Kingsman The Golden Circle Review: A Well Suited Sequel!

Manners maketh man. Do you know what that means? That is one statement that has defined the spy action blockbuster Kingsman: The Secret Service. The film based on the comic by Mark Millar was released in 2015 and with its sense of style became an instant classic. With the Secret Service being a success it was no surprise that Kingsman would continue its cinematic career and sure enough a sequel has made its way to theaters in the form of Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Once again directed by Matthew Vaughn The Golden Circle looked too follow the standard sequel blueprint by expanding on foundation of the first film. Although my expectations were fairly moderate I was eager to see how this sequel would play out,and I can safely say that The Golden Circle did not disappoint.

The movie continues the story of Eggsy (Taron Egerton) who,along with Merlin (Mark Strong) and the resurrected Harry (Colin Firth) join forces with the Statesmen after Kingsman is destroyed by an organization known as the Golden Circle. The plot to The Golden Circle accomplishes two things: being simplistic and expanding the continuity. The adventure aspect did its job by being exciting while new elements such as the Statesman made the overall plot all the more investing. However there were some issues with the story’s execution. While having common tropes was expected and was a minor issue, what did hold this story back was ineffective plot points. The theme about drugs was interesting but it had a little to no effect on the overall story; while the US president subplot was (although harmless) pointless and would have been better off as a one shot scene. Thankfully other story elements pulled the movie’s weight and made this spy story a fitting adventure as well as a enjoyable experience.

Sing Review: Illumination's Latest Film is a Typical yet Stellar Musical Comedy!

Illumination Entertainment has certainly made a name for itself over the years. With hits such as the Despicable Me series, the animation studio has become a major player in its genre, and continues to do so for every movie season. Illumination has had one film in 2016 with The Secret Life of Pets, but it would not the studio's only appearance this year as in theaters this holiday season is Sing. Written and directed by Garth Jennings Sing centers on the concept of anthropomorphic characters competing in a singing contest. Although seeing animals dealing with human situations is nothing new (even for this year) there was something about this animated flick that I found compelling. So does Sing steal the spotlight or does this animated musical miss a few notes?

Sing tells the story of Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey): a down on his luck Koala who seeks to keep his dream alive by saving his theater from being repossessed. In one final scheme Buster decides to hold a singing competition for $1,000, which turns into a $100,000 contest after a mishap. Because of this prospect many of the city inhabitants head to the theater to perform: which includes the domestic pig Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), the young gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton), the shy elephant Meena (Tori Kelly), the enthusiastic pig Gunter (Nick Kroll), the aspiring rock star porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johnasson) and the smooth talking mouse Mike (Seth McFarlane). After making through the auditions each of the contestants put together their acts while trying to balance the complications of their lives. As the singers have their issues to deal with, Buster does everything in his power to raise the $100,000 and make sure the show is a hit.