See what I did there?^ I definitely planned it and I don’t mind admitting that. Wow! We’re here at week 007 of Movie of the Week at Hamil Bros Studios and we’re so glad you’ve joined us this far! This week we cover my favorite film of ALL TIME, Skyfall. Queue the music!
The name’s Bond, James Bond
Stupid and cliche? Maybe. One of the most iconic phrases in movie history? Definitely. I’ve had a love for the British man in black since I was a very young child. When we were kids, we’d often visit our grandparent’s, Honey and Pappy. Our pappy had, and still has, a VHS movie collection that will blow your socks off. It’s so big he has an actual printed catalogue that will tell you where to find what film. Roughly guessing, there’s 1000+ movies in this catalogue ranging from OLD 20s and 30s films to present day cinema. Among this collection were a few old James Bond films. I specifically remember watching “Moonraker” starring Roger Moore as 007 and I was IN LOVE. What’s more epic than espionage? That’s right, you couldn’t think of an answer. This film sparked a fire in my little 6 year old bones that has yet to be snuffed out. Yes, that’s a photo of me circa 1998 where I believed I was James Bond. I believed it to the point that I wrote that as my name on all my papers in Kindergarten and wouldn’t respond to my own name when my teachers called me.
Embarrassing Story time?
Sure! Why not? Because it’s either going to be Ross spilling the beans or I’m going to beat him to the punch. Brothers like to pick on each other and Ross LOVED picking on us like good brothers do. Did other kids get to pick on us? No, because Ross would make sure they didn’t pick on anyone ever again. Back to the story. I REALLY looked up to Ross in my adolescence, and to this very day, I still do. So, we’re at the house one day and I ask Ross, “Hey, how do you spell James Bond?” I was still learning to spell. Ross says “There’s a ‘U’ in it.” His hopes were that I would spell “James Bound.” Oh no, I did not disappoint, and it actually turned out to be even better than his wildest dreams could have imagined. My teacher told my mom one day that I began spelling it “James Bonud”. To this day, I’m still tortured by that dire mistake.
Skyfall
Skyfall released my sophomore year of college. So, my good friend, James Wheeler, and I decided to take his ‘68 mustang convertible to the “Pre midnight Premiere”. We got Skyfall one night early, because it was the first IMAX film to release after the construction of our local IMAX theater. The showing was a wednesday night and neither James nor myself had thursday morning classes until about 11 am. Did I mention we wore tuxedos to this premiere? Well, we did, and here’s some photo evidence.
What’s the big deal?
Why do you ask these kinds of questions?! I’m getting there! So, to me, Skyfall was the perfect film. Not only are the story and the visuals incredible thanks to incredible direction from Sam Mendes and let’s not forget one of the best cinematographers of all time, Roger Deakins, but this film references some of my all time favorite Bond moments. Moments such as the ejecting car seat, the Aston Martin DB5, the pen grenade from Goldeneye, and so much more. All of that plus Javier Bardem playing one of the most sinister Bond villains I’ve ever seen? Epic. You know a film has an impact on you when you walk out of the theater and feel like you can accomplish anything in the world. When you feel so powerful that you know nothing can stand in your way and the world is your’s for the taking. That’s how I felt after Skyfall. It’s a rare occurrence when things of this nature transpire, but this night was one of them.
So, I really urge you to pick up this film and give it a chance, if you haven’t already. You don’t have to be a cinephile or a majorly stuck up theatrical know-it-all to appreciate it. It’s rather simple, to be completely honest. It’s just great story told through great filmmaking.
Hamil Bros Studios is a high quality video production company based in Lubbock, TX. Their work spreads throughout West Texas, Eastern New Mexico, and beyond.
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