I went to see the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, the first night it was in the cinema and it was fairly packed. It’s mad to think that the Bond franchise is as popular as ever. I enjoyed this film but felt that it wasn’t as clever or entertaining as ‘Casino Royale’. I loved the banter in Casino Royale and thought that there was great chemistry between Daniel Craig and Eva Green. Quantum of Solace is all about the action and while the action is very good at times it is too fast. This much action comes at the expense of a decent and involving storyline and also lacks humour. The best bit of humour is when Bond, Mathis and Agent Fields are checking into a hotel in Bolivia (I think) and the hotel isn’t great so Bond takes them to a more expensive one. Agent Field protests that they are supposed to be teachers having a reunion or something and Bond checks in saying that they are teachers that have won the lotto. I also like the fact that Agent Fields is only referred to as Agent Fields in the film and you have to wait until the end to find out from the credits that her first name is Strawberry. It’s good to see that the tradition of interesting names for female characters is still being upheld in places. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench gave solid performances but overall the film was lacking, maybe if I saw the film a second time I might get more out of it or maybe not. I like the Bond song by Jack White and Alicia Keys.

Ghost town is an enjoyable film if you like Ricky Gervais. If you don’t like Ricky Gervais, and there are some people in the world that don’t, then I wouldn’t really recommend it. I found Ghost town funny in places but I didn’t think it was hilarious. If yon are looking for an easy going film that won’t traumatise you then this film is a pretty safe bet.




I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to see ‘W’, Oliver Stone’s film about George W Bush. There are lots of familiar faces in the film and it is well acted by the cast. In particular Josh Brolin, as George W Bush, and Thandie Newton, as Condoleezza Rice, were great performances. I’ve lived through eight years with George W Bush as the American President and I’m aware of the way that he is portrayed. His quotes are legendary and have done the rounds on emails across the world several times over. It was interesting to get a view of his relationship with his father and his mother and the differences between him and his brother. I left the cinema feeling slightly sorry for George W as someone who has spent their life trying to get their father’s approval. It seems very extreme that you would have to become the President of the United States to get your father’s approval but on one level that’s what the film says about the Bush family!