Adam's Films of the Year - No 10 - 8

If it isnt apparent already, I'm no film reviewer, which means that I haven't seen every film this year so the list is only as good as my dedication and free time. Saying that I have seen over 70 films this year, half of which released in this calendar year so I do feel some justification in my choices. So let's begin.....

Just Missing Out - Elysium, Zero Dark Thirty, Wreck it Ralph, The Wolverine, World War Z.

10. 

Superman Returns is a strange thing to follow. It seemed to me that the reaction to the film was similar to Titanic, Avatar and Phantom Menace. It received decent/good reviews and decent word of mouth at the time but fast forward a few years and it seems to get crapped on a lot. So We pretend it never happened that Clark did/didn't have a super baby that could push a piano a few feet.

Back to 2013 and Warner Bros give it another shot but this time they employ the man of the moment, Chris 'Trenchcoat' Nolan. From then Man of Steel follows Batman Begins' origin formula and tone quite closely. Which isn't a bad thing. Zack Snyder directs, and this is the guy who has previously adapted 2 comic books to screen (300/watchmen). The action was well staged and most of the films controversy has come from the level of destruction Metropolis receives. I personally don't see the issue. The Avengers brought the fight to New York and no one cared. The whole film was well acted and looked amazing throughout. My favourite element of Man of Steel however is the new Superman theme. I must have listened to it 100 times since summer and it gives me goosebumps everytime

9. 

You won't see this movie on practically anyone's best of list so far and maybe it wouldn't make mine if I had seen some more Oscar contenders. But it's on here for one simple reason, it does what it sets out to do. It's Die Hard in the White House. I've had a soft spot for anything concerning the president since The West Wing so this is right up my Diagon Alley. Terrorists storm the White House and demand the usual stuff terrorists demand. But the president's old bodyguard and ex-chum is determined to  cancel the party, McClane style. Grittier and more intense than its poor rival, White House Down, this played the hand it was dealt and gave a solid action thriller.

8.  

I wasn't blown away by the first installment as I felt its scope was quite small. It also used the same trick as Transformers in that the final third of the film takes place on one street (cost cutting) but it had decent humour and likeable characters. It's 2013 sequel comes off the back of The Avengers and this time it had to pack a serious punch to continue the work of 'phase two' and luckily it did just that. It's definitely bigger and better but not sure about 'darker'. It features a lot of gags, some of which ill timed (tube), some coming out of the mouth of an annoying actress (Kat Dennings) but a lot hit the mark. The action is split between Earth and Thor's gone world but it's only when Loki is released from captivity that the film hits full pelt. It's box office performance has been good enough to see a third solo outing but it will never reach the heights of Iron Man or Supes.

The countdown continues later this week. 

Adam Yates

Worst films of the year

Soon I will compile my top 10 of the year. I just have a few more I want to watch before confirming it. But I doubt my worst five will change so here they are....

5. 

Jason Bateman has a thing with swapping body movies and this isn't too far from that. But the joke falls flat very quickly and a running gag concerning a punch to the throat gets tired after the 5th attempt. Both stars undoubtedly have great comedy timing but it's simply another on the road-buddy comedy getting from A to B which in America I'm sure is hard but us Brits can get from one end of the country to the other in 4 hours (or even 3 if we pay for a Pendolino).

4. 

Weird tone, not funny and at one point, Mark Wahlberg's character wanders around the EXACT apartment complex as Dexter Morgan and that just took me out of the movie completely. I didn't even finish the final third cause I was so bored and uninterested.

3. 

Part Two was a bit amusing but The Hangover Part 3 is beyond the realms of reality. It's almost as if it's characters now know they are in a film as they no longer act as regular 30 somethings. The plot isn't a shade on the original which at least was touching fresh caper. The trilogy also strangely follows the arc of the Ocean's films, the first being in Vegas, the second being a trip abroad and the third signalling a return to where it all began. They never should have left.

2. 

Let me make this clear, I'm not saying this is one of the worst of the year in a quality sense, of course there are worse movies. But at least with them, you expect shitness. This is on the list because of the anticipation and that it failed to deliver so fantastically. The 2009 predecessor was fantastic, fast paced and possessed so much heart and sparkle. This was a tremendous letdown. Not everyone agrees with me but honestly I could easily recite through the precious film's scene by scene but I can hardly remember anything about this film.  JJ Abrams recently admitted that keeping the obvious identity of Benidict Cumberbatch's character a 'secret' was a mistake. Every fan knew he was Khan but the makers denied it right up to the end and when it was revealed in the film, we all didn't care. Plus the new crew of the Starship Enterprise are on a different path than the original so the whole Kirk/Spock death scene is just a nostalgia play. If you haven't grasped it by now, I hated this film not because it's shit but because it didn't capture me the same way the first did and for that it made me very sad.

1. 

I LOVE DIE HARD.

I LOVE DIE HARD 2

I LOVE DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE

I LOVE DIE HARD 4.0

I HATE THIS FILM

A few years ago I attempted to stay away from watching trailers, photos and TV spots for The Dark Knight Rises. I practically made it into the film blind and it was a great showing of my self control. I decided to do it again with this film and I wish I hadn't because if I had seen a trailer I could have saved myself £7 quid. John McClane is an American everyman hero, yes he got a bit silly in the fourth installment but placing McClane in another country is as wrong as hearing that your parents once had sex. It may have happened but you don't wanna see it. In this film we see McClane's 'son' we last saw briefly as a child in the second film but now he's an unlikeable beefcake with a massive head. And he's a spy, I think. I forget. And Bruce Willis is still a cop, I think. I forget. And they both shoot the shit out of Russia with minimal visuals of any kind of police presence. Then there are the special effects...sigh.....one sequence shows father and son exit a building through the window and then land on a handily placed structure all in one shot....it's fucking dire. I urge you all, if you like Die Hard, don't sully it by watching this. Although if it were you telling me it wouldn't stop me but I wish it would.

Notable Mentions -

White House Down - lost the race to release by Olympus Has Fallen and relied too much on CGI.

The Internship - a 98 minute Google advert with old looking wedding crashers.  And then Owen Wilson has it off with Rose Byrne, where's the justice in that?!

Jobs - a poor mans Social Network. iMitation.

Next week - My top films of the year 10-6

Adam Yates