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High points: Ghostbusters, Moneyball, 50/50
Low points: n/a
Surprises: Arthur Christmas, Bellflower
Disappointments: Straw Dogs
Walkouts: n/a -
My Week with Marilyn — 5
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Hammy acting made this rather unenjoyable, but the decent plot kept it afloat. -
50/50 — 8
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Funny and sad in all the right measures, which must be hard to achieve when handling the subject mater and story with care and attention it deserves. -
Justice — 6
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Flimsy at times, but surprisingly effective overall. -
Moneyball — 8
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Brad Pitt and Jonah hill are a pair I’d never have thought to put together, but what a pair they make. The writers did a fantastic job of making a story about baseball somehow not really about baseball and Wally Pfister captured the whole thing beautifully. Enjoyable from start to finish. Bonus points for Philip Seymour Hoffman. -
The Rum Diary — 6
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For a film with a lot going on, this felt surprisingly empty. Jonny Depp was easy to watch and humorous at times, and although his relationships with the other characters were pleasant enough and their activities entertaining, it just wasn’t as engaging or memoralbe as it really should’ve been. -
Snowtown — 7
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Gruelling, powerful and full of fantastic performances, but boy is it a hard watch. I’m glad I saw it, but in hindsight, I think I would have preferred to read about it on Wikipedia and then pretend it never happened. -
Bellflower — 7
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Written, directed and staring Evan Glodell, this was a seriously powerful watch, starting off at a snails pace but with time soaring to unbelievable heights. Any lack of refinement or fine tuning was remedied with a rip roaring story terrific performances. -
Ghostbusters — 8
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Bill Murray’s effortless comedy. Need I say more?
I’m sad I missed out on this when I was younger, but am pleased the first time I saw it was on the big screen with the most enthusiastic and appreciative audience I’ve experienced. -
The Awakening — 6
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Nicely shot with some good scares and interesting plot, shame the conclusion didn’t quite pay off. -
Wuthering Heights — 5
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Looks lovely, but my word it’s long and boring! -
Arthur Christmas — 6
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A little early for festive fun, I know, but this is a real magical Christmas film with great Aardman detail, including, if I assume correctly, a homage to Gromit’s train track moment from The Wrong Trousers. After not enjoying James McAvoy’s performances in X-Men: First Class and The Conspirator, I’m very pleased to say I’d be more than happy if he remained in the recording room to do more roles like this. -
Straw Dogs — 5
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This started off with potential — the tension was building nicely, the performances were convincing, but when things started to kick of, it turned into a contrived version of Home Alone 2, without the humour. -
The Help — 6
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Moved by the story, but not by the film. It’s still worth a watch though — Emma Stone, good. Octavia Spencer, good. Jessica Chastain, good.
