James Bond

Over the Christmas break, Kongkong was having such a wonderful time watching reruns of James Bond movies on cable TV, and that had good memories going!  I remember waiting patiently in long movie house lines to watch those spy movies! Take "The Spy Who Loved Me" for instance, which we watched in Coronet Theater in Cubao--I must have spent a good 30 minutes in line to get tickets, and we even had to jostle for good seats!  Jolibee had one of their first branches there, and I remember opening their big giant burger (wrapped in aluminum foil) right when the opening credits started to roll--the effect was mouth-watering, with a James Bond movie for the sight and sound, and the burger for taste and smell, hahahaha!

Everyone knows that Ian Fleming based the character on his own experience in the British intelligence forces during World War II.  Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have all played the character, each with their own unique style.  In the order of production, EON films has presented 22 official films:

1.    Dr. No

2.    From Russia With Love

3.    Goldfinger

4.    Thunderball

5.    You Only Live Twice

6.    On Her Majesty's Secret Service

7.    Diamonds Are Forever

8.    Live and Let Die

9.    The Man with the Golden Gun

10.   The Spy Who Loved Me

11.   Moonraker

12.   For Your Eyes Only

13.   Octopussy

14.   A View To A Kill

15.   The Living Daylights

16.   License To Kill

17.   Goldeneye

18.   Tomorrow Never Dies

19.   The World Is Not Enough

20.   Die Another Day

21.   Casino Royale

22.   Quantum of Solace

Two noted non-official movies are the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale (starring David Niven), and Never Say Never Again, a remake of Thunderball,  starring an older Sean Connery.  Bond 23, starring Daniel Craig, will be titled "Skyfall" and is slated to hit the theaters this November 2012.

The beautiful scenery, stunningly desirable women, hi-tech gadgets, witty repartees, action sequences, and memorable stunts make the series the highest grossing (adjusted for today's money) and longest-lasting franchise (50 years) the world has known.

I enjoy this as much as the next guy!  Cheers, my good man!