Cracking the Code of Spy Movies!

Join Dan and Tom for this Rachel Grant interview. We discuss Rachel's role as "Peaceful Fountains of Desire" in the James Bond movie DIE ANOTHER DAY and more. Rachel Grant is an actress, a mother, a travel expert, and a very high-energy interviewee.   Rachel's most famous role was in DIE ANOTHER DAY and we talk about her experience in the James Bond world.   We also discuss other movies and series...

Dan and Tom bring back Tom Whiteman from Legacy-Collectibles.com to talk about some of the OSS weapons that were created to help the first U.S. spy agency in WW II. We talked with Mr. Whiteman in an earlier episode where we discussed James Bond's assigned pistol, the Walther PPK. OSS morphed into the CIA!     Tom gives us the background of these weapons, if the weapon was ever used, the pros and c...

Dan and Tom decode the 1979 comedy spy movie THE IN-LAWS.   This movie stars Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. Plus they compare it to the 2003 remake with the same name. The 1979 version of THE IN-LAWS is a classic comedy spy movie. But, the 2003 version is not held in the same high regard.   Why is that? Take a listen to find out more about the 1979 version.   Why does it work?   And, what works and wh...

Dan and Tom give you their no-spoiler review of the just released Netflix spy movie BACK IN ACTION.   And they don't agree on this one.   Listen to hear why. This is the movie where Cameron Diaz returns to acting after a 10-year hiatus.    So, she's now back in action. And like in her last movie, she's teaming up with Jaimie Foxx. So, without giving away the movie, we talkthrough what we thought w...

Join Dan for our Spy Movie News January 14 2025 edition. First, a mystery we've mentioned in the last couple of Spy Movie News briefings  about the upcoming Christopher Nolan Project is resolved!   Then we talk about some issues between EON Productions and Amazon, take a look at spy series that have been cancelled or renewed, some upcoming spy movies and series, and then wrap with a tip of the hat...

Dan and Tom give us their 2024 year in review for SpyMovieNavigator.com and their podcast Cracking the Code of Spy Movies .   They talk about some of the spy movies they decoded last year.   In some cases, they give a synopsis of the movie.    You may discover an episode that decoded a movie you are interested in, or didn't know you were interested in until you heard this episode. Remember their g...

Netflix released the series "A Man on the Inside" which was based on the Oscar Nominated Chilean documentary "The Mole Agent". In this episode, Dan and Tom decode these two shows. In both of these shows a "spy" is on a mission in a retirement community. Besides discussing the shows themselves, they also break down the similarities and differences between them. In this episode we discuss: What was...

Dan and Tom decode what makes James Bond the best MI6 Agent. We've heard M refer to James Bond as the best agent, but what are the reasons he is the best?  Is it his training? Loyalty? Survival skills? Or is it something else? Listen to find out!   We cover it all, with examples from the James Bond movies where the attributes discussed are displayed!   From:  James Bond's combat proficiency  His m...

Luciana Paluzzi joins Dan and Tom for a wide-ranging interview. This is an interview we've been working to arrange for a while, and we are honored Luciana spent this time with us. And we're happy to be able to share this discussion with you. Luciana's acting career spanned 3 decades. Although she appeared in multiple spy movies and TV shows, her performance as Fiona Volpe in THUNDERBALL – a stand-...

Dan and Tom are joined by board members from James Bond Club Ireland.  They discuss the club, its inception, activities, James Bond insights, and more. It's a fun listen. Many locales have James Bond Clubs.    For example, i n Ireland, there has been the James Bond Club Ireland for four years . In their discussion, Dan and Tom talk with Club President Paul Lally, Joint Vice-Presidents Kevin O'Call...

Join Dan for our November 26, 2024, edition of Spy Movie News .   We start this episode talking about some news on two existing spy series, some upcoming spy movies and series, some movies that aren't likely to be getting sequels, and then wrap with a tip of the hat to some industry workers who have passed in the last month. Some of the shows we discuss include: "The Night Agent" "The Day of the J...

Johnson and Kevin Hart.   CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE is a comedy/spy movie.   As we've talked about in the past, that is a combination that often falls short.   It is rare to get an AUSTIN POWERS, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE,   or UNDERCOVER BROTHER and you often end up with a wreck like ARGYLLE or NO 1 OF THE SECRET SERVICE. So take a listen to find out which CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE is.   Does it work? He...

Can we be defending Denise Richards' performance in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH? Denise Richard's performance has garnered a very wide range of opinions.  There are some people who loved her in the role of Dr. Christmas Jones.  Others have problems with her casting and her performance. So, Dan and Tom decode her performance in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and look at what worked and what didn't. Some of th...

Amazon recently released the spy movie CANARY BLACK.  This movie stars Kate Beckinsale, Rupert Friend, and Ray Stevenson. Is it worth a watch?  Join Dan and Tom as they decode CANARY BLACK.  It carries an "R" rating here in the U.S., and we think it is earned with the quantity of violence. Dan and Tom disagree with the impact of this violence. For those of you who want to find out what earlier mov...

Join Dan for our October 29, 2024, edition of Spy Movie News.  If you prefer to read your news instead of listen, click here to read the article We start this episode talking about spy entertainment in development, then move on to some industry news, and then wrap with a tip of the hat to some industry workers who have passed in the last month. Then we will look at upcoming, yet-to-be-released mov...

ARABESQUE is a 1966 spy movie starring Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, and Alan Badel. Is it worth a watch? Dan and Tom decode ARABESQUE to enhance your viewing experience – is it worth a watch? There are some very strong positives as well as some negatives to this movie In this episode, we discuss: Why is this movie titled ARABESQUE? Did the cinematography help or hinder the movie? Which role might h...

What are some of the pet peeves of spy movie fans? Particularly, are there specific things that show up in spy movies that drive fans nuts?  Dan and Tom are joined by fans from their Facebook group to try to find out.  The members of this group are very devoted spy movie fans, and they don't hold back on their opinions.  And occasionally they don't agree. We're joined by Bill Kanas, Morgan Lisney,...

Join Dan and Tom as they decode the Netflix spy movie THE UNION. Is this movie starring Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg any good? Listen to find out what we think. THE UNION has an amazing cast, including 2 Oscar winners, 4 Oscar nominations, Tony Award winners, and Primetime Emmy Award nominees and winners. So, with this star-studded cast this has to be a great movie, right? In this episode, we loo...

Does the next James Bond actor matter? Dan and Tom decode the answer to this question: Dan and Tom decode the answer to this question: Why the Next James Bond Actor Doesn't Matter?  The debate over who should be the next James Bond and the future of James Bond often stirs up a lot of excitement and opinions.   But, we don't think it matters who the next James Bond is because we think James Bond ca...

James Bond is a Psychopath? Is James Bond a psychopath?   Well, despite the obvious fact that he is a fictional character who has had many authors, actors, and screenwriters involved in defining this character, just . . . maybe! In this episode, Dan and Tom bring in Dr. Stephen McWilliams, author of the book " Psychopath? Why We Are Charmed by the Anti-Hero " to discuss this topic. We're getting d...

SPY MOVIE NEWS IS BACK!!! Join Dan for our September 17 2024 edition of Spy Movie News.  We're bringing the news back due to listener demand.  This is the only place to listen to a breakdown of what's happening with spy movies, TV shows, and streaming shows. We start this episode by looking at some of the TV and streaming spy movie shows that were released in the recent past but are still availabl...

Decoding UNDERCOVER GRANDPA In this episode, Dan and Tom decode the 2017 spy movie, UNDERCOVER GRANDPA.  This is one of our episodes that has Dan and Tom disagreeing as to whether they thought it was a good movie or not.  One of them thought it was ok.  The other didn't like it at all. The basic plot involves a teenager named Jake Bouchard (Dylan Everett) who is smitten by a girl in his high schoo...

Pierce Brosnan's final two James Bond movies, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and DIE ANOTHER DAY had some very cool gadgets. How many of the gadgets do you remember from those movies? In this episode, Dan and Tom decode about 30 of them. Are these gadgets believable?  Realistic?  Based on any real science?  If you are a fan of this show, you probably know that DIE ANOTHER DAY is one of Tom's bottom two J...

How many of the gadgets do you remember from Pierce Brosnan's first two James Bond movies, GOLDENEYE and TOMORROW NEVER DIES? In this episode, Dan and Tom decode about 30 of them.  We also let you know if we think a gadget is believable!  So, how many different pitons do we talk about in these two movies?  Do we think they are believable? Do you?  Tom calls out a favorite weapons/gadgets in any mo...

A Salute to George Lazenby Click here to watch the video version of this episode George Lazenby has announced his retirement from public life.  This is a well-earned retirement and we wish him nothing but the best. In this episode, Dan and Tom bring Mike Reyes back for a salute to the second Eon Productions actor to play James Bond.  George had huge shoes to fill in following Sean Connery.  We thi...