Begin Again (2013/2014)

Written and Directed by John Carney (Once)
Starring:
Mark Ruffalo (13 Going on 30)
Keira Knightley (Bend it Like Beckham)
James Cordon (Doctor Who)
Adam Levine (Iran So Far)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Catherine Keener (40 Year Old Virgin)
Yasiin "Mos Def " Bey (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
Ceelo Green (Mystery Men)

Character, baby! This is what I'm talking about! Carney once again proves his knack at topographic authenticity. He constructs raw, ruptured, whole characters that grow and change in the span of two hours. The first half of the film employs a fluid structure allowing lives to weave in and out of each other yet avoids feeling repetitive. Simple cut-away shots, throw away dialogue, and clothing choices all work to give every small character a palpable depth. The film builds itself up on separate time frames adding more and more meaning after each revelation until we are rolling full steam ahead to a straightforward culmination of the plot heading to a delectably satisfying finish.

Begin Again also offers some genuine movie magic. That ghost performance was a thing of beauty. Fueled by happiness and excitement, those recording scenes are remarkably infectious and vault the otherwise simple idea of the outdoor studio to be something exceptional. Carney manages to construct intimately meaningful scenes using the simple joys we all wish we could experience any given day. It might be a product of my deplorable social life but do you know how rare it is to listen to music with someone else and you both enjoy it? Sharing music is one of the hardest achievements in real life and this film shows the ideal fulfillment while giving the characters a convincing emotional journey to have deserved experiencing it. Carney shines a spotlight on the power of friendship and showcases a mutual respect devoid of clingyness and constructed naturally out of the story. I can't tell you how vitalizing the moment was when I realized the two leads are not going to get together.

Ruffalo's man-on-the-brink performance gave me something I always want to see, a character's struggle to improve. Carney allows his characters to make good decisions after suffering for bad ones. 

Lovely dabs of humor lift the potentially depressing traps in the plot. From ripping on Levine's absurd beard to letting a Ruffalo and an underused James Cordon throw out quick witty dialogue, the movie is never short on pleasantness to accompany the depth. I got a real Blues Brothersy vibe from the time spent putting the band together, as well. It turned in to the movie I wanted Inside Llewyn Davis to be. Carney trumped the Coen Brothers. 

As with  Markéta Irglová in Once, Carney continues to show his savvy for subversion of standard female romanticism. Here, Knightley's sandal-loving songstress, Gretta James (such a classically inspired name, isn't it) is allowed to choose as much as the male lead and she is *gasp* individually capable of thought, undergoing such glorious glorious progression. 2014 was a solid year for both original films and strong female characters and my final ranking will reflected just that.

I'll end with the driving force of the movie. Without good songs, this would be a decent film. Instead we have, like Once before it, a film littered with moody and melodic tunes sung by the actors that are really good and once more, well deservedly up for Best Song at the Oscars. As if Keira Knightley didn't have enough talent, she can sing right up there with Adam Levine.

Bottom Line: A thoroughly satisfying musical that tickled every sentimental bone in my body and mesmerizes on both a technical and creative level.

10 out of 10

Director Round Up 2014-15

Current standings of the most surefire directors and a bit of what they got going for them.  

1. Edgar Wright - Last: The World's End, Best: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Next: Ant-Man (writer)/Baby Driver (Writer/director) 
2. Matthew Vaughn - Last: Kingsman: The Secret Service, Best: Stardust, Next: TBA
3. Christopher Nolan - Last: Interstellar, Best: The Dark Knight, Next: TBA
4. Phil Lord and Chris Miller - Last: 22 Jump Street, Best: The Lego Movie, Next: The Last Man on Earth (TV)
5. Guillermo Del Toro - Last: Pacific Rim (writer/director) The Hobbit (Writer), Best: The Strain (TV), Next: Crimson Peak
6. Duncan Jones - Last: Source Code, Best: Moon, Next: Warcraft
7. Rian Johnson - Last: Breaking Bad " Ozymandias" (TV), Best: Looper, Next: Star Wars: Ep. 8 
8. David Fincher - Last: Gone Girl, Best: Fight Club, Next: Utopia (TV)
9. Wes Anderson - Last/Best: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Next: TBA
10. Joss Whedon - Last: Agents of SHIELD Pilot (TV). Best: Serenity, Next: The Avengers: Age of Ultron
11. J.J. Abrams - Last: Star Trek Into Darkness, Best: Star Trek, Next: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
12. Martin Scorsese - Last: The Wolf of Wall Street, Best: Hugo/The Departed, Next: Silence
13. Quentin Tarantino - Last/Best: Django Unchained, Next: The Hateful Eight 
14. Anthony and Joe Russo - Last: Marvel's Agent Carter (TV), Best: Community "A Fistful of Paintballs" + "For a Few Piantballs More" (TV), Next: Captain America: Civil War 
15. Steven Spielberg - Last: Lincoln, Best: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Next: "Untitled Cold War Spy Thiller"
16. Ben Affleck - Last: Argo, Best: The Town, Next: Live by Night
17. David O. Russell - Last/Best: American Hustle, Next: Joy
18. James Gunn - Last: Guardians of the Galaxy, Best: Slither, Next Guardians of the Galaxy 2
19. Ben Stiller - Last: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Best: Tropic Thunder, Next: TBA
20. Coen Brothers - Last: Inside Llewyn Davis, Best: Fargo, Next: Hail, Caesar!
21. The Pool.  

Directors who missed the cut. Somewhat ordered from strongest to weakest but not specifically.

Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg

Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods)
Zach Snyder
Joe Wright (Atonement, upcoming Pan)
Martin MacDonough (In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths)
Jim Rash and Nat Faxon 
Jered and Jerusha Hess (Nacho Libre and Napoleon Dynamite)
Gareth Edwards (Godzilla)
Josh Trank (Fantastic Four)
Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World)
Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Cloverfield)

Guy Ritchie

Justin Lin (Fast and Furious Franchise and the next Star Trek)
Adam McKay

Brad Bird (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol)
Andrew Stanton (John Carter and Finding Nemo)
Paul Feig
Michel Gondry
Doug Liman (Borne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow)
Spike Jonez
Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy and Oblivion)
David Ayer (Fury and upcoming Suicide Squad)
Gareth Evans (The Raid 1 and 2)
Christoper McQuarrie (Jack Reacher)
Alejandro Innaritu (Birdman)

John MacDonough
The Wachowskis

Peter Jackson

Akiva Schaffer
Sam Raimi
Ridley Scott
Danny Boyle
James Mangold
Sam Mendes
Francis Lawrence
Alfonso Cuaron
Nicholas Stoller
Alan Taylor
Tom Hooper
John Woo
Ang Lee
Paul Thomas Anderson
Pete Travis (Dredd)
Payton Reed (Bring It On, Down With Love and Antman)
David Koepp (Premium Rush)
David Slade (30 Days of Night and Hannibal)
Joon-ho Bong (Snow Piercer)
David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (John Wick)
Jeff Nichols (Mud)
Wes Ball (Maze Runner)
Shane Black
Edward Zwick
Brad Furman (Lincoln Lawyer but also Runner Runner)
Andrew Adamson (Shrek and Narnia 1 and 2)
Barry Sonnenfeld (MIB, The Tick, Pushing Daisies, Wild Wild West)
Noah Baumbach
Mike Cahill
Joe Johnston
Adam Wingard (You're Next and The Guest)
Marc Webb
Timur Bekmambetov
Behn Zeitlin
Zal Batmanglij
Richard Curtis (Love Actually and About Time)
Ron Howard
Marc Foster (Casino Royale and World War Z)
Gavin Hood
Garth Jennings
James Wan
Nimrod Antal
Rob Reiner
Michael Mann
Stephen Chow
Stuart Beattie (Tomorrow When the War Began and I, Frankenstein)
Richard Linklater
Mark and Jay Duplass
Tarsem
Jon Favreau
George Nolfi
Gore Verbinski
Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire and Castle but Elektra)
David Lynch
Neil Burger

Len Wiseman
Tim Burton

Robert Zemeckis
Cameron Crowe

Kevin Reynolds (The Count of Monte Cristo, Tristan + Isolde, but Waterwold and Robin Hood: POT)

Anne Fletcher (Step Up, 27 Dresses, the Proposal, Enchanted 2)
Shawn Levy

These names were inevitably thought of but instantly laughed off.
Michael Bay
M. Night Shayamalan
Andrew Niccol
Paul WS Anderson
Uwe Boll

Boyhood (2014)

Written and Directed by Richard Linklater (School of Rock)
Starring
Ethan Hawke (Gattaca)
Patricia Arquette (Holes) 
Ellar Coltrane
Lorelie Linklater

This is not a typical film. Artsy but on a purely technical scale, with a story that is nothing special and that is precisely what makes the whole thing special. Its a serious Seinfeld. A movie about nothing where the acting is excellent and the drama is generic. It plays out like a long dreadful memory.

This was more about the technical accomplishment than the story and to overlook that revolutionary accomplishment of filming though a 12 year time span would be an injustice. While I had absolutely no interest in the story whatsoever, I can't deny that it was a remarkable journey highlighting what it means to live a normal, albeit broken, life. None of the characters are, in any way, remarkable. They consistently make horrible choices. A depiction of an average life is not something you necessarily want to watch but the entire point of the movie has nothing to do with the plot. The whole thing is one long way of minimizing makeup costs and in that, it is supremely effective. 

As expected the themes it actively tries to explore quickly become redundant. I get it, beer is bad, teens and husbands can't help but be jerks, society glorifies alcohol and sex and those that don't partake are dweebs, drugs are just normal, and being kind and compassionate towards others is meaningless. Nearly three hours of compromising character in favor of trying to be deep can get a bit monotonous but the performances of Coltrane, Hawke, and Arquette are so life like that you can;t help but admire the job they do. 

To bash on the story a bit more, it never fails to fall victim to cliches. It could be a product of the ambitious scope or maybe Linklater found it revolutionary in 2002 and simply couldn't change it. When the world of the film is the same as the our own (minus Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette being famous people), which is the case in many movies, the expectations turn to story, character, and style. The visuals Linklater opts for are purely realistic. The only hint of this being more than a home video is found in the time relevant music that pops up in the background every now and then. Two Arcade Fire songs is a triumph on its own.

In shooting natural growth, it seems you have to sacrifice originality for convention and take what you can get. Common popular themes like a failed marriage, puberty, and the American dream are given a general, sweeping depiction. We see a dozen years pass by and only Ernesto and Mason Sr. see any worthwhile character change. We also see Mason Jr. develop a decent taste in music, so there's that. In the end it was a long film that went dabbled in all sorts of nothingness. Just like real American lives. Relationships. Divorce. Alcohol. Hurray!

Congratulations Richard Linklater. You've made a boringly impressive three hour Youtube clip. 

Bottom Line: While I wasn't taken in by the characters, I was still affected by the story enough to hate them and I hate everything about the characters (except, once again, Ernesto. Give that dude his own movie). Despite that, the achievement here can't be dismissed. This is an unequivocally real film and while I may relate to zero percent of it, I can't deny its relevance to modern American life. It's nowhere near the top of my list but it'll be a favorite for the Oscars. 

8 out of 10 

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

Written, Starring, and Directed by Seth MacFarlane (Ted)
Also Written by Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild (Also Ted)
Also Starring:
Charlize Theron (The Devil's Advocate)
Neil Patrick Harris (Gone Girl)
Liam Neeson (Batman Begins)
Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls)

Gotta love it when a film blasts its title out in some dialogue. This crude and vulgar western comedy musters up enough wit and energy that I could not help but be charmed by it. Born from the ashes of Blazing Saddles, it may not have the same borders to cross as that legendary film but it manages to find a nice place for itself in that lofty shadow. Driven by a foul-mouthed silliness, the real success is how sincere the whole thing feels. MacFarlane must have had a high level of energy behind the camera as he was able to inject the actors with welcomed touch of investment. It seemed like they all enjoyed working on this movie.

Sadly the trailers give away quite a few of the bigger gags but we're still treated to enough fresh jokes Throw in MacFarlane's knack for kooky musical numbers and Theron getting her comedy on in a way she hasn't since Arrested Development and we've got an enjoyable film going on. It helps that I have a soft spot for silliness and NPH (Who doesn't have a soft spot for NPH?)

This movie gives you the basics every western brings in an attempt to parody them. We have our hero, we have our love interest, we have our rough and tumble outlaw villain, a whore, a side kick, the works.

Yup, all there. 

The Villain, Clinch, is overly cliched and portrayed with a refreshing sinister Irish sneer only Liam Neeson could unleash. Such a simple evil, contextualized in such a way, namely wrapped up in idiocy, where it comes across as entirely unique. The comedic frame MacFarlane adds, feeds every other cliched character a genuine response. I was reminded of the writing on Parks and Recreation's early episodes vs the later and better ones.  The writers write how characters react, altering how the audience relates to that character. It worked for Leslie Knope and is put to a similar effect here.

Sincere in their emotion what ever it may be. As silly and crude as it gets, MacFarlane's passion for this project seeps into each stupid character and the generic western supporting cast is endearingly hilarious if you let them be. From the dad, to the Indians, to the fair workers, the roles are played with that vital sincerity needed to make any comedy a hit with audiences. Even when you know they are coming, the jokes can manage to get a smile. The cameos are diverse, some subtle, some overt but each serves their purpose which, again, is comedy. It'll be fun seeing if it can stave off those Razzie nominations. I'll be rooting for it to pull through unscathed. 

Bottom Line: I saw here glimpses of what the Lone Ranger could have been. A western with heart, albeit a heart with literal feces of all sorts running through its arteries. A dash of romance, a pinch of self discovery, and solid, sometimes surprisingly grand camera work make this a pretty decent film. Not everyone will enjoy the niche comedy but those who eat up Family Guy certainly will.  

8 out of 10. 

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)

Written and Directed by Scott Frank (The Lookout)
Novel by Lawrence Block
Starring:
Liam Neeson (The Lego Movie)
Dan Stevens (The Guest)
Brian Bradley aka Astro (The Redband Society)
Sebastian Roche (Supernatural)
Boyd Holbrook (The Skeleton Twins)
David Harbour (Quantum of Solace)
Adam David Thompson (Martha Marcy May Marlene)

The title screamed Western but, it turns out, director Scott Frank has made the best neo-noir film this side of Brick. Packaged in Wes Anderson-like symmetry and framing, and drenched in the dark, grizzly atmosphere of True Detective, Frank's beautifully grim direction manages to carve a stylish mystery out of the somewhat familiar mixture of drugs, murder, and redemption. It even had a hint of Rian Johnson's auteurial flair with smooth pans across landscapes.

To make the obvious comparison, Walk is Taken but with better acting and more patience. We all know by now that when you shove a phone at Liam Neeson and give him outstanding dialogue to pour into the speaker, he absolutely nails it. The outstanding dialogue is optional. I'm having a hard time believing that this wasn't intentional. There's a fair bit of humor peppered in throughout the movie to make me think they played to certain desires. That terrible hair and beard in the flashback looks pretty deliberate.

"Gimmie the upside down Bob Ross Goatee"

Neeson's memorable ex-detective, Matt Scudder, is surrounded by well-rounded side characters who all play into the grand gravy. Dan Stevens and Astro were magnificent in bringing a desperation and innocence to their roles, respectively, expanding the emotional range of the story. Holbrook and the ever reliable Sebastian Roche each brought their characters to life with deeply entrenched performances. To top it off, we are also given a juicy antagonist duo. David Harbour and Adam Thompson were brilliant in unleashing a menacing rampage. No character felt wasted. There were some arcs that were mistreated towards the end, but the whole ordeal was ultimately a satisfying surprise.

Another pleasant plus this movie did with the characters was setting them up like pieces in a puzzle to cross the path of our protagonist. They are slowly maneuvered so that every piece eventually aligns and fills the screen simultaneously. That perfect scene where all the characters are now face to face. It's a common occurrence, but only as exciting when done with this precise pacing.

Bottom Line: Neeson refuses to let up in this brutal, stylish and, at times, contemplative film about a gruesome crime spree. It stands out from typical crime stories by using slick camera work and spectacular casting. Once again, not a Western.

9 out of 10.

Predestination (2015)

Written and Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. 

Starring: 

Ethan Hawke (Gattaca)

Sarah Snook 

Noah Taylor (Game of Thrones)

Ever since I was destroyed by a little film called Gattaca, the name Ethan Hawke always stirs up a healthy reflux of anticipation. Here, that excitement is not wasted. The story the Spierig Brothers set out to tell with Predestination may be well-tread territory (not to mention an adaptation of a Heinlein short story - http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/303/heinlein_all_you_zombies.pdf ) but through deliberate pacing, a lovely smattering of weirdness, and some spectacular scope, they manage to make a distinct temporal statement that keeps you completely engaged and emotionally active. Their talent with SciFi aesthetics, as proven with the vamp tale Daybreakers, raises this movie from one that not only respectfully mimics recent Scifi triumphs like Looper, Moon, Minority Report, and About Time to one that joins their esteemed ranks. The end result is one of the best time travel movies ever made, not to mention an effective piece of mustache propaganda.  

The real victory lap of Predestination, story wise, is the forceful and simple method of time travel while firmly contained in a recent yet decidedly unfamiliar past. Even in the convolution that comes from messing with time, the story managed to hold on to a simplicity that comfortably utilizes, at times admittedly cheesy, sentiment. When the payoff is as complete as the one here is, those minor faults can be forgiven. The film's muted spectacle tries successfully to spotlight the performances. 

Dual framing devices are at play with one firmly grounded in a harrowing reality and powerfully introducing Sarah Snook to the world and the other one jumping across decades. The whole is focused on a single, dashed-line perspective that tries it's best to pull a Memento. It's an admirable attempt and one whose perspective requires patience to watch and ultimately, it works. For those who enjoy letting a movie take them on a ride, the patience put in is rewarded. The pacing is best compared to a bridge in a song, a deliberate gear shift like those found in Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out or Metallica's Fade to Black where the whole thing suddenly zones in and rockets forward. When Predestination makes that pivot, strap in. 

Propelled by remarkable performances from Snook and Hawke, the story is able to build an atmosphere that's calm but boiling. I love the way this movie is structured and that it doesn't insist on secrecy, rather it uses framing devices and expectations to allow the story to fill itself out. 

If you don't at the very least expect that certain things are at play during a time travel story, then the movie won't resonate with you as it should. The success of Predestination is that it tells a tale that is complete. 

The score is effective in enhancing any given mood from the first minute. Everything plays to one goal, one complete and satiating story that touches remarkably on the themes of identity, love, purpose, and destiny. Themes that bring to mind the Golden Age of Sci Fi literature and do justice to the source material. 

The Sci Fi elements are undoubtedly cool. An understated and simple method of time travel portrayed with intelligent editing and filming that leave a high impact resonance whenever depicted. 

Not a vehicle. Not a sphere. Not a large floating box. But a small trumpet case meant to be held close. Containing a device that it never shown. Much like the film as a whole the device is sparsely calling attention to itself yet every atom of it is essential. 

Some detractors have written of the messy nature of the movie, others call to question it's devious motives. I firmly disagree with them. I didn't find Predestination to be overly twisty. Its wasn't tediously convoluted. There's no deliberate obfuscation other than the standard components of a story with an ending. This is an independent film, sure, but its thankfully not an avant garde disaster. If you don't expect certain things to hold true under the umbrella of time travel, then the fault lies within your own bland sense of wonder (unprovoked preemptive strike!) To me this is a simple story that explores relevant themes while confidently employing Sci Fi tropes.

I found the overly reflective dialogue to be rather enjoyable. It was a contemplative exercise that, if you buy into, gets you thinking about interesting concepts. Time travel in film always brings the hop of seeing something fresh. A hope that it's more than just a romp through history. When a movie refuses to be defined by our inevitable expectations, it becomes something transcendent. A good film, let alone time travel film, alters yours perception of reality after the credits role, assuming of course, you are willing to allow your perception to be unraveled going into it.  Like how Truman Show played on our own narcissism, this attacks our very concept of destiny.

Bottom line. I wanted time travel and Ethan Hawke and was not disappointed. I can only hope we see more of Sarah Snook. The Spierig Brothers are two for two and so is 2015. 

10 out of 10. 

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Written and Directed by Matthew Vaughn (X- Men: First Class)
Also Written by Jane Goldman
Based on the Graphic Novel by Mark Millar (Wanted)
Starring:
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained)
Mark Strong (Stardust)
Michael Caine (Interstellar)
Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Mark Hamill (...Star Wars)
Taron Edgeron 
Sofia Boutella
Sophie Cookson
Richard Brake (Doom)
Hanna Alstrom

We kick off 2015 with a film that was kicked out of 2014 and may well be the tip of this newborn pyramid of a year. I'm talking the best. Already. And yes, I know what the rest of the year holds. Kingsman: The Secret Service is beyond amazing. Its hyperbolicly stylish and carries that lovely Lock, Stock vibe. The violence is horrifyingly giddy, yet beautifully destructive. Limitless in it's ingenuity, the camera is propelled through punches, it swims and zooms elegantly into from gun to gun, fist to fist. We are treated to action that sucks you in with its pulse and vein rupturing kinetics all the while the story somehow managing to be genuinely creative an affectionately touching in its execution. A deft sense of character injects Kingsman with gentle touch of sentimentality to help ground the surreal viciousness of the action. We are left caring about Harry Hart and Eggsy.

In a melding of variously familiar elements, Matthew Vaughn has managed to make a monumental masterpiece of mayhem. Taking the basic Hero's Journey and adding in a hint of Men in Black, a shade of the Matrix, a smattering of spy tropes along with Arthurian vernacular swirled in to make this a thoroughly engrossing product. When Kingsman was at full-throttle insanity (the Church tracking shot),  I was reminded of the best of Edgar Wright's fight scenes from Scott Pilgrim if you mix in the energy of the zombies from World War Z. While containing many standard elements of the average Hero's Journey, Kingsman is also actively working to subvert the conventional pitfalls. There turns you see coming and sudden stops that appear out of nowhere. The film keeps you on a cliff. There are heavy stakes aplenty and there are consequences that roar into effect.

We have an antagonist for the ages and his Number 2 is appropriately unstoppable. With Sam Jackson's Valentine's, the implementation of his plan is flawless in that, much like with Watchmen's all-time great antagonist, there is no stopping him simply because he is better. The question is not whether he will succeed, but rather, what will the heroes do when he does. Valentine joins the ranks of villains like The Dark Knight's Joker, Star Trek Into Darkness' "Khan," The Avenger's Loki, and Skyfall's Silva but unlike them, he doesn't need to get captured for his plan to succeed.

Mark Millar's unhinged story lends perfectly to Vaughn's hyperactive style (As we saw with Kick-A**) and Vaughn, in turn, has that magic touch in selecting and milking the coolest possible performances out of his stars.

We add another triumphant role to Mark Strong's filmography while Colin Firth's performance successfully plants his foot in this decisively unfamiliar territory for the one time regally stuttering Oscar Winner. A report had John Boyega (Attack the Block and the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens) up for the role of Eggsy and, while it may have been refreshing to add a bit of diversity to this quite pale line up of heroes, the job Taron Edgerton does is quite good. He's got the confidence and talent to bring an otherwise standard character a bit of depth. Also, he's listed as 5 feet and 10 inches so it gives me hope to one day do heroically stupid things.

The themes this movie explores are familiar but it still manages to knowingly subvert expectations. There is, remarkably and thankfully, no forced love story. What there is, is a display of friendship and loyalty. Much like Guardians of the Galaxy, we are treated to more complex characters who are motivated by a past that they are haunted by and driven to make choices they must then live with. They are influenced more by their stated goals rather than standard cliches. Again, reminiscent of MIB and Guardians of the Galaxy in that department as well.

Bottom Line: Kingsman hit all the right quavers for me and met each of my unhealthily sadistic expectations. I felt like leaving a tip (were that deemed in any way an acceptable form of showing appreciation to a film whose authors are thousands of miles away). I had this movie pegged to finish at number two behind Del Toro's upcoming effort Crimson Peak and  well ahead of predicted number 4, Star Wars, but now that I've seen this thing? Let's just say that 2015 has it's work cut out.

A resounding 10 out of 10.







SPOILER PIT. Read on at your own peril. 

This is a brutal movie that cares not for your romantic notions of heroism. People die and, in the aftermath, society undoubtedly is brought to is knees. When Valentine personally killed Colin Firth, he succeeded where so many villains have fallen short. He killed THE hero. It was shocking and visibly affected the audience who've come to be babied into thinking the star can't be killed. Also, the amount of people that lose their lives, while hilariously depicted, is no joke, The movie is effective in building a sense of legacy and it does so through death. Killing Eggys dad moments in and the manner in which it happened, was highly impactful. This was followed mere minutes later, yet far in the future, by Lancelot's death. Death was the propellant. The villain, even in death, was, in many ways, victorious. He played the Kingsman and they were backed into a corner, forced to do what they had to but it was a heavy price to pay. That is why this movie is so resonant. It has the guts to go where you would never expect it to. It kills the hero and, as stated earlier, it doesn't shove a love story front and center.  

2015 Predictions and Watchbucket

The top 15 expectations of this upcoming year hold more franchises than previously thought possible. Some of them require resurrecting characters that have been dormant for decades. That coupled with the studios having finally [seemingly] learned to hand these franchises to capable hands puts us in for an epic 12 months. As I am partial to original stories, freshness tends to trump franchises but don't get me wrong, the expected quality between the top film and number 15 is relatively minimal. I expect all these films to blow me away.

1. Crimson Peak
Oct. 16
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim, Pan's Labyrinth)
Starring Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston

Because Del Toro is the reigning king of originality and weird. Let's see if he can deliver. 

2. Kingsman: The Secret Service
Feb. 13
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, X-Men: First Class)
Starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson

Vaughn is only surpassed by Edgar Wright in on screen flare. 

3. Predestination
Jan. 9
Directed by The Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers)
Starring Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook

Time Travel and Ethan Hawke together at last.  

4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Dec.18
Directed by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Super 8)
Starring Daisy Ridley and John Boyega

Those Raid 2 fellas may be the X factor here. 

5. Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron
May 1
Directed by Joss Whedon (Serenity, Much Ado About Nothing)
Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans

Well it's not gonna be a bad film, we all know that already. 

6. Jurassic World
June 12
Directed by Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed)
Starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard

Chris Pratt is the dude right now. Taming raptors and what not. 

7. Sprectre
Nov. 6
Directed by Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition, Skyfall)
Starring Daniel Craig and Ralph Fiennes

Here's hoping for more silhouettes. All of the silhouettes, please.  

8. Marvel's Ant-Man
Sept. 4
Directed by Peyton Reed (Bring It On, Down With Love)
Starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas

Contains bits of Edgar Wright, looking at Tin Tin, that has to count for something. 

9. Mission Impossible 5 
Dec. 25
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, writer of The Usual Suspects)
Starring Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner

All signs point to Jeremy Renner having a big year. 

10. Mad Max: Fury Road
May 15
Directed by George Miller (Happy Feet, Mad Max)
Starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron

The trailer was out of control. 

11. Terminator Genisys
Sept. 4
Directed by Alan Taylor (Thor 2: The Dark World, Game of Thrones)
Starring Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke

Too many good actors here. The importance of having Jason Clarke and Matt Smith mustn't be overlooked. 

12. Jane Got A Gun
Sept. 4
Directed by Gavin O' Connor (Miracle, Warrior)
Starring Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor

Mini Star Wars prequels reunion up in hurr. Because that's a thing we all want. 

13. The Fantastic Four
Sept. 4
Directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle)
Starring Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan

Much like Terminator, the pieces are seemingly very capable of making a superb film...fantastic even. 

14. Furious 7
April 3
Directed by James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring)
Starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker

Can't not be not good. Right? 

15. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Directed by Burr Steers (17 Again, writer of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days)
Starring Lily James and Matt Smith

Long wait and it has that Matt Smith bump. Let's go Matt, break out of the Doctor's Shadow!

16. The Hateful Eight

Directed by Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

Starring Channing Tatum and Kurt Russell

After pairing off with the son for 22 Jumpstreet, Tatum is given the chance to share the same screen daddy Snake but the big draw here is literally everything.  

Le Watchbucket
Now we get to the films that are likely to be noteworthy and potentially excellent, therefore, in the lovely sounding Watchbucket. These may yet surprise and find their way to the top 15 of 2015 but for now, they sit outside the mountain. Apparently September 4th is a bit of tight fit.

Selma 1.9

Inherent Vice 1.9

Taken 3 1.14
American Sniper 1.16
Blackhat 1.15
Mortdecai 1.23
Jupiter Ascending 2.6
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water 2.6
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 2.20
The Gunman 3.20
Chappie 3.20
Get Hard 3.27
Pitch Perfect 2 5.15
Tomorrowland 5.22
Spy 5.22
Pan 9.4
Inside Out 9.4
Ted 2 9.4
The Man From Uncle 9.4
Pixels 9.4
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 9.18
Everest 9.18
The Walk 10.2
Vacation 10.9
The Martian 11.25
The Hateful Eight 11.13
The Peanuts Movie 11.6
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Both parts count as one!) 11.20
The Good Dinosaur, 11.25
Superman v. Batman PART 1 12.18? 

Under the Skin (2014)

Written and Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Written by William Campbell
Based on the novel by Michel Faber
Starring:
Scarlet Johansson (The Island)

Some films are watched with a cloud hanging over them, a polarized nimbi of either unsatisfied confusion or awe struck wonder. In this circumstance it's tough to make a judgment for yourself without your opinion forming around a preexisting sentiment. A word that's already been used, a thought that has already been expressed. The goal in this type of situation is to jump on that previous strand of thought, infuse and surround it with whatever new emotions or observations that you can make and let your opinion precipitate in its own little bubble. (Then again, you may have never heard of this film.)

Under the Skin is undoubtedly a gorgeously filmed the movie. The sounds alone takes you on a unique ride. One moment you're surrounded by silence, the next, a pulsing or thumping takes over, building and building until there is a whole new environment encasing you. This movie does that multiple times. The scenes that take place in a void have a thrilling inhuman beat to them and are easily one of the more gripping sensory events of the year. 

It might just be me noticing Blu-ray quality but it was such a clear movie. The detail in the brightness and the contrast are serenely present. The use of absorbing black nothingness was reminicent of the aliens in Attack the Block, (not to mention some of those nearly incomprehensible accents).

Especially noticeable in how this movie is filmed is the stillness. The camera is patient. The shots lingers as the pieces in them move about like security camera footage but in high definition.

Now comes the polarizing nature of the film. The plot is confounding to say the least. Not the what, that is easy enough to see, but the why. The why is never given. It is left to us. The explicit sexual nature of the story grows tiresome and proves to be a bit shallow without anything to govern the necessity of it. Over all we are left with another day-in-the-life film akin to Only Lovers Left Alive or to cross genres, Inside Lleyn Davis. Also, much like those two films, the lead performer (in this case Scarlet Johansson, who is far more dominating than the other films' leads) does a phenomenal job.

Bottom Line: The cinematography is top notch, the strangeness is engrossing, but the thematic content is bland.

8 out of 10.