My Top 5 Films of 2014

The final hours of 2014 are looming ever nearer, whilst the shining future-world of 2015 is just around the corner. I’m sure many of you are already full to the brim with chocolate and alcohol and preparing your fireworks in order to celebrate the festivities. But, before we all set off our own personal barrages, I think it’s time for a moment of reflection. 2014 has been an eventful year or, at least, it has been for me. Not only have I completed my GCSE exams and made the jump to A Level, and of course I started this very blog, but I’ve also learnt that; Cuba isn’t a very relaxing holiday destination, some new music is fantastic (thank you, Royal Blood), and that a bookshelf can only hold so many DVDs. Which brings me nicely to my next point.

If it wasn’t implied by the title, or by the name of the blog, or anything else, allow me to spell it out. As is always the case, I find myself looking back at this time of the year and thinking about all the films that have graced both the big and small screen, and especially as Oscar season draws near, thinking about the best this year had to offer. So, here’s my two pence.

Sorry. Anyway, to see out the year, listed below are my Top 5 favourite films of 2014. Obviously, these are subject to my opinion, and there are quite a few films I didn’t see because I didn’t have time/couldn’t be arsed/ they looked shit (delete as appropriate), so if your beloved Sharknado 2: The Second One isn’t on here, then my ‘humble’ apologies...

5. The Wind Rises – Hayao Miyazaki

OK, so this was technically released in Japan in 2013, but I live in the UK, where it was a 2014 release (and an obscure one at that), so yeah. Talking of which, I saw the trailer playing at my local Vue, which is the only way I found out this film existed, and so decided, as a new found Ghibli fan, to see it. I had to go up to London just to find the one cinema which was playing it, and the audience consisted of a ground-breaking two people; me and my dad. Talk about a wide release. Although, I admit having an entire cinema to yourself is pretty cool. But I digress. The Wind Rises is Miyazaki’s twelfth and final feature film at the legendary animation studio, and follows the allegedly fictionalized story of Jiro Horikoshi, an engineer who designed Japanese fighter planes during WWII; showing us his first dreams of flying, inspired by Italian aeronautical designer Caproni, through to his joining of Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Company and eventually the success of his fighter planes along with his marriage to Naoko Sotomi. The comparison to Ghibli’s other WWII film, Grave of the Fireflies is inevitable, and I think while both are great, they still pale in comparison to their more fantastical works, such as Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Howl’s Moving Castle. I just think the studio seems to handle abstract, fictional worlds better than grim, realistic ones. Maybe one day I’ll dedicate a post or two to a more in depth discussion of this, but to bring this entry to some form of conclusion (I told you I tend to ramble), The Wind Rises is a beautifully animated and well paced biopic, with plenty of emotional moments. By any other studio, this would be an awesome achievement, but unfortunately doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of Ghibli’s usual output. 8/10, Medium Recommendation

4. Robocop – José Padhilaan

I thought it was great. No, I’m serious; I thought it was a really well done film. Keep in mind, whilst a copy of the original 1987 Sci-Fi classic does reside on my overburdened bookshelf, I have not yet gotten around to watching it, at time of writing, and with a fresh outlook untainted by nostalgia goggles, the remake is a great time. So what, it’s not Oscar territory, but then neither was the original. The story concerns police officer Alex Murphy, played this time around by Joel Kinnaman (nope, me neither), who whilst trying to take down crime lord Vallon, is horrifically injured by a bomb planted in his own car. With this being the future and all, the omnipotent corporation OmniCorp (could have been worse; could have called it The Corporation) decide to rebuild him, turning him into the titular cyborg cop, but Murphy’s pesky human emotions get in the way of efficiency, and they decide to make him more machine than man. Okay, it may be the tale of the human soul vs. cold robotics that we’ve all seen before, but in a rare change of pace for a Hollywood blockbuster, the moral messages are actually very nicely handled, showing both sides of the argument, and even the pacing is handled well; keeping the action at a modest level throughout, and building up to its explosive finale. How does it compare to the original? No idea, maybe I’ll do a post on that someday, but if you are a big fan of the original, or just a sci-fi fan in general, I’d say it’s worth a look. 8/10, Medium Recommendation

3. The Lego Movie – Chris Miller, Phil Lord

I’ll admit, I was sceptical about this film at first. It looked a bit too kiddy and too much like a two hour long advert for me to really get excited about it on release, even as a huge Lego fan. But after hearing universal praise from critics and friends alike, I eventually decided to check it out on my flight back from Cuba (if you’re wondering, I watched The Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave on the way over), and I was very pleasantly surprised. While there were several parts which seemed to be made specifically to sell a line of sets, predictions that appear to be correct based on the merchandise, the film still has a genuinely enjoyable story and messages, and, contrary to my fears, actually has some decent humour. The story may not be ground-breaking; a Lego man is plucked out of his routine life and embarks on an adventure to overthrow a tyrannical leader, assembling a colourful cast of characters as he goes from location to location. But if you want a simple yet fun experience, this film will easily deliver, and might even stir up childhood memories of constructing crude models and making up your own haphazard stories, frankensteined together from all the plots of your favourite films (who didn’t try to make their own Star Wars VII when they were younger?). To conclude, The Lego Movie does what it says on the box; a simple yet creative childish romp which will leave even adults smiling. 8/10, Medium Recommendation

 2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards

Back when I was about 12, I remember hearing word that another Godzilla film was in the works, and getting excited about seeing it. Then, I didn’t hear much more on the subject and got interested in other films, and so the excitement left my mind somewhat. But then the film was finally released this year, and I went to see it with friends, and I recall feeling some of that childish glee return as I saw the king of the monsters onscreen. This sounds a bit misleading, because I was never exactly a Godzilla fan as a child; the giant monster genre was something that always fascinated me, but I never really got into them, mainly because most were Japanese and therefore hard to get hold of over here in the UK. So it was great to finally see a big budget monster flick on the big screen down at my local cinema, but it was also great to see an American take on the franchise which wasn’t shit, unlike the Roland Emmerich disaster from 1998. There’s not really much to say in terms of story; there are some weird giant aliens destroying various parts of America, and Godzilla shows up to stop them. Ok, yes there’s more to it than that, but it’s a Godzilla flick; the story’s not important, what matters is the action and visuals. And on that front, Godzilla excels. The dark gritty visuals and excellent sound design, especially where the aliens are concerned, create a dark, brooding atmosphere which give the film an apocalyptic air, and combined with the higher focus on human characters, makes this feel more like a national disaster rather than a campy showdown between men in suits. The best way to describe this is probably ‘the Godzilla film for the Cloverfield age’, since they both feature this grittier tone and human-centric storylines. And if this is the way modern monster movies are heading, then you can expect my full endorsement. Godzilla may not be an award winning piece, but its unbeatable popcorn entertainment; blockbusters at their roaring best. 8/10, Medium Recommendation

1. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum

This film very nearly put me on the edge of possibly tearing up. And yes, that’s the best you can probably expect from me in terms of an emotional reaction to a film. The Imitation Game is a biopic charting the career of WWII mathematician Alan Turing, as he attempts to break the German enigma code by creating a machine, dubbed Christopher, which would eventually go on to be the first step into the world of computing. The film also shows Turing’s downright appalling treatment by the government for being a homosexual, despite the enormous contribution he made to winning the war (it is estimated that his work shortened the war by three years) as well as technology in general. Despite being a computing student myself, I’ll admit I didn’t know much about Turing prior to watching this film, although my parents have remarked, both of them being programmers, that there were a few liberties taken with the story of Turing. But liberties or not, the story still stands strong and, as previously said, even managed to make me emotional, which is a rare achievement for any film. The acting is superb, Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job of portraying Turing in an admittedly similar vein to his Sherlock performance, although that’s hardly a negative point, and Keira Knightley also shines as Joan Clarke, Turing’s friend and wife. Although it may lose out to the other giants such as Interstellar and Birdman come award season, I sincerely hope this gem gets at least some Oscars, because it truly deserves them. 9/10, High Recommendation

And there we have it. Now there were a large number of films I didn't see, so this list does seem a bit lackluster, but I'm sure I'll get around to them in the new year. Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you all in 2015, where hopefully I might post some more articles.

When I'm not out on my hover board wearing my self-lacing shoes....