Contents Under Pressure: Skyfall

"You know the whole story"

So says Bond to his mentor/taskmistress M in the climactic stages of this, one of the best in the half-century Bond franchise. It's success lies primarily in credibly showing 007 rising above pressures, both external and internal, rather than cruising coolly through assignments as may have been the case with previous Bond movies (before the Daniel Craig era).

He starts out gasping for air, having been shot by his own fellow operative, with none other than M having given the order. But hold fast, dear Bond fans, things are not quite what they seem. A vengeful rogue agent has taken it upon himself to disparage MI-6 by revealing and eliminating agents in place all over the world, particularly in China and Macau, where much of the action takes place.

We're also introduced to a new headquarters and a new Q, the technology and gadgets expert, only this time he's a mere whelp, with the requisite cynicism and dismissal for the old ways to boot. His "war chest" for Bond this time out consists of a mere miniature radio transmitter and a fingerprint-coded grip on Bond's trusted Walther PK-38 auto pistol.

Of course, this "quasi-reboot" doesn't mean a sweep of the former Bond DNA. There are still high-speed chases (the opener takes place in Istanbul's Grand Market, of all places), there's still the sharp repartee with M, there's still time to make out with gorgeous women in exotic locales (this time on board a sailing yacht), while enjoying his signature shaken-not-stirred martini (which shares screen time with global ad partner Heineken beer) and reflect on his overall usefulness and commitment to Her Majesty's Secret Service.

And, of course, there are still villains. And the Bond rogue's gallery gets a considerable upgrade with the addition of Javier Bardem as the rogue. Slick, sardonic, sinister and charming all at once, Bardem is never better than when he recounts the perceived "injustice" that took him out of the Service and kindled his ire against his old employer.

The denouement takes us to a remote Scottish country estate, whose name informs the title of the film: Skyfall. There, the movie lagely devolves into the standard Hollywood-type climax, with much gunfire and explosions. But before film's end we're introduced to Moneypenny (Jamaican Naomi Harris) and to another character - that person's identity we'll keep to ourselves.
Its still a secret service after all.

Alpha-Male 007 continues with Omega

Over the years, Bond has become a style icon, what with his preference for fine suits by Brioni and Tom Ford, shoes by Church and Sunspel polo shirts. Bond also has exceptional taste in watches.

In the novels by Ian Fleming, James Bond wore a Rolex Explorer. But, as you probably know, he never wore one in the films. Instead, he wore a Submariner in the '60s and '70s, followed by a bunch of digital Seiko watches in the late '70s and early '80s, and then returned to Rolex again in the late 1980s.

But since 1995, Bond has been choosing to wear Omega. Or Omega is choosing James Bond -- we don't know. We do know that James Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan at the time, was suddenly wearing this cool blue Seamaster Professional (ref. 2541.80) watch in GoldenEye. This first Omega watch was a quartz Seamaster 300M with a laser beam that came in handy for our favorite secret agent.

In the follow-up movies, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day, Bond wears the automatic chronometer version of the Seamaster Professional 300M watch, the ref. 2531.80. Although out of production, it is still a very popular watch in the pre-owned watch market. People still refer to it as "the James Bond watch."

When Daniel Craig became the new James Bond in the Casino Royale flick, Omega decided to take the opportunity to cross over from the Seamaster Professional 300M collection to its then-new Seamaster Planet Ocean collection. The Seamaster Professional 300M (ref. 2220.80) in Casino Royale is very similar to the one used by Craig's predecessor, Pierce Brosnan, but is now equipped with George Daniels' coaxial escapement invention. Omega has been making sure almost all of its mechanical watches (with the exception of the Moonwatch) are equipped with the coaxial movement, and so was the Seamaster Professional 300M "Bond" model.



In the same movie, Daniel Craig starts wearing the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean (ref. 2900.50.91) watch, a large (45.5-mm) sports watch on a rubber strap. At some point in Casino Royale, something happens that even watch fans found too much. When Bond and Vesper Lynd are traveling by train, Lynd looks at Bond's wrists and asks "Rolex?" "Omega" replies Bond, and that was that.

In Daniel Craig's appearance as Bond in Quantum of Solace, he's wearing another Seamaster Planet Ocean. This time, it is the more downsized ref. 2201.50.00, a 42-mm version of the Seamaster Planet Ocean on a stainless steel bracelet. Quantum of Solace is the end of Bond wearing the Seamaster Professional 300M watch, something that some Omega Seamaster fans will certainly regret.

In Skyfall, Bond will at least wear another Seamaster Planet Ocean again. That's for sure. Omega commemorates the Bond movies often with a limited-edition version of the watch used in the movies. For Skyfall, Omega introduced a limited series of its Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M. Only 5007 pieces (it's the 50th year of 007) will be produced worldwide.



This Seamaster Planet Ocean "Skyfall'"600M will come with Omega's latest in-house developed coaxial movement, caliber 8507 with a special "Skyfall 007" engraving on its rotor. Since this watch is also equipped with the "Si14" silicon balance spring, Omega offers a four-year warranty on these watches. The Seamaster Planet Ocean "Skyfall" comes with a special presentation box.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bond, Omega also introduced a special Seamaster Professional 300M earlier this year (during BaselWorld). A black version of the famous blue Seamaster Professional 300M that has a black lacquered dial with a 007 monogram and a super-cool gun-barrel design on the caseback.

In Any Language(s)...A First-Rate Thriller: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo(Swedish version)

With his trilogy of thrillers selling upwards of 15 million copies in North America alone, it was inevitable that Hollywood would be sniffing around Stieg Larsson's Scandinavian suspense series. The much-hyped first instalment, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, arrives in cinemas just before Christmas, with the much-respected David Fincher (7, The Social Network) at the helm, and current 007 Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara in the lead roles, set to the music of Trent "Nine Inch Nails" Reznor. It promises much, and we'll see if it delivers.

Great suspense however, like charity, begins at home - and so the Swedes have already laid down the cinematic template for the Larrson stories, and I have to tell you, Fincher & Co. definitely have their work cut out for them, because "Men Who Hate Women" (the author's initial title) has set the bar pretty high.

The first challenge is condensing Larsson's 600 + page epic of right-wing extremism, financial highjinks and kinky sex murders into a watchable form that still carries the spirit and heft of the story. On that front, screenwriters Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg (the first in an onoging list of near unpronounceable names) succeed quite handsomely, and the film's 160 minute duration, while not a breeze, is certainly no chore.

Some credit for that also goes to director Niels Arden Opley, who weaves the story's multiple timelines (the present, them mid-60s, the WWII years and more) into a cohesive and compelling hole. The mid-60s sequences, in particular, come off like some "Nordic Vogue" or vintage LIFE magazine spread. the film's very spare score  - a marked contrast to the Hollywood blockbuster style of telegraphing every moment with sound, makes the high points seem even - well....higher.

Then, of course, there are the players, probably well known in Sweden prior to the release of these films, their stocks have surely gone up since - but none more so than Noomi Rapace. Playing the title character, computer hacker and social misfit Lisbeth Salander (you'll have to watch to see where nad how the Dragon tattoo comes in ), she's a "human geothermal" - deathly cold on the surface, with her coal-black eyes, square shoulders and punk aesthetic, and volcanic underneath, as other scenes will show. As the veteran journalist thrown together with her as they track the murder-myster-turned-serial-murder-mystery, Michael Nyquist is almost her equal.

As far as the movie itself goes, if you have an English-dubbed, or English subtitled version, then it may not be necessary to read the book first (although I still recommend it), when your choice of download is Swedish with Dutch subtitling, then a good knowledge of the source material is essential.

Either way, "Dragon Tattoo" is a smart, well-controlled but compelling thriller adaptation. The coming Hollywood adaptation is billed as "the feel-bad movie of the season". As grisly as the subject matter is, watching this version ought to leave you feeling good.

Bond is Back in Business

James Bond finally is getting back into action. The new management at MGM, along with Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced Tuesday that the 23rd film in the spy franchise will arrive in theaters Nov. 9, 2012.

That will mark a four-year hiatus for Bond since his last adventure, 2008's "Quantum of Solace." The franchise had been on hold amid MGM's financial troubles, with the company now trying to start over after filing for bankruptcy protection and restructuring last November.

Daniel Craig returns for his third outing as British super-spy Bond. Sam Mendes ("American Beauty," "Road to Perdition") is directing, with production expected to start late in 2011.

 - Daniel Craig and Satsuki Mitchell arrive at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood on February 22, 2009.