My Top 10 Worst Movies of 2014 - List by Matt Harrison

2014 is drawing to a close, and what better is there way to send off the year other than by talking about the worst films I saw in cinemas over the last 12 months?

I would've done a best list first, but there are still movies that I want to see before I feel I can accurately construct my list. Also, I missed a lot of bad movies that came out this year, a fact I am very much aware/thankful of. However, out of the movies I did see, here are the worst starting with number 10:



#10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 

 

I can't think of another premise as wacky and as innovative as a group of mutant turtles who eat pizza and are trained in the art of Ninjutsu by a talking rat. This film once again wasted that huge abundance of potential, and instead we saw ugly CGI turtles run around with Megan Fox tangled up in an incoherent story, endlessly confusing sub plots and uninspired action sequences straight out of a Michael Bay movie. What a shame.


#9 Exodus: Gods and Kings

Well Ridley Scott appears to be on a downhill slope at the moment, doesn't he? Don't get me wrong, this film is a visual splender with it's plague sequences and the "crossing of the Red Sea finale". Everything else though is a huge mess. Big name actors are in the film simply to stand there and do nothing, the character development (of Moses, played by Christian Bale, in particular) made no sense and it depicted God in the stupidest way imaginable. This and last year's The Counsellor prove that Scott needs to direct a movie with a decent screenplay and fast, otherwise his reputation could well be tarnished. What a frustrating movie to sit through this was!


#8 I, Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein. I, can't believe they made Frankenstein this awful. This film was a true tragedy. It was only 80 minutes long but felt like it had been on for 5 hours. There wasn't a single scene in the film which mattered. As you would expect, the acting was mediocre, the story was confusing as hell and the screenplay a giant mess. Even the special effects were garbage. CGI can't save a film, but it can damn well try when your movie is shit on a stick like this is.


#7 Dracula Untold

Wow. Another "iconic monster movie" that screwed up big time. I give props to Luke Evans and Charles Dance for trying, but trying is all they can do. For a film called Dracula which depicted his origin story, I was surprised at just how little I cared and at how bored I was. This film could've had some kick-ass Dracula moments and a strong emotional core to it, but it completely fell flat on its face. If they're truly planning on making a shared universe with these characters, please make films better than this. Please make them a lot better than this.


#6 A Million Ways to Die in the West

How about "A Million Ways to get horrendously bored and upset in a movie theatre?". God, Seth MacFarlane should've just bought Ted 2 out a year earlier. This film was a comedy where the laughs were limited to a few measly chuckles, which annoyed me more the more I reflected on the film months after seeing it. It felt like a Seth MacFarlane inside joke that nobody else got but himself. To see the genius of a man stoop so low was a low point of 2014 for me personally, and this movie sucked.


#5 The Purge: Anarchy

This film really got under my skin and made me one angry fella. This film thought itself was amazing, it thought it had so many profound things to say about hierarchy within society. When your film tries to be as pretentious as this film in places and then similarly stupid in other places, showcasing homeless men running around on fire, then you have a problem my friend. A shitty problem which goes by the name of The Purge: Anarchy.


#4 Into the Storm

A disaster of a disaster movie. This film really got to me and I hated my experience watching this. I don't like watching films which stupid main characters, even more stupid supporting characters and even more stupid and annoying "comedic relief characters". If you've seen the film (God help you), you'll know those 2 Rednecks were just as irritating as Jar Jar Binks. They should've called it "Into the Storm with a bunch of morons".


#3 Tammy

 

 

 

To put it simply, this is a comedy with not one laugh. Not one joke hits. The first half an hour of the film is just Melissa McCarthy calling people "assholes" on a continuous and never-ending loop. Then her grandmother, played terribly by Susan Sarandon joins the fray and we have a film with 2 unlikeable and unredeemable characters which is awkward and uncomfortable. It has no idea what it wants to be, the drama shoe-horned into the film fails on every level imaginable and the film has zero plot. I view this film as a writ of passage, a torturous experience that I endured on 2 occasions. I deserve a medal.


#2 Transformers: Age of Extinction

Michael Bay has made the exact same movie for the fourth time in a row. The three act structure, the humour, the endless product placement, the cheesy government conspiracy dialogue, the incoherent action to name a few are exactly the same as before, and they're all terrible. This film just kept on going and going and going and I couldn't believe it! Even the visual effects are trash in this film, a film which made me feel physically sick and angry at the same time. I really hate this franchise and I keep praying that Bay will step down and give the reigns to a more capable director.


#1 The Legend of Hercules

It's perhaps the worst movie I've seen in my entire life. It's atrocious. It's a tremendous bore half the time and the other half it's comedy gold. Regardless of whether I was near snoozing or laughing hysterically, I was still sat in sheer disbelief at how this film's script was green lit by a studio and made by a director. You directed Die Hard 2 man, what the fuck happened to you? I could rant at how terrible The Legend of Hercules is but I'd be wasting my time. Just don't see it, please!



I feel much better now. If you have any opinions on any of my picks or any movie which didn't make the list, please leave a comment!

Thanks for reading,
Matt

The Interview Movie Review/Discussion

I remember watching the trailer for this movie back when it first landed, me and my friend joked that it was going to start World War 3. Look at where we are now...

The Interview is directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen and stars Rogen alongside James Franco. Franco plays an exuberant chat show host and Rogen his more reserved producer who are tasked to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un by the CIA. Un just so happens to be a huge fan of Franco's show and he asks them to fly over to North Korea to conduct an interview with him. From this brief synopsis, the controversy ensues...

This movie has been surrounded by an enormous vortex of controversy and after streaming the movie (it is now available to watch online) I thought I'd finally give my view on this web of bullshit. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie but the controversy is unwarranted in my opinion.

The Interview was planned for a release date of the 25th December, but was then cancelled by Sony Pictures after hackers and terrorists issued threats towards theatres who would screen the film, promising "9/11 level" attacks on them. Which brings me to my first point. I don't blame Sony for cancelling the nationwide release for this film. I know some people have very strong views concerning how we shouldn't back down to terrorists but if threats of that magnitude are being issued then I don't really blame Sony for their initial cancellation.

Later on, Sony released the film online so people could stream it and select theatres across the United States screened it on Christmas Day, in turn grossing the film $1 million! So at the end of the day, the US didn't actually bow down to terrorist's wishes. They have showed the film in various theatres and nothing has happened.

While I can understand why they initially pulled the film, the controversy for me is very much unnecessary. Imagine if a North Korean cinema released a film about Barak Obama being assassinated. In my opinion, the US wouldn't issue such threats. Why? Because it's fictional! It's entertainment for goodness sake! It isn't a cinematic prophecy that will inevitably come true, it' simply a bit of fun.

And that is what The Interview is, a load of fun. It's a perfect film to sit down and watch with your friends with a few beers on the go. It's a film which basks in its silliness and its absurdity, and is filled to the brim with humour which teeters on crossing the metaphorical line; humour I appreciate.

While the film comments on allegations that Kim Jong Un is a ruthless dictator who starves his people and feeds them with false propaganda through heavy media censorship, the film actually takes a huge dig at the US media as well. Franco in this movie works as a chat show host who talks about Miley Cirus' cameltoe and Matthew McConaughey fucking a goat! It satires the media and the US almost as much as it satires North Korea. It doesn't target the nation for the sake of pissing them off, its controversial in almost every other way imaginable!

Seth Rogen and James Franco are polar opposites in terms of characters and their chemistry is perfect because of this. They play off eachother so well. The first act of this movie is the strongest with a lot of gut-busting moments of laughter, then the second act slows down a bit somewhat getting stuck in the CIA/espionage/spy mud, before recuperating in the third act and giving us an "explosive" send off.

It wasn't all perfect though. As I said the second act bogs down the humour a fair amount, some of the jokes run for too long and others are constabtly re-referenced throughout the runtime. I don't like it when a joke is recycled more than twice, it gives hints that the filmmakers were running out of ideas at that particular time while writing the screenplay.

But the movie is funny, absurd and entertaining throughout. There isn't a dull moment in this Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy movie which has led to international cyber terrorism and has left the US and North Korea at the brink of a nuclear war. In the words of the great Krusty the Clown, "Hey lighten up, it's a comedy!".


Rating - B

If you have any thoughts on the movie itself or anything concerning the movie's situation, please leave a comment. Let's have a discussion about this!

Thanks for reading,
Matt

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Movie Review

Ok so I'm a huge Middle Earth fanboy so there was a very small chance that I would walk away from this movie not liking it...

... and there's a good reason for that! The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is directed by Peter Jackson and is the final instalment in the Hobbit trilogy and the final movie out of 6 in the Middle Earth saga. After the dragon Smaug is let loose and shortly defeated afterwards, an inevitable war between men, elves, dwarves and orcs ensues on the slopes of Erebor over the huge reserves of gold and jewels that lie under the mountain, and essentially we get one giant action sequence which rounds off the Hobbit movies in style!

What I loved about this movie was the sense of urgency that it had. I criticise An Unexpected Journey for being too slow with its build up and overall pacing, however this film does not share that same issue. Right from the get go you see Smaug lay waste to Lake Town and shortly after that the so called "Battle of the Five Armies" is building up straight away.

As you should probably expect by now, Peter Jackson's direction is spot on and once again he delivers those small, emotional character moments that these Middle Earth movies have become synonymous with. While The Hobbit never reaches the same level as the Lord of the Rings (very few movies do reach the level of my all time favourite films) its still an incredibly fun adventure that I will revisit many times.

Martin Freeman again is spot on as ever with his delivery as Bilbo, Ian Mckellen is of course amazing as Gandalf. All the characters in this movie had their time to shine. In previous films Thorin has been the one to be the chief badass of Middle Earth. While he has a lot of badass and heroic moments, its really Bard who shines as this movies true hero. Slaying Smaug didn't hinder his cause at all but he was still the one character who spoke sense, the one who I could understand his position most and connect with him.

Every movie that Legolas is in is guaranteed to have that one "Legolas moment" where the laws of physics don't seem to apply anymore. I counted 2 in this movie! However he isn't the only elf in the film to have a kickass moment or 2; Galadriel (played by Cate Blanchett) has one as well that I think may be forgotten behind the endless battle sequences that take place.

While I felt that sometimes the pacing was too quick and the film's romance didn't seem to lead anywhere important, the film seamlessly connected the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogies by giving us a satisfying ending that was to the point coupled with the resolution of "the Necromancer" storyline . I said in my review for the Desolation of Smaug that I was curious as to how they were going to do this, and I think they pulled it off very well indeed.

The cinematography is stunning as always, the musical score uplifting and epic as you also should expect from the genius that is Howard Shore. The battle sequence itself completely lives up to the best battle scenes from the Return of the King and delivers some top quality entertainment. The action sequences were tremendous coupled with some good CGI, although it does seem weird to me that the special effects of the Hobbit films feel less polished and refined compared to the Lord of the Rings, which came out over 10 years ago! I'm truly nit-picking at this point!

The change of title to "The Battle of the Five Armies" was a wise marketing decision in my opinion because it took up well over half of the runtime, which was also the shortest of any Middle Earth movie. At times the whole film felt like a third act, which was fine but in my opinion lacked an emotional build up and an escalation of tension. Although you could argue that the other films do that, as a standalone feature this movie does suffer from that.

But it's a hugely entertaining send off and it delivered to my high expectations. It concluded the Hobbit story very well, it answered the questions which needed answering and stitched together the Middle Earth saga in a very impressive way. It was a very satisfying film to sit down and watch.


Rating - A-


1 sentence summary - While quickly paced, the Battle of the Five Armies excels with it's ambitious action sequences and warming character moments, a fun ride indeed!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Will Spiderman return to Marvel Studios?

Spiderman. Arguably Marvel's most iconic superhero. For years the film rights have been in the possession of Sony, who have made 5 films around him in the last 12 years, meaning that Spidey has been unable to join the ranks of the Avengers alongside Iron Man and Captain America for legal reasons. Should Spiderman return to Marvel?

Yes he should in my opinion. Will he though? It's unlikely at the moment, albeit more likely than ever with supposed details released via the "Sony hacks" that the 2 studios are negotiating a deal, which could see them share the rights the character.

A studio's goal is to make as much money as possible. The Amazing Spiderman 2, considered a box office flop as the opening movie of the summer, has grossed $708.9 million at the box office. That's still a lot of money. Regardless of how many fans/critics hated it, it still grossed a shit-tonne of money and that can only benefit Sony.

Would a sharing agreement work in my opinion? No. Having 2 different Peter Parker's in 2 different franchises and 2 different movie universes would not work in all honesty. I can't see it. So, will Sony give Spiderman back to Marvel? I still doubt it. But it is something I want to see happen. Marvel can make the Guardians of the Galaxy the highest grossing movie of summer and has plans for more obscure/lesser known superheroes like Doctor Strange and the Inhumans. They can make any property successful, so who wouldn't want to see one of Marvel's chief characters back in the hands of the hottest studio in Hollywood?

So we've established it is very unlikely to happen, but what if it did? Who would play Spidey? According to the evidence in the "Sony hacks", if Marvel gained the rights to the character they would not cast Andrew Garfield as the title character. Andrew Garfield's performances in the Amazing Spiderman films is the best thing about them, however if Marvel wanted to reboot the character then any ties to a continuity which they're trying to forget about should be removed. Finding a replacement makes sense.

If he did appear in the MCU before the end of Avengers Infinity War part 2, I would expect him to appear as a supporting character, possibly in a glorified cameo. Phase 4 would probably be a good time to have the first Spiderman film, and have him team up with the new Avengers in future instalments.

But the real question here is should Marvel really go out to get the Spiderman film rights back? Shouldn't they just give other characters like Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel a chance? Of course they should go out to get him! Sony hasn't got a clue what they're doing with him! They don't have a smidgen of a plan. Sinister Six? Venom? A Female led solo Spiderman film? Amazing Spiderman 3? Can you honestly see all of this actually coming to fruition? Me neither.

I have no idea what they're doing with the character... and neither do they! Should Marvel get the rights to Spiderman, you can guarantee they would have good and secure plans for the character. While a rebooted franchise under Marvel's wing is an unlikely fantasy that will never happen, I really hope Marvel go for it if they get the chance.


Thanks for reading,
Matt 

Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange!!

It's official at last!

I think we've all known for some time now that Sherlock, The Hobbit and Star Trek Into Darkness star Benedict Cumberbatch was set to play sorcerer supreme Doctor Strange in a solo film and in other films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But even with this very film we've seen that you should not see anything as official until the studio confirms it themselves.

We saw Joaquin Phoenix come ever so close to signing onto the role before he turned it down after dismissing a multi-film commitment. After Phoenix left negotiations, names like Ryan Gosling and Tom Hardy were thrown around along with Benedict Cumberbatch. Speaking honestly, I would've loved to have seen Joaquin Phoenix tackle this type of role. However, like the rest of the world I love Benedict Cumberbatch and I love the idea of him as Doctor Strange.

The casting itself is terrific, but it got me thinking. We know little to nothing about the plot of Doctor Strange and due to this lack of knowledge, I started speculating and coming up with my own ideas for what I'd like to happen in the film set for a November 2016 release.

A few weeks ago, German actor Daniel Bruhl (who by the way gave what was my favourite acting performance from any 2013 film as Niki Lauda in Rush) was confirmed to be playing a villain in Captain America: Civil War AND Doctor Strange. I think he is the most underrated actor in Hollywood at the moment and to see him involved in the MCU just makes me feel better about life. BUT!! Who the hell is he playing? Judging by the fact that he'll be appearing as an adversary to both Cap and Doc Strange, I think he's Baron Mordo. He could well be Baron Zemo though. It's like flipping a coin speculating between the 2; it could literally be either and be just as plausible.

I always thought that Marvel would introduce the magical corner of their film universe by going out all guns blazing and making Dormammu the primary antagonist. Obviously he still may be in the film as his non-involvement hasn't actually be confirmed. Honestly, had they not cast Daniel Bruhl, I would've been disappointed with the villain chosen. But I have such faith that he'll kill it in this role and we'll just have to wait and see if Baron Mordo/Zemo can be kick ass villain like Loki...

So we know that Strange will most probably face off against Baron "something", but where does this film fit with the continuity? Every film released so far as been in a chronological order, so why change it? At this point origin stories are running out of steam (with the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy) so why not just have Doctor Strange already established as a superhero, or at least as a "human with super powers of a sort"?

Also, in Cap 2 "Doctor Stephen Strange" was labelled as a "threat" by a HYDRA agent, indicating that he is already well known and established in this universe. He would only be a threat if he had his powers, right? So do what The Incredible Hulk did and tell the origin story in the opening credits or something, and then go onto the movie.

So those are my quick speculations on Doctor Strange and the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch has finally been confirmed, and just in time for the Avengers: Age of Ultron re-shoots! Do you think he'll cameo or make an extended appearance in either Avengers 2 or Captain America: Civil War before his solo flick? Comment below if you think so...


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Suicide Squad Cast Revealed!!

When DC/Warner Brothers confirmed that they were chasing some "A-List" actors to cast in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, they really weren't lying!

It seems to me that DC has really grabbed the opportunity to release a "villain team-up" movie by the balls and they're really going for it. While the common audience member may not be sold on the sole fact that it takes place in the same universe as Batman v Superman, I think now they'll start to take note with a decent cast. The line-up is as follows:


Jared Leto – The Joker

Will Smith – Deadshot

Tom Hardy – Rick Flag

Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn

Jai Courtney – Boomerang

Cara Delevingne – Enchantress


I'll start with my gripes with the cast list. Firstly, the inclusion of Cara Delevingne as Enchantress. I don't think I've actually seen her in anything and, due to my own ignorance, know close to nothing about the character she is playing, therefore it's hard for me to get excited for her. Also, I don't know if she is going to have much importance to the overall story; to me she seems like one of the expendable members. She's the Suicide Squad's Hawkeye!

Secondly, Jai Courtney. Although I assume he will have more relevance to the Squad than Enchantress, as he is a popular villain for The Flash (who'll be played by Ezra Miller), I am not a huge fan of him as an actor. I have nothing personal against the guy... but I don't know if he can bring the emotional resonance to Boomerang like I know the other actors will bring to their characters. I hope to be proved wrong.

Now to stop ranting! Margot Robbie (aka my future wife) as Harley Quinn is bang on, absolute perfection. She was phenomenal in Wolf of Wall Street and let's face it, she's sexy as hell! She's everything that Harley Quinn should be and I am so looking forward to her interplay with Jared Leto's Joker.

That is also a great casting choice. Its been rumoured for weeks now and the actor was sworn to secrecy, but now all has been revealed. The Suicide Squad, in order to sell to modern audiences, needed a well known character to grab their attention. After Heath Ledger's defining performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight, the character has become an even bigger pop culture icon and will sell tickets on his name alone. But what do I think of the casting? Lets put it this way, I am an optimist... most of the time. I'm looking forward to his spin on The Joker, that's all that I need to say.

Finalising the cast is Will Smith's Deadshot and Tom Hardy's Rick Flag. Will Smith usually goes for lead roles and it makes sense that he is Deadshot, because he is the leader of the squad. Tom Hardy is one of my favourite actors and he is going to be a force, its inevitable, even with a character like Rick Flag, someone else I know close to nothing about. Personally, I would've loved to have seen Hardy play Deathstroke, but I really can't complain as I'm glad he's going to be in it!

Overall, the cast is good and the character line-up is surprising. I'm so looking forward to this film as this could be the flick which gives depth and backstory to a cinematic universe which is yet to be established. DC need to show us that these villains have been around for years and, for some of them, a connection to Ben Affleck's Batman, someone who's also been kicking ass for many many years. This is a huge opportunity for DC, and I'm praying they deliver us something great.

But I still am a little hesitant. Casting lists don't get me amazingly pumped, trailers do. And when I see a trailer for this film, I'll fanboy the f*ck out!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens Teaser Trailer Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOVFvcNfvE


Ok so if you're like me you've probably spent the entirety of today sporadically checking your phone hoping that the teaser trailer for Star Wars VII has been released. I have watched so many shitty fake trailers but as soon as this one started I knew it was legit. JJ Abrams, I think, is doing us Star Wars fans proud... and this was a great teaser!

My only concern going into this movie, prior to watching the trailer, was whether or not JJ Abrams would make the film actually look and feel like it belongs in the Star Wars franchise. Through the cinematography, visual effects and John William's iconic score, it felt like Star Wars to me. My only problem now is that we're going to have to wait 13 months for the film to come out.

But it should be worth the wait. The marketing team behind this trailer got the balance right between showing enough to get us satisfied and leave us wanting more. We get to see in the trailer John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and others but we still don't know the exact people they're playing. When Boyega first popped up I legitimately jumped out of my skin because I was so intensely focused on the trailer. What's interesting to me is that we now know that Boyega is either a stormtrooper or some sort of spy/infiltrator (by the looks of his armour) and that a majority of the film will be taking place on Tatooine (by the epic shots of the desert).

It was nice to see stormtroopers readying themselves for some sort of  mission, it was nice to see the X Wings and the Tie Fighters in full force, and for me the most satisfying moment of all was when John William's iconic theme starting blaring when the Millennium Falcon came into shot. That was also the most technicially impressive shot of the whole trailer; I loved the way it went upside down and followed the flight of the Falcon.

I also thought it was interesting that we didn't get to see Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher or Mark Hamill in the trailer however I get it because I don't think the story is going to solely revolve around them anymore. That weird-ass droid thing though did throw me off a bit... I mean what even was that thing?

Finally, that new red lightsaber - awesome.

I'd probably give the trailer a solid 8/10. It was a teaser that was supposed to tease us and tease us it did. A few minor things threw me off a bit, but the music, the shots, JJ Abrams direction and the focus on the new cast members all combined to create a teaser for a film which looks like it belongs in the Star Wars saga. JJ Abrams, I am on board. And thanks for soaring my expectations!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Nightcrawler Movie Review

This is not a stand alone film for one of the X-Men characters. Just thought I'd clarify before the review...

Nightcrawler is written and directed by Dan Gilroy and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays a complete and utter psychopath who one day discovers an underground network of "black journalism", people who find crime scenes using police radios and sell the footage they obtain to news channels. As he becomes more experienced, he becomes good. Very good. Too good. To the point where he starts to commit crime himself and becomes lost in his new obsession.

What I loved most about this movie was that it was actually about something which made me think. A lot of movies these days use the excuse of "turning your brain off" to enjoy an action set-piece film for example, not Nightcrawler. This movie has so much to say about the way the media choose to present the news as a means of being competitive with other news networks and gaining higher ratings. It showed the darker side to Journalism and thoroughly explored the ethical dilemmas that can arise from reporting on crime. There is one point in the movie where Gyllenhaal's character is told to find a crime with its victims being wealthy white people as opposed to a working class, black family, and I found that social commentary to be extremely fascinating and cleverly executed.

Nightcrawler is, at times, a dark comedy and uses comedic dialogue as another way of commentating on how ambiguous and disgusting the news reporting world can be. I like dark comedy a lot if its done well and yes Nightcrawler is funny for all the wrong reasons.

Jake Gyllenhaal is mesmerising in this role and completely disappears into his character to the point where Jake Gyllenhaal is no longer on screen, which is what I think is the best type of performance an actor can give. His character is a psychopath but you strangely route for him as his sanity declines over the runtime. From the opening few shots you can tell that there are a few loose wires in this guy's head and as the movie goes on we see his morals fly out the window as he starts to manipulate those around him for his own personal position and create crimes just so he can get them broadcasted first.

The film explores moral ambiguity through a screenplay which delivers sharp dialogue that intrigues you throughout. Its a character driven piece and it works because Gyllenhaal's character is just so fascinating. He says things that no other person would say, and your reaction is either sheer disbelief or you're laughing. The way he delivers some of this dialogue is  so unique and he does a terrific job at selling this guy as a pure psycho.

As we see Gyllenhaal's character drift into obsession and desperation we start to see the skill of director Dan Gilroy, who just so happens to be a first time director with this film. The tension builds in moments where characters are simply sat down in a car talking to each other and Gilroy did a fantastic job in balancing his script with commentary, humour and emotion.

The film takes place almost always at night and Gilroy makes the streets of LA look phenomenal through beautiful cinematography. While the movie is nearly always shrouded in darkness it still looks colourful and vibrant. Its a technically masterful feature and delivers a jaw-dropping car chase sequence during a finale which culminated beautifully.

I have no complaints with Nightcrawler, and I believe that Gyllenhaal and Gilroy should receive some serious Oscar consideration for their fantastic work here. If the Hunger Games is sold out, seek Nightcrawler out if you have the chance:


Rating - A


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Interstellar Movie Review (SPOILERS)

Prepare to get your mind blown!

Interstellar is directed by Christopher Nolan, who just happens to have directed 2 of my favourite movies of all time (The Dark Knight and Inception), and just so happens to be my most anticipated film of the entire year. In the film Matthew McConaughey plays a former pilot is a tasked with the mission of travelling through a worm hole in order to reach another galaxy and find a hospitable planet needed to sustain human life as Earth is becoming increasingly infertile and the human race is dying out. Along its near 3 hour runtime Interstellar fantastically explores scientific theories such as relativity accompanied with interwoven themes of the purpose of our existence and our innate extinct to explore, and is a top notch, intelligent and visually masterful science fiction film which I loved.

The film, for a start, is incredibly ambitious. I've read numerous reviews which say that Christopher Nolan was being overambitious with the script and as a result the film did not seem to have a natural flow of events. I respectfully disagree with this as I was intrigued from the first minute to the last and I never lost my grasp on what was going on in the film.

From the get go I was interested mainly because of the way the script and the actors handled the relationship between Matthew McConaughey and his daughter "Murph". The little girl puts in one of the best young performances of the year and, predictably, McConaughey was absolutely perfect. He really hit the note between displaying his incredible array of talent without over-stepping the mark into showing off. He's key in the film because in a science fiction drama like this which explores science fiction on an epic scale, you need humanity to glue it all together and McConaughey does that perfectly.

The supporting work is also very good in the film but my favourite supporting character other than Murph was actually a robot character called TARS, who offers some subtle yet necessary comic relief to the film.

Interstellar is far from predictable and takes turns which I never expected, it kept me on the edge of my seat for almost the entire runtime. For a film to keep you invested for 3 hours, particularly a film which tackles some complicated science fiction content, that's something pretty special in my opinion. Plus when I say its 3 hours, don't worry. The film sets itself up beautifully and explodes into life when they first launch into space and 3 hours goes by like nothing.

Hans Zimmer's score is, also predictably, fantastic and at times gave my goosebumps. The music accompanied by Christopher Nolan's epic direction is really something to behold. There were so many moments where my mouth dropped to the floor as I beheld some of the most amazing visual effects I've seen in my life and some space sequences which blew my head wide open! Its truly a technical masterpiece. I actually heard somewhere that in order to create the (MILD SPOILER) wormhole and black hole sequences, they actually had scientists consult them and create the effects from actual theory. That's crazy to me, and is for sure praise worthy!

My one and only negative for Interstellar is the ending, which I will need to spoil in order to explain it.




SPOILERS AHEAD!





The fault I have with Interstellar is the ending. After Mann dies and nearly destroys Endurance, McConaughey decides that the only thing left to do is fall quickly into the gravitational pull of Gargantua, the black hole. As he falls through it, we come to the scene where I realised just where he was before I legitimately said "No way" out loud. My favourite moment of the film is when McConaughey realises that the wormhole was created by a future race of surviving humans able to transcend the dimensions of time and gravity, where they become physical entities to them. He then begins to move the books off the shelves created by the 4th dimensional space he finds himself in, and whilst he does so Murph realises that "the ghost" of her bedroom was her father this whole time, a revelation I loved.

However, as soon as Murph realises this, the 4th dimensional space diminishes and McConaughey is left floating, before he is rescued by a band of humans, awoken, visits his elderly daughter and then goes off to find Amelia, who is actually recolonizing Edmund's planet via "Plan B". Does that not sound like a lot to you? For me, the ending was too convenient, there was no ambiguity and it felt rushed.





SPOILER'S OVER!




Other than my one flaw, Interstellar truly impressed me. Visually it was astonishing, the space sequences were highly intense, I loved the way they showed relativity and some emotional moments were highly effective. As a science fiction film about space exploration, it's top notch and I loved it:


Rating - A


1 sentence summary -  A intelligent, mature and emotional science fiction drama with memorable visual sequences and some mind-blowing moments!


I apologise if you accidentally read the spoiler section, I did my best to separate it from the main bulk of text.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Why I hate the hate for DC - RANT

I talk about comic book movies a lot, but today I want to talk about something that has troubled me for some time.

I browse the Internet a lot and everyday I find myself watching videos concerning the newly announced slate of films for both Marvel's and DC's cinematic universe. Because Marvel are currently ahead of the game, "Marvel fanboys" tend to bash DC about everything and its really starting to piss me off. This is addressed solely to people who believe that Marvel's practice is God whereas DC's practice is crap.

Disclaimer number 1; I am neither a DC nor a Marvel "fanboy", I love comic book movies in general. Disclaimer number 2; I know I'm speaking to a small part of the community here, I know most fans do not parade around the Internet purposefully devoting their time to bash the over studio. Disclaimer number 3; I am aware that DC "fanboys" do exactly the same to Marvel Studios, I'm simply defending DC at this moment because from what I've seen they get a lot more hate. So let's begin.



Why do DC get bashed after every announcement?

Ok now this is a slightly controversial one but its something I see laced within a minority of the community and it makes me mad. I'll give a recent example: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is moved from 28th July 2017 to 5th May 2017. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is moved from May 6th 2016 to March 24th 2016. In the words of the Joker (kind of) "Guardians 2 moves forward a few months and no one bats an eye, Batman v Superman moves forward a few months and everyone loses their minds!" Guardians 2 moves forward and nobody cares, but BvS moves and people accuse DC of backing down. It doesn't make sense.

Why is it a crime when DC doesn't have a plan, but when they release a plan its "rushed"?

So for years people would bash DC for not having a plan for a shared cinematic universe. However when one was finally released a few weeks ago, apparently its been rushed. HEY!?!? HOW? They moved Batman v Superman forward a year for the sole purpose of constructing the foundations for their cinematic universe. Their movie plan is different to Marvel's in that The Justice League is coming out before characters like Flash and Green Lantern get their solo flicks, and I like that approach. If their cinematic plan was identical to Marvel's, then people would accuse DC of clean-out copying them.



Why do people think the studios hate each other?

If DC hadn't owned properties like Superman or Batman who are known for clearing up at the box office, then would Marvel have set up their cinematic universe in the way that they have? If Marvel hadn't set up their cinematic universe, would DC be trying to do something similar? My point is competition is good and it makes both studios raise their game, and hopefully increase the quality of their films. I doubt the executives from Warner Brothers and Marvel Studios hate each other with a passion, I'm sure they get on just fine. The so called "war" between them is created solely by the fans and in particular "fanboys" who bash the other studio at any opportunity.

Why do we have to choose?

The Avengers? The Dark Knight? Love them. All I'm saying is I like movies made by both studios and I will see films made by both. The only reason I'm defending DC today is because from what I've seen it is usually Marvel "fanboys" who are giving the other studio the most shit at the moment. If DC was in Marvel's position, then these people would be DC fanboys bashing Marvel for trying to play catch up. If we lived in a parallel universe where this was the case, I guarantee this would happen.



Another small thing to bare in mind: Marvel have always announced their films 2 years in advance. However, soon after DC dropped their entire slate, Marvel announced their entire plans up to May 2019. DC forced Marvel's hand, its hard not to admit.

I am not a Marvel hater at all. However, I finally felt that today was the day I put out my opinion and respond to some of the unwarranted hate for DC. For those of you like me who enjoy both Marvel and DC I hope we can sit back and enjoy comic book films together from now until 2020. God knows we'll be getting a few!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Fury Movie Review

Brad Pitt is back in World War 2 and David Ayer once again proves his great potential as a filmmaker...

Fury is written and directed by David Ayer and stars Brad Pitt alongside Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal and revolves around a group of 5 soldiers who operate inside the tank "Fury" and their violent experiences during the closing days of World War 2.

Now this film does a have a fantastic cast of actors but the real star of Fury in my opinion is director David Ayer. The film displays violence, blood, gore and death in all of its glory and that is really what I respected about it; it didn't shy away from the realities of war. It is traumatic and soldiers would have experienced events like the ones depicted in the movie. Saving Private Ryan is my favourite war movie ever and its so effective still because it doesn't hold back. Fury does similar things to Saving Private Ryan and that is one of the reasons I had a pretty fun experience with it.

Ayer doesn't only make use of some really haunting war imagery through eerie tracking shots, but he also knows what he is doing when it comes to constructing an action sequence. The choreography, the editing and the way it was shot all came together to create impactful and engrossing action set pieces. The film didn't use quick cuts, the camera wasn't shaking around. The action was edited superbly and you could actually see what was going on!

Brad Pitt leads the cast and the group of soldiers and he puts in a finely tuned performance where he doesn't cross the line into a "look at me I'm an actor" type role. His character isn't the most likeable person on the planet but he does have a lot of redeemable qualities, hence why towards the films finale (which by the way culminates with some breath-taking tension), I was routing for the man.

Logan Lerman is the best performer by far and his work is pretty incredible in this film. Out of all the characters in the tank, he is the one I was routing for to survive, which was a good thing because that was what the movie wanted me to feel! His character is the most relatable one by far and you can really connect with him once you start to put yourself in his shoes. Brad Pitt's character makes him do something which is strongly against his moral code about 45 minutes in, and the scene impacted me a lot because I don't think I could have done it! He starts the movie off as a real "fish-out-of-water" character and I was very happy he didn't stay like that for the whole thing because that would've gotten annoying very quickly...

The supporting work is good but my god the rest of the crew are absolute dickheads! Jon Bernthal's character especially was one I was actually routing to die, which is absolutely NOT what the film wants you to think. The other 2 are unlikeable and as a result, you don't care about them. If I had a strong emotional attachment to the characters, the film's finale would've gone up a level to astronomical greatness. But since I didn't care about 3 out of the 5, it didn't quite even if it was still really intense.

The film does grind to a halt for about 20-30 minutes in the middle and the scene didn't really do much for me in terms of providing interesting dialogue, plot continuation or character development. It was just a scene which was put there that could have been taken out. Had it been, it wouldn't have dragged for 20 minutes and the film would've been more cohesive and would have stuck to its lightening fast pacing. I also wasn't a fan of the visual effects used for gunfire; to me they looked like lasers. But that is just a small nit-pick!

Fury was a really fun experience and is a good war movie that I recommend you see:


Rating - B+


1 sentence summary - David Ayer is the star in a war film which does not hold back on violence and death and offers up some great entertainment through some intense action sequences.


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Marvel reveals Phase 3 titles and Black Panther has been cast!!

A week ago DC announced their slate of films from now until 2020, and now Marvel has hit back. The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood was the venue where Kevin Feige finally filled those promised release dates with actual titles... and of course I'm having an intense fangasm!!

The live blog I followed for all of this information can be found by following this link: http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/we-live-blog-all-the-details-of-marvels-special-hollywood-event#disqus_thread

After first showing the unbelievably awesome Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer and talking a little bit about Ant-Man, both movies scheduled to come out in 2015, Feige said that they didn't call this entire press meeting just to tell us things we already know! Then, the entire Phase 3 line up of movies was revealed:


May 6th 2016 - Captain America: Civil War

November 4th 2016 - Doctor Strange

May 5th 2017 - Guardians of the Galaxy 2

June 28th 2017 - Thor: Ragnarok

November 3rd 2017 - Black Panther

May 4th 2018 - Avengers: Infinity War... PART 1

July 6th 2018 - Ms Marvel

November 2nd 2018 - The Inhumans

May 3rd 2019 - Avengers: Infinity War... PART 2


Marvel pulled a bit of a fast one when announcing the third Captain America movie and initially gave it the title of "Serpent Society". Very cheeky Marvel. We've been bombarded with rumours of Civil War ever since Robert Downey Jr signed on to start in the film, and Marvel nearly made fools out of all of us. Then they confirmed it. Captain America 3 will see the start of the Civil War storyline, pitting Tony Stark and Steve Rogers against each other. ITS ACTUALLY HAPPENING! There's no word on whether Spiderman will be part of the film as of yet but for now I'm overly content with the announcement which just happened so I'm happy to find at a future date.

While I am aware that Benedict Cumberbatch is in final negotiations to play Doctor Strange, he hasn't been officially confirmed. When he is, I'll give my take on it. But until then, just know I would be a huge fan of the decision should he be confirmed. The film, as expected, will be coming in 2016.

It did surprise me that Guardians 2 was moved forward as Marvel usually sticks to their dates. Nevertheless, we will see James Gunn and the Guardians return to theatres in May 2017 followed in late July by the third movie in the Thor trilogy, titled Ragnarok. While I don't know just who/what Ragnarok is, the name has been thrown around by people who were predicting what Phase 3's titles would be well in advance of today, so the storyline/character is obviously a fan favourite. So for that reason I'm excited. Plus I'm interested to see how they conclude the Loki storyline considering his predicament at the end of Thor: The Dark World. More Loki is always nice.

 

And the third MCU film of 2017 has been confirmed as Black Panther, a movie I always thought that they would do. Plus, Chadwick Boseman (42) was announced to play him. And if Andy Serkis is playing Claw, there is just one more reason to look forward to what this film has in store.

Ms Marvel and The Inhumans will come in 2018. Those were 2 movies I thought they would do as well considering that Feige has talked about them for sometime know. When Feige consistently talks about a specific character, a movie is pending. Feige keeps his promises.

Finally it was announced that in May 2018 and 2019 the Avengers 3 will be split into 2 parts and it will be titled "Infinity War". Expect Thanos. Expect the Infinity Gauntlet. Expect a new roster of heroes. Expect a lot of epic moments that'll make fan boys like me cry. Also I think its clear that Marvel went to the DC school of splitting up your superhero team-up movie, which is weird considering its usually Marvel who make a decision like that first. Either way I get 2 Avengers and 2 Justice League movies in just over a two year period so I am not complaining!

I'm thrilled with today's announcement. If you have any opinions on any of the titles or the casting of Black Panther, leave a comment and start a discussion because there is a lot to talk about!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

DC Cinematic Universe Movies Confirmed

In August DC and Warner Brothers released their movie dates for their cinematic universe of superheroes from DC comics. I got none of my guesses right... which goes to show just how much I know!!

Warner Brothers have finally got their act together. When they released their release dates back in August I was happy to see that they actually had formulated a plan that they were willing to execute. Now we have those dates filled with confirmed titles. They are as follows:


2016 - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

2016 - Suicide Squad

2017 - Wonder Woman

2017 - The Justice League: Part 1

2018 - The Flash

2018 - Aquaman

2019 - Shazam

2019 - The Justice League: Part 2

2020 - Cyborg

2020 - Green Lantern


Its important to note that this slate of movies does not contain The Sandman, which is currently in development with Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached to the project, or any stand alone Batman or Superman sequels which are also said to be in development. Also, this universe does not connect with the any of the DC television series airing right now including Arrow, Constantine, Gotham or The Flash.

Obviously I'm super excited for Batman v Superman and I'm eager to see what ramifications that film has for The Justice League movies and the other movies within the universe. But at the moment the film which makes me the most curious as of right now is Suicide Squad. The film is set to be directed by David Ayer and it may involve characters such as Harley Quinn and Deathstroke. If you don't know who they are, Harley is The Joker's bitch and Deathstroke is DC's Deadpool. According to Wikipedia, they are "an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences". I cannot wait to see how they fit this in with the other movies and I'm really looking forward to the casting choices as many A-list actors (Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Tom Hardy etc.) have been linked so far.

Gal Gadot will be Wonder Woman and DC will beat Marvel by putting out a female led superhero movie first. The Justice League movie has been split into 2 yet there are other movies that fit in-between. I'm thinking that they will be 2 separate stories but it could turn out that they feed directly off each other. Either way those 2 films allow DC to show off villains like Braniac and Doomsday so that really is something to be excited about.

 

The Flash film will have no relation to the TV series but will see Ezra Miller become the fastest man alive. I haven't really seen him in much but I do have faith that he can pull of superhero well. I'm not 100% sold on the decision but I'm hoping I will be before 2018, I'm secretly hoping he has a short cameo in Batman v Superman and a large role in Justice League Part 1.

Momoa has finally been confirmed as Aquaman, we'll see The Rock play Black Adam in Shazam and Ray Fisher play Cyborg in his own solo film as well. Finally, Green Lantern will be rebooted in 2020 and I'm hoping, like Flash, we'll see Hal Jordan in Batman v Superman and the 2 Justice League films before this feature. This film is not a sequel to the 2011 Green Lantern, which is not a bad thing at all!

For me this news is pretty darn special and I don't really have any complaints with it at all. However there are still superheroes who haven't been cast and now confirmation on how this overall story will pan out and what villains we will see our favourite superheroes come up against. To see DC assembling their own universe makes me so happy and I'm really anticipating the head-to-head of DC vs. Marvel that's going to develop from 2016 onwards.

So those are my quick thoughts on DC's movie slate. I'm finding it quite hard to think right now as this news has melted my brain a little bit.


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Iron Man in Captain America 3 - Marvel's Civil War

So it turns out 2016 is now officially the year of superhero vs. superhero movies, and I like it...

Captain America 3 was one of my most anticipated movies of 2016 and is now definitely in the top 3, if this story turns out to be true. A few days ago Variety reported that Robert Downey Jr had signed on to reprise his role as Iron Man in the third Captain America movie, which will be directed by the Russo brothers. This somewhat sets the stage for Marvel's Civil War and will pit 2 fan favourites against each other.

Immediately after hearing this a whole wave of questions inundated my mind at the exact same time and I'm going to try and get them all out in some sort of question. The first one was; will they stay loyal to the source material? In the comic book storyline the government creates a superhero registration act which Iron Man agrees with and Cap really does not. Its admittedly difficult adapting a comic book into a movie replica but they can do it easily if they follow on from the events of Age of Ultron. If you have Iron Man create Ultron which leads to the death of many and the destruction of cities, then he'll probably feel guilty about it and willingly accept the government's new programme. Cap on the other hand will probably say that it invades civil liberties and pit against the programme. To me this sounds the likely route they will take.

My next question was is this really Captain America 3 or Avengers 3? I thought about it for a while and while it may seem like that at first, I think that the film will tell the narrative via Cap's perspective and we'll see events play out through his eyes.

This conveniently leads onto my third question which is will they make Iron Man the villain? Well let's take a step back for a second. Tony Stark has proven himself to be a guy who does what is right and does not show any traits of villainy. The fact that he and Rogers will disagree on something doesn't make him a villain. What it does do is create a fascinating dynamic to 2 already broad and fleshed out characters and is something I can't wait to see how they pull off on the big screen.

And finally, what will happen to the Avengers? Will they not show up? Will they split up and join whoever they agree with? Will the Avengers disintegrate before new characters like Ant Man and Doctor Strange form a new team to defend the world from Thanos?

I couldn't possibly predict right now. However, I do think that Captain America and/or Iron Man will die. Robert Downey Jr has flirted with the idea of leaving the MCU and Chris Evans has said that he wants to branch off into other acting roles. Its weird when you think about one (or both) of The Avenger's poster boys dying at the hand of another, but its an artistic direction I feel Marvel can pull off without alienating or creating a villain out of our beloved characters.

All I can say is, bring on 2016!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Gone Girl and Dracula Untold Double Feature - Movie Reviews

So I've ended my September hibernation to talk about David Fincher's latest and Universal's first feature in an attempt at creating a shared monster-movie universe.



Gone Girl

I think it'd be easier if I said it right off the bat that Gone Girl is absolutely tremendous and is a film that you should seek out, if you haven't already. David Fincher once again proves that he is one of Hollywood's best forces behind the camera and he successfully adapts the novel into a riveting and at times jaw-dropping screenplay. Ben Affleck was a perfect casting choice and he portrayed a very subdued and slightly messed up dude perfectly, but in my opinion Rosamund Pike completely stole the show and delivered the best performance of her career so far. The supporting work is also very good with Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris executing their characters well. Tyler Perry in particular was impressive.

The movie took twists and turns that I never could have predicted (I haven't read the book) and they had such great dramatic impact because they were all plausible and grounded in the reality of the situation. The 2 main leads are actually really well fleshed out characters; one minute you're sure of a character then a minute later you're sceptical. It never came off as showy as it felt necessary in order to tell a very thought-provoking story.

The acting is excellent, the story riveting, the characters are handled brilliantly, its paced fantastically and it utilised humour brilliantly. Its also a beautiful thing to behold. David Fincher as always combines every technical detail of filmmaking to create his classic style. He makes a film look gritty, damp and cold so the story can get under your skin and you as a viewer can get sucked into this immersive environment. The musical score was also excellent and always created a sense of mystery and dread.

I loved the places Gone Girl went not just with its screenplay but with the commentary it was trying to make on our expectations of marriage and, perhaps more prominently, the way the media can make you feel a certain way about someone or something in a way that they want you to think about them. Gone Girl explores how the media can really worsen the life of somebody who is already dealing with some traumatic stuff.

My one issue with the film is the last 20 minutes when characters start to do things which conflict a lot with the motivations they had earlier in the film. Other than that, Gone Girl is flawless.

I loved Gone Girl and it is comfortably one of the best of the year:


Rating - A



Dracula Untold

Unlike Gone Girl, Dracula Untold is nowhere near the best movies of the year list and is in fact right near the bottom. This film for me was a huge struggle to complete and I was bored shitless for 90 minutes.

When I say the film is 90 minutes you'd think that the time would fly by and you wouldn't suffer for long at all. That wasn't the case with Dracula Untold. I think the main reason why this film failed in my eyes was because I wanted to see a fun monster movie with Dracula kicking ass. We do get glimpses of that, but only during action sequences where the director thought it'd be a good idea to shake the camera around.

But I didn't get a fun-filled popcorn flick where the film didn't take itself too seriously, in fact I got the opposite. Untold took itself way to seriously and tried to throw in a load of dramatic scenes which had no emotional impact at all. If you give bland, generic and forgettable supporting characters that are there only because the script says they need to be, don't try and make us care about them. The acting also ranges from way over the top seriousness to people clearly not giving a shit. I don't really blame them because I stopped caring 10 minutes in.

Luke Evans is actually pretty good as Vlad the Impaler and actually enjoys a few moments where Dracula is just decimating armies of men. He also takes part in the movie's best scene when Tywin Lannister himself turns Vlad into Dracula.

Other than a few moments Untold offered nothing in terms of enjoyment. I went into the film wanting to like it but came out bored out of my mind and deflated. I wanted to enjoy this take on Dracula but instead got a bunch of shaky cam and sub-par CGI mixed with a screenplay which gave me wafer-thin characters and a film which was tonally confused and a slog to get through.

I can't recommend anyone seeing this, save your money:


Rating - D



Thanks for reading,
Matt

2014 Summer Movie Season Awards by Matt Harrison

So this is my 100th post on this blog and I thought I'd do something a little different for it. The 2014 summer movie season has been really fantastic in my opinion and I'd thought I'd give my favourite movies of the summer some recognition with awards I literally made up this morning...


Movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Raid 2 will not be awarded anything as I saw them both in late March/April time. I didn't see every movie of the summer but I saw all of the big ones so without further delay let's begin:



Best Hero - Caesar (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

Out of all of the characters in the movies which came out this summer, none were more heroic than Caesar. Andy Serkis put in the best performance of his career and gave incredible raw humanity to a CGI ape. The character of Caesar is one of the best ever created and through him channels an incredible amount of human emotion. Plus he's a badass leader, and winner of Best Hero.



Best Villain - Koba (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

Toby Kebbell's amazing performance as Koba proved that Andy Serkis has made motion capture a thing which any actor can do. Out of all of the villains this summer Koba had the most menacing presence and did the most evil things. And on top of that you could actually understand what his motivations were, unlike villains like Ronan the Accuser or Bolivar Trask.



Best action scene - The Tank scene (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)


We were blessed with some awesome action this summer. I considered putting in the Quicksilver scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past, the Normandy beach fight in Edge of Tomorrow and the cheer inducing final battle from Godzilla, but this one blew my mind the most. When I first saw it I was in awe of how it was created and stunned when I thought about the detail that must have gone into directing and shooting a scene like that. Please watch it if you haven't already, but you must have seen the film by now, right?



Best comic book movie - X-Men: Days of Future Past

I really liked Guardians of the Galaxy, I thought that the characters were all brilliant, the action was good and I loved just how funny it was and how it didn't take itself to seriously. However, X-Men: Days of Future Past was a much more solid movie with amazing performances from actors who transformed into their characters. It had smart writing, amazing action and real drama and tension similar to what Dawn of the Planet of the Apes had. I loved this movie and thought it was the best comic book movie of the summer.



Best music - Guardians of the Galaxy

Star Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot are awesome and yes the movie was funny as hell so I couldn't leave the Guardians out. So I thought about it for a while before I realised that it had the best music of any summer film by far. The actual score itself was sufficient but the addition of "Awesome Mix Vol. 1" added so much into the film's character and personality. The opening scene with Star Lord still impresses me when I think about it today...



Best animated movie - How to Train Your Dragon 2

It had absolutely no competition. It was easily the best animated film of the summer.



Best comedy - 22 Jump Street

There were a lot of really funny movies this summer like Bad Neighbours and Guardians of the Galaxy. But I laughed the hardest in 22 Jump Street. The chemistry and timing between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum is spot on and the "kitchen scene" with Ice Cube is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.



Best limited release - Boyhood

Richard Linklater's Boyhood proved that good things are worth waiting for. It took him 12 years to make this 2 hour and 45 minute long film and it paid off because it naturally and authentically captured the essence of childhood and growing up better than any film before it. It was an easy watch and deserves some recognition.



Best trailer - Interstellar trailer 1 

A lot of cool trailers landed this summer but none excited me more than the first full length Interstellar trailer which came out in mid May. The thing gives me goose bumps even now when I watch it. I love the way it intrigues you without spoiling anything, plus Hans Zimmer's score which progressively builds up in the background is perfect.



Most anticipated fall movie - Interstellar

It stars some very good actors, has the best musician in Hollywood producing it's score and has the best director working today directing it. Christopher Nolan has made some of my all time favourite movies like Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy. He's yet to let me down and I can't wait to see his next movie despite not knowing a thing about it.



Worst movie - Transformers: Age of Extinction

A Million Ways to Die in the West let me down horribly, Tammy was terrible and The Purge: Anarchy didn't work for me. But I've gone with Transformers as my least favourite summer movie because it was everything that I hated about a Michael Bay film; shit CGI, an incomprehensibly stupid plot, dumb military dialogue, awful humour, weak and 1 dimensional boring characters and that same irritating and epileptic directing style. It's awful and I hate that it has made over $1 billion worldwide.



Best movie - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

It has real human emotion, drama and tension. It has incredible acting and memorable characters. It has an unpredictable story. It has jaw dropping action and CGI. It's a beautifully directed movie and is a marvel to look at on the big screen. It has everything a great summer movie should have. We don't need brain-numbing Transformers action to get a good summer blockbuster, we need everything Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has. This is how you make a blockbuster. It's not only my favourite movie of the summer, but my favourite of the entire year.



That was actually really fun to do! If you agree/disagree with any of my choices please comment below and put your winners for each of the categories. I will be doing a Fall movie preview very soon and I hope I enjoy my next 100 posts as much as I have my first 100. I'll keep up the movie reviews, spoilers and movie news stuff plus I hope to introduce 2 new regular segments for this blog as well in the coming weeks so look at forward to that. What a summer its been and here's to an awesome Fall and Winter!

Thanks for reading,
Matt