Films
The Raid: The whole movie performs like a great movie martial arts battle: tense moments of silence and uneasy calm are burst with all-out aggression and violence. A taut, focused, devastatingly effective kick to the solar plexus of all other action movies. 9/10
The Raid 2: Pulp Fiction to the The Raid's Reservoir Dogs, this is on a grander scale but the discipline isn't lost in the expansion. Genre-defying fight scenes, especially the Final Fight. 9/10
Only God Forgives: Self-indulgent claptrap of the most nauseating order. Sadly shot on digital so the negatives can't be destroyed. Makes me livid just thinking about its existence. 0/10
Gone Girl: Faithful (nudge, nudge) adaptation of the excellent Gillian Flynn novel, it's Fincher at reliable Panic Room level, not Se7en/Zodiac levels of invention. 7/10
The Equalizer: This badly needed Tony Scott to make better decisions - gunfight at the B&Q Corral as the finale is not good enough. No one needs to see their hero wear an apron. 4/10
Interstellar: Insanely ambitious, and within touching distance of greatness. Its biggest mistake is its greatest accomplishment: to strive for the sublime, which it just misses. 10/11
Edge Of Tomorrow/All You Need is Kill/Live.Die.Repeat: The Tom Cruise sci-fi movie that you never thought you'd like. Take the video game conceit of multiple lives and attempts to complete a goal, add AAA stars and effects, lace it with humour, and you get the movie you've been waiting for for ages. 9/10
Begin Again: Sweet, indie-sensibility, music-based rom-com, with a great cast and performances. Not as admirable as Once, but ultimately more satisfying. 9/10
Snowpiercer: Breathtaking and surprising dystopian sci-fi, in a contained room setting. Criminal that it's been over-looked. Earns the "cult film"status it deserves. 9/10
Chef: a full meal in one delicious mouthful. Chef is sweetened by real sugar, or possibly molasses, but not saccharine. The real deal. 8/10.
Social Network: great film, fascinating insight, amazing dialogue. Dramatically a big plus, not a huge pull emotionally - unsurprisingly. 8/10
True Grit: beautiful, wonderful, delightful. Fantastic performances all round, doesn't put a foot wrong. A couple of nice Coen moments (yes, the bear head, but also the complete random chance encounter with Chaney). Makes you love Westerns again. 9/10
Tangled: nice, marred only slightly by the bang-up-to-date dialogue. Not a classic Disney, but good fare. 7/10
The King's Speech: lovely, lovely, lovely. A charming delight of a film, 90 minutes spent in excellent company. Unsung hero - Guy Pearce. Probably not a timeless classic, but good. 8/10.
Tron Legacy: dire, boring, drivel. 3D where I saw it was shocking - too dark to make anything out. Will only go to 3D if I feel confident about the cinema e.g. Imax. 3/10.
127 Hours: Danny Boyle fails, once again, to make a dull, ordinary movie. Visually a treat, performance is great (and I wasn't a De Franco fan before so will be interesting to see where he goes next). I'm not sure Boyle could be unexciting if his life depended on it. 8/10.
Never Let Me Go: chilly, tragic, haunting. Makes me want to read the book, and appeals to the side of me that likes going to sad places. 3 leads were excellent. Charlotte Rampling was as icy as ever. Films like this are strange - they feel like wearing a comfortable blanket of sadness that you don't want to take off, but know that the place they put you isn't really good for living a day to day life. Something to wallow in. 7/10.
The Expendables: bad, in every way it's possible to be bad. Will waste no more of my life thinking or talking about it. 1/10.
How To Train Your Dragon: favourite animated film of recent years, even more than Toy Story 3. Just a charming flight of fantasy with astonishing action and just really, really, really good story-telling. 9/10.
Catfish: utterly over-rated. There is no mystery. Ordinary and predictable. 5/10.
Unstoppable: straightforward, non-post-modern, thrilling action. By the master of this stuff. Chris Pine's career is only just beginning and he will be huge. About as enjoyable as straight-out action can get. 8/10.
The Kids are All Right: given I have a man-crush on Mark Ruffalo, this film didn't fail to deliver. Charming and witty, by today's standards. 7/10
Buried: frustrating and ultimately, pointless. Sometimes the end does justify the means. In this case, the ending undermined the entire film. 5/10
Made in Dagenham: super film. I think we're only allowed a good British working class film every 5 years or so. This was this half-decade's. 8/10
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: inventive and original. Very funny at times. And clever. So it flopped. Sigh. 8/10
Book of Eli: as awful as it is distasteful. End of the world and we still give a shit about religion. That truly is a depressing vision of post-apocalypse humanity. 3/10.
Inception: yes, it's great, but a timeless classic? Up there with the Godfather, Star Wars, Alien, Blade Runner? Probably not. Still, 9/10.
Invictus: so enjoyable, brim full of pathos. Matt Damon, you are a megastar. 9/10.
The Adjustment Bureau: rounding off the Matt Damon series, a really enjoyable mind-bender. 8/10.
13 Assassins: for what it is - a modern production value and sensibility samurai action film - it's good. Nothing more than that. 7/10.
The Raid 2: Pulp Fiction to the The Raid's Reservoir Dogs, this is on a grander scale but the discipline isn't lost in the expansion. Genre-defying fight scenes, especially the Final Fight. 9/10
Only God Forgives: Self-indulgent claptrap of the most nauseating order. Sadly shot on digital so the negatives can't be destroyed. Makes me livid just thinking about its existence. 0/10
Gone Girl: Faithful (nudge, nudge) adaptation of the excellent Gillian Flynn novel, it's Fincher at reliable Panic Room level, not Se7en/Zodiac levels of invention. 7/10
The Equalizer: This badly needed Tony Scott to make better decisions - gunfight at the B&Q Corral as the finale is not good enough. No one needs to see their hero wear an apron. 4/10
Interstellar: Insanely ambitious, and within touching distance of greatness. Its biggest mistake is its greatest accomplishment: to strive for the sublime, which it just misses. 10/11
Edge Of Tomorrow/All You Need is Kill/Live.Die.Repeat: The Tom Cruise sci-fi movie that you never thought you'd like. Take the video game conceit of multiple lives and attempts to complete a goal, add AAA stars and effects, lace it with humour, and you get the movie you've been waiting for for ages. 9/10
Begin Again: Sweet, indie-sensibility, music-based rom-com, with a great cast and performances. Not as admirable as Once, but ultimately more satisfying. 9/10
Snowpiercer: Breathtaking and surprising dystopian sci-fi, in a contained room setting. Criminal that it's been over-looked. Earns the "cult film"status it deserves. 9/10
Chef: a full meal in one delicious mouthful. Chef is sweetened by real sugar, or possibly molasses, but not saccharine. The real deal. 8/10.
Social Network: great film, fascinating insight, amazing dialogue. Dramatically a big plus, not a huge pull emotionally - unsurprisingly. 8/10
True Grit: beautiful, wonderful, delightful. Fantastic performances all round, doesn't put a foot wrong. A couple of nice Coen moments (yes, the bear head, but also the complete random chance encounter with Chaney). Makes you love Westerns again. 9/10
Tangled: nice, marred only slightly by the bang-up-to-date dialogue. Not a classic Disney, but good fare. 7/10
The King's Speech: lovely, lovely, lovely. A charming delight of a film, 90 minutes spent in excellent company. Unsung hero - Guy Pearce. Probably not a timeless classic, but good. 8/10.
Tron Legacy: dire, boring, drivel. 3D where I saw it was shocking - too dark to make anything out. Will only go to 3D if I feel confident about the cinema e.g. Imax. 3/10.
127 Hours: Danny Boyle fails, once again, to make a dull, ordinary movie. Visually a treat, performance is great (and I wasn't a De Franco fan before so will be interesting to see where he goes next). I'm not sure Boyle could be unexciting if his life depended on it. 8/10.
Never Let Me Go: chilly, tragic, haunting. Makes me want to read the book, and appeals to the side of me that likes going to sad places. 3 leads were excellent. Charlotte Rampling was as icy as ever. Films like this are strange - they feel like wearing a comfortable blanket of sadness that you don't want to take off, but know that the place they put you isn't really good for living a day to day life. Something to wallow in. 7/10.
The Expendables: bad, in every way it's possible to be bad. Will waste no more of my life thinking or talking about it. 1/10.
How To Train Your Dragon: favourite animated film of recent years, even more than Toy Story 3. Just a charming flight of fantasy with astonishing action and just really, really, really good story-telling. 9/10.
Catfish: utterly over-rated. There is no mystery. Ordinary and predictable. 5/10.
Unstoppable: straightforward, non-post-modern, thrilling action. By the master of this stuff. Chris Pine's career is only just beginning and he will be huge. About as enjoyable as straight-out action can get. 8/10.
The Kids are All Right: given I have a man-crush on Mark Ruffalo, this film didn't fail to deliver. Charming and witty, by today's standards. 7/10
Buried: frustrating and ultimately, pointless. Sometimes the end does justify the means. In this case, the ending undermined the entire film. 5/10
Made in Dagenham: super film. I think we're only allowed a good British working class film every 5 years or so. This was this half-decade's. 8/10
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: inventive and original. Very funny at times. And clever. So it flopped. Sigh. 8/10
Book of Eli: as awful as it is distasteful. End of the world and we still give a shit about religion. That truly is a depressing vision of post-apocalypse humanity. 3/10.
Inception: yes, it's great, but a timeless classic? Up there with the Godfather, Star Wars, Alien, Blade Runner? Probably not. Still, 9/10.
Invictus: so enjoyable, brim full of pathos. Matt Damon, you are a megastar. 9/10.
The Adjustment Bureau: rounding off the Matt Damon series, a really enjoyable mind-bender. 8/10.
13 Assassins: for what it is - a modern production value and sensibility samurai action film - it's good. Nothing more than that. 7/10.
posted by Shin at 12:54 am
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