I saw Ghostbusters in the theater when I was ten-years-old in the summer of 1984. I loved the movie while watching it, but had some scary dreams afterward about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Yes, of all the ghosts and demons and other monsters in that picture, it was the cuddly-looking product mascot with a… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 24 | Ghostbusters (1984)
Given that most comedy sequels already struggle to live up to the original films they follow, how well can two such sequels be expected to weather the passage of time thirty-plus years later? I asked myself that question and, honestly, braced for the worst when I sat down to binge both The Naked Gun 2… Read More Looks Like the Cows Have Come Home to Roost | The Naked Gun 2 1/2 (1991) & The Naked Gun 33 1/3 (1994)
Although I was just about the perfect age to most appreciate it, I didn’t get to see The Naked Gun in a theater with an audience. I had to wait for a VHS rental from Blockbuster the following year, at which time my teenage self became obsessed with the movie and watched it over and… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 23 | The Naked Gun (1988)
I love all the James Bond movies. Even the bad ones (of which there have been a few) contain enough enjoyable parts to bring me pleasure. That’s a philosophy I struggle to maintain in certain cases. Unquestionably the worst of Sean Connery’s six (official) turns in the role, the 1971 Diamonds Are Forever is also… Read More No One’s Indestructible | Diamonds Are Forever (1971) 4K Ultra HD
Following four phenomenally successful James Bond movies, star Sean Connery grew tired of the role and announced that his fifth outing as the world’s greatest super-spy would be his last. Fittingly, You Only Live Twice should also be the movie to kill James Bond! Well, almost. As per the hint in its title, not even… Read More Instant Japanese | You Only Live Twice (1967) 4K Ultra HD
By 1965, James Bond was on top of the world. After the huge success of the character’s first three movies, especially the phenomenal blockbuster Goldfinger, Bond-mania had gripped popular culture. Audiences simply couldn’t get enough of British Secret Service Agent 007. Wise to capitalize on this, the franchise producers settled into a rhythm of cranking… Read More You Seem to Be Unbeatable, Mr. Bond | Thunderball (1965) 4K Ultra HD
Introducing a young movie fan to his first James Bond film is something of a rite of passage between fathers and sons. However, as the franchise has expanded across decades and multiple actors, and has changed in many significant ways over time, where does one begin? Which movie should be a kid’s first experience with… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 18 | Goldfinger (1964)
As only the second James Bond movie, and a quick sequel cranked out for release just one year after the first, From Russia with Love finds the series still in a formative stage, not entirely settled into the formula that would define it for the next several decades. In fact, From Russia in particular stands… Read More No Substitute for Experience | From Russia with Love (1963) 4K Ultra HD
Made on a budget barely equivalent to $1 million USD at the time, the film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s spy thriller Dr. No was very modest even by 1962 standards. Although producers Harry Saltzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli surely had high hopes for it, I doubt even the most optimistic of projections could have foreseen… Read More World Domination, That Same OId Dream | Dr. No (1962) 4K Ultra HD
With (arguably, but not very) only one good movie out of the six made to that time, the Predator franchise was in considerably poor shape by the early 2020s. Although the studio wasn’t ready to give up on it yet, the next installment would skip a theatrical release and debut instead on Hulu streaming. To… Read More A Hunter Doesn’t Wait | Prey (2022) 4K Ultra HD
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