?), and by-the-numbers vibe make this one a real cubic zirconia. – DK

22. Quantum of Solace (2008)

Quantum of Solace’s biggest crime is that it’s just so dull. From the desert backdrops that were used for the final act to the sterile environments where middling Bond villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) executes his convoluted evil plan, there isn’t really anything interesting to look at in Marc Forster’s first and only 007 film. It’s no surprise, then, that this was the first stumble of the Daniel Craig era—in fact, our readers voted it in dead last place!

Read more

Movies

Should the Next James Bond Care About Continuity After Daniel Craig?

By Don Kaye

Movies

007: Ranking the 24 James Bond Villains From Best to Worst

By David Crow

It probably didn’t help that Quantum is one of the few direct sequels in the franchise, meaning that Forster had to contend with the storytelling baggage of the much better Casino Royale. At least you can say Quantum of Solace is the movie that truly established the Craig era’s continuity, with a SPECTRE-like secret organization working against MI6 at every turn, and Bond enduring the heartache of a very bad break up with Vesper Lynd in the last movie. So for a rebound, he and the rebellious Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) go to Bolivia. Their mission: stop a coup d’état that could give Quantum a major foothold in South America. What proceeds…isn’t all that fun. – John Saavedra

21. Octopussy (1983)

A clearly aging Roger Moore’s sixth outing as 007 (and second to last) follows the template of its predecessor, 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, with a renewed focus on geopolitical adventure and less reliance on gadgets, effects, and winking humor (although the jokes, when they do come, are more sophomoric and out of place than ever). But whereas Eyes served as a nice palate cleanser for the series, with a straightforward plot and a few offbeat touches, Octopussy is kind of a mess.

While its title is taken from an Ian Fleming short story, the mostly original Octopussy finds 007 drawn into a scheme involving Fabergé eggs, an exiled Afghan smuggler, a rogue Soviet general, and a cult of beautiful women who also run a circus, all tied to a plan to detonate a nuclear warhead on a U.S. airbase in West Germany. As you can tell from that sentence, the story is needlessly, hopelessly complicated, with an endless series of betrayals and switchbacks, the villains don’t make much of an impression either. Nor does Maud Adams in the title role as the leader of the cult; she’s meant to be a newer kind of Bond Girl, but remains ill-defined—as does much of this plodding, uninteresting entry. – DK

20. A View to a Kill (1985)

Roger Moore’s final outing as James Bond went out much like his tenure: strange, inconsistent, but maybe entertaining in a kitschy sort of way. To be sure, A View to a Kill is another one of the franchise’s low points, with Moore being particularly long in the tooth at the age of 58. He more often resembles his leading ladies’ lecherous uncle than he does a tall dark stranger. The overall film likewise suffers from a desperate, out of touch quality. Did anyone really think putting Moore (or his stuntman) on a snowboard while Beach Boys music played would bring in the kids?

Nonetheless, as bad as the movie is, there are bemusing charms, chief among them being the film’s pair of villains, ‘80s yuppie Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) and his henchwoman May Day (Grace Jones). There’s some unconvincing plot tidbits that reveal Walken’s secretly a Russian test tube baby, but that bizarre performance has no nationality. And the jarring contrast of Jones and Moore in bed—where she is totally the dominant—is one for the ages. Throw in a banger Bond song by Duran Duran and some nice character work by Patrick Macnee as Moore’s sidekick who should’ve been in the movie more, and you still have a guilty pleasure. Pity that Barbara Bach declined to cameo, as it might’ve made this a more fitting sendoff for the Moore era.  – David Crow

19. Spectre (2015)

After saving the ship from capsizing with Skyfall, director Sam Mendes decided to sink it himself with the extremely convoluted, potentially era-breaking Spectre, a very busy movie that cares more about connecting the Daniel Craig movies into one “cohesive” timeline than its own largely generic spy adventure. Mendes’ attempt to present Ernst Stavro Blofeld as the big bad behind everything from Casino Royale to Skyfall largely falls flat, even if Christoph Waltz puts in a solid performance as the iconic villain. But how much of this is the director and writers’ fault, and how much of it is due to the Broccolis experimenting with the idea of a Bond cinematic universe remains unclear.

Read more

Movies

Daniel Craig Doesn’t Think a Woman Should Be James Bond

By David Crow

Movies

Casino Royale and GoldenEye Director on What’s Next for James Bond

By Don Kaye

Either way, it’s all just kind of boring. Even the budding romance between Bond and Madeleine Swann (a cunning Léa Seydoux) doesn’t really work. You can hardly believe Bond has decided to finally leave all this MI6 business behind him for love. And Blofeld’s childhood connection to the Bond family is ludicrous, too. The movie’s plot is ambitious, and completely fails at those ambitions. You’ll need patience for this one, especially if you enjoyed the more standalone Craig offerings, which this movie actively tries to break at every turn. – JS

18. Moonraker (1979)

When The Spy Who Loved Me was released two years before Moonraker, it cemented the actor’s popularity in the role (a first since Sean Connery left the franchise), and established a campy, convivial atmosphere. Looking at that movie’s box office receipts, the now solo Bond producer Cubby Broccoli went “more of this, but also Star Wars.” The result is perhaps the most spectacular misfire in 007’s oeuvre.

With a ridiculous and borderline nonsensical plot contrived solely to create a reason for Moore’s 007 to be sent to space in the third act and participate in laser fights, Moonraker is bombastic and bloated where Spy was amusing and quick-witted. The movie haplessly pinballs between inconsistent tones and styles, like sight gag of returning henchman Jaws (Richard Kiel) doing a double take before going over a waterfall as if he’s he’s Yosemite Sam, and the scene where villain Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) feeds Bond’s latest one night stand to Rottweilers in a particularly brutal chase sequence.

Still, Moore is always affable, and for that matter so is Jaws in the film’s dynamic opening fight scene where the two duel while falling out of a plane. Plus, someone had to invent the trope of a desperate franchise film going into orbit. – DC

17. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Roger Moore and Christopher Lee. James Bond versus Dracula. On paper this should’ve been one of the best 007 films. And for a fleeting moment, as the two performers finally have their duel and Bond stands at 10 paces from Lee’s Scaramanga, it is. Sadly that showdown only takes up a handful of minutes in this otherwise muddled affair.

Still early in Moore’s tenure as Bond, The Man with the Golden Gun finds the actor not yet locked into his interpretation of the role. At times the script even seems to be written for Sean Connery, with Bond displaying a coldness and physicality that seems unnatural to Moore. Otherwise, the movie’s awkward attempts to imitate Bruce Lee films and some rather cruel dumb blonde jokes at Britt Ekland’s expense have aged incredibly poorly. But hey, it paved the way for Hervé Villechaize to be on Fantasy Island. So there’s that. – DC 

16. You Only Live Twice (1967)

Sean Connery’s fifth outing as 007 was also his last… until, of course, he made a brief return four years later in Diamonds Are Forever (and again in 1983’s non-canon Never Say Never Again). Unfortunately, the original James Bond doesn’t go out on a high note with this one: Despite its beautiful Japanese locales and the long-awaited face-to-face introduction of supervillain Blofeld (Donald Pleasance), You Only Live Twice (directed by Lewis Gilbert) reaches for epic status but already shows how the Bond franchise was running out of gas after just five years.

Following the bigger adventures and gadgets of Goldfinger and Thunderball, this one aims for the stars, literally, as Bond tries to find out who is snatching American and Soviet spacecraft out of orbit. That leads him to Blofeld and the latter’s massive lair hidden in a volcano, tropes that would be parodied for decades to come.

But You Only Live Twice—the first of many Bond entries to almost completely throw away any connection to the Fleming novel of the same name—has a perfunctory, going-through-the-motions feel and an especially racist, sexist tinge to the proceedings in Japan (even for the 1960s) that bog the movie down. Although it was a box office success, it’s clear that the franchise needed a change. – DK

15. The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The World Is Not Enough is one of the more underrated film in the 007 canon. Yes, it has problems—most notably Denise Richards’ disastrous miscasting as a nuclear scientist, as well as a climactic showdown in a submarine that falls flat. However, here’s the first film on this list that works more often than it doesn’t, and which has some of the best scenes in any Bond film. Most of them involve the film’s true villain, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau).

For the first and only time in a Bond movie, a woman is the big bad. More impressively, she’s able to fool Bond and the audience of her villainy. In this way, the franchise riffs on Bond’s past, including the loss of his wife, to sharp effect. Pierce Brosnan also may never have been better in the role than when he brings his usual levels of extreme suaveness, as well as a steely sadness. All of which culminates with Bond shooting Elektra in cold blood. The action clearly took a little more of his soul, which even M appears to lament.

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Movies

The November Man and Pierce Brosnan’s Anti-James Bond Roles

By David Crow

Movies

Can No Time to Die Break the Final James Bond Movie Curse?

By David Crow

Oh yes, this is also the first Bond movie to make Judi Dench’s M a main character. In some ways, her relationship with Brosnan’s 007 is more complex than the mother-son dynamic she cultivated with Daniel Craig, and things never got weirder than her witnessing Bond and Elektra’s passion play. Lastly, the Garbage song and opening sequence are aces. – DC

14. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Pierce Brosnan’s second go in the role of Bond sees the performer both more relaxed and in command of 007’s legacy. The film is typical Eon shenanigans where a supervillain tricks world leaders into a World War III standoff—the UK and China, this time—and it’s sprinkled with similarly boilerplate action sequences. Yet Tomorrow Never Dies has aged pretty darn well since the movie’s main megalomaniac (Jonathan Pryce hamming it up to high heaven) is a blatant caricature of Rupert Murdoch. A Bond movie where 007 takes a media mogul who is triggering an international crisis to juice his cable news network’s ratings, and then feeds this guy to a buzzsaw? So satisfying.

The movie also introduced us to Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin, who’s still among the most capable “Bond Girls” and really is 007’s equal. She might even be his superior given Yeoh’s natural martial arts talents. (It’s a real shame they didn’t let her or other Hong Kong talent choreograph the fight scenes, however.) The sequence where Bond and Lin fight for control of a motorcycle during a chase, or where Brosnan and Desmond Llewelyn snark during a particularly good Q walk-in, makes this an enjoyable if middling Bond flick. – DC

13. License to Kill (1989)

Timothy Dalton’s second and final outing as a darker, more serious Bond was met with a polarized response from both critics and fans, and remains a dark horse entry in the series. Originally titled Licence Revoked—until the studio learned that typically dumb American test audiences didn’t know what the word “revoked” meant—the movie does indeed find Bond with his licence to kill suspended by M. So he goes instead on a personal mission to avenge the savage mutilation of friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison) and the murder of Leiter’s new wife by a sadistic drug lord (Robert Davi).

It’s nice to see Leiter again (with Hedison encoring in the role after first appearing in Live and Let Die 16 years earlier), and it’s also refreshing to give Bond a more personal motivation this time out. Davi is an effective villain, good old Q (Desmond Llewelyn) gets to spend a lot more time in the field, and the climactic truck chase (staged by director John Glen, still the record-holder with five Bond films on his resume) is one of the series’ best action sequences. Sadly this darker, more violent Bond couldn’t compete with the likes of Batman and Indiana Jones at the box office in 1989, making Licence to Kill the lowest-grossing entry in the series to date—and consigning the Dalton era to the MI6 archives. – DK

12. Thunderball (1965)

When you adjust for inflation, Thunderball gives Skyfall a run for its money as the highest-grossing Bond film ever. It certainly sold the most tickets, coming out at the midpoint of the 1960s and zenith of Bondmania’s global conquest. It’s in that context which allows Thunderball to also be most enjoyable. This is the one which reimagined SPECTRE as a boardroom of baddies sitting in chairs designed to literally fire insubordinate employees; the first film where Bond and the villain swap thinly veiled insults over cards and then the spy steals the fiend’s girl right in front of him; the one where an eyepatch wearing bloke keeps pet sharks in a swimming pool. Bond even uses his jetpack!

That said, other elements have aged far less gracefully. Thunderball is probably the most sexist and misogynistic Bond movie ever produced, which has brought it under fire from even No Time to Die’s director. It’s a problematic film, but even among its dated gender politics, it should be noted henchwoman Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) is the first woman in the series to be able to roll her eyes at Bond’s charms and mock his ego, and leading Bond Girl Domino (Claudine Auger) is still one of the series’ best: She uses Bond as much as a disposable toy as he does her. She is also the only woman in the series who kills the villain and saves 007’s bacon. It’s such a good finale it almost makes up for all those dull underwater scuba fights. – DC

11. The Living Daylights (1987)

To this day, some Bond fans would argue that Timothy Dalton didn’t get a fair shake as 007. After just two movies in the late ‘80s, he was down and out, losing his license to kill much earlier than his two major predecessors. But Dalton’s grittier, much darker Bond always faced an uphill battle of building off Roger Moore’s 12-year legacy as the superspy. 

All that said, The Living Daylights is a very solid outing for Mr. Bond (and director John Glen’s fourth of five Bond films). 007 once again faces off with his archenemies at the KGB—one of the final 007 films to deal with the Cold War—and in a globetrotting adventure that takes him all over eastern Europe, Morocco, and Afghanistan. And he’s accompanied by Maryam d’Abo’s memorable Kara Milovy, a professional cellist who moonlights as a KGB sniper (sort of). Together, this entertaining duo partake in one of the greatest chase sequences in Bond movie history involving a cello case, a lot of snow, and plenty of bullets. Worth a watch for this scene alone. – JS

10. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

When you think of Roger Moore’s run of Bond films, you likely recall the high camp of cars that turn into submarines and laser guns in space. Which is why, for a while, Moore and Broccoli’s back-to-basics approach in For Your Eyes Only went somewhat overlooked. This decidedly scaled down adventure is the closest Bond came to a real Cold War thriller since From Russia With Love, and the setup is refreshingly simple too: Moore’s Bond is after a missing MacGuffin that the Soviets also want. Both parties then play spy games with local criminal syndicates in scenic Greece and the breathtaking Italian Alps.

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Movies

For Your Eyes Only Was Not Supposed to Star Roger Moore

By Don Kaye

Movies

Tenet Is Christopher Nolan’s Unofficial James Bond Movie

By David Crow

The appeal of the movie is how low-key everyone plays it. There are few gadgets, no end-of-the-world stakes, and nothing which looks twee. Even the finale feels like it’s taken out of The Guns of Navarone instead of Return of the Jedi. In fact, the climactic infiltration of a Greek monastery on a high cliff is still a dazzling set-piece, and the resolution of detente between Bond and his KGB counterparts is remarkably graceful. Also Carole Bouquet as Melina, a Greek woman who’s out to avenge the death of her parents while maintaining her perfect flowing black hair, gives the movie just enough dramatic heft to standout in Moore’s run. – DC

9. Live and Let Die (1973)

Roger Moore is no saint in his first Bond outing. This is apparent from the low-key introduction where he’s more interested in hiding a delicate indiscretion with the delightful Miss Caruso (Madeline Smith) than taking an assignment from chief spy M (Bernard Lee). Later Jane Seymour’s spiritual advisor warns, “I know who you are, what you are, and why you have come,” as she peruses the tarot, oblivious to her own sad fate. Bond stacks the deck and seduces the mysticism out of her, robbing the bewitching Bond Girl of her virginity, which gives her the power of precognition. The less venial sins come from cultural appropriation.

This is as mixed a gris gris bag as any you might find at an Oh Cult Voodoo Shop, but it also makes Live and Let Die one of the most memorable of any Bond installments. It’s got snake bite rituals staged by high priest Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder), strongarm henchmen fortified with steel, and an archvillain so formidable, he is known throughout the world as Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto). His plan is to flood cities with free heroin so everyone will get hooked. But the most infectious hooks come from the soundtrack.

The title sequence is by far the best of any James Bond film: sensual, tropical, and brimming with danger. The theme song was written by Paul and Linda McCartney, performed by Wings, and nominated for an Oscar. The score was written by The Beatles’ producer George Martin, and was the first which was not orchestrated by John Barry. B.J. Arnau torches the title song at a nightclub and the end credits. The Olympia Brass Band leads the funeral march, while its trumpeter breaks formation to knife an officially designated onlooker. The many deaths in Live and Let Die are all very creatively executed, but the most fun parts of the film are the simplest of the gadgets. The coffin with the false bottom, the revolving booth at Fillet of Soul, and the magnetic watch. Moore is a fish out of water even before MI6 comes to Harlem. He drops patented 007 double entendre rejoinders without Sean Connery’s knowing wink but gets to play hopscotch with alligators. He would go on to be more comfortable with the part, although not as much fun. – Tony Sokol

8. Dr. No (1962)

The first James Bond movie is still one of the very best of the series. It introduced Sean Connery as the classic version of the British secret agent, and while he got more comfortable in the role in his next several outings, one could argue that he was never better than he is here—suave, brutal, slightly haunted, arrogant, and unrelenting. Almost all the Bond trademarks are established: the humor, the dynamic with boss M (Bernard Lee), the easy sexuality, the incredibly beautiful Bond Girl (Ursula Andress), and the introduction of a self-satisfied, equally arrogant supervillain (Joseph Wiseman in the title role, which would never pass muster today).

The story sends Bond to Jamaica to investigate the death of a fellow agent, only for him to come up against Dr. No. The latter is shooting down American rockets at the behest of SPECTRE, a global criminal organization intent on destabilizing the world and its fragile Cold War balance of power. Largely faithful to Fleming’s novel (which was actually the fifth in his series), Dr. No is almost understated compared to later Bond outings but introduced a hero and a franchise for the ages. – DK

7. Skyfall (2012)

What a home run of a Bond flick. Eschewing the Quantum nonsense from the previous two films, Skyfall hits much closer to home for Bond, Judi Dench’s M (her last time in the role), and the rest of MI6. When a new villain with ties to M threatens the existence of the very agency he swore to protect, an older, more-troubled-than-usual Bond comes out of self-imposed exile to make things right. The result is one of the very best third acts in Bond history, thanks to the wonderful direction of Sam Mendes, who righted the ship for Craig after Marc Forster crashed it into a reef. 

Craig puts in a much more complex performance as a Bond who’s been out of the game too long, and Naomie Harris is a very welcome addition as a much more badass Moneypenny (not behind a desk!), but it’s Javier Bardem as cyber-terrorist Raoul Silva who steals this movie. Undoubtedly the best villain of the Craig era, Silva is someone you might even sympathize with (a little) once he reveals his long-buried connection to M. And we learn some huge things about Bond’s past along the way too. This is for sure the one to watch after Casino Royale. – JS

6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

When Sean Connery left the Bond series after 1967’s disappointing You Only Live Twice, it was unclear whether the series could continue with a new face in the role. Not only did the producers come up with a surprising new Bond out of left field in George Lazenby, but he made his debut in what has rightly been reappraised as one of the best films—if not the best—in the entire series. Remarkably faithful to the novel on which it’s based, directed with flair by Peter R. Hunt (a longtime Bond editor making his one and only directorial outing), and portraying Bond in a light we’ve never seen, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a classic.

Read more

Movies

How Sean Connery’s Singing Voice Helped Him Land James Bond

By David Crow

Games

From Russia With Love’s Game Adaptation Let Sean Connery Be James Bond One Last Time

By Matthew Byrd

While it’s hard to shake off the image of Connery, Lazenby does a much more admirable job that was acknowledged at the time in his sole appearance as 007. He’s less suave, rougher around the edges, and capable of fear and vulnerability, the latter made apparent first in his marriage proposal to romantic foil Tracy di Vicenzo (an excellent Diana Rigg) and then again in the film’s shocking, unforgettable ending. Telly Savalas is the best iteration of Blofeld to date while Hunt stages some of the franchise’s most visceral and exciting action scenes. It’s a damn shame Lazenby bowed out after this. The series might have taken an entirely different course had he stayed. – DK

5. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Roger Moore has his fans and detractors, but it’s impossible to not be smitten with The Spy Who Loved Me. It’s the peak of the outlandish “save the world” Bond movies, and it comes together like a finely strained dessert cocktail. Of course its secret is that despite being about Bond fighting another megalomaniac over some nuclear subs, TSWLM is as much a romantic comedy romp as it is an action flick. Think Ninotchka, but with submarine-cars.

Pivoting on an unlikely romance between British agent 007 and Soviet Maj. Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach), the film follows the pair as they meet cute (she sics men on Bond beneath the Pyramids of Giza), continues as they squabble over a microfilm MacGuffin, and finally sees them get together due to undeniable chemistry. They even have the third act breakup because of a little thing like realizing Bond killed her fiancé in the pre-title sequence. But when that sequence includes the greatest Bond stunt of all-time, with Rick Sylvester skiing off a a real glacier and then surviving by unfurling a Union Jack parachute, such things can be forgiven. After all, nobody does it better.

… And yes, that Carly Simon song is also the best Bond tune. – DC

4. GoldenEye (1995)

“GoldenEye saved James Bond.” This bit of conventional wisdom might be hyperbole, but it’s not far off from the truth either. In 1995, 007 was in a precarious place. The Cold War was over, rosy optimists were declaring “the end of history” in our time, and Bond hadn’t been in a movie since 1989. Worse, the last two films he did appear in were met with a mixed reception by the general public. Pierce Brosnan finally slipped into the tuxedo at a moment where many were opining if Bond was simply obsolete? “A sexist, misogynist dinosaur,” as his new M, Dame Judi Dench, might say.

The film proved all the naysayers wrong. But better than that, Brosnan and director Martin Campbell injected some vital life back in the franchise’s bloodstream. Like several other films near the top of this list, GoldenEye didn’t so much reinvent the formula as refine it with modern style and a fresh perspective. As much a template-setter for a picture perfect 007 adventure in the ‘90s as Goldfinger was to the ‘60s, this film offers a terrific villain in Sean Bean’s 006—Bond’s evil doppelgänger played by a man who could’ve been Bond—a wonderful henchwoman who is also a great Bond Girl via Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp, and the most memorable method of murder this side of Oddjob’s hat. Even the M and Q scenes were crackling, especially because of the introduction of the aforementioned Dench.

Like a finely tailored suit, all the pieces come together for an even more appealing whole. Brosnan wears it well with a slightly wearier and more haunted Bond than we’d previously seen, but one who can still crack a smile while telling double entendres over martinis. When coupled with some of the best set-pieces in the franchise—from a high wire jump off a Swiss dam to Bond driving a tank through the streets of St. Petersberg—we’re left with one of the best action movies of its decade.  – DC

3. Casino Royale (2006)

It’s hard to imagine the Bond franchise still thriving today without the commercial and narrative success of 2006’s Casino Royale. As the first hard reboot of the franchise, and the first in Daniel Craig’s tenure as Bond, Casino Royale took viewers back to the relative beginning of James’ career when he was still earning his license to kill and when those kills still meant something. The film replaced camp with understated performance, swagger with sentiment, and fantastical fight scenes with visceral action. 

Much of the film’s success is down to the stellar casting. There’s Craig, of course, who imbues Bond with a world-weariness and bitterness that we don’t see nearly as much in the other interpretations. But there’s also Mads Mikkelsen in his English-speaking breakout role as blood-crying villain Le Chiffre, and Jeffrey Wright and Tobias Menzies in memorable supporting roles. Most integral to the film’s success, however, is Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd, who is not only one of the franchise’s best “Bond Girls,” but one of the franchise’s best characters.

On paper Vesper is a classic femme fatale. In execution, she is a complex person in an impossible situation who ultimately outsmarts Bond, even if she doesn’t wholly want to. Because of Vesper, Casino Royale is one of the few Bond films in which James loses—beating Le Chiffre and his boss Mr. White, but losing Vesper, and losing a major piece of his humanity in the process. Until the end, Vesper’s life is autonomous from Bond’s, even after they fall in love, demonstrating an agency rarely given to Bond Girls.

In some ways, it’s ironic that it was a returning Bond director who would properly bring Bond into the 21st century. Martin Campbell had previously directed 1995’s GoldenEye. This was not only Campbell’s second time directing a Bond film; it was also his second time directing a Bond film that was tasked with reinventing the franchise under a new leading man. While GoldenEye successfully did this, Casino Royale did it better. Casino Royale launched Bond into a new pop culture era in a vital way, making Bond relevant not only to longtime Bond fans but to a much broader modern audience. It is not only one of the best Bond films ever; it is one of our best modern action films. – Kayti Burt

2. From Russia With Love (1963)

Following the success of Dr. No, the Bond film series officially got underway with From Russia With Love, one of the rare 007 outings to feature continuity with the previous film while also expanding upon the template established in its predecessor. As with several of the early films, this one was faithful to the Fleming book which it was based on, as SPECTRE, seeking revenge against Bond for the death of Dr. No, creates an elaborate trap for the British agent involving a defector and several assassins.

From Russia With Love is in many ways a definitive Bond adventure, with the film standing right on the edge between Fleming’s grittier books and the more elaborate direction that the cinematic version took. Connery is even more confident and relaxed in the role, while the villains—Lotte Lenya as the vile Rosa Klebb and a young Robert Shaw as the frightening killing machine Red Grant—are two of the series’ best.

The film also introduces Q and his array of gadgets for the first time, makes the first mention of Blofeld, and establishes the pre-credits sequence that is still a part of the Bond template to this date. Whether it’s the all-time best of the series is open for debate, but it certainly has the best fight scene in the franchise between Bond and Shaw’s Red Grant, and the film itself remains right there at the top—with love. – DK

1. Goldfinger (1964)

My favorite scene in Goldfinger is not the one where Gert Fröbe’s titular villain has Bond tied to a table with a laser inching nearer—although who doesn’t love the way Fröbe’s voice rises as he says “No, Mr. Bond I expect you to die”? Nor is it the infamous moment where Bond discovers Shirley Eaton drowned in gold paint. It’s not even the laddish way Sean Connery’s lip curls as he whispers “Pussy” to Honor Blackman.

All of those things are iconic and helped give solid shape to what was previously a fluid definition for Bond and his film series. But for me, the moment where Bond and the franchise became cemented is on a golf course. It’s there that 007 and Auric Goldfinger have made a wager worth one brick of Nazi gold over who wins the next nine holes. Goldfinger of course is a cheat, and has his strongman Oddjob (Harold Sakata) sneak a ball on the green after the boss loses the real thing. But rather than call him on it or beat him despite the crooked handicap, Connery’s Bond just smirks and decides to play a trick on Mr. Goldfinger: He’ll be as dishonest and change balls out again, setting the big guy up to lose his money and his pride—even as both men are keenly aware that they despise each other, and one woman they’ve both romanced in their own broken way has died because of their little games.

It summarizes everything folks love, or love to hate, about Bond: He’s arrogant, reckless, cozy with his enemies, indifferent about his lovers, and just having the goddamn time of his life at every given moment. As per usual, Connery delivers it all with a wolfish grin and internalized chuckle, as if only he’s aware of his inherent superiority.

It’s all laid out in the best Bond movie ever made: The Shirley Bassey theme song that set the standard for every Bond opening titles sequence forever after; the tricked out Aston Martin with an ejector seat; and the wild supervillain plot about irradiating the gold bullion at Fort Knox. Goldfinger sets a perfect table for a perfect Bond movie. And it was on a golf course where Connery’s Bond began to run it. Sixty years on, he’s still winning. – DC

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[cosmicats]

Answer all the questions

1: Is there a boy/girl in your life? yessss2: Think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them? idk sure3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. The girls ran up to her, and Demeter followed; but as she crossed the threshold, she seemed taller to look at, and full of majesty, and Metaneira rose from her couch, and bade her to be seated.4: What’s something you really want right now? a reallyyy ybig hug from my girlfriend 5: Are you afraid of falling in love? slightly. i fell really really hard really quickly but it was mutual so it turned out perfectly.6: How can I win your heart? If you can be silly and make me laugh tbh 7: Have you ever slept on a couch with someone else? Unsure, but i do know we’ve slept on the ground /next/ to a couch lmao8: What’s the background on your cell? my gorgeous baby and I9: Name the last four beds you were sat on? mine, my hotel bed, my brother’s hotel bed, my baby’s bed.10: Think of the last person who said I love you, do you think they meant it? I know she does.11: Honestly, are things going the way you planned? I dunno, I never really had a plan to begin with so w/e, things are going great. (am learning to plan for the future tho.)12: Who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts? lmao the iowa state police13: Would you rather have a poodle or a Rottweiler? A Rottie 14: Which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain? emotional def15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum? zoo! i love animals16: Are you tired? always17: How long have you known your 1st phone contact? SInce 8th grade18: If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? I wouldn’t. 19: Would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes? helllll fucking no. fuck that. 20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with? like two minutes ago21: If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? Yes. (but i do have the right person)22: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? A million times23: When was the last time you were disappointed? today when the pizza at the airport wasn’t v good :(24: Is there a certain quote you live by? You can do anything you set your mind to. No limits.25: What’s on your mind? my babyyyyy as alwayssss26: Do you have any tattoos? not yet but I will very soon27: What is your favorite color? It always changes tbh depending on the day. rn it’s the the sky on my flight today28: Next time you will kiss someone on the lips? tomorrow29: Who are you texting? my girl 30: Are you superstitious about anything? super about jinxing31: Have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right? YA WENT SHOOTING W MY FAMILY LAST YEAR AND IT WAS MY TURN TO GO AND IT WAS MY GREAT GRANDPA’S REVOLVER AND I HAD A BAD FEELING AND SO I PASSED AND THEN IT LIKE, EXPLODED ON MY DAD SO.

32: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to? I have a whole group chat of guys i can talk to33: Do you think anyone has feelings for you? lmao ya my girlfriend34: Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? Jalyn35: What was the reason for your last breakup? lmao. too many to count. essentially though, it was very one sided36: Were you single on Valentines Day? no but it sure felt like it.37: Name one physical feature that you like about yourself, and one you dislike. my hair, the rest of me 38: What do your friends call you? gay39: Has anyone upset you in the last week? probably40: Have you ever cried over a text? yeah41: Where’s your last bruise located? my stomach42: What is it from? lmao my girlfriend (not hitting..)43: Last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad? usually anytime im at my house44: Who was the last person you were on the phone with? my babyyy45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes? not really idk 46: Do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day? i always wear hats tbh. idk, safety thing47: Would you ever go bald if it was the style? no i dont really follow trends? idk48: Do you make supper for your family? sometimes49: What’s the toughest decision you made this year? ughhhhh too many. maybe picking what college to go to50: Top 3 web-pages? maaan i dunno51: Do you know anyone who hates shopping? me52: Does anything on your body hurt? my heart bc it’s been like five days since ive seen my baby..53: Are goodbyes hard for you? i always cry. 54: What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself? coffee55: How is your hair? dead, but colorful56: What do you usually do first in the morning? text my gf57: Do you think two people can last forever? yes yes58: Think back to January 2007, were you single? lmao yeah59: Green or purple grapes? either or60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug? tomorrow61: Do you wish you were somewhere else right now? yessss62: What did your father teach you? how not to do things63: Where will you be 5 hours from now? asleep64: What were you doing at 8 this morning. packing65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked? yeaaaah66: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile? yes!67: Did you kiss or hug anyone today? i hugged my brother68: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night? i wish i was home with jalyn69: Have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? 3 years, yeah70: How many windows are open on your computer? two lmao71: If you won 100 million dollars, what would you buy first? ... savings bonds.. or a lifetime supply of mac for my baby72: What is your ringtone? parks and rec theme73: How old will you be in 5 months? still 18 lmao. almost 19 tho74: Where is your Mum right now? bed75: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love? because i learned i deserved more76: Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days? no sadly77: Are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago? some78: Do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7? yeah lmao79: Is there anyone you know with the name Mike? yeah.80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms? yesss81: How many people have you liked in the past three months? 182: Has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days? no not three days. ive been 900 miles away ugh83: Will you talk to the person you like tonight? yes84: You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with? no one bc i wouldnt do that85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care? yeah, i want her safe yaknow.86: What was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie? THE SEATS WERE LEATHER RECLINERS AND YOU PRESSED A BUTTONON THE SEAT AND A WAITER CAME AND TOOK YOUR ORDER AND BROUGHT YOU FOOD, MY BROTHER GOT A BURGER DUDE87: Who was your last received call from? the most beautiful girl lemme tell you88: If someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you? maaaan tbh when i was little i put caterpillers in fire ant hills and watched them get eaten alive so yeah probably as awful as that is89: What is something you wish you had more of? time with my girl..90: Have you ever trusted someone too much? yes.91: Do you sleep with your window open? when it’s nice92: Do you get along with girls? i guess i dunno93: Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth? nope. cleared that up a bit ago. went shitty tho94: Does sex mean love? sex means different things for everyone, and that’s okay. For me, yes. I would only have sex with someone that i really loved95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem? hell no. more like a dream come true96: Have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring? nope97: Did you sleep alone this week? some days98: Everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you? yesss99: Do you believe in love at first sight? I dunno. Sure. maybe not for me, but if it works for other people, I’m glad theyve found love100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise? probably my baby

[saturnsovereign]

All of the questions!!!!

crush asks

uhh shit bro but aight - i love talking about my gf :)

1: Do they drink coffee?

yup, but like mainly frappucinos

2: Are they left or right handed?

mainly right handed but she can use her left hand. she’s like ambidextrous

3: How do they do their hair? Facial hair? (If they have it)

she usually has her hair down

4: What’s their favorite animal?

i’m gonna take a guess and say doggos? idk i haven’t really asked

5: What is their relationship status?

um… not single? like the complete opposite of single XD

6: What is their favorite band/singer?

um idk i know one of her favorites is Christina Grimmie?

7: Are they more a cat or dog person?

doggo but i think she wants a cat

8: What does their laugh sound like?

like an angel that came down to heaven to bless us with her presense

9: Do they know multiple languages? Which ones?

English, Spanish, and she knows multiple Filipino dialects

10: How old are they? How old are you?

She’s 16, I’m 18, but we’re like maybe a year and a half apart

11: One word that describes them.

Nerd or Puppy

12: Do they have any pets?

un fluffy marshmallow doggo named Nerf

13: What is their favorite TV show?I know Bones is one of them

14: What is their favorite movie?

idk, babe what is your favorite movie?

15: What car do they drive?

black nissan leaf

16: What ethnicity and/or nationality are they?

half white, quarter mexican, quarter filipino

17: Where did you meet them?

technically I first met her in my creative writing class in middle school

18: What was your first meeting like?

She was one of the cool kids and she intimidated me.

In high school, I remember that I was working on marching rifle and she came up with one of my other friends to the field and went up to mama while she was teaching me something and I recognized her from middle school. I'm pretty sure she was trying to hide from me it was kinda cute tbh

19:  What is their zodiac sign? Are your signs compatible?

Virgo, everyone says it does

20: What month is their birthday?

She is an August baby

21: What is your favorite outfit on them?

When she has nothing on… heh. lesbian lumberjack

22: Are they good texters?

she texts like me in that she responds right away or it takes her 3 hours

23: Your favorite feature about their appearance.

Her eyes, I can get lost in them so easily

24: Your favorite thing about their personality.

She tries her best and she’s a total goof even though she says I am and like basically everything else about her really

25: Do they make you laugh?

She’s the one that can make me laugh when nothing else can

26: Do you make them laugh?

I try my best

27: Are they good huggers/ kissers?

oh god yes. yes to both

28: What is your favorite “flaw” that they have?

she cannot, for the love of god, not swear

29: Are they nice to strangers?

yes unless they don’t believe in equal rights?

30: What is the funniest thing they have ever said?

ok ok there's a lot but my favorite is "Let’s turn off the lights so that the judges can’t hear us drop" 😆

31: Saddest?

That she didn’t matter and that she was a disappointment 😔

32: Weirdest?

idk i know there is a lot of weird ones but I can't think of them off the top of my head

33: Cutest?

Her to me: "I can't believe you said yes" (why tf would i say no?)

34: Ever dreamt about them? What happened in the dream?

I remember dreaming in to kiss her but like I face-planted on my pillow and woke up. That’s like one of the few dreams I do remember

35: How tall are they? How tall are you?

hhhhh. She’s 4'20 I’m 5'2

36: Do they have a booty?

she dooooooooooo (she’s very cheeky 😉)

37: What are their hobbies?

She likes gaming, I guess reading and writing, watching shows and sports, and like maybe doing guard if you consider it as a hobby?

38: What are their talents?

Practically anything she puts her mind to, but like she's has hella good memory, really good at multitasking and she has so many skills under her belt

39: What would your dream date be with them?

Getting to do stuff alone while I can spoil her and not have to worry about avoiding anybody

40: Does anyone know about your crush/love?

Practically all of my friends, sorry i can't contain my gay ass

41: What do you guys have in common?

we first bonded over bisexual buddies and it just took off from there

42: Do they go to the gym?

yup and it shows too 😏

43: Do they go by their given name?

No, she goes by a shortened version of her birth name (Isabella makes her sound like a spicy Queen 😆 and Bella means beautiful which is hella accurate)

44: What is their favorite color?

orange and black

45: How far apart do you live from them?

About 2.5 miles away… it’s walkable

46: What song reminds you of them?

Holy by PVRIS, Say you won't let go by James Arthur and then practically any love song

47: Do they listen to a lot of music?

yup and her music taste is so much better than mine

48: What do they smell like?

soccer and conditioner 😆

49: If they were in a book (protagonist or antagonist or supporting character, up to you) how would the writer describe them?

I sent her multiple asks before we really started dating if you wanna read it its on her blog

50: How often do you see them?

Almost everyday

51: The last text/ message they sent you?

you bite into it all it all CUMS out 😉😉😉

52: The last thing they said to you in person?

I love you

53: What is the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you in front of them?

boi everything about me is embarrassing

54: Do they have any tattoos or piercings?

nope

55: What color are their eyes?

dark brown

56: What is their clothing style?

It makes her look straight unless she really tried not to look straight. Also: black

57: What is one thing that makes them really special?

She’s so strong and she’s gone through so much and yet she’s still a wonderful person and I just can't help but be so proud of her

58: Will you tell your crush your feelings?

… i mean I think she already knows? (it would be kind of awkward if she didn’t know considering we're dating...)

59: How long did you know them before you started falling for them?

I’ve honestly always thought she was beautiful but like I didn’t start falling for her until the prank... and like when i did fell god I fell so hard

60: Was there a defining moment when you knew you liked them?

When I was in my house out of town and I had gotten a message from her and my ex-bf that I was trying to get back together with and I realized I was way more excited about opening her messages than his…

61: Do they have any quirks or habits?

Her nose does that cute wiggly thing and like she doesn’t like her food touching and when she’s concentrating she often has her tongue poking out of her mouth

62: What “most likely” superlative would they receive?

Most likely to roast your ass

63: Which romcom or TV couple reminds you of the two of you together?

idk just think OTP yeah? like the tol and the smol, the dark hair to light hair, etc.

64: How do they look shirtless?

💯💯💯👌👌💕����

65: When was the last time you saw them?

a few hours ago at school

66: What is the weirdest thing about them that you find attractive?

idk if you call this weird but i find it cute when she pulls swears out of her ass

67: What is the sweetest thing they’ve ever said to/ about you?

that she considered me as one of her best friends

68:  What shoes do they wear the most?

either converse or vans

69: Making out with them: hot & heavy or sweet & slow?

depends on the mood tbh but when we're in full make out mode and people aren't in the room, its hot and heavy

70: If you were/ are dating, what would you do for them on Valentine’s day?

heh she'll find out tomorrow

71: Have you ever cried over them?

ye

72: Has something they did/said to you ever make you cry?

ye

73: What makes you think of them?

nerdy references, memes, gay stuff, marriage

74: Do you have any inside jokes with them?

Our inside jokes eventually become outside?

75: What is the most you’ve done with them physically? (hugged, kissed, cuddled etc.)

um all of the above and more

76: First impression of them?

i thought she was cool but i was intimidated by her

77: Have they ever caught you staring or giving them glances?

hehe ye

78: Have you ever caught them?

yup

79: How long can you be away before you start to miss them?

1 minute

80: Do they wear glasses?

her nerd goggles look cute on her

81: Do your friends approve?

basically all but one and that one's now not really my friend

82: Would your parents approve?

um idk cuz we're gay and they don't know i'm gay

83: Do you think their friends/ family would approve?

i don't think so :(

84: Do they have a nickname for you?

i'm a dork and her flower cowboy

85: Have you ever thought about the spending the rest of your life with them?

oh yeah definitely

86: If you had kids together, what would you name them?

...Is it bad that I'm more ready to name our doggos instead of our kid?

87: What is your favorite scenario between you two that you’ve made up in your head?

we have a place of our own and like everything is peaceful and like we can cuddle whenever we like

88: What is your favorite interaction that has actually happened?

Every interaction? idk its hard to pick

89: If they were free tonight and wanted to hang out with you, where would you take them/ what would you do?

My bed and take a nap with them

90: Are they pretentious/ snobby/ picky about anything? What?

Um they don't like some foods? idk if you'd call that picky tho

91: Do you guys have the same political views?

Yup

92: Do you guys share the same religion?

we were both raised as christians I believe but its not really a big thing in our lives

93: Do you think they would reject you if you asked them out? Why?

Maybe? idk she might be busy

94: Are they the type of person who would come help if you called them in the middle of the night?

Yes considering she needs to sleep earlier (or at least take a nap)

95: Have you ever fantasized sexually about them?

ye

96: Do you think they would make good parents?

We're raising our guard kids rn and she's been a pretty good mother

97: Have you ever had an argument with them?

I traumatized her with a cupcake and frosting bc she wouldn't admit that she was smart

98: Do you already know which piece of their clothing you would make ‘yours’ if you were dating?

I like her sweaters

99: L'esprit de l’escalier is the French word for when you think of the perfect response after the conversation has already ended. Rewrite a conversation between you and them, how it went and how you wish it had gone.

um idk? like I wish I had told her I thought she was beautiful long before we started dating?

100: How many of these do you think they could answer about you?

Most if not all of them

[the-garden-of-readen]

Today’s discussion is the fifth post in my new “Beautiful Editions” series. In case you’ve missed the previous article in which I mentioned various versions of The Wind in the Willows, I will link it here.

Just a recap of what to expect in my Beautiful Editions series:

I know many people who collect beautiful editions of their favorite books, myself being one of them. I think this “Beautiful Editions” series will be good for those of you searching for the next beauty to add to your ever growing collection. Each post I will discuss a different book. Today we will explore a book that has many gorgeous editions–and will therefore be split into two parts–Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Let’s get started, shall we?

THE BOOKS

1. Puffin Classics Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Puffin Classics Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9780141321073

These Puffin Classic editions are some of my personal favorites. There are many different titles in this series and the cover art is always stunning. The actual size of these editions is actually much smaller than your usual book. They also take on an almost square shape at about 5×6 inches. In addition to a beautiful cover, there are also black and white line drawings scattered throughout the inside of this book.

2. Yayoi Kusama Illustrated Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Penguin Classics Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9780141197302

In my personal opinion, this is one of the most breathtaking editions of Alice yet to be published. For those of you not familiar with the pop artist, Yayoi Kusama, she has a condition that makes her see spots. This means Kusama see’s the world in a trippy, almost hallucinogenic way that is perfect for Wonderland.

This edition is a cloth bound hardcover, and does not come with a dust jacket. Inside, there are many full color illustrations interspersed with the text. I couldn’t not share some of the stunning artwork in this version. Below you will  find four spreads from Yayoi Kusama’s Alice interpretation. Click on each image to see a close up.

  3. Tate Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Tate Publishing Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9781854379573

The artwork in this hardcover edition is unique and stunning all at the same time. The illustrator, Tove Jansson has a weird yet delightfully creepy aesthetic that perfectly matches the world of Wonderland. Inside, there are twelve color illustrations as well as 50 black and white. Below I attached 3 pages from the interior of the book. As before, if you want to see a close up just click on each photo.

4. BabyLit Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Gibbs Smith Format: Board book ISBN13: 9781423624776

Gibbs Smith publishes amazing BabyLit books which are fully illustrated abridged versions of children’s classics. The illustrations in them are always absolutely adorable, and I honestly can’t recommend them enough.

5. The Annotated 150th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9780393245431

These annotated editions come in various titles. They normally feature an introduction and annotations by someone who has studied the said author’s work. This edition of The Annotated Alice was annotated by Martin Gardner. There is a mix of 225 color and black and white illustrations by Salvador Dali, Beatrix Potter, Ralph Steadman, John Tenniel, and 42 other artists. In addition, this version also includes a rare, never-before-published portrait of Lewis Carroll’s mother, over 100 annotations, a preface by Mark Burnstein, and a filmography of every Alice-related film. One thing to note with these editions is that they run fairly large and square.

6. Puffin Chalk  Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Puffin Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9780147510983

This Puffin Chalk edition is just lovely. The cover art was done by illustrator Dana Tanamachi, and was indeed created by drawing on a chalkboard. This paperback features french flaps as well as deckled pages. As with most Puffin editions, the actual size runs super small.

7. V&A Collector’s Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Puffin Classics Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9780141385655

The V&A Collector’s editions are absolutely stunning. These hardcovers were created by Puffin Classics in partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum with exquisite cover designs from their William Morris collection.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, William Morris was a famous textile designer back in the 1800s. The patterns you see in the background of each cover were originally wallpaper designs that were pulled from the museum’s William Morris exhibit. I believe that there are eight books in this gorgeous series currently available. Titles range from Anne of Green Gables to Little Women. Peter Pan is also out, as of this month (September).

8. Mabel Lucie Attwell Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Pan MacMillan Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9781509830336

This hardcover of Alice is just to die for! The artist, Mabel Lucie Attwell has gentle illustrations and a distinctive style that is perfect for children just starting to read. This edition also features original full color plates as well as line artwork scattered all throughout.

9. Barnes and Noble Collectible Edition Buy: Barnes & Noble Publisher: Barnes & Noble Format: Bonded Leather ISBN13: 9781435166240

This is a beautiful collectible edition from Barnes & Noble. It includes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, with the classic illustrations of John Tenniel. This compilation also features Carroll’s novels Sylvie and Bruno and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, his nonsense verse “The Hunting of the Snark,” and miscellaneous poems, short stories, puzzles, and acrostics. The design itself features silver gilded edges, a ribbon bookmark, and foiling on the cover.

  10. Pop-up Book Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Format:  Hardcover ISBN13: 9780689837593

This abridged pop-up edition was illustrated by Robert Sabuda. Sabuda did the artwork for many children’s lit pop-up books. Other titles include The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan.

11. An Illustrated Classics Buy: Amazon Publisher: Canterbury Classics Format: Hardcover (cloth bound) ISBN13: 9781684120369

The above edition includes both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. It is a hardcover cloth bound with blue sprayed pages, and features various full color illustrations inside.

12. Penguin Classics Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Penguin Classics Format: Hardcover (Cloth bound) ISBN13: 9780141192468

This hardcover is very similar to the Penguin English Library editions in that there is a repeating pattern on the cover. The big difference though is that this version is cloth bound. It also includes both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass with the original illustrations by John Tenniel scattered throughout.

13. Puffin + Pantone Buy: Amazon Publisher: Puffin Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9780425289280

For those of you who don’t know, Pantone is a company that that is basically a system for matching colors for printing. Each color has a designated number and name. When Puffin partnered with Pantone, they gave various children’s classics a specific Pantone color. The spine on these editions resemble the color swatches that can be found in Pantone books. There are also french flaps as well as deckled pages. If you’re looking to liven up your shelves, I honestly couldn’t recommend this edition enough.

14. Classics Reimagined Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Rockport Publishers Inc. Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9781631593697

The Classics Reimagined series features beautiful collector’s editions of unabridged classic novels. Each book in this collection is illustrated by a different contemporary artist from around the world. The illustrator for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is Andrea D’aquino. Other books in this series include Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice. This edition also includes 100 full color illustrations.

15. Seek and Find Classics Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Buzzpop Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9781499806847

This hardcover was adapted by Sarah Powell. It also features beautiful full color illustrations by artist Isabel Munoz. In addition to the abridged story, each page contains artwork depicting a different character to find with details to spot. The reader has to search for individuals such as Alice as she falls down the rabbit hole or the Mad Hatter while he dines at his Tea Party. I also just love the art style of this cover as well.

16. Sterling Illustrated Classics Edition Buy: Book Depository Publisher:  Sterling Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9781402768354

While this unabridged hardcover edition is certainly lovely, it’s not one of my favorites. The cover art is nice, but I’m not totally taken with the artist’s aesthetic. This version features a frontispiece and line drawings in both full color and black and white. There are over 70 illustrations all done by artist Robert Ingpen.

17. Manga Illustrated Classics Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Seven Seas Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9781626920613

Seven Seas publishes many manga interpretations of different children’s classics. Other titles include Peter Pan and Anne of Green Gables. This edition has 100 black and white illustrations as well as two full color spreads. Included are both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

18. Collector’s Editions Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9781840227802

Wordsworth just came out with these adorable hardcovers for various children’s classics. Each edition is cloth-bound, with matching colored end papers, embossed gold and color blocking. Titles range from Black Beauty and Peter Pan, all the way to Treasure Island and Little Women. One last thing to note about these editions is that they run a bit small at around 5 by 7 inches.

19. Usborne Illustrated Originals Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd Format: Hardcover ISBN13: 9781409533016

This Usborne edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is complete and unabridged. It also has full color illustrations throughout as well as a padded hardback cover and ribbon marker.

20. Rock Paper Books Edition Buy: Rock Paper Books Publisher: Rock Paper Books Format: Paperback ISBN13: N/A

The above paperback can only be found through Rock Paper Books. The exquisite cover illustration was executed by artist Mike Mahle, but unfortunately, there is no artwork on the inside of this edition.

21. Word Cloud Classics Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Canterbury Classics Format: Faux Leather (Flexibound) ISBN13: 9781626866072

Canterbury’s Word Cloud Classic editions are absolutely beautiful. There are many titles in this series ranging from various Jane Austen novels all the way to Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Each Flexibound book features different beautifully illustrated end papers, as well. In this edition, there are various black and white illustrations throughout.

22. Macmillan Collector’s Library Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Pan MacMillan Format: Hardcover (Cloth bound) ISBN13: 9781909621572

The Macmillan Collector’s Library series includes many stunning editions of classic literature. This hardcover features gold gilt edges, a ribbon marker, head and tail bands, an illustrated dust jacket, and real cloth binding underneath. Also inside are various black and white illustrations by John Tenniel as well as an afterword Anna South.

There are also two other options when it comes to cover art for this story. Variations include the Mad Hatter as well as the White Rabbit. Included in this edition are both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

23. Classics Unfolded Buy: Book Depository Publisher:  Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9781847806796

What I love so much about this edition is the fact that it is uniquely told in just 16 pages of illustrations that fold out like an accordion. It also comes in a beautifully illustrated slipcase as well.

HONORABLE MENTION

1. Coloring Book Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Waves of Color Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9781626923928

2. Coloring Book Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9781454920892

3. Coloring Book w/ Removable Pages Buy: Book Depository Publisher: Abrams Format: Paperback ISBN13: 9781419722066

That’s all for today folks! I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Until next time,

Beautiful Editions: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Part 1) Today’s discussion is the fifth post in my new “Beautiful Editions” series. In case you’ve missed the previous article in which I mentioned various versions of…

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Annette Bening Opens Up About Hollywoods Sexist Past and Brighter Future

” I truly had to pis .”

That, as the terribly alluring Annette Bening tells it, is how she landed the role of Gloria Grahame in director Paul McGuigan’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool .

It actually took Bening twenty-three years to play the scandal-ridden screen siren. That was when producer Barbara Broccoli, current gatekeeper of the Bond films, first floated the idea to the actress. Broccoli is longtime friends with Peter Turner, and, having witnessed his affair with the much-older Grahame firsthand, wished to adapt his 1987 memoir chronicling their Liverpool-set romance during the Oscar-winning actress’s final years. It was a labor of love. But Bening was far too young, and the script far away from ready.

Cut to the UK’s BAFTA accolades seven years ago. Bening is there , nominated for Best Leading Actress for her dazzling turning as one-half of a lesbian couple in The Children Are All Right .

” It was this ceremony with no bathroom transgresses ,” she chortlingly remembers, so Bening absconded to the loo, where she ran smack-dab into Broccoli, whose bladder likewise overfloweth. The two got to talking and agreed that the time was finally right to adapt Turner’s tome into a cinema.

After several stops and starts, it’s finally here: a sensuous production featuring yet another stunning performance by Bening as Grahame, who reached the height of her fame in the 1950 s with the cinemas In a Lonely Place , The Bad and the Beautiful , The Big Heat , and Oklahoma ! em >, before her career was tarnished by tabloid scandal after romancing and later marrying Tony Ray, the actor-son of her second spouse, Nicholas Ray.

Following their split in the’ 70 s, and having failed to find work stateside, a 58 -year-old Grahame moved to England, acting in stage productions and falling for the decades-younger Turner, a mild-mannered Liverpudlian played in the film by Jamie Bell.

Over coffee, The Daily Beast chatted with Bening–a four-time Oscar nominee–about capturing the essence of Grahame, the present Hollywood # MeToo reckoning, and much more.

It’s a fascinating tale, Gloria Grahame’s. So many crazy highs and lows.

An amazing story. Crazy highs and lows–and lots of scandal. I recommend the book. It’s this tasteful, impressionistic memoir, because Peter Turner had this relationship with her, they’re thirty years apart in age, he’s from Liverpool, she’s this ex-Hollywood superstar. It’s this weird confluence, but they had this very real connect.

In the movie, we greet your Gloria Grahame after she’s experienced so many adversities. After she allegedly experienced electroshock therapy following a mental breakdown.

It’s interesting: I don’t know if that actually happened. I met Tim–her oldest son, the one who’s in the film–in England when we did our premiere. I didn’t want to invade his privacy since we were at the premiere, but I wanted to ask him a million questions, and that would have been one of them. Because there are a lot of stories about her that simply aren’t true. There’s a really trashy volume about her that you can’t trust. I’m not saying none of it happened, but we’re not sure.

” Does it go all the way up to the presidency? Well, we’ll see if people have to answer for their behaviour .” div>

— Annette Bening

One of the things alluded to in the film is her crippling nervousnes over her looks–particularly her lips.

That’s true.

There was so much sexism within the old studio system, as far as the lane these studio chiefs treated girls like props and erected them whole cloth–like how Harry Cohn Anglicized Rita Hayworth via a name change and plastic surgery. These studio heads used to bully actresses into surgery or fill them with such anxiety over their lookings.

And that’s not that age-old. I know on a studio film I did, I recollect the administrator tell people about the studio making notes, and he said,” They ever talk about the men’s performances and the women’s appearing .” And they were putting pressure on me to get on the case of the people who were doing my makeup, and the lighting, and everything. It’s like, I didn’t want to worry about that stuff. It’s still there.

Was it Mars Attacks ! em >? Or what movie was it?

Nah! They wouldn’t do that to Tim Burton. Tim Burton they left alone! But[ Grahame] had surgeries done on her upper lip.

There were tales that Grahame would kiss her costars with cotton balls lodged in her mouth.

Now, that’s something I don’t know is true. It would be great to know but I don’t know it’s true. I do know that she had surgeries on her lips. She was very self-conscious about it. She wanted to make them seem fuller. And now people are preoccupied with that, putting things in their lips.

In my inexpert sentiment, it doesn’t seem to have a the highest success rate.

[ Laughs ] I know! It objective up looking kind of goofy!

How do you discover Grahame? On the one hand she’s a sort of tragic character but on the other there’s something quite lovely about the style she was able to live out her final years.

I don’t see her as tragic. I mean, the story is very sad, but for all of her defects and frailties–and she had them–she was a survivor. And she didn’t take her life or herself as an actress that seriously, and it’s a beautiful thing about her. She was a live wire. She was someone you met and would be like,” Hey, I’m going to this thing tonight. Are you around ?” and she’d be all,” Yeah, let’s go! Let’s do it! Let’s have fun !” She was all about enjoying life and letting get-up-and-go of the pain and the difficulties, because she had them for sure . And her relationships were very tempestuous. That’s why I guess gratifying Peter, a decent guy from Liverpool from this huge household, was such a positive experience for her.

In the cinema, she swingings back and forth between crippling anxiety about her age/ career and beaming confidence. There’s that sequence where she’s just finished performing in the play-act, is slipping through backstage, and Peter becomes to her and says something of the implications of,” That guy wants to sleep with you ,” and she turns to him and is like,” Honey, everyone wants to fuck me .”

” Everyone wants to fuck me !” That’s a great line. It’s a kind of contradiction, isn’t it? Because on the one hand she seemed like, fuck it, I don’t care! I’m living my life, doing theater in England, living with this young guy I like; and then on the other hand, there was the part of her that was conscious about aging, self-conscious about not being the sun that she had been.

One of the things she did that I found out about that I know is true is, when she went back to New York she took acting class with Stella Adler , who’s this legendary, brilliant woman that my husband examined with. Robert De Niro analyse with her too, and he’d told my husband that[ Grahame was there ]. I called De Niro and asked about it and he said,” Yeah. I was in class, like 18 or 19, and I didn’t even know who she was. I was a kid, and was ignorant about it. But person said,’ Gee, you know who that is ?'” He said that she didn’t get up and do scenes, but I thought that said a lot about Gloria and her aircraft. She’d won an Academy Award but was trying to get run, couldn’t get run, so went to England.

Your first cinema ever was The Great Outdoors , writes to the late, great John Hughes .

Written by John Hughes! I was so excited to just get a movie, and The Great Outdoors was like my nightmare come true.

I love that scene where[ John] Candy takes down” The Old 96 er .” That massive steak.

[ Laughs ] I was just remembering that we were on a reservoir various kinds of near Yosemite, and we were living in these little cabins–which I thought was the neatest thing in the world–and we’d “re going to have to” get up and drive around the lake. So it took about an hour to get to set, so we’d be leaving at around four in the morning, and I remember thinking,” This is so great! Oh my god !”

I mean, you started off your job with The Great Outdoors , Valmont , Postcards from the Edge , and The Grifters . That’s a fairly good run.

Milos Forman never mentioned The Great Outdoors ! The entire time I was filming [ Valmont ] I was guessing,” Did he know I induced that movie ?!” Because I don’t think he would’ve ever hired me for Valmont if he knew! [ Laughs ]

Grifters was a Harvey Weinstein movie, of course. What was your experience with Harvey like ? I’ve had my own experiences with Harvey, although it’s pretty clear that he acted very differently toward men–particularly men who are reporters–as opposed to up-and-coming actresses, which you were at the time.

I didn’t have any serious issues with Harvey. I had a couple of not-serious minutes with him. I entail, I was 31 and I was marriage. I don’t know. I believe I was lucky. Harvey sort of set the feelers out for most people–well, that’s not fair. But I didn’t have any issues with him.

How do you feel about this long-overdue guessing in Hollywood? It’s an industry that’s always been pretty outspoken when it comes to progressive makes but its therapy of the status of women has long been its glaring blind spot. The ” casting couch” goes back to its inception , and was almost treated as a punchline when it’s anything but.

It seems like a tipping degree. That’s how I think of it, is there’s been this incredible buildup over so long, and it’s a tipping degree. People can focus on it because it’s happening in show business with a lot of famous people, but now it’s rippling out into your business, journalism, and into the tech world. It’s in all the businesses, and that’s why it’s so significant: it’s become a tipping point for the whole culture. The hope is that it not only changes things in my business and your business and the more high-profile firms, but what’s really important is that it changes for the average working women who have no clout and no leveraging. A single momma working for low wages who cannot miss a period of study or a paycheck, is it going to change for those women? Or those men, too? I think it’s as difficult–or sometimes more difficult–when it happens for men, as there can be an added level of shame involved. But that’s really the measure for all of us: Does it actually go down to average working people? And does it go up to members of Congress? And does it go all the way up to the presidency? Well, we’ll see if people have to answer for their behavior.

Right. We’ve lately considered Donald Trump’s sexual-assault accusers attain the news rounds , and senators like Kirsten Gillibrand call on Trump to resign from the presidency over the allegations.

And his own diplomat to the United Nations[ Nikki Haley] has said that these women have a right to listen to. So, this is serious stuff.

It does seem to be a reaction to his election, doesn’t it? It seems like more than a coincidence that the Harvey Weinstein story violated on the one-year anniversary of the Access Hollywood videotape. When you elevate person like Trump at the very highest office of the land–and really, stimulate his the face of the nation–it forces-out the country to do a lot of soul-searching.

Yes. This can’t be the emblem of the free world–of the leader of the free world. No, I agree with you. I envision all of us are doing a lot of soul-searching only generally, in your work and in my job. What are “weve been” doing? Because, with these forces of nationalism, populism, xenophobia, racism and ugliness becoming more culturally acceptable, what happens to the culture? Culture tends to shut down and people tend to get discouraged. So I belief those of us that are trying to entertain people, we have a responsibility not to lose hope and not to become cynical. The whole thing you’re talking about is part of that–including the reckon on sexual harassment, and being able to have a nuanced dialogue about the inappropriate sex come-on or groping, and harassment and assault, right? They’re not all the same thing. There needs to be nuance.

My take on it is that there was just never any sort of accountability here, and since bad boys were able to act with impunity for so long, when the guessing comes–which appears to be now–there’s going to be an overcorrection. So I generally think it’s good that there’s increased accountability on behavior that moved unchecked for ages.

Clearly. I entail, it’s a little scary–the sheer number of people in our world that ought to have taken down, and whose behaviour we had not known about.

The Kevin[ Spacey] material was pretty shocking .

Yes. Utterly.

In the wake of the allegations, reports surfaced that several of his productions had been beset by his sexual misconduct issues. There were numerous stories from the fixed of House of Cards , and Gabriel Byrne likewise came forward and “re just saying that” production on The Usual Suspects was halted over Kevin’s” inappropriate sex behavior .” Were there any such problems during the filming of American Beauty ?

No. We didn’t have any of those problems. He was altogether professional. I considered him health professionals colleague, and we got on very well. I had no issues–and didn’t see any problems, either.

Coming back to the cinema, one of the points that I really enjoyed about it is that it does provide a frank depiction of an older woman’s sexuality. There aren’t nearly enough of these tales being told by Hollywood, an industry that’s not very kind to ladies past a certain age. You’re really an exception to the rule, having managed to carve out a great space for yourself.

Yeah, I feel really lucky. It’s an extension of love–sexuality is–and it doesn’t stop at a certain age, and Gloria was someone who that was very true for. I do think it’s something that a lot of people would leave out of narratives, the fact that girls far older than Gloria maintain and have active sex lives. People don’t really want to dramatize that. But now, that’s changing. Helen Mirren is an example of someone who’s playing very complex females. Judi Dench. That notion that women’s sex lives stop when they start having children is just a myth. Women have sexual relationships into their sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties. Hello ? This is what happens! This is the case for a lot of people. We, as ladies, want to play real-life people. We necessity these kinds of characters who have nuance, and faults, and strengths, and weaknesses, and sometimes they seem sexy, and sometimes they don’t, just like all of us. It’s a relief to see that happening.

One scene that I really loved–and that I feel communicates Gloria’s emotional quandary–is that early one where she and Peter have just returned from the bar, they’re a bit liquored up, and she sits on the couch and takes her top off. She’s feeling very empowered and sexy but then she senses some misgiving on his part, and even though it’s just nerves, she’s overcome by insecurity, and then embraces herself up.

In trying to find the moments for a character the hell is truthful, you get to explore some of your own true sentiments in a way that’s safe. I appreciate you saying that. I think she used. In one moment she’s feeling really confident and hey, I can do this! I can flirt with this guy! And then in the next moment she’s like, wait a minute…what am I doing? I’ve uncovered myself. I need to cover myself up, literally. When you gratify someone you really like that maybe you’re attracted to, part of you is like, yeah! And then maybe you think, well, I have this rolling here and…am I appealing? I think that’s something we all go through.

Read more: https :// www.thedailybeast.com/ annette-bening-opens-up-about-hollywoods-sexist-past-and-brighter-future

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/01/06/annette-bening-opens-up-about-hollywoods-sexist-past-and-brighter-future/