SPECTRE – can this James Bond movie be defended? Dan and Tom bring Vicky back to answer this question. While SPECTRE is not often in a James Bond fan’s top 5 list, it is often in a Bond fan’s bottom 10 list.  Why is that?  What about this movie turns fans off? Dan, Tom, and Vicky uncover both the positives and the negatives of SPECTRE to try to figure out if it can be defended. Let's Look At The Negatives They start with a look at some of the negatives of SPECTRE. Dan, Tom, and Vicky...

Before you go on to this episode, "You Only Live Thrice, Mr. Bond,” if you haven't seen NO TIME TO DIE, there are some spoilers here so you probably should skip this one – NOW!   You Only Live Thrice, Mr. Bond James Bond is dead!  Dead as a door nail.   Dead!  Your field operatives Dan and Tom decode the fundamental meaning of James Bond dying in NO TIME TO DIE and detail the HOW of what Eon Productions can do to move on!  From James Bond returning to the Daniel Craig...

Dan and Tom decode the 1952 classic spy movie, 5 FINGERS.  This excellent movie starring James Mason is a fantastic espionage thriller, but not an action thriller.  And we think it works quite well that way. 5 FINGERS is based on the true story of Albanian-born Elyesa Bazna, who worked as a valet for the British ambassador to Turkey during World War II and became a Nazi spy. Also, it is based on the L.C. Moyzisch novel “Operation Cicero”.  If you are a fan of our podcast, undoubtedly...

Chicago 007 Fans May 2024 Meetup Dan and Tom held their first Chicago 007 Fans Meetup on May 9, 2024, at Ma O’Brien’s Irish Pub in Chicago. Part of the event was a James Bond trivia quiz and people from all over the world played, including those in the pub. The questions ranged from fairly easy to "nobody got this one". The winning score was 18 out of 25.  Congratulations to William Kanas for the win. This episode highlights the interviews they streamed of some of the 007 fans...

John Morris Russell Talks Shaken Not Stirred Dan and Tom interview Maestro John Morris Russell (JMR) about his Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, “Shaken Not Stirred,” musical scores, and James Bond music.  As you might have guessed, the concert’s focus is the music of James Bond.   You may know JMR from his work as the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for the past 13 years.  Joining JMR in the concert is the amazing vocalist Capathia Jenkins. She possesses the wide vocal...

Dan and Tom decode SPY HUNT, a 1950 espionage B movie.  And they don’t agree on this one. SPY HUNT was based on the book “Panther’s Moon” by Victor Canning. It has espionage, a MacGuffin, a train, a dead drop, escaped black panthers, a budding romance, and quite a few interesting characters. Dan and Tom call out some interesting plot points that may have been influenced by earlier movies such as THE LADY VANISHES, THE 39 STEPS, and others.  In addition, you’ll find out what a...

Dan and Tom talk with Matt Sherman about the DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER Las Vegas and OCTOPUSSY Utah filming locations. Besides being a James Bond expert, Matt Sherman leads tours to many different James Bond filming locations – check his website https://bondfanevents.com/. In this episode, we discuss what we experienced on Matt’s tour of two relatively close filming location areas for two movies, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (DAF) and OCTOPUSSY.  Much of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was filmed in...

SPY x FAMILY CODE: White Review - No Spoilers! Here’s our NO-SPOILER review of the new spy movie, SPY x FAMILY CODE: White. This anime movie is the first movie in the SPY x FAMILY franchise.  If you are familiar with the Manga or anime series versions of SPY x FAMILY, you will feel right at home with the movie. EPISODE GOALS Provide you with our no-spoiler opinion of the movie Enhance your viewing experience of the movie We look at your viewing options (subtitles or...

THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE Review – No-Spoilers! Here’s the full NO-SPOILER review of the new spy movie, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE. This movie opens in theaters on April 19, 2024. Guy Ritchie’s THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is a dramatization of real-world events that helped shape the outcome of World War II.   Of course, it has an excellent cast starring Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza González, Til Schweiger, and many more.  This review will...

Dan and Tom head out to find the DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER Amsterdam filming locations.   There aren’t many and they are easy to find. But it is very cool to see these sites over 50 years after the movie was filmed. So, join them as they visit Tiffany Case’s house.    Was she home? The Skinny Bridge?   Was that a figment of screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz?  Listen to find out. What famous drink from Ian Fleming’s novels has an Amsterdam bar named after it? What...

RAAZI Is A Spy Movie Worth Watching The 2018 Indian movie RAAZI is a spy movie worth watching. It is one of Tom’s all-time favorite spy movies. Have you heard of RAAZI? RAAZI is a fictionalized drama about a real spy in the 1971 India-Pakistan war.  This is an espionage movie, not an action movie, which we think is a good thing. The central theme of this movie is “What are you prepared to do for your country?” Why is this a spy movie worth watching?   Dan and Tom detail the...

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY - How the Story Came to be FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, the movie, was not the story from Ian Fleming’s short story with the same title.   In this episode, Dan and Tom decode the movie to see how the story came to be. Some of the characters from the movie, and some of the plot points were adapted from Ian Fleming’s 1960 short stories “For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico”.  Plus, the locations of the 2 stories and the movie are all different. People’s names have changed.  The...

Who is Chris Corbould? Chris Corbould OBE has worked on 15 James Bond movies, THE DARK KNIGHT Trilogy, 2 Superman movies, and he won an Acadamy Award for his work on the movie INCEPTION.  Chiefly, his specialty has been visual effects, leading the team on many of these movies. Dan and Tom had a chance to chat with Chris in Chicago at the press event prior to the opening of the “007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond” exhibit.  This fantastic exhibit is at the Museum of...

“007 Science: Inside the World of James Bond” is a new exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Dan and Tom became big fans of this exhibit while attending the Press Day viewing.   They take you inside and highlight many of the items displayed. And they let you know why you will want to attend this exhibit. What's in the exhibit? We won’t give everything away. But there are screen-used gadgets from the James Bond movies. These are some of the most...

Steve Oxenrider is One of the Biggest James Bond Memorabilia Collectors! Are you a James Bond memorabilia collector or interested in James Bond items? How big is your collection?   Well, in this episode, Dan and Tom talk with Steve Oxenrider, whose name you have  seen -  as he is credited on some of the “Making of” James Bond documentaries and has contributed images for numerous books and articles. In case you didn’t know, Steve is auctioning off his over 30,000-item collection of...

THE HILDEBRAND RARITY and LICENCE TO KILL Ian Fleming published the short story “The Hildebrand Rarity” in 1960.  In it, he created the character of Milton Krest.  James Bond movie fans will recognize Milton Krest from 1989 movie LICENCE TO KILL.   In this episode, Dan and Tom decode how this character from the short story landed in this movie.  They also talk about how his character from the novel changed in the movie. And how some of his traits were split between the characters...

In Defense of Quantum of Solace  Dan and Tom provide a defense of the James Bond movie QUANTUM OF SOLACE, looking at the pros and cons of this oft-maligned movie.   Revealed: What does Quantum of Solace even means!    QUANTUM OF SOLACE was not the critical success of its successor, CASINO ROYALE. That’s even with it being a direct continuation of the CASINO ROYALE story.  There were numerous problems, many stemming from the writer’s strike at the time. But, there were also some...

Gadgets in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and LICENCE TO KILL Dan and Tom break down the gadgets in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and LICENCE TO KILL – the two Dalton James Bond movies. Are these gadgets believable?  Flashy?  Dalton changed the tone of the character of Bond and to some extent the gadgets in the movies. For instance, could the milk bottles really do that?  What about the remote keychain?  And there is also the X-Ray camera, Broomstick Radio, night-vision binoculars, the rocket...

Alfred Hitchcock’s Storyboards with author Tony Lee Moral Dan and Tom bring back author Tony Lee Moral to discuss his latest book Alfred Hitchcock’s Storyboards. We focus on Hitchcock’s spy movies in today’s discussion. Unquestionably, Hitchcock was notorious for his use of storyboards and his practice has been emulated by many directors.  We read an advance copy of the book prior to its February 6, 2024, release.  Tony’s book is an excellent look at why Hitchcock used storyboards....

ARGYLLE– A No-Spoiler Review In this episode, Tom gives you his no-spoiler look at the latest Matthew Vaughan movie, ARGYLLE.  As with all of our no-spoiler reviews, our goal is to give you our thoughts as to whether or not this latest spy movie is worth your time and money. We don’t cover the plot because our goal is to not give it away. But, we will say that the plot is pretty complex. You need to pay close attention. There are a lot of twists and turns in ARGYLLE. And it has...

Hitchcock's TOPAZ – is it a gem? Hitchcock’s movie TOPAZ received mixed reviews when it was released.  Some people love it while others don’t like it at all.  Why is that? Dan and Tom mine what works and what doesn't in this Hitchcock spy movie.  And there is a bit of both here. That said, TOPAZ is a spy movie with a lot of espionage.  It isn’t an action movie with some spy elements as we often get in today’s spy movies. The setting for TOPAZ is 1962 at the height of the...

In 2035 we will see James Bond in the public domain.  What does this mean for the franchise?  Not just for the movies, but the novels, and marketing.  George Simpson, Senior Film Reporter at the Daily Express joins us to discuss the article he wrote about this impact on the franchise. He explains what public domain means and why it is so important for James Bond but not for other franchises like Sherlock Holmes and The Marx Brothers.  Their material is already in the public domain. Eon...

Character Spotlight: Rosa Klebb played by Lotte Lenya in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE! In a continuation of our Character Spotlight series of episodes, Dan and Tom look at the evil character Rosa Klebb in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.  She may be small in stature, but she knows how to take control of almost any situation. Lotte Lenya gives an amazing performance bringing this character from the Ian Fleming novel to the big screen. Here we examine Rosa Klebb’s character in each scene and how...

Why Are Spy Movies Still Popular? Dan and Tom look at the popularity of spy movies and shows, with a focus on James Bond.  They give you their reasons for why they believe the spy genre is so popular. They also look at influences on spy movies.  Superheroes is one big influencer for spy movies and have helped spy movies’ popularity. But superhero movies are also in competition for the viewer’s money.  So, what is it about superhero movies that are similar to spy movies? Also,...

A spy, a mole, maybe 2 moles, lots of violence, a love story, and a bit of history twisted and thrown in for good measure. These are some of the things you’ll see in the just-released spy movie, DEVIL: THE BRITISH SECRET AGENT. So, is this movie worth your time and money? Tom gives you a no-spoiler look at what works and what doesn’t work.  And much of it does work. The movie is from India so there are some cultural differences for a non-Indian audience that Tom also discusses. ...