On my very brief return to the UK, I insisted on several things: 1) Eat a full English breakfast, 2) Eat a bar of Cadbury's, and 3) Watch SPECTRE. And so, having ticked off the first two and previously missed out on press screenings whilst travelling, I ferried myself to the cinema at 10am. It was worth it.

After the game-changing Skyfall, which felt much more intimate and personal, SPECTRE returns to Bond's other roots as an all-round awesome, thrilling, unapologetically Bond, Bond movie. The lead up to SPECTRE has been full of overshadowing speculation over whether or not it will be Daniel Craig's last outing as the suave Englishman. Director Sam Mendes follows up with an impressive return, and although it is definitely his last film, I do hope we'll see Craig as Bond again.


The story is not rocket science. SPECTRE is a secret criminal organisation, and interestingly is linked to previous new generation Bond adventures. James faces off against a villain (unsurprisingly the leader of the organisation, played by the master of playing a villain Christoph Waltz), there is a global threat, he travels to several exotic locations in the process of saving the world, and yes he does meet a few women too. But although it may be a tad predictable in places, it makes up for it with good old-fashioned plot suspense and eye-popping (uh, literally) scenes. The story is not rocket science, but I suspect the writers and Mendes were fully aware of it. But I bet you weren't expecting an MI5/MI6 merger? Because #economicproblems.

As one of the most expensive productions in movie history, SPECTRE definitely hits the mark in terms of visual effects, large scale everything, and of course, dramatic explosions. We know this right from the start, with the Day of the Dead opening scene in Mexico City. This compelling boldness is carried out throughout the entire two and a half hours, through snowy Austria, Rome, somewhere in the desert, and of course, London. Who doesn't love a good boat chase down the Thames?

Daniel Craig is also on point throughout. He's doing his own thing, naturally in style and beating up people like a kick-ass spy does. There are fewer opportunities this time to showcase his vulnerable side, but he is still consistently very comfortably centre stage with another solid transformation to the character. In his now 4th film, Craig is Bond. Other characters like Ralph Fiennes' New M and Monica Belluci's Lucia could definitely have been used more, on the other hand. But we do see the welcome return of Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw), joined by the fascinating Max Denbigh (played by a brilliant Andrew Scott) and megaman Dave Bautista. If you ask me, Dave Bautista feels like the real villain as henchman Mr. Hinx (think Batman's Bane being scary, no mask needed).

Comparatively, actual bad guy (Christoph Waltz) seems less menacing but there's more to him as his role as a puppeteer is revealed. There are well-intended attempts and moments of fear, but I kind of wish the villainy had been further developed. In a 21st century world and Bond film, surveillance and information gathering and sharing is the deadly threat. I'm getting Sherlock Season 3 flashbacks. Oh, and Waltz brings back a classic Bond baddie! . Another character not to be missed is this instalment's Bond girl Lea Seydoux who plays Dr. Madeleine Swann. The sheer fact that she has 'Dr' in her name immediately screams that she is more than just your eye-candy Bond girl; shock horror, she's an actual, developed character. Audiences and critics alike have been praising Seydoux's take as a strong woman who can hold her own (and hold a gun).

SPECTRE is not a perfect film, but it is a very decent one, and a sensible homage to Bond through the ages. There are glimpses of screen genius, a ravishing white tux moment, an ejector car seat, a helicopter fight scene, a good sense of humour, perfect soundtrack, and a beautiful Aston Martin. No, it's not Skyfall and it's not groundbreaking either. But so what if there are very few twists and turns? I was on a pretty entertaining journey nonetheless.

SPECTRE is in cinemas worldwide now.

There have been many James Dean biopics over the years (one notably starring James Franco), and this time it's Dane DeHaan as the free-spirited iconic actor. He gets the mannerisms and daydreamy voice spot on; he's charming and embodies the Rebel Without A Cause star so eloquently. That intense but laidback smoulder...DeHaan is oddly captivating.  Dean is still a rising star, and so the journey is tracked in the time before his final films. If you know the story and life of James Dean, you'll recognise the importance of this. 

Interestingly, Life doesn't really focus closely on any of Dean's acting nor films nor success. Instead, photographer Dennis Stock (played by Robert Pattinson) is working for Life magazine and desperately trying to capture the essence of this unknown James Dean for a story. It's a man chasing (/stalking) an actor for a photoshoot, not all the glamour on a movie set. It's Hollywood without the actual Hollywood. And to a certain extent, it works. Pattinson's character, Stock, can come across as an obsessed man with a camera, but there are elements of clever awkwardness and the beginnings of a kind-of eventual friendship. There were moments even I felt rather awkward at the gaps in conversation and the weird nature of the relationship - with the sexual orientation of Dean constantly in debate, there are almost flirtatious exchanges on Dean's part. There's definitely some sort of strange chemistry.

The film shows subtle understanding of the golden age Hollywood machine and conforming to it as the only way to success. James Dean was the guy with a passion for acting and desire for individuality; a rebel to the system facing an obvious struggle to do so. Stock, on the other hand, acts as a great tool to help tell the story, and it's clearly a true story as well. Robert Pattinson has moments of understated greatness, but there are scenes where he's playing the world's worst dad and I'm reminded of Kristen Stewart's wooden exchanges in - you guessed it - Twilight.

Eventually, there's a road trip and family time with Dean in his element at home in Indiana - a stark contrast from the bright lights of the red carpet. Each photo captured is a very personal moment, seeming as authentic as possible to the real images. (Just wait until the credits.) There's also performances from Sir Ben Kingsley and Joel Edgerton too, so Life has a pretty impressive list of contributors if you think about it. 

Overall, Life is about more than just the Life of famous actor James Dean. At the same time, the film is a pretty flat line - it never really raises the roof and everything is done very quietly. At times I wasn't quite sure if the storyline was actually compelling enough, and I'm still not entirely convinced. If you're very familiar with Dean's body of work, however, you'll be in for a treat and a new perspective. DeHaan's very impressive performance is also a standout one. And hey, if you happened to see James Franco's performance in 2001 too, you'll be able to decide which Green Goblin did it better!

Life will be released in the UK on 25th September. USA will have to wait until 4th December. Oh well, that's Life.

Director Brad Peyton teams up with Dwayne Johnson once more (the last time was Journey 2) to bring us 2015’s biggest action-adventure disaster film. On surface level you’d expect it to be a typical Rock film of big guns and grit – and you wouldn’t be surprised. But there are elements of family weaved throughout, added to sheer thematic chaos, that won’t make it a forgettable film anytime soon.

(On one side it was great to jog my memory of GCSE Geography and the theory behind plate tectonics, fault lines and the San Andreas fault. On another side, it was a wakeup call that ‘San Andreas’ does not only refer to the Grand Theft Auto game.)

San Andreas tells the tale of a shattering earthquake striking California. It’s an inevitable every man for himself situation – it can’t be a Man Saves the World film because it is physically impossible. Instead, we have two parallel stories running with a family tie between them. Dwayne Johnson isn’t a hero of the film – he’s the hero of his family. He plays all round nice guy Ray on a mission to rescue his family from the bad guys. Sound familiar? Essentially it's like Liam Neeson's Taken. Except instead of sketchy gang members, it's Mother Nature. And instead of beating people up, Ray can do basically everything (including beating people up). Throughout the film, I was repeatedly reminded of his Rock status. Ray is a Los Angeles Fire Department rescue-helicopter pilot, and you’ll soon discover he’s a man of many talents.

I watched San Andreas at a press screening in which there were frequent points of unanimous laughter; the only problem is, I don’t think it was meant to be funny. Ok, so you’ve just seen people crushed to death, then cheated death by the skin of your teeth…and straight after decide it’s the perfect time to sit and have a calm, deep conversation about why your marriage broke down. Ok. But then you realise this is The Rock, and this is a section of the film where he is sitting there. And he’s talking about his feelings. Ok – more popcorn.

The most incredulous fact is how he is just so cool about it all. Walking out of a burning building unscathed? Cool. Nearly drove off a cliff? Cool. Ran out of options? Oh wait there’s a boat over there. Oh yeah – that’s because he's The Rock. It's ridiculous, but the ridiculousness adds an element of understated (most probably accidental - we'll never know) humour. If it weren’t The Rock, it wouldn’t work. I’ll let most of these slide…

The cast asides from Johnson include ex-wife Carla Gugino (Spy Kids, Mr Popper’s Penguins), daughter Alexandra Daddario (Percy Jackson) who looks eerily like her on-screen mother but exhibits moments of toughness where you begin to believe she is the daughter of her on-screen father, and Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti as the token scientist (he glides effortlessly into his role). There's also a brief brilliant cameo from Kylie Minogue. 

  

In terms of being a disaster movie, it really is on a wholly destructive scale. Chaos is present everywhere (the last I’ve seen on this scale was 2014’s Godzilla). And you have to hand it to the CGI team for destroying San Francisco and portraying it in a scarily lifelike way.

Peyton's film demonstrates elements of survival, unbreakable family ties, and trust and loyalty. This loyalty in particular can be a little far-fetched. Daughter Blake meets Ben and five minutes later he's risking his life to save her. Trusting Action Man Ray, on the other hand, would be remarkably easy. With his fatherly determination and ability to take on anything/everything, he's your guy. But it's still nice to see rare glimpses of emotion and underlying hurt, attempting to break through everything else stereotypical in the film.

In light of the recent earthquake in Nepal, you could say it brought a whole new perspective to the plot. Yes, it’s fictional but at the same time, the level of destruction and aftermath is a very real thing that happens to real people. The helplessness is captured and to see it in such a format is thought-provoking outside of the film's boundaries. There's another message here: Earth is beautiful but so very fragile.

San Andreas is an all-round good big budget disaster film to kick off your summer in the cinema. It's not hugely inventive or original, but then again I highly doubt it's trying to be. Yes, it's predictable and yes it's a cheesy in places and you could question the chemistry and cheesy timing of chemistry... but it's The Rock. If you can let everything else slide because of this, you'll enjoy even the most bizarre scenes of San Andreas. But if not, there's a high chance it will obliterate into your distant memory as soon as the last poster (the posters are everywhere) has been taken down. To sum up the film in one sentence: Is there anything The Rock can’t do!? 

San Andreas is in cinemas on 28th May 2015.