Climbing The Key West Lighthouse

Above, the Key West Lighthouse from the Hemingway House. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I toured Key West, Florida four years ago this coming April, I was on the top balcony of the Hemingway House and spotted the Key West Lighthouse nearby.

From the balcony, I took the above photo of the lighthouse.

Since then I found that a view of the lighthouse was shown in the 1989 James Bond movie, Licence To Kill with a similar view as my photo's.

TheTravel posted an article on visiting the Key West Lighthouse (which I should have done, but didn't).

They begin with:

The stunning views from the top of the Key West Lighthouse are a sight to behold. With a climb of 88 iron steps, visitors find themselves perched atop the 18th-century structure, taking in the expansive, sweeping views of the surrounding area. Initially built in 1847, this lighthouse served as a beacon of safety for countless ships entering the port, warning them away from hazardous reefs. Today, adventurous travelers can take on the challenge of scaling this historic structure to experience a bird's eye view of Key West like no other.

The observation platform offers an unparalleled view of the town's famous sunsets, making it the perfect spot to catch the sun as it disappears below the horizon. For more than 100 years, lighthouse keepers kept watch from the top of this tower, ensuring the safety of sailors and the preservation of the historic structure. Now, visitors worldwide can follow in their footsteps and experience the thrill of climbing to the top of this iconic Key West landmark.

To read more, go here. 

Ranking The Bonds

Above, the scene where Sean Connery came up with "Bond, James Bond" in Dr. No.

Now that Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond has come to its conclusion, this is a good time to rank the actors who have played 007 since 1962.

I liked them all to varying degrees. 

From best to worst (or my order of preference):

1. Sean Connery. What else can you say about the man who started it all in the cinemas? He even came up with the famous line, "Bond, James Bond" in Dr. No in 1962. Yes, that was his creation.

2. Daniel Craig. He brought back believability to the character that hasn't been seen since Timothy Dalton's two-movie stint. He based his portrayal on Connery's.

3. Timothy Dalton. His run was only two movies due to legal problems of the producers. Too much time went by and he decided to drop out. He based his portrayal on Ian Fleming's books. Some fans didn't care for his portrayal, but I liked him as 007.

4. George Lazenby*. Despite his limited acting experience prior to his On Her Majesty's Secret Service, he did a good enough job to make the movie one of the best in the series. I would have liked to have seen him continue on, but his tenure was just the one movie. He had great potential, but it just wasn't in the cards. Because he was limited to one movie, I am adding an * next to his name.

5. Pierce Brosnan. He had the looks, but his initial films seemed like he was posing and not acting the role. He got better in his last two Bond movies and was more convincing than Roger Moore. Unfortunately, the scripts in most of them left much to be desired.

6. Roger Moore. His light touch in the role kept him from being convincing as a superspy. He tended to come off as a fop. His best, in my opinion, was in For Your Eyes Only. His movies were entertaining for the most part, but he didn't really have the gravitas to be consistently convincing.

James Bond and Hemingway House

Above, Timothy Dalton and Robert Brown (right) at Hemingway House.

For the first time in about three years, I watched the second James Bond movie starring Timothy Dalton, Licence To Kill (1989). I think I last watched it while in Mammoth Lakes, California during my Owens Valley trip.

For starters, I find it hard to believe that this year marks 30 years since Licence To Kill was made and released. Time sure does fly! (Note: it is the English spelling of the word licence. We usually spell it as license.)

During my recent cruise to Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba, we stopped in Key West for the day to wander around and explore the town and to shop and eat. One place I toured was Hemingway House, where writer Ernest Hemingway lived and worked.

During the tour, it was pointed out by our tour guide that the second floor balcony was featured in Licence To Kill during the scene of the confrontation between James Bond (Dalton) and M (Robert Brown).

Before arriving at the corner on the balcony, the camera focused on the Key West Lighthouse where an armed man stood.

With those shots in mind, I photographed the balcony corner and the lighthouse.

Below are screen shots of those Licence To Kill "landmarks" and photographs of them as they are today.

The Hemingway House Balcony with actor Robert Brown from Licence To Kill:

The same spot taken in April:

Next, the Key West Lighthouse from Licence To Kill:

The Key West Lighthouse in April (note the different paint job and the screen removed):

There were other shots of Hemingway House in the movie as were of Key West. From what I was able to see from the movie, Key West hasn't changed all that much in 30 years.

Above, the cat cemetery at Hemingway House. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

No doubt, the Hemingway House cats shown in the movie are now resting at the cat cemetery on the property. I likely saw their descendants during my April visit.

Long Drive Into Oregon and The Bates Motel

Since I had a lot of miles to cover, I got an early start in leaving Lava Hot Springs. My stay there was enjoyable (although the second day was taken up by the long time it took to get back there after viewing the eclipse).

I headed up to Pocatello to catch Interstate 84 that would take me beyond Boise to get to Ontario, Oregon. It seemed a long drive along Interstate 84 as there were long stretches of no services. But, the views along the way were spectacular.

Once I reached Ontario, I stopped at the state's welcome center to get information on the best route that would eventually get me to Crater Lake National Park. I had camping reservations at the Diamond Lake RV resort, which is five miles from the entrance to Crater Lake.

Above, the Oasis Restaurant in Juntura, Oregon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I originally planned to stay in Vale, Oregon, but I could not find a suitable RV park along U.S. 20. So, I pressed ahead with the thought about staying the night in Burns. But after the long drive through Idaho, and the long drive along the meandering Malheur River, I was hoping to find a RV Park or campground before Burns. Luckily, I found a RV park in a tiny burg called Juntura. It was the Oasis Restaurant, Motel and RV Park.

Before leaving Vale, I spotted something interesting. It was a motel in town named...the Bates Motel. Movie buffs would be familiar with that name as it was the name of the motel in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho. I posted a photo of it on Facebook, saying that I was thinking about staying there in order to take a long, hot shower. Then I was offline for a couple of days, making many of my friends to wonder.

Above, the Bates Motel in Vale, Oregon. Yes, this is for real! Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Oasis Restaurant, Motel and RV Park appeared to be a family-run business. I'd hazard a guess that the place had been around since the 1950s. The RV park was small with grassy campsites. The electical hook-ups seemed dated, but the most important thing was that they worked. The staff were friendly.

Above, the Oasis RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The restaurant is a small diner that served good food for weary travelers, most of which seemed to be truck drivers. I checked the Good Sam campground directory and the Oasis RV Park and Juntura, Oregon are not even listed.

After checking in, I took a nice hot shower. The Beast has an excellent water heater. After showering, I went to the restaurant and had a very good French Dip sandwich.

Above, The Beast at the Oasis RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I spent the evening relaxing and watching the Timothy Dalton James Bond movie, The Living Daylights. After the movie, I climbed into bed and slept.

The next morning, I rose again early as I had a lot of miles to cover before reaching the Diamond Lake and Crater Lake National Park area. I reached the Diamond Lake RV Park at about 11:30. After relaxing for about a couple of hours, I headed off to Crater Lake National Park.

UPDATE (8/27/17):

I tried to post a review at RV Park Reviews on the Oasis RV Park, but there's no Juntura, Oregon or Oasis RV Park in their system. I notified them of this. A couple of things they will need to set up a review is the campground's address and phone number. For future reference to me (and for those who may want to stay there), the address is 5838 Highway 20, Juntura, OR 97911. They charged $31.60 per night to camp there. Telephone: (541) 277-3605.

Bondage Evaluations

Above, Sean Connery in "Doctor No."

Now that Daniel Craig has three Bond movies under his belt, it is enough time to evaluate my favorites and not-so-favorite James Bonds of the movies.

As it stands now, Sean Connery is still my favorite (and the best) James Bond. His performance as 007 is still the "template" for all the Bonds that followed.

My second favorite Bond is the current one, Daniel Craig. He has the right amount of toughness to make him believable as a super-spy.

My third favorite (who was my second choice before Craig came along) is Timothy Dalton. Like Connery and Craig, he was believable in the role. Unfortunately, many others didn't particularly warm to him and the scripts of his two films could have been better. It is too bad he didn't stay on longer and receive a top-notch script to work with.

George Lazenby. He only made one Bond movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but considering his limited acting experience at the time and the great script he received, he did very well. Unfortunately, he managed to piss off the producers at Eon Productions and wasn't invited back. Lazenby is my forth favorite Bond.

My problem with Roger Moore is that he really didn't have the gravitas for the role as James Bond and his portrayal made Bond act like a fop. He had his moments where he was quite good, such as in For Your Eyes Only. He just wasn't too believable as a super-spy.

I didn't warm up to Pierce Brosnan as Bond. He had the same problem as Moore, not enough gravitas for the role and in his early Bond movies, he seemed to be posing, not acting. He seemed too soft for the role. He got better in his later Bond movies, but the scripts he had to work with did not help.  

That's my view of the Bond actors for now.

The Octopussy Collection

I just finished reading Octopussy, a collection of three short-stories of James Bond 007 by Ian Fleming.

Octopussy consists of "Octpussy," "The Living Daylights" and "The Property of A Lady."

The book's cover (I have the July 1967 first Signet printing with the cover as shown at right) states that the book contains "The Last Great Adventures of James Bond 007."  This would've been the case had the Ian Fleming estate not licensed further Bond adventures by other writers.

To get to the meat of the book, I'll start out with "Octopussy," the book's first story. 

"Octopussy" is nothing like the movie of the same name that starred Roger Moore as James Bond.  It is about a retired major, Dexter Smythe, O.B.E. of the Royal Marines.  Bond is sent to question him on a mission Smythe undertook following World War II in which Smythe murdered a former German officer to steal gold ingots.

 

There is very little of James Bond in the story, but it is interesting anyway, especially the way Smythe meets his demise.

The second story is titled, "The Living Daylights."  Unlike "Octopussy," "The Living Daylights" does contain elements that were used in the movie of the same name starring Timothy Dalton as Bond.  Following a shooting range sequence that has Bond practicing with a Winchester .308-caliber Experimental International Target rifle, the story moves to Bond's assignment to kill a KGB sniper before the sniper can kill an agent with important information. 

The KGB agent turns out to be a blonde female who conceals her weapon in a cello case.  (Sound familiar?)  As in the movie, the woman catches Bond's eye and he makes the split-second decision to disobey orders to kill her.  He wounds her instead.

The final story, "The Property of A Lady" was lifted for the movie Octopussy.  It primarily is set at an auction house where a Faberge jeweled sphere called "Emerald Sphere" is up for auction.  (The movie uses the auction story for the auction of a Faberge egg.)  MI6 is hopeful that Bond (who attends the auction) can pinpoint an underbidder who would possibly be a Soviet agent.  After the underbidder is pinpointed and is determined to be a Soviet agent, he can be expelled from Britain.

My Favorite Movie of 2012

Okay, enough of politics (at least for now).

Shifting gears, I thought I would mention my favorite movie of 2012.  This is an easy one as the genre is one of my favorites (which dates back to around 1963 when I saw a double-bill of Doctor No and From Russia With Love).

Obviously, my favorite movie of 2012 is Skyfall, the fiftieth anniversary James Bond film with Daniel Craig as James Bond, Judi Dench as M and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, one of the best and slimy villains in quite a long time.

Daniel Craig is now my second-favorite Bond actor, second only to Sean Connery (number one) and Timothy Dalton (number three).

The set pieces, pacing, direction, locales, acting and story made this movie memorable for me.  A lot of other people seem to agree as Skyfall reportedly has made $1 billion worldwide.  That is quite remarkable for an entry in a half-century-old movie franchise!

Oddly, my least-favorite movie of 2012 also starred Daniel Craig: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.   It was just a dumb movie.

Hopefully, Eon Productions can keep making James Bond movies of this quality and Daniel Craig stays as Bond for several more.

007 Discussion

Since posting about the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise the other day, some friends have been discussing the best and worst of the movies via email.

I received this one this evening:

We need to look at the Bond franchise from the perspective of the Top 5 and the Bottom 5:

Top 5:



1. From Russia With Love – most realistic spy film. Great fight on the train.

2. Goldfinger – the laser scene is unbeatable.

3. Thunderball - Fiona Volpe – the bad girl

4. Dr. No – the original has to be in the top tier

5. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – might have been #1 if Sean Connery starred. Nevertheless, a great film



Bottom 5:



1. Moonraker – bullshit in space

2. A View to a Kill – total crap

3. Octopussy – great title, but no substance

4. Any Timothy Dalton film – so that takes #4 and #5 spot

I don't particularly disagree with the Top 5, except I'd place Goldfinger No. 1.

Likewise, I generally agree with his Bottom 5, except when it comes to the Timothy Dalton movies. I liked Dalton's Bond and while the stories could've been better, I would put "Any Pierce Brosnan film" in the #4 and #5 spots. The screenplays were horrible and I never really warmed to Brosnan as Bond.

What do you think?

By the way, Roger Moore is planning to release a new book this year in keeping with the Bond anniversary, "Bond On Bond."

Daniel Craig Returns As James Bond in "Skyfall"

Above, Dame Judi Dench and Daniel Craig.

The title for the next James Bond movie and its release date have been announced:

LONDON, Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today presented the cast of the 23rd James Bond adventure, entitled SKYFALL. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his third film as James Bond 007. The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. SKYFALL, which goes into production on Monday, November 7th, will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th 2012 and in North America on November 9th 2012.

Joining Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Director Sam Mendes were members of the cast of SKYFALL, including: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe. The filmmakers also announced Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw.

In SKYFALL, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

This is good news, but we have to wait a year before the movie's release. At least it won't be the long pause between Timothy Dalton's last Bond outing and Pierce Brosnan's first.

Sean Connery Is 80 Years Young Today

Bond, James Bond turns 80 today.

No, not the Ian Fleming character, but the original movie James Bond, Sean Connery.

Described as a "man's man," Connery created the movie James Bond template that has endured the ups and downs of the movies and successor actors including Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and, currently, Daniel Craig. (Bond 23's production is being held up due to financial problems of MGM.)

My parents took me to see a double-bill of 1962's Dr. No and 1963's From Russia With Love (both starring Connery) and I've been hooked ever since. When it was announced that Goldfinger was about to be released, I already knew what to expect and looked forward to seeing it.

I have most of the Ian Fleming Bond novels (I hit the jackpot one day at a used book store).

It is generally conceded that Connery's Goldfinger (1964) is the best of the Bond movies. I think he hit his stride in that one although the aforementioned Dr. No and From Russia With Love were good movies.

Connery's last Eon Productions Bond movie was Diamonds Are Forever (1971). It had its moments, but it showed that the series was beginning to get into the silliness of the Roger Moore (who took over in the next film, Live and Let Die in 1973) years. He then went on to distinguish himself in other films such as The Man Who Would Be King, The Untouchables (he won a supporting actor Academy Award for that one), amongst others.

Connery's last outing as Agent 007 was in the independently-produced Never Say Never Again in 1982. In that movie, he showed that he still had the Bond touch.



Akiko Wakabayashi, who co-starred with Connery in 1967's You Only Live Twice (set in Japan), said in a G-FAN interview (by yours truly and Brett Homenick) of Connery, "James Bond in the movie is a ladies' man, but Sean-san is a warm-hearted honest man. He has a clear vision as an actor. He can be stubborn from time to time, but he is a real man with a bit of old-fashioned taste."

Connery says his acting days are over (almost sounds like one of his final lines in Never Say Never Again). He is enjoying his retirement. Perhaps, if the right project and role should surface, he could be persuaded to make a comeback. Never say never!

Happy Birthday, Sean Connery!