Spectre (2015)

Sure, it was never going to live up to the glory of Skyfall, but Spectre fell far short. This is James Bond and we have come to expect certain things from 007--that is action sequences. And for a two and a half hour movie, they are too few and far between. And in such a long movie, they travel to a lot of different locations, more than necessary (Mexico, London, Rome, Tangiers, Tokyo, and middle-of-nowhere). There is more story than action. Action movies have gotten more story heavy lately and I can appreciate that, but I don't think the film did a very good job at explaining things. We are given so little to go on and the leads that he follows seem to arise out of nowhere. I also thought the dialogue was quite lacking. There is some lame dialogue and some uncharacteristically funny lines (Bond doesn't do funny). And that very last scene was wholly unnecessary. The film does attempt to tie all of the Craig films together (it kind of inexplicably tries to) and then ties up the Craig films period. I think it would be appropriate for him to end on that note and let someone else don the suit.

The Grammy Awards 2015

In my opinion, this year's crop of Grammy nominees is relatively weak.  I do not think the major categories have five-way races--more like two-way races between two far ahead front runners. The one constant at the top of all four major categories is Sam Smith.  I think he will come away with multiple Grammys on Sunday.

Best New Artist
Sam Smith will win. No contest.

Song of the Year
Sam Smith's Stay With Me will win and deserves to. Perennial Grammy favorite Taylor Swift is in the race with Shake If Off, but it is unlikely that she will top Smith.

Record of the Year 
Again, Sam Smith's Stay With Me with its unique gospel-inspired sound will and should win.  Perhaps Sia can challenge him with her hit Chandelier but it is unlikely.

Album of the Year
This could be a potentially interesting race.  I do not think Sam Smith will sweep all four categories. Beyonce with her fantastic self-titled surprise album is my pick to win as she should.  However, she is hurt by the fact that Drunk in Love was shut out of the Song and Record categories.  If Beyonce does not win, Sam Smith probably will.

Update: I scored 3/4, missing on Album of the Year when Beck's Morning Phase pulled the upset.