Anthony Horowitz takes over the 007 mantle with his novel Trigger Mortis. Using some material written by Ian Fleming, Horowitz sets his novel two weeks after the events of Goldfinger, the book not the film, in 1957. James Bond has returned to the UK, accompanied by Pussy Galore, though that’s not going to turn out…
Tag: cold war
Raise the Titanic (1980) – Jerry Jameson
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed 1980’s Raise the Titanic, but that doesn’t mean it’s great. While it differs from the Clive Cussler novel on which it was based (the author hated the adaptation) and failed to launch hero Dirk Pitt (played by a bearded Richard Jordan) into a franchise I found…
Family Ties (1986) – Checkmate, Engine Trouble, and A Word to the Wise
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) learns the difference between countries fighting for honour, and two people playing chess for the love of the game in Checkmate. Written by Micheal J. Weithorn, it first aired on 30 January, 1986. Alex is gearing up for a showdown with a Russian chess champ, Ivan Rozmirovich (Albert Macklin) and despite…
Live at Five (1999) – Raymond Benson
007 is back. Raymond Benson wrote a short story, just in time for the premiere of The World is Not Enough. It was published in TV Guide and gives a brief glimpse of a Cold War defection that James Bond was involved in. Set in the United States following a botched attempt in London, Bond…
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) – Kathyrn Bigelow
K-19 feels like an underrated Kathryn Bigelow film. She once again dives into the pressures of the armed services and war and she has a fantastic cast including Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, and Peter Sarsgaard. Set at the height of the Cold War in 1961, when Mutually Assured Destruction seemed to be moments away from…
Hill Street Blues (1986) – Das Blues, and Scales of Justice
Belker (Bruce Weitz) and Robin (Lisa Sutton) finally tie the knot at city hall, and Howard (James Sikking) suffers a fall, and believes he’s a prisoner on a Russian ship, one that has been spotted in the harbor, when in actuality he’s in the basement of the precinct, and causing a number of problems in…
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) – Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of the classic 60s series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which serves as a bit of an origin story for the series characters is uneven at best. What could have launched a fun franchise, that wouldn’t equal Mission: Impossible, but could have been a delightful theatrical tentpole fumbles as it proves unable to…
The Equalizer (1987) – Beyond Control, and Carnal Persuasion
McCall (Edward Woodward) and Mickey (Keith Szarabajka) find themselves back in the spy game in Beyond Control. Written by Coleman Luck it first aired on 14 January, 1987. Control (Robert Lansing) comes to McCall when a KGB mole is killed. To protect names, sources, and plans within plans Control has to work outside the Company…
Bridge of Spies (2015) – Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are always a winning combination as far as I’m concerned, and their work on Bridge of Spies just continues to confirm that for me. Using the true life story of the Abel-Powers incident, the pair take us behind the scenes of one of the major events of the Cold War….
The Apollo Murders (2021) – Chris Hadfield
Retired astronaut and national treasure Chris Hadfield delivers a fast-paced thriller with The Apollo Murders. It’s a look at an all too believable reality as the story follows the training, launch, and mission of Apollo 18. It’s made all the more believable because Hadfield not only knows his subject matter, emotionally and technically, using an…
The Mind Reels 