About the Roger Moore 007 double feature

Blofeld menaces 007 at the start of For Your Eyes Only

The blog went to a showing of the double feature of The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only.

The most obvious reaction was it was great to see both in a movie theater for the first time in years. Even with giant TV sets, there is something about the theater experience that can’t be matched.

A few other things:

–In Spy, there were a few shots that seemed fuzzy, almost like a picture that had been blown up too large. For example, there was a shot of Bond and Anya approaching Atlantis when Bond is posing as a marine biologist. But when the next interior shot took place, the focus was sharp.

To be clear, this was not a major problem but was noticeable now and then. This problem wasn’t in the version of For Your Eyes Only at the same theater.

–Eyes’ sound was outstanding. The movie was originally recorded in Dolby so perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising. But there were cases (such as Blofeld/sort-of Blofeld electrocuting a helicopter pilot in his employ) where you could almost feel fillings in your teeth being rattled.

–Both movies began with the newest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo (present since Skyfall) followed by a United Artists logo. The version of Spy seen by the blog had the original United Artists logo from 1977, referencing how UA was owned by Transamerica Corp.

The double feature showings, held today and on May 31, benefited UNICEF. Roger Moore, who died last month, was an ambassador for UNICEF since 1991.

Wonder Woman scores a $103.3M opening weekend

Wonder Woman poster

UPDATE (June 5): Wonder Woman’s opening weekend was actually better than the estimate released on Sunday. The movie’s box office take in the U.S. and Canada was $103.3 million, according to the Box Office Mojo website.

ORIGINAL POST (June 4): Wonder Woman, after generating good reviews, also scored at the box office.

The film, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, will have an estimated $100.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, according to Variety.

It’s the biggest opening of a film from a woman director. The previous record was $85 million for Fifty Shades of Grey, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, over the Feb. 13-15, 2015 weekend, according to Deadline: Hollywood.

The results provide a lift for Warner Bros. and its DC Comics unit. Last year, two of the studio’s superhero entries, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were savaged by critics. Bad reviews may have contributed to quick falloffs in ticket sales for both movies.

The two films had larger openings than Wonder Woman. Batman v Superman totaled $166 million in its opening weekend and Suicide Squad $133.7 million.

However, Wonder Woman was a solo adventure while Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad featured multiple characters.

Batman v Superman included Gadot’s Wonder Woman as well as short appearances by other characters who will be part of Justice League, coming out in November. Suicide Squad featured villains forced to work for the U.S. government and also had an appearance by Ben Affleck’s Batman.