Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Spy (30)
May 18, 2026A View to a Kill (1985)
1985 John Glen Bond film with Moore's final outing at 57. Christopher Walken as Silicon Valley villain, Grace Jones as May Day.
May 18, 2026Casino Royale (2006)
2006 Martin Campbell Bond film with Daniel Craig's debut. Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, Le Chiffre poker tournament, franchise hard reboot.
May 18, 2026Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
1971 Guy Hamilton Bond film with Connery returning. Las Vegas setting, diamond smuggling, Blofeld as Howard Hughes pastiche.
May 18, 2026Die Another Day (2002)
2002 Lee Tamahori Bond film with Brosnan's final outing. North Korea, invisible Aston Martin, Halle Berry, CGI surfing. Franchise low point.
May 18, 2026Dr. No (1962)
1962 Terence Young Bond debut with Sean Connery as 007. Ursula Andress emerges from Caribbean surf. The franchise begins.
May 18, 2026For Your Eyes Only (1981)
1981 John Glen Bond film with Moore. Greek Mediterranean setting, ATAC recovery mission, return to grounded espionage after Moonraker.
May 18, 2026From Russia with Love (1963)
1963 Terence Young Bond film with Sean Connery in Istanbul. SPECTRE plot involving Soviet decoder. Train fight with Robert Shaw.
May 18, 2026GoldenEye (1995)
1995 Martin Campbell Bond film with Pierce Brosnan's debut. Sean Bean as 006 traitor, Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp. Post-Cold-War reboot.
May 18, 2026Goldfinger (1964)
1964 Guy Hamilton Bond film with Sean Connery facing gold-obsessed Auric Goldfinger and silent assassin Oddjob. Fort Knox plot.
May 18, 2026Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
2017 Matthew Vaughn sequel adding Statesman, the American counterpart agency. Julianne Moore as drug cartel villain.
May 18, 2026Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
2014 Matthew Vaughn spy action with Colin Firth recruiting Taron Egerton into a British independent intelligence agency.
May 18, 2026Licence to Kill (1989)
1989 John Glen Bond film with Dalton's final outing. Bond's personal revenge against drug lord Sanchez. Darkest Bond to date.
May 18, 2026Live and Let Die (1973)
1973 Guy Hamilton Bond film with Roger Moore's debut. Voodoo, blaxploitation tropes, Jane Seymour as Solitaire. Paul McCartney theme.
May 18, 2026Mission: Impossible (1996)
1996 Brian De Palma spy thriller launching the Tom Cruise franchise. IMF agent Ethan Hunt is framed and must find the real mole.
May 18, 2026Moonraker (1979)
1979 Lewis Gilbert Bond film with Moore in space. Drax's orbital station, space-shuttle laser battle, post-Star Wars opportunism.
May 18, 2026Never Say Never Again (1983)
1983 Irvin Kershner non-Eon Bond film with Connery returning at 52. Thunderball remake by rights-holder Kevin McClory.
May 17, 2026North by Northwest (1959)
Hitchcock's 1959 spy thriller. Grant as the wrong man, Saint as the mystery woman, Mason as the urbane villain. Crop-duster, Mount Rushmore, train interior.
May 18, 2026Octopussy (1983)
1983 John Glen Bond film with Moore in India. Maud Adams as Octopussy, jewel-smuggling circus train, Soviet nuclear plot.
May 18, 2026On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
1969 Peter Hunt Bond film with George Lazenby's single outing. Diana Rigg as Tracy. Alpine ski chases. Tragic ending.
May 18, 2026Quantum of Solace (2008)
2008 Marc Forster Bond film with Craig. Direct sequel to Casino Royale, Bolivia setting, Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene.
May 16, 2026Red Sparrow (2018)
Francis Lawrence's 2018 spy thriller. Jennifer Lawrence as Russian intelligence Sparrow. Jason Matthews source material from actual CIA officer.
May 18, 2026Skyfall (2012)
2012 Sam Mendes Bond film with Craig facing Javier Bardem. M's past returns, Bond's Scottish childhood home, Adele theme song.
May 18, 2026Spectre (2015)
2015 Sam Mendes Bond film with Craig. Christoph Waltz as Oberhauser-Blofeld, attempted retroactive franchise unification.
May 18, 2026The Living Daylights (1987)
1987 John Glen Bond film with Timothy Dalton's debut. Soviet defector plot, Maryam d'Abo as cellist, return to serious tone.
May 18, 2026The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
1974 Guy Hamilton Bond film with Moore facing Christopher Lee's Scaramanga. Far East setting, energy-crisis MacGuffin, solar weapon.
May 18, 2026The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
1977 Lewis Gilbert Bond film with Moore teamed with Soviet agent Barbara Bach against Stromberg. Jaws debuts. Lotus Esprit submarine.
May 18, 2026The World Is Not Enough (1999)
1999 Michael Apted Bond film with Brosnan. Sophie Marceau as oil heiress, Robert Carlyle as terrorist who feels no pain. Denise Richards as nuclear physicist.
May 18, 2026Thunderball (1965)
1965 Terence Young Bond film with Connery in Bahamas. SPECTRE steals NATO nuclear weapons. Extended underwater action sequences.
May 18, 2026Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
1997 Roger Spottiswoode Bond film with Brosnan facing media mogul Carver. Michelle Yeoh as Chinese agent Wai Lin. China-UK war manufactured.
May 18, 2026You Only Live Twice (1967)
1967 Lewis Gilbert Bond film with Connery in Japan facing Blofeld in a hollow volcano. Roald Dahl screenplay.