Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Torture Theater Episode 3:Monster A Go-Go



Welcome to the 3rd edition of Torture Theater. In this issue we take on the 1965 Horror Film Monster A Go-Go starring a bunch of people you have never heard of.

Backstory(from Wikipedia): The film had an unusual production history. Director Bill Rebane ran out of money while making the film. Lewis, who needed a second film to show with his own feature, Moonshine Mountain, bought the film, added a few extra scenes and some dialogue, and then released it, creating an odd, disjointed film with little continuity. Rebane had abandoned the film in 1961; Lewis did not finish the film until 1965 and so was unable to gather the entire original cast, resulting in almost half the characters disappearing midway through the film to be replaced by other characters that fill most of the same roles. One of the actors Lewis was able to get back had dramatically changed his look in the intervening years, necessitating his playing the brother of the original character.

10 seconds-How is that astronaut walking on a random part of space?

0:01-Catchy song

0:02-If no nation launched the satellite then just where did it come from?

0:04-Well that doesn’t sound good

20 seconds later-No shit

0:06-And without question the helicopter pilot was dead

10 seconds later-Without question, the man had come home and without question he kissed his wife.

0:07-Without question, Jimmy appeared

0:09-That was a short car ride

0:10-He just looks like he’s asleep

20 seconds later-It looks like you just removed the weeds

0:15-In Soviet Russia, body examines YOU

0:16-0:17-Meanwhile we find a party celebrating the death of Douglass. Without question the hips were shaking without question that guy is smoking, without question that girl has a really nice ass, without question he was having his first sexual experience, without question that guy was an asshole, and without question he drove into the night.

0:18-If the narrator wasn’t talking we’d hear real dialogue and probably have a better idea of what happened.

0:19-If they had just listened to the barking dog, if he hadn’t been such a pig they
would’ve lived.

10 seconds later-Seriously what the hell happened?

0:20-Um, I thought the narrator implied she was dead too?

0:22-Well thanks for spoiling the scene asshole

0:23-What exactly is he looking for?

0:24-Douglass looks like Henry Hite with a lot of make-up

0:26-Without question she ate the cherry

20 seconds later-I thought the others were burnt?

0:27-That’s not shriveled up its called bad acne

0:28-Without question they lost audio

0:29-8 weeks? What the hell happened?

0:30-Women doctors? Ha! Next thing ya know they’ll want the right to vote

0:33-Doctor Logan’s brother looks like a balding beatnik from New York.

0:37-Why does the narrator have to ruin everything?

0:40-His lab looks more like his garage

0:41-So Douglass killing 3 people and returning to earth as a mutated monster didn’t jeopardize the project but Douglass escaping did?

0:42-Ya know you aren’t going to get much of a tan wearing a cutoff shirt and
sweatpants.

10 seconds later-That’s not how a phone rings

0:43-A dozen? That was more like 5

0:45-Douglass moves pretty fast if he can cover 50 miles in one hour

30 seconds later-So they wait like 9 weeks to call in the Army?

0:46-What are they shooting at?

0:47-Ironically enough it looked like they were shooting at a wall

20 seconds later-Why does that look exactly like the scene from earlier?

10 seconds later-Truck drivers are the gentlemen are the road, yeah…riiiiight.

0:48-It’s probably his first woman in years

0:49-She wants him I can tell

20 seconds later-For him that’s the equivalent to getting laid

20 seconds later-What exactly was the point of that scene?

0:52-Douglass’s disease is spreading like herpes

0:53-This movie inspired the Kenny Loggins’ song Danger Zone

0:56-Ok, why the random shots of space?

0:57-“Tonight’s lead story, fire men in downtown Chicago are anticipating the arrival of mutated Frank Douglass in an attempt to wash the radiation away.”

0:58-That’s a poorly designed stairwell

10 seconds later-The only way to know Douglass is near is to hear the random weird music made by a broken piano.

1:00-This is where I stop

Ok, the movie is not an hour long for the record. I have decided to stop at 1 hour because the final several minutes of this movie are so unbelievably horrible that you’d have to see it yourself to realize how bad it is. Its Deus Ex Machina at its finest. Overall Monster A Go-Go is a very very bad movie. It may be the worst film ever in fact. It’s so bad that Herschel Gordon Lewis went insane and spent the rest of his career making the goriest movies you can ever imagine (that’s a topic for another day). I’m not sure who owns the rights to it or if its even available on DVD. The only way I’ve seen it on the internet or on DVD is through MST3K which does a very hilarious episode on it.

So I suppose you can either torrent it or watch the MST3K version on DVD or hulu.com.

Final Rating(on the bad scale):5/5=Torgo Award Winner of 1965(before Torgo even existed)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Torture Theater Episode 2:Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band


Welcome to the 2nd edition of Torture Theater. In this issue we tackle the 1978 musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees.

Backstory:In 1967, The Beatles released the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band and it became the greatest album of all-time. 10 years later, The Beatles had broken up but the album was still pretty popular and pretty cool. So some nutcase decided to make a movie based on the song with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees filling in for The Beatles with other bands doing Beatle covers and an All-American setting. The only problem was...none of the band could do an American accent. So they just covered that up by having all singing(ala Tommy) and a narration by George Burns(you know that kind old man from the Christmas specials?). Yeah...this isn't good.

Notes:

0:01-I really wish the German soldiers would just shoot Sgt. Pepper's and his lonely heart's club band NOW.

20 seconds later-A golden eagle? For being an idiot by playing instruments during a major battle?

0:02-Screw FDR, Sgt. Pepper is the one who solved the depression.

0:04-So he survived 2 wars but playing the trumpet is his cause of death?

0:06-Dear god, its the Bee Gees

0:07-...AND Peter Frampton? This just keeps getting worse

0:10-NO NO NO! STOP IT GEORGE BURNS!

0:12-No, its not getting better. Its getting worse...

20 seconds later-Oh thank god

5-10 seconds later-Dammit

0:13-Oh it does get worse, trust me

0:14-"We love Money". Well I guess you shouldn't have made this movie.

0:15-I hate Peter Frampton's signing voice, the Bee Gees just don't work when doing a rock song. They're a disco group for a reason.

0:16-I'm just curious as to who names their kid "Strawberry"

0:19-That was probably their reaction when they saw this movie.

0:20-Yeah, that line doesn't sound gay at all(I know its a song, but they really picked the wrong person to say it).

0:22-Yeah, hit on the biker chick while her boyfriend is there. That makes perfect sense.

20 seconds later-"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" acts like a bunch of 12 year old boys who've just seen a boob for the first time.

0:25-I don't think calling a girl "heavy" is a compliment.

0:29-I get it, Hollywood causes lust, sin, and betrayal to lifelong girlfriends. Can we just end this?

20 seconds later-Thank you

0:32-Does The Beatles like not exist in this world?

0:35-What is so wrong with having a fling with Lucy and her Diamonds?

0:37-It's time to go? Good, thank god its over...

0:39-Colonel Mustard lives a very lonely life...and I thought this movie was over?

20 seconds ater-Yes, steaing instruments is the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band's only weakness.

0:41-So by losing the original band's instruments, the town turned to lust and sin?

0:43-Apparently in Colonel Mustard's Heartland, privacy doesn't exist.

0:45-Oh no, our daughter is gone...let's sing!

0:46-What's the big deal with Billy Shears' girlfriend leaving that Colonel Mustard's robots have to warn him?

0:48-At least it's not Shatner's cover.

0:50-Wait, so you mean to tell me that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band woud randomly do a concert on a billboard in front of nobody except Billy Shears' girlfriend with Lucy and Her Diamonds?

0:53-How the hell did Colonel Mustard know where she went?

0:54-I swear I'm watching a Christmas special.

20 seconds later-Is Colonel Mustard really that stupid to leave the keys in the van?

0:55-Steve Martin sings like a cross of Tigger and Keith Moon.

0:59-Nice to see our heroes getting beaten up by dancing nurses.

1:00-Yeah Colonel Mustard IS that stupid

20 seconds later-Seriously Alice?

1:01-I can tell the creaters of this movie hate joy.

1:02-The Sun King has some strange taste if the roundness of the world turns him on.

1:04-I love how out of all the singers in this movie, Alice Cooper is the one who doesn't sing...yet George Burns does.

1:05-10,000 volts kills you, love cannot save you from death when you're already dead.

20 seconds later-Why is Strawberry Fields singing about...Strawberry Fields? How can she go to herself?

1:08-Bob is an idiot.

1:09-I still question how exactly does stealing instruments give Colonel Mustard the town?

1:15-They sure love money.

1:17-What? They couldn't come up with yet another Beatles reference so they just had Earth, Wind, and Fire use their real name?

1:20-Ok, apparently the vehicle makes everyone stupid. Seriously, is the band that dumb to leave the keys in there for Colonel Mustard to steal back?

1:22-Lightning bolts are supposed to kill you, not give you clothes for flying.

1:23-Strawberry Fields singing with Colonel Mustard is just weird...and how the hell did the band find them?

1:26-So Aerosmith is the enemy?

1:27-I like the Future Villains Band better than the Sgt. Pepper's one.

1:29-Our heroes, a bunch of rude murderers.

1:32-Theres some pun here about "carrying that weight" and carrying a casket.

1:36-This cover isn't actually too bad.

1:37-Then they follow up with yet another butchered classic.

1:39-I love how upbeat this part is when you consider the prior events.

1:41-Um, if thats a statue of Sgt. Pepper's then why is he black?

1:42-How did Colonel Mustard avoid jail?

10 seconds later-I guess him being the pope makes up for everything.

20 seconds later-The only way to save the evil villains is by transforming them into Priests, Nuns, and the Pope?

1:43-I love how he sings the lyric "Get back Loretta" when her name is Strawberry(yeah I know).

1:44-Um...what?

10 seconds later-Don't be sorry, I'm glad its time to go. Just don't lie about it this time.

1:46-It better be "THE END".

Final Thoughts:In all actuality, this is BETTER than I remember. But that doesn't make it a good movie. Its remarkable the music talent here, you have Aerosmith, Frampton, Bee Gees(Saturday Night Fever is my inspiration for dancing), Billy Preston, Alice Cooper, and Earth, Wind, and Fire...yet it just doesn't click. This movie tries to be like Tommy but it ultimately fails at that, which is just very ironic because most of the singers in Tommy consisted of Ann-Margaret, Oliver Reed, and Jack Nicholson. This movie was so bad that I cringed when during the previews of Across the Universe I cringed fearing a repeat of this. I saw Across the Universe though, and I liked it A LOT.

Overall, the premise is ok, I don't like the story, but I like the idea of Beatles songs being used for a story. It wasn't great this time, but it worked later.

Final Rating:4/5-Torgo award nominee

Monday, August 3, 2009

Torture Theater Episode 1:Ace Ventura, Jr.


Welcome to the first edition of Torture Theatre. The first edition revolves around the 2009 nightmare “Ace Ventura, Jr.” The premise of this series is to devolve into the Worst in Film.

Synopsis:The son of an eccentric detective steps into his father's shoes after his mother is wrongly arrested for stealing a baby panda.(From IMDB)

Note:I watched the Cartoon Network version. The times should be accurate, though if you watch it on DVD.

Notes:

0:01-”Directed by David Mickey Evans” Hey! Its the guy who directed the greatest baseball movie ever, “The Sandlot”. This can’t be bad right?

10 seconds later:”Ace Ventura Jr.”? Oh dear god…

0:02-There is no way Josh Flitter is THAT athletic

0:03-I wish that alligator would eat him

20 seconds later:Hearing his mom calling him “Ace Ventura” made me lose my lunch

0:04-Are they REALLY going to try to turn this into a Comedy-Drama by mentioning that the original Ace is dead?

0:06-I’ve never heard of so many missing pets in my life

10 seconds later-Kid there is no way she is going to go for you. Trust me

0:08-That dog is the best actor in the film

0:09-Great a random, pointless fart joke. This film is officially now worse than Black Dahlia

10 seconds later-Who the hell would have a pet skunk?

0:10-Josh Flitter is getting more annoying by the second.

0:13-Hey, its Josh Flitter’s audition

0:14-Speaking of visuals, I don’t want to see.

0:15-If I was his mother, I’d send him to an asylum. No 12 year old acts like that.

0:16-Another farting joke, yay.

10 seconds later-What is Ace Ventura, some kind of disease?

0:18-0:20-Ok, none of that would hold up in a court of law and just why would they send the FBI to raid the house?

0:21-I guess Ventura is a disease

0:22-Did not need to hear that

0:25-Wow, so it’s a mutation apparently…what is the point of this movie?

0:26-Ok, considering we haven’t seen the lunch lady, that joke fails.

0:27-The attempt at “comedy” is failing

0:30-NOT awesome

0:33-This “A plus” kid is really gay

20 seconds later-Unlike the rest of the actors in this film…

0:34-I’m convinced that Pennington Jr. and A plus are a gay couple

0:35-Yet another unfunny joke

0:37-That’s more women in that scene touching him, then he’ll ever have.

0:40-And the bad jokes continue…

0:41-Again, not that athletic

0:43-I get it, he’s a creepy nerd.

0:45-Even the music is bad

0:46-Wow, halfway through and theres been 3 farting jokes.

0:48-A FOURTH farting joke.

0:49-Ace Ventura Jr. is now the most annoying character I’ve ever seen

30 seconds later-What is the deal with references to the 90’s?

0:52-I maintain that Ace Sr. died upon realizing how stupid his son really is.

0:53-HOLY CRAP I DID NOT KNOW HE WAS A PET DETECTIVE! WHAT A SWERVE!

0:54-Great, the Ace Ventura costume is now disgraced. Is nothing sacred?

0:55-0:56-The bad jokes continue. This movie is now worse than Meet The Spartans.

0:58-0:59-That may be one of the worst scenes in cinema history.

1:01-My IQ is dropping

1:02-Every time I hear “Ace Ventura Jr.” I die inside.

1:03-DO NOT WANT

1:06-Again, not that at…forget it.

1:08-Can we stop with the pop culture references?

1:09-Wow, a Sandlot reference. The “Your killing me smalls” line is now dead to me.

1:11-Ok, now they’re really overpushing both his evilness and gayness

1:15-DEAR GOD END THIS MOVIE!

1:19-The “meow” by the cat made me think Cole Snyder signed on

1:22:”You just did not make that lame joke”. That’s what I’ve been saying this whole film.
1:23-That fish should really be dead by now

1:24-I feel sorry for Emma Lockhart, no one should be subjected to that torture. At least it wasn’t on the lips.

1:27-That’s a HUGE panda.

1:28-Thank god, its over…

Final Thoughts:Wow, this is just really bad. I thought Dumb and Dumberer and The Mask 2 was bad, but this is way worse. Jim Carrey himself saw this and here’s how he felt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-hM0BD6oxg

In a much more serious note. It’s a dirty shame to watch David M. Evans continue to bury his own career. I can’t believe this is the same guy who directed “The Sandlot”. This guy is very talented, “The Sandlot” showed it. So why can’t he make another that instead of something as stupid as this.































Ok, something like “The Sandlot”, not another “Sandlot”. I feel for Josh Flitter and Emma Lockhart, these two could become good actors. But they’re being thrown in St. Evans’ Fire of bad scripts and direction. My advice for them, stay away from David, he’s lost his mind.

Final Rating(on the bad scale):5/5=GOOD GOD WHY!?!??!?!?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Original vs Remake:Thunderball(1965) vs Never Say Never Again(1983)

(For the Thunderball/Never Say Never Again story see the "Film Feud" post)

This is a comparison of the two:

Pre-Credit Sequence:
Thunderball:Bond is at a memorial service for a lost colleague. Inside he encounters what appears to be woman morning the lost man. Bond sees through the disguise and attacks her. It is revealed that “she” is actually a male assassin. They fight and Bond kills him. He is chased after some other men but escapes on a jetpack and to a car driven by the woman he was with.

Never Say Never Again:None, the credits are done over a scene where Bond is rescuing a girl from her hostages. She suffers from Stockholm syndrome and as a result, turns on and stabs Bond.

Song:
Thunderball:”Thunderball” by Tom Jones is a relatively good Bond song and the art on the pre-credit sequence is well done. Here is the video itself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luE0c90Cs-U

Never Say Never Again:”Never Say Never Again” by Lani Hall is a classic example of a cheesy ‘80’s song and sounds extremely different as compared to other Bond songs. Here is the song itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKFrA8NspI8

Opening Scene:
Thunderball:An older man arrives at a building in France. He arrives in a conference hosted by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who previously appeared in “From Russia with Love”. Like in that movie Blofeld’s face is unseen only his body and voice is heard. They discuss current events going on with their organization SPECTRE. Upon hearing news, Blofeld elect cutes one member of the organization.

Never Say Never Again:Bond is told by M that he is terribly out-of-shape and needs to improve on his work, exercise, and diet.

Character Depiction:

James Bond:


Thunderball:Suave, quick, and highly intelligent

Never Say Never Again:Aging, facing retirement but still athletic.

Largo:

Thunderball:First name is Emilio. He is an older Frenchman

Never Say Never Again:First name is Maximillian. He is portrayed as a bit younger, but seemingly towards the range of 30-40. He also has a tad more of a personality than the Thunderball version of him. He sort of reminds me of Max Zorin.

Domino:

Thunderball:A brunette who is initially seen swimming underwater. She is Largo’s mistess. She is also more European

Never Say Never Again:Like Largo, she has more of a personality and has blonde hair. More of an American-esqe accent.

Felix Leiter:

Thunderball:At first presented as an old man who greets Bond. After Bond takes out an assassin, it is revealed that he is Felix.

Never Say Never Again:At first, Felix seems to be an assassin after Bond, but it turns out he was just throwing something as a practical joke. This is the first time that Felix is portrayed as an African-American. It wouldn’t be until “Casino Royale” that the idea of Leiter being African-American was used again. He plays a bigger role in this film.

M:

Thunderball:Standard M with the job of handing out assignments to Bond

Never Say Never Again:A different M that seems less intent on using Bond and other 00 agents.

Q:

Thunderball:Vacationing in the Caribbean. He is laid back as usual and presents Bond with weapons in his cabin.

Never Say Never Again:He seems to be more of a cockney Brit and is referred to as Algernon. Less laid back and more aggressive.

Blofeld:

Thunderball:Figurehead of SPECTRE. In this film his face is not shown only body

Never Say Never Again:Is actually seen in this version. He seems more German than Russian as he is normally portrayed.

Moneypenny:

Thunderball:Still a tad flirtatious with Bond but still does her job.

Never Say Never Again:Portrayed normally. No changes to her whatsoever

Assassination Attempts:

Thunderball:Man dressed as woman, Massage machine turned up all the way, Man tries to break into hotel but Bond shoves his head through window and strangles him with a phone cord. When Bond first meets Felix, there is a man in the shower. Bond turns on the hot water and beats him up.

Never Say Never Again:A tall man dropping a weight bar on Bond repeatedly. Bond fights back and the fight goes all over the building until he breaks a beaker containing a urine sample of Bond’s on his face. Fatima Blush attacks him with her men, nearly kills him, but is killed herself.

Other Differences:
Thunderball:Bond meets Largo by playing cards

Never Say Never Again:Bond meets Largo by playing the game “Domination”

Thunderball:A character called Fiona Volpe tricks Bond and her and her men kidnap him. He escapes but he traps her at the Kiss Kiss Club. He sees the reflection of an assassin in her eye, turns her and the bullet kills her.

Never Say Never Again:A character called Fatima Blush plays a similar role to Fiona, in which she tricks and tries to kill Bond. Fatima is much more of a feminist with a wild personality and is just as ruthless as Largo and even more than Fiona. She is killed when he shoots a bullet from his pen and it incinerates her.

Thunderball:Domino and Bond meet when he rescues her

Never Say Never Again:Domino and Bond meet at a massage therapy

Thunderball:The climatic scene takes place on a boat

Never Say Never Again:The climax takes place in some kind of cave like area.

Much of the plot is different. Thunderball strictly focuses around Bond hunting down Largo and SPECTRE while Never Say Never Again seems to focus somewhat on the “aging Bond” storyline. The Domino/Bond love story is more explored. Largo is featured heavily in NSNA and even attempts to execute Bond and Domino after their love affair is revealed. There is a middle east setting during one scene.


Simularities:
  • As in Thunderball, there is a festival going on.
  • The film surrounds the idea of two stolen nuclear warheads with threats of detonation.
  • Use of underwater shots
  • Taking place at an island like area

Overall Thoughts:
Thunderball:One of the better Bond films but not the best within the Connery series. The action scenes and story were well done but I felt it was a tad slow at times.

Never Say Never Again:Fast paced film, the plot is inferior to Thunderball as are the characters.

Overall I feel that Thunderball was superior to Never Say Never Again but there were elements of the latter that I did prefer over the original.

Film Feud:The Battle of the Bonds

Welcome to the first edition of "Film Feud". In this first edition we will talk about the highly controversial and publicized "Battle of the Bonds". As everyone knows, James Bond is one of the most popular characters in cinematic history. His first appearance was an Ian Fleming novel Casino Royale. The novel was a hit and there were many attempts at an adaptation of the character on-screen.

In 1954, the first James Bond adaptation was released as the television show Climax!, an anthology series where each week different stories would be told. The show purchased the rights to Fleming's first Bond novel and on October 21, 1954, it aired. There were talks of the show adapting more Fleming novels but it was canceled and so Fleming moved on to try and get the character on the big screen.

In 1959, Fleming, Jack Whittingham, and Kevin McClory began to work on a screenplay for the first Bond movie. However, failure to come to a deal for financing canceled the project and Fleming used the screenplay's story for his novel Thunderball. In 1961, Albert R. Broccoli and his associate Harry Saltzman purchased the rights to all of Fleming's novels except for Casino Royale. They struck a deal with MGM to make the first Bond film, Dr. No. However, while this was transpiring a bigger issue was arising.

The year production began on Dr. No, the novel Thunderball was released and McClory with Whittingham filed suit claiming that the story was there idea and that Fleming had stolen it(Whittingham would drop the suit). The battle headed to court over whether or not Fleming plagerized McClory. However, before a settlement could be made, Fleming died of a heart attack induced by the stress of the suit. As a result, the suit was changed and now McClory found himself in a lawsuit with Brocoli and Saltzman. They came to a settlement as the courts ruled in favor of McClory.

However, needing cash, McClory gave the rights to "SPECTRE" and "Ernst Stavro Blofeld"(characters from Thunderball he created) to Saltzman and Brocoli as part of a 12 year deal. In 1965, Thunderball was released to theaters and was a hit. The producers gave McClory credit for the story and would use Blofeld and SPECTRE for the films You Only Live Twice, On Her Majessty's Secret Service, and Diamonds are Forever. The next two Bond films, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun would not include SPECTRE or Blofeld. However, Saltzman and Brocoli planned on revisiting the two for the film, The Spy Who Loved Me.

But, there was a problem, McClory was unwilling to let them have the rights to the characters and as a result, the film had to be rewritten. It was that year(1976), that McClory and former James Bond actor, Sean Connery, would begin work on a remake of Thunderball. MGM/UA tried to block the remake but were unsuccessful. In 1981, McClory and producer Jack Schwartzman began work on the Thunderball remake. At the same time, MGM/UA with Brocoli began work on the 13th Bond film entitled Octopussy.

The media hyped up the feud and focused on who has been the better Bond, Connery or at the time Bond actor, Roger Moore. Initially both were set to be released on the same weekend, however, due to the release of Star Wars:Return of the Jedi, it was decided to release them seperately. The Thunderball remake entitled Never Say Never Again was mostly notable for its lack of usual Bonde features, mainly due to the fact that they could not use any of the elements of the MGM/UA series. This included...

  • The pre-credit sequence
  • James Bond's trademark "gun barrel" opening
  • Bond's theme song
  • Bond's trademark drink of "Martini, Shaken not Stirred"
On June 6, 1983, Octopussy was released but failed to reach Number 1 at the box office. Overall it managed to gross 187,500,000 dollars at the box office and 152,500,000 positive in budget cost. On October 9, 1983, Never Say Never Again was released and was Number 1 in the box office for 4 consecutive weeks making 160,000,000 dollars in the box office and 124,000,000 positive in budget cost. As a result, financially Octopussy was declared the winner, however, critically most saw Never Say Never Again as the superior film.

Over the next 15 years, McClory would attempt to remake Thunderball once more and in 1997, with Sony announced a rival James Bond series with Timothy Dalton(who portrayed Bond in The Living Daylights and License to Kill) as 007 once again. However, MGM would trademark the series and agreed with Sony to give Sony the rights to the Spider-Man film rights if Sony doesn't make the Bond series with McClory. In 1999, McClory attempted to sue MGM again claiming that he should have royalty rights to the series. However, the next year the lawsuit was dismissed with the judge ruling that McClory waited too long to file claim.

On November 20, 2006, 4 days following the release of Casino Royale, McClory died of natural causes at the age of 80. As of June 9, 2009, the fate of his rights to Thunderball remains unknown. As of this day, many nowadays perceive Never Say Never Again as the worst Bond film ever made. However, Octopussy, itself isn't seen too highly upon either. I personally watched both and felt that Never Say Never Again was superior in the sense it felt like a true Bond story. Currently, MGM does not consider Never Say Never Again as a real Bond film and neither do most of the fans. However, MGM does own the rights to the film nowadays.

The Premise

At the movies is simular to y2sports, in the notion that it is exclusively about movies from articles to opinions. Enjoy some columns such as "Film Feuds" and "Original vs Remake".