Unabashed

I’m sure it says something about my nature, that my favorite series’ of books are the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Aubrey-Maturin books, and Lone Wolf and Cub. Maybe it’s just that I enjoy different varieties; I don’t know. What I do know is I find every book in each of these series’ imminently entertaining.

If you read my recent post, 10 Things I’ve Done That You Probably Haven’t, you’ll possibly have noticed that I mentioned that I’d read the Patrick O’Brian canon. Of the three series’, this one was the longest at 21 books. There are a few other notable books in his canon, but none that compare to Aubrey-Maturin. The naturalist in me respects and is in awe of Dr. Maturin. I’ve laughed at his nerdiness, been impressed by his boldness, and intimidated by his fearlessness. Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey is not nearly as sophisticated nor complex as his running mate, but is equally admirable. You can count on Aubrey to be resolute, defined, pragmatic and explosive when he needs to be.

Before the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World came out, I was sure Jack Aubrey looked just like me. He’s described as being tall and weighing about 16 stone with blonde hair. Right now I’m about 15 stone, but I’m 6′3″ and, when I was reading the bulk of the series I was running along at about 16. But then the movie came out, and now Russell Crowe’s face is indelibly etched in my mind onto the head of Lucky Jack. Still, it’s fun to fantasize that I’m the fearless captain of the Surprise, barking orders, tasting the wind, and endlessly pacing the quarterdeck. The movie itself is decent, drawing from several of the books rather than attempting to follow the series. It’s obvious that this was a one-time shot and would be no Harry Potteresque attempt at recreating the series on the silver screen. It was fun to watch the sea battles. I crank up my home theater and revel in the excitement of full broadsides booming, shaking the windows. I’m not very enamored with the acting in the movie, but I’ll usually lay blame for poor acting on the director’s shoulders, especially when the movie has known good actors, as this one does. Paul Bettany doesn’t fit with my image of Maturin, who should be shorter than Bettany and … I don’t know. Different. But then I’m not a big Paul Bettany fan. So. The movie’s shortcomings I blame on the director.

Also, it’s one of those sets of books that can alter your perceptions. I.E.; I was raised on images of Americans running the Redcoats back across the ocean. The song Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton was one of my favorites as a kid, in which we “Caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans” and sent them running. How much media is focused on Great Britain being the great evil? Movies like Braveheart and Quigley Down Under, as well as The Pirates of the Caribbean, where the Brits’ stuffy bureaucracy complements their ranking officers’ personal ambitions like nobody’s business.

Sure, it’s in our DNA: the majority of citizens of the US are descended from GB castoffs anyway, right? But James Bond did a lot towards allowing me to look upon the Mother country as something more than a bullying windbag. And now, finally, I can look at the face of England with the eye of a brother, wanting to forget the wrongs, glad we’re  friends. Frankly, I’ve visited the Olde Country, and I liked it. I like the people. I like the mood. Maybe I’m just an Anglo wondering about his roots, but in England I see the country that invented naval dominance and gave us Shakespeare, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Patrick O’Brian. And besides: it’s America who’s turned into the bully now, and frankly, that appalls me. I grew up with a Robin Hood mentality. I thought it was a-okay to steal from the rich, stuffy bastards to give to the poor needy folk. And now we are the rich, stuffy bastards, and unfortunately, we don’t quite carry that banner with the class that England did in her heyday.

For a dose of what was good about Great Britain when she was the big shark in the pond, read the Aubrey-Maturin series. You won’t regret it.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: America, Aubrey, bond, Britain, Great, Holmes, james, Maturin, O'Brian, Patrick, Shakespeare, Sherlock, UK

Movies for guys who like movies: Casino Royale is absolutely excellent. None of the smirking prettiness of Pierce Brosnan or the almost-obscene gadgetry of Roger Moore, just a flick with an almost-dour Daniel Craig trading blows with the bad guys, ordering the perfect drink (known as the James Bond Martini, also known as the “Vesper”) and frequenting many exotic, beautiful locations. Many “guys” will fault the film for showing Bond’s less-masculine touchy-feely side, but I’d say that goes right in line with the legend that Ian Flemming built, or at least returns to the roots of Bond’s nature. Besides, heroes need flaws too. It’s a fact.

And what of the Bond men? Connery was the best so far, and I’m not here to put Craig up above his head–yet. But if Craig pulls off a couple more performances like this one he will stand head and shoulders above the rest, even the indomitable Connery. Roger Moore was a methuselah when he began his run and with his final Bond film twelve years later he was a hundred and seventeen years old. The most painful thing to watch in the entire series was Roger Moore hobbling on those poor arthritic knees. Timothy Dalton–no comment. The Dalton movies were a dark period in the franchise, for me. Brosnan was just too pretty to be Bond. Don’t get me wrong, I like Brosnan, I’ve liked many of his movies–even the Bond movies, although they got a little too gaudy for my tastes. Loved the Matador–but during his Bond run the focus was just too heavily laid on a large-set dramatic sequence which would define the entire film. I’d much rather see the emphasis on the exotic locales and the plot, plot, PLOT! Casino Royale provides on all fronts: villain, Bond Girl, exotic locales, plot; it has it all. Was Casino Royale the best Bond movie ever? In my opinion: Yes. Irrefutably.

Some of the “guy movies” I hear about lately are of the XXX/Fast and the Furious ilk, or worse. Mission Impossible II (or pretty much anything directed by John Woo) was a huge-budget, high-explosive drabfest. MI:III kind of got back to its roots, but it’s so hard to take Tom Cruise seriously any more. I’ll spend my money on the Bourne franchise with its flawed hero and the rejuvenated Bond franchise, thanks in large part to Mr. Craig.

Keep a watch this summer for the Bourne Ultimatum starring Matt Damon, and in ‘08 for Bond22 with Daniel Craig.

And now, the Bond Martini, ala Ian Flemming in 1953’s Casino Royale (the book):

“A dry martini,” he said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet.”
“Oui, monsieur.”
“Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”
“Certainly monsieur.” The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
“Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,” said Leiter.
Bond laughed. “When I’m…er…concentrating,” he explained, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I think of a good name.”

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: bond, bourne, casino, james, jason, martini, royal, vesper