My name is Holems Chaz Holms
My name is Holems … Chaz Holms
In four days one of the cinema's longest-lasting and most recognizable characters returns after a four-year hiatus and a casting change and I couldn't be more elated.
With "Casino Royale" being the 21st official film in the 44-year-old James Bond franchise, there are many fans who have been watching for years and have amassed fond memories. My memories could fill an entire dossier, but as Daniel Craig becomes the sixth actor to portray the master spy I wanted to revisit just a few of them.
I remember being in elementary school when I first saw some of the Sean Connery films on the weekend marathon that I still watch each year, but it was in junior high that I became a fanatic. I can vividly remember sitting in my room with a bowl of popcorn and a soda in hand, watching "Goldfinger" for the first time. The opening title song, a franchise staple, mostly instrumental in the first two films, made its official debut here. Performed by Shirley Bassey, it's in my opinion the best opening song of them all and it's appropriately the theme to what many fans and I consider the best film in the series. I voraciously consumed all the movies, which included Connery's born-to-be-bond bravura, George Lazenby's how-did-I-get-this-role miscasting, Roger Moore's sometimes too jovial take and Timothy Dalton's get-this-guy-into-anger management overzealousness.
When I'd seen all the movies I still wasn't satiated so I went to a used bookstore and headed to the shelf marked F for Fleming, Ian Fleming, the character's creator. I can remember staying up too late on school nights reading in my room with a flashlight only to go to class the next day, book in hand, and be haughtily reading it in class while the teacher was lecturing about biology.
Frequently, when out running errands with my dad, I would ask him to drop me off at the bookstore so I could stock up on more. In November of 1995 Pierce Brosnan took the role and I had the opportunity to see my first 007 film in the theater, which was a milestone of an experience. I can still remember the delightful awkwardness of sitting next to my parents in the theater while a femme fatale with the last name of Onatopp drew laughter from the audience. The release of that film caused a merchandising boom and I can recall Christmas morning of that year when I ran downstairs to find a treasure trove of 007 books, movies, and trading cards beneath the mantle. One of the things I didn't receive though, was an assortment of gadgets. Lacking the resources of Q branch I resorted to making my own spy kit, using a Lego carrying case for my attache briefcase and Superglueing a magnet to the underside of my watch so that I could stealthily graze my wrist over paper clips and snatch them up. I never did get the laser on that thing to work, however. When my parents bought a new car, I eagerly asked if they could get a license plate with "007" on it. I was told no because they would have that car longer than I would be a Bond fanatic.
They sold that car years ago, yet I can hardly contain myself awaiting "Casino Royale."
Chaz Holmes is the Columbia Basin Herald's news assistant. The mystery of why he wanted his coffees "shaken and not stirred," is now revealed.
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