Oddjob Pod – A James Bond Podcast

The Oddjob Pod crew are back at the Action Movie Landfil. This time is was Gary's turn to fish out a dusty VHS, slot it into the machine and see if it's worth keeping or chucking back on the pile.

His choice? An absolute doozy: Paul Michael Glazer's distopian sci-fi actioner, The Running Man starring Arnold Scwarzenegger. 

This film was hugely anticipated after the success of Skyfall but doesn't quite land in the way it should despite being a beautifully shot film and a fine example of the Brown genre.

The Oddjob Pod returns for another edition of the Action Movie Landfill. A periodic dive into the almost limitless mound of action films from the sell through era in the late twentieth, early twenty first century.

For this episode it was down to Terry to choose and it’s fair to say that he chose… poorly.

Not for the first time Terry allowed his fond memories of a film from years gone by to cloud his judgement and selected the political action thriller from 1997: The Peacemaker.

Starring Nicole Kidman and George Clooney, this big budget blockbuster was directed by Mimi Leder and reflects that post cold war, pre 911 spot where studio representations of US foreign policy was resolutely in denial of their place in the world. Watching back now it seems naïve. The films crude characterisations and dated tropes mean that it does not hold up to contemporary scrutiny and is best enjoyed with a time machine.

Stephen Norrington’s Blade sits if you’ll pardon the pun at the leading edge of big-screen Marvel movies. Not counting Howard The Duck, the 1998 film is the first Marvel superhero to be given a cinema release and heralded the wave of X-Men and films and Disney’s cinematic universe.

The film also sits on something of an intersection in 90s Vampire films; the most successful being Neil Jordan’s Interview With A Vampire and Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula which place the vampire as the main protagonist and invite the audience to feel as much sympathy and they do horror. Meanwhile, Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn and Joss Whedon’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer are reviving the old monster rally vibe to the genre, making vampire stories a lot more fun.

Buffy the TV series is also injecting a dose of vampire romance and eroticism which would be dominated in the subsequent decade by The Vampire Diaries.

In the middle of all this is Blade, himself something of an intersectional character: neither vampire nor human; at home nowhere and is cursed to fight until he dies. All told a pretty grim existed magnificently portrayed by Wesley Snipes. The film spawned two sequels, a spin-off TV show and he will return to cinemas in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2025.

So there’s plenty to discuss in the latest Action Movie Landfill edition of the Oddjob Pod. Join Graham, Terry, and Gary as they sharpen their steel and tuck into Blade.

We had a lot to say about this film. It's one we enjoy despite its flaws, which we discuss in depth.

The Oddjob Pod’s foray into the action movies of the sell-through era continues with Shane Black’s 2005 film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Black’s neo-noir satire and homage acts as a comeback movie for one of its stars, Robert Downey Junior whose reputation in Hollywood has taken something of a knock for well-documented reasons.

The film is a meta, fourth-wall-breaking action comedy which received a standing ovation at the Cannes film festival and is celebrated by film buffs for its stylish presentation. The film is a beautiful blend of light and dark, contains tremendous chemistry between Downey Junior and his co-star Val Kilmer and showcases the immaculate Michelle Monaghan as Downey Junior’s lost love, Harmony.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang also features an openly gay character, played by Kilmer. We discuss this character and ask how it holds up in 2023.

Gary, Graham and Terry complete their review of Pierce Brosnan's canon with Die Another Day.

Regular listeners will know that, despite its incredibly strong opening act, this is not our favourite entry. That said every Bond film is somone's favourite and we are mindful of this when expressing our own views. It is, after all, a James Bond film and we love James Bond films. Why else would we do a James Bond podcast?

So take a massive bang on the scorpion venom as we get down to Die Another Day.

Pierce Brosnan's second Bond outing has just celebrated its 25th year. It is a film that we all love but acknowledge its many flaws.

Join Gary, Terry and Graham as they patiently Bondsplain where it goes wrong and what we would have done to make it better.

The movie is significant for tough guy actor and former diver, Jason Statham who had played memorable supporting roles in Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. In The Transporter, "The Stath" had a vehicle of his own.

While not a stonewall classic, this low budget French action flick, co-written by Luc Besson, has a slick European feel combined with some high-octane Hong-Kong style action sequences. The moderately engaging plot serves to move the story from one action set piece to the next and it has a supporting cast that, it is fair to say, are doing their best. We really enjoyed talking about it and hope you enjoy listening.

If you've not seen The Transporter, do so before listening to this podcast.

In a brand new series of podcasts from the Oddjob Pod, we celebrate the classic action movies of the golden age of sell-through videos.

For our first episode, Gary, Terry and Graham have been off down to the Our Price store and picked up a VHS copy of Lethal Weapon.

The OddjobPod turns its eyes to new frontiers in the James Bond movie with the debut of the much loved actor, Pierce Brosnan, as 007 in Goldeneye.

This film has a considerable legacy, not just in redining the movies for the 1990s but also for it's impact on the video gaming industry that is still felt today.