Seve (The Movie) (2014, Dir. John-Paul Davidson, UK/Spain) (Cert: PG/TBC) ***

Starring: Seve Ballesteros, José Luis Gutiérrez, José Navar

Equal parts biopic and documentary, Seve follows the life of Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros (Gutiérrez, himself) one of the greatest, most popular and most charismatic golfers of all time. The fictional half of the film shows Seve as a young boy in northern Spain honing his incredible talent and passion for golfing. The documentary follows Seve through the prime of his career, his years as a respected veteran and his tragic death.

Seve (sometimes referred to as Seve: The Movie) documents the life of legendary golfer Seve Ballesteros in a rather novel way. A film that is equal parts biopic and documentary, looking at two sides of Seve's life. It's an interesting conceit and applied with some skill, given that even for the non-golf-fan, its an intriguing and, at times, moving film but its original approach to structure is both its most distinctive feature and most blatant flaw.

Although the film only has one director, John-Paul Davidson, the approaches to the two different mediums come with their own styles. The biopic part of the film that largely dominates the film's first half is polished and attractive with a rather romanticised air about its Spanish surroundings. The documentary that makes up most of the latter half of the movie consists footage from Seve's various games, interviews and archived news footage, overlain with voice-only interviews by fellow golfers and broadcasters. Both aspects of the film work well enough but their juxtaposition damages the film's narrative.

The reason for this is rooted in the film's pacing. The dramatic sequences of Seve's upbringing and the start of his professional career are executed very methodically. Each step in the story is given a great deal of detail and explored so much so that if Seve's entire life were told in this fashion the film would probably be extremely long. The documentary stuff covers a wider canvas but skips through Seve's career rather quickly and focusing on the minimum of detail. It's far more energetic than the dramatic scenes but it also lacks any real interest in the same way that the dramatic sequences do as well.

What stands out most about the documentary segments is how they display Ballesteros' skill as a golfer. Even if you don't like golf, you can find entertainment purely in how Ballesteros plays and the enthusiasm with which that is captured rings through the movie and helps encourage investment in his life and career. To an extent, Seve is a failed experiment at trying to marry drama and documentary but its failure in pacing doesn't entirely sully a perfectly worthwhile film.

Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie (2014, Dir. Ben Kellett, UK/Ireland) (Cert: 15/TBC) **

Starring: Brendan O'Carroll, Eilish O'Carroll, Jennifer Gibney

Never at a loss for words, Agnes Brown (B. O'Carroll) runs a market stall on Moor Street, Dublin and spends the rest of her time drinking at the pub and spending time with her various relatives. Things seem to go well for her, until a local politician (Dermot Crowley) backed by a cooperation and Russian thugs try and close the market down, leading Mrs. Brown to spring into action.

If you want a good example of the gulf that exists between general audiences and critics (although I contend that pretty much EVERY audience member is a critic in a certain respect) you need to look no further than the TV series, Mrs. Brown's Boys; a show that has had millions rolling in laughter and an equal number scratching their heads in confusion. I count myself in the latter half. Being old-fashioned isn't necessarily a bad thing with sitcoms. Personally, I'm a fan of Modern Family, a fairly traditional domestic sit-com updated for what constitutes a family in early 21st century but Mrs. Brown's Boys seems like a step backwards towards those badly-aged 70's sitcoms even the smaller digital channels don't show anymore.  Still, given its marketability, the inevitable movie is here.

What's often forgotten is that Agnes Brown (once known as Agnes Browne) is no stranger to the big screen, going back to the film Agnes Browne in 1999, where she was played by Anjelica Huston, no less. Based on a book, The Mammy, its author Brendan O'Carroll has long since played the role. O'Carroll is an extremely intelligent man with a great deal of talent and ingenuity. If he finds this role enjoyable, than good for him and the money he has earned. But an acquired taste is what is needed to make Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie enjoyable. You either get the appeal or you don't and frankly, I don't.

Save for the ample outside sets, the film still feels very televisual. As the film's plot builds and builds this is done away with but you get the feeing that the filmmakers are playing it safe. I shudder to think how this film would've turned out if Mrs. Brown and her family had ventured to foreign climes, an old chestnut of sitcom-to-film adaptations but its focus on the parochial has its own pitfalls. This mostly manifests itself in a parochial tweeness where slushy synth strings underline rather treacly notions of family and community mixed with gags that aren't just crass, they're genuinely offensive. My senses could not quite believe it when O'Carroll strode onto screen as Mr. Wang, surely the most outdated caricature of Chinese culture (whether Wang is genuinely Chinese or not) since Peter Ustinov in One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing. The film's depiction of the blind is also a little troubling both ethically and factually and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happens when a character has Tourettes.

The supporting cast, as with the TV show and the live performances is comprised of O'Carroll's own family and they're all capable performers and you believe no-one's performance is being carried here even if the material isn't particularly strong. Like the show, there's corpsing (when an actor, usually in a comedy, laughs during the performance and break character). It's fairly common in sitcoms, especially given their smaller resources and live performance aspect compared to film but in a fairly novel twist is tried out here a couple of times in the movie. The actors having to go over the same scene again, breaking the suspension of disbelief but making for an admittedly interesting experiment.

Inevitably the film tries to go for drama and the cast (particularly Brendan O'Carroll and Jennifer Gibney as Agnes' daughter) have enough ability to make the performances convincing even if neither delivers a masterclass but the stabs at drama never come close to overtaking the comical aspect of the film which I personally didn't find very appealing. Fans may get something out of this and that's perfectly fine but those unconverted who are foolish to think that maybe it might be better as a movie are best staying away.

Walking On Sunshine (2014, Dirs. Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini, UK) (Cert: 12a/TBC) **

Starring: Hannah Arterton, Annabel Scholey, Giulio Berruti

Three years after a whirlwind romance on the Italian coast, Taylor (Arterton) returns there for the wedding of her sister,  Maddie (Scholey). The husband happens to be Raf (Berruti), Taylor's old Italian flame. Meanwhile, Maddie does her best dissuade the advances of her ex-boyfriend (Greg Wise), all set to a sequence of 80's pop hit musical numbers.

Mama mia! It's rather hard to believe this film actually exists and yet there it is. Walking On Sunshine was drifting around the pre-production ether for a while before this final result. Originally looking to star Aussie pop sensation Kylie Minogue and Les Miserables' Samantha Barks, what has resulted is a film that really makes you wonder how this film survived such a long crawl to the big screen, not helped by being a pretty blatant Mama Mia cash-in. Since Mama Mia's big success, a few jukebox musicals have arisen. Rock Of Ages, based around 80's rock music was a patchy affair that ultimately fumbled at the box office. Also, not forgetting Sunshine On Leith, the Proclaimers musical that was actually fairly good, even if part of that was he bizarre novelty of a musical film based around the songs of The Proclaimers.

Walking On Sunshine is a parade of 80's hits with a rather uninteresting and predictable wedding plot thrown haphazardly into the fray like an unfortunate male bystander encountering a particularly rowdy hen night. Some of the songs fare better than others for different reasons. A take on Don't You Want Me Baby by Human League is decently staged and, for all its sentimentality, The Bangles' Eternal Flame is a genuinely good piece of music. However, across all the songs is an overly-slick sheen that drains a lot of passion and energy into something extremely sanitised. It also doesn't help matters that numbers are often crowbarred into the action at abrupt turns, resulting in some very unnatural transitions, though this eases up as the film goes on.

The direction is also pretty flawed and whilst there is a little energy bouncing along, it's very clear that the emphasis is on the music and not on the performances. Annabel Scholey perhaps does the best acting job in the cast, but the acting is aimless and falls back on either overly-broad strokes or being emotionally lacking. Another problem is how to deal with the characters. Although there are some rectifications, Hannah Arterton's Taylor does become almost irredeemably self-centred for a main character and how Greg Wise's character of Doug was never arrested for his rather disturbing attempts at "seduction" will remain a mystery to the ages.

This film desperately tries to be Mama Mia, but it's not. Mama Mia is not the best musical film of all time but it's a decent musical. Those who complained about Pierce Brosnan not being a good enough singer missed the point. The point was to be swept up in the fun and energy of it all, and a bit of intentional campiness came as part of that. Walking On Sunshine is like Mama Mia without the Brosnan dimension. What's left is a film that whilst perhaps a little fun if certain libations are involved, is far too glossy for its own good.

Chef (2014, Dir. John Favreau, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: John Favreau, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo

Once feted as an extraordinary rising talent, Carl Casper (Favreau) is now head chef at an LA restaurant, often preparing popular dishes that he has no passion in preparing. After a bad review, Carl loses his temper and becomes an internet laughingstock, but now with his own food truck, he takes his cooking on the road.

No relation to the Lenny Henry sitcom (at least no relation that I know of), Chef is directed by and stars John Favreau who, despite a fairly long career is probably best known for his work (directing and acting) with the Iron Man movies. It's fair to say that Chef is a heavy contrast to those movies, going away from the glitzy Hollywood productions and for something a little more low-key in flavour, although Favreau's Hollywood connections bring some star-power to a fairly amusing little movie.

Favreau dominates this picture as it is very much the story of his character, Carl Casper. It would be tempting to call this film a vanity project with Favreau showcasing a skill for cooking and despite not fitting the traditional body image Hollywood has for lotharios, actually having an impressive romantic history, but Favreau is an engaging and endearing enough a  presence on screen that this is forgivable. Amongst the support we get decent performances and Favreau shows off his show business connections as we see Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt, Russell Peters, Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johannson (take note of when I mentioned Carl's impressive romantic history with those last two) and Robert Downey Jr., some just turning up for a scene or two.

Beyond the big names however, this is a movie about food and you'd be wise to not go into this film without having eaten something beforehand. Fail to do that and rest assured you will get hungry as shot after shot simply delicious food is pushed in front of your eyes. The food is so much the focus that it seems that the characterisations suffer by comparison. There's never much sense of what many of the characters are really like and their motivations change more to suit the story than to suit the character. The film is thematically rich (beyond food there's also elements dancing around latino culture, social media to the point it looks like a Twitter ad at times, father and son relationships and the world of criticism, reminiscent of Ratatouille) but ultimately, we get something that whilst a little bland at times does have some flavour, a great presentation and a hint of spice. Ultimately, a satisfying meal of a movie.

3 Days To Kill (2014, Dir. McG, USA/France/Greece/USA) (Cert: 12a/PG-13) **

Starring: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld

Veteran CIA agent Ethan Renner (Costner) discovers he has terminal brain cancer following an assignment in Belgrade. Now in Paris, home of his wife (Connie Neilsen) and daughter (Steinfeld) and facing only weeks left to live, Ethan is given an experimental treatment by a fellow agent (Heard), prolonging his life enough for him to track down his assignment in Belgrade known as "The Albino" (Tómas Lemarquis) and his boss, "The Wolf" (Richard Sammell).

3 Days To Kill was a film whose origins can be traced back to director Luc Besson and the Besson-isms are fairly clear. A slick crime thriller set against the streets of Paris, owing a debt to Chinese "gun fu" cinema whilst also juggling a drama about a mam and his relationship with his teenage daughter (in fact, Hailee Steinfeld even makes herself up at one point in a fashion eerily recalling a young Natalie Portman in the obvious Besson comparison, Léon (The Professional))

But the finished work is not that of Luc Besson. Instead it has fallen to the eccentrically-monikered McG, music video director who made his feature debut with 2000's Charlie's Angels. As a director, Luc Besson is polarising ; with his films both being loved and hated in equal measure. McG is not the worst film-maker of all time but his style is comparable to another filmmaker born of the music video, Michael Bay. Into this film that balances spy thriller with family drama, McG injects high-paced editing and an action sensibility that borders on the absurd. The result is a film with plot holes like swiss cheese and where understatement is a sledgehammer to the gonads.

It's clear from early on that McG really doesn't care about giving his audience a realistic story. Whilst 3 Days To Kill does avert the gimmick-laden over-the-top action of the more fanciful (and very often worst) James Bond films the film takes a lot of artistic license with what an audience believes. This is typified with Amber Heard's portrayal of Vivi, leading man Costner's CIA associate who, whilst undoubtedly spirited, serves mostly to show Heard off like part of the hardware herself as she constantly makes vain comments to emphasise her role as eye candy. I wouldn't go so far as to call the character sexist, I would go so far as to say wearing extremely conspicuous hairpieces and unusual and sexualised clothing would not be to your advantage if you were a spy looking to hide in the shadows.

As for Costner as Ethan Renner, he's given a role that despite having ample meat on the bones to act with but is mostly relegated to playing the same middle-aged secret agent with a family that Liam Neeson is also making his living with these days. It's the film's disregard for Renner's illness that does the film a disservice. What is clearly set up as a means for gathering tension and uncertainty is often pushed aside so as not be an element at all. Really, the film only needed to back up him trying to re-establishing a relationship with his daughter to provide an original plot point even if that is handled clumsily (a supposedly sweet scene of him teaching her to dance has perhaps the creepiest accompanying music that you could slip in without intention to freak out an audience).

Along with the film's worryingly cruel sense of humour, this seems pretty terrible. To be fair, it is a handsome film and the cast is made up of enough talent to make it worth watching and fairly engaging in parts. I doubt McG intends his films to be cerebral exercises where he expects his audience to think about the film's message and that's fine. Raiders Of The Lost Ark doesn't really have a message, it's just fun. Here, keep thought to a minimum because if you even for a second start to question film, it falls away leaving something disappointingly empty.

Jersey Boys (2014, Dir. Clint Eastwood, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen

1950's New Jersey and a young man by the name of Francis "Frankie" Castelluccio is looking to make his break as a singer whilst working in a barber shop and helping his friends Tommy (Piazza) and Nick (Johnny Cannizarro) commit petty crimes. Together they form a musical group, pushed into the limelight by Frankie (nown with the surname, Valli) and his falsetto vocals. With the addition of Bob Gaudio (Bergen) they become The Four Seasons and take the pop charts by storm.

Having been a big hit on stage, it was probably inevitable for Jersey Boys, the musical based around the work of The Four Seasons to come to the big screen. Of note is the surprisingly high-profile addition of Clint Eastwood as director. Of course, amongst his filmography as a director, Eastwood has made a series of films that involve early-to-mid twentieth century America whether it be The Changeling (about a disappearance case in the 1920's) Flags Of Our Fathers (a World War II film) or J. Edgar (about the infamous head of the FBI). Now, Eastwood is venturing towards the 60's, but it still fits in that mould especially with the trademark muted cinematography of Eastwood regular, Tom Stern.

Those previous films weren't musicals and, really, Jersey Boys is really only marginally within that genre. Of course there's music, but rarely is it more than a verse or a chorus of something, really inviting comparisons with the likes of The Doors than Across The Universe. Eastwood does however let stylisation take hold every once in a while though. Often a member of the group will break the fourth wall and speak to the audience, usually during a number. It's a fine idea, but the balance in volume is off and the music can get in the way of what's being addressed. 

The songs however are fantastic. Of course, it's The Four Seasons so you get renditions of "Walk Like A Man", "Sherry" and  "Big Girls Don't Cry" and they're all performed to a intensely close degree of the original recordings, so much so that it actually sounds almost like the real thing. The performance of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" may be the best version of the song I've ever heard.

The problem resides in how it approaches the story. As I've written, the film is not really a musical, it's a drama but the film is the length of a musical at almost two-and-half hours. It wants that same razzmatazz extravaganza and what we get is a drama that comes off at times as rather baggy and probably would've been a svelte two hours and whilst the source material itself isn't a musical, it would've been interesting to put a more theatrical slant on it. It's really over the closing credits that we get a big musical number but many of the cast members are clearly comfortable in that medium, including Christopher Walken (a song and dance man originally, whose skills that arena have been showcased in Hairspray and the music video of "Weapon Of Choice" by Fatboy Slim). 

Still, it's a film that loves show business. There's a flamboyant edge and there are nods towards pop culture. "Big Girls Don't Cry" is inspired by the guys watching Ace In The Hole. Joe Russo plays one of the group's friends in their early days, a young pre-fame Joe Pesci, even throwing in a quick nod to his iconic turn in GoodFellas and Clint Eastwood himself even makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance. The film covers dramatic, even tragic, ground and the tough almost Scorsese-esque aura gives a unique flavour but those expecting a zippy roller-coaster ride through the best of The Four Seasons may be disappointed.

The Fault In Our Stars (2014, Dir. Josh Boone, USA) (Cert: 12a/PG-13) ***

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern

At the age of thirteen, Hazel Lancaster (Woodley) was diagnosed with thyroid cancer which almost killed her and eventually caused her to lose half of the functioning in her lungs and make her terminally ill. Reluctantly part of a cancer support group, Hazel meets Augustus Waters (Elgort) a charismatic and adventurous cancer survivor. The two become friends and Augustus, smitten with Hazel, tries to win her affections whilst she, wary of her limited time left, tries to keep her distance.

If I had to point to any actor this year whose career has had a meteoric boost, it would be Shailene Woodley. A prolific TV actress who received adulation in Alexander Payne's movie The Descendants back in 2011, this year saw her star in Divergent, that did stellar business in the US box office and now The Fault In Our Stars which seems to have done the same. So, it's successful, but does that mean it's any good? 

Well, making money in the film industry always have a degree of risk, but there are some things that stand better than others when it comes to possibly earning a profit. Few would've doubted the lucrative nature of Harry Potter as a film property, Marvel seem incapable of losing money at the box office and this film plucks at saccharine melodrama and teenage romantic fantasy in such a fashion that it could cause the skies to rain gold.

There is an audience out there, a sizeable one at that, that could lap this up very eagerly but I won't be snobbish here. It must be said that for all The Fault In Our Stars is very much fluff for teenage girls, it happens to be fluff made with some degree of skill. It goes without saying that cancer (especially terminal cancer) is a very clear way to get an emotional response to your audience. Virtually everyone knows someone who has had it and the majority of people will know someone who has died because of it. Movies about terminal cancer have proved over the years to be notorious tear-jerkers. For many, this means that The Fault In Our Stars will be a modern day version of Terms Of Endearment. The film is filled to the brim with tales of hardship as well as moments of romanticism but there is more.

There is some humour to be had and there is some joy, although I suspect some of what I found amusing may not have been intended as such (does anyone else just find something inexplicably joyful about Willem Dafoe listening to Swedish hip-hop over massive speakers?) but with all the emotion, I never felt the emotional button being pushed. More like a finger just hovering above like some sentiment-inducing sword of Damocles. A crashing force that never comes. The acting's fine and we have two talented young leads who seem to have genuine chemistry but getting a sense of their lives outside of each other is tricky. Laura Dern plays the loving mother of Woodley but we never get too much from dad, played by Sam Trammell, other than a "don't hurt my daughter" scene with Elgort that is never followed up on. We never even see Elgort's parents save for some quick glances at the end.

As the romantic duo at the film's core, The characters of Hazel and Augustus do represent two different but common kinds of adolescent. Hazel is precocious and, understandably, nihilistic. She spends her time rereading the same obscure and intellectual, if pretentious, novel. Augustus is mostly just about having fun and damning the consequences, although his declarations of love do come off as inauthentic, but look at the genre we're dealing with here. It's part of the game. This reaches its apex with a whistle-stop tour of Amsterdam which from a romantic level works in some ways (there's a chaste, but still surprisingly passionate bedroom scene) but not in others (the scene of the two kissing, and then being applauded for it, in the Anne Frank house has already proved...controversial).

In short, this film knows it has an audience clamouring for it and it knows exactly how to tackle that audience. As a tool for making money (and, to be realistic, it's called the showBUSINESS for a reason) it works very well. As far as artistic merits go, it's not perfect but in all honesty, it does work.

Oculus (2013, Dir. Mike Flanagan, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochran

Eleven years ago, the Russell family were at the centre of a horrific family tragedy. Marie Russell (Katee Sachoff) died under violent circumstances after a mental collapse and her husband Alan (Cochran), was shot by their ten-year-old son, Tim (Garrett Ryan, Thwaites) who was then sent away to a mental institution. Now released, Tim and his sister Kaylie (Annalise Basso, Gillan) conduct an experiment on the sinister powers of an antique mirror that they believe to have been responsible for the death of their parents.

When compared to many of its contemporaries within the horror genre, Oculus displays more ambition than most even if what makes it unique is also what often trips it up. Mainstream horror movies today often come with some very familiar stylistic elements. At the moment, the found footage subgenre  (where the film plays out as if it's been recovered from a character recording the events) is in vogue, jump-scares (which intend to shock the audience with sudden surprises) are common and the theme of possession is often used. Oculus is a horror movie about possession even if it doesn't play it up front.

The found footage subgenre has been around for a while now. Originating with 1980's Cannibal Holocaust but not getting a real mainstream foothold until almost twenty years later with The Blair Witch Project and then sparking another round of interest following the success of the franchise-spawning Paranormal Activity. But beyond the gimmickry, it's rare that such films display any originality. By playing on it in the background (or main character, Kaylie, is filming herself but we never get to see much of what was filmed) provides an interesting twist, even if its not a found footage film, per se. Most of the film attempts to scare mostly through atmosphere and mood, with the occasional lashing of gore. It never really works, but it's still a nice change of pace from the practice of simply surprising your audience into submission, a cheap trick that seems to be very popular right now.

To an extent, the film also seems to serve as a vehicle for Karen Gillan to break it big in Hollywood. Already well-known as Amy Pond in Doctor Who (a phenomenon in the UK and a long-time cult hit across the Atlantic) it's uncertain how well this (as well as her upcoming role in Guardians Of The Galaxy) will bode for her future. A Scot actress sharing the spotlight with Australian actor Brenton Thwaites, their accents are actually rather seamless and their performances are competent even if they're not extraordinary.  Indeed, for the most part the performances in general are rather low-key for a horror movie save for Katee Sachoff, but that comes as part of her role, even if sometimes the crazy is pushed a little too far.

What really makes this film stand out is its approach to structure. Given the central object of the film is a mirror, mirroring makes up a major thematic element to the plot, sometimes in subtle ways. The film constantly splinters between present and past time that at times appear like flashbacks and at others almost like our characters have gone back in time to when they were children. It's an intriguing idea, if a little too confusing. Another theme is mental illness and whilst it is clear that Tim, our male lead, has served time in a mental hospital, it's at times teased that Kaylie  may not be entirely stable herself. A great idea to riff on, but sadly it's ultimately discarded.

Oculus seems to want to boast itself as a "thinking man's horror film", sort of merging together Poltergeist and Inception. For sheer ambition alone it is to be lauded and placed above most mainstream horror flooding the market these days. But to others, like the horror genre itself to an extent, it's an acquired (and not quite fully refined) taste.

Belle (2014, Dir. Amma Asante. UK) (Cert:12a/PG) ***

Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson

The daughter of an African slave and a British aristocrat (Matthew Goode), Dido Belle Lindsay (Lauren Julien-Box, Mbatha-Raw) is raised under the care of her uncle, Lord Mansfield (Wilkinson) one of the foremost judges in British law. Brought up around high society, Dido faces discrimination due to her mixed race and her disapproval of the rigid system in which she lives at a time when a case of a slave ship is brought to court that could change the cause of slavery abolition in Britain.

It took seven years for director Amma Asante to bring the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle to the big screen. Inspired by a portrait housed in Scone Palace depicting her and her white cousin Elizabeth Murray as equals at a time when non-whites in portraiture were depicted as looking at white people in admiration, Belle is a handsome film that falters into some of the problems with costume dramas but does bring with it a rare passion and spirit.

Central to this the strong leading performance by Gugu Mbatha-Raw. A role as complicated as this requires a great deal of range which Mbatha-Raw displays skilfully. Tom Wilkinson is the second most prominent player in the cast and he commands the screen whenever he is present as well. Emily Watson as Dido's adoptive mother figure is rather under-explored, a fate shared to a lesser extent with Watson's role in The Book Thief earlier this year. Penelope Wilton is eminently enjoyable a sharp-witted faded debutante whilst Miranda Richardson and Tom Felton go into almost panto mode as a thoroughly unlikable and racist duo (put together with an also under-explored James Norton whilst Sam Reid makes a number of impassioned declarations against slavery.

The film is polished and romanticised to within an inch of its life and it's clear a lot of effort has been put forth and it conjures up notions of Jane Austen and the Brontës that at least makes for glamorous proceedings. The dialogue is a little more troublesome. The anachronistic language and the plot's dependency of a social system that virtually doesn't exist anymore mean that the film can be hard to follow but the strong sense of a central plot and the way Asante takes us through it means that the ideas at the core of the story shine through.

All in all, Belle is probably not going to make any new fans of the detractors of costume dramas but it is slightly above the average for films of its ilk and if you feel that you mY enjoy it, it's worth checking out.

SNEAK PREVIEW: How To Train Your Dragon 2 (3D) (2014, Dir. Dean DeBlois, USA) (Cert: PG/PG) ***

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler

In the land of Birk, dragons and vikings used to be enemies until a boy named Hiccup (Baruchel) united the two in harmony. Five years pass and whilst the people Birk have learned how to live with dragons, settlements beyond have yet to achieve that peace, especially when combined with the povers of the feared Drago Bloodfist (Djimon Houndsou). Hiccup amd his trusty dragon Toothless (Randy Thom) find Hiccup's mother, Valka (Blanchett) whose affinity for dragons may just hold the key to victory.

When it came out in 2010, How To Train Your Dragon was a bonafide sleeper hit. A film that was expected to just come and go like many of its Dreamworks brethren, but actually became extremely popular and beloved. From this film, Dreamworks have scored an entire franchise and so we get the inevitable sequel.

What we get with How To Train Your Dragon 2 is a film that isn't exactly a revolutionary new phase in animation but is an acceptable, if not superior, followup. One area in which this film has doubtlessly improved is in the quality of the animation. People are notoriously difficult to animate and this has been said to be particularly true in regards to computer animation (this is one of the main reasons why there aren't many Pixar films with major human characters) but with this film both the fluidity of the characters' movements as well as the detail of their designs is substantially improved. There's less of a marked improvement with the dragons but there are some interesting new designs.

The story is one area where an improvement over the original is clearly sought, but fails for trying too hard. The plot to the original How To Train Your Dragon movie was straightforward (boy raised to kill dragons befriends one, tries to rally his dragon-hating community to help stop a destructive "über-dragon"). This time around, we have a more complex plot involving a villain who has powers over dragons and uses hem despite seemingly holding them in contempt. The main action element of the plot barely holds together, although the tale of our hero, Hiccup reuniting with his mother is a lot more successful. Cate Blanchett, an actress of extraordinary versatility here falls short with her accent. It comes of as inconsistent. Flitting between Scottish (for some reason, the elder vikings have Scottish accents in these movies, it stops being distracting fairly quickly), North American and in one scene, Irish. But she provides the right level of warmth and toughness nonetheless.

Even Gerard Butler (an actor whose work I haven't always been fond of) gives a solid performance, better than his first film as here he portrays more tenderness and range. It's a shame however that much of our supporting cast that played a significant role in the first film (America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, T.J Miller, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig) have less to do this time around and the film misses some of that interaction, even with the addition of Kit Harrington as a brawny rogue (because who else would be voiced by Kit Harrington?).

As expected there are some moments of the film that are visually stunning. The best moments of the first film were just Hiccup and Toothless soaring through the skies and landscapes and in the sequel, it's perhaps not as breathtakingly beautiful but it has a lot of energy and excitement. The arctic-styled environments are also pleasing to the eye even though it's not entirely the 3D spectacle you would expect. So, whilst this followup may be clumsy in narrative it is at least very attractive with it and shouldn't upset fans of the first film.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 is currently showing in the US. It will be released in Scotland on the 27th of June, followed by a release date of July the 11th in the rest of the UK.

Fruitvale Station (2013, Dir. Ryan Coogler, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia  Spencer

In the early hours of New Year's Day 2009, Oscar Grant (himself, Jordan) was involved in an confrontation with police where he was fatally and unlawfully shot in full view of a crowd filming the incident. Fruitvale Station dramatises the last day of Oscar's life before his killing at the titular station.

The debut feature film by Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station presents a young director with a promising amount of talent. In the nature of the early work of filmmakers, it's a modest film. Brief and largely devoid of any spectacular production value, but Coogler uses these to his advantage. The story has a brief timespan and the almost camcorder-styled cinematography provides an interesting visual flavour that might be interesting to see if it will appear in Coogler's later work.

An actor on the rise himself, Michael B. Jordan brings realism to the forefront in playing Oscar Grant and succeeds in providing us with a three-dimensional character. A young man who definitely hasn't made the all the right choices in life but is still a loving father and a pretty decent person. Really, the film's at is best when it emphasises the very real comings and goings of Oscar's life as he hangs out with friends and has dinner with family. Amidst the supporting cast, Octavia Spencer gives a strong and dignified performance as Oscar's mother.

To look at the film's flaws, its sense of mood considering what a downbeat story this is at heart is a little downplayed. This film covers a very tragic and brutal event but that sense of impending doom only hits right towards the end of the film, even when there are earlier scenes that in themselves depict distressing events, such as when Oscar sees a dog get run down by a car. The film also drags towards the end and given the nature of how the story is set up, Oscar's friends and family sat around the hospital waiting to hear if he'll recover is dragged on considering the foregone conclusion. 

Still, these flaws don't detract from an interesting effort by a developing film-maker. We're yet to see more work from Ryan Coogler (at present, he seems to be attached to a project known as Creed, that has no release date) but his talents certainly seem promising.

Grace Of Monaco (2014, Dir. Olivier Dahan, France/USA/Belgium/Italy/Switzerland) (Cert: PG/TBC) *

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, Frank Langella

In 1956, movie star Grace Kelly (Kidman) made headlines around the world by marrying Prince Rainier (Roth) of Monaco. Dedicating her time from then on to public functions and charitable works, Grace is however tempted back into Hollywood when director Alfred Hitchcock (Roger Ashton-Griffiths), offers her the lead in Marnie. Grace is tempted back towards the silver screen but when tax problems threaten Monaco to become a part of France, Grace is torn between returning to the movies and supporting her subjects.

Last year, Oliver Hirschbiegel was roundly denounced following the release of Diana, take on a romantic affair of Princess Diana. Whilst I personally thought the film was flawed, I perhaps gave it a softer and kinder review than many other critics. What little goodwill could be bestowed upon Diana for this story of a glamorous and beloved European princess who dies tragically in a car crash, I feel less sympathy.

The thing is, the film understands the glamourous aspects of Grace Kelly's story. It's a film of the glamorous highlife of Monaco, society balls and the upper financial echelons of society. A film that sees status but not character or spirit. The film shines but it's aesthetically rather unattractive because of this lack of atmosphere. Like an extremely contrived advert for a brand of chocolate, it knows how to push buttons to suggest class but it's all just soulless set dressing. It's odd  that the film is so dramatically dead given the calibre of the cast. Nicole Kidman plays Grace Kelly, an odd and not particularly successful casting choice beyond bringing glamour to proceedings. Tim Roth plays Prince Rainier but does little more than sit and smoke, occasionally raising his voice a little. Frank Langella seems equally bereft of material or direction whilst Robert Lindsay plays Aristotle Onassis with a performance and Greek accent as thick as feta.

Indeed, throughout the film we're treated to a completely inconsistent approach to accents that makes it so easy to lose track of the characters and their backgrounds as the film seems to scramble for some unifying idea of what it's about. It is, by its own admission, a fanciful take on the true story. The thing is it doesn't really know what it wants to be fanciful about. Is it a story of Monegasque independence, a story of a woman not knowing her place in a strange world (even though, despite the claims of Langella's priest, it isn't too far removed from Grace's America, relatively speaking) or about a woman, famed for her glamour and poise, supposedly learning those things from a cameoing Derek Jacobi?

It doesn't help that the film also spoon feeds its audience what tidbits of exposition it can with toe-curlingly artificial dialogue that doesn't ring true and only serves to remind an audience of the time and place. This is harshest in the early going when Hitchcock rabbits on about Cubby Broccoli making spy movies with some Scotsman (hmmmm...I wonder what that is?) and occasionally going off to talk about The Birds (1963). For such an assemblage of talent, it's a shame that this film comes off as it does and I don't like seeing movies (even movies I don't like) doing poorly at the box office like this is doing but with a film that is as trite, confused, artificial and often damn patronising as Grace Of Monaco, I find little room to wonder why this has happened. 

The Hooligan Factory (2014, Dir. Nick Nevern, UK) (Cert: 15/TBC) ***

Starring: Jason Maza, Nick Nevern, Ray Fearon

For as long as he could remember, Danny (Billy Matthews, Maza) wanted to be a football hooligan, inspired by his extremely violent father (Ronnie Fox). Now an adult, Danny finds himself without a home and forms a bond with Dex (Nevern), a legend within the hooligan community. With the help of Dex's old firm, Danny rides his way to the top of the hooligan ladder.

A small British comedy about football hooliganism, The Hooligan Factory is the second time as director for Nick Nevern. Judging from this film, Nevern may not be amongst Britain's best and brightest of a new generation of filmmakers but does show ability. The thing is the ultimate result is...uneven.

The Hooligan Factory is clearly trying to style itself, comedically, as a Scorsese film of the terraces. There's some clear alluding to Goodfellas (1990) (although in an odd move, the film parodies Goodfellas directly twice rather than going for a more natural single parody or a film-long one) but the editing and pace owes something to Scorsese as well. Hooligan Factory has some definite energy and intensity, especially in the early going and there are some truly funny moments and good performances.

However, there are problems. For all that the film does make some amusing jokes towards the hooligan culture and how it has changed, there's a deep thread of humour throughout that seems to show a fixation of women getting physically harmed. Once would not attract much notice, It probably still wouldn't be funny, but it wouldn't attract much notice a d whilst attacking the film as misogynist may be a bit extreme, it's attitude does come off as a little disturbing. Again, this may have been a Scorsese influence, showing not particularly nice people but not being didactic about their flaws, but it comes off as very misguided.

The Hooligan Factory just simply lacks direction. It lampoons the laddish, violent and often unpleasant world of the subject matter and yet seems to relish at times in the kind of humour that is equally tasteless and hateful whilst the narrative also gets confused. There's no real sense of how long the events of the story take place over and an opening scene seems to serve little purpose other than to say, "Hey, look! We got Danny Dyer!". I defend this film by saying that beneath it all, there's a very intelligent movie. It's a shame it's being blocked by a meat-headed thug with a warped sense of humour. 

22 Jump Street (2014, Dirs. Phil Lord, Chris Miller, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube

After foiling a drugs ring running out of a local high school, young cops Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are given another, extremely similar, case involving busting up a drugs ring, this time running out of a local college, where the two officers must pose as students.

A film adaptation of a late 80's cop show, 21 Jump Street was one of the surprise hits of 2012 and so naturally, the time has come for a sequel. Indeed the notion and concept of the sequel holds up 22 Jump Street and makes for its best and funniest moments (including a pretty impressive closing credits sequence). But as for the rest of the film...what you get is often more of the same and when changes do occur, some work for the better, some work for the worse.

The worst thing about the film is how it treats its characters, especially with Channing Tatum's Jenko. In the first film, Jenko felt more rounded and more realistic. In this film, his athleticism is given more emphasis and so is his stupidity, taking him too far into caricature. Meanwhile, our main villain is completely bland and lacks any real character beyond being a stock generic action movie baddie.

For directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the Jump Street movies do represent something of a departure. Raunchy live-action teen comedies do sit incongruously alongside their more family friendly animated fare such as Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009) The Lego Movie (2014), at least at first glance. Their animated work is better by and large, but 22 Jump Street does have that sense of unbridled comedic energy, chasing joke after joke and on occasion 22 Jump Street also goes for some very strange experimental jokes, clearly borne of an animation mindset. Whilst some do have a habit of getting in the way of the plot's momentum, the ambition is at least to be lauded.

As hackneyed as it could've been, the film's best jokes are when it pokes fun at the conventions of story-telling. Leaning on the fourth wall to acknowledge the film being a sequel, for example. In fact, the film's best section is in fact an imaginative lampooning of the whole sequel concept over the end credits. The thing is, in animation I lookmat Lord and Miller's work and I see filmmakers whonhave real humour and intelligence beneath the visual level. It's still present to an extent with 22 Jump Street but, whilst it's not a bad movie, it feels less rounded than better fare they've provided in animation.

Fading Gigolo (2013, Dir. John Tuturro, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: John Tuturro, Woody Allen, Vanessa Paradis

With his rare book store facing closure, Murray (Allen) confides in his friend Firorovante (Tuturro) that his doctor (Sharon Stone) wants to have a ménage-a-trois with her girlfriend (Sofía Vergara) and Murray suggests loaning out Fiorovante out for a fee of a thousand dollars. Developing this into a side profession, Fiorovante also gets close to Avigal (Paradis), the widow of a Rabbi in a very traditional Jewish community. 

John Tuturro has had a long career in Hollywood, primarily making a name for himself as an actor and known for his work with the likes of Spike Lee, Michael Bay and the Coen brothers. But on occasion Tuturro has been known to write and direct films and here he does all three with Fading Gigolo a decent if unremarkable and throwaway romantic comedy.

From the start you know where you are, stylistically. The New York architecture, jazz music and humour slightly above the norm in terms of sophistication place this firmly within he style of Woody Allen so it comes as little surprise that the man himself is Tuturro's co-star. It's clear that Allen's own work has had influence but Tuturro's own sense of writing and staging comedy unsurprisingly puts this film beneath the lofty reputations of Annie Hall (1977) or Manhattan (1978) but it still has charm and Woody Allen still does well, playing a similar character to his usual neurotic complainers even if he isn't using his own material. 

Tuturro comes at his role with more warmth than is seen in his usual performances, where he tends to play obnoxious types (even with a hint of Woody Allen in his titular leading role in Barton Fink (1991)) but given a nicer character, Tuturro doesn't seem as colourful as charismatic, seeming a little out of his element. Meanwhile, whilst we do learn a lot of Vanessa Paradis as the Rabbi's widow, her screentime does push out the other two central female performers, Sharon Stone and Sofía Vergara (Vergara in particular is usually only given a major defining feature when referencing her..."ample" physical attributes).

The film takes place often against a backdrop of a conservative Hasidic neighbourhood. Something you don't often see in movies and allows for some unique ideas and characters, such as Liev Schrieber as a protective member of the Shomrim (essentially, a Jewish group who protect people in their community from crime) and the film tackles some aspects of the culture in such a way that whilst interesting can be seen as being depicted in a way that could be construed as offensive, given the often outlandish light it's cast in.

There are numerous problems in Fading Gigolo. The plot is portrayed in a strange light (it almost seems that the audience should feel bad for Tuturro, who seems to have written a script based around heterosexual male fantasies) and the characters are often one-dimensional or not fully thought out but it is, ultimately, harmless, good for a laugh and most people will probably fond something to enjoy in it.

Epizoda U Zivotu Berača Željeza (An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker) (2013, Dir. Danis Tanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Slovenia, Italy) (Cert: 12a/TBC) ***

Starring: Nazim Mujic, Senada Allmanovic, Sandra Mujic

Living in poverty in a small isolated town, Nazim makes his living by taking apart cars and selling the scraps. At home, his wife Senada suffers a miscarriage and is taken to see a doctor. With no insurance, Nazim is told he will have to pay for Senada's treatment but has no means for paying the large amount of money that could save her life.

In cinematic terms, Bosnia and Herzegovina's presence is often a modest one. It's rare that films from that part of the world get any kind of a showcase, but An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker has picked up acclaim at the Berlin Film Festival and was put forward for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards. Whilst the film makes for a rare depiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina in film, it doesn't make up for the lack of exposure with extravagance. In fact, this film is very stripped back and simple.

Director Danis Tanovic goes very much for realism in the film. Our characters, their lives and their surroundings are far from glamorous. Much of the action is captured on the move with just a simple set up and the small cast simply shares the names of the actors playing the parts. It's jarringly realistic with emotions being almost completely downplayed and quiet, though clearly speaking volumes about their environment.

As our main character, Nazim has an axe to grind. He lives a life of little financial means, the medical and political bureaucracy standing in his way and is dealing with other issues, such as the violent war-related death of his brother but all his angst is represented quietly. Even Senada, his wife, is rarely shown in agony as it's traditionally portrayed in cinema. Instead, she seems almost tired and apathetic, almost losing the will to live (understandable, given the circumstances).

It's an acquired taste, and the film's heavy reliance on elements of Bosnian society and history mean that the themes and ideas of that the film presents probably won't have the smae impact as it will on Bosnians or those with a knowledge of the area. The film is also very short (75 minutes in all) but even so, the film's main plot ends about fifteen minutes before the credits with a separate story about the small town losing electricity having to be resolved. It fits the plot thematically, but it's unusual. At the end of the day, An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker will certainly not be everyone's cup of tea. But those susceptible to its barebones approach will probably find it a rewarding watch.

Edge Of Tomorrow (3D) (2014, Dir. Doug Liman, USA/Australia) (Cert: 12a/PG-13) ***

Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson

Though he's been passing himself off as an officer working for the military in a non-fighting capacity, William Cage (Cruise) is apprehended as a deserter and sent to fight in what is believed to be the battle that will ensure mankind's liberation from an alien invasion. The humans find themselves grossly outmatched however and Cage (who has been given next to no training) is killed. He then wakes up the day before the battle and is killed again, with this pattern coming in a continuous loop. With the help of a war heroine (Blunt) who experiences the same phenomenon, Cage uses his new "power" to try and end the alien invasion.

Even though it's an adaptation of Hiroshi Sakurazaka's novel and manga All You Need Is Kill, a lot of people will find this film all too comparable with Source Code (2011), both being science-fiction films set around the idea of a protagonist having to relive (even after "death") the same event until a solution is found. So throughout the comparisons to the two and the derivative nature of the piece hangs over it. However, whilst the film lacks in innovation, it's a dynamic and enjoyable film thanks in no small part to Tom Cruise.

Cruise's character of William Cage is not a radical departure from Cage's usual line. We've been used to see Cruise play the selfish jerk with a slowly unwrapped selflessness and/or heroism from Rain Man (1988), through to War Of The Worlds (2005). It's his raison d'être. But the charisma and humour he brings to the performance make him great to watch and do actually bring an intriguingly light side to the proceedings, with almost as much of a debt seemingly owed to Groundhog Day (1992) as it is to Source Code. After all, if you have character who is bumped off many, many times over the course of the movie if you don't sprinkle some comedy into it, it runs the risk of being very depressing very quickly.

Emily Blunt plays Cruise's accomplice. A hard-talking war veteran and a role that Blunt pulls off pretty effectively even if the shots of her finishing off some exercises by basically slithering her lower body to the ground every time she supposedly meets Cage for the first time get tiresomely lingering. There isn't much in the way of a real supporting cast and this hurts the film by depriving it of more colour. Brendan Gleeson plays a stubborn general who has a couple of sequences here and there, Nick Curry plays a scientist who largely serves to espouse scientific detail and there are various grunts as part of the invasion, but this is certainly no ensemble piece.

Whilst the aesthetics are at times pleasing, they can be frustrating. In particular the dull grey metallic view of this future really clashes when 3D is involved, given the dimming effect of the glasses making for a film where actually seeing what's going on is a little more effort than the norm. If you think you'll enjoy this, you're probably okay to trust your instincts but you're probably best off watching it in 2D format unless your 3D screens have very good lighting.

Jimmy's Hall (2014, Dir. Ken Loach, UK/Ireland/France) (Cert: 12a/TBC) ***

Starring: Barry Ward, Jim Norton, Simone Kirby

Having spent ten years living in New York City, Jimmy Gralton (Ward) returns to his small rural hometown in Country Leitrim, Ireland. Soon after arriving he is convinced to help bring back a town hall he helped build before being effectively forced out for his left-wing political views. Jimmy and some of the locals bring back the club for dancing and education, only to once again draw the disapproving attention of the conservative and heavily religious authorities of the town.

Only weeks after Hayao Miyazaki's supposedly last film The Wind Rises (2013) has reached the UK, we now have Jimmy's Hall, which is believed to be the last theatrical feature by Ken Loach who, much like Miyazaki, is a veteran director beloved by many and known for the often left-of-centre views espoused by his films. To that end, Jimmy's Hall is no exception.

 A telling of the true story of Irish communist James Gralton, Jimmy's Hall lacks the gritty social realism of Kes (1969), Loach's best-known film but this is a man whose work has noticeably changed after forty-five years. The Irish backdrop of the film is a rural idyll of green rolling hills and the film's soft approach really hurts the film in its opening. The film's beginnings trudge on and an early flashback sequence is executed in such a way as to make you unsure where the flashback and where the current story intersect.

But in a perhaps symbolic way, it is when the titular hall is built that the story, like a good share of the local community, comes together. Of course a lot of this is through the energy that is finally released. Loach is all too capable of being tough with his films. Far from being just a sweet story of pastoral postcard Ireland, the film shows a girl being brutally whipped (as in with a literal horse whip) by her father and gunshots being fired with seemingly little care towards women and children. Unrest underscores the film as it depicts an Ireland torn by mass migration, political, religious and social reform as well a war of independence and a resulting civil war. Yet the film could easily be read as analogous to current issues in the world, especially the current discord between the American political left and the religious conservatives.

Whilst some of this energy is the result of Loach's skill as a film-maker, a certain amount can also be attributed to the central performances. Playing Jimmy Gralton is Barry Ward. An actor from a largely theatrical background, which aids to give his grandstanding some weight. Jim Norton plays Father Sheridan, the local priest. A performance filled with indignation and entertaining throughout.

I've heard criticism of the film, attacking it for being too one-sided in Jimmy's favour, painting him as a saint and his opponents as one-dimensional villains and whilst I agree that the film's treatment of James Gralton is a very eulogistic one, the film does make some pains to show certain sympathies with the religious opposition, even if it is only paid any kind of attention towards the very end of the film.

I suppose it's fair to say that Jimmy's Hall is uneven. Slow and lulling to start and a film that does slightly overstay its welcome, but in between that is a film of energy and life that is resolutely admirable and is, even given the subject matter that it deals with and the way it is dealt with, entertaining.

My Top Five Films of 2014 (so far...)

5. The Grand Budapest Hotel

I really like Wes Anderson movies. They're not to everyone's taste, with their extreme quirkiness and obvious stylisation (and, to be honest, I'm not such a fan of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2003)) but they're fun yet heartfelt and I loved that this colourful comic caper was such a big surprise hit.

I've seen it twice now (both at the start and at the end of its theatrical run) and the fun remained when I revisited it. A heady mixture of kooky designs, brilliantly zippy timing and performances by both Anderson regulars (Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson...) and some stand-outs for first-timers like F. Murray Abraham and Ralph Fiennes, who shows a largely untapped well of comedic potential. Good for a giggle.

4. Calvary

A dark comedy about a priest in a small eccentric community in Ireland, yes, it all sounds a bit Father Ted. But this is a different beast (and, okay, it's more a drama than a comedy). I'm really excited about what's happening right now in the Irish film industry and this is a great example of the quality of work being produced. Brendan Gleeson gives a warmly understated performance as a priest who discovers that he will only have a week before he is murdered by a mysterious figure he speaks to in confession. 

Alongside this are performances from other major names in Irish acting including Aiden Gillen, Dylan Moran, Chris O'Dowd and Brendan Gleeson's own son, Domhnall as an imprisoned serial killer. the audacity  that the picture sometimes indulges in (like its very tough opening few lines of dialogue) may not be to everyone's taste, but I think this is a wonderful gem of a movie.

3. The Lego Movie

Everyone has seen it, many have seen it repeatedly and yes, it's a feature-length advert for Lego, but it's the funniest and most inventive film of the year.  Taking the old story of the everyman becoming a saviour and hitting it with quick fire gags and seemingly endless new visual vistas there is not one moment of this film that is not extremely entertaining and will make you relive your childhood all over again. Yes, everything is indeed awesome.

2. The Story Of Yonosuke

An obscure Japanese film that got a very small UK release this year, I saw this film purely by chance at a one-off screening as part of an annual season of contemporary Japanese cinema and was pleasantly surprised by it. The story of working class Nagasaki teenager coming to study in Tokyo in 1987 and his developing relationship with a sweet rich girl, the film exhibits a skill between amiable comedy and sweet drama as we follow Yonosuke's journey (often through reminisces of his friends years later) amidst a story that is both detailed yet intimate. If you can find this film, check it out. It's a great film that's slipped through the cracks.

1. 12 Years A Slave

There is one thing I disagree with many people with in terms of 12 Years A Slave. I doubt that this is a fully accurate portrayal of slavery because the reality of things was probably far more barbaric and cruel and given this film's already tough subject and execution that says something of what's being dealt with. I started this post talking about how Wes Anderson has a specific directorial style and the same is true of Steve McQueen. His love of long, lingering Leone-esque shots and beautiful cinematography bring a fully immersive world into view and helps anchor a real sucker punch to the gut that few movies deliver. I defy anyone not to be a little stirred by this movie, its content, or what it says about the human spirit.

I've only seen this movie once so far, but as I left the screening I overheard a rather deep discussion a few rows back. It was about the holocaust, but it was a discussion obviously inspired by this movie and, personally, I think a movie that can stir up public debate and discussion is a film of rare and special importance.