Tag: Nick Fury
TOP 20 BEST FILMS OF 2014 * PART TWO
February 16, 2015 by pmbayobale, posted in Action, Animation, Best and worst films, Cinema, Comedy, Drama, Film essay, Hollywood, Love story, Movie review, Romance, Romantic Comedies, Samuel L Jackson, Uncategorized
SO HERE WE ARE . . . AT LAST. The second month into 2015.
I know, terrible. For those who are still interested, we have the SECOND PART of my best films of 2014. The top 11-20!
Feel free to search through my posts for my top 10. If you want, I can provide them.
The best (or better) ones of that mediocre movie year. My criteria mainly focused on the ones that surprised, intrigued and entertained me. And boy, it was tough. Many have been watchable. Okay at best. What was harder was condensing my 20 WORST films of 2014 (Which will be following shortly).
BUT there were diamonds in the rough sea of bilge that polluted the movie screens last year.
I have had to endure endless entries of mindless drivel regurgitating the same old plot, clichéd characters (even in their 3D wrapped foils) and excruciating acting or dreadful dialogue and to be honest, it's killed my enthusiasm a little bit.
Now some entries you may question and unfortunately release dates are always different. My argument was films I saw in that year at the cinema. Some may have been released at the end of 2013 but I didn't see them until early January 2014.
BUT that sums up my argument if they are in here.
I won't go on too much about each film. That's what the other posts are for but a quick two cents if you like. Some I hope you will nod in approval. Others you may scroll back and forth hoping that this is a joke. BUT my criteria is based on surprise, entertainment and engagement. So God knows what lies in store.
11. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Now I am actually reading the book. This film lost marks for stretching out its source material to the max. However, Jackson still manages to deliver the goods by harvesting a special effects extravaganza of a movie. This slicker, darker installment made up for the lumbering opener that was An Unexpected Journey. The pace may still have been a little long at the tooth BUT was certainly the best in Jackson's second trilogy.
12. Captain America: Winter Soldier
A Marvel sequel that wasn't needed but surprised me in surpassing the stuttery original. I felt the first Captain America was rushed to introduce the Cap in time for the Avengers and didn't really cover as much of the WW2 elements as I had hoped. A superhero fighting in the war had a lot more promise for me. BUT the sequel had a decent story, good action pieces and added depth to the 'Cap. Plus it gave a lot more screen time to the Black Widow and the legendary Nick Fury (At last!)
13. The Raid 2
Fast and furious . . . after an hour of droll exposition. BUT it was still the most intense action film I saw that year. The final 45 minutes surpassed the original in suspense and action. Worth the wait. It may not have beat the original overall BUT other films need to use this as the next "How To Make An Action Movie" textbook.
14. St Vincent
Bill Murray at his best in this easy going indie dramedy. It was funny, well acted with some cracking one liners and an impressive debut from young wunderkid Jaeden Lieberher.
15. Before I Go To Sleep
A tense, slowburning but well crafted psychological thriller. Memento meets While You Were Sleeping. Even if I had sussed the big twist. The unveiling still took me by surprise. I thought the cast were fantastic. Kidman was on fine form and the last 15 minutes were brilliant.
16. The Maze Runner
You read that, right? We had numerous teen book bestseller franchises flooding the screens. Divergent, Hunger Games, The Giver and . . . The Maze Runner. I went in, really expecting the worst and for the majority of the film, I was hooked. It's hardly original but it zipped along and stopped me grumbling.
17. Nightcrawler
A superb performance from Gyllenhaal. Deservedly earning a BAFTA nomination. Somehow managing to out-Bale Bale in this dark take on the American dream. Satirical, grim and engrossing. If a little predictable with an abrupt ending BUT still worth a gander.
18. The Guest
Mr Crawley has left the Abbey and he's kicking ass and taking names. A cracking and charismatic performance in this strange but riveting indie action flick. It felt like a film of two halves. Some may not like how it pans out BUT it certainly took me by surprise. Badass film of 2014? Hell yeah!
19. What If
What if Harry Potter did an indie chick flick? It would be an easygoing and entertaining affair. That's what. Radcliffe and Kazan had great chemistry and were a normal and believable couple. I actually cared what happened to them unlike the other umpteen romantic comedies that have wasted my time.
20. Blended
I told you that I was going to think outside the box. I said surprised or entertained me. It has been a while since I have enjoyed a Sandler movie. And this says a lot from a die hard fan. Hardly die hard BUT I've endured them all. Blended certainly isn't perfect but it felt like a return of sorts. It was certainly a return for Drew Barrymore. The plot is stupid and some gags fall flat on their backside.
BUT when it was funny, it had me in stitches. The family dynamic was dealt with well. The handling with the grief issues was done nicely and was unexpected. I enjoyed it. There's still hope for the Sandler. I went in expecting nothing and was rewarded with something more. A good comedy. Hallelujah. Has the Mad Movie Ranter lost his marbles?
Tagged 3D, Adam Sandler, An Unexpected Journey, Avengers, BAFTA, Bale, Before I Go To Sleep, Best and Worst, Best and Worst Films, Best and Worst Films 2014, Bill Murray, Black Widow, Blended, Captain America, Captain America: Winter Soldier, cast, Dan Stevens, Daniel Radcliffe, Divergent, Downton Abbey, Drew Barrymore, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Jaeden Lieberher, Memento, Mr Crawley, Nick Fury, Nicole Kidman, Nightcrawler, Peter Jackson, St Vincent, The Giver, The Guest, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Maze Runner, The Raid, The Raid 2, What If, While You Were Sleeping, Winter Soldier, WORST films of 2014, Zoe Kazan5 Comments
FURY REVIEW
November 20, 2014 by pmbayobale, posted in Action, Best and worst films, Cinema, Drama, Film essay, Hollywood, Movie review, Uncategorized, War movies, WW2
Feel the fury! Well . . . Sort of.
NO! It's not another Marvel hero origins movie. Although how good would a Nick Fury movie be? Anyway . . .
David Ayer (Training Day/End of Watch) pens a hard hitting visceral war drama with the aid of a stellar cast.
BUT with an overlong running time and a lagging middle act, it falls short of the greats.
It has been a while since we had a war film and within the last two years, we have been rewarded with several. A little resurgence, almost. Not a bad thing at all. The only problem after so many classics (The Bridge on The River Kwai, The Great Escape, The Guns of Navarone to name a few); is the next film that follows merely a regurgitation?
Saving Private Ryan and the equally brilliant Band of Brothers certainly broke that mould and proved otherwise BUT in the process left a tough act to follow. And I find it hard not to draw comparisons. The Monuments Men felt old before it even got a chance. A rehashed Dad's Army with little on laughs and little on drama. Fury on the other hand . . .
"Ideals are peaceful. History is violent".
Let's start with the good. You can normally bank on Brad Pitt. And he delivers another solid performance. If you're expecting Lieutenant Aldo Raine from Inglorious Basterds, you may be left feeling a little disappointed. But Pitt certainly brings a charismatic character to life in his expressions and posture alone.
Where Ayer excels is in the little things; the impact the war has had on the soldiers psychologically. Of course, Ayer shows the level of chaos and destruction that has been brought to Germany as the Allies make the final push. An opening sequence in which we have nothing but silence as a German soldier rides a horse over a field of fallen men was both haunting and harrowing.
Ayer makes an interesting commentary on the human condition. The fact that the soldiers no longer see themselves as human. They are simply killing machines, fighting for survival. The meal sequence perfectly demonstrated this. The scene may have dragged nearer the end and lulled what was a suspenseful and tense encounter but the point was still crucial.
Lerman played the part well as fresh meat Norman Ellison, a typist who has been called up to help in the final push. The juxtaposition between him and Collier (Pitt) work brilliantly. His quick lessons of war by Collier hit home.
The meal sequence was a perfect comparative piece as Collier (Pitt) and Ellison (Logan Lerman – Percy Jackson) attempt to have a moment of normalcy in which they sit at a table to have a meal with two German women. The rest of team inevitably crash the party. It was a perfect statement exemplifying that war changes everything and everyone.
That normalcy is weakness but where it was interesting at first, it dragged on far too long. Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) was demented but also quite irritating as his character continued to yammer. Where I felt compassion for the man, I soon prayed for a bombshell to get him off the screen. Terrible to say for such a film.
Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) was an unexpected surprise. After all the controversy surrounding his personal life and the rumours going around about his "method acting"; one particular rumour being that he actually pulled out one of his own teeth to get the feel of the character, he gave a good (and quite normal) performance.
The action was brutal, graphic and violent. It made a change to have a tank warfare film (I can't recall too many tank movies in particular). The set pieces in which the tanks battle against each other were brilliantly executed.
The claustrophobia and pressure of fighting in a tank was captured perfectly. Ayer allowed for some moments of camaraderie between the rag tag team of misfits and showed how in sync they had to be to survive attack after attack.
To be honest, I was happy to see more of that. The only problem is that the more explosions and battle sequences we got in the second half of the film, they seemed to mesh into one continuous sequence and what didn't help is that some of the characters didn't really shine as much as you anticipated. You felt empathy because of what they were fighting for but otherwise . . .
Michael Pena (End of Watch) was highly unmemorable merely repeating other character's lines and stating the obvious, "That's five against 300". A shame considering how talented an actor he is. Bernthal's indecipherable yammering did my nut in and after a while LaBeouf's preaching prattled on a bit.
The ending was tragically predictable which is a statement in itself as how many outcomes can there be in a war? I will certainly not forget what those men went through but will I remember this film? I mean Saving Private Ryan had an array of characters with such a simple story line but it had me engrossed, routing for them.
Fury caught my attention but I could feel my eyes wavering over that watch again.
The set pieces are good, if a little repetitive. The cast do their best if their characters are not as rounded as you would hope. Ayer delivers a visceral, if overlong, war drama but it didn't quite hit it off for me.
Tagged 300, Band of Brothers, Brad Pitt, cast, Dad's Army, David Ayer, End of Watch, Fury, Germany, Inglorious Basterds, Jon Bernthal, Logan Lerman, Marvel, Michael Pena, Nick Fury, Percy Jackson, Saving Private Ryan, Shia LaBeouf, stellar cast, The Bridge on The River Kwai, The Great Escape, The Guns of Navarone, The Monuments Men, The Walking Dead, Training Day, Transformers