Month: November 2006

Since I first read the 1960s paperback edition of Casino Royale, when I was 10 or 11, I have wanted them to make a serious adaptation of the novel.

The film that I saw last night was the movie that I’ve been dreaming of for the past 26 years.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that the reason that the Star Wars prequel trilogy didn’t work is that nobody could have made a film good enough to meet the dreams and expectations that fans had held for 20 years. Bullshit. They didn’t work because Lucas is crap when left to his own devices.

Casino Royale is nasty, gritty, violent, unflinching and as much of a direct adaptation of Fleming’s novel as could be done in a modern setting. I was continually amazed by how much of the novel was up on the screen.

Plus — the title sequence is amazing. Computer generated, yes, but it manages to be shamelessly retro at the same time….and is far more effective than the ones from the recent Brosnan films.

Go see this. Now.

For and the other Firefly/Serenity fans who read my journal:

Serenity Tales: Notes on a Fridge [On a Starship]

Click through them, and enjoy.

Hey folks–

I know that you’ve all got family plans for Thanksgiving, most likely.

This year is and my first “official” family Thanksgiving — and, in a stroke of luck, we’re not obligated to attend any large family gatherings this year. We’ll be celebrating our own Thanksgiving at our place (speaking of which — we need a cool name, damn it. Our friends have had “The Manor”, “The Hostile”, “Casa del Richards y Doom”, etc. We need one. The Skarka Estate? Minas Skarka? Dunno. Have to think about it.)

Anyway — we wanted to make an open invitation. If you can see this, you have a standing invitation — our door will be open. If, at any time on Thanksgiving day, you feel the need to extract yourself from your Familial obligations, you are more than welcome to drop by our place. Bring a dish, or something to drink, some munchies or just yourselves. We’d be happy to have you.