Film review: Spectre

It starts in Mexico City. The tracking shots of 007; swerving through the crowds, leading a mystery woman up the stairs into the hotel room, walking along the rooftops. Explosions grip us from the start, the storyline yet to unfold.

Bond is most definitely back.

Charming and courageous, Daniel Craig’s performance is everything you imagine it will be. Capturing the essence of Bond time and time again, 007 uncovers the secrets from the previous three films in the series in one thrilling masterpiece. With gadgets and humour, girls and cars, Spectre plays on the iconography of Bond, but with an edge. The wondrous performance from Craig leaves you with hope for the next film, surely they won’t get rid of him?

Every scene in Spectre is anticipated, but with twists and turns that make it enthralling to watch. The thrill of a fight-scene, Bond’s determination and forward thinking which Craig portrays wonderfully. The typical sex-scene, heart racing and expected. But, in the shadows of a boardroom, Bond is lurking. The eeriness and quietness from the scene make it one of the most tense, yet, intriguing scenes from any of the Bond films.

The exotic locations are typical to James Bond films, and these certainly did not disappoint in Spectre. The ancient city of Rome, the bitterness of Austrian mountains and the familiar backdrop of London all serve their own purpose and certainly bring a glamorous, luxury element to the film.

Music is a huge component for any film, especially James Bond. The anticipation of ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ gave us the first glimpse of what the film would be like and alike any Sam Smith track, was outstanding. Throughout the film, the music is brilliant; carefully selected and paced, building up tension or slowing it down, it is evident that Mendes’ selections for every second of this film were thoroughly pondered – something that definitely doesn’t go a miss.

The writing is as always, brilliant. Using the humour and sarcasm that, in the last film, made the Bond series’ really come alive worked just as well again; carefully placed and brilliantly delivered. As well as the humour bringing Spectre to a new era, the scripts don’t hold back on the one-liners that we all know and love. Together with incredible performances from not only Daniel Craig - but Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw - just to name a few, the 24^th film in the series is no doubt the greatest film of the year so far.

This is the perfect end to a much-awaited sequel, one that I can’t wait to watch again.

Film review: The Man From U.N.C.L.E

The Man from U.N.C.L.E cleverly captures the elements that made the 1960's series such a huge hit. Guy Richie combines the use of modern technology with retro 60's flair, adding a lot of humour and sexual themes, to create this extremely entertaining spy thriller.

In 1963, C.I.A agent Napoleon Solo and K.G.B operative Illya Kuryakin unite, along with Gaby Teller to prevent the completion of a nuclear bomb which is being built by wealthy Italian couple, Alexander and Victoria Vinciguerra. Their plan is to use Teller's father's intelligence to help them built the bomb.
Solo and Kuryakin team up in a bid to stop the couple from succeeding, with both ben secretly assigned to steal the weapon's systematics for their separate Governments.

The retro look to the film excellently portrays the 60's theme, from the highly-saturated editing to the brilliant makeup and costume, everything reflects the era that shone with style. The music used throughout the film and for the theme tune add more of a 60's vibe, but also with a modern edge to it.

The acting in the film was fantastic, with fun-loving but believable characters, and great scripting. Along with the fast-paced editing, the action scenes were not only gripping but also, absolutely hilarious. The script along with the direction added humour to the film, which made the action scenes a lot easier to watch.

It slightly resembles a James Bond style but this film is completely different; portraying the frailties of the Cold War brilliantly. This film will really take you in, the gripping story line and hilarious scripting combine excellently with the use of music, costume and breathtaking locations.
Guy Richie has definitely done himself proud with this one.

Loving London

I love visiting London. Compared to the small town I live in, everything is exaggerated! The people, atmosphere, shopping, attractions and things to do leave you wanting more and more; it's never a boring trip.

Before I went on holiday, I went to London for the day with Ollie and his family. We headed off really early so I slept most of the way down but we decided to park at Westfields and walk into town. I'd never been to Westfields shopping centre and didn't know what to expect but it's great; probably the same size as the bullring with loads of variety of shops and tens of restaurants to choose from.

Walking into town was fun. It was such a warm day which was lovely as we strolled through Kensington and Hyde Park - ending up at Harrods. I could really spend all day in Harrods, I love everything and if I had enough money, would absolutely love to walk in and buy a couple of really nice items. There's just so much choice and everything is amazing!

Once we'd finished browsing, we walked from Harrods to Piccadilly Circus and from there to Trafalgar Square. We wish we'd have had a look around Carnaby Street now but at the time, it was nice to just walk around, taking it all in. Neither of us bought anything but we go shopping so much that being somewhere different, it really didn't make a difference to us! Ollie's family had gone to look at the Audrey Hepburn exhibition which sounded fascinating so we met up with everyone else just before our restaurant reservation, so we could talk about it all there.

Finishing off the day with a huge meal at Planet Hollywood, we were too tired (and full!) for the walk back, so grabbed a taxi back to the car and headed home! It was a brilliant day and I can't wait to go back again at Christmas time - making sure we don't forget that bit of extra shopping time!!