Sean Connery

Hidden Gem – Playing by Heart

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Playing by Heart
  • IMDb: link

“Talking about love is like dancing about architecture.”

Playing by Heart

Released in 1998, Playing by Heart follows the formula of several romantic dramedies (Love Actually being the best) which feature interlocking stories of couples in various states of their respective relationships. Written and directed by Willard Carroll, the film is notable for it’s impressive ensemble cast as well as a pair of the six stories which slowly come together during the film’s final act.

My favorite of the group features Angelina Jolie, as the beautiful but high-maintenance Joan, and Ryan Phillippe as the aloof young man with a dark secret who seems immune to her obvious charms. Also worthy of note are Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands as an elderly couple dealing with both the looming specter a life-threatening medical condition and a long-simmering old argument as the pair prepare to renew their vows on their 40th wedding anniversary.

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Bond, James Bond

/ / Essays, Theme Week

In 1961 producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman set out to turn one of Ian Fleming‘s James Bond novels into a feature film.  Many were considered; one was chosen.  The list was long and extensive: Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner), David Niven, James Mason, Roger Moore, and Cary Grant.

The role went instead to an unknown stage and television actor – Sean Connery, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Connery would go on to make five Bond films before leaving the role only to be called back after the Lanzenby film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service met with mixed reviews and the actor pulled out of a long term deal, paving the way for Connery to make one more Bond flick before saying goodbye to the character, for the second time, vowing never to play Bond Again.  He would return once more to reprise the role in a remake of a fan favorite Bond film in his final farewell to the Bond franchise Never Say Never Again.

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Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

/ / Home Video, Theme Week
  • Title: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • IMDB: link

“Don’t call me Junior!”

indiana-jones-and-the-last-crusade-posterHarrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones, though he’s not the first one we see in the role in this third installment of the franchise.

The movie starts with a young Indy (River Phoenix) taking on grave robbers near his home.  This short glimpse into his past gives us clues to his fear of snakes, his love of archeology, and where he picked up that trademark hat and whip.  This sequence would also be the catalyst for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series.

Following this opening we jump to the present where Indy is told his father (Sean Connery) has disappeared while searching for the location of the Holy Grail.  With the help of his father’s assistant (Alison Doddy), Indy travels to Venice to continue the search and find his father.

The search reunites the Jones famly for the first time in years and puts them up against Nazi’s, a secret cult desperate to keep the resting place of the Grail secret, and mysteries and clues which must be solved.

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