Visual Index ~ Goldfinger (1964)

For the mid season finale of Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and since we've been revisiting 1964 for its 50th, we're looking at the James Bond classic Goldfinger (1964). After selecting the movie I began to worry that perhaps the early image of a dead beauty suffocated in gold paint was too iconic to have people looking elsewhere but trust this crowd to keep their eyes open and receptive to varying beauties. Or maybe the Best Shot club (open to all -why haven't you joined?) was just purposefully avoiding it due to its fame? 

Click on the images for the corresponding article...

GOLDFINGER'S BEST SHOTS
9 shots chosen by 12 secret agents of blogging
(in chronological order within the film)

The image, created by Robert Brownjohn is nearly prophetic and totally inadvertently so... 
-The Movie Scene  *new participant* welcome!

Girls, Girls, Girls..."
-The Film's The Thing 

The all-time perfect collision of the things that, to my mind, make Bond Bond..."
-Antagony & Ecstasy 

Margaret:  Sexy, sexy violence.
Anne Marie: I suppose that’s what happens when you bring your work into the bedroom.
-We Recycle Movies 

What I always loved about James Bond is his ability to get under the skin of his opponent - to instinctively know which buttons to push..."
-The Matinee 

 A cramped space that nonetheless is full of detail...
-Drew Byrd *new participant* - welcome! 

Hamilton and director of photography Ted Moore shoot much of this film from wide-angles, which makes the film look "big"..."
-Entertainment Junkie 

There's something beautiful about the Bond movies when they slow down..."
-Basket of Kisses via TFE  *new participant* - welcome!

Three layers of depth here..."
-Allison Tooey 

One of the most fascinating things about this iteration of James Bond is how ineffective he is...
-Film Actually 

Goldfinger, however, does know how to pop some colors..."
-Coco Hits NY 

We need to talk about James Bond's cock in Goldfinger..."
-The Film Experience 

Please check out these fine articles. I really enjoyed this finale - some really funny and interesting pieces this time. This is our midseason finale. If you'd like 'Hit Me' to return in July, please do comment and support the series through comments, shares, tweets, and likes.

Scooby Doo? Now They've Gone Too Far!

In what is unmistakably a sign of the apocalypse, Warner Bros is prepping a reboot of Scooby-Doo which was live action'ed in the long long ago era of 2002, the same year that spawned the original Spider-Man already two-years replaced to no one's advantage. We already know that Tomb Raider will happen sooner rather than later. What's next from the early Aughts? Red Dragon, which was itself a do-over of Manhunter (1986)? 8 Mile starring Macklemore? Stuart Little? Panic Room? Legally Blonde? Oceans 11 with an all new cast of younger cool? Charlies Angels? 

The most depressing thing about the do-over craze isn't that it exists exactly since the movies have always tried to repeat successes. But that it did not replace sequels. Several franchises from the nineties and early aughts are STILL producing sequels (Fast & Furious, The Bourne Identity, X-Men, Mission Impossible, etcetera). You can't have both, Hollywood. We'll have nothing new ever. Blargh!

poll by twiigs.com

We Need To Talk About James Bond's **** in "Goldfinger"

[This article contains 50 year-old spoilers.]

Goldfinger (1964) Directed by Guy Hamilton.

If you're alive and semi-conscious about pop culture you know the James Bond template even if you've never seen one: Action Prologue, superfluous; Bond Girls, multiple not all of whom survive; Locations, multiple across the Globe; Talkative Villains; Impressive Gadgetry; Salty Quips; Fancy-Ass Title Sequence (with its own mandatory template items). Much of that was established or fine-tuned right here in the third Bond film Goldfinger (1964).

But we need to talk about James Bond's cock. By my count, imagination, and visual cross-checking [ahem] he is exceptionally virile, has an impressive rock-hard member, and beds three women in Goldfinger.

And yet...

Click to read more ...

22 Link Street

VF Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt & Goldie, on his 22 Jump Street experience
Digital Spy Mark Ruffalo talks the future of the Hulk. Solo movie, Avengers, so on. (BTW and unrelated: did you see Mark Ruffalo riding a unicycle on Graham Norton?)
MNPP wonders wtf Jude Law is wearing
/Film "40 things I learned on the set of Transformers: Age of Extinction"

Film Doctor has 10 notes on 22 Jump Street
Gothamist recommends 5 drive-in movie theaters near NYC. Holy hell. I didn't realize any were left nearby. I am so going. If uh... well, I don't have a car because I live in NYC. Never mind.
Pajiba an open letter to a kid at the theater watching How To Train Your Dragon 2 (spoiler heavy)
Empire whoops. Just days after that awful teaser, Paddington has lost his voice as Colin Firth exits
The Blot Michael Musto names his 10 greatest female movie stars of all time with the most recent addition being Cate Blanchett. A couple of strange choices. Of note: His three way tie (Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland -I can't see what connects them) features three indisputables but that makes it a top 12

WTF?ness
Hollywood.com posted a list of 20 remakes that prove "original isn't always better" -- is it a prank that The Stepford Wives (2004) begins the otherwise kinda okay no wait kind of respectable but  random no wait insane list?

A Forever Must Read
"How to Deal With Criticism" - this piece from The Toast made me laugh so so much - the cave story is just. gah! -- and was also so inspiring. I've done some of these self-sabotage things. Listen, nobody is ever going to love everything you do. But you gotta do you. Chin up. Back to work.  

Curio: Movie Posters Most Minimal

Alexa here. These were making the rounds last week, but because I love anything involving fancy paper I had to share. Perhaps bringing the minimalist movie poster trend to its logical conclusion, Spanish design firm atipo has created a movie poster collection entitled “Papers For Characters” that uses only papers of various colors, textures and weights. The paper is manipulated by hand in various ways - burned, cut, sewn, torn - to demonstrate an essential motif of each film.

As the A.V. Club pointed out, they also make a fun guessing game.  (You can find captions here if you don't want to play.) I'm sharing some and I've numbered them for reference...

1

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