Dallas Buyers Club is a masterclass in acting and Matthew McConaughey is the teacher – Jared Leto his understudy.
12 Years a Slave is a black slavery-era film based upon the harrowing true story of Soloman Northup, a distinguished musician and free man who is conned, kidnapped and subsequently sold into slavery. Northup’s identity is lost as he is forced to struggle for survival for the next twelve years as he faces the obscenities of slave traders and plantation owners.
Her is a funny, charming, sad and ultimately scary look into the possible future of interaction between humans and technology.
In a future world, young boy and girl geniuses are being recruited and military-trained to battle dangerous alien forces, ones that nearly destroyed Earth’s civilisation in a previous attack not long before.
Filth follows the story of Scottish police officer Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy) and his attempt to sabotage his colleagues’ chances of making detective in order to advance his own position, all whilst battling his personal demons with a progressive onslaught of alcohol and drug abuse.
Captain Phillips tells the story of the real-life hijacking of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship by Somali pirates in 2009. Helmed by the titular Captain Richard Phillips, the ship is boarded by a band of Somali pirates whilst en-route to Mombasa and consequently hijacked and held for ransom for a large fee. The ship’s crew safely manages to hide in the lower levels of the ship, whilst Captain Phillips righteously deals with the hijackers whilst protecting his crew and cargo.
Jobs takes a look at the key events and moments in the history of Apple and its leader, Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher). The film does a decent job of covering some of the key moments of Apple’s history, but unfortunately, the filmmakers do not go deep enough into the complex personality of Steve Jobs.
Kick-Ass 2 is the sequel to Matthew Vaughn’s surprise-hit film adaptation of the Kick-Ass comic-book franchise. Kick-Ass was hugely popular due to its non-conventional style, especially the use of coarse language and brutal violence – something rarely seen in other comic-book franchise films. Kick-Ass 2 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, however it fails to exceed or match the standard set in the first film.
Only God Forgives is Nicholas Winding Refn’s follow-up to his universally acclaimed neo-noir, art-house crime flick Drive. Stylistically, a lot has carried over from Drive – long takes, minimalist dialogue, a brooding score and stunning cinematography.
Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg (the creative team behind films such as Superbad and Pineapple Express) have split directorial duties to give a comedic take on the end-of-the-world genre with the aptly titled – This Is the End.
The true measure of success for a film franchise is when films in the series start to become parodies of themselves. The sixth instalment in the Fast & Furious series is a true example of this, bringing back everything to love and hate from the previous five films and taking it to another level. The lines are cheesier, the plot is simpler and the action set pieces larger and more extravagant than any in the previous films (and other action films period). It’s a film where all disbelief must be averted to enjoy it and once that is done, it’s a highly memorable and enjoyable cinematic experience.
The follow up to 2009’s Star Trek reboot is an action-packed science-fiction adventure film that doesn’t quite reach the bar set in J.J. Abrams’ first film, but is entertaining enough to please Trekkies and the regular blockbuster film-going audience alike.
Amour is not easy viewing; it’s fair to say that it’s neither entertaining nor enjoyable – but it is still brilliant.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is pure guilty-pleasure viewing. It’s a violent and absurd extension of the classic fairy tale, in which Hansel and Gretel are now grown up – and hunting witches.
Zero Dark Thirty tells the story of the decade-long manhunt for terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden. It is a completely engrossing look into the people involved in the operation and the methods employed by them that eventually lead to Bin Laden’s discovery and death, ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Rise of the Guardians is a moderately entertaining Dreamworks feature animation film that brings to life the fictional characters involved in the biggest lie told to children around the world.
