This was by far the best James Bond film to date! Fun from the start, and although it’s a two hour film just like the previous ones, it never felt too long. With submarines as the main plot, I was always going to be a fan, but when you throw in an interesting plot, an underwater car, some foot and car chases around the Egyptian pyramids, and the horror that is Jaws, well there’s very little missing.

Now that I’ve finished the mammoth task of getting to 500 films, reaching each century doesn’t feel quite as exciting as it did. That said, I am a bit disappointed that this is the one that ended up as number 600. As a concept, the film seems okay - a rich guy going to prison for fraud isn’t convinced he’ll survive in there so gets help - and with Will Ferrell and tiny Kevin Hart on board, it should have been better than it was.

The second Mary Poppins book sees the return of our heroine, to pick up directly where she left off. I quite like the way she swanned back in and convinced everyone they needed her, despite the fact she left at the drop of the hat and was quite clearly going to do the same thing again.

I love Elizabeth Banks, so was quite excited to see that she had the main role in this film, rather than being supporting cast. We were looking for something easy and short, and that’s exactly what this one is. Banks is great, she holds the whole thing together and considering how much screen time she has, it’s an impressive feat. Her two friends were fun, and James Marsden was a refreshing take on the bartender love interest.

I didn’t know much about this one before watching, only that it appeared to have a great cast and told a real-life story. It’s always hard watching the sufferings that went on at the hands of the Nazis, and although it’s easy to say this is just about ‘art’, it has a much more important message than that.

I really enjoyed this one. It gets off to a supremely weird start, the chase through the circus only to shoot off the fingers of a James Bond waxwork? Bizarre. But the big showdown is in the same location, so it all coming round in a big circle did make it a nice journey in the end.

Confusingly, this was listed on iTunes as a relatively new film, but it became clear very quickly that it wasn’t - if only for how young Elizabeth Banks is in it! It’s a great little film, wonderful to see the interactions between grumpy Bill and his super-smart mentee - although the kid’s relationship with slightly older Jessica Alba felt more creepy.

Considering how many times I’ve seen the film, I was surprised to realise I’d never read the source material. After watching Saving Mr Banks I was keen to right that wrong and snapped up a complete collection of all the Mary Poppins works. This first one sets the groundwork with all the characters you know and love, and many of the scenes.

There isn’t a huge amount to say about this really. We watched it because I was ill, tucked up under a duvet and feeling very sorry for myself. Thus, a bit of the bright yellow sponge to cheer everything up! It’s just like the TV show but on the bigger screen: crazy and manic, full of bizarre sequences and odd humour, but generally did the job!

Ahhh, our first Roger Moore film and phew! Sean Connery was good but this is Bond as I first saw him. Immediately, everything felt like it had taken a step up in the lightness stakes. From the instant Moore appears, it seems like he’s having more fun with the gig and that really comes across. However, it is a film made in the 70s and that means there are oranges/browns/flares agogo and I hate that.

What I love about each of these 87th Precinct books is that they focus on a very small subject each time. Sometimes it’s just one crime, often a couple interlinked together, but it’s never a sprawling mess of complicated entanglements - easy to follow, and a charm to read.

It’s interesting, really, that these days there aren’t that many famous astronauts. It’s no less glamorous a job, or one sought after by kids gazing up at the night sky, but it’s definitely become a more mundane concept - there are people constantly orbiting the earth, living in space, what of it?

I really enjoyed the twists and turns, it was nice knowing who the bad guys were almost from the beginning for a change, and following the characters figuring things out, instead of having to guess for yourself. I also enjoyed the courtroom scenes, with echoes of John Grisham, as well as a strong female lead who wasn’t afraid to admit she was scared but equally was capable of taking care of herself.

I’d never really been tempted to read this book, or any of its sequels, but saw a sneak peek at some of the drawings and was intrigued. It’s a difficult book to read on the Kindle as it only works on certain devices, due to it being so picture heavy.

It was weird, to me, that Sean Connery came back for another film. It’s one thing to be able to compartmentalise, to be able to follow changes in actor when they occur in a series, but it’s another to swap in and out as you feel like it. I was thankful that it was such a good story, though, as it made the transition back to familiarity so much easier!

We’ve gotten into the habit of watching the trailer for the next Bond film after finishing each one, and laughed ourselves silly at the ad for this. All it wanted to do was talk up how DIFFERENT the film was, and boy, they were right.

A quirky little story, we opted to watch this one in search of something relaxing, not a blockbuster and a simple, sweet story. Couldn’t have been more wrong, really, as it turns out the world of New York real estate involves a lot of fast talking, throwing plenty of huge numbers around, and lots of people milling about and making themselves comfortable in other people’s houses!

As always, I’m far too old to read these Jacqueline Wilson books really, but I do so love them. This one tracks the unhappy Stella who has to go to summer camp whilst her mum heads off on honeymoon with Stella’s new stepdad. She doesn’t want to go, and is prepared not to enjoy herself, but of course, gradually, she sees there are good things about the camp - even if it is a bit of a dump!

I inadvertently read Chris Stewart’s other memoir - early reminiscing about life at sea - before finding this, the story that made him a writer. In Driving Over Lemons, we are firmly land-locked, with Chris heading from an albeit already eclectic life in the UK (drummer with Genesis, sailor, sheep-shearer) to a self-sufficient farmer in the heart of Spain.

I really enjoyed this book, a crime thriller set in a very small town where everyone knows everything about everyone else. I hate that kind of thing, but for a murder mystery, it makes for a brilliantly claustrophobic environment. The book tracks the hunt for the perpetrator of a heist, in which two security guards driving a money truck wind up dead.

This film solved all the problems that we had with Ex Machina, in that most (not all but a sizeable proportion) of Hollywood films about AI and robots involve them going rogue, taking over the planet, regardless of the human beings. Here, we had a robot actually saving the humans it interacted with, being for good rather than for evil.

Now I have an even greater understanding of what Austin Powers is all about. The volcano, the space stuff, the minions on their little buggies, and of course, Blofeld, everything was recognisable, but this time the original concept rather than the spoof. I loved it. Rather than in previous outings, where there have been bizarre directing decisions (sped up footage being the main culprit), this one was all believable, if somewhat Thunderbirds in places.

As with most kids films, I was glad this was relatively short, as it was utterly exhausting. Total fun and chaos from start to finish, it was endlessly entertaining. Jim Parsons was basically Sheldon but in actual alien form, and Rhianna appeared to be a kid version of herself - from Barbados, and providing all of the music (too much, to my mind).

I really enjoyed this - the story of a rogue ex-military man, somewhat like Jack Reacher, taking on terrorists in the midst of rural America. It took me a while to get used to the tone, very cold and clinical, and also to the switching between first and third person, but once I settled in, it was gripping.

An interesting little tale, one that covers the horror of a twin searching for his sibling in the hopes of spending more time together, whether it is in this life or the next. I felt it was a little bit clunky to start with, setting up each character in small town America style, and dragging out the fact that Kara and Marissa were the one and the same person, when that bit was quite clear from the start.

I really enjoyed this one. I said Goldfinger was the best Bond film of the series up to that point, and I think this one pipped it all over again. There was, perhaps, slightly too much diving, but it was a good story, and the plane stuff was great. I didn’t quite understand all the action at the clinic - it wasn’t clear why people were after Bond when they didn’t know who he was yet. And what happened to that guy in the steam machine - is he still there?

Honor Blackman was so awesome, a feisty pilot with judo skills, taking no nonsense from anyone - it seems completely ridiculous that a quick fumble in the hay with Bond (which was a little bit rapey, it has to be said), would change her mind to such a degree. He’s good, sure, but that good?

Totally brutal but brilliant. Alzehimer’s is such a tough disease and watching the gradual descent of anyone, let alone someone so young and so talented, was intensely hard to watch. It was also interesting to see how the family reacted, how the ‘wayward’ daughter was eventually the one that stepped up, how the situation with regards to hereditary diseases can throw a family into turmoil.

I really wasn’t looking forward to watching this one. I’d seen it panned by various critics and fans across the internet, and whilst I usually try to keep an open mind, it was hard after seeing the trailer and some of the reactions to the movie. However, it’s Mila and Channing, a great cast, and the Wachowskis, so maybe it was worth a shot?

A surprising hit, this one. I thought it was going to be another of those comedies that is trying too hard and misses the mark. It wasn’t perfect, but it was funny throughout and actually did make me care about the characters, which is all you can ask for really.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. On the good side, it was a unique idea, a new story and a new set of twisting plotlines, and it was well written to keep the pages turning without getting frustrated along the way. On the other hand, it was an uncomfortable read, abuse of illegal immigrants and patients under the care of a mental institution, leaving you feeling helpless and angry.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Cake, knew that Jennifer had received commendations for her work on it, and that it was an indy film about chronic pain - that didn’t sound too riveting, but as always with this type of film, the genius is in the characters and the subtle moments of drama.

The good thing about this film is that it seemed new and unique, a fresh idea with what could have been interesting characters. The combination of ambitious family guy, hoping to retire guy, and sweet but simple guy was interesting but somehow they didn’t quite gel as I would have hoped.

This is the brief story of an English RAF pilot who is taken prisoner on a remote South Pacific island by the Japanese. He’s lucky enough to have a friendly captor, and makes something of a life for himself on the island, following the final moments of the second world war from the point of view of the Japanese.

At first glance, this one seems like it’ll be a bit of a low-budget sci-fi thriller but it actually stood up to the Film Watch test far better than I thought it would. The special effects were almost perfect, the location stunning (I HAVE to stay in that hotel at some point), and the high tech stuff completely believable. Domnhall was good, redeeming himself from the About Time nonsense, and although slow-paced, the film was never really boring.

The story is pretty simple but the film never gets boring. Even though there are moments where you’re just watching minutes of drumming, it’s still intense and worthwhile at every stage. I thought Miles and J K put in some fantastic work, all that sweating and shouting and bleeding. The obsessive nature of both was clear and portrayed really well, sometimes so that you felt sorry for them, and at other times despised them for their actions.

Another film that delves into the history of black and white America, Selma felt like a solid but unspectacular addition to the pile. There seem to have been a lot of films like this recently, and this one was certainly very good but it didn’t stand out particularly.

There’s a hundred words to describe this, artsy, indie, kookie, weird and wonderful, but really you just have to watch it to get the full impact. Poots tells the tale with an incredible accent that I spent the rest of the night imitating, and the footage flips between her current day narration and the Instagrammed story unfolding.

A comedian’s tale of one tour through England (and Ireland), ruminating on the differences and similarities of each stop and deciding what is to be made of national identity and stereotypes. There are some pretty hefty themes in the book, surprisingly, but they’re handled well, with great points that spark interest and are thought-provoking for future topics of conversation.

As a celebrity, Portia de Rossi’s battle with anorexia and bulimia was well documented by the paparazzi, but here you get to understand the real story behind her struggles with self-esteem, weight and diet, as well as coming to terms with her own sexuality. I’ve got mixed feelings about the book - it’s engrossing, I couldn’t put it down, and it’s intensely honest but is that to a fault?

Making up for everything bad about Blackhat, Focus was a fabulous fun ride. I love a good con film and this had all the right elements - clues dotted here and there to keep you guessing, and the big fantastic reveal in which you realise you got it all wrong.

It’s an interesting premise, this one, but it didn’t quite deliver on what could have been a great story. As the title suggests, there’s a serial killer on the loose - but the victims are all bad types who ‘deserve’ it. We follow the detective trying to figure out who’s behind it, as well as the security firm that he calls in to help crack the case.

Production values were shockingly bad. The overdubs were awful. In fact, there were bits of the subtitled Chinese conversations that were also dubbed but not well - as though we weren’t meant to notice because we should have been too busy reading.

However, the good stuff was great. Having seen the first, it was wonderful to catch up with old friends, Sonny’s infectious manner took over once more, and almost every line he came out with should have been on an inspirational poster. The hotel inspector situation was fun, if a little predictable, and Richard Gere and Tamsin Grieg made good additions to the cast. It was also fun to boo the pantomime villain of Nighy’s ex-wife, and watch the burgeoning relationship with Celia Imrie and her driver.

The second of the James Bond films clearly had a higher production value than the first, and it felt like it weaved the story better - but unfortunately the story wasn’t as strong as its predecessor. The twists and turns of who is on which side weren’t as interesting as they could have been, but there was far too much opening and closing of doors on the train.

I was worried about this one, because for reasons I haven’t quite got to the bottom of, some military films I can watch and some I just can’t. This got off to a seriously slow start, to the point where they clearly thought we had all day, but it gradually got interesting, if going a bit too Hollywood in places.

Following the investigation of a serial killer who is tracking down prostitutes and trying to save their souls, this story takes the slightly different tack of an outsiders point of view, rather than the detective. This time, we’re coming at it from a therapist’s angle and that gives it a slightly fresher take on the traditional crime thriller.

I like reading about people upping sticks and moving to a new country for a fresh take on life, but this one had the balance of the new French abode being a summer home rather than a full time lodging. Visits at least twice a year describe how the rickety old house is gradually whipped into shape, and how the family and their many visitors fall in love with the place - and the surrounding villagers as well.

To celebrate some exam success this week, I was whisked off to the Apple store to purchase some Beats goodies - bluetooth in-ear headphones, and their mini portable speaker, the Beats Pill. Both are a lot of fun, however it was an impromptu off-the-shelf purchase that has turned out to be the real revelation. I’m always keen on gadgets that make photography more accessible. In this day and age of leaving the house with powerful photographic equipment tucked in your pocket, adding peripherals can make things even better. One of my key criteria though, is that they shouldn’t make you and your camera any less portable.

I quite enjoyed Dawn French’s first book about a family working through some drama, told from various points of view and in very different voices. Oh Dear Silvia takes a similar form - each chapter from the point of view of a different character - but the story is vastly different. Anchored around the hospital bedside of Silvia, who is in a coma after falling from a balcony, the characters talk to her, tell their tales, and gradually the story comes together.