My name is Murphy. Phil Murphy. The governor watched four James Bond movies, and Daniel Craig is not in any o – NJ.com

In his daily coronavirus briefing yesterday, Gov. Phil Murphy made a startling admission.

Hes binge-watching Bond.

Amidst managing the ever-growing coronavirus crisis, the governor said that hed watched four James Bond movies in his admittedly meager spare time.

"I was asked late at night what wed been up to,'' he said. "Weve burned through in the past several weeks four Sean Connery Bond movies. Three Matt Damon (Jason) Bourne movies. We havent gotten through Jeremy Renner yet.''

Well get to Bourne later. First Bond. We love that the guv went old-school Bond first. Hes watched Dr. No,'' From Russia with Love,'' Goldfinger,'' and You Only Live Twice,'' according to Alyana Alfaro, a spokesperson for the governors office. The first three Bond movies, plus #5 (Thunderball was #4). all with devilishly dapper Sean Connery and that Scottish drawl of his. Daniel Craig whos he?

"Those are the classics,'' Alfaro said of the choice of Bond movies. "They plan to watch more.''

The four Bond movies theyve watched just might be the four best. This ranking from The Guardian thinks so, anyway, with "You Only Live Twice'' (who could forget cat-stroking Ernst Blofeld, played by Donald Pleasance?) coming in at number one.

First Lady Tammy Murphy started the movie night idea "so that the family could have an activity to do together while home,'' according to Alfaro. The Murphys have four children.

Sean Connery in "Diamonds are Forever.''

Were guessing Gov. Murphy may not have time to watch all 26 Bond movies, so were going to suggest some must-watch Bonds: "The Spy Who Loved Me'' (Barbara Bach, Jaws!); Skyfall (the first Bond movie to win an Oscar for best song, and featuring the great Javier Bardem); and Casino Royale (Craigs debut as Bond), which Thrillist considers the best of all Bonds. Oh, and Craigs best role is in ''Layer Cake.'' The British gangster movie got Craig the role in "Casino Royale'' two years later.

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Avoid if you can, governor, the original Casino Royale (1967, with David Niven and Orson Welles; some dont consider it a true Bond movie but the rights were bought from Ian Fleming); "The Living Daylights'' (1987, with the instantly-forgettable Timothy Dalton) and "The World Is Not Enough (1999, with a theme song by the band Garbage, which pretty much describes this movie).

On to Bourne. Matt Damon will forever be Bourne, no matter if Renner or any other fresh-faced Hollywood stud plays him. Damon appeared in 'The Bourne Identity'' (2002); "The Bourne Supremacy'' (2004); The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007) and Jason Bourne'' (2016). Renner appeared in "The Bourne Legacy'' (2012). Variety magazine, for one, didnt think much of Renners Bourne.

Headline from Variety's review of "The Bourne Legacy,'' with Jeremy Renner.

Renner, of course, was sensational in "The Hurt Locker'' (director Kathryn Bigelow cast him on the basis of his lead role in the 2002 movie "Dahmer,'' based on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer). Renner also appeared in "Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol'' and the terrific zombie movie "28 Weeks Later,'' among other movies.

Alfaro, the governors spokeswoman, said the Murphy family is watching the Bourne movies in order,'' so "The Bourne Legacy should be next, followed by "Jason Bourne.'' Best Bourne movie? Many rankings put "The Bourne Ultimatum'' at the top of the list, but well go with "The Bourne Supremacy,'' for its exotic locales and relentless action.

It sounds like the governor and First Lady love their secret agent/spy thrillers, so wed recommend, first and foremost, the seven-part BBC series "Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy'' (1979), merely one of the ten best TV series ever and not to be confused with the awful 2011 movie of the same name.

Cary Grant plays a man on the run from spies in director Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1959 thriller "North By Northwest."BPN

Old-school thrillers? How about "The Third Man'' (The British Film Institute called it the best British film of the 20th century); Hitchcocks Notorious'' (Cary Grant! Ingrid Bergman!); North by Northwest'' (that Grant guy again) and that ultimate primer in paranoia, Three Days of the Condor (1973, Robert Redford). More recently, "Munich'' (2005, with Daniel Craig); The Lives of Others'' (2006) and "A Most Wanted Man'' (2014, with Philip Seymour Hoffman).

We know the governor is busy with way-more-important issues than movies, so were willing to offer suggestions. Oh, and "Goldfinger'' is the best Bond ever with the greatest Bond theme song ever, by Dame Shirley Bassey.

Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile.

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My name is Murphy. Phil Murphy. The governor watched four James Bond movies, and Daniel Craig is not in any o - NJ.com

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero