30/ JURASSIC WORLD
Any Jurassic Park film is extremely restricted by the fact that it can’t really be about much more than genetically bred dinosaurs running around on an island killing people, and the island in this one didn’t even look much like the one in the original, while the writing was rather ham-fisted in places, but what can I say – I love dinosaurs, and Jurassic World more than did the business for me as a simple Creature Feature, while I rather liked the much-criticised characters too. 7.5/10
29/ EX MACHINA
Though I found it this to be a little over praised, with some glaring plot holes [though it’s nice to ponder on some loose ends] and much stuff not making much sense, this was still good, thought provoking science fiction, quite an original riff on familiar themes of creation and what makes humans human, making strong use of its limited settings, and with superbly nuanced performances by its tiny cast, Alicia Vikander being especially impressive in the hardest part. 7.5/10
28/ SPECTRE
The modern Bond movie went a bit Roger Moore on us here, and it was most welcome, with even Daniel Craig showing he could go a bit lighter while still retaining the intensity of his 007. It sometimes fell into the Bondian trap of rehashing old bits and pieces, and Craig’s films really struggle with their climaxes, but how cool was it seeing the whole team rushing around trying to save the world, and it was still thoroughly good entertainment that certainly didn’t seem its length. 7.5/10
27/ SCRAWL
Micro budget movie making of the best kind, Peter Hearn’s intelligent, blackly funny and slightly subversive little horror gem would, in an ideal world, have got a major cinema release instead of some of the crap that has done, and would also be getting loads of attention, especially as it stars a pre-Star Wars Daisy Ridley. The partly college student cast gave surprisingly assured performances in this wicked, cleverly constructed tale, so different to much of what else is out there. 8/10
26/ THE VISIT
After seeming like a filmmaker who was destined to make bad movies the rest of his life, the memory of his first four films gradually receding, M. Night Shyamalan regained his mojo with the best Found Footage horror movie in some time; straight forward, even simple, but extremely chilling, uncomfortable [a dirty diaper in the face could be the most revolting scene of the year], well acted, and with a twist that worked and made sense. More like this please Mr Shyamalan. 8/10
25/ THE GOOD DINOSAUR
Despite poor reviews a
nd the weakest box office performance so far for a Pixar film, I couldn’t really see what the problem was with The Good Dinosaur. Yes, the characters were simply drawn but that’s not always a bad thing and, while not too original, it was appropriately exciting, heart warming, funny and touching [the ending certainly made me shed a tear] in the right proportions. And what’s all this fuss about a certain scene? Remember Dumbo’s Pink Elephants? 8/10
24/ HOME
Because this was a Dreamworks film that didn’t feature Panda or Dragon in the title, this was not destined to be praised much, but, aside from starring the tiresome Rihanna, who in no way sounds like a young girl, and therefore having to have some of her crappy music on the soundtrack, I found it to be an entertainingly quirky and genuinely sweet animated movie with a compelling story and a few good ideas [like the twist on the baddie/goodie situation]. 8/10
23/ FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
Any film version of a story immortalised in a manner like the 1967 version was kind of asking for trouble, but, against the odds, Thomas Vinterberg’s remake worked extremely well as a tighter, more modern-looking and modern-feeling take, and certainly justified its existence while Carey Muligan actually far outdid the somewhat miscast Julie Christie in the earlier work – though two of the men were clearly cast more for looks than suitability or acting ability. 8/10
22/ STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTOM
I love it when I end up enjoying a film far more than I expected, and this was certainly the case with Straight Outa Compton, even if at times it seemed to make the lead characters a bit nicer than they probably are. Beneath all the swearing and bravado was a very familiar ‘rise and fall’ musical tale of the very best kind, raw, powerful and even rousing in all the right moments, while the live performances were breathtaking….and I’m not really a fan of this kind of music. 8/10
21/ THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART TWO
I wrote in my review for this film that it would probably get better and better in my mind the more I think about it, and this has certainly been the case. Okay, it didn’t entirely deliver in the thrills department, and I can see how many younger fans were disappointed, but it really was an appropriately murky, downbeat, harsh and intelligent conclusion to this surprisingly good series. The makers deserve kudos for following the book, and no going all “Hollywood” on us. 8/10
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