The name's Bond. James Bond. You know him from such recent films as "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace," but the spy with a license to kill has decades filled with other adventures worth pouring into. As such, we're looking back on Agent 007's past with this week's Watch It.
Meanwhile, we're also keeping our heads in TV land, as one of our writers goes back to the recent past with a Joss Whedon classic while another dives head first into the Battle of Blackwater. Get all that and more in this week's column!
"From Russia With Love"
In preparation for "Skyfall," I'm watching every single James Bond movie for a weekly look back at the super spy series. Over the weekend, I caught the second movie in the franchise, "From Russia with Love," for the first time ever. With all of the series' hallmarks firmly in place with the first film, "Dr. No," Connery's next outing as 007 fails to build off of the formula in any way or, at the very least, provide a thrilling climax. Connery's Bond will always be inherently fun to watch and a platinum blond Robert Shaw steals the show as SPECTRE assassin Donald Grant, but "From Russia with Love" is little more than the James Bond movie in between "Dr. No" and "Goldfinger."
-Kevin P. Sullivan, MTV Movies editorial assistant
"Game Of Thrones"
One word: "Blackwater." This past Sunday's episode was the best reason to watch "Game of Thrones" this season. One person on Twitter described it as "The Avengers" of television episodes, and I'd argue that the comparison is apt. It's clear that all the budget of this season went to making the Battle of Blackwater be as awesome as possible, and it succeeded so freaking well. Even as a die-hard Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen fangirl, I was totally fine with missing them for an hour so we could spend more time watching Tyrion Lannister "rain fire on them." Everyone from Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey to Rory McCann and Sophie Turner were in top form, and if Dinklage doesn't earn another Emmy for his performance in "Blackwater" alone, then I'm going to cut off half my nose in protest.
-Terri Schwartz, MTV Movies contributor
"Firefly"
Shame on me for hopping aboard the good ship Serenity so late. I'm a wholehearted sci-fi lover and a big fan of all parties involved, but still, I had somehow never seen a single episode of Joss Whedon's "Firefly" until this past Memorial Day holiday weekend. Now, I'm three episodes and a movie away from completing the saga of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. Already knowing some of the big spoilers coming my way (hear my preemptive sobbing over Wash!) isn't wonderful, but it doesn't detract from the sheer awesomeness of Zoe, Jayne, the Tams and the rest. If you, like me, are late to the "Firefly" game, it's streaming in its entirety on Netflix. Get on it, asap.
-Josh Wigler, MTV Movies Blog editor
"The Tudors"
While I have a list of TV shows I need to jump on the bandwagon for, I'm currently in the midst of re-watching Showtime's "The Tudors" on Netflix. The show interests me on many levels. For one, I'm a big fan of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Natalie Dormer. I love their chemistry as she plays the Anne Boleyn to his King Henry VIII, and since I watched the show while it was on television, it's been quite a few years since I saw them in the earlier seasons. I'm also infatuated with English royalty—specifically the reigns of Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. While the show stretches its historical accuracy thin, I enjoy it for its entertainment factor as it creates a fictional world where my favorite historical characters come to life.
-Fallon Prinzivalli, MTV Movies editorial assistant
"Pretty Woman"
It was a hot and sticky holiday weekend here in NYC, and at one point the only activity I could manage was lying on my sofa, flipping through the TV channels. Then I found "Pretty Woman." This is a film I've seen many, many times, but it's one of those movies, like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Dirty Dancing," that I just have to watch if I happen upon it. It's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, and the concept is ridiculous if you really think about it: A rich, handsome businessman gets lost in Hollywood, asks directions from a young, beautiful prostitute, soon they fall in love and presumably live happily ever after. But Richard Gere and Julia Roberts are so damned charming that you forgive all that nonsense and just go with it. The quality supporting cast (Jason Alexander, Hector Elizondo, Laura San Giacomo, Larry Miller) helps too.
-Tami Katzoff, MTV News producer
What are you watching this week? Let us know in the comments section below or hit us up with your watch list on Twitter!
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