10. Patrick's Day. Not only did I get to see this ahead of most people, I also managed to grab Terry McMahon for this terrific interview. The film is reviewed here.
9. Set Fire To The Stars. A gorgeous film featuring some gorgeous performances. Reviewed here.
8. Housebound. One of the best horror comedies I've seen in recent years, and there have certainly been some great ones. Reviewed here.
7. The LEGO Movie. Let's say it again. Everything IS awesome. Reviewed here.
6. The Green Inferno. WHY has this not been unleashed in cinemas yet, for horror fans to lap up? It's the best cannibal movie we've had in a long time, and arguably the best film yet from Roth. Reviewed here.
5. The Guest. I was worried that this would let me down. It didn't. Movie fans who miss those glory days of rummaging around at the local video store for an action thriller gem are going to LOVE this one. Review is lined up to kick off 2015, as I couldn't think of a better way to start the new year. Meanwhile, folks can buy it here or catch it on demand NOW.
4. Guardians Of The Galaxy. 99.99999% of the entire world loved this. I was one of them. Reviewed here.
3. Under The Skin. Quite an amazing experience. Reviewed here.
2. Calvary. Not perfect, but makes up for that with the sheer power that it packs in the third act, a real punch to the gut. Reviewed here.
1. Inside Llewyn Davis. Perhaps the only movie that I saw at the cinema this year and left unable to find ANY fault with. A beautiful piece of work. Reviewed here.
GREAT films that I just saw after this deadline: The Wolf Of Wall Street, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Boyhood, Nightcrawler, and Birdman.
Honourable mentions: Paddington, Coherence, The Raid 2, That Guy Dick Miller, Chef, The Skeleton Twins, Snowpiercer, Starry Eys, 22 Jump Street, Cold In July, Hyena, The Canal, The ABCs Of Death 2, What We Do In The Shadows, Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla, Let's Be Cops, Zip & Zap And The Marble Gang, and many more that I'll think of as soon as this is live online.
And remember that you should really buy my e-book, that has almost every review I've written over the past 5 years. It's very reasonably priced for the sheer amount of content.
The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide
And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov
As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.
You're probably the first person I've heard say anything nice about GREEN INFERNO. Color (or Colour) me intrigued. I do know that I want to see it.
ReplyDeleteI'll give LLEWYN DAVIS another go someday, but I just didn't like our titular protagonist (or "jerktagonist" as I dubbed him in my review), and that made for slow going.
Need to see LEGO MOVIE and THE GUEST. The first slipped by me, the second hasn't come close enough to me. Both will be mine.
Yes yes yes to GUARDIANS, HOUSEBOUND, UNDER THE SKIN, and CALVARY. My thanks to you for recommending the second and fourth in that list, as yours was the first report I heard they needed watching. Thanks for being our man on the ground out there.
Well, you know that any film that has Eli Roth's name attached to it is going to garner a lot of negativity, but when leaving the festival screening of The Green Inferno I must say that a LOT of the audience members admitted to being surprised by how much they enjoyed it. It actually delivered on the promise made IMO, even if the humour bothered some.
DeleteAs for Inside Llewyn Davis, I heard someone say that it was the best rumination on grief. Something I hadn't even considered on my first viewing. I was just mesmerised by this guy who didn't believe he would ever catch a break, yet constantly shot himself in the foot whenever goodness came close.
You REALLY do need to see both The LEGO Movie and The Guest. I've met very few like-minded film fans who didn't like them. Not saying that if you dislike them it doesn't make you a film fan, just saying that the odds are good, sir.
And I am always delighted when I can recommend things to the other side of the pond. It's so often the other way around (such as The Human Race and, oh, every other movie you end up seeing about six months ahead of me).
:-)
True, although the people I was hearing the bad buzz from were the organizers of a certain prestigious fantastic film festival - I can say no more, having been sworn to secrecy, but they were WAY down on it. Of course I'm still going to check it out myself, so i'll keep you posted. Llewyn Davis, as they used to say in the 70s, is a sonofabitch. He's a grieving sonofabitch, but he's still a sonofabitch and he's hard to like. (Actually, true story, there's someone in my social circle these days who recently lost their spouse and while I feel bad, I still don't like them and it makes for some very uncomfortable interactions these days. Don't know why I felt compelled to share that, but hey.)
ReplyDeleteHere's to endless recs, wrecks, and international internet parties until I come to play in person!
When you finally get over here it will be a time to put in the books. People will talk about it in hushed tones, with most tales ending . . . . :"Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!" ;-)
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