My Top 5 Films of 2015

Earlier this year in my Oscar blog post, I commented that there was apparently no point in doing a best of 2014 list when basically all of 2014’s juiciest titles didn't come out until the following year. And while the thought has danced temptingly in my mind to count said films as 2015 releases and have an easy, and strong for that matter, top list for 2015, I like to think I'm above such petty cheating.

However, the problem still remains that I haven’t really seen many films of 2015. I certainly haven’t been going to the cinema as often as I was last year, so doing a top 5 of 2015 seems near meaningless, considering I've only seen about 6 or 7 at best. So, instead of a ‘Top 5 of 2015’, I’d like you to think of this as more of a ‘Short Review of 5 of the films I saw in 2015’. And it may just be, purely through crazy random happenstance that I have chosen to talk about my five favourite films of 2015. We happy? Good. Let’s go.

5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – J. J. Abrams

Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012 to the collective astonishment of the masses, a frankly ridiculous amount of hype has been built up for this film, with an advertising campaign that seemed to infiltrate every industry, from laptops to airplanes, and has returned Star Wars to the mainstream, rather than as a property reserved exclusively for nerds like me. Unsurprisingly, it’s broken opening weekend records with its release, which has happened so often this year it doesn't sound impressive anymore, and I was amongst the many movie-goers who went to see it in its first few days (I managed to book last-minute into a Friday afternoon showing). So, the verdict. It’s a great film. It’s very enjoyable and, most commendably, it feels like Star Wars, something that, in retrospect, the prequels did not. The Force Awakens manages to capture the essence of classic Star Wars perfectly. I don’t know if it’s the use of practical effects, the returning acting talents of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill or, perhaps, its big weakness – its similarity to A New Hope. Some have called it a rehash or remake of the cherished original, and while I think that’s a little far, it definitely hits all the same plot points, something I might cover in more detail in a separate post, but at the very least, I was disappointed that the big threat is just another Death Star. OK, fine, its called Starkiller Base or something, and it’s bigger, yes, but it’s still a Death Star, and that’s just lazy. As I said, I may do a post expanding on all this in the future, but in short, it's a great film, but not the prodigy we were all expecting. 8/10, High Recommendation

4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn

Of all the films for me to take my family to see, I managed to choose arguably the most graphic of 2015’s highlights. Vaughn’s comic-book adapted spy thriller is certainly a pleasure to the senses: packed with great gags, a sterling soundtrack and deliciously visceral violence that falls right on the sweet spot of being graphic but not unpleasant. Samuel L Jackson as a villain with a lisp and a fear of blood is a masterstroke, and Colin Firth kicks arse as Lancelot, one of the Kingsman’s best agents. And how can we forget the Westborough Baptist Church massacre, set to the sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird. So, why are we only at fourth? OK, well prepare for what may be one of the weirdest criticisms I have ever and probably ever will give to a film. I cannot take the climax of the film seriously with Eggsy dressed in a suit. I know, it’s absurd, but when he’s dressed in the suit and glasses, trying to act all posh at the party, it just looks like a little eight or nine year old has put on daddy’s suit and is pretending to be Bond. I don’t know what they did but it’s just weird to watch, at least for me, and this was enough for me to knock off a mark (I tried to give it a nine, I really did, but I just couldn't agree with it). Everyone else loves it though, so maybe this is just something that only bothers me. Check it out, either way. 8/10, High Recommendation

3. Inside Out – Pete Docter

It seems Pixar have developed a worrying taste for making its audience cry. My generation all grew up on their earlier films, which bought us joy, and now that we’re all older and on the brink of adulthood, they've now changed tactics to instead make us weep for our lost childhood. First, Up showed us two children growing old and dealing with the futility of life in its opening montage, then Toy Story 3 made us confront the end of childhood and leaving our old life behind, and now Inside Out has reminded us of the depression, anxiety and death of childhood creativity that accompany our transition into adulthood. And yes, I cried. Get over it. I believe Pixar spent five years constructing this film, and the work really shows in this powerfully haunting, yet fun ride through the mind of a pre-pubescent child. The metaphorical representations of a psyche are questionable at times, but it all works, and you’ll be too caught up in the emotion (I'm sorry) of the piece to really think about the semantics too much. Kids will undoubtedly love it, and while it’s probably not Pixar’s best output, it’s up there. 9/10, High Recommendation

2. Ex Machina – Alex Garland

With a cinematic release period so short that I’d barely acknowledged it before it disappeared, I didn't actually get around to watching this one until a few weeks back, for possible use in my film studies coursework. And wow, it’s quite a film. The effects are phenomenal, and the soundtrack haunting, as we take an unsettling journey into the genesis of Artificial Intelligence. With only four characters and one location, the narrative is tight and the action suitably claustrophobic, for a film all about being trapped. The plot seems simple on the surface; a programmer is selected to visit his boss’ high tech retreat, where he is introduced to Ava, a potential artificial intelligence that needs to be verified with the Turing test. That’s really about all I can say without ruining it, but essentially, everything is much darker than it first seems. It’s one of those films that really just needs to be seen and experienced and there’s not much I think I can say that does it justice. A new sci-fi classic for sure, watch it with a good sound system. 9/10, High Recommendation

1. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller

What a lovely film. I remember eagerly renting the first Mad Max film a little while ago, hoping for a film that encapsulated everything I loved about the post-apocalypse, especially in games like Fallout, of which I am a massive fan. The first film didn't really impress me to say the least, and I never really got around to watching the second or third ones, fearing more of the same. But then Fury Road came out, to the sound of critics, fans, and just about everyone really, creaming their pants in perfect unison. After enquiring with a few of my friends, asking if it was really that good and getting a definite yes in response, I decided to go and see what all the fuss was about. And I can indeed inform you that the fuss was about one of the greatest action films since The Dark Knight, possibly of this century so far. The plot is light and the context pretty simple, in order to devote as much attention and screen time to the stellar action scenes. It’s a miasma of vehicular mayhem to say the least, but there’s enough breaks in the actions that it never grows tiring, but never a lull long enough that the audience get bored. Not to mention pretty much all the stunts and cars were practical effects, with CG only really being used for the scenery and environment, and it really injects life and a certain adrenaline into the carnage that computer effects just can’t achieve. I'm pretty sure most people have seen this film now, but if you haven’t, pick up a copy on Blu-ray now that it’s been released and treat yourself. Heck, I’d even suggest forking over a little extra for the 3D version. I don’t know if it’s any good, I saw it in 2D, but I wouldn't be surprised if it managed to improve on the experience. 9/10, High Recommendation

Well, that’s a wrap for 2015. It’s been my first full year of posting, and I think I've done a fair amount. Next year will be getting pretty busy as I finish my A-levels and move on to university. I have got several posts in the works which’ll hopefully keep this page going for the first half of the year. I’ll also be looking to do Oscars again next year, although I must say the current line-up of Oscar candidates seems a bit muted compared to last year’s offerings. So far, only The Revenant and Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies seem set for the Oscar runnings, and as this list demonstrates, there's been a lot of strong, non-Oscar-bait films this year, so it will be intriguing to see what else follows. I'm especially interested to see the nominations for special/visual effects, because Ex Machina, The Force Awakens and Mad Max have really raised the bar this year.

But that’s enough from me for now; I'm sure we've all got some festivities to return to. I wish you all a belated merry Christmas and a happy new year! See you on the other side.

A Muse Retrospective - Part 1: Overture

So, let’s break up the monotony a bit and talk about something other than films for a change. That’s something I bet you thought I’d never say (or type, but whatever). Obviously this is a film blog, and the vast majority of stuff I talk about on here will be film-related, as that is the area I have the most to say about. But today, I feel like talking about music. Specifically, one of my favourite bands; Muse.

For those who are blissfully unaware of what they are missing, Muse are a three piece alternative rock band from England who released their first album in 1999, and started to become more popular in the mid 2000’s, before becoming a tad mainstream in the past few years, with the help of the London Olympics. They’re well known for their fusion of traditional rock tunes with more symphonic piano pieces as well as frontman Matthew Bellamy’s unique and unmistakable vocals. They’re also the first band I ever really got into, and were my first step into my casual interest in music.

With their seventh album Drones being released earlier this year, I think it’s time for a bit of a retrospective on their discographic history thus far. Although keep in mind I’m not quite as in tune with the music lingo as I am with films, so you’ll have to excuse the slightly more generalised approach to these reviews. That being said, let’s get cracking!

Muse made their debut in 1999 with Showbiz, named after one of the best tracks of the album. Looking at the album cover, we see a woman in white walking around some alien planet thing. I’m not really quite sure of the meaning of this or how it ties into the album, but hey, its nice imagery, and the deep blues and blacks definitely fit in with album’s melancholic tone. When placing the Muse albums in order of excellence, Showbiz is the one no one seems to know what to do with. It’s definitely not the worst, but not really their best either, although this is still a great album. Sunburn and Muscle Museum are the popular songs, and while they’re good, I still stand by Uno and Showbiz being the two best songs on the album, and even now, two of their best songs ever. The rest of the album ranges from very good to pretty good or quite good to serviceable, depending on my mood. Cave, Escape and Unintended are other noteworthy songs, whilst Falling Down brings up the rear. It’s not awful, I’m just not a massive fan, and it takes a little too long to get to the climax of the song. I don’t really give albums ratings, but for the sake of this retrospective, I’m going to make an exception. Showbiz gets four stars (out of five, for simplicity)

In the space odyssey year of 2001, Muse started breaking the ice a bit more with their acclaimed follow-up, Origin of Symmetry. Many fans consider this their best album. Ehhhhh, I’m not too sure. Don’t get me wrong, this is one of their best, and makes up part of the superstar trio along with Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations, but I’m not sure if it represents their best work. Let’s have a look. The album cover shows a field of tuning forks growing out of the ground against an orange sky. Well, they look like rugby posts, frankly, but I think tuning forks is what they were going for. But it’s iconic, simple and memorable. Like Dark Side of the Moon’s prism, although not quite as easy to draw all over your textbook (I drew many-a-prism throughout GCSE English). Anyway, this album went for more of a space-y experimental approach, and it works pretty well. It certainly has a unique sound, and you can always detect that style when you hear B-sides recorded around this time (which, by the way, tend to be much underappreciated). The album definitely has a very strong start, with the phenomenal New Born and is followed by several other great songs, including the popular Plug In Baby and fan favourites such as Hyper Music and the heavy guitar-gasm Citizen Erased. My personal favourites from the album are these four essential classics, but other notable songs include Space Dementia, a haunting yet elegant piano-based piece, and Bliss, a much lighter and pop-y track. While the songs succeeding the landmark Citizen Erased aren’t bad, per se, they are a bit of a falter. Screenager never really gelled with me, and while I once used to love Dark Shines and Megalomania, the former started to fall out with me, suffering slightly from Falling Down’s syndrome of taking too long to get really good, while Megalomania became unimpressive after I discovered Ruled By Secrecy from their next album Absolution, which I feel is a much better and more epic version of the same kind of sound. However, there are still no particularly bad songs on the album, and it’s still a pleasure to listen to all the way through, and I can see why people place it as their favourite. I’ll give it four stars. Heck, how about four and a half.

On to their third and probably best album (again, my opinion), Absolution. With the release of this album, Muse had made a name for itself, and the Absolution Tour’s success proved just how popular they’d become. For their third outing, Muse went all-out and decided to do a thematic album about the apocalypse. Moving on from the more experimental and space-y sound of before, their music came a little closer to more traditional rock with heavy guitar riffs such as in Stockholm Syndrome and Hysteria, while still preserving and upgrading their symphonic sound, with use of a full orchestra in Blackout.

Album cover? Love it. I am a big fan of Storm Thorgerson’s work, and would love to be able to

produce images half as good as some of his album covers, so there may be a bit of personal bias here, but I think this is probably the best Muse album cover so far. The image depicts the shadows of people falling to Earth. Or are they ascending? Is this the rapture? Or are angels falling from the heavens? If they are angels, then where are their wings and robes as depicted in religious artwork? Could this be a damning of contemporary religious imagery while still implying some kind of higher power? Why do they all look featureless and identical? It’s this ambiguity that draws me to this cover, and all the questions it raises make it even more fascinating. Despite being a film studies student, I’m generally not a massive fan of over-analysing media like this, but I can’t help but marvel at the mystery of this image and what its true meaning is.

Let’s get on to the songs. This was the first Muse album to use short transitional tracks, namely Intro and Interlude, making complete playthroughs of the album feel more like a whole. Consequently, this feels like the first album that really works (thematically, anyway) when played all the way through, and if I’m going to listen to any Muse album in that way, this is certainly a top pick. I’m going to break the mould a bit here and not automatically default to Times is Running Out or Hysteria as my favourite songs of the album. Yes, of course they’re great songs, and are highlights, but Absolution’s best has to go to Thoughts of a Dying Atheist. Sporting some absolutely cracking guitar work, mixed with the emotional vigour and desperation of a man on the brink of death makes for a compelling listen. Obvious favourites include other heavies such as the aforementioned Time is Running Out and Hysteria, as well as Stockholm Syndrome and The Small Print, but I’m also a big fan of the slower, more emotional tracks such as Blackout, Endlessly, Falling Away with You and the previously discussed power-house, Ruled By Secrecy. Again, there aren’t really any bad songs on the album, and even the lesser songs I’m about to list are all still great tracks, but if I had to pick, Apocalypse Please, Sing for Absolution and Butterflies and Hurricanes bring up the rear. It’s not really their fault, blame the Shuffle feature on iTunes; it always seems to play these tracks, and they’re unfortunately not good enough to hold up to as many listens as I’ve been subjected to. Thanks, Apple. Regardless, this is still a great album, and it’s clear why this was the one to cement their popularity. Five stars.

Okay, so this went on way longer than I intended, so I think I’m going to split this into a three-part post. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I’ll be discussing Black Holes & Revelations, The Resistance and The 2^nd Law. See you then!

Footnote: Damn, this post has been ready for ages and I somehow forgot to post it. Well here it is, a little later than intended but oh well. Once again, this year I will be posting on New Year's Eve, so stick around for that. Hope you're all having a great Christmas, and I'll see you on Thursday.

Spectre (2015) – A Ghost of its Predecessors

So Spectre has been running for about a week now and has already surpassed Skyfall’s opening weekend, but despite its success it seems to have divided opinion somewhat. With Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, everyone was pretty much in agreement that they were fantastic, bad and great respectively, but now we are at an impasse, and there doesn't seem to be any real consensus as to whether Spectre is good or not. Of course, being British, I have seen the new Bond and so while it’s still hot in our minds, I've decided to summarise my general thoughts on the film and the things I picked up on; my first actual film review, if you like. I'm going to try and keep it somewhat short, so without further ado, let’s proceed.

First let’s establish, I enjoyed Spectre. As an action blockbuster, it’s a solid ride and hits all the marks you’d expect; expensive cars being trashed, attractive women, explosions etc. Compared to other blockbusters like Transformers, for example, this is an engaging and competent thriller. Then again, anything looks engaging and competent when compared to Transformers. Even Alien Resurrection looks competent compared to Transformers, but now we’re getting off topic. Spectre only really falters when you start to look at it as a Bond film, and particularly as a successor to the previously mentioned Casino Royale and Skyfall.

Here’s the problem; Casino Royale and Skyfall set the bar so high for the Bond series, that Spectre had an uphill struggle from the beginning. Compare it to those two films, especially Casino Royale, and of course it’s going to look disappointing; Casino Royale was and still is one of the best thrillers of the 2000s, and it came at a time when the Bond series was in dire need of some defibrillation. While Brosnan’s Bonds were good, and helped transition the classic Bond to a more modern audience, the series was approaching its 40^th anniversary, and the franchise was starting to grow tired. With the rise of more modern spy thrillers like The Bourne Identity, audiences were hankering after something darker, with more realistic violence and less comical villains. Casino Royale was exactly what we all wanted and so it was a major hit. But here’s the thing; Spectre is the fourth entry in this revival series, and so by now we’re expecting a dark, gritty Bond and what’s more we want it to reach the same level, if not surpass its earlier entries. So of course it’s going to seem disappointing when you hold it to those lofty expectations, but if you watch it with a fresh mind, it’s still the same Daniel Craig Bond and it’s still just as dark as ever.

That’s not to say Spectre isn't flawed; of course it’s flawed, that’s why I'm writing a post about it. Primarily, Spectre contains a lot of action set pieces, but the overarching story is loose, at best. The tighter focus and relatively simple plot of Casino Royale aren't present here, and the story sprawls both geographically and narratively. Bond’s in Mexico taking out some dude, then he’s in England where M tells him off, then suddenly he’s off to Italy where he discovers SPECTRE, then he’s off to some other dude who tells him to go to Austria so he goes to Austria and so on, and that’s not even half way through the film. I won’t go into too much plot detail because spoilers, but it really could do with a bit of a trim. It doesn't help that each of these location’s sequences are so brief it feels like we’re watching a best-bits compilation.

Then there’s the gender politics. While I am of course a supporter of equality, it’s rare for me to actually discuss it just because I find it ridiculous that we still have to discuss racism and sexism to the extent that we do. How come we’re creating supercomputers, exploring space, writing messages for extra-terrestrial life and progressively curing cancer yet we still can’t even treat each other right? Regardless, I feel something needs to be said about Spectre. It’s odd that Bond exists so prominently in our modern society whilst still being so old-fashioned in its masculinity. Bond is pretty much about fast cars, hot women and violence, and always has been, but today it seems really out of place. When we had Dame Judi Dench as M, even though Bond was still up to his usual tricks, the gender politics seemed slightly more evened out, and even Vesper from Casino Royale had a substantial role in the plot and Bond’s own character arc. But now we have a male M again, Bond’s questionable attitude to women seems more noticeable. He appears to have his way with three different women throughout the film: one in the opening sequence (supposedly, at least: we never see for sure), a widow of a dude he killed, which seemed very off, almost borderline rape, and the main Bond girl, Swan, who looks about half his age, if that. I'm not sure what to really say about it; it’s such an integral part of the Bond formula that it feels almost wrong to take it out, but it seems really unnatural and backwards in today’s society, especially as this is definitely a more modern interpretation of Bond. Not to mention (Spoilers) the climax of the film is literally Swan tied up and gagged in a building rigged to explode with a countdown timer. (End of Spoilers) Seriously.

And of course, we get the Aston Martin. After all the build-up and release of the new DB10, which was made pretty much for the film, you’d expect a lot from it. It does get a car chase, even with some gadgetry which greatly pleased my inner child, but it’s over so quickly; (Spoilers if you care about cars) Bond just dumps the car in the river after the brief chase and that’s it. Finished. This film, that was supposed to act as the main advertisement for the car, gives it barely fifteen minutes of screen time before trashing it. As a lover of Aston Martins, it was quite a disappointing dismissal of such a great looking car. And I'm really not comfortable with this trend of destroying the Aston Martin; it happened in Casino Royale and Skyfall as well, and I still find the DB5 being wrecked more emotional than M’s death. But then I'm weird like that. (End of Car Spoilers)

Lastly, the violence. It is a grittier more violent imagining of Bond as previously discussed, and now we've secured the 12A rating as a default, the violence wants to stretch its arms a bit, which I fully endorse. And some moments, such as Bond’s torture scene are particularly hard to watch, and Blofeld’s scarred eye looks fantastic. But there’s one particular moment that stands out as not quite hitting the mark. At the SPECTRE meeting, some unfortunate man gets his eyes gouged by a large burly black dude. Of course. However, this act is pathetically tame, to a nearly humorous degree. It probably doesn't help that I saw a similar act in Game of Thrones earlier that week (yes, I'm a little behind; cut me some slack) which was, of course, much more graphic. Just a decent sound effect or two would have helped. Especially thinking of a similar scene in Blade Runner; it’s not on screen particularly (unless you’re watching The Final Cut) but there’s enough information and sound effects to be suitably graphic without being as excessive as Game of Thrones. Maybe they tried to make it worse but were threatened with the 15 rating. Either way, it looks a bit pants as it is, and I can’t help but find it slightly comical, which I'm pretty sure isn't what they were going for.

Well, that about sums up all my main observations. It’s pretty safe to assume anything I didn't mention was generally sound (a good rule of thumb with my discussions). Overall, it’s definitely worth seeing, especially if you’re a fan of Bond, but don’t go in expecting Casino Royale. However, judging by the pattern that’s emerging, the next film (also to be Craig’s last) looks like it’s going to be fantastic, so let’s hope 2018’s entry really delivers. Okay, I think I've definitely exceeded what can be considered a ‘short’ review so we’ll close here for today. Besides, I've got some albums to revisit…

Spectre - 2015 – Sam Mendes - English

Score:   7

Recommendation: Medium

EDIT:  Oh yes, forgot to mention; the new theme song. While it has a decent tune and lyrics, it’s sung awfully. I don’t know who this Sam Smith guy is, but his ‘balls trapped in a vice’ singing style really doesn't do it for me, especially for a Bond song, which generally have deeper vocals. Get Adele back, she actually did it pretty well.