I had originally wanted to do a Thanksgiving-themed episode for the Film at 11 podcast this week, but then I realized the best Thanksgiving movie (Planes, Trains & Automobiles, obviously) is rated R. Instead, Joseph and I finished off the Indiana Jones trilogy with the franchise’s third and final movie, Indiana Jones and the Last… Read More Film at 11: Episode 40 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
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
While technically his third feature film as director, Terry Gilliam’s 1981 Time Bandits was only his second outside of Monty Python and, in most fans’ eyes, the first that truly marked him as an auteur in his own right. As a surprise box office smash (a top-ten money earner for the year on the short-list… Read More You Stick with These Boys, You Have a Great Future | Time Bandits (1981) Criterion Collection Blu-ray
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade almost was, and in many fans’ estimation probably should have been, the last adventure for the iconic screen hero. After the disappointing (yet still extremely profitable) Temple of Doom, the film was a significant return to form and offered many unmistakable notes of closure to bring this blockbuster trilogy… Read More You Call This Archaeology? | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 4K Ultra HD
The Video File Blog 