The worst films of 2015

The worst films of 2015

It's time for the annual hall of shame.

And looking back over what has been a terribly average year, some cinematic stinkers have really stood out.

Here are the worst films of the year - in no particular order:

1) Daddy's Home
2) Fantastic Four
3) The Gallows
4) Terminator: Genisys

5) Hot Pursuit
6) The Scout's Guide to the Apocalypse
7) The Transporter Refuelled
8) Dumb and Dumber To
9) Vacation
10) Irrational Man
11) Mortdecai
12) Taken 3
13) Get Hard
14) Unfinished Business
15) Jupiter Ascending

So, did I miss any? hit me up with your worst films of 2015!

The Best films of 2015

The Best films of 2015

It's fair to say that glancing back through the year, it's not been a vintage one for cinematic experiences.

Most have fallen into the middling category; not offensive films, but not massively enjoyable - which is in many ways, the worst experience to have at the movies. Films should move you, stir something in you and see you rise from your seat in ecstasy or agony.

That said, there's been some strong stuff out there this year - and here in no particular order - are some of the best,

1) The Ground We Won
2) Sicario

3) Creed
4) 99 Homes

5) Inside Out
6) A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
7) Mad Max Fury road
8) It Follows
9) Girlhood

10) The Martian
11) Song of The Sea
12) Cartel Land
13) Love and Mercy
14) Birdman
15) Foxcatcher

Here's hoping 2016 will be incredible!

The Good Dinosaur: Film Review

The Good Dinosaur: Film Review

Vocal cast: Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Steve Zahn, Sam Elliott
Director: Peter Sohn

A Pixar film is usually a treat, a piece of animation that touches the heart with its story and characters as well as impresses the eye with its sumptuous work.

So, it's a surprise to say that The Good Dinosaur isn't quite up to scratch in the story department.

Positing the idea that the meteors that hit the earth and wiped out the dinosaurs never actually struck but zoomed past, The Good Dinosaur concentrates on a family of Apatosaurus dinos who work the land. Into this family is born fearful dino Arlo, the runt of the litter who struggles to find his place.

When tragedy hits the family and the father's killed (so far, so Lion King), Arlo ends up accidentally getting lost. With only an orphaned cave boy, Spot, whose sole behaviour is like a dog, Arlo begins the long and arduous journey home. (A la Incredible Journey and Homeward Bound)

The Good Dinosaur merely hisses where perhaps it could roar.

Mixing in the entirely unoriginal story of a lost character making their way home and having a few adventures while undergoing some life lessons on the way with a Wild West story is an odd mix that doesn't quite hang together as it should.

Which is a shame as technically, the movie is excellent.

Backgrounds, dirt and prehistoric mountain ranges sizzle - the environments look incredibly realistic and feel like they've been filmed and the dinos and other creatures super-imposed over the top. It's perhaps just as well the backgrounds are so immersive that you're not as distracted by the lack of what's going on in the foreground.

Because simply put, the main story is somewhat of a damp squib, an under-developed journey that goes from A to B, with little time for any major characters and interactions - unless it's to ram home the message of earning your mark on the world by doing something big for something bigger than yourself.

That's not to say the leads don't interact well and their relationship doesn't work well. Both Arlo and Spot are given a few funny and touching moments together throughout, but more often than not, these feel like perfunctory ends to moments and wouldn't feel out of place within a short film (in fact, at times The Good Dinosaur feels like a short film that's been over-extended and not fleshed out). It's a shame because the truth that resonates within Spot and Arlo's bond will keep kids engaged throughout - and there's not enough of that within. But the other problem is there's not enough of a connection between Arlo and his family; roughly sketched over at the start of the flick, the film fails to find the centre and stretches the connection too far.

The Good Dinosaur may revel in some of the darkness of life but the unoriginal journey and poorly padded out story makes it feel like Pixar's hit a rare bum note; it's a rare mis-step of a film that doesn't quite do enough to keep the kids as engaged as they should and doesn't do enough to keep the adults on side either.

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Disney Infinity 3.0: The Force Awakens: PS4 Review

Disney Infinity 3.0: The Force Awakens: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Disney

Closing following the highly secretive plot of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Disney Infinity set is likely to be a family favourite this Christmas with kids both young and old.

You will of course need the original Infinity kit to get this started, but given that, the game itself and its lovely styled figures are worth investing in and in no way constitute a quick cash in on the franchise.

Playing through the game will see you taking on the majority of the film's key moments (it's still too early for spoilers, so nothing to see here, move along) and it all kicks off on Jakku. You get to play as Rey or Finn and it's clear these characters are here to stay in the series, with chances to level up fairly quickly and easily on hand.

With slight variations on what you've experienced before in play sets, it's clear that this latest is trying its best to ensure you don't feel it's a rushed job. It's certainly brief, but given that you get to pilot X-Wings and the Falcon as well as laying into Stormtroopers on Jakku, this is definitely aiming to give you a flavour of the film rather than the full course, but the youngsters the set is aimed at will not care.

Three hub areas provide extra missions as well so even if the main storyline has brevity, there's still the chance to get involved in side bits and to keep minds and fingers occupied.

Ultimately, Disney Infinity 3.0: The Force Awakens is a nice solid tie- in.

It does what it needs to, is respectful of its Force material and will keep the kids happy during the summer months. There are signs these sets need to do something a little more radical in future, but not veering too far from their MO and keeping the charm dialled up to 11, Disney Infinity's latest foray into a galaxy far, far away shows this series is rightly here to stay.

Suffragette: Film Review

Suffragette: Film Review

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ben Whishaw, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Sarah Gavron

There's no disputing the Suffragette's movement was a vital one.

But in the hands of Gavron and writer Abi Morgan (The Hour, The Iron Lady), the film version of the growth of the movement feels didactic and as washed out as the grey palettes employed in the visual execution.

In 1912 London, Mulligan plays Maud Watts, one of the early foot soldiers of the movement, but who's more a soldier of chance than of deliberate stance. Working at a local laundry and duly handing in wages to her husband (Whishaw), Maud one day finds herself in the middle of the growing civil unrest instigated by Emmeline Pankhurst.

With her interest inadvertently piqued initially in the movement, Watts is dismissive of what's going on and remains a passive viewer. But when tensions begin to escalate at home, she becomes more involved in the fight for equal rights.

Suffragette is a misfire in many ways.

It fails to really get to the core of what makes the movement so powerful and gives us a lead that would rather view what's going on while all around lecture her. Equally, it doesn't help that Gavron's characters outside of the trio of women are so caricature. All men are bad and therefore badly portrayed with such a broad brush that the message threatens to be lost in the cinematic execution.

Conflict at Watts' home is so obviously signposted that it's never a surprise when it shows and the only real surprise is how dire it gets; this is a film which is never anywhere but in the women's corner, firmly entrenched in their camp and their fight.

In among the shaky cam and Mulligan's Watts' passive viewing of events (her character spends most of the film as an impassive viewer, rather than willing participant), there's also cliched dialogue rolled out over the law not being respectable to women; but there are moments that shine. Chiefly Brendan Gleeson's investigating copper brings a compassionate tone to proceedings, casting doubt over treatments and offering some hope for men at large.

Streep's appearance amounts to little more than a cameo as Pankhurst addressing a rally and Bonham-Carter seems to have wandered off the set of Sweeney Todd with her turn.

While Suffragette clearly wants to pass on a powerful message, its execution is muddled and mired in its intentions. It is perhaps telling the only moment to garner any emotion in the screening was when New Zealand appeared top of a list of nations that granted women the vote in 1893 - and the real footage is rolled out from events of the movement.

Sometimes, a true story needs only the simplest of executions to soar; sadly Suffragette misses with every moment and fails to add to the legacy of the suffragette movement.

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Pixels: Blu Ray Review

Pixels: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

When it comes to Adam Sandler comedies, the bar is not exactly very high.

But to say Sandler looks incredibly bored and lifeless throughout this is a damning expression of disappointment given the fact that Pixels could have been very good.

Instead, this story flops along.

It's the tale of Sandler's former arcade gamer Sam who's thrust into saving the world by his buddy, the President, played by Kevin James (yep, folks it's the movies - where it appears anything is possible) when aliens attack based on a time capsule sent into space in the 1980s.

Along for the ride is Josh Gad, channeling his very best Jack Black, as fellow arcade geek and former King of Kong style nemesis, pint-sized Eddie (Game of Thrones star and Emmy winner Peter Dinklage, who hams it up as much as he can along with the swagger) - but none of them, bar Dinklage, bring any real heft to the proceedings.

Which is a shame, because Pixels is swathed in a kind of 80s nostalgia that's as comforting as it is familiar to many - the idea that the naive innocence of games way back when could see our ultimate destruction is one which appeals to me as a gamer.

Based on the short film Pixels by Patrick Jean, the production values and the 3D ethos certainly work in this blocky execution to brilliant effect - certainly by the final act where the Earth's overrun by gaming creatures from the past, there will be elements of the audience that will bathe in the reminiscence while the younger end will not recognise anything other than Pac-Man at a push.

All in all, Pixels isn't as bad as perhaps it could have been - it's perfectly fine family fodder that lives in a universe of its own making - but if anything it suffers from an apathy from its lead that's contagious. Not once does Sandler's character seem to remotely care what's happening and unfortunately, as a result, most of the audience feel the same. And while the computer elements are brilliantly visualised, the human characters - aside from Dinklage - are sketchily outlined and barely filled in.

Carve Pixels up to a wasted opportunity; another Hollywood idea that fell by the wayside and file it under "great idea, poorly executed".

Game over.

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The Belier Family: Film Review

The Belier Family: Film Review

Cast: Louane Emera, Francoise Damiens, Karin Viard
Director: Eric Lartigau

With Christmas upon us, the annual cinematic line up heads more towards lighter fare - and this French film which played earlier in the year at the French Film Festival is one of the contenders for your time.

It's the story of the Belier family, who run a farm for a living in a small village in France. But their lives are different from others as three-quarters of them are deaf; the husband Rodolphe, the wife Gigi and the son Quentin. The only exception and window to the world outside is 16 year old Paula (Louane Emera) who hears normally but who interprets for the family.

However, that bond between the Belier family is challenged when Paula signs up for a music class at school because she likes one of the boys who also signs up. Equally challenging is that she discovers her voice and has a chance to go on to greater things in a national audition - but that would mean leaving her family behind.

There are moments in The Belier Family that are clearly pitched for farce rather than the usual solemn disability flick. The parents are sex-crazed animals, with one of the earlier scenes seeing Paula stuck in the middle at a doctor's appointment and trying to rationalise with her father to use the cream while her mother presses on with her desire to copulate. Also, the script sizzles with zingers like one telling Paula her moping over the boy makes her "like Bella from Twilight".

But at the same time in among the occasionally off-kilter silliness and at times over-acting (chiefly from Viard as the mother), there are some genuinely moving moments - and a star-making turn from the Chloe Grace-Moretz like Emera as the family rock, torn by her own coming of age and her love and familial bond.

One of the scenes that delves deep into poignancy of the drama and tragedy is a family confrontation when the mother reveals her heartache in discovering that her daughter can hear at birth and how she was different by not being deaf like them - it's dripping in sadness and guilt that is universal and touchingly delivered, never over-milked for the moment.

However, there are also frustrations - a side plot involving Rodolphe going for town mayor forms the start of the film and then simply falls by the wayside is one of the chief casualties as this relatively predictable tale plays out.

Thankfully, anchored by a star-making turn from Emera (I defy you to hold back the tears as she unleashes her audition song Je Vole by Michel Sardou while simultaneously signing for her parents in the audience) which is perfectly pitched, The Belier Family hits the right emotional notes and soars. Balancing the awkwardness, frailty and vulnerability of the self-deluded confidence of a teenager while never losing any of her appeal and over-playing the conflict, Emera is the main reason to see this French feel-good film that'll remind you of following your dreams while never forgetting where you came from.

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