PeterDavid.net

Okay, Peter. If I ever get the chance I promise that I will cast Jolie as Modesty Blaise.

Now I have to figure out who Modesty Blaise is...

"Okay, Peter. If I ever get the chance I promise that I will cast Jolie as Modesty Blaise.

Now I have to figure out who Modesty Blaise is..."

Kids today, I swear...

PAD

The following url gives a comprehensive overview of Modesty.

http://www.cs.umu.se/~kenth/Modesty/mbintro.html

I have to admit I didn't know who she was at first either.

Regards:
Warren S. Jones III

Megadittos, PAD.

Ryuukuru,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesty_Blaise

http://www.titanbooks.com/modesty_blaise.html

http://www.dlc.fi/~zoja1/modesty/

Sadly, she's probably best known now because of the fact that John Travolta is reading one of the Mdesty Blaise books when he is blown away by Bruce Willis in PULP FICTION.

Didn't she used to have a syndicated comic-strip? She was cool, spy-like...that's about all I remember...

From the wikipedia link...

O M G....Willie is...ZOD!!??

I was torn as I left the theater after seeing "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." On one hand, it was a decent action film starring two interesting actors who had good chemistry together. On the other hand, from a moral standpoint, I found it depressing that almost everyone in this film was a cold-blooded killer -- a fact that the director tried to temper with a heavy dose of gallows humor and comic relief.

We kill people. Ha, ha, ha. Does it bother us? Nah! Ha, ha, ha. You killed six times as many people as I did? Man, my competitive juices are really flowing. Ha, ha, ha. Woo hoo! Take the kids! They'll love it!

Pretty sad, in my opinion.

I have vague but fond memories of Ann Turkel's turn as Modesty on TV, but that's probably more because of a slight Ann Turkel fixation.

I have to admit, Jolie often doesn't do much of anything for me. I think I spend too much time wondering how much of a pain it is for the filmmakers to hide those gosh-awful tattoos of hers.

On the tangental topic: I took my five-year-old to see SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL, and we had a great time. Like you, I'm not the target audience, but I still thought it was fun, and my daughter adored it.

OK, here's a confession. Modesty Blaise is just one of those characters who I never got a feel for. Which is strange, 'cuz there are other stories in that genre that I do enjoy. I've tended to chalk Ms. Blaise up as one of those "lots-of-folks-like-this-but-I-don't-for-some-reason" examples that we all have a few of, I'm sure.

After confessing this to an acquaintence, he'd suggested that I may have been exposed to later, less-than-archetypical Modesty Blaise work, which I'm willing to accept might be the case. (I sure can't remember...)

But I'm willing to try again. So here's the challenge:

Anyone out there who can recommend one single Modesty Blaise story that best exemplifies what she's all about?

I've been pointed to the graphic novels that Titan's now issuing. Would those be the best bet?

--ATK

Angelina Jolie? A decent Modesty Blaise Movie? Where do Iine up for the advance tickets?

Strangely, nobody ever mentions the amorality of the children in The Incredibles. When they are on the island, for example, Dash revels in causing the deaths of several henchmen. Sure, they're just henchmen, but should a pre-teen boy take so much joy in killing them - even in self defence?

I so wanted an Austin Powers-esque cutaway to the henchman's friends and family getting the news that their loved one has just bought it...

"Strangely, nobody ever mentions the amorality of the children in The Incredibles. When they are on the island, for example, Dash revels in causing the deaths of several henchmen. Sure, they're just henchmen, but should a pre-teen boy take so much joy in killing them - even in self defence?"

Number one, Dash was only doing what he was specifically told by his mother to do--"They're going to try to kill you if they can; you mustn't let them"--so morality doesn't even begin to enter into it.

Second, at NO time does he revel in their deaths. We see him revel in his own ingenuity in avoiding them. We see him revel in the naughtiness of hitting an adult--at high speed yet--and getting away with it. We see him reveling in the discovery of what his powers enable him to accomplish. We see him exulting with "I'm alive! Yippee!" But watch the "hundred mile Dash" again, and I think you'll see that at no time does he take any glee in causing someone to die. As a matter of fact, I'll go further: At no time does Dash kill a single person. He stays out of their way and they wind up smashing into trees, rocks, and each other. He snaps a palm tree at one of them, but that's as much caused by him swinging on a vine to avoid being caught and then releasing it. But at no time does he directly do anything to cause anyone's death. The closest he comes is when he's punching the one guy repeatedly, and then ceases his attack and reacts to the oncoming rock wall. If the pilot had turned to see what Dash was reacting to, he might have avoided it. Instead he takes the opportunity to punch the kid off the speeding vehicle--presumably sending him plummeting to his death--smiles in satisfaction at a job well done, and then belatedly turns to see the now-unavoidable rock wall. Not Dash's fault.

PAD

Mr. D, this may shock, but I LIKED the Joseph Losey-directed version of "Modesty Blaise." Not jump-up-and-cheer like, but it made a point few people were willing to make. Both Modesty and Willie Garvey were basically sadistic killers, not really different from their enemies. And the point was made throughout the film, with visual hints, that sex equals sadistic slaughter.

Losey saw the modern world's people turning into sadists. (Check out his film "These Are the Damned" for this attitude in relation to nuclear war...and it does have mutants in it, X-fans.) In fact, Losey mostly abandoned commercial filmmaking because he disliked the violence its stories required. He ended up doing opera films and classic literature on low budgets.

Peter,

Thank you for exonerating Dash.

My mom loved "Jack-Jack Attack" when we got the DVD.

Anybody else recommend the Modesty Blaise one-shot from D.C. by Peter O'Donnell and Dick Giordano?

maybe i am slow but it never occured to me that dash killed anybody
to me when henchmen get hurt in this film
its the same as the wiley coyote
getting hurt
and it certainly isnt murder
do people really think the difference between a G and PG rating is HOMICIDE?

I recall that Neil Gaiman mentioned a few times that he was working on a Modesty screenplay, but I don't know whatever happened with it.

On the Incredibles DVD, you can see various versions of the stories, and I think the director made a very conscious decision as to when the first "bad-guy" death occurs. The heroes are very careful with human life...even bad guy life. Up until the first guy crashes into the cliff, there's a very pointed "A-Team" effort to show the baddies crawling out of wreakage, surface in the water, or only get knocked out. The bad guys only start dieing once they try to kill the kids...and the first one that dies actually (as PAD recounted) grins after knocking an 8 year old (I think that's about Dash's age) to his death.

And it's very clear...Dash does not "murder" anyone...he's almost always acting in self-defense, either his or his sister's.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" was a soleless, boring, dirivative piece of crap. Angelina was simply amazing to stare at, but the film had no soul, no serious attempt to engage you with the characters, plot holes galore, and an ending that signified the writer and director simply threw up their hands and gave up.

But what do you expect from a blockbuster, summer movie?

Later,
Chip

PAD wrote: "Jolie has the perfect combination of exoticness (is that a word?)"

I don't think so, Mr. David; but, my dictionary gives us 'exoticism'. You have my permission to slap your forehead with your palm. Writers!

Speaking about Angelina, back when it was anounced that the part of Rogue was being played by Anna Paquinn (who I like also,but just didn't see her as Rogue) for the first X-Men film. I thought to myself, Angelina Jolie should had gotten that part. Just check out Avengers Annual #10 to see what I'm talking about. And if Jolie gets to play Modesty Blaise, that's alright with me.

You know, I'd actually thought Jolie would have been perfect for a correctly-done version of Catwoman, but you're right. Modesty is by far a better choice.

JSM

I must say I saw Dash enjoying the killing. Thought maybe they were setting him up to go bad? He came across as sadistic, like he was enjoying causing pain that he thought he had a right to since he was "special". If they do a sequel I hope they explore it further.

Bill-

THAT's what Vincent Vega is reading on (most of) his bathroom breaks in "Pulp"? I always wondered what it was.

Hugh Laurie .No, love him but too small,too old (he's my age for petes sake)and not Blond. Yeah like that didnt stop Alba. How about Jude Law,that should make it direct to video.Can not think of English actor to fit the part, any ideas?

Didn't see the movie and I don't know who Modesty Blaise is, so I can't comment on that.

[B]Strangely, nobody ever mentions the amorality of the children in The Incredibles. When they are on the island, for example, Dash revels in causing the deaths of several henchmen. Sure, they're just henchmen, but should a pre-teen boy take so much joy in killing them - even in self defence?[/B]

I agree with PAD in that he was not killing anyone and that he was definitely not reveling in killing people. I think because there are so many comic book superhero fans here that some of us can take a very "super-responsible" approach to how characters are supposed to act. After all, how many times have we seen Batman struggle extra hard to save some thug from falling off a ledge or something and then beat himself up if he can't manage it. That wasn't nearly the case in Incredibles. All Dash was doing was trying to keep himself from getting killed. What he was reveling in was the fact that he could finally open up the throttle (remember, this was a kid who was never allowed to run as fast as he could). The henchmen only died when they hit rocks and trees and stuff. I think most people who haven't read piles and piles of comics would agree that the villians were actually killing themselves through their own attempt to catch Dash.

Bill Mulligan: "Sadly, she's probably best known now because of the fact that John Travolta is reading one of the Modesty Blaise books when he is blown away by Bruce Willis in PULP FICTION."
I thought he was blown away while leaving the bathroom, and by having Travolta read "Modesty Blaise" on the john, Tarantino was taking a subtle jab at "Blaise". I mean, Travolta gets gunned down when the Pop Tarts pop out of the toaster-- Tarantino is symbolically using 'pop' culture to kill "Modesty Blaise".
Or maybe I'm reading a little too far into it... after all, for Tarantino to cast "Blaise" as bathroom reading is a little like the pot calling the kettle black.

And dittos on what PAD said about Dash in "The Incredibles": at NO point is Dash gleeful about anyone's death. He's never shown rubbing his hands and chuckling mirthlessly after the pilot crashes into the rock wall. I would've thought all the "Oh, crap! I'm gonna die!" looks he shoots at his pursuers throughout the chase scene would've cemented to people the fact that he was too freakin' scared to be thinking of murdering someone.

BTW- I forgot to put some kind of smiley face or other notation after that line about pop culture and Pop Tarts to show that I'm totally full of crap in making that argument. Deconstruction is for post-Modernists!

Haven't seen Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Don't plan on SEEING Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Angelina as Modesty Blaise? That I'd definitely see!

25 years ago, Caroline Munro was considered as a likely candidate.

35 years ago, Diana Rigg considered obtaining the movie rights to the series so that she could play the role, but the deal fell through.

I saw the Monica Vitti/Terrance Stamp film. I hated it too. Inaccurate portraits of all of the characters, especially Sir Gerald! He looked like John Steed's half-witted uncle that escaped the looney bin and applied for the Civil Service!

If Losey wanted to do an anti-violence violent film, he should have done westerns, like Peckinpah and Ford did at the time, not a spy film! At least he would have had worthy competition that would have inspired him to produce better work!

To the gentleman who needs a proper intro to the character, READ THE ORIGINAL NOVELS starting with the FIRST ONE! When the reprinted the original Modesty Blaise comic strips, I started to lose interest. They were good, but the films "in my head" were much better.

Also, Modesty Blaise, in the novels and the comic strips, WAS NOT A SADISTIC KILLER!

Sadistic killers took pleasure in KILLING! Modesty and Willie did not!

At the end of every mission, Modesty cried in Willie's arms! The stress and the anxiety of what she did, the danger as well as the killing, created the need for her to release those feelings in this way. Willie dealt with it by thumbing through his little black book and calling up old girlfriends. Not as noble, but more human than going to McDonald's and talking about Paris while cleaning out brain stains in a car!

I saw MR. AND MRS. SMITH today, and I thought it was fun fluff. When you get past the t&a and d&a (dicks & ass), you have a nice dark comedy where the old idea of battling spouses gets evelated by their numerous firearms and hand-to-hand combat skills. The movie doesn't bother to look at itself under the surface (Why should we like these professional killers? Can they truly ever trust each other again? [spoilers follow] WHy would killing a lot of foot soldiers make them safe from these massive organizations? For that matter, how can two people in a small shed be surrounded by dozens of people with automatic weapons out to kill them, and the 2 people just walk out shooting and kill everyone?) and just leave us with the idea that honesty and feisty fighting make for a good marriage.

(Actually, in the roleplaying game FENG SHUI it's far, far easier to kill unnamed characters (usually henchmen) than people important enough to warrant a name, usually the main bad guy and their first in command). This is present in many, many action movies.)

Well, since no one had the good sense to make the film with Diana Rigg decades ago, we'll have to settle for Angelina Jolie.

Angelina Jolie? Yes. Hugh Laurie? Well, maybe, but not for me. I'd keep waiting for him to talk about "Mr. Black-thicky-Adder-thicky..." or such. :)

Too short? He's over six feet tall1

PAD

On the one hand, I'm always glad to hear about another series I'd be interested in picking up, but on the other, the girlfriend is already slightly bewildered by the size of the library we'll have to find room for if/when we decide to cohabitate. :P

-Rex Hondo-

PAD,

I stand corrected. Dash is innocent!

davidbishop

Hugh Lawrie? Nooooooo... If you could transplant the sixties Terence Stamp to today and give him a decent script, he'd make a terrific Willie Garvin. Or the sixties Michael Caine (remember Get Carter).

HAve you read Lawries novel THE GUN SELLER?

James - you hit a couple of my problems with the movie. It falls apart completely in the third act. There is no third act, actually. It's just more gunplay. There's no satisfying conclusion to MR. AND MRS. SMITH, which is a real shame. I loved the first hour and a half of the film. After that, it just kept going and going without much of a point.

I loved the cartoon violence, but didn't buy the grand finale that was no doubt inspired by John Woo's work. It did make me want to go watch HARD BOILED again, though.

Augie wrote: "James - you hit a couple of my problems with the movie. It falls apart completely in the third act."

Yeah, that's for sure.

(Sort of a spoiler alert)

The final scene was like a combination of the final scenes from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Gauntlet" -- and was just about as ridulous as the latter.

(End of the sort of a spoiler alert)

Chip Skelton:
"'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' was a soleless..."

Odd. The previews don't LOOK like it's set in rural Appalachia. Shouldn't SOMEONE be wearing shoes?

Angelina Jolie and playing Modesty Blaise? Oh, please, NO!

I really don`t understand why so many male fans drool so much when they see this woman. I find her looks crude, especially her big lips.

I also enjoyed the Modesty Blaise comics a lot and, no, she definitely doesn`t look like Angelina Jolie at all. Modesty Blaise is a beautiful woman but she is not a sex magnet.

PLEASE DO NOT let A.J. play Modesty!!! I ask again-am I the only straight man in the world who does not find her attractive?!? Every picture I see of her--her eyes are sunken and hollow. And her lips are TOO big and cracked!!!

I ask again-am I the only straight man in the world who does not find her attractive?!?

Not entirely--I've seen photos where she is smoking hot and others where she crosses the fine line between exotic and bizarre. I think she may well age strangely (as it true of many stars who have had plastic surgery).

But she does have a certain quality, something many other far prettier women do not have. It's something that elevates an actor or actress into a star and she's got it.

I dareasy that if Ms Jolie played Modesty, there's be a lot of fellows hoping she'd resort to "The Nailer"

"Anyone out there who can recommend one single Modesty Blaise story that best exemplifies what she's all about?"

Hm. If you want a short, I like "I had a date with Lady Janet", which is in the collection "Pieces of Modesty". Quite unusual in that it's narrated by Willie.

If you'd prefer a novel, go for "The Silver Mistress".

Anyone care to back me up / disagree vehemently?

Piers

Dave,

She got a nice bod, but other than that, no, I don't find her attractive (although I'm kinda weirded out by her freak-like interviews so I may be skewed). But then, I think Kirsten Dunst is horribly plain, so don't go by me.

"But then, I think Kirsten Dunst is horribly plain, so don't go by me."

I met her. Trust me, she is NOT horribly plain. I think the popular phrase is, "She's all that AND a bag of chips."

PAD

I don`t think Jolie possesses the cleverness, the grace and intelligence to play Modesty Blaise.

GG

Absolutely loved "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Would go see it again in a heartbeat.

As for the "Shark Boy and Lava Girl" movie... I took my wife and three kids. The kids loved it. My wife slept through the entire movie. All I could hear was Batman Begins coming from the theater next to me (it was opening day). I really could have missed SB and LG... it was REALLY bad.

Hacksaw.

Hugh Laurie as Willie Garvin? He may be tall, but he has nowhere near the physique or gravitas. I present to you: Sean Bean. Blonde, tall, broadshouldered, softspoken when he wants to and brutal when he needs to. Also, women seem to like him...