The Film Thugs Movie Show

Quantum of Solace. For starters, the title means nothing. It is taken from a Ian Flemming short story. However, that story has nothing to do with this movie, and it is possibly the least "Bond" story ever written. The entire thing takes place during a dinner party. There is no action, no violence, nothing. Literally, just someone telling Bond a story about a failed marriage. That pretty much tells...

We continue our Bond odyssey with what many people consider the best Bond film ever made. What do we think? Well... I guess nostalgia is a powerful drug. Look, we love Connery. He is without doubt the best Bond ever, it's just that, unlike his appearance, his films haven't aged well. They have aged more like his attitude on hitting women. Once upon a time it might have been ok, but now... not so m...

This week we take a look at the biggest Bond film to date, "Skyfall," which is a bit of a conondrum. On one hand, it could be argued that this is the most popular Bond film ever. So far as box office goes... it kind of dominates. But, it is also the least "Bond" of all the films. Which may or may not be a good thing. So, hear what we have to say.   Next week we return with... Goldfinger.

This week we discuss "From Russia With Love," the Burt Bacharach album of Bond films. You don't really have to pay close attention to it, it's not terribly violent, there isn't that much sex in it, it's a nice, innofensive movie. But, my GOD, do we go off on tangents.     Next week we return with... Skyfall.

What madness is this? We decided that instead of doing a straight chornological run of the Bond, we would go with a "ping pong" method. How does that work? Basically, we are bouncing between the old and the new ones. We began with Dr. No, follow that with Spectre, next is From Russia With Love, follow that with Skyfall, and so on until we meet in the middle. So, this week we come at you with the m...

And a new chapter begins. This week we start our look at the greatest secret agent in film history. Since his big screen debut in 1962 Bond has been an institution, setting the bar for spy thriller and becoming a cultural icon in the process.   This week we actually look at two versions of Bond. The first being this....     This piece of absolute garbage introduced CIA agent Jimmy Bond, the midwes...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Pan's Labyrinth Spine Number: 838 Director:Guillermo Del Toro Genre: Drama   And just like that, our year and a half jou...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Blood Simple. Spine Number: 834 Director:The Coen Brothers Genre: Drama   As we have said before, there are a handful of...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Chimes at Midnight Spine Number: 830 Director:Orson Welles Genre: Drama   Orson Welles is one of the few people who comp...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... The In-Laws Spine Number: 823 Director:Arthur Hiller Genre: Comedy   There is no shortage of criminally overlooked movie...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Spine Number: 821 Director:Stanley Kubrick Genre: C...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... The Manchurian Candidate Spine Number: 803 Director:John Frankenheimer Genre: Drama   Ever since the first time I saw "T...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Moonrise Kingdom Spine Number: 776 Director:Wes Anderson Genre: Comedy   And once again we return to the well of Wes And...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... The Thin Blue Line Spine Number: 753 Director:Errol Morris Genre: Documentary   What is the highest goal a movie can att...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Love Streams Spine Number: 721 Director: John Cassavetes Genre: Drama   During our time looking at The Criterion Collect...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... A Brief History of Time Spine Number: 703 Director: Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor... but let's be honest, this is a Harol...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... A Brief History of Time Spine Number: 700 Director: Wes Anderson Genre: Comedy   For the fifth and almost final time we...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... A Brief History of Time Spine Number: 699 Director: Errol Morris Genre: Documentary   Stephen Hawking is an intersting g...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Foreign Correspondent Spine Number: 696 Director: Alfred Hitchcock Genre: Suspense   I have said, for years, that if you...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Spine Number: 692 Director: Stanley Kramer Genre: Comedy   The thing about the movie bus...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Thief Spine Number: 691 Director: Michael Mann Genre: Heist   Michael Mann is in that rare club of directors with a firs...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... The Devil's Backbone Spine Number: 666 Director: Guillermo Del Toro Genre: Horror "“If there isn’t a monster on the call...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Safety Last Spine Number: 662 Director: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor Genre: Comedy   The history of film is littered...

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Anatomy Of A Murder Spine Number: 600 Director: Otto Preminger Genre: Drama Courtrooms are inherently dramatic. There ar...

We are taking a break from our Criterion Year to take a look at an... interesting Christmas film.   Let's not split hairs here... this is one of the worst films ever made. Honestly, this thinkg barely qualifies as a movie. Yes, it is moving image and sound, and there is a story after a fashion. But more than anything, this is an unparallelled display of unchecked ego. Kirk Cameron, one of the bigg...