No, not that my home is being destroyed by another protracted battle. It could be, but I don't know that it is. What I meant was, it's time for movie discussion. Won't that be ever so delightful?
Casino Royale - I confess to not being much of a Bond fan. Goldeneye the movie lead to Goldeneye the N64 game, and earns points with me for that. Beyond that, I don't believe I've watched a single Bond movie all the way through, just parts as I stumble across them. I wonder whether that helps or hinders with Casino Royale. There was a part of me that had a bit of difficulty thinking of this fellow as Bond, with the lack of cool gadgets. Not a large part, though, and I think his use of salt to try and purge his stomach of a poison alleviated some of that. I suppose it's his quick thinking shining through, regardless of whether he has a watch with a laser in it, that helps. That chase scene that ends in the embassy early in the film was another such scene.
I was a bit surprised at two things: One, how quickly he seems to go from "capture" to "eliminate". It seemed that every time he gets thwarted even a little, he decides "Screw it, time to stab someone". Bit more rash than I'm accustomed to. Probably related to relative inexperience. Two, the ego he displays, for someone so recently added to the ranks of 00Agents. Then again, he figured out M's home address, which I gather is no easy task, so I suppose his ego is partially justified. I'm not such about the relationship between James and Vesper. I enjoy the parts where they're moderately anatagonistic towards each other, demonstrating their ability to read another person on each other, with each one getting a bit uncomfortable at how well the other does. When they get more attached, it's somewhat less interesting to me, but at least each one seems to fall for the other equally.
One thing that disappointed me was the revelation of why Bond misjudged Le Chiffre early in the poker tournament. I had hoped that the reason Bond misread him was because Le Chiffre was under so much pressure that he was constantly bluffing himself. Trying to convince himself that it was OK that he would get through it, while part of him knows that even if he gets the money he needs, he'll probably still be killed. I thought that would have been a valuable lesson for James about the limits of his abilities. Was not to be, though. For the movie as a whole, I thought it was OK, nothing spectacular or producing any strong feelings in me one way or the other.
Paths of Glory - This was showing on Turner Classic Movies just a little while ago. I hadn't seen it previously, so my dad decided we should watch it. Kubrick directed it, Kirk Douglas stars as French colonel Dax in World War I, who must defend three of his men railroaded on charges of cowardice by General Mireau (George Macready) who is embarassed the regiment couldn't take a hill from the Germans, after he assured higher-ranking General Broulard (played by Adolphe Menjou) that his men could do it, for him naturally.
I get the impresion that in the 1957, when the movie premiered, a movie that was so very anti-war, and portrays commanding officers as more concerned with their pride than with the lives of the men they command, was relatively new. By now though, it's a fairly common trope, which mutes some of the impact it has on me as the audience. It still rankles me, how Mireau demands his own artillery open up on a company which hadn't left the trenches, and when the captain in charge of artillery says he can't do that without a written order from the general, Macready orders him to report to headquarters and prepare for disciplinary action. Except when the captain does arrive, Boulard is present, so Mireau acts as though the captain was an incompetent who dropped shells on their own men. That riled me. All through the movie, I kept hoping a stray shell would blow him straight to hell.
It's a downbeat movie for the majority of its length, with the scapegoats getting a farce of a trial, despite Dax' best efforts and oratory. There's cowardice, the loss of many lives for one man's pride, sacrificing still more lives under some imbecilic belief that it will inspire the men*, holding off on the punishment of the one responsible until after it could help the scapegoats, and on and on. It depicts a world where good and honest men are curshed because the bastards are the ones who have the power and influence, and they get what they want. There is one scene at the very end, that is somewhat hopeful. I wish we had captions equipped, because the singing was in German, and I couldn't quite follow what they were singing. It appears most other reviewers interpret the final scene more cynically than me, but I felt it evoke a sense of connection between this frightened German girl, here against her will, and these French soldiers being sent to fight and die for stupid reasons that are also beyond their control. I see what the other reviewers were saying (or think I do), that these men are scaring this poor lady, and even if they find a moment's peace now, they'll be back at the line soon, and probably die shortly after that.
I was curious at the different reactions of the soliders put on the firing squad, as well as why Private Ferol was selected for being "socially undesirable", or whatever the description was. It could have simply a b.s reason. I thought he looked Greek**, and so the French commander singled him out for that. Though, they make a point early in the film of letting us know his isn't married, so were they suggesting he likes guys?
The scenery is very well done, the closeness of the trenches, versus the expansive headquarters the generals have (I'm guessing it was some villa the army appropriated), the way Mireau walks and acts, his look of boredom during the court martial, as it's obviously a formality, the way he thinks his chit-chat with the scared, dirty soldiers before a battle actually inspires them***. It's a perfet picture of self-importance and delusion. A bit like a child, actually. It's a fine film though. I very much enjoyed it, despite it being largely depressing. Menjou portrays a Broulard that I can't quite gauge. He acts a bit like the kindly uncle, friendly and outwardly concerned with the plights of Mireau and Dax, but he's wily, as he seems able to manipulate Mireau with hardly any effort. This skill colors how he views the world, and leads to a loud confrontation between he and Dax, as Broulard interprets Dax' actions through the movie from his perspective, as a man used to tricking others into getting him what he desires.
* Well, that's what Broulard said. It's really just a hope that fear of their own officers will outweigh fear of the enemy on the other side of no-man's-land.
** I don't know why, his beard, I think.
*** And he has a suck up major who assures him of that, as well as being the prosecutor for the the court martial. The interesting thing is that actor, Richard Anderson, was in Escape from Fort Bravo, which was on earlier in the day, and he took an arrow in the gut in that movie. Had I know he was going to play such a contemptible jackass in Paths of Glory, I'd have enjoyed his other character's suffering more.
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