In honor of the opening of the 22nd Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, I will be asking my readers (some of whom are fans, some who have never seen a Bond movie, and others who could give a flying fig) a series of questions.  The new film will hold the distinction of being the first direct sequel… following soon after the events in Casino Royale .  I also found what appears to be a cool official 007 site full of facts, chat forums, etc.  But to the nitty gritty.  Please tell me your pick for the Best James Bond film… also your pick for the Worst Of The Series.

My personal favorite is From Russia With Love.  It was only the second film in the franchise but it set the tone for those that followed.  It had the best Bond (Sean Connery), one of the best Bond girls (Tatiana Romanova), the best MacGuffin, and one of the most ingenious devices created by Q Branch (the attache case).  The evil henchwoman (Rosa Klebb) was also one of the best.  (“She had her kicks.”)

Unfortunately, there have been some stinkers in the series as well.  A View to a Kill may have given the US its first number one Bond theme single (by Duran Duran) but the rest was just not good.  Roger Moore had outlived his welcome in the role (he should have had his license to kill revoked after Octopussy).  Christopher Walken was just too over the top (in a long list of over the top villains).    Tanya Roberts was totally wrong as the girl.  And gargantuan 80s icon Grace Jones did not a memorable henchwoman make.

So, there are my picks for best and worst Bond movies.  Sometime, I will plan to see the latest film in theatres and see if Daniel Craig will be able to endear himself more in the role.  He still hasn’t totally won me over, but it is only his second outing as 007.

Tuesday, Oct 21 – We visited Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and the Out of Control Magic Show at Wonderworks.  Universal and Islands are right next to each other, but there is a lot of walking between the two.  A lot of walking and not so much for the kids.  But they did have fun, especially Disney who got to see Barney Live.  I missed the Animal Actors show this year, but I was more in the mood for rides, and we got to ride plenty.  The new Simpsons ride is actually better than I expected.  It’s the old Back to the Future ride except you are now riding through Springfield.  The waiting area is themed well, and you get to watch little Simpsons snippets while you wait – talk about making the time go by fast!  The ride is very cool, and you actually feel like you’re riding around Springfield.  The Mummy ride is still my favorite thing in both parks, and it’s as cool as I remember.  I especially like sitting near people who haven’t been on it before – it’s a blast to see the reactions to the haunted house meets roller coaster.  Over at Islands, we got positively soaked to the core riding the Bluto boat ride, but that was expected because I rode it twice – those huge raft rides are my favorite type of water ride.  My 4-year-old Sammie hated it, much to my surprise because she was just playing in the sprinklers at Epcot the night before.  But she felt better after going on one of the kids’ favorites, the Cat in The Hat ride.  Our two-year-old loved that one too.  We were a bit strapped for time and didn’t get to try some of the coasters and other rides I’ve never been on over at Islands, but oh well, we still had fun.  And my husband got chosen again (4th time now) to be an “actor” in the skit they do before the Earthquake ride which is now known as “Disaster”.  They redid it and added a cool hologram of Christopher Walken.  And they chose my husband to be the “hunky” lead actor – but then, I always knew that 🙂

The magic show was a lot of fun and it made me want to produce something like it locally for our community theater.  It’s kind of like stand-up comedy AND magic in one, with lots of audience participation.  My husband, daughter, and our friend were all chosen to go on stage, and I filled up the camera’s memory card trying to record everything.  And a note to Jamiahsh – you really don’t know me well enough by now to not point at me when they’re asking for volunteers?!?  You are so lucky he didn’t pick me – I would have blamed you and had your head!  Just kidding…  well, kind of, but don’t do that again!