Our film critic, John Lyons, picks his favourite movies of the year so far…
This week I decided to re-visit some of the highlights of my movie-going since last January. So far I’ve seen more than a couple of great films this year, which is a great improvement, because at the end of 2013 I was struggling to think of more than a handful of films that I loved.
The following list is in no particular order….
12 Years a Slave
It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a film this emotionally devastating, but in order to be completely faithful to the source material, ‘12 Years a Slave’ shouldn’t hold any punches.
To director Steve McQueen’s credit, he played it completely straight.
‘12 Years a Slave’ ruthlessly depicts Solomon Northup’s harrowing journey from captivity to freedom in the antebellum American South, all the while keeping Solomon’s face in a tight, painful, extreme close-up.
Screenwriter John Ridley and director Steve McQueen have taken his story and somehow managed to construct a narrative out of it that keeps you gripped for the entire duration of the film.
It’s a tough watch, but slavery is a subject that cannot be treated lightly.
As intense as the film is however, it also celebrates the human spirit through Solomon’s determination, and eventual triumph.
‘12 Years A Slave’ is an important film, and certainly deserving of the Best Picture Oscar that it earned a few months back.
Begin Again
This charming little film came and went too quickly. I barely even got a chance to see it myself. Irish director John Carney caught the world’s attention when his 2006 dublin-set film ‘Once’, won an Oscar for Best Original Song for ‘Falling Slowly’.
With ‘Begin Again’, Carney returns to his roots with a film about down-on-their-luck struggling musicians that acts as another wonderful love letter to music. The film stars Keira Knightly as Gretta, a singer/songwriter who’s in it for the passion, rather than for personal gain.
Mark Ruffalo co-stars as a once-famous music producer Dan Mulligan. Dan’s moment in the spotlight has come and gone over a period of a decade. He’s now a lonely, divorced alcoholic who’s continuing to grow out of touch with his teenage daughter.
If there’s one thing I can say about the film, it’s that there’s one thing that writer/director John Carney loves more than music – his two main characters.
The film intricately explores Gretta and Dan’s personal lives individually and carefully long before we get into the magic of the music.
Carney has outdone himself. Not only is the music in ‘Begin Again’ better than the soundtrack to ‘Once’, but it’s a better film also. And that’s high praise from me, because I love ‘Once’.
It’s a shame that the film only had a fleeting moment in cinemas, because it was the best film I’ve seen all summer.
Her
Out of all the films that’ve been released so far in 2014, ‘Her’ has the most vision by far.
In a medium that’s fuelled by recycled ideas, ‘Her’ is a true original. Spike Jonze’s futuristic romance stars Joaquin Pheonix as Theodore Twombly, a writer who spends each working day writing love letters for other couples for a website called beautifulhandwrittenletters.com.
Theodore may be a fantastic writer, but his own love life is a tailspin. He’s been separated from his wife for over a year, but still hasn’t worked up the courage to sign the divorce papers.
Things change for Theodore when he buys a new computer, a machine capable of speaking to you and constantly learning.
The computer, Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), may appear as a voice-only role, but I’ll be damned if she didn’t steal the film.
Somehow, the bodyless character of Samantha has more depth and dimension than most characters in recent cinema, courtesy of a director who’s capable of performing cinematic miracles.
‘Her’ explores themes of intimacy, vulnerability and isolation under a unique microscope. The film has some of the best sci-fi world building that I’ve seen in recent memory, but it’s just a backdrop to this quiet and carefully constructed love story.
Spike Jonze’s vision is no doubt fantastic, but the fact that he was brave enough to wear his heart on his sleeve with this highly personal film was the highlight of the entire thing for me.
The Lego Movie
Having spent the vast majority of my childhood playing with Lego, I had my reservations about seeing The Lego Movie.
Even though the trailer was really enjoyable and there was lots of talented people attached to the film, I couldn’t help but assume that it’d just be another unnecessary attempt at cashing in on some arbitrary kids product.
I never ended up seeing The Lego Movie on the big screen. I only saw it once it was released on DVD. Once I did see it however, I instantly regretted my stubbornness.
The Lego Movie is easily the best animated film I’ve seen all year. The animation is incredible, the film is absolutely hilarious and I even found it to be moving.
I was told all these incredible things about the film before I saw it, but I just dismissed them.
“There’s no way it could be that good. Not a chance,” I said.
Luckily for me, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only did the film live up to the hype, it surpassed it with ease.
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Quentin Tarantino once said that “directing is a young man’s game” and “directors are like boxers – they have their time”.
Thankfully, filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who’s now entering his 70’s, is disproving Tarantino’s theory.
Scorsese’s films are still as daring now as they were when he was in his 30s and 40s and I’d be hard pressed to think of a modern film that’s as daring as ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’.
Based on Jordan Belfort’s autobiography, the movie delves into Belfort’s life as a money hungry stockbroker on Wall Street in the late 80’s through the 90’s.
The film acts as possibly the most entertaining cautionary tale of greed ever to grace the silver screen. It explores its themes of rampant debauchery and downright thievery through a thick lens of dark comedy.
Although the film is three hours in length, it never feels like it. The pacing of the film is incredibly fast and energetic, with an eclectic soundtrack that perfectly suits the film’s rapid progression.
Seeing ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ in a packed screening on opening night was the most exhilarating experience I’ve had at the cinema in years.
All these films are available on DVD & Blu-Ray, with the exception of ‘Begin Again’.
• Follow John Lyons on Twitter: @Fireinthelyons
