Special: No Time To Die, Vacation Friends, Kate Mini-Reviews

No Time To Die:

Synopsis: In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

My thoughts: Going in I wasn't sure if this would be Craig's last bond but I can now say with absolute certainty it will be. Daniel Craig looked bored most of the time, although his character didn't have much to be happy about he didn't have to look this out of tune the whole time. That being said this is at the very least a middling Craig Bond film as the other cast stepped it up as did the writing and the direction even though the Bond theme remained stagnant as it has been a while.

Final verdict: 3.5 Bond girls out of 5.

Vacation Friends:

Synopsis: In this raw and raunchy comedy, straight-laced Marcus and Emily (Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji) are befriended by wild, thrill-seeking partiers Ron and Kyla (John Cena, Meredith Hagner) at a resort in Mexico. Living in the moment, the usually level-headed couple lets loose to enjoy a week of uninhibited fun and debauchery with their new "vacation friends." Months after their walk on the wild side, Marcus and Emily are horrified when Ron and Kyla show up uninvited at their wedding, creating chaos and proving that what happens on vacation, doesn't necessarily stay on vacation.

My thoughts: I'm pretty comfortable in naming this the best straight up comedy I've seen this year, though that list is short compared to past years and this film is not without flaws but the cast provides you enough chemistry and heart that you can pretty safely ignore the films other shortcomings.

Final verdict: 4 illegal drugs out of 5.

Kate:

Synopsis: Meticulous and preternaturally skilled, Kate is the perfect specimen of a finely tuned assassin at the height of her game. But when she uncharacteristically blows an assignment targeting a member of the yakuza in Tokyo, she quickly discovers she's been poisoned, a brutally slow execution that gives her less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her killers. As her body swiftly deteriorates, Kate forms an unlikely bond with the teenage daughter of one of her past victims. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson, and directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Kate follows a burned assassin's furious pursuit of one last self-appointed job.

My thoughts:

Final verdict: 3.5 shots out of 5.

Special: Spectre/The Peanuts Movie/Creed Mini-Reviews

Spectre:

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre.

My thoughts? Having not properly prepared myself before watching Spectre by watching Craig's previous outings as Bond, it would usually be hard to figure out where this new entry places among the others but Spectre was so below Skyfall and Casino Royale it's almost humorous that they only decide to put out a high quality Bond film every other one. Upon first viewing I might even put this new entry below Quantum of Solace which is disappointing given the potential with Christoph Waltz as the big baddie, if anyone seemed to be a tailor made Bond villain it's him, good thing they wasted that potential, on a side note bring back Javier Bardem. Not to say this movie is awful, just well below what should be Bond standards.

Final Verdict: 3 (almost 4) out of 5 helicopter tricks.

The Peanuts Movie:

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Charlie Brown, the world's most beloved underdog, embarks upon an epic and heroic quest, while his best pal, the lovable beagle Snoopy, takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis, the Red Baron.

My thoughts? Bringing the fun of The Peanuts to a brand new generation that likely don't even know what a comic strip is, The Peanuts Movie succeeds on all kinds of levels. They make all the beloved characters likeable in their own way and the story was crafted in a fun way that it has a comic strip aesthetic to it where they give us a bunch of little drop ins that all have their charm to them but all work as a branch to the overall story. The animation is simplistic but beautiful. It made a fan out of me and I don't even care for the Peanuts holiday specials.

Final Verdict: 4 out of 5 dog flying aces.

Creed:

Adonis Johnson never knew his famous father,world heavy weight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there's no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed's legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa. Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo - the fierce rival who became his closest friend.

My thoughts? Much like the aforementioned Casino Royale, Creed doesn't act as another entry into a long running series that ran out of breath, rather it breathes fresh air into the series lungs giving it a rebirth. Yeah maybe the plot is a little too formulaic, but really, that's the only "bad" thing you could say about Creed, the movie that is, you can say a lot of bad stuff about the band. Either way this might be the best film of the year.

Final Verdict: 5 out of 5 underdog stories.