Jonathan Bernstein's Blog: jonathanbernsteinwrites.com, page 11

BRIDGET'S NETFLIX QUEUE OF SPY MOVIES AND TV SHOWS

NIKITA

This stirring tale of a street rat turned by the government into an immaculately cosmeticized assassin is well on it's way to becoming a modern-day Cinderella story as producers seem intent on keeping it alve as if it's a story designed to inspire fresh generations.

It began life as Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita with Anne Parillaud dodging bullets and fireballs in a little black dress. Bridget Fonda starred in the American remake, Point Of No Return, which introduced the movie trope of using appreciation of the songs of Nina Simone to imply a sensitive soul.

Peta Wilson took on the mantle of doe-eyed killer in the Canadian TV version which was filled with long meaningful stares and not enough violence, as is the Canadian way.

Perhaps the best iteration of the character, to date, was Maggie Q's tenure in the CW series which, at least in it's first season, basically turned her into Batman.

Who knows if every generation really needs it's own Nikita to look moody and wounded while blasting a sub-machine gun and jumping out of windows, but it looks like they're all going to get one.

 

 

 

 

 

BRIDGET'S SPY SONG PLAYLIST

 DURAN DURAN-A VIEW TO A KILL

AN INTERVIEW WITH A FAMOUS AUTHOR

http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/2015/09/interview-jonathan-bernstein-author-bridget-wilder-spy-in-training/

BRIDGET'S BIG BOX OF BOOKS

BRIDGET'S GALLERY OF GIRL SPIES THROUGH THE AGES

NATASHA from Rocky And Bullwinkle

Full name: Natasha Fatale. Boris Badenov's sullen, smarter sidekick in his never-ending battle for supremacy against Rocky and Bullwinkle. A native of Pottsylvania, she addresses everyone she encounters as dollink, with a thinly-veiled edge of contempt.

 

NOW AVAILABLE IN STORES WHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD!

BRIDGET'S NETFLIX QUEUE OF SPY MOVIES AND TV SHOWS

THE SPY NEXT DOOR

From the same writer who brings you Bridget Wilder:Spy-In-Training comes the inspiring true story of Bob Ho, bumbling bespectacled pencil salesman and next door neighbor to three kids who hold him in low esteem, deeming him no way good enough for their lovely mother.

But when mom needs a babysitter in a hurry, Bob is happy to volunteer. Unfortunately, the second he's in charge of the kids is the exact moment Bob's past as a legendary spy comes back to bite him in the nose. A former nemesis is out to get revenge on Bob. Can our hero keep the kids safe as well as save the world?

Featuring the star-studded supporting cast of Billy Rat Cyrus, George Lopez and Amber Valetta.

Strangely, Jackie Chan never made another film in America.

 

BRIDGET'S SPY SONG PLAYLIST

 GO-GO's - SURFING AND SPYING

BRIDGET'S GALLERY OF GIRL SPIES THROUGH THE AGES

TOBY KLEIN

Truculent, sardonic, under-the-radar hacker who's handy with her fists and her feet. Mysteriously recruited to join her high school's varsity cheerleader team whch consists of the bright, perky, low-IQ blondes she hates. Except the squad is really a covert group of government operatives using their high-flying skills to bring down bad guys. And now Toby is one of them. The squad, that is, not the bad guys.

BRIDGET'S NETFLIX QUEUE OF SPY MOVIES AND TV SHOWS

NANCY DREW

Emma Roberts is the worst. Not in real life (probably). Somewhere down the line someoneone made the decision that the actress was the absolute embodiment of dead-eyed, sardonic, jaded evil and that is generally how she is presented to us onscreen, usually by Ryan Murphy. (Her aunt  seems to be following the same career path!)

But there was a time when the name Emma Roberts was synonymous with sweet and wholesome. It was a brief period but, during that era, she starred in the Nancy Drew movie intended to start a brand-spanking new teen girl detective franchise. Sadly, that wish did not come true, but the movie is a smart and fun way to bring a beloved literary figure to life for a new generation.

Taking a leaf out of The Brady Bunch Movie book, Nancy Drew:The Film places it's plucky heroine amid the cool kids of 2007 with their iPods and their skateboards, but it makes it's leading lady the exact same painfully polite, persistent, overachiever she was back in the 1930s. She wears cardigans, tweed jackets and brooches. She's painfully earnest and carries a first aid kit at all times. She's completely oblivious to the baffled reaction she causes amongst her peeers and, as such, is impossible to insult.

Even though the movie didn't drum up enough interest to give it any further life, the idea is durable enough that someone should  consider giving it another shot. I know the perfect villain. The absolute embodiment of evil.