This is a monumental episode of Convicted Cinephiles for two reasons. First, and sadly, this is the final episode of co-host Michaela. We all love here and wish her well, as Stevil and Matty move on as Convicted Cinephiles 2.5. And secondly, for the first time in the established format of the show we're tackling a usual holiday marathoner in a super sized five movie episode! Yes, we are going ending our 2014 with a James Bond cast! We have four of six Bonds recognized, as we bring in Demigod Rob and Shogun Gamer's Casey White to bed women, drive sweet cars, indiscriminately kill bad guys and play with those cool gadgets. Connery would approve! (Lazenby would not.)
These are our Staff Picks of the week!
After months and months of Matty pushing it and recommending it as a Staff Pick, Stevil finally got around to checking out Alan Partridge (Alpha Papa) and loved it. Brilliant character comedy as only Steve Coogan could deliver it, coupled with supporting work from Colm Meaney and Darren Boyd. Rest assured, this movie is on Netflix now and begging to be added to your queue.
With five Bond movies to watch over a busy December, it's pretty hard to fit in another movie, but Michaela managed to squeeze one in for her final Staff Pick. If you're a child of the 80s, you know this film well, but if you haven't then it's time you picked up The Muppets Take Manhattan. Kermit and the Gang try to make a Broadway show with Muppet-y hijinx with appearances Art Carney, Dabney Coleman and the late Joan Rivers.
Matty has two recommendations for you to savor this episode. First, Denzel Washington reteams with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua for an adaptation of the Edward Woodward TV series The Equalizer. Washington plays a character that kills people with everything BUT a gun. Casey delivers an over Skype high five for this pick.
For his second pick, Matty heads to New Zealand for Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's dark comedy What We Do In The Shadows. The movie follows three roommates, who try to deal with their own deep seeded problems, as well as try to live with each others terrible quirks and short comings. The extra bonus? They're vampires! Sounds like more fun from the creators of Flight of the Conchords and Eagle vs. Shark.
Casey brought something to boggle and twist your mind, as well as tease something in the Cinephiles history. Predestination is a time travel mystery from the Spierig Brothers, who brought us Undead and Daybreakers. Again they have Ethan Hawke in the lead, as a temporal agent who is traveling through time to stop a mass murderer known as the Fizzle Bomber. Definitely check this film out for a stand out performance from newcomer Sarah Snook.
For the main subject of Bond films, our panel explains why they made their choices:
"I chose Thunderball for a number of reasons:
1. No had picked a Connery movie (yet).
2. It is arguably the best Bond movie starring Connery.
3. It was a tribute to my father, who was a massive Bond fan and introduced me to the franchise." - @DemigodRob
"Admittedly, You Only Live Twice isn’t the best Bond… it wasn’t even the best Bond film on the short-list crafted for the podcast. That being said, it’s one I have a special kinship with due to the fact that it was both one of the first Bond films I saw and because it kind of the pinnacle of the camp of Bond films. The ridiculous plot for global domination, the inclusion of SPECTRE for the second time, and one of the coolest ‘gadgets’ ever: Little Nelly." - @TheNightNinja
"Why did I pick On Her Majesty's Secret Service? Several reasons: We watched this during near Christmas and I thought it would be nice to pick a movie that fit the season. This film is very wintery! Yay snow! And of course, we can't forget the incredible wardrobe!
In all seriousness, I think this film gets overlooked quite often, and I think it deserves more recognition. The plot is strange and inventive, there is an interesting Bond girl, the ending is uncharacteristically dark, and I think Lazenby did a fine job as Bond. Overall, it's a winner for me, and one of the more interesting films in the series." - @avidcinephile
"For me, Roger Moore was my first Bond and Moonraker was my first movie. Fortunately I didn't bring Moonraker because that movie is terrible. I did bring it's pseudo prequel The Spy Who Loved Me. This is the quintessential Bond, chalk full of stunts, action, gadgets, and sexy ladies. It's what makes a brillant Bond film, and if Bond doesn't start and end his adventure with bedding a women and blowing shit up, it isn't really a Bond movie." - @mattydub604
"I love Bond films. Connery's great, with Moore it's like watching someone's dad hit on girls, Dalton, Lazenby and Brosnan have their points too, some more than others. Still, I am very much enjoying Daniel Craig's version of Bond and Skyfall is the ultimate film for me. We're definitely moving in a more traditional Bond direction, but for a new time, world and generation. Sam Mendes crafts a great John Logan script with the memorizing cinematography of Roger Deakins, who's IMDB credits list great film after film. Adding the brilliant work from the rest of the cast, including one of the best Bond villains, Javier Bardem's Silva, and you have a film that will truly stand the test of time, like Dr. No and Goldfinger. I didn't even get to gush about that Adele theme song..." - @theStevilDead
What is your favorite Bond film? Do you or did you enjoy our picks? Listen to the episode and let us know what you think in the comments below!