Philomena (2013) - ★★★★

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, Martin Sixsmith (book)
Stars: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham, Barbara Jefford, Michelle Fairley

Philomena is one of my favourite films of 2013. In a year filled with many unoriginal and uninspiring stories, Philomena stands out with a truly emotional punch that hit me to the core. The touching screenplay made it such a beautiful film, as well as Judi Dench's stunning turn as a woman looking for the child that was taken away from her some fifty years ago. It really is one of the most moving performances I've ever seen. What surprised me about Philomena most is that it's an exquisitely crafted human interest story, with memorable cinematography and a soul-touching score by the great Alexandre Desplat. While some pan the film for being too "condemning" and not understanding enough of these nuns from 1950s Ireland, I thought Philomena said everything that needed to be said, and moved the audience more than the creators could ever have imagined.

Skyfall (2012) - ★★★★

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Stars: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw

Skyfall lived up to its hype and ended up being one of the best Bond films of all time. It has a similar storyline, action sequences and characters to most Bond films, but somehow one-ups them by making them even more interesting and thrilling to see. This can be attributed to Javier Bardem's masterful performance as the latest Bond villain and Judi Dench being thrown into the thick of the action. If you are a Bond fan, this film shouldn't disappoint. 

This installment of the franchise sees Bond (Daniel Craig) travel to Bangkok, Macau and The Moors in England. His latest mission is to hunt down a man called Silva (Bardem), a former 'Double-0' and master computer hacker. He seeks revenge on M (Judi Dench) and intends to destroy her and her world for reasons I will not say. Many heartstopping action scenes later, they find themselves in a showdown at The Moors which sees Kincade (Albert Finney), an old friend of Bond, join the fight in saving M and killing Silva.

One of the greatest things about this film is that it brings back the character Q, the inventor from many of the old Bond films. This Q is played by young Ben Whishaw, who I see great potential in. The origin of Miss. Moneypenny (secretary to M) is also given in this film, which I found to be the cherry on the cake.

I will say that this film lacked a little when it came to the Bond girls. The two they had in the film were really good, but none of them had much of a spark or excitement that the previous Bond women had. Another letdown for me was that the excitement was not constant throughout, with some parts being quite tedious and slow.

With that being said, I still found this film highly entertaining. Judi Dench and Javier Bardem were outstanding in this film, and for me were the best part. Daniel Craig maintained his tough guy Bond persona which I liked. The story was interesting, the music was amazing, the cinematography was fantastic and overall this is a great film.

Pride and Prejudice (2005) - ★★★★★

Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Jane Austen (novel), Deborah Moggach (screenplay)
Stars: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, Simon Woods, Judi Dench

Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice is stunning in every way imaginable. The casting is nothing short of perfection, the cinematography is breathtaking, the music is absolutely beautiful, and the story entails one of the greatest romances of all time. The romance of Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen).

Based on Jane Austen's novel of the same name, Pride and Prejudice displays love and life during the Georgian era in England. The family's future happiness and security is dependent on the five Bennet sisters making good marriages.  Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) wants nothing more than to have her five daughters be married before her husband Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) dies, for their home and belongings would pass to the male next in line to inherit them. When a rich gentleman, Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) spends the summer in the country, he falls for Jane (Rosamund Pike), the beautiful Bennet sister. He brings with him his sister, and the proud yet dashing Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are very similar in personality, thus clashing in a story filled with misjudgements and love. This is a story that shows the pressure that women in the Georgian era were under to get married, with gossip, scandals and class determining the security of their future.

The characters of Pride and Prejudice immediatley capture your interest, with their many different personalities and problems clashing into a very entertaining story. Not only are the leads perfect for the roles, but the supporting cast is absolutely brilliant. I loved watching their stories unfurl, mainly due to the magnificent performances on all accounts, as well as the witty and refreshing dialogue. Knightley truly gave her greatest performance as Elizabeth, who is extremely clever and is constantly in deep thought. She really dictated how you felt during the film. When she was happy, I was happy. Her smile is infectious as well as her sadness. Credit goes to both her acting ability and the story. The same compliments go for Matthew Macfadyen, who played the abrupt, rude and anti-social Mr. Darcy so well. There was one scene in which he told Elizabeth "You have bewitched me body and soul," that literally had me swooning, for the ferocity in his eyes during that scene burned right through the screen.

The whole film flowed so effortlessly it reminded me of Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility. I could not believe the beauty in the cinematography. The stunning locations that were shot just seemed so unreal. I found all the scenes inbetween the dialogue and the story just as riveting, which is a credit to the masterful direction of cinematography by Ronin Osin. It also has one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever heard by composer Dario Marianelli, with classical music making each scene so much more beautiful. The costume design by Jacqueline Durrin, combined with the amazing dance choreography, set the mood of the era so well that it can be compared to the masterful scenes from Gone With The Wind.

I cannot praise this film enough. All I can say is that this is a classic story that I love to death. With perfect casting, story, cinematography, music, costume, and choreography, there's no doubt in my mind that Pride and Prejudice is one of the greatest films of all time.

Casino Royale (2006) - ★★★★

Director: Martin Campbell
Writers: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Giancarlo Giannini

This James Bond is different to every other one I've seen by miles. He has a ruggedness to him that I like. Daniel Craig has thrown off the suave persona that has enveloped this character throughout the Brosnan and Moore era, and has breathed new life into him. He's unpredictable, he's likable, and most importantly, he is human.

After being promoted to a 00, James Bond (Daniel Craig) has been assigned his first mission, in which he faces the mysterious private banker to world terrorism and expert poker player, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). In order to recover a huge sum of his clients' money he lost, Le Chiffre sets up a high stakes poker game, believing that he will win the money back. Bond takes part also in order to prevent Le Chiffre from funding terrorism and to discover the secrets that he is hiding. He is accompanied by a stunning Treasury agent named Vespa (Eva Green) and the MI6 man in Montenegro (Giannini). 007 will not only discover the threatening oranization behind his enemy, but the worst of all truths: to not trust anyone.

You could say that Casino Royale explains the origin of James Bond. It explores how he became a 00, why he is a womanizer, and why he doesn't trust many people. It had me saying "Well that explains it" many times. This is an exceptionally well shot film. The cinematography was stunning in places such as Montenegro, where Bond would take part in the high-stakes poker game. I found the dialogue was intelligent and engaging, which makes it a cut above the Pierce Brosnan films. The film felt like it ran a little too long at just over two hours. I found myself getting disinterested in parts. That may be attributed to the lack of action this film had in comparison to previous films. I'm not saying that less action is a bad thing, I'm just saying that in this film it could have used more.

I wasn't very impressed with the opening scene. It had Bond chase an explosive-maker through a construction site, accidentally run into an embassy, then blow it up. I don't care that it's unbelievable, it just didn't bring anything new to the table. One thing that is a must for a Bond film is to not take them seriously, or else you'll be pointing out the many flaws throughout the action sequences. Unfortunately these flaws became too apparent for me, which made me lose interest during many scenes. These scenes included: Fighting African's with machetes on a hotel staircase, and Bond being poisoned then using a defibrillator in his car. I like a good laugh, but I couldn't get into it.

For me, the greatest thing about Casino Royale was Vespa. Now she was something else. She was highly entertaining, likable, vulnerable, intelligent and beautiful. I found myself liking her instantly, and grew more and more invested into her character as the film went on. Of course she has a love-affair with Bond, but this was different. It wasn't just sex between them, there was an actual connection. It was evident that this was the girl that Bond first fell in love with. Eva Green is an extremely talented actress who will hopefully have a long and bright career in acting.

I will say this for the film. It is one of the most emotional ones I have ever seen. This is mainly because of the ending, which was beautifully done. The acting was great on all parts, even if there was a stereotypical Bond villain in this film. Casino Royal was just a little too boring, and a little too ridiculous for me to really enjoy it.

Quantum of Solace (2008) - ★★★★

Director: Marc Forster
Writers: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis
Stars: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini

I must be one of the only people to think that this installment of the James Bond franchise is better than its predecessor Casino Royale. I loved it. It was absolutely riveting, and whether you like it or not, Craig's bond is tough. He isn't suave, he isn't kind, but he is human. For me, he has made the character evolve into an interestingly different man. A no-nonsense man out for revenge.

This film's story picks up where Casino Royale left off, with Bond (Daniel Craig) still bitter and angry about the death of his love interest Vespa. When his boss, "M" (Judi Dench), is almost assassinated, he learns that Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) is responsible. Greene is intent on securing a desert area of Bolivia in exchange for assisting a dictator overthrow the government there. Only Bond, with help from a beautiful and retired spy named Camille (Olga Kurylenko), can stop Greene. The problem is that "M" doesn't know if she can trust Bond, for the vengeance that possesses him has made him reckless.

I will admit that this is not the most original (or interesting) plot to a James Bond film. However, I love the fact that this film continues from the plot of Casino Royale. You never see a Bond film where he remembers old flames. Over the years, particularly during the Roger Moore era, James Bond made women fall in love with him, then in the next film they disappeared and you never heard from them again. It is hard to get into a story when you know that the romance means nothing, for it is almost always discarded by the time the next film comes around. That is why I loved Quantum of Solace, for the highly likable Vespa of the previous film is still remembered, not forgotten. Now every time I see Casino Royale, I will know that his feelings for Vespa were real. That is a big plus-side for me.

The action in this film kept me on the edge of my seat a number of times. I loved the opening scene. It was a huge step-up from Casino Royale's, which I found rather disinteresting. However, the opening credits didn't exactly sound right. I'm a huge fan of Jack White and Alicia Keys' music, but their song and their voices did not suit the James Bond franchise. I did like that they brought back the silhouettes of naked women, bringing back a taste of the old days.

I found the Bond girl Camille was one of the better characters from the franchise. She was strong, witty, and for the first time did not sleep with James Bond! I was shocked to say the least. Judi Dench is absolutely brilliant as "M". She really lights up the screen. I look forward to scenes with her in it, for she really is one of the most entertaining characters of the series. Mainly because she won't take crap from Bond and doesn't care much for his recklessness. Amalric played one of my favorite Bond villains in this installment as Greene, who was intelligent, sly, and evil. He was a more modern villain, not one of those typical ones with scars on the face, or patting a cat on their lap. Most importantly, I really liked Daniel Craig's vengeful Bond in this film. I guess everyone has different expectations when they come to see the character, and I expected him to be angry for the loss of his love Vespa. 

Many people didn't enjoy this film for these reasons: There is too much action, the story is weak, Bond isn't funny enough, Bond should be suave, and there's too much emotional baggage from the last film.

I liked this film much better than Casino Royale because: there were great action sequences, an interesting story, Bond was rough and serious, and he actually had human emotions. I think it's crazy that people don't like that the story followed on from the previous film. I think it's even worse that people don't like Bond being rough and ungentlemanly. This is the way the character is in Daniel Craig's series. Take Bond as he is, not as he was.

Quantum of Solace is a great film that has been subjected to unfair critiquing based on past films. This is how Bond is now. Some may not like it, but I certainly hope he doesn't change his attitude anytime soon.