Goldfinger is one of the undisputed high points of the James Bond franchise. The movie includes a bunch of iconic Bond characters and moments – henchman Oddjob and his murderous metal bowler hat, Bond’s silver tricked-out Aston Martin DB5 and, perhaps most famous of all, Shirley Eaton’s cameo as the unfortunate Bond girl who is…
The Woman In Red / Weird Science
Kelly Le Brock had limited acting talents but was one of those classic 80s pin-up who became the stuff of schoolboy fantasies. LeBrock started out as a model. (She was the Pantene girl who memorably implored “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” in a famous TV commercial). As an actress, she is remembered for…
The Misfits
The Misfits, Marilyn Monroe’s final film, was written for her by her (ex) husband, the great American playwright Arthur Miller. Monroe stars alongside fellow greats Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, and the movie has a poignant sadness about it seeing movie stars past their prime playing characters past theirs, and knowing it too. Gable died…
The Breakfast Club
I saw The Breakfast Club with low expectations when reviewing movies for my student newspaper. It turned out to be one of the classic teen movies of the 80s. It is my favourite from the late director John Hughes, who also gave us teen classics Ferris Bueller and Pretty In Pink, amongst many more. These…
Purple Rain
I saw Purple Rain at the press screening in Norwich before anyone other than diehard fans had ever hear of Prince. I thought his acting was quite dreadful, and the plot is pure cliche, but it was apparent that he had a charisma about him. Plus, of course, all the songs and stage performances were…
High Plains Drifter / Pale Rider
These are two mythical Westerns from Clint Eastwood, both of which essentially have the same conceit – the Clint character is the reincarnation of a dead lawman murdered by bandits, who returns to deliver justice to the perpetrators. High Plains Drifter was the first Western Clint directed himself, and the influence of Sergio Leone looms…
Romancing The Stone / Jewel of the Nile
Romancing The Stone turned out to be a very pleasant surprise for me. I got sent to review it for my student paper and went in with zero advance knowledge and low expectations. It turned out to be a remarkably entertaining movie, with great chemistry between leads Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. This was also…
Some Came Running
Unusually, I own several pieces of memorabilia for this movie which I have never seen. I bought these posters simply because I am a big Frank Sinatra fan. He holds a special meaning for me as he was my late father’s favourite singer. I was fortunate enough to be able to take my father to…
Never Say Never Again
I remember seeing this the Summer it was released. The press had amped up “The Battle of the Bonds” between the “official” Roger Moore release Octopussy and this, Sean Connery’s return to the role after 12 years at the age of 52. NSNA is a loose remake of Thunderball, and came about due to a…
Movie Make-up
When I was a kid I developed a nerdy fascination with movie special effects and make-up. There was a point at which I tried (and failed) to build a dinosaur model out of wire, rubber and papier-mâché, in the style of Ray Harryhausen’s much-loved stop-motion monsters. (Quite why I bothered I don’t know as I…