I’m genuinely excited for the latest episode of the Film After 11 podcast, because this week I get to introduce my son Thomas to the cinematic wonder that is Jackie Chan at his prime, in 1985’s Police Story. I don’t think the kid had any idea what to expect, and had never seen a real… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | Jackie Chan’s Police Story (1985)
Despite its notorious last-act scene in which James Bond, legendary secret agent 007, dresses in a clown costume while once again saving the world, 1983’s Octopussy is neither the worst nor certainly not the best movie in the Bond franchise. Honestly, it’s not even the worst of the Roger Moore era. It is, however, perhaps… Read More The Tip of the Tentacle | Octopussy (1983) Blu-ray
Easily the most famous and perhaps the greatest “inspirational teacher” movie of all time, Dead Poets Society is a seminal piece of filmmaking that teenagers and young adults have strongly responded to for decades, and that those like myself in middle age still have great affection for. However, is 12-years-old too young to appreciate it?… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | Dead Poets Society (1989)
Does everything need to be a multiverse now, even James Bond? Given that the Bond movies are not strictly science fiction (a lot of crazy gadgets and the ending of Moonraker excepted, of course), I wouldn’t normally think of the franchise falling into the multiverse trope that has taken over so much of popular culture… Read More It’s Just a Number | No Time to Die (2021) 4K Ultra HD
I occasionally have a perverse compulsion to torture my poor son Thomas during our Film After 11 podcast. Knowing how little patience he has for science fiction and big special effects movies from the late 1970s or early 1980s (outside of Star Wars, of course), I subjected him this week to Moonraker, special agent James… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | Moonraker (1979)
Despite its sci-fi trappings and high-concept premise, the 2009 drama Moon is primarily an understated character piece about isolation, personal identity, and the dehumanizing oppression of unchecked corporate greed. Unlike most science fiction cinema these days, the film has no action scenes and no suspense-filled set-pieces of note. Mostly, it’s a one-man showcase for character… Read More Where Are We Now? | Moon (2009)
To be honest about it, I was at a loss in choosing a movie to watch for the Film After 11 podcast this week. I had a few conflicting ideas, but none I was ready to do. My son Joseph, who’s a big Indiana Jones fan, requested the fourth movie in that series, the divisive… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Released way back in the distant past of 1983, Scottish filmmaker Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero concerns a major industrial corporation’s attempt to buy up the land in a rural community in order to strip it of all natural resources, unconcerned with what effects that will have on the environment or local culture. Thankfully, it’s a… Read More A Little Time Is All We Have Left | Local Hero (1983) Criterion Blu-ray
Flagrantly and with full intention violating my own arbitrary rule against watching R-rated movies for our Film After 11 podcast (at least knowingly so), I decided to introduce one of my sons to John Woo’s blood-soaked action masterpiece The Killer this week. Without spoiling anything, it’s safe to say the kid was an instant fan.… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | The Killer (1989) Including 4K Ultra HD Disc Review
If technically Stanley Kubrick’s second feature film, the director almost entirely disowned his first (1952’s Fear and Desire) and considered Killer’s Kiss to be the start of his filmmaking career. Made when he was just 27-years-old, the noir thriller is clearly a formative work, unpolished and lacking either the intellectual or technical rigor Kubrick would… Read More Kubrick in Progress | Killer’s Kiss (1955) Criterion Collection Blu-ray
