Legend (2015 Brian Helgeland & scr)

From 'The Profession of Violence', a biography by John Pearson, who wrote 'Goldeneye' about Fleming too.* Helgeland has done a good job of making a story which is succinct and well told (viz striking Steadicam scenes, DP Dick Pope) -- and not too eye-wateringly violent either. (He wrote Mystic River and LA Confidential.)

Tom Hardy is outstanding as both Reggie and Ronnie Kray, Emily Browning good as the unfortunate (thick, you could say) Mrs Kray and Taron Egerton making another good impression after Kingsman. We wanted to know if Tom Hardy got paid twice.

With Tara Fitzgerald, Chris Ecclestone, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany (unrecognisable again as Charlie Richardson), Sam Spruell ('the hat').

Owes a certain something to Performance. I wanted God Save the Queen to play over the end credits, for some mad reason of my own.

The music - by the Coens' Carter Burwell - has an interesting trumpet-led theme, always in itself evocative (you think of Chinatown, for example).

Dominic Gibbs is the supervising sound editor. In researching the possible family connection, I just found out that Tony Gibbs has died - naturally that didn't make it to the news - on 26 February. He was 90. By an incredible coincidence (Nic Roeg would argue that it wasn't) we watched him at work on The Knack the very next day.

* I don't know where I got that from. Helgeland is not involved in any such project. The 1989 Goldeneye with Charles Dance as Fleming is written by Reg Gadney, from John Pearson's novel.