_**James goes to Japan**_ "You Only Live Twice" (1967) takes agent 007 to Japan where he seeks the secret SPECTRE installation responsible for literally stealing space capsules and threatening war between the USA and USSR. This 5th installment in the franchise upped the ante with the action & spy-stuff and is more dynamic than the previous ones. Speaking of the spy aspects, they're often over-the-top here to the point of being cartoonish. Another reviewer criticized the film in this regard -- pointing out that it was this film more than any other that gave the Austin Powers movies the most material to spoof -- and he was right. One scene, for instance, brought to memory that Gilligan's Island episode where Gilligan had a dream of being Agent 014 (remember the soup spoon?). No wonder the franchise got goofier in the 70s -- it was the next logical step. Disregarding the "Yeah, right" spy shenanigans, "You Only Live Twice" has everything you'd want in a Bond picture -- the action, intrigue, gadgets, beautiful women, spectacular locations and larger-than-life villains. The story is interesting enough that it keeps you absorbed and even builds suspense as the film goes from one action scene to another, culminating in the explosive climax. It was understandably a huge hit in 1967. The film runs 1 hour, 57 minutes, and was shot mostly in Japan, but also England, Spain and Gibraltar. GRADE: A-
Yeah... forgotten isn't it? Maybe it's forgotten because they try and turn Sean Connery into a Japanese man to hide him and he just ends up looking like a harry chested Leonard Nimoy. Or maybe it's forgotten because little choppers are more Roger Moore than Sean Connery. Whatever the case, it starts off pretty strong and then falls apart at the end. The first half of the movie is Connery Bond, and in places it's almost surreal in it's imagery.... but it ends up with 007 Leonard Nimoy, and that is just a shame. I can't really hate on the movie, because parts of it are seriously good. I just can't get disguised as a Japanese man 007 Leonard Nimoy with a harry chest out of my head, and that is really the memory that stays with you decades after watching this film. But, if you can get beyond that, it's still a pretty darn decent 007 film.
This is in the hay day of 007 films. Made when 007 was exciting and entertaining. That gets a lot of hate from people with Generation Xenophobe ideology. But it's totally exciting. Here, we get almost all the venues. We even get outer space. We get super beautiful scenery that pretty much make this one of the great Bond films, secure at number 5 in my opinion. Most of this is set in Japan, and much of it is filmed there. While Thunderball inspired the most in Austin Powers, this is probably second place in inspiration for Austin, and that's a good thing. Let us face the fact that the modern day 21st century Bond movies couldn't inspire Nolan Ryan to throw a baseball. This was made in the era when piranha were considered dangerous, and that plays a big part in the film. "Blowhard" (my name for Number 1) likes to feed his piranha. And you can guess what he feeds them. Lots of action, lots of scenery, lots of beautiful women, lots of wit, lots of gadgets. It has everything, which is probably why so many critics are so jealous of it.
Yeonmo Island is a small and serene island. Eun-ji enters the island for some peace, with a guitar and some scuba gear. The men in the fishing village start stirring, as a beautiful woman appears. Especially Yong-tae, the president of the island, and his subordinates, Yoon-gil and Byeong-sam, look creepily at her. One day, Eun-ji finds out that the men in the village have blocked the boat that is supposed to get her off the island. The residents, the police and everyone else gathers around her...
Movie Star Rating : 5 Read More
An independent group of researchers called the Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN) actively track Godzilla as he makes landfall in Nemuro. Matters are further complicated when a giant meteor is discovered in the Ibaragi Prefecture. The mysterious rock begins to levitate as it's true intentions for the world and Godzilla are revealed.
Movie Star Rating : 6.9 Read More
The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.
Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
Carlo, a former mobster, is abducted by five privileged young men desperate to raise a $2 million ransom to save the sister of a friend. As Carlo plays mind games, however, his captors splinter - each wondering whether one of their own had a hand in the crime.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
A warrior-in-training and his bumbling friends go in pursuit of a stolen sword.
Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are rumours that it is undetectable by radar—the British send ex-Vietnam War pilot, Mitchell Gant on a covert mission into the Soviet Union to steal the Firefox.
Movie Star Rating : 6 Read More
New York, 1961. Alexander Ivanov, a high-ranked Soviet bureaucrat, reluctantly defects to the West while is part of a diplomatic mission, feeling the grief of being unable to know the fate of his wife Katya, whom he has had to leave behind in Moscow. Only many years later, in 1991, he will finally find out the truth when his niece Lauren travels to Moscow to participate in a painting exhibition.
Movie Star Rating : 5.8 Read More
Problemista 2023 - Movies (Apr 19th)
Blood for Dust 2023 - Movies (Apr 19th)
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire 2024 - Movies (Apr 19th)
Asphalt City 2023 - Movies (Apr 19th)
Late Night with the Devil 2023 - Movies (Apr 19th)
The Christmas Break 2023 - Movies (Apr 19th)
The Christmas Detective 2023 - Movies (Apr 19th)
Meet Me in Paris 2023 - Movies (Apr 18th)
Peppermint and Postcards 2023 - Movies (Apr 18th)
The Braid 2023 - Movies (Apr 18th)
A Royal Christmas Surprise 2023 - Movies (Apr 18th)
Civil War 2024 - Movies (Apr 18th)
The First Omen 2024 - Movies (Apr 18th)
All You Need Is Death 2023 - Movies (Apr 17th)
The Dive 2023 - Movies (Apr 17th)
Bad Hombres 2024 - Movies (Apr 17th)
Immaculate 2024 - Movies (Apr 16th)
An American Bombing The Road to April 19th 2024 - Movies (Apr 17th)
Red Island 2023 - Movies (Apr 16th)
Eddie Murphy Hollywoods Black King 2023 - Movies (Apr 16th)
Himalaya 2024 - Movies (Apr 16th)
Young Sheldon - (Apr 18th)
The Five - (Apr 19th)
The Ingraham Angle - (Apr 19th)
All In with Chris Hayes - (Apr 19th)
Alex Wagner Tonight - (Apr 19th)
The Last Word with Lawrence ODonnell - (Apr 19th)
Law and Order- Organized Crime - (Apr 19th)
Tonight - (Apr 19th)
Next Level Chef - (Apr 19th)
Royal Crackers - (Apr 19th)
Caught - (Apr 19th)
Down Home Fab - (Apr 19th)
Building Off the Grid - (Apr 19th)
A Gentleman in Moscow - (Apr 19th)
BMF - (Apr 19th)
So Help Me Todd - (Apr 19th)
Law and Order Toronto- Criminal Intent - (Apr 19th)
MSNBC Reports Andrea Mitchell Reports - (Apr 19th)
Deadline- White House - (Apr 19th)
The Beat with Ari Melber - (Apr 19th)