2014 Oscar round up

I have had a bit of a mission this past year. For the first time ever I wanted to make sure that I saw every nominee for the best picture category. It took me until November to achieve this but I thought I would share my thoughts on each and rank them from my least favourite to my most.

Enjoy and please feel free to let me know your thoughts either on facebook (poshbob film reviews) or twitter (@poshbob)

9. Her

This is quite comfortably at the bottom of the list. It is not the worst film I have ever seen but it just didn't do it for me. The concept was very good and the acting top notch but it plays things a little bit too far on the pretentious side for me. Shame as it started very well.
(2.5/5)


8. American Hustle

This film is a very good watch and very entertaining it just didn't blow me away. David O'Russell puts a hell of a lot of style into the film but the substance behind it is a little uninspiring. The performances are very good across the board and on a second watch I enjoyed it more however it was lacking in that initial wow.
(4/5)


7. Philomena

The story behind Philomena is pretty amazing and tragic all in one go. Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are great in the lead roles and Dame Judi in particular knocks it out of the park. The events in the film are harrowing and emotional and this is made even more poignant when nothing about it is made up, seriously its all true.
(4.5/5)


6. 12 years a slave

Now this is the film that actually won the Oscar and I am not saying that it didn't deserve it by placing it this low on the list as I did like it very much I just would be lying if I said it was my favourite of the bunch. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a cracking actor and his support cast are equally good. The reason I didn't love it was that I found myself becoming a little bored in the middle. I don't even know why I was bored I just was. Still fantastic watch though.
(4/5, I placed it higher than Philomena because of the performances)


5. Gravity

This film is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen on the big screen. The sweeping shots of this wonderful planet we live on are awe inspiring. It only makes it to 5th on my list because the story isn't exactly the most complex nor is it the most original. Still cracking film though.
(5/5)


4. Captain Phillips

In any other year this would be much higher on my own list and on the Oscars list itself. It is an outstanding film and I am not ashamed to admit that it made me cry (Tom Hanks often does) it just happens to be competing with other stunning creations. Another cracker from Paul Greengrass.
(5/5)


3. Dallas Buyers Club

I'm starting to think I might actually be in love with the new Matthew McConaughey. I mean seriously who knew he could even act let alone pull off some of the greatest performances of recent cinema. Anyone who hasn't seen this film needs to pull their finger out, crack open a bottle of wine and watch.
(5/5)


2. Nebraska

Solely as a film this is no better than either of the previous 2 in this list but the reason it gets placed higher is the sheer surprise of it. I knew very little about this before placing the DVD in the player and fell in love with it. It is a beautiful story and deserves its place in any awards ceremonies.
(5/5)


1. The Wolf Of Wall Street

I have never seen anything like this film in my life. Yes there are lots of drug addled films out there and yes there are lots of rich people doing depraved things in films, just for me personally I have never seen it portrayed in this way. The most terrifying and exhausting thing about it is the fact it is a true story. I have never felt physically exhausted following watching a film but this just blew me away.
(5/5)

Just Friends

Ryan Reynolds is a fat, spotty teenager and is bezzies with super hot Amy Smart. Ryan loves her and tries to tell her but she plays the 'love you like a brother' crapola and rejects him. Ryan then grows up, loses the weight and becomes the sexiest man alive and proceeds to sleep with lots of women. He tells all other men he hangs with how to get women and treat them, easy for you to say Ryan with your washboard abs and your well ironed shirts. He works for a record company and his boss needs him to shmooze with the borderline psychopathic Anna Faris. For some odd reason they end up back in his home town and Amy is just as hot as she used to be. Ryan then tries to convince her that he is now hot and well worth playing hide the purple parsnip with.

I didn't know much about this film before starting to watch other than Ryan Reynolds was in it. I must admit that I like Ryan Reynolds and find him quite a charismatic screen presence, I'm not as big a fan as my friend Danny who is actually in love with him but I like him none the less. The tone of the film is set pretty much straight away with Ryan donning a fat suit and retainer to become his younger, geekier self. To say this is a stupid, silly comedy is an understatement but frankly I quite like that. It is unashamed of what it is and doesn't take itself too seriously. Ryan is his usual charismatic self in the lead and is backed up admirably by Amy and Anna. Is it groundbreaking? No. Do any of the actors stray even slightly out of their comfort zones? No they do not. Would I be lying if I said I didn't enjoy myself? Yes, yes I would. I laughed quite a bit throughout the film and found myself forgiving its flaws and just allowed myself to have fun.

Now I'm not saying for one moment that it is a great film, the moral backbone alone brings it down a peg or two, but it is decent enough to keep you entertained. Better than it should be.

Verdict: 3/5

The Double

Richard Gere is a CIA super badass who has spent many years tracking some Russian dude. He is convinced the Russian is dead but new guy Topher Grace thinks he is not. The big bosses then send Richard and Topher out to find this Russian guy. We learn pretty early that Richard is in fact the Russian guy we are looking for and is a double (get it??) agent. Can Topher weed out Richards nasty little plans or will he fail and be charmed by Richard just like we all have since Pretty Woman?

This film was chosen on a Thursday afternoon off during half term and was a pretty spur of the moment choice, made whilst flicking through netflix options. Before the selection was made I had never heard of this film and knew absolutely nothing going into it, quite rare in today's share all mentality. The story is reasonable if a little unoriginal and frankly the reveal, mentioned above, is unveiled way too early. Gere is a little out of place in the lead role as a hardened double agent. His acting is pretty good but he just doesn't look like he has done a physical days work in his entire life. Topher Grace tries his best but isn't the strongest performer in the world and struggles to keep up with his older, well versed partner. The action sequences are decent enough but won't have you sitting on the edge of your seat and the drama is a little lackluster.

Overall I can't say the film is rubbish. Unfortunately it's worse than that, it's a little boring. Shame really as generally I like Richard Gere and his films, even the slightly rubbish ones.

Verdict: 2/5

Robocop

The guy from the american killing is a cop once again and is cleaning up the streets of future USA. This is a problem for Michael Keaton who wants the policing to be done by his army of robots. The Guy manages to get blown up by some shifty criminal types and ends up losing about 90% of his body. This leads to Gary Oldman convincing Amber Heard to let them give The Guy robot bits and turn him into ROBOCOP!!! ROBOCOP!! then gets employed by Michael to clean the streets and become an advocate for a robot controlled police force. Guns, criminals and lots and lots of violence occur and ROBOCOP!! smashes the crap out of everything.

I've got to admit the remake sensation that is occurring currently in cinema is starting to grate on me. It is particularly irritating now as the fashion at the moment is to remake 80s classics and these are the films that were a big part of my youth and helped me to become the cinema obsessed nutjob I am now. Despite this prejudices I was willing to give this reboot a chance and I'm happy to say it isn't awful. The lead role is played pretty well by the guy from the killing but to be honest it doesn't require the most diverse acting in the world. Gary Oldman is always brilliant as is Michael Keaton and the both of them are joined by Samuel L Jackson who also raises the acting bar considerably. The story is OK but nothing groundbreaking and it does rely a lot on the ability of its cast. Now unfortunately whilst I can't say it's awful I also can't say it's amazing. The main problem is it has literally been done before and all it does is make you want to watch the original. Herein lies the problem with all of these remakes. The filmmakers can either make a shot for shot remake or change the story so that it is something new. Neither of these things are easy or sensible to do because both will make viewers miss the once great originals. Overall it's an average film that passes an hour and a half easily enough but will not make anybodies top ten list.

Verdict: 2.5/5

Draft Day

Kevin Costner is the general manager of the Cleveland Browns American football team. It is the day of the draft and he has spent the night doing Jennifer Garner who also works for the Browns spending cap money and stuff. Kevin then spends a lot of time on the phone with upcoming players, one who is managed by P Diddly himself, and chatting with Dennis Leary about who they should draft. A lot of American football jargon then occurs and most normal people not obsessed with this sport become very confused and probably fall asleep.

I'm a big fan of sports films and jump on board any that fall across my path and I am also a big fan of American Football (come on you Bears!!) so understandably I was very keen on watching this film. The best comparison that can be made is with the fantastic film Moneyball which centred around another of the US's favourite games, unfortunately this isn't quite as good for a couple of reasons. The first is the inaccessability of it. Moneyball was about baseball but kept the barrage of information in palatable chunks so that even people, like myself, who have no interest in the sport are able to enjoy the story. Draft Day doesn't quite achieve this as evidenced by me having to explain to Sara how an NFL draft works and subsequently what the hell everyone is talking about. It is a problem as without the explanation Sara literally would not have had a clue what was going on.

The second issue is the story itself. I very much enjoyed what was going on and the tensions felt by a General Manager and Head Coach both fighting for their jobs whilst doing the right thing for the team. This is unfortunately soured a little in the draft itself which ramps up the cheesiness to ridiculous levels. I understand this was done for dramatic emphasis but for me personally I liked the subtle drama that occurred in the build up. Admittedly this is a minor part of the film but as it is the climax we have been waiting for it does leave a slightly bitter taste in the mouth.

Despite both of these issues I very much enjoyed myself. Costner is great in the lead role and his support cast pulls their weight admirably. It also does a very good job of showing some of the possible behind the scenes action that occurs during a very important part of a sport I have come to love very much. Overall I did like this film very much but will admit it is limited in its appeal to non NFL loving people.

Verdict: 4/5

Maleficent

Baby Angelina Jolie has wings and lives in the forest with fairies, trees and other creatures. She meets tiny District 9 guy who is stealing stuff from the tree people and instead of beating him to death she decides to befriend him. This friendship continues until Angelina becomes old and anorexic and District 9 becomes Irish or Scottish or south African, I'm not entirely sure. District 9 all of a sudden thinks its a good idea to piss Angelina off, I mean seriously D9 she does magic and casts spells and you can barely do accents, idiot. Then starts a slightly different version of sleeping beauty which contains Dakota Fannings infinitely irritating sister as the beauty in question.

Sleeping beauty was never one of my favourite Disney films and to be brutally honest it resides pretty firmly in the bottom slot. I never got on board with the princess section of the Disney universe so this updated version didn't exactly begin on the best footing for me. I did try to watch without any prior prejudice but unfortunately the film is awful. The story is fine but doesn't really make much sense overall. The premise is that the original sleeping beauty was propaganda against Maleficent and in reality she was a nice person. Mmmmm well she's not exactly nice, admittedly judging by this new story she is perfectly justified in what she does but she isn't nice. Jolie does a very good job in the lead role and seems to be enjoying herself immensely but her support cast cannot live up to her standards. District 9 guys acting is fine but the accent thing is way too distracting for him to have a coherent performance. Fannings little sister overacts to within an inch of her life and is so sickly sweet you would seriously consider slapping her until she hates the world. On top of all this the film is a little bit boring and I did not enjoy myself.

Verdict: 1/5