The year started out very promisingly, with several leading awards contenders releasing throughout January and February. The highlight of these for sure was THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (5/5). This was a riotously rip-roaring 3 hours of debauchery and I loved every single second of it. Whilst walking in a little dubious at the length, it flew by so quickly and I could easily have watched the supposed extended cut that Scorsese has lurking out there somewhere. It would be unfair to say that Matthew McConaughey was undeserving of his Oscar during the 'McConaissance', it was surely Leo's turn this year. Given the eccentrically frenetic performance he put in here, I thought for sure that he would be a sure win. This was definitely much, much funnier than I ever thought it could have been.
The other huge awards bait movies released at this point were AMERICAN HUSTLE (3/5) and 12 YEARS A SLAVE (4/5). I ended up going to see HUSTLE twice at the cinema, purely down to circumstance. Even though it was perfectly enjoyable when I initially saw it (when I awarded it 4/5), there's something about it that left me with an incredibly sour taste in my mouth looking back at it. Whilst I really wanted to love this movie - SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK was one of my favourites of last year, Jennifer Lawrence is one of the true cinema icons of this generation starring alongside a truly amazing cast - the lack of plot has left me feeling rather indifferent towards it. J Law, Amy Adams and Christian Bale conducted some brilliantly transformative performances. However this and the brilliant soundtrack are some of the only things really going for it, with many elements having been done so much better in several other movies. I feel slightly similar about SLAVE. The performances by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o are two of the bravest, most powerful and moving performances I have seen. Due to the subject matter this was a difficult but rewarding watch. However when watching it there are points where you can't help but feel that this has been made primarily for the Academy. For example, in the scenes where the shot lingers for near enough a minute the audience's attention was starting to wane when I went to see it - you could even see Ejiofor's eyes wandering by the end of some of these shots. Whilst some of it veered on the side of pretention, it makes for such powerful viewing that everyone should see it at least once - even if just to see what the fuss has all been about.
February also saw the release of THE LEGO MOVIE (4/5). Going into this knowing that it was a Lord/Miller production (being a big fan of 21 Jump Street) my expectations were probably unfairly high. Whilst there was no shortage of wry, knowing humour - even with the occasional literal eye wink! - I couldn't help but feel that there was a little something missing to tip this over into 5-star territory. The animation was very original, perfectly capturing the blockiness of the bricks, the voice cast was made up of nearly every actor you could think of and suited it adequately. I think the main problem is that the story lulled a little bit in the middle. Even though I never checked my watch during the movie, and time seemed to go by quickly enough, I couldn't shake the feeling that some bits were tacked in for the hell of it just to make the hipsters far too over excited. Don't get me wrong though, there was still a lot of fun to be had here.
My personal highlight of the March release calendar was DIVERGENT (4/5). It's a shame that the marketing never seemed to try to differentiate itself from THE HUNGER GAMES given that the similarities end with the fact that they're set in dystopian futures. The story here actually has a lot to say. Whilst there's the obligatory romance aspect, this played out as far more of a political thriller than the first HUNGER GAMES movie, with most of the action taking place in the last 30 minutes. Some people may feel more daunted by the thought of this but Kate Winslet and Shailene Woodley's performances are worth it, with Winslet being incredibly menacing in her first villainous role.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (4/5) marked the start of the summer blockbuster season. In my opinion it didn't deserve the critical mauling that it got, it did pretty much exactly as it said on the tin. Whilst it may have suffered from being overstuffed with too many underdeveloped villains, the relationship between Peter and Gwen has made these movies far more interesting than the previous trilogy.
May was quite possibly overstuffed with movies (annoying at a time when the majority of teenagers are in exams!) with X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (4/5) being one of the most major releases. It was a perfectly enjoyable film but I thought that it was the slightest bit overhyped by critics - X-MEN: FIRST CLASS was slightly superior in my opinion. However it was nostalgic fun to see both casts join forces even if, like THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, this meant that it was stuffed full of characters vying for your attention. Characters such as Quicksilver brought a lot of fun to proceedings and the cast were all still on top form.
EDGE OF TOMORROW (5/5) has been far and away the best blockbuster of the year. Even though it seems to have inherited elements of films such as GROUNDHOG DAY and numerous alien invasion movies, it somehow manages to have morphed into a highly original film. It probably helps that Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are as charismatic as ever and also have great chemistry. Whilst the element of time repeating itself could've easily become monotonous, the variety of spectacular action sequences and surprisingly humorous scenes ensure that that's never the case. Some of the most fun I've had watching an epic blockbuster since AVENGERS ASSEMBLE and, whilst I do tend to enjoy them, a refreshing change from the recent onslaught of comic book movies.
June has already seen the release of two of my most anticipated movies of 2014, the first of which was 22 JUMP STREET (5/5). My expectations had been set sky high for this after the standard set by 21 JUMP STREET, one of the most tongue-in-cheek films I've ever seen. This certainly didn't disappoint, bringing more of the same kind of gags but on an even larger scale and never failing to point that out by completely tearing the premise of sequels to shreds. It is also home to what is quite possibly one of the best credits sequences of all time. Without a doubt the best comedy of the year so far and superior to its predecessor simply for the pure number of gags that left the whole audience in pieces throughout. Up next was the beautiful THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (5/5). I won't wang on about this one again seen as you can read my cinema review in the previous post. All I will say is that this is a powerfully emotional piece of cinema with something for everyone, not just fans of the book. A must!
Whilst the rest of the Summer 2014 release calendar is largely uninspiring due to the World Cup, and the fact that every single movie seems to be getting released next summer instead, here are some of my most anticipated movies of the coming few months:
- TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION (5th July)
- HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (11th July)
- DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (17th July)
- GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (31st July)
- THE INBETWEENERS 2 (6th August)
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