Hamlet on stage

It struck me recently: I haven't seen a play in a long while. Not since I am a dad, at least. A few years ago, I used to go and watch them whenever I could. I need to put this on my new year's resolutions list: go and see some plays. And I also found out, thanks to the Facebook page of the National Theatre that they are making a production of Hamlet. It is the very first play of Shakespeare I read and maybe my favourite one. Yet I don't think I have ever seen it performed on stage, only in films. So I might see if I can watch it on cinema screen, like I did for many NT productions a decade or so ago.

Blofeld will Return...

You know I am a huge James Bond fan and I am getting very excited about the untitled yet "Bond 25", which is being filmed and coming next year. Well, I am getting more and more excited, as we learned recently that actor Christoph Waltz, who played Bond archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld, is most likely going to be in the next movie in some capacity. The Daily Mail article on the subject here. I am very, very happy about this development. There were a few things I did not agree with regarding the way they developed the Blofeld character in Spectre, but overall I thought Waltz was competent and gave a chilling performance as the criminal mastermind. So I am glad we will see more of him.

"The dead are alive"

I have never been a big fan of the first of November: it is after Halloween, I feel the post-Halloween blues, November is a month I generally dislike and so on. But I am learning to appreciate the month and its beginning. One movie in particular made me rediscover and enjoy that date, albeit by proxy. I am talking of course of Spectre, the last James Bond movie. It has its share of flaws, but I enjoyed it nevertheless and it is a brilliant piece of cinematography. The pre-title sequence is set during the Mexican Day of the Dead. Far more fun than All Saints' Day. It is a brilliant opening and has a great sense of place, character and atmosphere. You will find a short bit of it below. I think watching the movie might become a new November tradition for me.

Blofeld: I was right all along

I haven't blogged about James Bond for a while and wanted to post something since I saw the last movie. Before reading forward, for those who have not seen Spectre yet: spoiler alert! This post is revealing a big plot twist. Okay, so now let's get on. So for a while, I had been hoping for Ernst Stavro Blofeld to return. I had my ideas about who would play him and started suspecting him from the moment he was rumoured to be cast as a villain. Well, turned out I was right all along. I am not singing my own praise here, as it was pretty much a Jekyll and Hyde twist. Still, I was right. And, while Blofeld did not turned up as close to the novels as I wanted him to, I am still quite happy about how things turned out. And the revelation, however expected, was chilling. You can see it (and hopefully enjoy it) below. My wife did not understand why I was so happy about this revelation. But it was like a long, long dream coming true. So here it is:

Countdown to Spectre

For today's countdown to Halloween, please see this post. Tonight, I want to mention that I am going through another countdown and another kind of ghost: the countdown to the upcoming Bond movie Spectre. It is coming near the end of the month and I cannot wait to see it. As you know, I'm a huge Bond fan. So this is something else I am looking forward to. To cope with the wait, I have been watching over and over again the trailers and reading articles about the movie. And it reminded me that I had not uploaded the latest trailer on Vraie Fiction. So here it is.

The name is Spectre

Ohhhh, goodie, goodie, goodie! The Bond fan in me was happy today: the new, full, full blown and fully glorious trailer of Spectre was released this morning, at 8:00AM  BST. I know I am that precise, because I watched it first thing in the morning on my phone, as soon as it was released. I was not merely happy, or excited, I was bleeding ecstatic. This may actually be the Bond movie I have been dreaming about, but never daring to hope, let alone expect, to see one day. Bond's nemesis Blofeld is most likely back, with the face of Christoph Waltz. This is a lovely throwback not only to the old days, but also to the novels. I don't want to dwell on it like I did for the previous teaser and the first one. So I am leaving the trailer below for you to enjoy and please feel free to comment on it. Am I the only one to be excited about this movie? I don't think so. And by the way, the acrylic painting on this post was done by local (I think) artist Teresa Illman, based on a scene from Skyfall. I thought I would put it here to give this post a personal touch.

New Spectre teaser

This acrylic painting was done by (local?) artist Teresa Illman. It is titled James Bond/Daniel Craig and it is of course inspired from a scene of Skyfall. I wonder if Ms Illman is into the movie, the character or the actor. But in any case, fan art doesn't get any better than this and looking at the picture I felt a connection with the artist as a fellow Bond fan. A Bond fan that is getting very excited as Spectre is getting filmed and its release date is getting closer and closer. And we are getting more news about the upcoming movie. Recently it was a first glimpse at Christoph Waltz as the (most likely) villain of the piece, today we have the new TV spot teaser. You can see it below. There is a lot from the original teaser, which I loved, but also a good deal of new footage.

I have a few observations about it:

-Obviously, this one is far more action orientated. The set pieces are impressive and everything looks very exciting.
 - Hinx seems to be one nasty piece of work: at what appears to be a SPECTRE meeting, he dispatches someone by twisting his neck like a chicken.
-Bond is depicted more like a seducer, as you first see him getting closer to the character of Léa Seydoux, then Monica Bellucci's.
-There is a beautiful feeling of danger coming from that scene between Bond and Lucia Sciarra: she is warning him about imminent danger... which does not stop him from coming at her.
-The classic line: "Bond, James Bond" delivered by Craig here is the best in a long time.

So here we have it. What did you think of it? I am enthusiastic, as you can tell. Oh, and for the observers, I left another bit of homage to James Bond on this post. Try to find it.

Bond in Rome

I thought I would blog a bit more about the upcoming James Bond movie Spectre. Because there are some tidbits of news regarding the movie I am quite excited about. They have filmed a car chase in Rome between James Bond and villain Mr Hinx, played by Dave Bautista. There is a vlog about it, which I have uploaded below.

Some observation:

-Rome is beautifully atmospheric and so perfect for such a movie. Because of the rich history of the city, full of ghosts itself.
-Orange for the Jaguar is a very menacing colour.
-Mr Hinx looks like such a great villain: elegant yet brutish looking, and with something anachronistic about him, his pointy beard giving him the look of a Renaissance assassin. There is something also devilish about his beard.
-That said, Bautista seems like such a nice guy.

Rising Spectre

Oh, goodie, goodie, goodie! The geek in me is so happy today! The James Bond fan, a thousand times more. If it is even possible. Because the Spectre teaser trailer was finally released. What can I say? First, as you can see, I love it. I love how the story will tie in with the previous three Craig Bond movies. I love that at least a good deal of the plot seems to be based on the short story Octopussy. Also, Eyes Wide Shut, one of Kubrick's most underrated masterpiece, seems to have inspired the meeting scene, down to the use of the James Bond theme. There is a neat little nod at ornithology, which gave Ian Fleming his inspiration for the name of James Bond, when you see Bond walking in the old house and the crows flying by him. Maybe I am reading too much about it, but I don't think so: Sam Mendes is good with making these kind of references.

 And of course there is Blofeld, the character I was looking forward to meet (again). Because I think it is fairly sure now that Christoph Waltz will be Blofeld, as I was expecting/hoping when we learned he was cast. Here, if he is not Blofeld, he seems to have the same function as him in the organization: chairman of the board, leader, literally the enemy in the shadow, the affable villain whose veneer of amiability does not hide his ruthless and cruel nature. If Waltz is indeed Blofeld, he is devoid of all the parodied elements of a certain spoof I will not dignify to name here. He is back to its roots. Anyway, here is the trailer for you to enjoy, if you have not done so. And tell me what you think.

It will be SPECTRE

Breaking news today, something that got be very excited: the title for the 24th Bond movie has been revealed, at last. And it will be SPECTRE. As in SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. That means yes, Blofeld might finally be back. You can see how Sam Mendes presented it here. I say I am excited. In fact, it is a terrible understatement: I have been wanting to see SPECTRE and Blofeld back. I have been hoping for it for a while. Half expecting it more recently. Now, this is no more a rumor pr wishful thinking. I am very much looking forward to the new movie. You will find below the teaser title, which I uploaded just for kicks. And did I mention that I love the title? It echoes so much history of the Bond franchise and the novels too. And it is a great title in its own right: the menace a spy fights, in reality or fiction, is shadowy and spectral.

Christoph Waltz as Blofeld?

I have blogged about a year ago about the possibility of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the nemesis of James Bond, to return haunting the British secret agent in future movies. Well, it seems that I may have my wish, at least according to the latest rumors about the production of Bond 24. Austrian actor Christoph Waltz has been apparently been cast in the movie, says the Daily Mail. And the role may be the villain of the movie and it may be Blofeld.

Now, Blofeld has been rumored to come back for a good while now, so it may be only that, the latest trend to an old non-story. But it would make sense to have Waltz in the role and I would love to see him in it. First, because like Blofeld, he is a bit of a chameleon: his face could look like the one of a wise, benevolent father figure (as in Django Unchained) or someone far more sinister, cold, efficient, lethal. He also has a face that could look a bit like Blofeld's in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, both aristocratic and malevolent even when amiable. While he is a bit older than Bond's nemesis, Christoph Ganz has about the same age and he is noticeably older than Daniel Craig, like Blofeld is older than Bond. While their respective nationalities are different: Waltz being Austrian and Blofeld Polish, Blofeld does have mixed blood and some of it is Germanic, at least this is what he claims in the novels. His name is Germanic.

So Christoph Waltz has the right look, the right background and more importantly the right acting skills. I am trying not to get too excited about the possibility, because there is truly very little evidence at this point, and far too much speculation. Still, if he plays the villain, it is a great casting choice. And he would be perfect for Blofeld.

Simon Russell Beale as King Lear

I did not blog about it since I saw it, but I thought I would write now about the production of King Lear by Sam Mendes for the National Theatre, especially about Simon Russell Beale in the title role. Long story short: seen it, loved it. I did not appreciate it as much as I could as I watched in an evening of the week and I was tired, so I am considering seeing it again. There are still tickets available and performances will end in early July, by the way. So you can see for yourself.

What sold me this production and made me rediscover the play is the performance of Beale. He plays Lear first as an aging dictator eager to enjoy his retirement, but nevertheless prone to fits of anger, this destructive wrath old age and power could bring to such a man. In the other production I saw, years ago, Lear was depicted as an elderly king, whose old age made him capricious. I think this is how he is often perceived in productions, I may be wrong. In this one, he is a hard, feared military leader, stripped slowly from his power, social stature and wealth by his daughters, who do have motivations to get back at him, to finally become a bitter old man and finally a madman. Beale then plays him as suffering from senile dementia, losing his inhibitions, trembling, becoming confused and restless. This is a stroke of genius. Lear's descent into madness is both unsettling and fascinating. His vulnerability forces us to sympathizes with the former tyrant and to face an illness that might be our own one day.

The voice of Simon Russell Beale

As my readership knows, I am soon going to see King Lear, with Simon Russell Beale in the title role. More about the play here. And it struck me recently that he also did a narration of Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, one of my favourite children's books, which I blogged about here. The copy of the version I bought comes with a CD with the story read by him. I think it may be the only time I heard him. And, well, I find it surreal, Simon Russell Beale performing King Lear now, being a thespian and veteran Shakespearean actor, and incidentally reader of children's books. I don't find this demeaning at all, I know many professional actors do this, and Pumpkin Soup is a modern classic in its own right. In his entry on Wikipedia, I also learn that he is a music historian. I know so little of his work, but I like him more and more. This week, I intend to listen to the CD again, giving a lot of attention to his voice.

King Lear in London?

I don't really like London and I am trying hard to like the city again, or at least stop disliking it as much. I don't know when it started, I think it was around my long bit of unemployment in 2008, when I was going there every week or so for interviews with job agencies. I grew disgusted of the city. Nevertheless, I went there last Saturday for the first time in a long time. I thought I would get reacquainted with the city in small doses. But soon I read something in the Metro that made me want to back sooner than expected.

I haven't been to see a play in ages, not since last year in Manchester and I have been wanting to see a play for ages. Then flicking through the Metro I discovered that the National Theatre is featuring King Lear by... Well, you know the author. The play is directed by Sam Mendes and Simon Russell Beale has the title role. It just struck me: I really want to see that play. Not merely because it is the Bard, or because it has been well criticized, or because the director has directed the last and will direct the next James Bond movie, but because I miss seeing something on stage, I miss the atmosphere of a theater. And, well, I do like King Lear quite a lot. I am not sure how feasible it will be in the next few weeks, nevertheless I have decided that will go and see more plays. Even though I envy the actors on stage.