11 Months Later

Alright people, after exactly 11 months I have decided to be back. Blogging. Speaking my mind to no acclaim, avail, or financial reward. What has happened? Where have you been you old rascal? I hear you hark. Let me tell you friends, it has been a wild year. Oh wait, no it hasn't. 

So, moving on, here's my top 10 films of the last calendar year. Feel free to fuck off if you disagree. 

10)  Locke (dir. Steven Knight) - A film that takes place entirely inside a car, features only one character on screen and a phone on loud speaker. The plot, on paper at least, seems almost custom-designed to bore; a Welsh bloke has to drive to London while overseeing a very important concrete pour back home. However, a completely engrossing performance from Tom Hardy and some fantastic twists and turns make this an excellent hour and a half on the M4. 

9)  Muppets Most Wanted (dir. James Bobin) - This inclusion is entirely for personal reasons as A) I love the Muppets irrationally, B) Ricky Gervais is in it and C) Constantine is the new funniest Muppet of all time. I watched this on a plane and people thought I was mental from laughing so much. 

8)  Chef (dir. John Favreau) - It's really quite a testament to the state of the movie industry today when I watch a film like this and go all "gee, they don't make 'em like this anymore". In the 90's, you couldn't move for earnest, humanist, comedies of this ilk. Now they are like the bloody northern lights. I digress. This film is funny, touching, simple, and thoroughly enjoyable. Enough said. 

7) Boyhood (dir. Richard Linklater) - Is this film a towering, groundbreaking cinematic landmark? Yes. Can I honestly say I didn't get a little bit bored? No. However, such is the strength of previously mentioned achievement that it has to be included on absolutely every end of year list. You just can't leave it out. 

6) Interstellar (dir. Christopher Nolan) - Although somewhat maligned by critics, at least by old Chrissy "money machine" Nolan's standards, I seriously think this film will be considered a classic in years to come. Owing much to Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", Nolan takes us to an entirely new dimension and back in what is the single most high-concept plot I have ever seen (and I've sat through some weird stuff, let me tell you). It is almost impossible to fathom in one sitting. The physics alone were enough to send my brain packing off to tenerife for the summer. However, I found this film an extremely ambitious, moving, mind-bending, awe-inspiring piece of brilliance. I can't wait to see it again. 

5) The Rover (dir. David Michod) - The second film by the director of my fave film of 2010 "Animal Kingdom", this is a brutal post-apocalpytic, Mad Max-esque look at the not too distant future. Guy Pearce plays a man hell-bent on retrieving his car from thieves (for reasons unknown until the very end) and the only way to do so is to rely on the mentally challenged man he picks up along the way - brilliantly portrayed by Robert Pattinson, who is proving to be quite an actor. Very violent, very harsh, and strangely moving, Michod is becoming a director to watch for in the future. 

4) Edge Of Tomorrow (dir. Doug Liman) - Basically groundhog day in the future. Tom Cruise being typically great. Doug Liman directing like the master that he is, and Emily Blunt - who would get it. Large. What more could you want? A proper popcorn film of old. Not Michael Bay shite. 

3) A Most Violent Year (dir. JC Chandor) - Set in 1981, New York City's most violent year on record (get it?), you'd be easily mislead into thinking this was a gangster flick if you watched the trailer. It's not. It's far more complex than that. Oscar Issac gives a star-making performance as the lead - a man trying to make an honest living under very dishonest circumstances - the cinematography is amazing and there is a classic New York chase scene, up there with The French Connection or Carlito's Way. Cracking film. 

2) Whiplash (dir. Damien Chazelle) - I'm not even gonna talk about this film. Just go and watch it. Right now. Don't read any more. Go. 

1) Foxcatcher (dir. Bennet Miller) - Could easily have lost to Whiplash, however it's my list and I thought this was the best film I'd seen all year. Dark, cold, atmospheric, unbearably tense, at times unwatchable, I couldn't stop thinking about this film for many weeks after watching. Steve Carell is nothing short of terrifying. A masterful study of human behavior at it's most odd. "Did you catch the fox, mother?" still sends a shiver down my spine. And not in a good way. Brilliant.   

JB.

10 Underrated Classics

Evening all, here is my list of 10 films which, despite being utterly brilliant, get no props at all, from anyone....ever. I highly suggest you go out and watch with immediate effect.

1) Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997) - Everyone's least favourite Tarantino film is nothing short of brilliant. Great acting, beautifully directed and one of the best soundtracks you're likely to hear. Also, features one of the best DeNiro performances of the 1990's and the line "I hate to be the type of n*gga that do a n*gga a favour and then bam, hit the n*gga up for a favour in return, but I gots to be that type of n*gga". Marvelous.

"Go on...pull my finger"

2) Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan, 2000) - Got shat on for not being the next "Sixth Sense" but this is actually a rather genius re-telling of a superhero story, and Bruce Willis gives one of his best performances in it. Great film.

3) Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979) - One of the great comedic performances of all time from the absolutely deadpan Peter Sellers, playing the savant-like Chance - who, after the death of his boss, is forced to live in the real world for the very first time. Forest Gump properly ripped this film off (to great effect, I must admit) so if you like the "idiot man-child" genre, look no further my friends.

4) The Running Man (Paul Michael Glaser, 1987) - Or, as it's now known, The Hunger Games. This was by far the best Schwarzenegger flick of the 80's and is, in my opinion a very well-done commentary on a world where entertainment reigns supreme. Also gets eerily more prophetic every time I turn on ABC and Shark Tank (or any other reality show) comes on. Plus Arnold is in top, top form.

5) White Men Can't Jump (Ron Shelton, 1992) - Features a dazzling array of Mum jokes which, frankly, kept me going through my teenage years and a riveting buddy story centered around street basketball in LA. This film is absolutely hilarious, and I defy anyone not to get involved in the action sequences. Makes me want to go out and shoot hoops immediately.

"Your mother....etc."

6) The King Of Comedy (Martin Scorcese, 1983) - This could take the top spot for most underrated film of all time. Go and watch it. Now. A work of genius.

7) The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) - Coppola made this gem between making part 1 and 2 of The Godfather series, which one might be tempted to call a bit of a "hot streak". This film, about a surveillance expert who gets in too deep on his latest case, is tense, dark, and very strange. In fact it's almost a bit of an independent art-house type affair, something old Francis is definitely not usually associated with. Also, a must if you're into sound design....which I'm guessing you're not.

8) Road To Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002) - One of the greatest gangster films ever made, this film was pretty much written off for casting all around nice guy Tom Hanks as cold-blooded assassin Michael Sullivan, however miss this film at your peril. It features Hanks in fine form, and Daniel Craig being absolutely mental and, most of all, the legendary Paul Newman giving my favourite performance of his life as the leader of the Chicago Irish Mob. The cinematography is breathtaking, as is Thomas Newman's score. Should have won every award under the sun. Didn't win shit. Annoying.

9) The Game (David Fincher, 1997) - The Fincher film that no-one ever mentions. Michael Douglas stars in this bonkers film about a corporate fat cat who signs himself up for a service that promises to give him the thrill of his life, only for his life to then completely go down the shitter. The twist at the end is worth your time alone.

10) Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999) - Hands down one of the most certifiably insane stories ever committed to celluloid. I personally believe that anyone who aspires to one day become a screenwriter watch this film and see just what can be done when's one's imagination is left to roam free. Half the film takes place in Malkovich's head and there's even a bit where Malkovich enters his own conscience. Madness! Absolutely classic film.

"Malkovich, Malkovich?"

There you have it folks. Netflix should be your next click.

JB.

Celebrity Lookalike of the Day:

Eminem...

Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia"...
God, I'm bored.