The Best and Worst of 2014!

So another year has ended and I gotta say, personally, this year hasn't been amazing for film, at least not with its blockbusters. Marvel Studios have never been stronger however, both Guardians of the Galaxy and the Captain America sequel being massively successful.

There was a good run of thrillers and dark dramas and biopics though, and some of the best films of 2014 were the films no one expected.

So here is my final leaderboard for 2014! As I describe each year, this is a list of every film I have seen this year that I've never seen before; the films that are "new to me". So as well as theatrical releases I also have rentals that I saw this year.
People ask why I do this, but I believe that in the endless pantheon of film, all films can be compared regardless of when it was released.

(But don't worry,I will have a second list below this one that is exclusively theatrical releases!)

There's a total of 72 films this year!

1. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D)

Surprise! 2010's How to Train Your Dragon was a underrated masterpiece that really didn't require a sequel. In fact I was worried this would ruin the joy and novelty of the first film... and while a lot of people forget about this for their top 10 lists (probably due to a huge spoiler in its trailer, tip: don't watch the trailer) I still loved it!
Issues from the trailer were my only grievances, and it isn't fair to judge the movie on that. I felt right at home watching this film; a return to characters that I fully enjoy watching.
It is a joyous, happy and challenging kids movie that maintains the original's quality and style.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2D)

Yup, possibly Marvel's biggest surprise; appearing on top lists everywhere and changing so many people's minds. Harking back to old retro sci-fi and action concepts, Guardians is a popping, colourful and ridiculously quotable movie with the best soundtrack of the year!
Why is it second and not first place? It is incredibly close... But Guardians took me a couple of viewings to fully appreciate. I loved it, but at first it can be a total flurry of constant action, and throws a lot at you; if you aren't on board with it, it will leave you behind!

If you like Pina Colada! Gettin' caaaaught in the rain!  

3. Dead Poets Society

The first of my DVD rentals on my top ten list, sadly being the film I watched to lament the late Robin Williams. But Dead Poets Society was an excellent and moving movie and it is criminal I had not watched it until now!
Robin Williams gives such an impassioned performance as the sort of school teacher everyone would love to have; to teach them about how to be creative in such a monotonous and systematic society. Despite being an older film, its messages still ring with truth, and I can forgive some deliberate screenplay writing.




4. The Wolf of Wall Street

Yes, The Wolf of Wall Street was in 2014!
What impressed me the most about Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's latest offering was how for a long (and arguably repetitive) film, I was captivated from start to finish, and never noticed how many minutes were flying by.
This is mostly due to DiCaprio who makes such a corrupt and deplorable lifestyle seem perfectly reasonable and sells his ethics with bold integrity.
Couple all of that with a black sense of humour, it was dynamic and hilarious all the way through. 





5. Captain America - The Winter Soldier (3D)

Probably Marvel's darkest and most violent film with gun play and more realistic brawls and carnage, Captain America 2 delivers a extremely strong punch to the comic book series.
It also does what Captain America 1 and even Avengers Assemble together couldn't manage: make Captain America himself look awesome.
A good supporting cast as well as great action sequences and a good villain/nemesis with the titular Winter Soldier. 

6. Gone Girl

The first of two incredible and dark thrillers that have surprised me this year, Gone Girl for me was a total gear change from the rest of this year's Marvel dominance.
While Ben Affleck is perfectly okay in his role, the show is completely stolen by Rosamund Pike as Amy, playing an incredibly complex character and quite likely a career defining role. Awesome movie!
Sadly I cannot say more without spoiling it, but David Fincher delivers here and if you want a dark, seedy thriller I highly recommend it.

It is only sixth on this list because it loses some of its traction and skill in the final act.

7. Nightcrawler

Basically what I just said for Gone Girl, only with Jake Gyllenhaal completely dominating the show.
Another dark and seedy thriller showing not only the depravity of the media business and their lust for violence, but also how far a human mind can sink to simply be recognised and feel meaningful.

It is a simple story, simpler than Gone Girl's screenplay, but it is extremely effective and very dark.

8. Planet of the Apes (1968)

You are probably thinking: wtf? But upon release of this years Dawn, I wanted to finally watch all of the Apes films.
I was dreading it, mostly for how they may have dated extremely badly, and certainly many of them have (the last few are tragic) but the first film, the original, but this film still has a lot of relevance and great subtext if you can see past some old film making!
Watching this proves to me why the Apes franchise is so effective and how the new films have gripped me, they have a great foundation with this film! 

9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (3D)

While not as effective as its predecessor Rise of the Planet of the Apes, at least as a character piece, Dawn has incredible action sequences and evolves the story perfectly without missing many of the beats.

I think the moment you see a monkey riding a horse while firing two automatic assault rifles... and you aren't thinking it is completely stupid... you know the film is amazing. 

10. Her

Towards the end of the year I cramped three films of 2014 I hadn't managed to catch in the cinema, and Her was one of them.

Unlike every other film on this top ten, Her is a quiet, morose and sensitive story with a quirky near-future sci-fi twist on your usual love story. I enjoyed its subtly and its performances, but mostly its original setting and ingenuity.
This is an entirely likely future for us as human beings. 





X-Men: Days of Future Past (3D)
The Lego Movie (3D)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2D)
Lucy
Edge of Tomorrow (2D)
Idiocracy
Snowpiercer
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Pain and Gain
I Saw the Devil
Under the Skin
The Raid 2
Fury
The Imitation Game
A Serious Man
Interstellar (2D)
A Most Wanted Man
The Machine
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (3D)
The Zero Theorem
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Great Gatsby (1974)
Gojira (1954)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Hitchcock
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2D)
The Conjuring
The Guest
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956)
The Amazing Spider-man 2 (3D)
300: Rise of an Empire (2D)
The Family
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2D)
The Purge: Anarchy
Before I Go to Sleep
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2D)
Hummingbird
Safe
Primer
White House Down
Godzilla (2014)
The Boxtrolls (2D)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Welcome to the Punch
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Turbo
The Monuments Men
The Babadook
The Heat
Olympus has Fallen
Society

10. RoboCop (2014)

So they remade RoboCop.
They made it a 12A.
Yeah so it crashed and burned: from the total lukewarm action sequences replacing the gory, memorable ultra violence of the original, to the utterly phoned in performances (especially from Samuel L Jackson)
A great example of how pointless and needless 12A remakes really are, providing no originality, nothing memorable and designed simply to soak up some cash with a brand.

9. Battle for the Planet of the Apes

The weakest Planet of the Apes film from the old series (yeah, ignoring the Tim Burton film) but mostly due to worsening budget cuts throughout the series, the concept of making a final epic battle with less than two million dollars was impossible. 
Not only this, but there's roaring great continuity problems which is only comparable to the second worst Apes film, Escape from the Planet of the Apes.
A very disappointing and sad end to the Apes franchise.  

8. Starship Troopers 3: Marauder

Oh yeah, I watched the Starship Troopers sequels in 2014, I actually went there.

Marauder is instantly forgettable, but it does attempt to expand the universe with some integrity unlike the second sequel. It still has a lot of problems and reeks of television budget, but at least the tone and themes here are a little more in keeping with the original film.

7. Insidious - Chapter 2

Ugh... Insidious... again.

So Insidious was at the very bottom of my list, so having its sequel only in the seventh worst spot says something about it by comparison (or says something about the films lower down on this list!)

Chapter 2 is still as bad and not scary as the first film. Oh no, she walked into a child's toy and it made a noise! EEEEEK!
Seriously? But it doesn't have as much stupidity, and doesn't feature Darth Maul, grabbing maybe one or two scares at least...

6. 3 Days to Kill

Kevin Costner tries to do his own Taken to give himself cool points.

It fails.

Amber Heard is also starring, but only proving she cannot act, maybe due to her character being utterly perplexing to begin with.
A phoned in 12A action movie, it kills a couple of hours but certainly not three days, very forgettable. 

5. Maleficent (2D)

I despise this movie. I despise what Disney has done with this movie, and more importantly what they have done to one of their most classic and symbolic villains.
I have so much venom for this film that I actively tell people to watch (or indeed re-watch) the classic Sleeping Beauty. I insist that you do. It is my favourite Disney film, because of Maleficent herself.
This. Is. Not. Maleficent.
Disney have potentially ruined one of their classic characters for future generations, and it physically hurts to think that they are even capable of changing a character as much as this. Polar opposite.
The best thing about this film: Jolie's casting for Maleficent.

4. The Purge

The Purge has a great concept, a fantastic and original concept even. A concept that has endless possibilities and the best to create a franchise out of (unlike say, Paranormal Activity)

Luckily there has been a second Purge film that delivered the premise better... 

... because The Purge is the most phoned in, boring and unimaginative interpretation of the concept imaginable.
A film that fails its own premise is pretty bad indeed.

3. Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation

Starship Troopers 2 was slammed and condemned when it first arrived, with a very low budget the story was held within one location and played out like an Alien-esque, shadowy horror film.
It has nothing of the original film's sense of humour or wit, instead trying to give the franchise a gory horror movie vibe.

That... isn't what Starship Troopers is about.

2. RoboCop 3

Oh RoboCop 3... how... how positively awful you are.

It is sometimes hard to put into words how bad a film is. I guess the best way to explain this one is how RoboCop himself is barely in it! Peter Weller doesn't return for the role, and the screenwriters still haven't worked out how to progress the character of Alex Murphy, so instead we get a ten year old girl for most of the movie!
No, I am not kidding!
RoboCop 3 is perhaps one of the first cases of a franchise getting milked to death for some quick cash.
Wouldn't buy that for a dollar! 

1. Oldboy (2013)

And at the bottom of the pile, the film I boycotted for a year, the film I told myself not to watch, the American remake of my 20th favourite film of all time, Oldboy.
I guess I have no excuses to not watch the Twilight movies now...

This movie is so bad that even if you ignore the fact that it is a remake it is still an awful film. It reeks of Americanisation and the lack of honouring and adaptation that the worst of remakes can provide. It has none of the original's style or blunt force poetry.
It simply exists, like an infectious leech.




And now a quicker run through the THEATRICAL RELEASES ONLY list:

01. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D)
02. Guardians of the Galaxy (2D)
03. The Wolf of Wall Street
04. Captain America - The Winter Soldier (3D)
05. Gone Girl
06. Nightcrawler
07. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (3D)
08. Her
09. X-Men: Days of Future Past (3D)
10. The Lego Movie (3D)

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2D)
Lucy
Edge of Tomorrow (2D)
Snowpiercer
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Under the Skin
The Raid 2
Fury
The Imitation Game
Interstellar (2D)
A Most Wanted Man
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (3D)
The Zero Theorem
The Guest
The Amazing Spider-man 2 (3D)
300: Rise of an Empire (2D)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2D)

10. The Purge: Anarchy
09. Before I Go to Sleep
08. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2D)
07. Godzilla (2014)
06. The Boxtrolls (2D)
05. The Monuments Men
04. The Babadook
03. RoboCop (2014)
02. 3 Days to Kill

01. Maleficent (2D)



Ooft, that's right, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is in the bottom ten for theatre releases!

Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D)

Four years in the making and this sequel does what few ever manage; soaring as high as its predecessor!

Life on the island of Berk has improved since Hiccup proved to the viking people that the native dragons could be friends, even pets. We see Hiccup's impression on the village with everyone using gadgets and inventions, however our hero is not feeling confident with his father's plan to make him the new chieftain. But when a notorious dragon training tyrant called Drago has plans to take their pet dragons for his army, Hiccup feels he can resolve the problem without violence.

I felt the 2010 film didn't require a sequel; it functioned as a single feature and even the series of books it is based upon does not give it a sequel, but... this new film is great!
Our characters have grown up, but they maintain their snappy dialogue and relations and possibly the best part: they aren't angst-ridden teenagers! Hiccup may have identity issues, but the film does not linger on this, it doesn't even try the old cliche of putting deliberate wrenches in his relationship with Astrid (this is very tastefully handled in general!) Toothless too has retained his cute charm and gains plenty of knowing looks towards Hiccup's more harebrained ideas. I love where they take his own personal story. Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast, remains one of my favourites, in fact a lot of the film is focused on his past which I really appreciated; it fit what we did and did not know from the first film.
I was going to argue that Drago (Djimon Hounsou) the exotic villain of the piece, is the weakest element, but upon further reflection he does provide a tremendous amount of weight to our lead characters, and even acts as a mirror to Hiccup's own ethics (being a dragon trainer himself) and I believe his character will improve over further viewings.
The graphics are gorgeous. Over the four years between films the characters and locations have been virtually made high definition, most obvious being Astrid's hair! The 3D too was very good, much like the first film.

I'm talking a lot about the characters, but that is because I love good characters more than the stories themselves, and these two films have had a consistently great cast!

My only gripe does not affect the film itself. While the plot's narrative felt far more predictable this time around, I hate this film's trailer. The trailer gave way too much away! Trailers need to stop doing this because there are reveals in this film that should be both intense and surprising, but if you've seen the trailer entire scenes become needlessly ambiguous. This review is not giving away any of this and I implore you: if you haven't seen the trailer yet... don't! Just believe me and go and see the film (and the first one if you haven't already!)

HTTYD2 does what sequels rarely do these days; it takes everything that made the original good and didn't mess with it. It doesn't over-complicate its already splendid characters with cliched yo-yo plotlines, it doesn't throw in grandiose concepts that break the narrative's simplicity, it merely gives us what we want: more! Expanding the world, explaining the lore just enough to keep things light and fun but also challenge us with intensity and daring.

I think I have a new Film of the Year.

 
Additional Marshmallows: All the way through this film I was listening to one particular character's voice... for ages I was like: "Is... is that...? Is that really Jon Snow's actor in this film??" Yep. Game of Thrones' star Kit Harington features as a newcomer and he is pretty funny too!
  

    

Review: How to Train Your Dragon

2010 was a tough, tough year to rate films; so many excellent films, it remains the most memorable year for me. Inception won out, but even with Tron Legacy and Toy Story 3, How to Train your Dragon came a very, very tight second behind Christopher Nolan's mind-warping thriller. Even now... I question that choice: in my top 50 films of all, this film comes a solid 18th (one place higher than Inception).

I adore this movie.

In a fantastical land, warrior vikings battle dragons on a daily basis, but one viking Hiccup is not like the others; he is meek and sheltered and instead of battling he creates traps and gadgets, instantly becoming a laughing stock of his peers and a disgrace to his father. But when Hiccup wounds a mysterious new dragon and begins to form a friendship with the beast, his world is turned (sometimes literally) upside down!

I remember the early posters for this film. I remember scoffing: "Hmpf, How to Train your Dragon? Another lame animation full of crude humour from the studio that brought us Shrek? Count me out." But then the trailer appeared and wow. Then I watched it and I was floored.
For a ninety minute feature it is crammed with story and great characterization! The dialogue first and foremost is witty and snappy but never overbearing or obnoxious (something a lot of animation suffers from at least a couple of times) this comes from having genuinely wonderful characters. Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel, probably now typecast for life) is not whiny or too hopeless, using intellect and unorthadox thinking to win out, and the film's core being the developing friendship between him and his dragon Toothless, which is both very powerful and fun to watch! I don't think I can forget their first scenes together on screen!
Toothless, what can one say? Media has had a lot of great dragons in the past, Toothless is right up with the best of them! Somewhere between a dragon and a cat, his is intensely cute and fiercely loyal to Hiccup. They become like joshing best buddies.
It doesn't stop there either, the supporting cast are excellent too. Gerald Butler gives a fantastic performance as Hiccup's father, the amazingly named Stoic the Vast (the father-and-son "talk" scene is actually one of my favourites) and even potential love interest Astrid (America Ferrera) isn't anywhere near two-dimensional.

It isn't all fluffy cuteness either, the overarching story is intense; these vikings live to hunt and kill dragons, this is a war going on and at times How to Train Your Dragon does not pull any punches. There are some challenging, heart wrenching moments in the third act, and as such this film single-handed showed the world that Dreamworks Studios are capable of standing as tall (if not taller) than Disney and Pixar combined.

The music is a soaring Celtic and orchestral mix, the graphics are often eye-popping (the sky and rock effects are incredible) and the animation on Toothless is to die for, the screenplay is tight and never wasteful and the dialogue is smart and refined.

Dare I say it, nothing is wrong with this film!

Additional Marshmallows: If you haven't already, I recommend you find the How to Train Your Dragon short animations, they are great additions to the world and provide even more wonderful character dialogue!