3,210 words
No Time to Die is a magnificent film. This review will contain major spoilers after the fifth paragraph, as they are necessary to meaningfully analyze the film, though only those relevant to the points made. For a spoiler-free review, listen to Counter-Currents Radio Podcast No. 380, where Greg Johnson bravely attempts to discuss the film without giving away plot details, and where Endeavour somewhat brazenly attempts to discuss it without having seen it at all. (more…)
64 words / 1:05:37
Greg Johnson and Endeavour discussed the new James Bond film, No Time to Die, on last weekend’s Counter-Currents Radio broadcast, and it is now available for download and online listening. Other topics include whether Right-wingers should engage with pop culture, and the James Bond franchise more generally. (more…)
5,420 words
The release of a new James Bond film is always a cause for celebration. I’ve been following Bond since I was six or seven years old, but the series is even older than I am. Isn’t it remarkable that the same family has been making these films now for sixty years? There is nothing quite like the Bond phenomenon.
The release of No Time to Die was held up for more than a year due to the Chinese coronavirus, but now it is shaping up to be by far the most successful post-pandemic cinematic release. (more…)
733 words
No Time to Die is an excellent Bond film. It belongs in the company of Casino Royale and Skyfall and quite self-consciously reaches for the heights of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which is arguably the best Bond film ever.
I was especially looking forward to No Time to Die because — although it is very much a minority opinion — my favorite Bond actor is Daniel Craig. (more…)
1,779 words
Since my pre-review based on the first trailer of Denis Villeneuve’s much-anticipated and much-postponed Dune got a good discussion going, I decided to do the same with the equally-hyped, equally-postponed Bond movie No Time to Die.
Everybody has a time to die, including James Bond. Bond has cheated death countless times, but this time his number may be up. If so, the death certificate will list COVID-19. (more…)
1,548 words
Is Billie Eilish’s new Bond song, “No Time to Die,” the worst Bond song ever? Close. But sadly, there is a lot of competition for that title. Here is my ranking, from best to worst.
Note: Not every Bond theme is a Bond song. Doctor No and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service have instrumental themes. Beyond that, many Bond movies contain non-theme songs that are, nevertheless, strongly associated with the films. I will discuss two of them here. (more…)
863 words
Eilish. Billie Eilish.
Never afraid to wring every drop of money out of a pop sensation, this is who the film industry is having sing the theme to the new James Bond film, No Time to Die. The media is billing this interestingly; the New York Times covered the song with glowing praise and a mention of Eilish being the youngest person to ever record a Bond theme. (more…)
3,353 words
Jef Costello
The Importance of James Bond & Other Essays
San Francisco: Counter-Currents, 2017
“Where was that stooped and mealy-colored old man I used to call Poppa when the merry-go-round broke down?”[1]
“This guy can’t possibly live up to the song they wrote about him… probably just an accountant named Wallace.”[2] (more…)
4,088 words
Max Allan Collins and James L. Traylor
Mickey Spillane on Screen: A Complete Study of the Television and Film Adaptations
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2012
“Dat’s Mike Ham-muh?” — Dismayed patron at a showing of I, The Jury (1953)
“Mike Hammer is Mickey Spillane . . . Mickey Spillane is Mike Hammer” — (more…)
3,008 words
“These,” he pointed around, “are my other guns. The parallel is exact!” — Sherlock Holmes, “The Empty House.”[1]
Having devoted considerable time and attention to the genres of weird fiction and science fiction,[2] it is perhaps long overdue that I should spend some time considering the remaining one of the Three Disreputable Genres,[3] detective fiction. (more…)
