Thursday, December 11, 2014

Bondlets: You Only Live Twice

1967

Using “She’s pretty” leverage from some Toho films, we came back to the world’s greatest spy franchise…and got an uneven response. 

At the end, my daughter stated she only liked the rhyming couplet of the girls, because they were pretty, and the Kitty.  With some prodding on my part, she did remember other things she liked.


Basically, she enjoyed most of the beginning and middle of the film, I think she was tired and the end battle was more straight action, and less gag based than the series direction would take it later.

She panicked at the underwater scene early on, due to her Thunderball experience, but decided it was acceptable because there was, “not too much scuba.”

Somehow the history, tradition and ritual of Sumo did not appeal to her.  Instead she kept repeating, “They need more clothes, ewwwwwww.”

Bond’s disguise in name only to visit the bad guy was greeted with a, “Are they really buying this?”
She then showed she’s starting to understand the rules of these pictures.  When Tiger mentions getting rid of a tailing automobile in, “the usual way.”  She said, “I’m scared.”
When I asked why her answer was a short and direct, “Cause it’s a James Bond movie.”

The helicopter magnet trick was regarded as, “NEAT!” however.

Dropping the meat bone on the end of a rope into the piranha confused her, because at first she thought it was a leash for the killer fish.  Then when Helga was dumped into the tank for her failure, she got a little upset because, “She’s pretty, why did he kill her like that?”

My answer of, “Because it was cool,” netted agreement.
“Yeah, it was pretty cool.”

That’s my girl.

In that vein, she also pointed out, “Everybody likes ninjas.”


She thought “Nellie” was going to be another pretty girl. Her disappointment was short lived, however, due to the awesomeness of the little Autogyro.

The infamous “Disguise Sean ‘One Accent’ Connery as Japanese” idea was viewed by her in pretty much the same way as everyone who ever saw this movie.

“Suuuure he is. Why didn't they (M.I.6.) get a Japanese spy?”
“I guess he looks kinda Japanese…
from a distance…
If you squint…
And can’t focus.”

Through most of the climax, she’d occasionally inquire, “Is he still supposed to be Japanese?”

This was usually followed by many other sarcastic comments like, “Oh, I wasn’t sure.”

That’s my girl.

As for the titanic reveal of Ernst Stavro Blofeld on screen after four previous films of teasing?
Her reaction was a mere two words:
“He’s short.”

I thought the island explosion impressed her, but it was my smart aleck genes rearing up again for the obvious blue screen of the volcano, “OOOH!  They’re watching a movie.”

All the ninjas, explosions, and craziness which set the pace for subsequent Bond outings didn’t impress her as much as Blofeld’s cat.  The white feline was far and away her favorite part of the film.

She went so far as to compose, “The Kitty with No Name” song (those are the only lyrics), which she’d hum to herself whenever she got bored.


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