Monday, October 31, 2016

Ranking of Movies Seen During Summer 2016



Usually I would list my ten favorite summer movies of any particular year. However, since I had only watched ten new releases during the summer of 2016. Due to the limited number, I decided to rank the films that I saw: 


RANKING OF MOVIES SEEN DURING SUMMER 2016



1. "Suicide Squad" - David Ayer wrote and directed this very entertaining adaptation of the DC Comics series about a group of anti-heroes and villains forced by the government to battle a supernatural sorceress bent upon world conquest.





2. "The Nice Guys" - Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling starred in this comedy mystery about an enforcer and private detective in 1977 Los Angeles investigating the connection between a missing girl, the porn industry and the automobile industry. Shane Black directed.





3. "Ghostbusters" - Paul Feig wrote and directed this funny reboot of Ivan Reitman's 1980s supernatural comedy about ghost chasers in New York City. Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon starred.





4. "Love & Friendship" - Kate Beckinsale starred in this adaptation of Jane Austen's 1794 novel, "Lady Susan", about a wry and calculating widow who pursues wealthy husbands for both herself and her daughter. Whit Stillman wrote and directed the movie.





5. "X-Men: Apocalypse" - Bryan Singer directed this ninth X-MEN movie about the band of mutants trying to stop a re-awakened mutant from Ancient Egypt from conquering the world in the 1980s. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender starred.





6. "Now You See Me 2" - Jon M. Chu directed this sequel to the 2013 hit film in which the magicians known as "the Four Horsemen", who are forced by a tech genius to pull off an almost impossible heist. Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Lizzy Caplan starred.





7. "Star Trek Beyond" - Justin Lin directed this third entry in the rebooted STAR TREK movie franchise in which the U.S.S. Enterprise crew deal with a ruthless enemy with a grudge against the Federation. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto starred. 





8. "Captain America: Civil War" - Chris Evans starred as Steve Rogers aka Captain America in the Marvel film in which political interference in the superheroes' activities causes a rift between the Avengers. Anthony and Joe Russo directed.





9. "Jason Bourne" - Matt Damon, Julia Stiles and Paul Greengrass re-teamed for this fifth installment of the BOURNEmovie franchise in which the former amnesiac CIA assassin is drawn out of hiding when fellow fugitive Nicky Parsons discovers a secret from his past. Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones co-starred.





10. "Independence Day: Resurgence" - Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich reunited to produce this sequel to the 1996 blockbuster in which a group of Humans deal with a second invasion from the same aliens that tried to invade Earth twenty years ago. Directed by Emmerich; Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Liam Hemsworth starred.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

"GHOSTBUSTERS" (2016) Photo Gallery

kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2760894

Below are images of the new science-fiction/fantasy movie, "GHOSTBUSTERS". Directed by Paul Fieg, the movie stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon: 


"GHOSTBUSTERS" (2016) Photo Gallery

kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2718878


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2718879


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2718880


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2718881


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2750954


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2760895


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2762921


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2764179


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2769907


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2769908


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2769912


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2769913


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2769914


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2769915


kinopoisk.ru-Ghostbusters-2778840

Friday, October 28, 2016

"EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" (1978) Review

Edward-and-Mrs-Simpson-1978-period-drama-fans-38001323-500-400


"EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" (1978) Review

I have noticed in the past decade or so, there have been an increasing number of television and movie productions that either featured the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (aka King Edward VIII and Mrs. Wallis Simpson), either as supporting characters or lead characters. Actually, only one production - the 2011 movie, "W.E." - featured them as leads. And yet . . . with the exception of the 2011 movie, the majority of them tend to portray the couple as solely negative caricatures. 

There have been other productions that portrayed Edward and Wallis as complex human beings. Well . . . somewhat complex. Television movies like 1988's "THE WOMAN HE LOVED" and 2005's "WALLIS & EDWARD" seemed to provide viewers with a highly romanticized view of the couple. Perhaps a bit too romanticized. And there was Madonna's 2011 movie, "W.E.", which seemed to offer a bit more complex view of the couple. But I thought the movie was somewhat marred by an alternate storyline involving a modern woman who was obsessed over the couple. I have seen a good number of productions about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Yet, for my money, the best I have ever seen was the 1978 miniseries, "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON".

Adapted by Simon Raven from Frances Donaldson's 1974 biography, "Edward VIII" and directed by him, the seven-part miniseries is basically an account of Edward VIII Abdication Crisis in 1936 and the pre-marital romance of the king and American socialite, Wallis Simpson, that led to it. The story began in 1928, when Edward Windsor was at the height of his popularity as Britain's Prince of Wales. At the time, the prince was courting two women - both married - Mrs. Freda Dudley Ward and Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness. Some two or three years later, Thelma introduced Edward to Ernest and Wallis Simpson, a pair of American expatriates living in London. The couple became a part of the Prince of Wales' social set. But when Thelma left Britain in 1934 to deal with a family crisis regarding her sister Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, Edward and Wallis grew closer. By the time Thelma returned to Britain, Wallis had become the Prince of Wales' official mistress. And both Thelma and Mrs. Dudley Ward found themselves unceremoniously dumped. 

The miniseries eventually continued with the couple's growing romance between 1934 and 1935, despite disapproving comments and observations from some of the Prince of Wales' official staff and members of the Royal Family. But the death of King George V, Edward's father, led to the prince's ascension to Britain's throne as King Edward VIII. By this time, Edward had fallen completely in love with Wallis. And despite the opinion of his family, certain members of his social set and the British government, he became determined to marry and maker her his queen in time for his coronation.

"EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" is not perfect. I do have a few complaints about the production. I realize that screenwriter Simon Raven wanted to ensure a complex and balanced portrayal of both Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. But there were times when I found his characterization a bit too subtle. This was most apparent in his portrayal of Edward's admiration of the fascist governments of Germany and Italy. It almost seemed as if Raven was trying to tiptoe around the topic and I found it rather frustrating. On the other hand, Raven's portrayal of Wallis at the beginning of her romance with Edward struck me as a bit heavy-handed. Quite frankly, she came off as some kind of femme fatale, who had resorted to deceit to maneuver Edward's attention away from his other two mistresses - Freda Dudley Ward and Lady Furness, especially when the latter was in the United States visiting her sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt. The production's screenplay did indicate that Lady Furness may have conducted a flirtation with the Prince Aly Khan on the voyage back to Great Britain. Yet, Raven's screenplay seemed to hint that Wallis' machinations were the main reason Edward gave up both Mrs. Dudley Ward and Lady Furness.

Otherwise, I have no real complaints about "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON". Ten or perhaps, twenty years ago, I would have complained about the last three or four episodes that focused on Edward's determination to marry Wallis and the series of political meetings and conferences that involved him, her, her attorneys, the Royal Family, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, the king's equerries, politicians, lawyers and journalists. Now, I found it all rather interesting. What I found interesting about these scenes were the various reactions to Wallis Simpson. Many of them - especially the Royal Family, the equerries and Baldwin - seemed to regard her as some kind of "Jezebel" who had cast some kind of spell over Edward. In its worst form, their attitude came off as slut shaming. The majority of them tend to blame her for Edward's occasional lapses of duty and ultimate decision to abdicate. As far as I can recall, only two were willing to dump equal blame on Edward himself - Royal Secretary Alexander Hardinge and Elizabeth, Duchess of York, later queen consort and "Queen Mother". 

Another reason why I found this hardened anti-Wallis attitude so fascinating is that the Establishment seemed very determined that Edward never marry Wallis. I understand the Royal Marriages Act 1772 made it possible for the British government to reject the idea of Wallis becoming Edward's queen consort, due to being twice divorced. But they would not even consider a morganatic marriage between the couple, in which Wallis would not have a claim on Edward's succession rights, titles, precedence, or entailed property. I am not saying that both Edward and Wallis were wonderful people with no flaws. But . . . this hostile attitude toward the latter, along with this hardened determination that the couple never marry struck me as excessive. Were the British Establishment and the Royal Family that against Edward marrying Wallis, let alone romancing her? It just all seem so unreal, considering that the pair seemed to share the same political beliefs as the majority of the British upper class. And considering that Wallis was descended from two old and respectable Baltimore families, I can only conclude that the British Establishment's true objection was her American nationality.

Although the political atmosphere featured in "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" seemed very fascinating to me, the social atmosphere, especially the one that surrounded Edward, nearly dazzled me. "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" is one of the few productions on both sides of the Atlantic that did a superb job in conveying the look and style of the 1930s for the rich and famous. This was especially apparent in the miniseries' first three episodes that heavily featured Edward's social life between 1928 and 1936. First, one has to compliment Allan Cameron and Martyn Hebert's production designs for re-capturing the elegant styles of the British upper classes during the miniseries' setting. Their work was ably enhanced by Ron Grainer's score, which he effectively mixed with the popular music of that period and Waris Hussein's direction, which conveyed a series of elegant montages on Edward's social life - including his royal visit to East Africa with Thelma Furness, the weekend parties held at his personal house, Fort Belevedere; and the infamous 1936 cruise around the Adriatic Sea, aboard a yacht called the Nahlin. But if there was one aspect of "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" that truly impressed me were Jennie Tate and Diane Thurley's costume designs. When any costume designer has two leading characters known as major clothes horses, naturally one has to pull out all the stops. Tate and Thurley certainly did with their sumptious costume designs - especially for actress Cynthia Harris - that struck me as both beautiful and elegant, as shown in the images below:

08 

that I was I was not surprised to learn that they had won BAFTAs for their work. Come to think of it, Cameron and Herbert won BAFTAs for their production designs, as well. Which they all fully deserved.

"EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" featured some solid and outstanding performances from the supporting cast. Cheri Lunghi and Kika Markham, who portrayed Edward's two previous mistresses Thelma Furness and Freda Dudley Ward; along with Andrew Ray and Amanda Reiss as the Duke and Duchess of York; gave very charming performances. I could also say the same for Trevor Bowen, Patricia Hodge and Charles Keating as Duff Cooper, Lady Diana Cooper and Ernest Simpson. Veterans such as Peggy Ashcroft, Marius Goring, Maurice Denham and Jesse Matthews provided skillful gravitas to their roles as Queen Mary, King George V, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Aunt Bessie Merryman (Wallis' aunt). And Nigel Hawthorne gave a warm and intelligent performance as Walter Monckton, who served as an adviser for both Edward and Wallis. And if you pay attention, you might spot Hugh Fraser portraying Anthony Eden in one particular scene.

But there were four performances that really impressed me. One came from John Shrapnel, who portrayed the King's Private Secretary Alexander Hardinge. It seemed as if Shrapnel had the unenviable task of portraying a man who seemed bent upon raining on Edward's parade . . . for the sake of the country and the Empire. There were times when I found his character annoying, yet at the same time, Shrapnel managed to capture my sympathy toward Hardinge's situation. I was also impressed by David Waller, who portrayed Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. Waller also portrayed the politician in the 1988 television movie, "THE WOMAN HE LOVED". But I felt more impressed by Waller's performance in this production. I came away not only with Baldwin's dislike of Wallis and frustration with Edward; but Waller also made me realize how much of a politician Baldwin truly was . . . especially when the latter tried to convince Wallis to disavow Edward.

The true stars of "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" proved to be the two leads - Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris. Of all of the actresses I have seen portray Wallis Warfield Simpson aka the Duchess of Windsor, I would say that Harris is the best I have ever seen. Not once did the actress succumb to hammy or heavy-handed acting . . . even when Simon Raven's screenplay seem bent upon portraying the American-born socialite as some kind of gold digger in the first episode, "The Little Prince". The late Art Buchwald and his wife Ann had recalled meeting the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at one of the latter's dinner parties in post-World War II Paris. Although their recollection of Edward was not that impressive, they seemed very impressed by Wallis, whom they described as a cool, yet charming and savy woman. And that is exactly how Harris had portrayed the future Duchess. More importantly, Harris revealed - especially in the last three episodes - that Wallis was more than a cool and witty woman. She was also a complex human being. Edward Fox won a BAFTA for his portrayal of King Edward VIII, the future Duke of Windsor. As far as I am concerned, he more than deserved that award. I was really impressed by how Fox portrayed Edward as a complex individual, instead of some one-note hedonist, as many productions were inclined to do in the past decade. Fox recaptured all of the warmth, charm and charisma of the future Duke of Windsor. And the same time, the actor revealed his character's frustration with his emotionally distant parents, his occasional bouts of immaturity, insecurity, self-absorption and single-minded love for Wallis. On one hand, Fox managed to skillfully express dismay at the economic conditions of the country's working-class and in other scenes revel in his character's luxurious lifestyle with abandonment. The actor's performance struck me as a great balancing act.

If I must be honest, the real reason why I managed to enjoy "EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" to this day is that it is almost a balanced portrayal of the British monarch and his lady love. Simon Raven, director Waris Hussein and a talented cast led by Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris managed to convey both the good and bad about the infamous royal pair without resorting to the cliches that have been apparent in other past and recent productions.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

"AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." and the Disappointment of Season Two (2014-2015)





"AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." AND THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF SEASON TWO (2014-2015)

I might as well put my cards on the table. I did not like Season Two of "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.". In fact, I almost despised it. But what I despised even further is this belief among television viewers and critics that Season Two was an improvement over the series’ first season. This told me that today’s society has no real concept of what constitutes good or bad storytelling. 

After the Season One finale, (1.22) "Beginning of the End", first aired, I made a prediction that the producers and writers would respond to the complaints about the show’s slow storytelling and give them what they want in the following season. When I first saw the Season Two premiere, (2.01) "Shadows", I saw to my disappointment that Joss Whedon’s Mutant Enemy, Marvel and Disney did exactly that. "Shadows" was a travesty for me. But the worst was yet to come. By the time the series’ mid-season finale (2.10) "What They Become" had aired, I was ready to throw in the towel for this series. So, what kept me watching "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." after that horrible mid-season episode? My family. By this time, the members of my family had become regular viewers of the show. However, I did my level best to ignore as many episodes as I could. Unfortunately, I was unable to ignore most of the episodes that made up the second half of the show.

Where there any aspects of Season Two of "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." that I liked? There were some performances that impressed me. Both Reed Diamond and Dichen Lachman made first-rate villains as former HYDRA commander Werner Reinhardt aka Daniel Whitehall and the Inhumans’ leader Jiaying. I suppose I have to give some credit to Mutant Enemy and Marvel/Disney for promoting Henry Simmons (Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie) to series regular, despite getting rid of B.J. Britt (Antoine Triplett) and maintaining J. August Richards (Mike Peterson aka Deathlok) as a recurring cast member. This show’s attitude toward non-white characters and performers is still bad enough to make my stomach turn. And there are at least four episodes that I managed to really enjoy this season, namely:

(2.04) "Face My Enemy" - Agent Melinda May is kidnapped and a HYDRA impersonator takes her place in order in order to lure S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Phil Coulson into a trap. This episode first introduced the brainwashed Kara Palamas aka Agent 33.

(2.15) "One Door Closes" - This episode featured flashbacks on how agents like Alfonso MacKenzie, Bobbi Morse and especially Robert Rodriguez survived the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., while serving aboard one of the agencies' aircraft carriers and formed their own S.H.I.E.L.D. faction.

(2.17) "Melinda" - Once again, Agent May is the focus. In this episode, she looks into Coulson’s actions as S.H.I.E.L.D. director, while in control of the agency’s main base. This episode also flashed back to how her first encounter with the Inhumans led to a great deal of trauma for her.

(2.21-2.22) "S.O.S." -The two S.H.I.E.L.D. teams, now under Coulson’s leadership, try to prevent Jiaying from destroying the agency and mankind. Meanwhile, Bobbi Morse is held hostage by Grant Ward and Kara Palamas in order to coerce her into confessing her actions as a S.H.I.E.L.D. mole within HYDRA.

It is a miracle that I actually managed to enjoy three of this season’s twenty-two episodes without being disgusted, bored or pissed off. Why? Because there is a good deal of Season Two that I heartily disliked. One, I disliked the change in the series’ storytelling. I disliked how Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen seemed more interested in providing as much action as possible, without any real consideration toward the series’ narrative. There have been complaints about the series’ convoluted writing for the past season. But most fans and critics have not been listening or paying attention. Even the season finale, "S.O.S." reflected this penchant to stuff as much action as possible. I found it unnecessary for the writers to include two major story arcs in this episode. They could have saved the Bobbi Morse kidnapping arc for a separate episode.

And then there was (2.19) "The Dirty Half Dozen", the series' tie-in to the summer blockbuster, "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON". The writers took a break from the Inhumans story arc to bring back HYDRA and do . . . what? Coulson, his team, Robert Gonzales’ S.H.I.E.L.D. team, Grant Ward and Kara Palamas infiltrated a HYDRA base operated by one Dr. List to save Mike Peterson aka Deathlok and Inhuman Lincoln Campbell, who had been kidnapped by the villainous agency. This gave Coulson the opportunity to discover the location of the main HYDRA base and the organization’s leader, Wolfgang von Strucker. This whole episode was about setting up the prologue for the second "THE AVENGERS movie and trying to repeat the critical success of Season One’s (1.17) "Turn, Turn, Turn". As far as I am concerned, the Season Two episode failed. Why? The Season One episode had a far reaching impact on both the season and series' narrative. "The Dirty Half Dozen" barely made an impact on the rest of the season, other than driving Ward and Kara away from S.H.I.E.L.D. And the season’s main narrative immediately returned to the Inhuman story arc. I have never known for Mutant Enemy to be this clumsy in their writing in the past. 

Another aspect of Season Two that I disliked so much was the unwillingness of the showrunners to take their time with their stories.“AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.” is supposed to be at its core, a serial drama. The story lines for serial dramas are supposed to take its time … even to the point of them being played out over several seasons. Due to some need for higher ratings and pleasing the fans who seemed to be unaware of what a serial drama is supposed to be, the Whedons and Tancharoen rushed headlong into Season Two’s story arc without bothering to set up the introductions of the new characters. Well, I take that back. They took their time with the Daniel Whitehall and Jiaying characters. But they rushed headlong into the introductions of Lance Hunter, Alphonso MacKenzie and Bobbi Morse without any real setup. Why? They wanted to rush right into the action. Storytelling has now reached a point in which novels, movies and serial television series have to jump into the action without any real set up or introduction. Why? Because so many people have become so damn impatient. Or else today’s society has the attention span of a gnat.

Mutant Enemy also did a piss-poor job of handling some of their characters. For example . . . there is Grant Ward. Why is this character still on the show? Why is he still a regular? He was in slightly more than half of the episodes, this season. In fact, he was missing a lot in the second half of Season Two. He has become a irrelevant character. Mutant Enemy should have wasted his ass at the end of Season One. Most of Season Two saw Brett Dalton portray Ward as some mysterious super spy, while channeling Julian McMahon’s acting style. It did not help that producer Jeffrey Bell tried to claim that Dalton possessed the same level of acting skills and screen presence as James Marsters of "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER". I did not know whether to laugh at the implication or shake my head in disgust. Worse, I was subjected to three episodes of the saga regarding Ward’s relationship with his brother, Senator Christian Ward (Tim DeKay). The entire story arc came to nothing and no future impact upon the series’ narrative. Ward ended the season with accidentally killing Kara and declaring his intentions of becoming the new HYDRA leader. All I can say is . . . good luck. Why? Recently, Marvel and Disney announced that Daniel Brühl had recently been cast to portray Baron Zemo, the new HYDRA leader for the upcoming film, "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR". If so . . . why is Ward still around?

Another problematic character for me proved to be Skye aka Daisy Johnson aka Earthquake (or whatever her name is). I used like Skye . . . back in Season One. I did not like her very much in Season Two. Her story arc dominated the season just a little too much. She also lost some of her sense of humor. Her martial arts skills developed just a bit too fast for me to consider them realistic. And quite honestly, I realized I could not care less about the Inhuman story line. Or the fact that Skye became a "super being". I am still pissed that Mutant Enemy allowed Skye to become one without any change in her physical looks. Yet, it was so damn important that another character, Raina, have her looks drastically altered. I guess that is what happens when an actress of African descent appears on this show. 

Then again, this series’ treatment of its non-white characters, especially African-Americans, has always been problematic . . . even in Season One. It grew worse in Season Two. At least two non-white male characters - Antoine "Tripp" Triplett and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. director Robert Gonzales - were bumped off. I am still angry over Trip’s death. And I am disgusted over the handling of Gonzales character. I cannot count the number of episodes in which Coulson maintained this smug and superior attitude toward Gonzales, which left me feeling disgusted. The manner of his death also disgusted me. But I was not surprised. Mutant Enemy also managed to kill off three non-white female characters in "S.O.S." - Jiaying, Raina and Kara Palamas. Three non-white women . . . in one episode. What in the fuck?? Disney/Marvel and Mutant Enemy did make Henry Simmons a series regular at the end of the season. Yet, they did so at least sometime after they had promoted Adrianne Palicki. They also promoted Luke Mitchell, who portrays Inhuman Lincoln Campbell. But for some reason, J. August Richards, who has been portraying Mike Peterson since the series’ premiere, is still stuck portraying a recurring character. Why? Was it really that important to Marvel/Disney and Mutant Enemy to provide a white male love interest for Skye? Let me get this straight. It was okay for Mutant Enemy to have two regular characters portrayed by women of Asian descent. It was okay for the production company to have three regular characters portrayed by British white . . . one woman and two men. But for some reason, they cannot maintain more than one regular character of African descent? Too disgusted beyond words.

I do not know what else to say about Season Two of "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.". I disliked it. Immensely. The series’ writing struck me as a clear indication that the quality of storytelling, especially for the serial drama format, is going down the tubes. Even worse, a good number of television viewers and critics seem unaware of this. Their idea of good storytelling is to rush headlong into the narrative with a great deal of action and hardly any setups or introductions. This is sloppy writing at its worst. However, I suspect that nothing will really change for Season Three. All of the mistakes I have spotted, while watching Season Two, will probably still be there for the 2015-2016 television season. Hmmm. Pity.

Friday, October 21, 2016

"THE NICE GUYS" (2016) Photo Gallery



Below are images from the new comedy-crime drama called "THE NICE GUYS". Directed and co-written by Shane Black, the movie stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling: 


"THE NICE GUYS" (2016) Photo Gallery

















































Sunday, October 16, 2016

The Five Worst BOND ACTRESSES



Below is a list of five actresses - professional or otherwise - who have appeared in James Bond movies throughout the franchise's 46-year history. I consider these five women to be the worst actresses that have ever appeared in a Bond movie. So, without further ado, I present . . .


The Five Worst BOND ACTRESSES



1. Marguerite LeWars (or the actress who dubbed her voice) aka "the Photographer" (Dr. No, 1962) - This former Miss Jamaica made her acting debut . . . and finale as a photographer in the employ of the movie's villain, Dr. No, hired to spy on secret agent James Bond.  To be frank, I had recently discovered that producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had hired another actress to dub Ms. LeWars' voice. The reason why this unknown actress tops my list as the worst Bond actress is due to her stiff and unconvincing handling of the following line: "You . . . you rats!".  I still wince just thinking about it. As for Ms. LeWars, you have my apology for believing that you were the voice behind "the Photographer".






2. Lana Wood aka "Plenty O'Toole" (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971) - Judging by her brief performance as a Las Vegas hustler who gets caught up in a diamond smuggling operation financed by SPECTRE, one can see that Natalie Wood's acting talent had not been extended to her younger sister, namely Lana. She barely made Number 2 on my list, which goes to show how little I thought of her acting.






3. Corinne Clery aka "Corinne Dufour" (Moonraker, 1979) - This actress, who portrayed Sir Hugo Drax's assistant and personal pilot seemed to be very popular with many Bond fans. I can only assume they were impressed by her physical attributes, because her acting skills left much to be desired. The only real emotion she managed to express was fear, while being chased by a pair of hunting dogs on Drax's California estate.






4. Mie Hama aka "Kissy Suzuki" (You Only Live Twice, 1967) - I wish I could say that the movie version of the Kissy Suzuki was interesting . . . but I am afraid that I cannot. I am surprised that Ms. Hama actually had film experience before she was cast as the Japanese Secret Service agent, who marries Bond in a fake wedding ceremony. She really struck me as uninspiring actress with barely any screen presence. I cannot help but feel that in the movie, the wrong Bond Girl - namely Akiko Wakabayashi as doomed agent Aki - was killed off.






5. Talisa Soto aka "Lupe Lamora" (License to Kill, 1989) - I must admit that I have a deep fondness for Ms. Soto's portrayal of the mistress of a Central American drug lord. She has a strong screen presence and there were moments when her performance seemed quite natural. The problem is that these moments were rare. Which is why Ms. Soto made this list. Of all the bad actresses who have appeared in a Bond film, she was my favorite.