Hollywood Popular Artists

Sep 14th 2012, 21:29

You already know that Emma Stone starred in "The Amazing Spider-Man" and won MTV's first Trailblazer Award. But did you know that Emma's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, and now Emma's an advocate for detecting cancer early?

In fact, she's recently teamed up with Revlon for their campaign Lips Can Save Lives. No, they're not talking about a new lipstick color. The makeup company is encouraging women to use their lips to talk about cancer, and Emma is the perf ambassador for this. Other ambassadors are Halle Berry and Olivia Wilde, so she's in good company.

Emma and her courageous mom, Krista, posed together for photographer Steven Klein (who works closely with Lady Gaga) for the campaign. "She still has surgeries to go, and that time period is always kind of present still," Emma said about her mom, who has been cancer-free for almost four years. "We're here together as mother and daughter. It [the photo shoot] was hugely emotional, and I think everyone on set knew that and was hugely supportive of that."

Emma is pushing the importance of regular, yearly checkups with doctors. Sometimes a doctor won't find anything one year, but something the next. Sometimes, thankfully, doctors will never find anything to be concerned about, though it's always better to be on the safe side. Catching cancer early can make a world of difference.

"To me, as her daughter who was not going through that incredible struggle, I had this insane amount of clarity. My mind is so muddled all the time with the past and the future, that it was like an inexplicable jolt into the 'now' the whole time that she was going through this," said Emma. "Because I realized — all you have is the present." And in the present she is, especially with this new public service campaign for Revlon. Who needs Spier-Man when we got a hero like Emma Stone? (Sorry Andrew!)

Media files:
emma1.jpg (image/jpeg)
emma.jpg (image/jpeg)
emma-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 21:45

In every presidential election, there are blue states and red states, but many "swing voters" are still deciding whether they want to be on Team Obama or Team Romney. "Jersey Shore"'s Snooki doesn't say much about politics, but the Republican nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney seems to think she's a swing vote he might be able to get.

In a recent interview, Romney got all into MTV and pop culture."I'm kind of a Snooki fan," he said. "Look how tiny's she's gotten. She's lost weight. She's energetic. Just her spark-plug personality is kind of fun."

While Snooki was part of a MTV Power of 12 + Funny or Die video about voting, usually the words "Snooki" and "politics" don't go in the same sentence. In the past she did say, "To be honest with you, I'm not really a Republican or a Democrat. I actually signed up as an independent, just because I don't want to pick any side and also I don't really know a lot about politics. I only know politics about, like, you know, tanning and being a Guidette."

So can Romney talk tanning to schmooze with Snooki? While he's a fan of Snooki, it's not clear if Snooki is a fan of Romney. Whichever way Snooki is going to go this November, the important thing is for YOU to be educated on the matters and for YOU to get out and vote!

You have the power to decide the outcome of the 2012 Election. Register to vote with our super easy registration tool. So, no excuses. Vote like a champ.

Media files:
romney-snooki2.jpg (image/jpeg)
romney-snooki.jpg (image/jpeg)
romney-snooki-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 20:22

We're still all up ons Frank Ocean's haunting, goose-bumps inducing performance at the VMAs for "Thinking Bout You." After his VMA debut, sales for his caught-up-on-a-crush anthem jumped by 373%! Oh and sales for his album, Channel Orange, were up by 60%! We're also pretty excited to see him sing his heart out on the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" tomorrow. All this good news got us thinking 'bout what we wish Frank was thinking 'bout. Capiche?! If you're cool enough to kick it prosocial-style, you'll be down with our list of worthy causes that we're putting on the breakout R&B star's radar!

+ Odd Future Wolf Gang SAVE Them All

Mr. Ocean is a part of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the hip-hop collective run by controversial frontman Tyler, The Creator -- and as the unoffish Veep of this rap-pack, he should get his #trending crew considering a less violent mission. Instead of killing them all, how 'bout saving them? The wolves, of course. These majestic predators lost their spot on the endangered animal list last year and now some Western states are letting trigger-happy hunters gun down these four-legged families for furry wall flair. Tyler Posey would not be pleased. That's why we want Frank to give a howl by hooking up with The Defenders of Wildlife's campaign to stop these whack wolf hunts.

+ Cajun Compassion

Imagine you're all moved into your new dorm and ready to get your collegiate swerve on, when flood waters suddenly put your future underwater. That's exactly what went down when Frank was a freshman at University of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown back in 2005. Lucky for us, the aspiring artist kept his dreams afloat and fled to a different ocean. In honor of his journey from NOLA to LA, we think Frank should show some love to the Musicians' Village, a special project of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. The village provides a community for NOLA's generations of musicians.

+ Ocean Opens Up Even More

Okay, we know Frank's already marinated on this issue A LOT judging by the brave and thoughtful statement he released in July revealing that his first love was a man ("Thinkin Bout You" is rumored to be about that special someone). As a young gun in the macho hip-hop world, this was a majorly bold move. We'd love for Frank to consider releasing his very own It Gets Better video letting bullied LGBT youth know that even if you're feeling like fertilizer right now, the "Sweet Life" is right around the corner!

+ Swim Good. Drown Less.

We don't think this was exactly what Frank had in mind when he wrote "Swim Good" -- but we instantly thought about Cullen Jones, the African-American swimmer who sprinted to 2 silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Crazily, Cullen almost drowned when he was 5 -- which inspired him to become the pool shark he is today. Now he's using his Olympic status to reduce the alarming number of drowning deaths among minority children. He's an ambassador for the national USA Swimming Foundation's Make a Splash Initiative. We don't know what Frank's freestyle looks like, but we doubt he can keep up with the Jones -- but heeeey, he can totes volunteer with Cullen!

+ Super Rich Kids = SuperPACs.

The 99% and the 1% are a big debate topic in this year's presidential election. Occupy Wall Street put the economic gap on the country's mental map and now the candidates are constantly hyping their plans to save the American Dream. Maybe that's why Frank was inspired to write "Super Rich Kids?" We honestly gots no idea but if he's using up songwriter brainwaves on this issue, we hope it means he'll flex his power at the polls this November!

Media files:
frank3.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank-flags.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank-swim.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank-igb.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank-nola.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank-wolf.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank.jpg (image/jpeg)
frank3-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 20:14

The new domestic one sheet for "Skyfall," a simple, sleek teaser for the 23rd Bond film, makes for a handsome addition to a series known for its artwork.

While such a minimalistic poster isn't characteristic of Bond ads, which have typically erred on the side of explosive, it's still true to the series and specifically the feel of "Skyfall."

Since a new great Bond poster is as good an excuse as any to take a brief look back some of our favorites of the series, take a look at the full "Skyfall" poster and some oldies after the jump!

"Dr. No"
Like the film itself, the formula for James Bond movie poster is in place from the very beginning. If it ain't broke…

"From Russia With Love"
One of the franchise's best films appropriately has one of the best posters. Simple, iconic, the art captures everything that was great about the Connery era.

"Live and Let Die"
The poster for the first Roger Moore Bond film is a great example of the collage style you can find on many ads for the series. It also gets bonus points for depicting a giant alligator chasing a speed boat.

"The Man With the Golden Gun"
It's hard to say "no" to a golden gun and inscribed bullet in the foreground.

"The Spy Who Loved Me"
The use of color here mixes perfectly with an intricate, 70s glam design.

"A View to a Kill"
He's wearing a tux, standing on a suspension cable of the Golden Gate Bridge, while Christopher Walken leans out of a blimp.

"Goldeneye"
A giant leap forward yet true to the series at the same time.

"Casino Royale"
Back to the basic, it's exactly what made the first Craig movie great.

What is your favorite Bond poster? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

Media files:
Skyfall-Poster-Banner.jpg (image/jpeg)
Casino-Royale-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Goldeneye-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
View-To-A-Kill-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Spy-Who-Loved-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Golden-Gun-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Live-Let-Die-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Russia-With-Love-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Dr-No-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Skyfall-Poster.jpg (image/jpeg)
Skyfall-Poster-Banner-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 18:45

Fresh off of their very warm reception up at the Toronto International Film Festival, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Ezra Miller will be sitting down with MTV News' Josh Horowitz to fill us in on "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" for MTV First.

The cast will debut a clip from the film on MTV this coming Tuesday, September 18, and then they'll head to MTV.com for a 30-minute interview about the film.

It will all start at 7:56 p.m. ET this Tuesday on MTV.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" opens in limited release on September 21 and goes wide September 28.

Media files:
281x2112-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 19:00

Joss Whedon tried something a little new with his take of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." Instead of going on a planned trip to Italy after wrapping "The Avengers," he decided to bring together some of his closest friends to film an adaptation of the classic comedy. They finished shooting the movie in 12 days last year, and Whedon finally debuted it at the Toronto International Film Festival this week where it met with rave reviews.

MTV News had the chance to catch up with Whedon while he was promoting the movie and ask him about his experience directing a project written by the Bard. Since Whedon is so well known for his own unique writing style, we assumed he would have had some difficult working with a script he didn't pen. It turns out that's not entirely the case.

"When you're writing the words, you're looking for something from the audience. You're looking for a reaction. And you're doing the same thing when you're directing, you're doing the same thing when you're directing; you're just trying to connect. To have somebody else write the words is fine."

Whedon cites his experiences on television shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" as good preparation for tackling Shakespeare. After all, he didn't write every script used for his shows, despite the fact they took place in his world.

"I've run television shows where I had a staff of amazing writers writing the words and was very pleased to have them interpreting the world that I created. I don't need to do it myself," he said. "I chose a really good writer for this one, but taking those words is half the jobs. The visual is half the job. Directing the actors and all that."

With that being said, the "Avengers" director did say that there were challenges in adapting "Much Ado About Nothing" and not being able to tell the movie with his own words. As we've read in reviews about the project, that just meant he had to find other avenues -- like the visual style and his actors -- through which to put his specific Joss Whedon stamp.

"Ceding the control and saying, 'It's your world, not mine. I just have to interpret it. You're not coming to me, I'm coming to you,' it makes you stretch as a director," he said. "Some of the things from Elizabethan times and from his plays, which made perfect sense for the dramatic needs of that theater or that audience that don't make sense now, you've got to figure it out. You can't just go, 'Well I'll just change it.' You can't. You have to make it work. And suddenly, when you try to do that, you find layers in it that you would not have found if you were the person who had written it."

Lionsgate/Roadside recently picked up "Much Ado About Nothing" at TIFF. No word yet on when we can expect to see it in theaters, but hopefully it will happen before the end of the year.

Are you intrigued to see what Whedon's take on Shakespeare will be? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter.

Media files:
muchado.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 18:05

Ellen DeGeneres gets to talk to a lot of amazing people on her show, and one of her most inspirational guests is definitely 13-year-old Talia Joy Castellano, who's battling cancer. Talia was first diagnosed with cancer six years ago, but she keeps an upbeat view on life and has become a YouTube sensation for her awesome makeup tips.

Ellen Tweeted:

This young girl really inspired me.say.ly/gDH4aey

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) September 13, 2012

If you click on her link, you can see two short vids of Talia that show just how inspiring she is. It also looks like Talia's having the best day of her life while being on "The Ellen Show"! Not only did Talia get to meet her hero, Ellen, but she also got to be an honorary CoverGirl and was given gifts: a makeup table (covered with makeup) and a check for $20,000!

It was also a great day for Ellen, because she got to meet her hero -- Talia! "She [Talia] said it was her dream to meet me, and so of course then it became my dream to meet her, too," said Ellen. Awww!

The two hugged on stage and after talking about how Talia first got interested in makeup, Ellen asked, "How do you stay so positive?"

"What do you want me to do, be depressed?" Talia said. "But a little fishie told me, 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.'" Perf answer for Ellen aka the voice of Nemo!

"You are a beautiful, beautiful person," Ellen said to Talia. We couldn't agree more!

Media files:
ellen-21.jpg (image/jpeg)
ellen-2.jpg (image/jpeg)
ellen.jpg (image/jpeg)
ellen-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 18:00

After wowing fans at Comic-Con, "Godzilla" is going to be storming into theaters on May 16, 2014.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures made the announcement today via press release, and we couldn't be more excited. We don't know much about the new take on the classic monster movie, but everything we do know has us intrigued. With less than two years until Gareth Edwards' take on "Godzilla" hits theaters, we have plenty more time to learn about the plot, see the titular monster and find out just how gritty this project will get. But, for now, here's a rundown of the facts we do know about "Godzilla" after the jump.

The Director
Edwards burst onto the Hollywood scene in 2010 with his low-budget sci-fi horror film "Monsters." The movie was on par with "District 9" for being a fantastic monster movie made with limited money, and Edwards earned a lot of praise for creating superb visual effects himself with off the shelf equipment. We assume that that's why he's being brought on board for "Godzilla": a big monster movie without a bloated budget should sound fantastic to any Hollywood studio after debacles like "John Carter" this year.

The Comic-Con Tease
The first we saw of "Godzilla" was at Comic-Con earlier this year when Edwards came out to debut a concept trailer for the movie. It was overlaid with quotes from Manhattan Project participant J. Robert Oppenheimer about the atomic bomb, leading us to believe that this flick will have the same atomic energy themes the original "Godzilla" did. And at least that quick tease proved that Edwards' Godzilla should look great.

The 3D
Warner Bros. dropped the "3D" bomb on us at the tail end of their press release, and we wish we knew more about it. Will "Godzilla" be shot in 3D or post-converted like it was just announced "Pacific Rim" would be? We hope the former, because we still haven't been especially impressed with the post-conversion process. Yes, it has gotten much better since "Clash of the Titans," but we like our 3D to be an active part of the filmmaking process and not just an afterthought.

The Competition
Does that release date sound familiar? Well, it should be. May 16, 2014 is also the day that Jonathan Liebesman and Michael Bay's much talked about "Nina Turtles" reboot is going to hit theaters. There's a good chance one of the studios behind these projects will move their film so there's no competition, but it seems like it's going to be aliens versus kaiju two summers from now (and, of course, next summer in "Pacific Rim").

The Monster
The press release issued by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures (via ComingSoon.net) promises a return to the "Godzilla" fans know and love. According to the release, this movie will "return the character to its epic roots with a gritty, realistic actioner." Whether that is just the studio's way of garnering fan interest in the reboot or an actual promise of what's to come, WB can count us on board.

Are you looking forward to Edwards' take on "Godzilla"? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Media files:
Godzilla-Poster-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 17:08

If there's one thing you need to know about Nathan Fillion, one of the many Joss Whedon regulars showing up in his microbudget Shakespeare adaptation "Much Ado About Nothing," it's that the man gives amazing hugs.

Josh Horowitz went all the way to the Toronto International Film Festival to find out the secret behind a signature Fillion Man Hug.

Don't fear the hug. Embrace it. That's the Fillion way.

Media files:
Much-Ado-Nathan-Fillion-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 16:11

Winter is coming, and with it the first still from "Game of Thrones" season three.

The image comes courtesy of HBO's Making Game of Thrones blog and shows an actor (with his back facing the camera unfortunately) filming a scene in Northern Ireland. The blog post says they're filming a very important fight between "two main protagonists" who become an "unexpected pairing" and that it is a "character-defining scene, for more than one who is involved, so it has to be done well."

We have a couple of theories about who it could be (Jaime and Brienne? Sandor Clegane and Beric Dondarrion? Arya and The Hound?) but the folks over at HBO aren't spilling anything. Fortunately, that's why we have actors. After the jump you can read a bit more about season three, straight from the lips of Gendry.

Our favorite bastard of King Robert Baratheon has spoken out about the new season. Joe Dempsie recently caught up with Radio Times to talk about season three and also what elements of the books we'll see over the next 10 episodes.

"The third and fourth books are essentially the same time period split into two separate narratives, so [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] are incorporating both books – weaving the strands together – but making them into two series," Dempsie said. "They do stick fairly closely to the books but one of their main talents is in identifying which elements will work well on screen and which won't – as well as which characters they can bring more to the fore to make it more engaging."

The first part about there being elements of the third and fourth book in season three is especially interesting, because from what we know "A Storm of Swords" and "A Feast for Crows" don't take place at the same time. Instead, "A Feast for Crows" (book four) and "A Dance with Dragons" (book five) tell parallel stories, so maybe Dempsie meant that those two will become enmeshed. If not, our guess is that we'll see some of the Dornish and Iron Islands storylines brought into season three from "A Feast for Crows" so the transition to those characters doesn't feel as jarring as it did in the novel.

"Game of Thrones" returns to HBO on March 31, 2013.

Are you looking forward to the new season of "Game of Thrones"? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Media files:
Game-of-Thrones-Season-3.jpeg (image/jpeg)
Game-of-Thrones-Season-3-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 15:07

The way the first trailer for Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" is structured, it's easy to assume that Daniel Day-Lewis' Lincoln voice belongs to someone else the first time we hear it. When we finally match the voice to the face, it almost seems a little bizarre to not only associate Lincoln with that higher voice, but to hear it come from Daniel "I Drink Your Milkshake" Day-Lewis.

Yahoo! Movies quoted famed Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer, who explains that Lincoln's voice was probably much higher than history, his stature, and his facial features would have us believe.

"Lincoln's voice, as far as period descriptions go, was a little shriller, a little higher," Holzer told Smithsonian Magazine.

So for future reference, if you're ever thinking about questioning an acting choice made by Day-Lewis, don't.

Media files:
Lincoln-Poster-Banner-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 14th 2012, 13:00

Had things gone a little differently in life, James Cameron could have directed "Jurassic Park" instead of Steven Spielberg.

The "Avatar" director let that bomb drop during a conversation with Huffington Post at an event at the recently-opened Titanic Museum in Belfast. Apparently Spielberg had purchased the rights to "Jurassic Park" only hours before Cameron tried to, meaning he had the daunting task of bringing Michael Crichton's novel to the big screen.

The rest, as they say, is history, but we couldn't resist listing off some of the ways Cameron's take on the story would have made the movie very, very different.

It Would Have Been A Monster Movie
Had Cameron nabbed the rights to "Jurassic Park" before Spielberg, he planned to approach the project a bit differently. In fact, his adaptation would have been "'Aliens' with dinosaurs" and, as he noted, "that wouldn't have been fair." "Dinosaurs are for 8-year-olds. We can all enjoy it, too, but kids get dinosaurs and they should not have been excluded for that," Cameron said.

Those Kids Probably Would Have Died
Cameron made it very clear in his HuffPo interview that he would not have made a movie for kids, which means the two grandchildren of John Hammond (the creator of Jurassic Park) probably wouldn't have gotten as much time in the spotlight. Even if they had a role in the movie, our guess is that one of them would have eaten it -- or been eaten.

It Would Have Been More Violent
In Cameron's own words, he would have "gone further, nastier, much nastier" with "Jurassic Park." Know what that means? More violence and gore. We thought some parts of Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" were pretty rough anyways, so we can only imagine how much farther Cameron would have liked to go. A man getting bit in half by a Tyrannosaurus rex while going to the bathroom is pretty brutal as is. In all likelihood, Cameron would have stuck closer to some of the more violent parts of Crichton's novel.

It Wouldn't Have Had John Williams
When we think "Jurassic Park," we think John Williams' score. The beloved composer already had a great working relationship with Spielberg by the time he made "Jurassic Park," having already scored "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Last Crusade" and "Hook." Had Cameron sat in the director's chair, there's a small likelihood Williams would have been tasked with bringing "Jurassic Park's" triumphant theme into existence, and that would have been a real shame.

It Would Have Starred Arnold Schwarzenegger
Okay, we pulled that out of nowhere. But considering the success they had just had from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," why wouldn't Cameron think about reteaming with Arnold Schwarzenegger? Even if Cameron didn't cast the Governator has his lead, he could have considered having him stand in for the T. rex.

Would you have wanted to see a "Jurassic Park" movie directed by Cameron? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Media files:
Jurassic-park1-1-.jpeg (image/jpeg)
Jurassic-park1-1--70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 13th 2012, 22:38

Get your meat dresses and platinum wigs ready, 'cause Mother Monster wants to meet you!  When your actual mother asks why the steaks for tonight's dinner are on your head, let her know you're trying to increase your odds of winning a trip to Costa Rica to meet Lady Gaga!

Gaga and Omaze have come together to give one fan and a friend a free flight, hotel room, and backstage passes to the Born This Way Ball in Costa Rica on November 3. And if you want extend your stay in Costa Rica, they're totally cool with that too!

The contest works sort of like a raffle; single entries are $10 each, 5 are $8 each, and 10 are $7 each. Little Monsters, get this -- each entry benefits the Young Storytellers Foundation! Each entry you purchase will not only go towards making your Monstrous dreams come true, but will bring playwriting classes to kids in LA public schools that do not have art programs! In 30 days, a winner will be picked at random! So instead of having to bid THOUSANDS in an auction, everyone who donates has a shot at winning.

For your shot at meeting Lady Gaga, and to help all the little monsters who just wanna be like mama, take action below.

Media files:
gagab.jpg (image/jpeg)
gaga-costa-rica.jpg (image/jpeg)
gagab-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 13th 2012, 22:06

A new image from the James Bond Facebook page informs us that Ralph Fiennes will be playing a character named Mallory in "Skyfall." Did any notice that both Mallory and M start with the letter "M"? Interesting...

Also, Al Pacino and Christopher Walken are "Stand Up Guys," and there are two Viggo's in today's Dailies!

» Camp Lo reviews "Finding Nemo 3-D" [Next Movie]

» The trailer for "Stand Up Guys" is actually pretty great. [Ain't It Cool]

» "Texas Chainsaw 3-D" on the other hand... [Screen Crush]

» "The Oranges" gets a kind of dirty red band trailer. [Collider]

» Here's a clip of Maggie Grace from "Taken 2." [The Playlist]

» Trey Parker and Matt Stone say there's no plans for a "Book of Mormon" movie yet. [ComingSoon.net]

» It's a Spanish-speaking Viggo Mortensen, and there are two of them. [The Playlist]

» Mallory is a girl's name. [Facebook]

Welcome to the Dailies, where the MTV Movies team runs down all the film and television news, odds and ends that are fit to print! From awesome fan art to obscure casting news, this is your place to feast on all the movie leftovers you didn't know you were hungry for.

Media files:
Skyfall-Ralph-Fiennes.jpg (image/jpeg)
Skyfall-Ralph-Fiennes-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)

Sep 13th 2012, 20:00

MTV Movies Blog is currently running what we call the Bond-a-Thond. Every week we're taking a look back at a single (official) Bond film, giving you the vitals and seeing how it holds up, right up until the release of "Skyfall" on November 9. Feel free to watch along with us and share your thoughts or just kick back and enjoy the Bond.

A View to a Kill (1985)

Plot: When a top secret microchip ends up in the hands of the Soviets, Bond is called on to investigate the chip's manufacturer.

Title Meaning: Max Zorin uses the line the describe the view from his personal blimp, and it doesn't make any sense.

Song: "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran

Bond: Roger Moore, his final appearance as 007

Villains: Max Zorin, a wealthy microchip manufacturer, played by Christopher Walken, and May Day, his enforcer and lover, played by Grace Jones

Bond Girl: Stacey Sutton, an oil heiress, played by Tanya Roberts

"Bond, James Bond" Occurrences: 2

Martinis: 0

Card Games: 0

Cigarettes Smoked: 0

Explosions: 11

Tuxes Worn: 1

Kills By Bond: 5

Most Creative Kill: Mortner attempts to throw dynamite at Bond while the blimp is stuck on the Golden Gate Bridge, but loses control of the bomb when Bond cuts the air ship loose.

Gadgets: Bond uses special sunglasses that do something to make people disappear from view. It's never really clear, but they look cool.

Mental State of Miss Moneypenny: In a gambling mood

First Occurrence of Sex: 6 minutes in

Sexual Partners: 4 (Agent from opening, May Day, Pola Ivanova, Stacey Sutton)

Most Unrealistic Moments: Roger Moore was 57 when he made this movie, so pretty much every stunt and act of seduction looks unrealistic.

Most "Bond" Moments: "I got off eventually."

Place in Bond History: "A View to a Kill" brought two eras in Bond history to an end. It was the final of Roger Moore's seven films as 007, but "A View to a Kill" also ended Lois Maxwell's run as Moneypenny, a role she owned for 23 years.

Review:
…And thus ended the age of Roger Moore.

For those who take issue with Moore's performances as Bond, "A View to a Kill" makes for a convincing closing argument. Widely considered one of the worst entries of the series, the final Moore film puts too much faith in a tired plot and an even more haggard-looking leading man, with Christopher Walken's bizarre Max Zorin as its only saving grace.

Can we put a moratorium on Bond storylines that involve powerful businessmen attempting to either monopolize or destroy a particular industry by stockpiling a product? I'm pretty sure that's what Zorin tried to do, but he's also KGB spy, but he's also a superbaby. Things get a little unclear, but what is never in doubt is that Walken makes for a great Bond bad guy. He brings all of the menace and idiosyncrasies that he's known for, but is given almost nothing to do.

Looking back on Moore's run, it's difficult to condemn his entire characterization of Bond. The character is subject to the time he lives in, and Moore's take is at least partly a result of that. But by the time "A View to a Kill" rolls around, there's little to say in defense of Moore. He is simply too old to be convincing as a physical threat and a sexual force, the two essential Bond characteristics.

The Bond-a-Thond will return next week in "The Living Daylights."

What do you think of "A View to a Kill"? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

Media files:
View-to-a-Kill-Unreal.jpg (image/jpeg)
View-to-a-Kill-Kill.jpg (image/jpeg)
View-to-a-Kill-Girl.jpg (image/jpeg)
View-to-a-Kill-Villains.jpg (image/jpeg)
View-to-a-Kill-Banner.jpg (image/jpeg)
View-to-a-Kill-Banner-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)