Film, Spies, Thriller
Film: The Marseilles Contract
To the extent it’s possible to enjoy a film full of people you don’t like doing things you don’t…
November 9, 2021
Film, Thriller, World War IIFilm: The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed (1975) is a less-than-spectacular John Sturges war epic that nonetheless made for enjoyable background viewing…
March 29, 2019
Film, Spies, ThrillerFilm: The Holcroft Covenant
I spent most of The Holcroft Covenant (1985) thinking to myself: “Is this really the same John Frankenheimer who…
March 6, 2017
Film, Science FictionFilm: Interstellar
Is there anything more dispiriting than a widely acclaimed movie that’s virtually unwatchable? Interstellar (2014) is the kind of…
January 24, 2016
Film, Spies, Spy 100 Project, ThrillerSpy 100, #57: The Fourth Protocol
From the last gasp of the Cold War comes The Fourth Protocol (1987), a polished but unexceptional thriller. In…
July 20, 2014
Film, Spies, Spy 100 Project, ThrillerSpy 100, #13: The Ipcress File
Setting the tone for the series, The Ipcress File (1965) introduces Michael Caine as the cheeky, insubordinate Harry Palmer,…
May 27, 2014
Film, Spies, Spy 100 ProjectSpy 100, #26: Funeral in Berlin
Since I’m watching the Spy 100 list in reverse order, it turns out I’m watching the Harry Palmer movies…
October 13, 2012
Drama, Film, Spies, Spy 100 Project, ThrillerSpy 100, #32: The Quiet American
A carefully constructed and beautifully shot adaptation of the classic Graham Greene novel, The Quiet American (2002) sets a…
January 17, 2012
Film, Spies, Spy 100 ProjectSpy 100, #71: Billion Dollar Brain
Somewhere between the camp of James Bond and the cynicism of John le Carré lies Len Deighton’s Harry Palmer —…
July 5, 2010