Time once again to go over all the films I've seen
this year, and consider which ones held up best, and chances are I'll revisit
in later years. Note that's "films
I've seen", there's a few I have heard great things about, but alas
haven't gotten to see yet (such as The Act of Killing, although I've
heard that one's pretty tough to sit through). Last year's list would have included A Royal Affair if I'd seen it in time, so this is nothing like definitive. With that in mind, let's jump in!
10) Stalled
Technically this isn't out in the UK until next year on DVD,
I only saw it festival screenings, but I want to talk about it, so there. This is the alternative to Silent Night of
the Living Dead I mentioned a few posts back, a Zomedy set around Yuletide, in this case an office Christmas party.
What's great here is that creators Christian James and Dan Palmer (who
were previously behind slasher spoof Freak Out, where my avatar on here
comes from) get great mileage out of thinking small. While World War Z tried to take the undead down the huge blockbuster
route, creating a flailing mess, Stalled stays confined and
intimate. It gets its mileage by thinking
through its main setting of a single toilet cubicle, and every possibility
within. It also has a lot of heart,
telling quite a moving little story with a surprising amount of the
Christmas spirit in there, despite an early discussion on whether there should
be GarfieldMas instead. Indeed, I can
easily see this being on the list of alternative Christmas movie nights for
years to come, among such titles as Gremlins, Die Hard, and something else
later on this list...
9) Elysium
A fantastic follow-up to District 9, though I'll have to
rewatch a few times before I can say whether it exceeds it or not,
though I'd say it's on par. Elysium is an incredibly raw, angry sci-fi satire, pretty much a rallying
cry against the "one percent"; Robocop for the Occupy generation. It's also an amazing spectacle film; I didn't
think that a film could out-do D9 in bad-ass sci-fi weaponry stakes, but this
had some amazing stuff to see. No wonder
Neil Blomkamp was originally tapped to make a Halo movie, although with this
film's violence and ringworld setting, he seems to have scratched that itch. Major points must also go to Sharlto Copley,
here almost unrecognisable from District 9 playing mercenary Kruger, one of the
most memorable screen villains this year.
Blomkamp is keeping to sci-fi with his next project, robot comedy
Chappie, also with Copley on board, so I'm eagerly looking ahead to that.
Not just a great addition to Disney's Princess line,
but an evolution of the concept, this gets on here because of some brave new ideas. Some might have
questioned a few of the morals young girls may take from these films over the
years, and it's a valid concern. Not
only does Frozen address these, it does so in a way that still feels right, still
celebrates the genre/formula, and doesn't do a Shrek or Enchanted style mocking
of it. Part of the strength is the fact
it has two Princesses (well, a Princess and a Queen) this time, with their own
distinct character arcs. While Anna is
the default heroine, I think snow queen Elsa is the one fandom is going to
really celebrate, and not just because she gets the best song in the movie (Let It Go),
which in turn would mean best Disney song in years. Plus, between it and Hunger Games dominating the box office, it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt there is a huge
market and appetite for female lead genre fare, something that's needed correcting for quite some time.
7) Much Ado About Nothing
Just as you began to get worried I've gone entirely
mainstream on your arses, here's black and white low-budget Shakespeare. Joss Whedon shows he can do small scale drama
just as well has huge genre action, with all his bestest actor friends coming
together for this. His style of
direction and his actor's delivery are a match made in heaven, helping the
dialogue to come alive to even those who don't usually "get"
Shakespeare. This is a tonne of fun, and
utterly charming, especially hearing the words of the Immortal Bard in the fine
Canadian tones of Nathan Fillion. Plus
it's nice to see a Joss Whedon production where the love between Amy Acker and
Alexis Denisof having a happy ending for once.
6) The World's End
Expectations were high for the final part of the
"Cornetto Trilogy", and I say that this was an excellent addition to
the CVs of everyone involved. Now the
ending of this has divided a lot of fans, I have to say that I didn't quite
"get it" myself at first.
However, on reflection I really respect the direction it went with, and
it fitted the films' pretty complex themes to a T. There's some superb material, from very funny dialogue, to a strong cast that includes a few surprises, an
excellent soundtrack, and fight scenes aided by some of Jackie Chan's stunt
team. That and lots of alien not-robots! As I said, many have been a bit wary of this
one, but then again they also were about Hot Fuzz when it first came out, so
maybe this will get a bit more love with time, when a few more people "get
it". I can see love of this movie spreading, like an invasion, bringing everyone to Our way of thinking...
5) Iron Man 3
When I first heard that Shane Black was making this, I
jokingly went "ah, it'll be set at Christmas then!", given his
previous work (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss
Goodnight). Not only was I right about
that, but Iron Man Three truly is a Shane Black movie through and through, in
tone, style and wit. It also helps to
show that Marvel Cinematic Universe is still growing, not resting on its
laurels after The Avengers. It's a fine
outing for Robert Downey Jnr.'s Tony, both in terms of performance and
character; if they were to stop making solo Iron Man movies, here's a pretty
good place to end. Above everything,
it's just fun, especially with a story that has a twist that nearly had my side
hurting I was laughing so much at.
Between this and Thor, Marvel have the box office wrapped round their little finger. Let's hope that DC starts learning the right
lessons from these movies, and that Fox and Sony just let Marvel have their toys back soon.
4) A Field in England
I really love micro-genres of films, when there's only a
handful of films of that sort, but they're all brilliant. This one deserves its place in the company of
titles like The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan's Claw in the "Folk Horror" micro-genre. A hallucinatory effort from
Ben Wheatley with a fantastic cast, this shows how much can be done from so
little. Six actors, one field, and yet
it covers the horrors of war, touches on issues of class, and delivers some of
the most bonechilling psychological horror you're likely to see done in ways so
simple yet ingenious. It is a very
confusing film, not least for the mushrooms that play an important part in the
story, but it's one that will stay with you.
It's experimental nature extends beyond the story and visuals; it's
release was quite a success too. I saw
it twice on its release day, in the cinema and on the TV showing, and it
definitely made me get the Blu-Ray straight afterwards.
3) Pacific Rim
A film made for one's inner nine-year-old, in Guillermo Del
Toro's own words, but it's definitely one that adults can enjoy too,
appreciating a smart screenplay with a strong sense of theming. In an age of far too many action movies and video games going down
an "'MURICA!! HOO RAH!!" approach, here's a blockbuster that's all
about the whole world coming together.
It's made with American money, directed by a Mexican, based on Japanese
cinematic tropes and with a cast from all over the world, with the main
commander being one of the best things to ever come out of Brixton. Furthermore, everything in here, from the
"drift" concept to the Independence Day speech, is thematic of people
all coming together to face down disaster.
Indeed, the visual and vocabulary reference points in here all reflect
real world natural disasters, not only getting away from the 9/11 visual
shorthand that's clogged up the screens recently, but also going back to the
roots of why the Kaiju is a uniquely Japanese creation. Plus it's just plain AWESOME to watch, full
of moments of "HOLY SHIT, DID THEY JUST BLUDGEON THAT THING WITH A
SHIP?"
2) Behind the Candelabra
Hollywood, you should be ashamed for not having this in
cinemas over in America! This heartfelt
tale of the very complicated life of one of the truly great entertainers is
said to be the last film Steven Soderbergh is going to be directing for a
while. He's gone out on a high, as this
features career best performances from Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, in a
highly emotional satire of the excesses of success. I'm not sure if it got the playtime in LA
needed for this to be considered for the Oscars, but if the Academy has any
credibility left at all it needs to give this one the nod. Admittedly I'm saying that partially because I'm
imagining how hilarious it will be to see the right wing media getting butthurt
over a movie this gay up for nomination, but it really deserves a place.
1) Gravity
After I did the "looking forward to" list last
year, I was kicking myself because I completely forgot about this one. How could I have not had the new film from
Alfonso Cuarón, the mind who gave us Children of Men, on there?
This has been a fantastic follow-up to it, and one of the most intense
motion picture experiences in years.
It's lean hour and a half runtime will not only stand as an amazing
technical achievement (seriously, you can actually believe they filmed in space
at points), but it's perfectly paced, uses all the tricks of good thrillers,
and keeps Children of Men's strong theme of hope. Given how well it worked, this may be the
movie that makes me end up buying a 3D TV purely so I can experience it
again. The best thing about this though
is that it's been a juggernaut at the box office, showing that big budget high
concept fare not based on an existing brand or franchise can make it, given the
right talent. (Plus it's another female lead genre picture that's gone down a treat; bonus!) Let's hope the studios get
the message.
A pretty healthy year for good movies
overall. To wrap things up, next time it's my look ahead to the ten films I'm most looking forward to in 2014!
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