At the Flicks At the Flicks

Welcome to our new format At The Flicks review show.

The big change is that we now concentrate on one film per show, not five. Don’t forget, we are mainly senior citizens and reviewing five at a time was just proving too much for us in our advanced state! Especially when you factor in all the toilet breaks we have to have when watching in the cinema (except Neil who has his own catheter).

Also, these shows are going to be far more random (who said, “what’s new there”?). So we are calling them pop up review shows – you never know what film we will review next – a new release, a classic or something you have never heard of or when. Some months we could have three reviews, other times none.

Apart from the shows being a lot shorter, we want to do something other movie review shows don’t. We will sometimes bring in an expert on the subject matter of the movie we are discussing for their take, or we may want to emphasis some aspect that most reviewers are missing, or, and most likely, where we have very different perspectives. That last category applies to this show, our review of Challengers.

Challengers. The recent film about tennis starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor (local lad to us). Phil and Graham loved it, Jeff hated it (nothing new there). Welcome to our own take on Challengers – Phil against Jeff (although no kissing is involved here).

Please accept our apologies in not being able to pronounce the director’s name!

After listening to the show, are you team Jeff or team Phil, please let us know. For those interested in Phil’s original non interrupted review, please see the link below..

Finally, if anyone wants to join us for one of these pop reviews (and remember it doesn’t have to be a new release you may want to talk about), then write to us with your suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you.

Until then, see you At The Flicks.

Welcome to the second of our shows which discuss the James Bond films of the 1960’s – a time when the ever-innocent Neil thought Pussy Galore was a gang of cats

As a reminder back in 2020 we had a number of episodes with our American friend Elijah discussing these very Bond films.  Elijah had never seen a Bond film before we started that series and it was interesting to get his perspective of a series of films that are over 50 years old.  Judging from the correspondence we received, those shows were a hit with you, our listeners.  To conclude that series we were going to bring in a James Bond aficionado to give us his view on those auspicious beginnings for James Bond. 

A big thank you to Jon Yates for his time and knowledge in the episodes which follow.

In this second episode, we talk John Barry, Ken Adam and George Lazenby.  We also give Jon a challenge to design his personal choice of a 60’s Sean Connery Bond film that never was.

Like the films we hope our sometimes-irreverent talk amuses and entertains you.

A brief word about Mr Jon Yates.  Not only is he a James Bond superfan, he is also a novelist.  His first novel Subliminal Roots, a murder mystery,  poses the fascinating question “How can one man kill two other men in the same way in different places at the same time?”  Check it out, a link for the novel is below.

Also below is a link to Q The Music who provided the music you hear throughout the podcast.  Q The Music are on tour again this year and well worth going to see.

Thank you Jon and Warren. 

And to everyone else, see you on the next show or At The Flicks

Welcome to the first of a two part discussion about the James Bond films of the 1960’s – a time when Graham was young.

Followers of the show may remember that back in 2020 we had a number of episodes with our American friend Elijah discussing these very Bond films.  Elijah had never seen a Bond film before we started that series and it was interesting to get his perspective of a series of films that are over 50 years old.  Judging from the correspondence we received, those shows were a hit with you, our listeners.  To conclude that series we were going to bring in a James Bond aficionado to give us his view on those auspicious beginnings for James Bond. 

A big thank you to Jon Yates for his time and knowledge in the episodes which follow.

In this first part of our analysis, we talk the beginnings of the James Bond franchise, Sean Connery and the wonderful ladies who became the Bond girls.

Like the films we hope our sometimes-irreverent talk amuses and entertains you.

A brief word about Mr Jon Yates.  Not only is he a James Bond superfan, he is also a novelist.  His first novel Subliminal Roots, a murder mystery, poses the fascinating question “How can one man kill two other men in the same way in different places at the same time?”  Check it out, a link for the novel is below.

Also below is a link to Q The Music who provided the music you hear throughout the podcast.  Q The Music are on tour again this year and well worth going to see.

Thank you, Jon and Warren. 

Come back tomorrow for the second part of our James Bond spectacular.

Welcome to the latest edition of At The Flicks.  Back by popular demand is another of our Carry On Streaming episodes, hosted by the very knowledgeable Declan (and his two assistants Jeff and Graham).

So, if you plan to spend Easter in front of the TV catching up on what you’ve missed since Christmas or looking for something new, then this is the show for you.  And what an exciting line up Declan reveals.

You can catch up with such recommendations as:

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office – which Declan called out as unmissable in our Christmas show, and how right he was.

Blue Eyed Samurai – an adult animated series on Netflix, and not, as Jeff says, “for the kids”.

The Rise And Fall Of Boris Johnson – Relive the Conservative party glory days, with a very satisfying ending

While coming up at Easter or just after: 

Dark Matter – another highly acclaimed Apple TV sci fi show 

The Tattooist Of Auschwitz – A powerful true story from World War II

Ripley – Netflix have produced the latest screen version of Patricia Highsmith’s anti hero, this time played by the excellent Andrew Scott 

Something for everyone there.  Also,if you want some of Declan’s famous and legal tips to get bargains from the various Streaming Services then check out episode 236, our Christmas streaming show, as many of those options still stand.

All that remains for us to say is have a very happy Easter.  Relax and enjoy and we look forward to seeing you At The Flicks shortly.

Welcome to the latest edition of At The Flicks – this is one where we try something different for our movie reviews.

Regular listeners to the show will know that contributor Darren is a wrestling aficionado, what he doesn’t know about the sport isn’t worth knowing.  As for the rest of us, you could write our knowledge on the back of a 2nd class postage stamp.  The exception to that is of course Neil, who is often seen about town in a series of flamboyant costumes some of the more outlandish wrestlers would wear.  However, fighting is the furthest thing from his mind when he is in his gear! 

I digress and apologise for the image I have now imparted.  Back to the show and Darren’s challenge.  He asked (well, instructed), Graham and Jeff to go watch The Iron Claw without reading anything about it beforehand.  After which he could chat to us about Von Erich family and their unique story.  The dynamic duo followed Darren’s instructions (not easy for this pair of overage lefties) and went to see the film “cold”.

As you will find out in this intriguing review show, it was an experience for both of them, fascinating and shocking at times.  Although Jeff, having not read any film news for a week to ensure he learnt nothing about The Iron Claw was annoyed when the UK certificate card, giving trigger warnings, spoilt three important plot points before the movie even started.  As Jeff says, enough with the woke sign posting – we never had it in my day.

Thankfully after that, and a pacifying bucket of popcorn, Jeff settled into the spirit of the viewing. 

We will not reveal any further details of the plot here.  Suffice to say, please watch The Iron Claw before listening to this podcast. 

Not only do the three At The Flicks members discuss the film in detail, Darren uses his encyclopaedic knowledge to enhance the experience, such as addressing the questions  

What were the Von Erichs really like?  

What does the movie leave out? 

What impact did the tragedies that befell this family have on the local wrestling scene?

All of these questions and many more fascinating facts are provided by Darren.  So, if you are a fan of movies or wrestling, or both, then this episode is definitely for you.

What do you think listeners of our new approach to reviewing movies? As always please write to let us know.

Who knows, we might all meet up at the flicks for the next wrestling feature. 

Bye for now.

Welcome to our first “official” show of 2024 – the one where the review team look back on the year that was, picking out their personal favourites.

Remarkably for such a show, most of the lists are very different.  Let me elaborate by team member:

- Phil – picked a list he knew would mostly annoy Jeff (and it worked)
- Neil – Found his way to the cinema this year, or at least to his remote to watch his selection on streaming
- Jeff – A different list to most of the others – and where no subtitles allowed
- Graham – A considered list with a very left field entry included
- Declan – A smorgasbord of subtitled entries
- Darren – A very different list to the others (although regular listeners of Darren’s video store shows shouldn’t be surprised)

How do you top that?  Simple – the combined At The Flicks films of the year.  

This year there are 7 films in the list (because Jeff, who compiled the selection wanted to make sure he had at least one of his choices there).

Regular listeners to the show should have no trouble in guessing the top film of the year as voted for by the team – but what about the runners up?  Some of those may surprise or possibly anger you.

Please let us know what you think of our choices.  Do you think there is anything missing?  As always, we look forward to your comments. 

Next time we finally arrive in 2024.  See you there or at the flicks.