Cracking the Code of Spy Movies!

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 pro...

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 i...

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...

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...

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 ge...

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 S...

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 nove...

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 mon...

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 the...

What Makes GOLDENEYE a standout James Bond movie? GOLDENEYE came out after a 6-year hiatus for the Eon Productions James Bond movie franchise.  It followed LICENCE TO KILL and introduced us to the fifth actor to take on the role of James Bond. In this episode, Dan and Tom decode the success of GOLDENEYE . They do this by diving into the top 8 reasons for its success. They squeeze out why it is so...

OBLITERATED – A No-Spoiler Review discusses this hot new Netflix spy comedy series.  We liken it to a 1980s teen comedy.  It is raunchy and touches on a few hot topics.  While it isn't for everyone – is it for you?  It is a spy series at its core! Is OBLITERATED worth your time? We'll give you enough information here to help you decide if you want to watch OBLITERATED.  Will it be worth YOUR time?...

What makes FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE So Good? And how has it stood up to the test of time? FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE has a 97% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  Dan and Tom give you 10 reasons why they think this movie is so good.   See if you agree! Possible reasons: Is it the story?  This was one of Ian Fleming's novels.  How about the acting? Or is it the characters? Could it be the sets? Maybe i...

Rick English talks KINGSMAN stunts with Dan and Tom on their show Cracking the Code of Spy Movies .  Rick is the award-winning stunt performer who doubled Colin Firth in the first two KINGSMAN movies.  He's been doing stunts in movies for over 23 years.  RICK'S ROLE AS A DOUBLE So, what is it like to double a star? How much of the stunt work did Colin Firth do, versus Rick? Was Rick hurt doing any...

Rick English stunt performer talks spy movie stunts with Dan and Tom on their show Cracking the Code of Spy Movies .  If you've seen at least three spy or action movies in the last two decades, you've likely seen Rick's work in at least one of them.   Rick is an award-winning stunt performer who has been involved with the James Bond, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, BATMAN, and KINGSMAN franchises.   He was a...

Was ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE good?  That is a question that Bond fans have been arguing since its release.  In this episode, Dan and Tom walk through the top 10 reasons why they think ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE is a good movie.  Then they look at it from the other side with the top 10 reasons it is criticized.    Some things they examine are:  George Lazenby  The score  The action  Tel...

James Bond can survive, can't he? " Come on Bond, where the hell are you?" M pleads near the end of NO TIME TO DIE .  Let's talk about that.  In this episode, Dan and Tom have fun coming up with some ways that James Bond can survive after the debacle at the end of NO TIME TO DIE .     Some of their ideas make some sense, some are based on how other fictional characters have survived their demise a...

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is often considered one of the best spy movies of all time. We couldn't agree more. In this episode, Dan and Tom decode this classic. As far as spy movies go, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is dark, and probably a bit more realistic in terms of a spy's life, than anything James Bond does.  There are no Aston Martins here, no tuxedos, no glamorous venues – nothi...

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME Filming Locations in Sardinia! Your covert field operatives Dan and Tom trace their exploits in visiting the filming locations in Sardinia, Italy from the James Bond Movie, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME .  Many people love going to James Bond filming locations. Dan and Tom do as well. Many times, these locations are very cool.  Sardinia, Italy is one such place – simply beautiful and a...

One of the leading experts on traveling to James Bond filming locations worldwide joins us at Cracking the Code of Spy Movies for this amazing segment, our Uwe Brosamle interview!   Uwe Brosamle estimates he's traveled to over 80% of the James Bond filming locations - and he's done it in just 10 years. Most James Bond fans love discovering and visiting James Bond filming locations - and certainly,...

DIE ANOTHER DAY - pre-title sequence decoded! We know that Tom hates DIE ANOTHER DAY, but strangely, he has some kind things to say about this pre-title sequence. Hint: Tom likes hovercraft, surfing, and flamethrowers.  Interestingly, Dan has more negative thoughts in this episode than Tom does, and he doesn't hate the movie. Take a listen as they decode this very different pre-title sequence! Wha...

DR. NO - James Bond's choices: At the end of DR. NO, James Bond has to make several potentially life-threatening decisions to escape from Dr. No's captivity.  What are the choices he needs to make?  How does he decide which path to take?  Was it just luck that he got out of there alive (and with Honey Rider)?  Dan and Tom break down James Bond's path and the choices he made from his holding cell t...

UPDATE: We were very sad to hear that Joe Caroff has passed away, August 17 2025, at 103 years old. We were honored to have interviewed him a while back. RIP. _______ Today we talk to the most famous graphic designer no one knows: Joe Caroff!  62 years ago, Joe created one of the most identifiable movie logos in history - the 007 logo! In this episode, we talk with Joe about his work on not just t...

SPY KIDS: ARMAGEDDON is the just released kids spy movie. You can find it on Netflix. We give you our non-spoiler look at this movie and let you know if we think this is worth watching. We also talk about why it has a PG rating and is family friendly. SPY KIDS: ARMAGEDDON is the fifth installment in the Spy Kids franchise. It has an all-new cast and characters. As with the first Spy Kids movie, it...

Mark Cerulli is a writer, producer, and director who helped create the "Making Of" series giving us the behind the scenes look at GOLDFINGER and THUNDERBALL . Mark tells us how the series was made, behind the scenes stories, his interactions with Sean Connery, and much more. Mark also discusses his documentary BY DESIGN: THE JOE CAROFF STORY .   We KNOW every James Bond fan is familiar with Joe Ca...

GOLDFINGER - Oddjob Character Spotlight: Today we dig deeply into the character of Oddjob  in GOLDFINGER - superbly and memorably played by Harold Sakata! GOLDFINGER set the standard for the James Bond formula. Oddjob is a character that must be placed in our Character Spotlight, as Harold Sakata's portrayal of Oddjob is flawless. Yes, he's one of the James Bond series most notorious henchman, he...