VENOM Review

There's always been this desire by a certain generation of Spider-Man fans to see the web-slinger's villain, Venom, portrayed on the big screen in the effortlessly cool yet terrifyingly fun way he was presented in both the comics and the nineties animated series that devoted an entire stretch of episodes to the Stan Lee and Avi Arad-created story titled "The Venom Saga". Venom's popularity has always been about little more than how "cool" the character looks as there is little else of actual depth to the character beyond the fact it's a sludge from space that requires a host to bond with for its survival. In the comics, Venom became most notable as one of Spider-Man's archenemies after Peter Parker realized the insidious nature of what was referred to as the "symbiote" and trashed the suit only for the symbiote to then join with a second host: Eddie Brock. In the animated series Brock was a well-meaning guy looking for his big break who just so happened to view Parker as a rival reporter. Needless to say, in joining with the symbiote and becoming Venom Brock inherited the alien's enhanced abilities and felt a power for the first time in his life he wasn't going to readily give up. So, one can see how-despite the rather artificial intrigues of the symbiote in and of itself that-once this liquid-like form joins with a human host who has their own personality and problems things might become more complicated and therefore more dramatically interesting, right? Well, consider that and then consider the fact director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) and screenwriters Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel only have about half of those source material ideas to work with in order to create a full-length feature around the character. This is what 2018's Venom was tasked with and thus why it turns out to be a mostly forgettable B-monster movie made in the vein of Sam Raimi's original live-action Spider-Man, but with none of the fun or genuine thrills that movie packed in. It's a re-purposed Spider-Man origin story, but with a symbiote instead of a radioactive arachnid where the individual blessed and/or cursed with these powers has to figure out how to control them and then decide how to use them for good. Seriously-Venom, the symbiote, likes to bites heads off, but Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is an out-and-out good guy with no shades of moral conflict leaving the film itself to not be the interesting anti-hero tale it billed itself to be, but instead feels like a recycled Spider-Man movie from an alternate universe where the symbiote was brought to a world where Peter Parker doesn't exist (at least for the time being) and the titular character becomes by default the hero of the story. In other unfortunate words, Venom adds nothing to these tropes audiences have seen countless times over the last two decades, but is all the worse for it due to the promise of being a real scoundrel's story.

New Trailer for VENOM Starring Tom Hardy

Sony has now released what is the second "official" trailer, but what is the third overall if you count that teaser trailer anyone unfamiliar with the fact a Venom movie was being made would still be unfamiliar with that fact after seeing that teaser. It's been difficult to be optimistic about a solo Venom movie since the get-go even with the casting of credible talents like Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed. Sony was smart in waiting to release a new trailer that likely contains a lot of what the Comic-Con audience saw until after all the Comic-Con hype had mostly calmed down as this thing would have most certainly got lost in the shuffle among all the DC trailers (never thought I'd write that sentence). And while this latest and presumably final trailer for director Ruben Fleischer's (who hasn't made a solid film since his feature debut, but indeed made a hell of a debut with Zombieland) anti-hero movie is definitely the best one yet it's still hard to fully get behind this thing. Visually is where it seems to have the most trouble. The CGI in many places continues to look iffy and we can only hope this isn't the finished product, but given we're less than three months away from release it's difficult to not be skeptical. I'm not saying it looks X-Men Origins: Wolverine bad, but it definitely doesn't look convincing. We could have a similar situation to Green Lantern here where the unfinished effects in the trailer cause people to not show up for the finished product even if there is some improvement in the final product. There's also this hazy hue hanging over everything that makes the film look as if it were shot in 2002 which is to say the movie already looks dated and if your movie that features a completely CGI creature already looks dated before it comes out you might be in trouble. How some films can look so effortlessly real while relying on gobs of CG (see both Guardians of the Galaxy movies) while others seem to be limping to the finish line with their climactic computer generated battle (see Black Panther) I'm not sure, but this is a movie that needed more attention paid to the special effects than it did craft services and while I wasn't on set I'm willing to bet those spreads were more aesthetically pleasing. The story seems familiar enough if you know the arc of Eddie Brock and despite all my pessimism I still hope this turns out well-for all involved and for fans of the character, but I can't help but to feel the writing is on the wall. Venom also stars Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Marcella Bragio, Michelle Lee, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, and opens October 5th, 2018.

DUNKIRK Review

Dunkirk is a horror movie. Make no mistake about it. You never see the villains. There is no physical trace of the German military anywhere in the film until one of the final frames. And yet, the presence of these antagonists looms over every scene. It is so inescapable in fact it is nearly suffocating. There is, in essence, no relief from the situation at hand and much like a horror movie more steeped in that genre's conventions you know only one thing is certain: bad things will happen and people will die. That doesn't mean one can look past the horror by not getting as accustomed with the characters, the people, experiencing these situations though, but rather Christopher Nolan has slyly and only crafted his characters to the extent that one largely puts themselves in the shoes of these individuals. As with any good scary movie there is an allure to the uncertainty that could not necessarily be labeled as enjoyable, but is engaging nonetheless and that essentially describes the emotions one will likely feel throughout the entirety of Dunkirk. From the opening, breathtaking scene in which one of our young protagonists flees the gunfire of unseen enemy forces to moments in which civilians on their personal boats navigate the rough seas as they cross the channel in hopes of nothing more than saving a few lives-Nolan ratchets up the tension and holds it as tight as he possibly can for an hour and forty-five minutes. Unlike most Nolan pictures, there is a brevity to Dunkirk that is key in sustaining the tension and keeping it at as intense a level as possible throughout, but like most Nolan films this is still very much an experience more than it is just another trip to the theater; it is immersive in a way that is difficult to put into words necessarily, but Dunkirk was always going to be something different as it sees one of the greatest filmmakers of our current generation crafting his version of a World War II film and to that extent this is a lean and intense piece of filmmaking that is rather exceptional. Lifting from the horror genre in terms of approach is only the beginning of what makes Dunkirk haunting, but much of what has to do with the accomplishment the film turns out to be is the way in which each of the elements Nolan uses to craft his movie congeal in such a natural way. Whether it be the structure that is used to differentiate between the timing and perspective of the tales from the air, land, and sea or the pounding score from longtime Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer that more or less makes up for dialogue in the film to the face of Kenneth Branagh in general. Dunkirk is a work in which it would seem there was nothing easy about creating what we see on the big screen, but that comes together in such an effortless fashion it feels as if there was no other way in which the movie might have ultimately turned out. In short, it's a reality where it seems the filmmaker's ambition has genuinely been met.

Official Trailer for Christopher Nolan's DUNKIRK

The final, official trailer for the latest epic from director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar) has arrived and it looks rather glorious. This is easily my most anticipated film of the summer. Dunkirk was shot completely on IMAX 65mm film and 65mm large-format photography with Nolan and Interstellar cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema reuniting once more for what will hopefully be a World War II film for the ages. While my concern with Dunkirk comes more out of the fact the market for WWII film is rather saturated these days than any worry with Nolan or the story he wants to tell there is a certain familiarity with these types of images that no longer allow them to feel as fresh no matter what scope one is shooting on. That said, the imagery we get here in this extended trailer only reinforces the beauty the filmmakers have found in this tragic event. The story concerns the real-life events of the evacuation of Dunkirk, known as Operation Dynamo, during the British military operation that saved 330,000 lives as Allied soldiers were surrounded by German forces. Nolan wrote the screenplay himself without usual collaborator, brother Jonathan, but the picture will reunite the director with longtime collaborator/composer Hans Zimmer. We already seem to know there is no one particular protagonist, but rather that Nolan's film will consist of several different perspectives on similar scenarios that will only stand to increase the tension within each of these situations. Granted, I'll see anything Nolan decides to put his time and effort into so all of this may not exactly be saying much, but nonetheless the idea we're getting a WWII film from the perspective of one of our great modern filmmakers is nothing to be dismissed. Dunkirk stars Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles, and opens on July 21, 2017.

Full Trailer for Christopher Nolan's DUNKIRK

Getting in just before the cutoff for Rogue One's wide theatrical debut tomorrow night we now have a new look at the latest epic from director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar). Shot completely on IMAX 65mm film and 65mm large-format photography Nolan and Interstellar cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema are clearly intent on creating a World War II film for the ages. While my concern with Dunkirk comes more out of the fact the market for WWII film is rather saturated these days than any worry with Nolan or the story he wants to tell there is a certain familiarity with these types of images that no longer allow them to feel as fresh no matter what scope one is shooting on. That said, what we're given in this first trailer is undoubtedly beautiful. The story concerns the real-life events of the evacuation of Dunkirk, known as Operation Dynamo, during the British military operation that saved 330,000 lives as Allied soldiers were surrounded by German forces. Nolan wrote the screenplay himself without usual collaborator, brother Jonathan, but the picture will reunite the director with longtime collaborator/composer Hans Zimmer. Another interesting caveat drawn from what this new trailer delivers is the fact there is no real hint of who the hero of this story is or if there is one in particular protagonist at all. Rather, the clip is more a collection of shots that feature more than a few recognizable faces, but none of which seem to necessarily be taking charge of the narrative Nolan might be telling. We may learn more about its story if we get a final trailer in a few months, but for now this is more than enough to intrigue this viewer. Of course, I'll see anything Nolan decides to put his time and effort into so that may not exactly be saying much, but nonetheless the idea we're getting a WWII film from the perspective of one of our great modern filmmakers is nothing to be dismissed. Dunkirk stars Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles, and opens on July 21, 2017. 

Teaser Trailer for Christopher Nolan's DUNKIRK

If you weren't aware, director Christopher Nolan is making a World War II film that comes out next summer and Warner Bros. is letting those who haven't been up to date and anxious about what the auteur might do next know by dropping an announcement trailer of sorts before their big-budget action hero epic, Suicide Squad, this weekend. I can remember the first trailer for Inception debuting and being blown away not by the visuals or concept the movie seemed to possesses, but rather by the fact we were already getting another Chris Nolan film only two years after having delivered the greatest comic book movie known to man. With his latest, the studio seems to be following more the pattern they did with the Interstellar campaign as we only get a few brief glimpses of footage here intercut with text informing audiences this is indeed a new Nolan film and if you're really out of the loop, what Nolan has made prior. All of that said, there isn't much to say about the teaser other than the fact the footage itself looks visually stunning (Nolan re-teamed with Interstellar cinematographer Hoyt van Hoytema), but there is no mention of actors and no insight into the story. All we know is that the film will focus on the evacuation of Dunkirk, known as Operation Dynamo, during the British military operation that saved 330,000 lives as Allied soldiers were surrounded by German forces. Nolan wrote the screenplay himself without usual collaborator, brother Jonathan, but the picture will reunite the director with longtime Nolan composer Hans Zimmer. Nolan also decided to shoot the whole of his tenth feature on IMAX using a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film. Dunkirk stars Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles, and opens on July 21, 2017.

THE REVENANT Review

The idea for The Revenant is more satisfying than its realization. It's a fact many of us who have been looking forward to the film likely realized before even watching it, but nonetheless the reaction to this realization is still one that feels it witnessed something unique, or special at the very least. Throughout the course of the film I couldn't help but to keep coming back to the thought that the huge amount of effort that was so clearly put into the making of this film deserved to be seen multiple times, countless times even, but in trying to come up with a time in which I might actually want to sit down and experience this again I came up with little desire. That this was also director Alejandro González Iñárritu's follow-up to his Oscar-winning Birdman factors into the mystique of the idea of how great this film might be, never mind the fact he was collaborating with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. And so, the "what if" thought came to mind in the form of, “what if this were made by a no-name director?" Would it be met with the same expectation? Would reactions be as critical to the leanness of the story or would the beauty of the cinematography allow that to be forgiven? Obviously, this is not the case and thus the film will be viewed and criticized for how it stacks up against Iñárritu's past works as well as the fellow awards fodder that is being released this year, but despite all of these factors that inform the here and now, the initial reactions to the film, The Revenant feels like a movie that will be around for a long time. It is a movie that will be discussed not for its large themes or the depth with which it conveys this rather simple and straight-forward story, but more for what it was able to accomplish in bringing beauty out through such brutality. That, in its own way, it was able to deliver as visceral an experience as one could have with a motion picture. This is a movie not meant to elicit a lot of intellectual pondering, but more an experience of the emotions that you drink in, let settle, and then decide if it's for you or not. My palate seems to have come to the decision it appreciates the taste more than it necessarily enjoys it.

New Trailer for THE REVENANT Starring Leonardo DiCaprio

With The Martian opening this week it's no surprise that 20th Century Fox is trotting out a new trailer for it's big awards contender this season in director Alejandro González Iñárritu's (Birdman) The Revenant starring what we all assume could finally bring Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar. That said, I always imagined this would be something of a tough sell to the general movie-going public. It is a film that seems to largely operate on visuals alone (though they are Emmanuel Lubezki's visuals, but again the average movie goer doesn't know or care about that) and while DiCaprio is one of the few movie stars left in a culture where actors are known more for what superhero they play than their body of work it will be interesting to see how far audiences will follow the actor based on his presence alone. Getting them to follow him to the tune of a $50 million opening weekend for The Great Gatsby is one thing, but doing even half that for The Revenant would be impressive. The fact the film is also following the same release pattern as Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (limited on Christmas day, wide on January 8th) is curious and an intriguing game to watch play out for people such as myself who find these kinds of match-ups entertaining. All of that said, this new trailer sells the hell out of the action/adventure/drama that also features recognizable and credible faces in Tom Hardy and Domhnall Gleeson. Lubezki's aesthetic that is complimented by Iñárritu's desire to shoot this film in remote locations in Calgary and all in natural light allow for a stunning and distinct style that, along with the pure adrenaline this clip offers, will hopefully set the film apart from everything else we see this holiday season.

TIFF 2015: LEGEND Review

Legend is a movie that aspires to be a great gangster epic and in some regards it is, but this is not the gangster epic in the same vein as something like Goodfellas. It is more a representation than an adaptation, which is fine because it works for the characters at play and never fails to be thoroughly entertaining. Director Brian Helgeland delivered a straightforward, but rousing biopic of Jackie Robinson two years ago in 42, but has written films such as L.A. Confidential and Mystic River in his twenty-seven years in Hollywood. With Legend, Helgeland tests his directorial prowess by taking on a much bigger scope and a more complex story that features a diverse set of personalities. Each of these things having to be managed and pieced together in a way that feels coherent and there are times you can almost feel the structure creaking under it's own weight. Near the end of the second act the film almost gives way to a full on tsunami of varied tones and plot strands falling in on themselves and flooding out to leave behind nothing more than puddles of once strong and vibrant storytelling methods as well as the exceptional double performance of Tom Hardy. Lucky for Helgeland, he hired an actor with as much gravitas and ability as Hardy allowing him to pull off this stunt and leave the audience ruptured in his showing to the point we don't so much care about what else is going on around him. We acknowledge the given circumstances the real-life people fell into, but we're all just watching to see what Hardy does with the situation.

Movies I Wanna See Most: Fall 2015

So far, 2015 has been a rather solid year for film. Of course there were the early month droughts that featured the likes of Blackhat and The Boy Next Door, but by February we received Kingsman and even McFarland, USA which (if you haven't seen it) is a really solid Disney sports drama. I'm not saying things have been exceptional, there have probably been just as many if not more bad movies than there have been good movies, but I had a really good time at the movies this summer and I'm pretty sad to see it come to an end. That said, I am genuinely looking forward to the fall release schedule especially considering I will be making my first trek to the Toronto International Film Festival this year and hopefully seeing as many of the movies on this list as soon as I can. Transitioning to the fall we approach films in different kinds of ways. While the summer is typically looked at for and judged more on pure entertainment value the fall is almost explicitly Awards season and looked to for more stimulating material. Given this kind of precedent there seems to always be one or two films that seem pre-destined for Oscar glory and while Eddie Redmayne seems to make it clear that The Danish Girl is this years film to beat (timely, his follow-up to winning Best Actor last year and Tom Hooper's follow-up to Les Mis) I still don't see a clear contender this year (though last years Best Director winner, Alejandro González Iñárritu, is certainly putting his hat in the ring). That said, this list is not about what I think will win the most awards (as you'll notice with much of this fall's franchise films getting some love) come February, but more what I'm most excited to experience at the cinema this fall. So, without further adieu, let's dig in...

First Trailer for THE REVENANT Starring Leonardo DiCaprio

Anything that Leo DiCaprio works on these days seems destined to be on my most anticipated list. Whether it's that the guy has truly impeccable taste or the luckiest timing in the world, he seems to be consistently picking the right projects. Truth is, it is a combination of those things that have set DiCaprio up for appearing in and championing projects made by the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Baz Luhrmann and Martin Scorsese (and that's only in the last four years!). The timing aspect is most evident though in that not only is DiCaprio finally working with heralded director Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Babel), but he is working with him on the follow-up to Iñárritu's Best Picture Winner, Birdman. The fact that DiCaprio is one of the most well-regarded actors working today combined with Iñárritu's current clout and the added bonus of starring Tom Hardy (who is on his own hot streak as of late with Mad Max and the awesome looking Legend coming out this October) in the supporting role gives off the impression everything fell in line perfectly for this film to be positioned as an awards season favorite. I'm sure the filmmakers and stars would gawk at that previous sentence though given the difficult and tumultuous shoot they reportedly experienced. Iñárritu shot the entire film with outdoor lighting in the rather inhospitable Canadian wilderness over nine months. It looks as if the hard work and long days paid off though as this first look trailer is absolutely breathtaking. Working from the real-life story of Hugh Glass who was left for dead by his companions following a bear mauling in the early 19th century, Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki show once again that there is always a new way of looking at things. Besides DiCpario and Hardy the film also stars Domnhall Gleeson, Will Poulter, and Lukas Haas. The Revenant opens in limited release on Christmas Day before expanding wide on January 8, 2016.

New Trailer for LEGEND Starring Tom Hardy

Brian Helgeland has written a number of high profile scripts that range from the acclaimed L.A. Confidential and Mystic River adaptations all the way down to Ridley Scott's 2010 attempt at reviving Robin Hood, but he has only directed a handful of features with the most recent being the straightforward, but solid Jackie Robinson biopic 42. With his latest project in which he serves as both the sole screenwriter and director Helgeland seems to be looking to make his biggest splash yet. With Legend, the writer/director has enlisted Tom Hardy (who just seems to be unstoppable at this point) to play both Ronald and Reginald Kray who were identical twin gangsters that essentially ran the London crime scene in the 1950's and 60's. With the second trailer for the film Universal is really beginning to sell this film as a must-see and the potential for greatness seems to be off the charts. With the success of Mad Max: Fury Road Hardy has become a more visible star than ever before and Legend seems perfectly poised to be that definitive performance that forever puts him on the map as one of the greats. If you've been watching a variety of movies for a few years now you already know the true talent that Hardy is, but based purely on the footage we're seeing here he's seemingly getting ready to make sure the rest of the world knows who he is. The film overall looks to be a massive gangster epic with a top shelf supporting cast that includes Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri, Tara Fitzgerald, and Taron Egerton. Legend opens everywhere on October 2nd. Check out the trailer after the jump.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Review

I went into Mad Max: Fury Road knowing little to nothing about director George Miller's franchise. I attempted to watch his original 1979 film a couple of weeks prior, but found myself bored and unable to pay attention and so as much as that statement might be read as sacrilege in the film community, I gave up and decided not to move on. This didn't lessen my excitement for Miller's latest installment as I'm a fan of both Tom Hardy and the incredible trailers that were crafted for the film. My only hope was that the final product lived up to what we caught glimpses of in the trailers. And so, while I have no real frame of reference (and I know I need to go back and at least watch Road Warrior as I've read the words "action classic" tossed at it at least a dozen times over the past week) I went into Fury Road with optimism and excitement, hoping that what was promised would be delivered and it was. The fact Miller, who is now seventy, was even able to pull off half of the stuff we see on screen here is amazing, but that he is able to subtly sneak in a compelling story underneath the mayhem is all the more reason to be fascinated by the highly saturated images we watch frenetically move across the screen. The big screen. It almost goes without saying that the film is gorgeous and the action is superb, but as the opening moments play out it is clear one doesn't necessarily have to be familiar with the previous adventures of Max Rockatansky (Hardy). A brief overview by the titular character is given in the opening moments as he stands on the edge of a sand-drenched cliff, getting set for his "next adventure" as I'd like to see it. Into the frame creeps a two-headed lizard, quickly slithering its way closer to Max where he stomps on it with his boot heel and picks it up to gather protein. We know immediately this is not our world, not the one we know. We can see, even if we haven't before, that this is a land full of inhabitants who are full of desperation and that bubble of desperation is about to burst. For the full two-hour runtime of the film Fury Road barely has time to slow down and catch its breath and even less does it rely on dialogue to move the story along. Miller firmly believes that actions speak louder than words and he puts that mantra on full display here as Mad Max: Fury Road is completely bonkers in every way; every good, entertaining way it can be.

CHILD 44 Review

Child 44 is a movie that seems to want to be one thing, but doesn't know how to be that thing. It has ideas of how to be this grand period piece/spy thriller yet it isn't sure how to convey the inherently intriguing story it is dealing with. There aren't necessarily too many facets occurring or even a lack of focus, it's simply put: a script issue in that the gripping story wasn't told in the most gripping of ways. It is actually somewhat impressive that what was seemingly used as the shooting script was able to make it to that stage in the first place. If the film I saw was taken directly from the screenplay, and it's highly unlikely there was any improv on this set, then one would imagine it would come to light pretty obviously that there were some major structural problems that needed to be reassessed. Instead, director Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and his exceptionally talented cast drift through this somber and distinctly cold film without seeming to notice that the pieces weren't congruent. There could be any number of reasons Espinosa and his crew didn't take note of these shortcomings while in the midst of shooting as I imagine there is a great pressure to get things done in a certain amount of time and under budget, but while something should have come of this in the editing room (where many directors admit the a film is truly made) the major issues still come back around to point their fingers at the script. Based on what the final product delivered this was more like the second draft of a screenplay rather than one further down the road, one that was able to find its voice and emphasis on particular themes. Adapted from a novel by Tom Rob Smith and written for the screen by Richard Price (who hasn't written a feature since 2006 and has tellingly worked more in television) the editors were unable to craft a slimmer film from the footage that was shot because each moment admittedly relies on a detail in the previous scene to move forward despite the two halves of the film feeling completely disconnected.

First Trailer for CHILD 44

Between The Dark Knight Rises, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Lawless and now Child 44 Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman might as well star taking roles in all of each others films no matter the lead. Still, the reason to be interested in the latest from director Daniel Espinosa (Safe House), for me at least, is that it features a seeming intense performance from Hardy. Hardy is not only one of the most exciting actors working today, but one of the most diverse and, in my opinion, the best. Between Locke and the (underrated) The Drop from last year Hardy has established himself alongside the likes of actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Fassbender who are young, still feel up and coming and yet have the power and credibility to make their own creative choices and do the projects they actually want to do. With that said, I can't help but be excited for what Child 44 holds and what kind of year it might kick off for Hardy who will follow it up with at least three more major projects by years end. As for the film itself, this first full trailer gives us plenty to chew on as it dives deep into the plot taking place in Moscow of 1952. A disgraced member of the military police (Hardy) investigates a series of nasty child murders after his fellow soldier and his wife lose their son. There is a distinct style to the piece and an atmosphere that is almost irrepressible. More than this, the premise is extremely dour and feels right in line with the kind of mood Hardy typically thrives best in. Child 44 also stars Paddy Considine, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, Noomi Rapace, Charles Dance, Vincent Cassel and opens on April 17th.

Movies I Wanna See Most: 2015

I can't help but feel I don't know enough to be making such a list as this anymore. Every year I go through the upcoming years slate of planned movie releases and come up, pretty easily, with ten or so films I'm genuinely excited to see and again, this year, that has been no problem. My issue with a list such as this is there is no way to go through each possible release or even know about every release in the way that a movie might come to light during the course of the year and becomes something you wish you might have highlighted way back when, that you knew about and held expectations for simply because it's nice to be "in the know". That sounds a little crazy and a little ridiculous, I realize, but it is easy to go through and say what blockbusters you are most excited to see in any given year, but you only wish you knew that there might be a Birdman or a Whiplash sneak up on you and blow you away. Then again, I'll just convince myself I actually enjoy the element of surprise and wait to see what gems 2015 currently has tucked away. To both points, I've attempted to go through and double check with some of my favorite directors and actors to see what, if anything, they might have on their slate for this year so as to hopefully surprise a few people with this list and not just satisfy/underwhelm folks who see another list where The Avengers and Star Wars take the cake. From my most anticipated list of 2014 three films made my year-end top ten. From my most anticipated list of 2013 one film made it, so I guess that could be taken as a good sign if there is any correlation to be found at all. Furthermore, 2014 seemed like a really solid year when looking back despite it feeling easier than ever to craft a top ten. There were a few exceptional films, but there seemed an abundance of more than solid features that are just as worthy for someone else's favorite films of the year. If 2015 is anything like it, we'll be in for a great crop of flicks (the best of which I likely don't even know about yet).

The Ones You May Have Missed

I typically put together a list of my least favorite films of the year rather than a "worst" list because I honestly try to avoid anything I think is going to be outright terrible. It is hard to consider anything the worst of the year when there could be plenty of reasons others might have found something to find interesting. For example, I found both Under the Skin and Obvious Child to be well, obvious in their intentions that were in some variation or another supposed to push boundaries. Many of the arguments in Jenny Slate's rom com centered around abortion felt moronic while Jonathan Glazer's extreme indie lacked in any type of compelling material offering me nothing interesting to decipher. That said, there are plenty of people who find both of these films completely fascinating and even among their favorites of the year. I, of course, have no problem with that and can respect their opinion, but instead of damning a couple of obvious choices as the "worst" films of the year I figured I'd put that effort into a list of a few films that I thoroughly enjoyed and thought went unappreciated throughout the year. As I still haven't seen what I'd consider a few promising titles from 2014 (Trip to Italy, Skeleton Twins, I Origins, The Disappearance of Eleanor Ribgy, Belle, Palo Alto, Listen Up Philip, Pride, Love is Strange, Starred Up) this list only comprises of five flicks that I hope aren't overly obvious. Sure, there are films like the Tilda Swinton featuring Snowpiercer and Only Lovers Left Alive that are fine, but not all they've been made out to be I think. You also have quirky excursions like Frank (which I didn't much care for) and They Came Together which I would highly suggest if you liked Wet Hot American Summer at all. There are plenty of other smaller flicks that are more than solid entertainment you can find to rent or buy at this moment including Joe, Cold in July, Stretch or even Dom Hemingway, but the next five films left something of an impression on me while largely seeming to allude others.

THE DROP Review

When one approaches a film with a certain set of expectations based on the individual components and what it could potentially add up to as a whole it gives way to a certain direction we think the film will go. From the outside looking in The Drop starring Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini in his final screen role sold itself as a Brooklyn-based crime drama that centers around a robbery gone wrong and the investigation around the robbery that brings a certain drop-point system to its knees. While all of this is still very much a part of the film, it isn't the centerpiece, as an audience we aren't drawn into the plot as in the series of events that make up the story, but instead become more interested in how these specific characters will decide the course of the story rather than the tropes typically employed in this genre. To be fair, it is a deliberately slow-paced affair that sets the tone of not only the critical environment in which the movie takes place, but the attitude of our main character and how it lines up with the aforementioned plot elements that combine to bring home more than we bargained for in the third act. As the film goes on and we wonder why the tension never reaches breaking points with the police involvement or why more things, shocking things aren't happening we are getting a portrait painted for us and we don't even realize it until director Michaël R. Roskam wants us to. There are core questions people have to ask themselves when put in a predicament such as Bob Saginowski (Hardy) is here. What is his overall goal in life? What is standing in his way? What might he lose if he doesn't achieve his goal? They are questions that Dennis Lehane no doubt asked himself as well when he penned both the screenplay and his short story the film is based on. These questions though, ones that typically provide a kind of structure for where a story needs to go, while still in place, are allowed to become side-tracked and thus result in a film where it doesn't feel we are dipping in on a very specific moment in time in the life of the characters, but that this is simply another set of struggles, another set of detractors and minor set-backs in a neighborhood where everyone is fighting to make a living and maybe one day, achieve their ideal goals.

Favorite Films of 2014 So Far...

There have been plenty of solid films come out this year already and we are only halfway through it. I say solid, but in no way does that mean many have been exceptional. It's funny really because in terms of quality this has been one of the better summer movie seasons in recent history. From the straight up, brisk nature of Neighbors to the full on-lampooning of sequels in 22 Jump Street this summers comedies have delivered while both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past have proved to be fine diversions in the super hero genre that seem to be breaking away from the formula that has become standard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (here's lookin' at you, Thor). We've of course had smaller films that I have garnered a good appreciation for including Jon Favreau's return to small-scale movie-making in Chef and Nicolas Cage's return to actual acting in Joe, but the real surprise has been the typical (Godzilla, Edge of Tomorrow) and atypical (The Fault in Our Stars) summer fare that has really made this year a breeze so far. The two major animated releases have both come extremely close to that exceptional mark as The LEGO Movie is downright hilarious and has a unique take on what could have been a giant commercial while How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a beautifully realized continuation of Hiccup and Toothless' story that deserves to be seen on the big screen. I rather enjoyed Noah as well and look forward to re-visiting that film when it hits home video much in the way I enjoyed Snowpiercer which I saw and reviewed yesterday and you can read about here. Don't get me wrong there have still been plenty of mediocre to less than stellar films this year both in mainstream and arthouse releases (Pompeii and Under the Skin could crawl away and die for all I care), but the following five films are what struck me as either fascinating, substantial or flat-out awesome as I left the theater. Hit the jump to check out my top 5 of 2014 so far...

LOCKE Review

Much is required not only of Tom Hardy in director Steven Knight's Locke, but from the audience as well in which I mean it isn't for the the likes of everyone. As someone who is deeply entrenched in the world of movies, where they've been, are currently at and where the trends point them towards going it is always nice to see a film take a certain amount of risk and to see it pay off is even more rewarding. I realize that not everyone will see the merit not only in Hardy's highly nuanced performance, but in what it actually takes to maintain interesting, compelling drama for nearly an hour and a half without resorting to anything more than a man in his car and the world he once knew falling down around him, but Locke illustrates brilliantly how it can take very little to create something of significant impact. There is hardly a minute of this film where Hardy is not on screen and when he's not we are only given brief moments to take in the dimly lit highways of England as Hardy's Ivan Locke makes his way towards London. Even Locke himself is barely able to focus on the road and the world around him because his mind only has the bandwidth to deal with a certain amount of things, granted they are highly emotional items, and in the case of this particular night where we meet him and stay with him in real time he is performing a balancing act of personal and professional tasks that see both of them going nowhere but a place he least expected to end up. It is a bleak film, with a dim color palette and ambiguous atmosphere where all of the information we are able to gather is from our titular character and those he speaks with on the phone. It is not so much what an accomplishment Locke is in terms of pulling off what it did with its restraints, but more that it was able to do so much with them. Within these confinements Knight and Hardy were able to pull off what doesn't feel like a stunt for the sake of attempting something daring but instead have crafted a film that feels as if it is all the better for using the elements it has to build the suspense and create the right kind of mood for which to most honestly convey this story to the audience. It is actually a thing of wonder as I remember being so doubtful of a similar premise four years ago with Buried, but was as almost impressed with how well it was pulled off as I am here, almost.