Spectre (2015)

Casino Royale and Skyfall are my two favorite Bond movies. Unoriginal I know, but whether you like Daniel Craig as Bond or not, you can't deny he has been an integral part of the series' highest points. Following the magnificent Skyfall, Spectre had some huge shoes to fill, and for the most part, it delivers exactly what you'd want. An attention-grabbing, tense opening fight scene, a lovely title sequence (whether the song is good is debatable), and an elaborate sinister plot surrounding James Bond that puts him up against his inner demons more than ever. Does it surpass Casino Royale or Skyfall? I don't think so, but as far as reintroducing the villainous organization SPECTRE into Bond canon after 40+ years, the film hits the nail on the head, pulls it back out, then slams it in even harder.

SPECTRE is revealed to have been affiliated with some of Bond's biggest threats - Mr. White, Le Chiffre, Raoul Silva - all under the control of one puppeteer, the head of SPECTRE and one of the most iconic villains of all time, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. It isn't much of a spoiler, as speculation was rampant ever since the first trailer (and hell, when the name of the movie was released). What's important is its execution, and Spectre leaves breadcrumbs for you to follow all the way through the belly of the beast. Not only is Bond under SPECTRE's crosshairs, but MI6 itself is experiencing a merger led by Max Denbeigh (Andrew Scott) who wants to eliminate the 00 division and focus solely on global intelligence. It's apparent early on that Blofeld has eyes everywhere, and while he works primarily in the shadows (Christoph Waltz only having 20 or so minutes of screen time), he poses a looming threat to Bond because of his sheer cunning and a past secret that unravels itself when the two finally meet.

Kingsman : the Secret Service (2015)

When I saw the trailer for this movie, I was excited for it, because it was from the director of X- Men: First Class. People are also saying that it is a tribute to classic spy films (mainly the James Bond movies of the past), and judging by the posters, it pretty much is trying to be. Now, after seeing the movie, what do I think about it? Let's find out.

The plot of Kingsman: The Secret Service starts out by showing us a Kingsman secret agent dying during a mission. After that, Harry Hart, another Kingsman secret agent, visits the agent's widow and their son, Gary "Eggsy" Unwin to give them a medal with a phone number on the back. He tells Eggsy and his mother that if they need any help, then all they need to do is to dial the number and use a special message.

The acting is great from the ensemble cast. Colin Firth, does a great job, carrying charm and wit to his character. Newcomer, Taron Egerton also carries a lot of charm and wit to his character. Samuel L. Jackson is very charismatic and bad ass as the villain. Even though his act was more a parody, Samuel Jackson was up there with the best Bond villains, weaving a colorful archetype of a man who thinks he's doing what's best for the world in what turned out to be a very cleaver, over the top plot. Aided by a cool henchmen, with blades on her prosthetic limbs, it makes you wonder what would happen if he went heat-to-head with Roger Moore. The supporting work from Michael Caine, and Mark Strong, are also great with the limited material that they work with. Overall, the cast is great and all look like that they are having fun in their roles.