HONOURABLE MENTION.
THE LEGO MOVIE.
Will Ferrell is hilarious. Batman is a douchebag. Everything
is awesome.
10. GUARDIANS OF THE
GALAXY
It takes a lot of confidence for a studio to rely on a relatively
obscure director to make a big budget blockbuster based on a relatively obscure
comic book from the 70s, but that’s exactly what Marvel did and boy did it pay off.
Probably the biggest surprise hit of the year, Guardians of the Galaxy managed
to be funny, action packed and heartfelt and made a star of Chris Pratt. Plus it
had the coolest soundtrack since Pulp Fiction.
9. DAWN OF THE PLANET
OF THE APES
It’s become more and more common for blockbusters to adopt a
serious tone and gesture towards serious subject matter without ever really
saying anything. How refreshing it is then to see a sequel to a reboot which
manages to improve on the previous movie while taking a different direction,
all while managing to explore political and social themes in a mature way. Through Caesar’s eyes
we are able to see the issues arising between the humans and apes, with neither
side being portrayed as the bad guys. It makes it all the more heartbreaking
when the inevitable war breaks out.
8. GONE GIRL
If anyone can direct dark thrillers, it’s David Fincher. Adapting
Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel, Fincher turns a story about a missing
housewife into a tense drama about the news, social media, gender, identity and
a damning examination of marriage. Ben Affleck is terrific as the seemingly
nice guy who may just have murdered his wife, played by Rosamund Pike who turns
in what’s probably the best performance of her career. It’s worth watching
for her alone.
7. FRANK
Every now and then a film comes along that is so weird, you can’t
help but sit up and take notice. Following an aspiring musician who joins a
band made up of a gang of psychotic bohemians, most notably Frank who always
wears a giant mask with a surprises expression is a tragic-comic musical gem. Set
mostly in a secluded cabin in rural Ireland as the band whose name no one can pronounce
tries to record an album, it’s a quirky but sometimes dark exploration of creativity,
mental illness and the desire to rise above mediocrity and obscurity.
6. THE RAID 2
Anyone who watched the first Raid movie knows it was a
claustrophobic and violent masterpiece. If you haven’t seen it, go see it now! The
second outing of the Indonesian action series takes the plot out of the tower
blocks and out into the city. Feeling like the bastard child of Ong-bak and Infernal
Affairs, The Raid 2 adds gangsters and undercover cops into the mix with brutal martial
arts, making this perfect for action fans.
5. INTERSTELLAR
It speaks volumes of a director’s talent and the
expectations that come with that, when the most consistent criticism of his
latest movie is ‘it wasn’t perfect’. An unabashed fan of Kubrick’s 2001: A
Space Odyssey, Chris Nolan takes his own stab at powerful Sci-Fi epic and largely
succeeds. There are pacing issues in the first half of the movie, but when you
get such beautiful imagery and great performances from the likes of Matthew McConaughey in
a story about finding a new home world for humanity its hard not to be bowled
over in awe. For all the science talk about black holes and relativity, where
this film really shines is in its touching portrayal of the relationship
between a father and a daughter.
4. THE BABDOOK
A horror movie that’s not really a horror movie. It’s a
tough sell. We’ve become accustomed to cheap scares and gore in our horror,
easy payoffs. Australian director Jennifer Kent adopts a more old school
approach reminiscent of movies like The Shining and The Omen, where the horror
comes though creepy imagery and sustained sense of dread. At its core though
this a movie about a troubled woman dealing with grief and an exceptionally
difficult child as they are haunted by a dark fairy tale figure who embodies both
of their fears.
3. NIGHTCRAWLER
Anti-heroes are hard to get right, especially when they’re
ruthless psychopaths. Jake Gyllenhaal looks almost unrecognisable as Lou bloom,
a down on his luck but driven young man who does an awful of reading. The movie
plays out as a twisted satire on business and success as Lou forges a successful
career recording violent crimes and selling the footage to news stations. Speaking
like a corporate salesman with buzzwords and superficial charm, he manipulates
and bullies his way to getting what he wants including a relationship. It’s a
spine tingling performance form Gyllenhaal reminiscent of Christian Bale in American
Psycho and it’s a dark thrilling movie form start to finish.
2. THE GRAND BUDAPEST
HOTEL
Describing this film as ‘whimsical’ really doesn’t do it
justice. Wes Anderson’s latest offering fantastically weaves a story within a
story about the enigmatic and charming, Monsieur Gustave at the wonderful Grand
Budapest hotel, told through the eyes of a lobby boy. Funny, serious, tragic
and romantic in every sense of the word it’s a seemingly simple madcap caper movie
which manages to touch on deeper themes while never becoming a downer. Ralph Fiennes
is hilarious and endlessly likable as the charming concierge with a taste for
older ladies. It’s one those movies everyone should watch.
1. X-MEN: DAYS OF
FUTURE PAST
When a franchise is on the ropes after a couple of poor
movies, it takes something special to bring it back from the brink. Cue Bryan Singer’s
return to the franchise he kicked off. A time travelling plot that brings together
his original cast including Hugh Jackman with the new younger cast consisting of
Mcavoy, Fassbender, Lawrence et al is just what the franchised needed. The cast
is uniformly brilliant and the action delivers, but like the previous movies it
never takes it eyes of the characters and their motivations. And scene of the
year goes to Quicksilver’s super-speed beat down.
