It was the year that the Mockingjay spread her wings
and played the face of a rebellion. And that girl from The Descendants
joined a leather-clad street gang to play capture the flag. And Brenton
Thwaites took a sleigh ride in snow and saved a baby from abortion… or
something? I don’t know what happened there. All I know is if our society
crumbles tomorrow and all order turns to anarchy, there surely will arise a
meek-faced teen with a Jesus complex to save the poor from Nazis Meryl Streep
and Kate Winslet. Yep, teen dystopian fiction hit the iceberg in a big way this
year and I watched from the deck.
So if you are looking for something a little
more thrilling or simply can’t wait until Mockingjay Part 2: PTSD, I
present my top 5 films of the year you should have already seen by now.
5. Fury
Brad Pitt in World War 2? You’re
sold!
Fury’s strength is in the believable sense of
camaraderie among its lead characters that include a tank squad of Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal
and a jittery Logan Lerman. The raw depiction of battle combat is exciting and horrific enough to
keep your toes warm.
Familiar themes of heroism,
dehumanisation and brutality taps into our love of ‘the underdog.’ But there’s
a little more heart to Fury than the straightforward premise would imply. A
significant focus on character makes the rousing tale hit harder than your
average historical backgrounder.
Watch this one with: Arnott's Biscuits
4. Begin Again
Keira Knightley singing an acoustic album for 2
hours sounds like it could be a trying experience, which is why I was all the
more delighted to find she holds a tune very sweetly. And how refreshing it is
for her to be starring in a film set this century, and one in which she doesn’t
die!
In Begin Again, an accidental encounter
between a young singer-songwriter and disgraced music producer (played by the
aptly named Mark Ruffalo) sprouts a promising collaboration between the two
spirited independents in streets of New York City.
Director John Carney follows in the footsteps of his
last musical feature Once by filming largely by improvisation. The
relaxed tone of the film exudes warmth thanks largely to charming work from its
well-matched leads. The narrative flows with such ease there is a serendipitous
quality to the interpersonal drama as if it were happening in the moment.
Neither assaulting nor sentimental, Begin Again is a rare breed of rom-com
rarely seen in cinema today that is difficult to deny.
Watch this one with: Ice-cream
3. The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch is Alan Turing. The
perfect marriage of character and actor, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in
the role of the English mathematician credited with cracking Hitler’s code and
winning the war. Ever the Sherlockian figure, Turing is an oddball, an
infuriating genius. He’s not particularly good at making friends or keeping a
conversation, but his mind works better than most.
The Imitation Game tells his true story; from the his secret
wartime work on a revolutionary mechanical machine capable of breaking 3,000
Enigma-generated naval codes a day to the tragedy of his post-war decline
following his conviction of homosexuality which was illegal in Britain at the
time.
Cumberbatch’s complicated lead is effortlessly
likable, one of the most genuinely engrossing characters of the year. Knightley
is another highlight, bringing a pitch-perfect mix of silk and steel to the
supporting role of Joan Clarke, the sole female of the top-secret British team
of code breakers. Their sterling performances teamed with Graham Moore’s tight
adapted screenplay click neatly into place.
The Imitation Game is extremely well made, really rather
poignant and succeeds as bloody good old fashioned entertainment. Without-a-doubt
the best biopic in a long time, and so very British.
Watch this one with: Tea
2. Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal is a genius. Give him
an Oscar. Give him all the Oscars dammit!
Set in the nocturnal underbelly of Los
Angeles, Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man who’s thirsty to
make a name for himself in the world of crime journalism. With a camera by his
side and a police scanner on his dashboard, Lou chases down crashes, fires,
murders and other mayhem to film tragedy at hand and make a quick buck. Encouraged
by the local news director Nina played by Rene Russo, Lou finds love in his
work and soon becomes obsessive to the point of crazed. He will stop at nothing
to capture the most graphic, bloody, controversial footage that breaks all
journalistic and moral codes.
Gyllenhaal is transfixing and
seemingly sociopathic as Lou. His gaunt figure and subtle physicality only adds
to the eerie charismatic appeal. To be honest the less you know about this
movie, the more fun it will be going in. Visually sleek, dark and funny too, it
is one of the few real exhilarating releases of year.
Watch this one with: Pizza
1. Gone Girl
No surprise here.
Dark, sexy and stylish, Gone Girl
plays well to David Fincher’s twisted vision. Based off a book of the same name, the film’s premise is simple: Boy
marries girl. Girl goes missing. Boy is suspected of murder.
Twists and turns are plenty, especially in the
second half when the tone shifts from self-serious crime drama to all-out
erotic thriller. Love, crime, sex, and betrayal - everything a good thriller
needs, Gone Girl delivers in spades. This one ticks all the boxes for
me.
Watch this one with: a Xanax
Honorable mentions (also worth a watch):
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Boyhood, Pride, Guardians
of the Galaxy
