Tag: John Glen

Cock n bull

You know what a great scene in a movie is? It’s that opening ski sequence in A View to a Kill. A lot of people hate that movie. They say “Roger Moore is too old to play James Bond”. Or “all the characters act really stupid. Or “it’s a rehashed plot from Goldfinger”. And it’s all true. But goddamn, that cold open was lowkey pretty badass. Say what you want about John Glen’s tenure as director throughout the 80s, but the man could direct the hell out of a pre title sequence. For Your Eyes Only notwithstanding, all the cold opens in the 1980s were dope as hell. I’m not saying that AVTAK’s opening was better than The Living Daylights, but I will say that the skiing is probably the most intense in any James Bond movie. Think about it dawg: it’s got helicopters flying overhead, Bond jumping down crevasses and skiing down sides of ice cliffs, snowboarding, you name it. And they show it all in six minutes or less. What ruins it for most is the Beach Boys playing over the snowboarding, but that’s just Glen’s directing style. He was known for ruining intense action sequences by cutting to someone’s stupid face, or in this case, playing an ill timed song. It doesn’t take away from the fact that it was incredible footage. So yeah, come to find out that A View to a Kill is good folks 🤷‍♂️

Not another shit post!

Fuck you!

I don’t have the time to write you an essay every day! Who do I look like?

Susan Sontag?!

As a spry 102 year old, I have mouths to feed: five kids in the states and another family I started in Vietnam while in the Marines (during the 90s, of course). So my time is VERY valuable.

That being said, one thing I find very satisfying is a good performance on screen. Even if it’s a minor role. So while I was sitting on my ass, at work, and watching the second best James Bond film (with Timothy Dalton) -License to Kill– I was reminded of an actress that understood the assignment and nailed it: Teresa Blake.

Don’t remember her? She played the role as “ticket agent” at the airport when Bond was moving on to his next assignment. The place was covered with police officers and she informs 007 that “some big drug dealer just escaped.” Understanding what that meant, Bond rushes away, leaving her hanging. “Your ticket!” she exclaimed.

This was the best performance of the movie. Yes, even better than Robert Davi’s.

Teresa Blake went above and beyond what the role called for. I’m sure director John Glen and producer Michael G. Wilson simply told her “just look hot and say the lines.” But Blake (probably) told them to stick that piece of direction up their ass because she was gonna add some subtly to the role.

Usually in these small exchanges, the attractive woman is supposed to ogle James Bond. But that’s not what Blake does. Instead she plays it like she’s just doing her job. She couldn’t care less that a “big drug dealer just escaped” and that there’s a tall, handsome British agent standing in front of her. Yet even then, her delivery of the “escaped” line fits in perfectly with the James Bond Universe. Blake is aware of why she was cast and leans into it. She plays it like a Bond girl without the needless sexual innuendos.

But her finest moment was the delivery of “Your ticket!” Clearly John Glen saw what I saw. He could have easily put that line on the cutting room floor but left it in because Blake absolutely sold it.

So shout out to Teresa Blake. It’s a shame that she doesn’t have more credits but at least we have her 20 seconds in License to Kill.