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)
The Film After 11 podcast’s alphabetical marathon faced another dilemma when we hit the letter “V” this week. Put simply, pickings were very slim for this one. What I settled on was A View to a Kill, Roger Moore’s final outing as secret agent James Bond 007, but also my son Thomas’ first exposure to… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | A View to a Kill (1985)
The actors who’ve played James Bond in the movie series have a tendency, not always but often enough, to go out on their weakest notes: Connery with Diamonds Are Forever, Moore with A View to a Kill, and definitely Pierce Brosnan with Die Another Day. Brosnan caught something of a raw deal with his four-film… Read More Double-0 Status Rescinded | Die Another Day (2002) Blu-ray
The letter “Q” left me in quite a quandary this week, as I struggled to find an appropriate movie to watch with my son for our alphabetical marathon in the Film After 11 podcast. While I quizzically pondered this question, I quickly found that the 2008 James Bond adventure Quantum of Solace would qualify. Thomas… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | Quantum of Solace (2008)
I’ve previously used the Film at 11 podcast to introduce one of my sons to the James Bond franchise, and even started him off the right way with a Sean Connery entry. That was Thomas watching Goldfinger at the time, back in episode 18. I feel I’m overdue to bring my other son, Joseph, into… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 47 | Dr. No (1962)
Back in June of this year, in Episode 18, I introduced my son Thomas to his first James Bond movie. We started with the Sean Connery classic Goldfinger. As I explained to him at the time, the Bond movies don’t necessarily need to be watched in order. For this week’s Film at 11 podcast, we… Read More Film at 11: Episode 39 | GoldenEye (1995)
During the height of the James Bond phenomenon in the mid-1960s, a host of knockoff fictional spies sprung up throughout popular culture, hoping to capitalize to any small degree off even the fringes of Bond-mania. From Matt Helm and Derek Flint on the big screen, to the agents of the Impossible Missions Force and U.N.C.L.E.… Read More My Goodness, This Is Strong Shampoo | Casino Royale (1967) Blu-ray
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
