Episode 13: A Banana Hammock Is Never Safe

, with special guest:

Xanadu Sq LogoThis week, we are joined by very special guest Romeo Azar, local creative director and Man of Opinions, for a discussion about James Bond and all things 007!

Booze fans can also rejoice this week, as we have many options for your drinking. Our primary recommendation is Rosenblum Cellars’ Stark Raving Malbec, but feel free to also sample Crispin Classic English Dry Cider or Pacific Pear Cider, as we were under the influence of all three during this episode.

(Actually, there was also a fourth bottle of wine, but we didn’t like it as much, so we won’t plug it in print.)

(No, we didn’t have any martini fixings on hand. Clearly, we don’t plan these things ahead of time.)

Anyway, to distract you from our lack of martinis, here’s a video that Windy, Romeo, and I (and other friends) made over the holidays last year: a mash-up of Bollywood and “The Good Ship Lollypop”. It has nothing to do with James Bond.

Show notes behind the cut!


Movies mentioned:
All of the Bond films
Hot Fuzz
Toy Story 3
Flash Gordon
Die Hard
The Bourne Identity
Layer Cake
The Avengers (TV)
About Time
Somewhere in Time
Requiem for a Dream
Billy Elliot

People mentioned:
Sean Connery
George Lazenby
Roger Moore
Timothy Dalton
Pierce Brosnan
Daniel Craig
Bob Simmons
Harrison Ford
Grace Jones
Gladys Knight
Joe Don Baker
Madonna
Michelle Yeoh
Jonathan Pryce
Shirley Bassey
Adele
Tom Jones
kd lang
Chrissie Hynde
Rita Coolidge
Sheena E
Whitney Houston
Terence Trent D’Arby
Janet Jackson
Christopher Jones
Diana Rigg
Telly Savalas
Paul Haggis
Jane Seymour
Barbara Bach
Dame Judy Dench
Dave Arnold
Alan Cumming
Javier Bardem
Ralph Feinnes
Martin Campbell

We also got into a tangent about historic, long-gone movie theaters in the Twin Cities. Here are some reference links:

Mann Southtown Theater (story, photo)
The Terrace Theater
The Suburban World Theater
The Cooper Theater

9 comments

Skip to comment form

  1. oooh, Bond movies! I love Bond movies. *downloads*

  2. Loved the podcast! In the discussion of Bond Themes – it was too bad that the FIRST Casino Royale theme was given no love!

    1. Agreed! I lament that NEITHER of the first Casino Royales went unmentioned. I think this is a subject we must revisit!

      1. The theme is on spotify

    • Elliott James on May 16, 2014 at 2:44 PM
    • Reply

    As a result of this I went and watched the opening the opening sequence of the first ‘Casino Royale’, and I was blown away sheer depth of talent that was in that movie. Since it is not ‘serious’ it’s often overlooked but there were some great actors in that film.

    1. I’m presuming that we’re talking about the 1967 oddball comedy smorgasbord that is the David Niven Casino Royale here. It’s true: everybody and their mother was in that film. I love how unabashedly strange that film is.

      If we’re talking about the 1954 American Casino Royale: I give it mad props for being able to work an efficient, understandable explanation of baccarat into its plot, which is something that none of the other Bond films have achieved. Also: Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre.

  3. I have literally nothing to add to a discussion of Bond that this episode hasn’t already wonderfully covered. Even the earlier Casino Royales get some mention in the comments above*. This episode is great and Romeo is a fantastic guest. Thanks! XD

    [Though I will say it’s been cool to finally start watching Wild Wild West, and see how the same producers of the ’54 Casino took a lot of the elements they had in mind for the ongoing Bond tv series which never resulted, and recycled them in a western setting. At least initially, as that series started frequently changing hands and veering down different roads.]

    1. I’ve never watched an episode of Wild Wild West. I know that’s wrong of me. Mea maxima culpa.

      1. I hadn’t until recently, and am only a handful of episodes in so far. Amazon had the series set on sale for cheap, and I went halfsies with my dad so we could watch it together. Early half of season 1 is pure Bond, with James West being a superior version of Jimmy Bond, Artemus being a fusion of Q and Felix, who dishes out the gadgets and helps out when needed, and Ulysses S. Grant as M. Some are so perfectly Bond that the western element feels arbitrary. I hear it’s not long before it starts rejiggering itself as the proto-steampunk adventure series it became known for, but it’s been nice getting a further glimpse of the 50s Bond tv series that almost was. 🙂

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: