Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

2015-01-21

Can you guess what's going to happen next? — Can you guess what’s going to happen next?

Twitter Plot Summary: A Sharknado descends on New York City and it’s up to Fin and April to save the day yet again.

So Sharknado did so well a sequel was justified, although it wouldn’t take all that much to persuade The Asylum to produce a sequel or a slightly dodgy knock-off of a much bigger film. To borrow a line from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, they’d probably do it for peanuts. A touch disparaging perhaps, but then this is exactly what The Asylum are known to produce, and Sharknado was hardly a pinnacle in great storytelling, let’s face it.

Anyway: some time has passed since the events of the first film. April Wexler (Tara Reid) has written a book about how to survive a sharknado (yes, really), and her ex-husband Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) is suffering from some form of post traumatic stress. All with a knowing nod and a wink to the audience, of course – the man was eaten by a shark last time, after all. It stands to reason therefore that the same thing will happen again, this time in the grand metropolis of New York.

In a bid to become a cult favourite, the sequel chooses to throw in an almost excessive number of cameos. Robert Hays appears as a pilot, referencing his appearance in Airplane. It’s so jam-packed with cameos in fact (mostly contained within the first 10 minutes) that it threatens to fold in on itself before it gets opportunity to really go crazy. Whereas the first Sharknado was enjoyably daft, The Second One chooses to throw itself into full-on parody territory, amping up the obvious jokes and silliness. Even the name plays up to its ridiculous origins. Ironically, this is exactly what The Second One needed and is all the more enjoyable for it.

Yes, this really happens. Several times, in fact.

Silly set piece follows silly set piece. Lots of people die, destruction occurs on a grand scale, and there are no seriously objectionable performances. If you’re going to criticise anything – besides the fact it’s a cash-in B-movie with an atrocious premise and low effects budget – is that most of the running time is taken up by genuine newsreaders and meteorologists talking about the Sharknado and its impact on the great city of New York. For a local audience this is no doubt great fun, especially given how serious they take it. For a wider audience however, those sequences don’t add very much at all, and after one or two of those sequences the joke starts to run very, very thin. There’s more fun to be had smirking at Judd Hirsch driving our heroes around in his taxi, or Tara Reid trying to emote. About anything.

The sharknado may provide a similar level of threat as The First One (surely that should be its new subtitle?) but somehow they’ve managed to craft a few different ways of tackling such an unnatural disaster. It doesn’t go so far as to reinvent the wheel, because that’s practically impossible, but there are some new and surprisingly inventive ways found to kill characters off or to just have a laugh. Much like the first, The Second One is not a high pinnacle in storytelling, but it has a laugh at its own expense and for that it is worthy of a polite round of applause but not much else.

Score: 2.5/5

The Faculty (1998)

Simon Prior

2015-01-20

"I'm so freakin' high right now..." — “I’m so freakin’ high right now…”

Twitter Plot Summary: The faculty of an American high school are taken over by parasitic creatures and it’s up to a group of students to prevent world domination.

The Body Snatchers template has always provided its fair share of decent cinematic entertainment. Drawing heavy influence from those films, The Faculty moves the setting to an American high school. The students, an array of standard stereotypes including Elijah Wood (the nerd), Jordana Brewster (the pretty one), Josh Hartnett (the druggie) and Clea Duvall (the goth), all begin to suspect that their teachers (and eventually their fellow students) are being taken over by alien parasites. As is often the case, it becomes a race against time as more and more people fall under the parasitic influence and paranoia becomes all-encompassing.

The Faculty balances on the horror/comedy tightrope, suitably gory in places and with a script that has fun with the body snatchers concept. The parasites require water to survive and the only way for the survivors to stay lucid and human is, ironically, by taking mind-altering drugs provided by Hartnett’s Zeke. This provides its own fair share of amusement given that the group must combat an alien threat whilst being high as a kite. They must also contend with the possibility that one or more of them may already be infected and putting on a performance in order to fit in. It’s this angle and tone that The Faculty gets right most often, more than making up for the lack of depth elsewhere in the script.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, it bears all the trademarks of his directorial style by slapping various influences together to form something that, whilst not new, delights in providing twists to genre expectations and adds a dash of self-referential humour. A few shots are thrown in to give the impression that certain characters have been infected when they have not, and vice versa. The finale, without delving into spoilers, also provides a slightly more interesting twist than usual and, whilst not entirely out of the blue, does its job well.

"We didn't do anything to the fish, honest." — “We didn’t do anything to the fish, honest.”

The young cast are supported by a range of big name actors as the adults and school teachers. Robert Patrick provides his usual intensity as the school sports teacher. He’s backed up by a smart turn from Famke Janssen, Rodriguez regular Salma Hayek, Piper Laurie and Bebe Neuwirth as members of the faculty. The transition of their personalities from pre to post-parasitic invasion are like chalk and cheese, and with the exception of some questionable twists later in the film they are a thoroughly enjoyable bunch. Patrick in particular remains an intense presence either side of him being taken over, but his method of playing it is spot on.

Throw in the odd reference of foreshadowing and the occasional cheesy one-liner and you have a winner. It may lack depth and subtlety, and not wrap up every single plot strand in a neat little bow, but that would detract from what Rodriguez is known to make – that is, entertaining action films where you don’t need a degree in order to understand the plot. From that perspective The Faculty is a success. It doesn’t hold up to most of its Body Snatchers brethren, but it is huge amounts of fun.

Score: 3.5/5

Mimic: Sentinel (2003)

Simon Prior

2015-01-19

Twitter Plot Summary: Those giant bugs are still lurking around, this time in a bad homage to Rear Window. The Hitchcock one.

Tying into the universe established in the first two Mimic movies, Mimic: Sentinel (aka Mimic 3) features Marvin (Karl Geary) as one of the kids who benefitted from the treatment derived from the bugs in Mimic. However, whilst he may have had the opportunity to reach adulthood, his life is so plagued with allergies and breathing difficulties that he spends most of his time locked away in his hermetically sealed apartment taking photos of the other residents in the complex. Soon he starts to think that a murderer is picking off the residents but the police, naturally, don’t believe him. Marvin then teams up with his sister Rosy (Alexis Dziena) and fellow resident Carmen (Rebecca Mader) to investigate the disappearances, all the while dealing with his disbelieving mother (Amanda Plummer, looks like her dad) and her equally disbelieving cop boyfriend (John Kapelos, rotund).

Mimic 3 is essentially another remake of Rear Window but with human-sized insects as the villain instead of some inconspicuous guy with spectacles. Apart from that and a final act that turns into a bug hunt they are almost identical and it smacks of lazy writing. The least they could have done is changed a few parts to make them more distinct from one another. Still, at least we have the benefit of seeing genre legend Lance Henriksen as Garbageman, a mysterious resident whose reasons for living in the area soon become apparent as the giant bugs slowly (and very cheaply) start to eat the locals. You’ll be lucky if you can see exactly what’s going on though, if you thought the first two films were badly lit then they have nothing on this mess.

Seriously dude, you needed to have a much bigger role in this.

Much like Mimic 2 this is a low budget feature, but it is spoiled by a plot that doesn’t move along fast enough. This is ironic given that it has a total running time of 76 minutes. In other hands it may have proved to be a story in which you care for the characters and the threat they face. As it is, you’re better off watching Hitchcock’s Rear Window for a better example of how to pull off this sort of story, big giant insects or otherwise. The characters here, with the exception of Lance Henriksen (who will always be awesome) are tarnished by some bad performances and a terrible romantic angle between Marvin and Carmen. Believe it or not, the attractive younger sister is irritating simply because she does little else but smile smugly and lean over so the camera can get a good look down her top. Add the fact that nobody seems the slightest bit worried about Marvin’s voyeuristic obsession of taking photographs of everyone and you have a story that doesn’t add up on several levels.

It’s yet another case of a film being easy to recommend with a few tweaks, but because Sentinel gets so much wrong it’s difficult to enjoy – it doesn’t even have that “so bad it’s good” factor to save it. Indeed, not even Lance Henriksen is enough to justify a viewing, and when even this mighty genre legend can’t save a film then it says a lot.

Score: 1.5/5

Independence Day (1996)

Simon Prior

2015-01-17

That iconic moment. Odd choice for a first target... — That iconic moment. Odd choice for a first target…

Twitter Plot Summary: Aliens invade the Earth and it’s up to Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith (and er, Randy Quaid) to save the day. Huzzah.

The alien invasion B-Movie got the Hollywood treatment in 1996 in Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day. Combining an ensemble cast with big budget destruction and instantly iconic shots, such as the destruction of the White House, Independence Day is the very definition of brainless summer blockbuster. The plot is classic B-movie territory – an alien mothership arrives in Earth orbit and several smaller, city-sized ships descend into the atmosphere and hover over major cities across the world. It soon becomes clear that they mean to eradicate humanity and it’s up to a few select characters to organise a fight back and save the day.

Jeff Goldblum is at his most Goldblum as David, the man who works out what the arrival of the aliens means to humanity (it’s not good, obviously). He is his usual mass of hands and choice use of words, in other words one of the high points in a film filled with actors having fun. Bill Pullman has a rare opportunity to take the lead as President Whitmore and rather gratefully has the cheesiest rousing speech in cinema history. Will Smith fully set in motion his movie star career as Captain Steven Hillard, a cocky fighter pilot who gets a memorable close encounter with one of the alien invaders. Finally (although there are plenty more to mention, including a young Adam Baldwin and Robert “Space” Loggia in supporting roles), there is Randy Quaid as an alcoholic crop duster who is ridiculed for constantly claiming he was once abducted by aliens.

"I wonder what my career will look like in 20 years time?" — “I wonder what my career will look like in 20 years time?”

It is cheese at its finest, an excuse for bigging up America and painting the rest of the world as incompetent in the face of an alien invasion. According to Independence Day, the rest of the world spend all of their time waiting for the United States to work out a plan of retaliation rather than trying to do something about it themselves. But then, the rest of the world’s incompetence is America’s gain in the face of total annihilation, right?

Roland Emmerich is clearly the master of effects-driven big screen destruction, and it’s evident that the latter half of his directorial career was heavily influenced by this film, the destruction increasing on an almost exponential basis and becoming sillier and more ridiculous with each script he makes. This was the starting point for all of that, though. Silly action scenes and one liners are the byword for the day, with both a plot and characters that are ultimately vacuous. If he didn’t have quite the same skill at providing solid action sequences, the occasional scare and building tension, it would be yet another film destined for the bargain bin.

So it’s pretty much all gubbins, yet it’s entertaining gubbins all the same. Who can criticise a film that wears its influences on its sleeve so brazenly, its desire to entertain so blatantly? It may be jingoistic, excessively patriotic and refuses to kill a dog despite having no qualms about showing the death of thousands of civilians, but it’s pure mindless cinema and the faults and nitpicks only heighten your enjoyment.

Score: 4/5

Birdman (2015)

Simon Prior

2015-01-16

"Hey, you're Batman aren't you?" — “Hey, you’re Batman aren’t you?”

Twitter Plot Summary: Former superhero movie star tries his hand at a serious stage play to remove his shackles and gain recognition away from the mask.

Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is an intensely complicated story, yet despite its many layers it remains logical and consistent from start to finish. Combining fantasy elements (we open with a shot of Riggan Thompson floating in his dressing room), an exploration of a person’s ego and id, and extensive labyrinthine personal lives, Birdman is a film that fully justifies repeat viewings.

Michael Keaton is on award-baiting form as Riggan Thompson, a man facing his own very specific mid-life crisis as he seeks validation both publically and critically by writing, directing and starring in an adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story. This is made all the more difficult thanks to those who surround him – Emma Stone as his daughter who has just emerged from rehab and a whole bunch of Daddy issues thrown into the mix (and very keen to point out that in this modern age of social media, having no online presence is equivalent to not existing); Andrea Risebrough as his slightly off kilter girlfriend who also has a role in the play; Ed Norton as an inflammatory actor who knows the lines by heart but kicks off if anyone interrupts his style of method acting; his ex-wife and now stage co-star (Naomi Watts) who is apparently nothing more than a broken and damaged actress; and of course a theatre critic (Lindsay Duncan) who has a dislike for Hollywood stars encroaching on her turf.

And if all of that wasn’t dysfunctional enough, Riggan is plagued by Birdman, the big screen character he once played and has since sent Riggan into obscurity. Is Birdman Riggan’s id, a hidden aspect of his subconscious made real? Whatever he/it is, it’s great fun to watch, Riggan’s descent into near-madness balanced perfectly with a blackly comic tone that generates more than its fair share of chuckles and wince-worthy moments.

Ed Norton. Method Actor. Style Icon. Fighter.

The performances are supported by some innovative direction from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, portraying all events in this intimate setting with almost no visible cuts. Instead scenes flow into one another with ease, and from a technical perspective alone it is a film deserving of praise. This combines nicely with all the other elements, including what is apparently a deliberately distracting drum-based soundtrack and some incredibly inviting cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki.

Birdman also succeeds by playing up to actor’s pasts and perceived notions about them, whether this is done deliberately or otherwise. It’s almost impossible to consider Keaton’s role without taking into account his career and role as Tim Burton’s Batman. The parallels are only on the surface rather than having some deep meaning of their own, but it’s still an interesting comparison to draw. The same applies to Edward Norton who has his own fair share of detractors for supposedly being difficult to work with. This verisimilitude goes a long way to adding believability to the characters,

It may have only had its release in the UK on 01 January, but already Birdman stands a chance of being in the top ten films of the year. Not a bad start to the year by any stretch. Now if only we can convince Keaton and Inarritu to make the Birdman 4 film that is mentioned throughout this Birdman. Even with a knowing nod and a wink to the audience, that idea still has serious potential for awesomeness.

Score: 5/5

Mimic 2 (2001)

Simon Prior

2015-01-15

Thankfully, she knew that the skeleton wasn't a mimic. In fact, he was called Bernard. — Thankfully, she knew that the skeleton wasn’t a mimic. In fact, he was called Bernard.

Twitter Plot Summary: Those mimic insect things are back for another go, this time limited to a school and the attention of a rather strange woman.

Remi Panos (Alix Koromzay) is a bug specialist who is unlucky in love – possibly because she spends all of her time talking about creepy crawlies. It may also have something to do with the fact that she has a cupboard full of selfies stuck to the walls, to reflect her emotional reaction to each of her unsuccessful dates with men and other key events in her life. Suffice to say, to most men this would scream “steer clear”, but then that wouldn’t make for much of a story, would it?

After the near-definitive ending of Mimic, where the giant bug threat was resolved by a massive explosion, it goes without saying that the bugs weren’t completely killed off and they are inevitably due to return. It just so happens that they try and make their comeback in Remi’s neighbourhood – rather handy having a bug expert available at such a critical time.

It is a resolutely low budget production, taking place in only a few locations and keeping the creature attacks to a minimum. The development of the mimics is handled far more sensibly than, say the Tremors movies, and restricting the story primarily to the school in which Remi works adds to the claustrophobic feeling as the bugs continue evolving. If there was ever a time to curse Mira Sorvino’s name, now would be the time (and it’s still unclear what happened to her career in the real world).

There was no stopping Brian Blessed, but she thought she'd give it a try anyway. — There was no stopping Brian Blessed, but she thought she’d give it a try anyway.

And believe it or not, this does all work in its favour. By stepping away from the higher budget action thriller template of the original, Mimic 2 gets to play in the same world but carve out its own identity. Here the focus is almost entirely on Remi as she gradually develops into a more rounded (read: normal) personality and becomes a parent figure for the children who are in her care. While you could argue that there’s nothing specifically wrong with being a little bit eccentric, the message in this case is that Remi’s development is a good thing for her as far as relationships go, transitioning from men who smash her door down after one date to a burgeoning relationship with the decent cop investigating a batch of recent murders in the area. From another perspective the story also shows that it doesn’t hurt to show a bit of self belief and stand up for yourself. The metaphor can be stretched to the Mimic Creatures as well, as both they and Remi slowly emerge from their shells. Arf Arf.

Mimic 2 may not be an award winning film and it may not go to the same depths as the original, but it provides a decent story and an interesting arc for the lead character where there is a genuine sense of her undergoing personal development, although thankfully not in the context of an office-based team building exercise. The effects budget may not be amazing and it does inevitably lose some of the mystique of the original, but it still stands on its own two feet. That and the child actors aren’t irritating, which is always a bonus.

Score: 2.5/5

Mimic (1997)

Simon Prior

2015-01-14

Twitter Plot Summary: Giant bugs go on the rampage throughout New York as the scientists responsible for their creation try to stop them.

Mira Sorvino. Remember her? She was in quite a few films in the 90s and was more than capable of holding her own in an action film context, despite being primarily known for that Romy and Michelle film. Here she plays Dr Susan Tyler, a scientist responsible, alongside husband Dr Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam) for creating a genetically enhanced insect in order to destroy the cockroaches in New York. A few years later and it turns out that, despite efforts to eradicate their own breed of insect, the bugs have in fact survived and continued to mutate, growing into a fearsome, mutating enemy in the sewers of New York. Sadly (or thankfully depending on your perspective), these are not ninja turtles.

Guillermo del Toro applies his trademark style to the story across several areas. The insects are kept hidden for much of the film and you’d be hard pushed to see a scene taking place during daylight hours. As a result, almost everything is hidden in shadow, even the principle cast. This serves a double purpose in that it hides the fact the CGI isn’t the greatest by modern standards, and to increase the sense of menace and impending threat – because nothing bad ever happens during daylight.

Joining the two doctors in their quest to defeat the genetically modified bugs are Charles S Dutton and Josh Brolin as cops involved in the case, Giancarlo Giannini as a street shoe shiner (and who would later go on to play Mathis in Casino Royale) who is also responsible for a young boy who often replicates the clicking sound the bugs make and subsequently finds himself in trouble, and a special appearance from F Murray Abraham as the former mentor of Tyler and Mann.

When the bugs make their full appearance it’s well worth the wait. cheap the CGI may be by our modern standards, but they are an imposing presence and play into the fear most people have about creepy crawlies. If you think they’re unpleasant in the real world, how does a human sized Mimic sound? The fact they are able to prey on humans, including some literally bone crunching sequences, goes a long way towards playing up to our fears of such things. The film may have been subjected to behind the scenes strife, but despite this and the inconsistencies that result (a tacked on happy ending, certain sequences being directed by other members of the crew) it’s not all that bad. It might lack the same level of quality and imagination that del Toro gets to show off in productions where he has full creative control – in other words just about everything else he’s ever made – but Mimic is an example of a director defining his style despite producer interventions and you can only imagine what it would have been like had he been given carte blanche to do his own thing. And we never did solve the mystery of Mira Sorvino, did we? Perhaps that’s best saved for another time.

Score: 3/5

Cowboys & Zombies (2011)

Simon Prior

2015-01-13

Our motley group of heroes. Don't stand up. — Our motley group of heroes. Don’t stand up.

Twitter Plot Summary: On paper, the thought of zombies in the Wild West is a genuinely fun idea. Cowboys & Zombies proves that you can still get it wrong.

In what seems to be one of a number of recent films that have combined cowboys with a fantastical element – aliens, vampires and the forthcoming dinosaurs (no joke) – Cowboys & Zombies pits the Wild West against the undead after a strange alien spore infects the local populace and turns them into flesh eating zombies. An unlikely trio of a cowboy, an indian and a former prostitute join forces to defeat the menace facing them or die an unpleasant death in the process. That’s it as far as the story goes, the remainder of the running time dedicated to anticlimactic scuffles with the undead and a thankfully brief effort at providing some empathetic history to our cowboy. Even this takes place towards the end of the film, with absolutely zero context given for his actions until that point. Clearly writer and director Rene Perez needs to work on his character development skills. And film making skills. And so on.

Lead actor David A Lockhart may look the part as gun-slinging cowboy Mortimer, but his voice lets him down. Can you picture a supposedly gruff cowboy speaking in an effeminate tone? The answer of course is no, unless you have seen Wagons East before, in which case the mere mention of the book store owner Julian will cause you a very slight amount of amusement. But then surprisingly, he’s still far better than everyone else in the cast, in particular the acting skills of Native American Rick Mora. He looks the part but never provides anything more than a monotonous delivery of dialogue and performance. For the most part he’s not much more than a walking waistcoat.

That had been such an epic night of drinking... — That had been such an epic night of drinking…

It would be churlish to criticise the production values as they do what they can on what was no doubt a small budget, however the main location used is a replica old West town, and it does sadly look rather cheap when used in a film setting – it’s all a bit too clean and new to accurately represent the era. The action comes to life a bit more when it’s set in the natural world, but only because it’s difficult to make a forest look cheap – just ask the production team and location scouts for Stargate SG-1.

Perhaps as a sign of the film’s quality, there are numerous occasions of gratuitous female nudity from at least three different women. This of course being a world in which women are generally helpless to defend themselves and rely solely on men to save them. There is no excuse for it, but if random nudity is the best your film has to offer then perhaps you need to rethink your career choices.

Then there’s the issue of the soundtrack. Every piece of music, whether it’s an orchestral/instrumental library piece or a totally out of context rock track, is far too loud in the sound mix and could probably do with being knocked down a couple of notches to bring it in line with the dialogue and sound effect levels. It is patently a film which is not very good. There is no tension, no surprises, and your usual array of bad acting and suspect special effects. In this respect at least it is consistent.

Score: 1/5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Ru-163YMk

Taken 3 (2015)

Simon Prior

2015-01-12

"I'm sorry, I promise you won't have to be in another one of these films." — “I’m sorry, I promise you won’t have to be in another one of these films.”

Twitter Plot Summary: Bryan Mills is back for one last installment of the Taken franchise, using his particular set of skills to solve the murder of his ex-wife.

It’s back to the same old routine for Liam Neeson in Taken 3, an almost totally unnecessary sequel that has Bryan Mills once more using those particular set of skills in order to protect his daughter from some generic bad guys. Much like Taken 2, it suffers from a heavy 12A edit that, whilst not quite as laughably bad as Mills practically hugging someone to death in the 12A cut of Taken 2, still renders it a mostly ineffectual action thriller.

With all plot points from the previous plot now severed, Mills’ particular set of skills have apparently transitioned into the culinary arts as he manages to successfully slice up some bell peppers at the start of the movie. His ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) pops over frequently to chat about her relationship woes with Dougray Scott’s Stuart St John, and his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace, not as irritating as previous entries) is now settled into a regular life – despite the trauma of her previous experiences – and discovers early on that she is pregnant. Soon though, Lenore is found murdered in Mills’ apartment and he goes on the run from the authorities whilst attempting to clear his name. This might sound moderately exciting stuff, but it isn’t.

The script has some fun with both the conventions of the genre, calling back to previous entries in the series (the words “Good luck” are used effectively), and the odd action sequence works well, such as Mills storming the bad guy’s posh suite, but the majority of the time it feels like the series has gone at least one film too far, pushing an initially good idea beyond breaking point.

The other problem (or perhaps the canny casting) of Douglas Scott is that you know instantly that he’s going to be a bad guy – it’s just the way it is. That leaves you distracted for much of the story, knowing that eventually he’s going to do something dastardly. And, inevitably, he does despite a couple of attempts at distracting away from his inherent destiny of becoming the big bad.

Mills just loved hiding under dead bodies. Loved it.

On the plus side (and it’s a very small plus side), we finally get to see Mills and his team of special ops types in action, even if their involvement is ultimately paper thin. Neeson seems to be reaching the end of his brief career as an action star, if Taken 2 didn’t prove the point already. Meanwhile Olivier Megaton directs with all the verve of somebody with a nervous twitch. The action sequences are obscured by shaky-cam, the performances frequently stifled by the camera being placed too close to the actors and wobbled around.

Forest Whitaker makes the most of his role as the police inspector investigating the murder, although you can’t help but feel the character would have benefitted from being fleshed out in a more competent action film. He’s an interesting inclusion nonetheless, even if he comes from an ever-growing stable of quirky cinematic lawmen, in this case obsessed with a chess piece (a knight, no less) and an elastic band. There’s probably some context there if you go looking for it.

The Blu-Ray and DVD release will no doubt add a few elements that will make it a slightly more bearable viewing experience (like showing blood and some proper violence), but Taken 3 remains a badly executed idea and a disappointing, anti-climactic end to the series – if they let it end with this one of course.

Score: 2/5

Top 10 Films of 2014

Simon Prior

2014-12-28

I honestly don’t remember it being this difficult last year to narrow down my personal top 10 favourite films, yet 2014 has proven to be an incredibly difficult process. There have been that many high quality releases that it has literally taken me weeks to narrow the list down to a top 25, and then additional time to whittle it down further to a final Top 10. It is worth mentioning that there are around 80-90 other films released this year that I have still yet to see and which for various reasons I was not able to do so. As it is, here are the top ten films (in no particular order) released in the UK in 2014 that I have not yet seen but plan to ASAP:

1. Boyhood
2. Frank
3. I Origins
4. Dallas Buyers Club
5. Starred Up
6. Belle
7. Oculus
8. Maps To The Stars
9. Mr Turner
10. Tim’s Vermeer

For obvious reasons the following list is based solely on what I’ve had opportunity to watch at the cinema this year. I reserve the right to amend my list over the coming weeks as I gradually catch up on the missed gems of 2014 – expect further posts about this throughout 2015, but this post will remain as it is for future reference. So, let’s kick things off with Number 10.

10. The Guest

The Guest was a late entry to this list as I didn’t catch it on release and only just squeezed in a viewing before the end of the year. It’s a delightful throwback to 80s thrillers, but would be nothing without Dan Stevens breaking his Downton Abbey shackles as the mystery man known as David.

9. Under The Skin

It’s hard to think that watching Scarlet Johansson driving around Scotland in a van for most of the film would be as compelling as it is, but despite any criticism thrown in its direction it proves to be a great character study nonetheless. As an alien on Earth who kidnaps single men and turns them into empty bags of skin, her growing humanity is portrayed with a decreasing sense of detachment by Johansson. One scene in particular, where a baby is left alone on a beach as the tide slowly draws in, is harrowing to say the least.

8. The Raid 2

Under some circumstances The Raid 2 could be considered slightly too long to hit all the right marks, but then it is also a revelatory display of storytelling through choreography and violence. Welsh director Gareth Evans has his hand firmly on the pulse of what makes a solid action sequence work, and introducing the world to Hammer Girl alone is enough to warrant inclusion on this list.

7. Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin came out of nowhere for me. An antithesis to your typical revenge thriller, Macon Blair is great as Dwight, a man seeking revenge but proves to be mostly useless at it. It’s not a comedy by any means, but his ineffectual efforts are presented in such a way that you don’t mind that nothing of note seems to happen for much of the film. A victory of storytelling over expectations.

6. The Babadook

Going completely against the grain and not emulating the efforts of modern horror maestro (ahem) James Wan, The Babadook is an excellent study of psychological trauma made real. Strictly speaking it’s not a full-on horror film, but whichever category you put The Babadook in it still proves to be a very effective film and one that is carried with aplomb by Essie Davis as Amellia, the weary mother of irritating child Samuel (Noah Wiseman). The Babadook himself is thoroughly terrifying creation.

5. Nightcrawler

Leo Bloom is destined to become one of cinema’s all time great characters we love to hate. Despite his sociopathic tendencies and clear understanding that he is in no way somebody you should emulate, you can’t help but find yourself rooting for him anyway. Riz Ahmed is great as his naive apprentice as the morals of chasing stories that provide the most shocks (and score ratings on local TV news stations) is explored.

4. The Lego Movie

A surprisingly good movie and well deserving of its high placing in my list. What could have been your typical product placement tie-in movie is given a fun story and a plethora of gags from comedy men of the moment Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Lego Batman steals the show, as does the initially annoying but ultimately joyful “Everything is Awesome” song from Tegan and Sara and The Lonely Island, but the story of regular Lego figure Emmet becoming the saviour of the Lego universe is one that almost everyone in the audience can identify with.

3. 12 Years A Slave

Powerful stuff from a director with a keen eye for arresting visual images – but then he does come from a background in the world of art so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Adapted from the true story of Solomon Northup, his tale of wrongful sale into a life of slavery is all the more engaging thanks to performances from Chiwetel Eijofor as Solomon and Michael Fassbender as the most obnoxiously unpleasant of Solomon’s slave owners. Lupita Nyong’o also puts in a stellar performance as Patsey.

2. Inside Llewyn Davis

The Coen Brothers rarely disappoint, and their record remained in place for Inside Llewyn Davis. The music scene of the 1960s combined with Llewyn’s “nearly man” status makes for a powerful film and a hefty character study of someone who encounters obstacles at every turn, be they externally or internally created. Oscar Isaac not only seems to have broken into the big leagues following his performance here, but also proven how incredibly talented a folk singer he is and/or could be if the whole acting thing dries up in future. Based on this, I’d say it’s unlikely.

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson struck gold here. Combining all of the elements he is best known for – very specific framing, a wry sense of humour and er, miniatures – The Grand Budapest Hotel has a delightfully funny central performance from Ralph Fiennes as concierge Gustave H, some equally delightful set design and a mad caper storyline that sees Gustave trying to recover a valuable painting with the assistance of his new lobby boy Zero Moustafa. The multiple framing devices and backdrop of a fascistic Eastern European state, combined with a huge number of cameo appearances, make for what is in my opinion a near-perfect film and a clear winner as best film for 2014.

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