Caffeinated Clint
I felt like Tom chasing Jerry this year, constantly scrambling and consequently ending up juggling more balls than usual, so I didn’t get to see as many movies – not ones that count, anyway. So while I expect films like “Birdman”, “Under the Skin”, “Whiplash”, and “Wild” would’ve ended up on this list, if only because they’re on other critic’s lists and as we all know we’re all essentially the same as each other – right down to our tastes (I’m being sarcastic guy, get your finger off the ‘comments’ button!), they’re not included this time.
Also, and I know I’ll be tickled with torturous criticism for this, but I didn’t fall for “Boyhood” like so many of you. Sure, it was well-done, but was I compelled? would I return to it again? Nah. I’m not one to follow the flock, so I’m not ashamed to omit from my list. If I’m being honest, I might say “The Lego Movie”, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, or “X-Men : Days of Future Past” might’ve done more for me. Those didn’t quite make the list, but they’re up there.
It’s actually been a pretty decent year for movies – based on the small assemblage of product I’ve seen – especially Australian films. Movies like “These Final Hours”, “The Babadook”, “The Rover” and “Predesination” may only have made about as much dough as an Asian 2 dollar store on Christmas day, but they were all superlative films. And though Hollywood produced a large amount of rubbish, as usual, some managed to actually produce some better-than-expected popcorn fare – like “The Equalizer” which, let’s be honest here, most expected would stink worse than a car after a trip to the vet.
10. Unbroken
Angelina Jolie’s sensual and steamy drama about… an underdog who rises above the odds to live through his events at a nightmarish POW camp. It loses points for being a bit of a button-pusher at times, and Jolie seems a little bit unsure of herself as a director – so doesn’t take too many risks (some that might have helped the movie), but all-in-all it’s a solid yarn with a terrifically tuned performance from newcomer Jack O’Connell.
9. These Final Hours
Ring a soaked towel for a spell and it’ll feel as good as new, fresh and ready to cusp your bare ask cheeks again. The new Auspocalyptic flick “These Final Hours” works much the same way – it’ll drain you until every ounce of emotionally-stirred liquid has thawed from within, and by golly, you’ll feel all the more better for it afterwards. Writer/director Zak Hilditch wants us to walk on hot cinematic coals here, knowing the hurt and pain that the film stirs up will ultimately result in a satisfied but more so, stronger you. And he does it by way of type of film you don’t normally see from local filmmakers. Ostensibly having heard the complaints of the cinemagoer that ‘Australian movies are all the bloody same – deceptive crook takes a 90-minute, VB-infused piss on the carcass of a nasty played by a former Playschool host’, Hilditch’s script dry humps the Australian film commission with a move from Hollywood – the end-of-days blockbuster, only one wrapped in a distinctly Australian and very emotive wool.
8. Captain America : The Winter Soldier.
Like an assassin’s bullet shooting down from a rooftop, I don’t think anyone saw this coming – especially since the first “Captain America” drew more blanks than Tom Cruise on a water bed.
Ostensibly influenced by the paranoia-conspiracy thrillers of the ’70s – many of which Robert Redford, who appears here as S.H.I.E.L.D boss Alexander Peirce – Winter Soldier does away with the stale “can a superhero have a life outside of his latex underpants” storyline, that so many fall back on when their secondary villain yarn doesn’t hold much water, and instead resurrects the “trust nobody” punch line that fueled so many of those mystery-solving sweat-inducers of the Nixon-era.
Here, it’s Steve Rogers/Captain America playing the role a Hoffman or Redford would’ve played in the genre classic – the lone man, on a mission to find out the truth, who has become a target. Nick Fury (Samuel L.Jackson) plays the obligatory Mr X role, keeper of the secrets, the one who informs our chesty hero to “trust nobody”. And like so many of those vintage whodunits, there’s a whole barrage of shady mates surrounding the paranoid puncher of the title.
7. The Equalizer
There’s been so many bad ones that when a film comes along that’s source material is a crusty TV show we just expect to be… bad. So what a surprise it was to see Antoine Fuqua actually elevating what could’ve been a very bland actioner, without an ounce of originality or intrigue, and turning it into one of the most compelling, fun and finely-choreographed action thrillers of the year.
6.Guardians of the Galaxy
About as analogous to Marvel’s other comic book movies as Elizabeth Olsen’s acting choices are to her older sisters, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is its own thing right out of the cockpit. From its classic pop song soundtrack to its hilariously droll pop culture loci, it actually doesn’t even bring to mind most science-fiction movies, let alone superhero fare. But with former Troma (the home of ‘The Toxic Avenger’ – and other low-budget, C-grade gems) wunderkind James Gunn at the helm, and a cast of characters with an ISP address located in another galaxy altogether (though the ISP company likely still outsources to India) from Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, there’s just no way in Asgard nobody’s gonna mistake this one for ‘whatever that other superhero flick that came out last year was called’.
Seemingly given free rein to do with the source material as he chooses (which is actually quite funny and eye-rollingly ironic considering the reasons behind Edgar Wright’s departure from “Ant-Man”), Gunn doesn’t even try to buddy “Guardians” up with the other Marvel films (no Iron Man cameo, sorry kids), in fact he seems more intent on making a “Star Wars” and “Galaxy Quest” hybrid than anything else.
And the result? Erect lightsabers. Bloody refreshing, darn entertaining, and full of moments that make you not only smile and stomp your feet in fervour, but god dang go Footloose (and yes, even Footloose is referenced in the film)., “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a sweet spoonful of cinematic Nurofen after the throbbing consistency of Marvel’s earlier, endless output.
You’ll never be so glad to not see Nick Fury, I tell ya.
5. Chef
A Jon Favreau-directed/starring comedy about a chef that opens up his own traveling food van? Sounds about as exiting as spending the night on Tinder with Grandma, right? Check this out! It’s probably the biggest surprise package of the year! Just a deliciously delightful bowl of wholesome goodness.
4. Foxcatcher
Steve Carell’s nightmare-inducing turn as John du Pont is undoubtedly the performance of the year. You won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen while the former-funnyman is on there – he’s that bloody good!
3. Nightcrawler.
Just as Steve Carell’s creepy, commanding performance in “Foxcatcher” makes it such mandatory viewing, Jake Gyllenhall’s equally-as-unsettling play-against-type is the golden goose that “Nightcrawler” lays egg to. One heck of a character!
2. Gone Girl
This is not a movie about a missing woman – well, it is, but only on the surface – but a movie about the characteristics of that woman, as well as the characteristics of her husband, and the make-up of the townspeople that skew circumstance. Yes, there is a thrilling mystery at the center of the film, but it’s merely a carrier to deliver us to the real goods : what makes people tick.
Fincher is also using author (also screenwriter) Flynn’s story to show us how messed up the technological advancements of our world, coupled with disappearing privacy acts, have transformed us as people. Thanks to the social networks, the resurgence of tabloid-news style reporting, and the manipulative mechanisms of our times, there’s no real way for anyone to form their own opinion on their own. We’re sheep. We follow the flock.
There’s four star ingredients to this tasty cocktail : Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike (never been better; this is a star-making role for the “At World’s End” and “Pride and Prejudice” actress), Flynn’s deliciously dissimilar story, and Fincher – ever the master of amplifying coolness.
Like book-cum-film “American Psycho”, “Gone Girl” is a smartly-written satire in serious-chiller garb. This isn’t the “War of the Roses” meets “Fifteen Minutes” though, it’s a much more masterful film than both – it’s one that deserves much more than a simple comparison of similar titles by a critic. One of the best films of 2014.
1. Interstellar
Christopher Nolan does it again; a deep thinker’s ‘space movie’, “Interstellar” combines compelling thought-provoking bigger-picture topics (like life, death, love, and.. the beyond) with glorious eye-loving visuals, and another A-grade performance from refurbished rom-com vet Matthew McConaughey.
