Intricate and personal dramatization of the real-life story of one of history’s most successful spies, Kim Philby. Intertwining narratives tell the tale of how Philby came to defect to the USSR in 1969 as well as the effects it had on British and American intelligence thereafter. Truly one of the most intense spy stories we have covered on this cas…

Darkly comic Netflix television series follows a young CIA lawyer who manages to get completely in over his head in his first week at the agency. The CIA here is portrayed as being more obsessed with plausible deniability than operational effectiveness. Find where to watch here. Our next topic will be the miniseries A Spy Among Friends. Intricate d…

Timothy Dalton steps into the role of James Bond in the first film to try to ‘ground’ the story in somewhat more topical, post-Cold War scenarios. No volcano-dwelling supervillain here, rather a Columbian drug cartel headed by Robert Davi. A shockingly young Benicio del Toro provides the role of the Heavy. Find where to watch here. Our next topic w…

We’re adding a low budget B-movie to our collection of spy stories this time. This made-for-tv production is admirable for how high it aims in terms of futurism, but falls flat in terms of tradecraft. Director Colin Budds explains how he tried to thread the needle between an ambitious script and a restrictive budget and time frame in a special Bonu…

Guy Ritchie directs a reboot prequel of the TV series that rode the crest of the action spy mania of the 1960’s. The film is also set in the 1960’s with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer reimagining the iconic roles of Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin. Alicia Vikander also stars as arguably a reimagining of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Find out where to str…

Marlene Dietrich stars as an Austrian prostitute recruited to spy on Russian agents during World War I. This film can be streamed here. Our next topic will be The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015). Modern reimagining of the 1960’s TV series. Find out where to watch it here. We have previously discussed the TV series, find those episodes here: Part 1 Part …

Keira Knightley portrays Katherine Gunn, the British spy who risked everything to expose illegal intelligence operations in the leadup to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Find out where you can watch it at: https://reelgood.com/movie/official-secrets-2019 Suggestions? Comments? Get nerdy about spy stuff with us at: https://www.facebook.com/spieslikeus…

The first film based on one of John Le Carre’s many international bestselling novels. Richard Burton stars as a British intelligence officer who fakes his discharge from the service in drunken, disillusioned disgrace in order to draw the attention of Eastern German agents. One of the most famous and influential spy films of all time. Our next topic…

We're back to wrap up Paul Verhoeven's "Blood" trilogy with a commentary on Robocop. We watched the unrated cut, so pop in your dvd and watch along, or just listen. Sync point - the black just before the Orion logo.

Adam Driver and Annette Bening star in this highly critical evaluation of the CIA’s methodology in their prosecution of the ‘War on Terror’. More of a political drama than a straight up spy story. Based on true events. Also known as ‘The Report’, also known as ‘The Torture Report’. Our next subject will be The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), …

Jessica Chastain spearheads an ensemble cast in this representation of the CIA’s hunt for, and eventual assassination of, Osama Bin Laden. Our next topic will be The Report, a highly critical evaluation of the CIA’s methodology in their prosecution of the ‘War on Terror’. Give us your suggestions and comments at: https://www.spieslikeus.net/contact…

Science fiction spy stories are rare, but this fits the bill and has tradecraft worth discussing. Tod brings in some disparate guests, all of which have different relationships with the Star Wars franchise. Together, we untangle this unique entry into the canon. Our next topic will be Zero Dark Thirty, an attempt at dramatizing the real-life work o…

Also available as a video here. Fred Kennedy joins Tod to discuss the tradecraft of The Old Man, a seven episode FX series currently streaming on Hulu and other services. Jeff Bridges stars as Dan Chase, a spy who has retired into deep cover to escape a troubling past. When he resurfaces, his old station chief (John Lithgow) is tasked with bringing…

Hopefully you guys have all already heard the regular Total Recall 1990 episode and subscribed to the Sci-Fi Wise Guys podcast. Find it on your favorite podcast app or here: https://linktr.ee/scifiwiseguys What? Need more convincing? Here’s a free sample. Here, I go on to Chris and Anthony’s podcast and join in a conversation about the Total Recall…

NEW! Now available as a video! Let us know what you think! https://youtu.be/6_6q1_-soxk Chris and Anthony of the Sci-Fi Wise Guys podcast take a break from their usual schtick of reviewing straight- to- stream science fiction and join Tod to discuss Total Recall (1990). In order to thwart an insurgency of mind-reading mutants, a spy undergoes the r…

Red Sparrow (2018) Jennifer Lawrence is a Russian SVR-trained ‘Sparrow’ who matches wits against a CIA agent (Joel Edgerton) while trying to stay one step ahead of her handlers. We are taking some weeks off here. Next month, Total Recall (1990) qualifies as a spy movie, if only barely. OK, maybe I am just using it as an excuse to geek out over Verh…

Gary Oldman leads a 6-episode adaptation of the 2010 novel by Mick Herron, the first of eight so far. The core high concept of this series is that Mi5 has a secret side agency where they send all of their fuckup agents into a sort of purgatory (Slough House). A brilliantly written dark comedy. Next week, movie episode! Red Sparrow (2018) stars Jenn…

Gary Oldman leads a 6-episode adaptation of the 2010 novel by Mick Herron, the first of eight so far. The core high concept of this series is that Mi5 has a secret side agency where they send all of their fuckup agents into a sort of purgatory (Slough House). A brilliantly written dark comedy. We’re always inviting input on what movies and films to…

Gary Oldman leads a 6-episode adaptation of the 2010 novel by Mick Herron, the first of eight so far. The core high concept of this series is that Mi5 has a secret side agency where they send all of their fuckup agents into a sort of purgatory (Slough House). A brilliantly written dark comedy. We’re always inviting input on what movies and films to…

Our first anime! It’s more proof (if you needed it) that we are dedicated to cover anything spy-related. This manga has been a big hit in Japan, and weebs like David have been eagerly anticipating the translation into television. More of a family sitcom than a pure spy thriller, but we will give it a look and discuss the tradecraft of the show. Nex…

Palmerfest concludes with our analysis of the return of Michael Caine to the role of the iconic bespectacled secret agent in the 90’s. Filmed back-to-back with its sequel Midnight in St. Petersburg (1996), it was initially meant for theatrical release but scaled back to a Showtime cable channel offering. Tod and David can only speculate on the reas…

CONCLUSION of our discussion of the six-episode IPCRESS File from ITV. ‘Palmerfest’ continues next week however with a change of plans, the movie will be Bullet to Beijing (1995). Discussion of the new AppleTV series Slow Horses (Gary Oldman, Jonathan Pryce) on the near horizon. Let us know what you would like covered at: https://www.spieslikeus.ne…

Discussion of the newly released British ITV adaptation of the IPCRESS File continues with analysis of the fifth of this six-episode offering. This Len Deighton novel was most famously adapted for film in 1965 starring Michael Caine and produced by Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman. Next week will be our last on this TV series. SCHEDULE CHANGE announ…

Discussion of the newly released British ITV adaptation of the IPCRESS File continues with analysis of the fourth of this six-episode offering. This Len Deighton novel was most famously adapted for film in 1965 starring Michael Caine and produced by Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman. We will continue to give weekly coverage on this TV series, and cap…

Producer Harry Saltzman takes newly-minted superstar Michael Caine back for a third dip into the Harry Palmer well, and the results are not great. In fact, the movie’s performance with audiences and critics are so bad that Caine convinces Saltzman to release him from the planned five movie contract. It’s the tradecraft that we are most interested i…

Discussion of the newly released British ITV adaptation of the IPCRESS File continues with analysis of the third of this six-episode offering. This Len Deighton novel was most famously adapted for film in 1965 starring Michael Caine and produced by Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman. A full movie discussion episode of Billion Dollar Brain (1967) has b…

British ITV adaptation of the Len Deighton novel, also famously adapted for film in 1965. This version sticks firmly to its 1960’s roots but makes interesting update choices in other areas. We will continue to discuss each episode of the six-episode miniseries on a weekly basis. IN ADDITION we are working on a movie episode for 1967’s Billion Dolla…

Discussion of the first episode of this six-episode miniseries. Currently only available to ITV subscribers in Britain. Which is a damned shame, because this reimagining of the IPCRESS File absolutely cooks. We will be discussing and dissecting each episode week by week. Due to RL stuff, this podcast recording and editing was made on a really old l…

In the immediate frenzy of the James Bond-fueled 1960’s spy craze, it’s very interesting to note that Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman chooses this moment to produce a sort of ‘Anti-Bond’ spy film. Michael Caine brings a ‘working man’s’ subtlety to his portrayal of a spy character that will strongly influence the more realistic spy films that will f…

Closing out discussion of the Netflix miniseries The Spy starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the real life Israeli spy Eli Cohen (1960’s era). Looking ahead, Casablanca has been tabled. We are switching tracks to write notes on The IPCRESS File (1965) in preparation for the launch of the tv series in Britain. Stay tuned! Music is licensed under a Creativ…

Netflix miniseries The Spy starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the real life Israeli spy Eli Cohen (1960’s era). In this cast we discuss the third and fourth of the six episodes and we will finish out the series next week. After we finish The Spy we’ll return to film discussion with Casablanca (1942). Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attributio…

The Spy (2019) Netflix miniseries The Spy starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the real life Israeli spy Eli Cohen (1960’s era). In this cast we discuss the first two of the six episodes and we will finish out the series in the following weeks. After we finish The Spy we’ll return to film discussion with Casablanca (1942).. Music is licensed under a Creat…

Denis Villeneuve directs Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and a darkly brooding Benicio del Toro in this film about CIA operations involving Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. Big favorite of Tod and Dave, highly recommend. Over the following three weeks we will discuss the Netflix miniseries The Spy starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the real life Israeli spy…

Friend of the show Joe Duffus joins us to conclude discussion of Le Bureau des Legendes season one. Spoilers abound. Next up is Sicario (2015), a spy-adjacent movie about CIA operations involving Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro star. Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license ‘En…

Continued discussion of Le Bureau des Legendes includes everything up to and including episode 6. Next week: concluding discussion of the 10 episode season. The next movie will be Sicario (2015), a spy-adjacent movie about CIA operations involving Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro star. This one is pr…

Rebroadcast episode in preparation for a couple weeks of delving further into this critically acclaimed French spy series. Next week: episode 6, following week: episode 10. The next movie has not been picked yet, so send recommendations. Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license ‘Enter the Party’ by Kevin MacLeod Source: http:/…

We launched this podcast with the mission to cover ALL types of spy movies, good and bad. Here is proof of our commitment to the mission. The spy craze of the 1960’s left no studio hesitant to cash in, and that included the Hanna Barbera animation studio. In the first feature length Flintstones film, Fred is tasked by ‘the government’ to take the p…

High time we tackled a specific sub-genre of spy films, the WWII ‘behind enemy lines’ type! A crack team of Allied soldiers stages a daring rescue during the winter of 1943, but their mission turns out to be much more than it appears. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are infiltrating the Nazi mountain fortress. Tod and Dave are infiltrating the tr…

Concluding discussion of the first season of TURN, dramatizing the historical contributions of the Culper Spy Ring in the success of the American Revolution. This week we are considering the season’s finale Episode 10 in detail. Next week we return to movie discussion with Where Eagles Dare (1968) starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton. A crack…

Tod and Dave continued discussion of this AMC Original show, dramatizing the historical contributions of the Culper Spy Ring in the success of the American Revolution. This is Part Two of a Three Episode series on Season One of TURN: Washington’s Spies. Here we will discuss a middle episode of that season in some detail. Next week we will close the…

We feel like we have finally cracked the code on how to mix in spy television series with our spy movie discussions. It’s kind of rare to find spy drama that focuses on pre-WWII tradecraft, but TURN delivers big time. This AMC Original show dramatizes the historical efforts of the Culper Ring in the effort to create a new nation. This is Part One o…

Discussion of The Conversation (1974) by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Gene Hackman. A surveillance expert becomes obsessed with a cryptic conversation recorded on behalf of a mysterious client. The following three weeks we will dissect the first season of the television series TURN : Washington’s Spies, which presents a fascinating tale of the tr…

Concluding discussion of the first season of Homeland, which follows a CIA officer deeply disturbed by the possibility that a recently released war prisoner may have been secretly turned by al-Qaeda. This week we are considering the season’s finale Episode 12 in detail, INCLUDING SPOILERS. Next week we return to movie discussion with The Conversati…

Continued discussion of the first season of Homeland, which follows a CIA officer deeply disturbed by the possibility that a recently released war prisoner may have been secretly turned by al-Qaeda. This week we are considering Episode 7 in detail. Next week we will discuss the season finale Episode 12, and fair warning Spoilers will be in play. Th…

Tod and Dave hit a Brush Pass bonus episode with our first impressions of the final Daniel-Craig-as-Bond flick. Be warned this is a full spoiler episode. We figure if you haven't seen the film yet, you probably don't care about spoilers. Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license ‘Enter the Party’ by Kevin MacLeod Source: http:/…

Rebroadcasting our previous Brush Pass discussion on the first episode of Showtime’s Homeland. The season follows a CIA officer deeply disturbed by the possibility that a recently released war prisoner may have been secretly turned by al-Qaeda. Over the next two weeks we hope to flesh out a fuller discussion of this particular season of spy televis…

Tod and David tackle the movie that aimed to do for James Bond what ‘Batman Begins’ did for Batman, completely re-booting 007 for a new century. Expect us to publish a Brush Pass episode as soon as we have seen No Time To Die, which is expected to close out the Daniel Craig storyline. We will then be re-publishing our prior episode on the first epi…

We are back for part II of our Paul Verhoeven commentary trilogy with Total Recall. email us - soullessminions@gmail.com

Tod and David continue discussion on this very excellent espionage thriller series that pits a pair of deep-cover KGB agents posing as a married couple against the FBI Counterintelligence in Washington, D.C. in the mid 1980’s. This concludes our Three Episode series on Season One of The Americans, in which we discuss the Season Finale. Next week we…

Tod and David continue discussion on this very excellent espionage thriller series that pits a pair of deep-cover KGB agents posing as a married couple against the FBI Counterintelligence in Washington, D.C. in the mid 1980’s. This is Part Two of a Three Episode series on Season One of The Americans. The final week we will close the discussion with…