007-Goldfinger or Skyfall?

Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig it does not matter. The main point is, that it is James Bond what your monitor is screening. Is that so? If I personally could choose, I would always go for Sean Connery or Roger Moore preferably. Or is it rather the direction behind the movie that I would change. Afterall, it is the director that chooses the actor.

James Bond 007 movies are the only movies, next to Marry Poppins, Raeuber Hotzenplotz and Spukschloß im Spessart (by the way: those are 2 fantastic, highly recommended pieces of culture and entertainment) that have accompanied me since I am six years old.

Since they did accompanie me for 20 years, I see myself (possibly wrongly) in the position to critizise. I critizise after comparing and because of love to the "old" James Bonds. And because of hope that they might one day be quite like the old ones again.

It is in these "old" James Bonds that class is still playing a role. The "old" James Bond is a gentlemen an excellent agent, a perfect shooter, a womanizer, but in the elegant way. He does care whether his Martini is "shaken, not stirred" or shaken and stirred. Not like Pierce Bruceman who believes or rather is made to believe by his director, that this little detail is unessesary.

All inventions "Q" comes up with are living of their detailed thought behind it.
It is the small things, at least for me a constant James Bond follower and admirer that make the difference.

Having seen Skyfall I must say that it is a good, exciting piece of script. Very well directed. But how much does it still have of Ian Flemmings James Bond whose soul was so very well presented in the productions by for instance Tarence Young or Guy Hamilton.

Does the new always have to be so very different in order to be a success?

When I was 7 years old and my family, all admirers of James Bond, started to watch James Bond on a sunday evening, I was always only allowed to watch the very beginning, hence I was not only the youngest but also too young. Everytime I tried strongly to find an argument that would make my parents change their decision. Sometimes it worked but most of the times it did not - but that is not the question. The question is whether today being 7 again and having seen the beginning of a James Bond, I would still put such an effort on converting my parents decision.

35 seonds. Pure excitement.

It does not matter, whether you are in Hong Kong, Calcutta, Ascot or Baden-Baden, the excitement is the same.

You choose one horse either by instinct, trust or knowledge and you place a bet for it. One race lasts just for 35 seconds, but trust me you will not wont to miss the oportunity to experience these 35 seconds.

Blood rushes through your body, at first you observe silently but during the last 10 seconds the excitement runs through your whole body and there is the need for a valve. You stand together with all the other betters, some of which are dressed beautiful, men in a morning suit, the ladies wearing a dress and hat, preferably designed by Philip Treacy.

www.philiptreacy.co.uk

Everyone forgets who they are but they do not forget why they are there. They are cheering for "their" horse, they want it to win.

The last 5 seconds have commenced, you scream and jump, as if you could speed the horse up with this act.

"Your" horse paces up, overtakes another one, your screams become louder, your hand gestures wider, the target line is crossed and you wait for the exact details.

It is an experience which in order to feel it you will have to experience. Is it worth it? Go and find out. Silver fox, Diamond, Blue Arrow, whatever the horses name is, the most important thing is that you stand behind it.

Big razorback scares friendly walker.

The razorback is not as weak and old as it might seem. It still has enough strength to frighten walker to death.

Ambler scares friendly razorback.

A walker scares old and kind razorback, which almost dies of an heart attack in his beloved territory close to Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.

Chained to the unchained - DJANGO.

"And this is my horse Fritz."

It is a movie about an apolling part of history, nontheless as Quentin Tarantino has managed before, the heavyness of the topic is reduced by using an unique sense of humour.

Demonstrated not only in the profund, fast, very well put together dialogues but also by the way of directing. The acting is sharp and on the spot, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo di Caprio, Samuel Jackson, just in order to mention a few.  The music is carefully chosen for every scene. However cruel or intense the scene may be, it is the music and the camera angle that lifts the temper of the spectator.

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


Tarantino does not lift his fingers and sais "you see how horrible the world was, watch out that nothing like that occurs again" and leaves the audience with their mysery. He decorates the tremendousness with humaness and fulsomeness.

In one scene, in which blood, looking more like Ketchup spreads out of almost every body in shoals, the sister of Calvin Candie (Leonardo di Caprio) flies out of the room with such an unrealistic exaggerated speed after having been shot, that the spectators thought which initially was one of pitty turns to be a more mild and humorous one.

To the people who critzise that Tarantino does not handle the topic with enough respect I can just say: Fulsomeness brings clarification, as a very wise man once said.

The movie ends and you have not felt the last 2 hours and 45 minutes running by. The heart was touched by the friendship of these two very opposite but complementary men. By the immense love between Django and his wife Brunhilde, which drives Django to combat the impossible. It is touched by the horror in which black people lived during slavery in the United States.

The heart and head do leave untouched, as some critizisers of Tarantinos way of production might argue. Quite the opposite is the case; the pictures burn into your head.

A horse waggon with a tooth on his roof becomes smaller and smaller when heading southwards and the importance of not forgetting such a humiliating part of our history becomes bigger and bigger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8CZKbDzP1E

The inner clock.

There are days when you think about something very particular. The memory is strong and very present. As if the occassion would have been yesterday.

You then start to think about the event and realize that it was actually exactly one year ago. Subconsciously it is so very present in your heart. I believe that this is one of the proofs of how big a role our heart plays in life. We do not only consist of body and mind. We also have our heart. And in the best case scenario it is the heart that rounds up every decision and act.

Salvador Dalí. The melting clock

So long, farewell.

There are extreme situations when team work is vital. Tonight this is the case.

Friday night, Bloody Mary night.

We have decided to be academically dedicated, as well as social butterflies.

The game is the following: one paragraph = one bloody mary, second paragraph = two bloody marys, three paragraphs = 4 etc. etc. Keep on doubling the bloody marys for every paragraph and you know that you will find us on the floor.

For this reason we regret to inform you that we must say farewell; how could you do this in a better way than using a scene of the unique, very traditional movie The Sound of Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNs3nK31DKc