Collection Update (December 2014 part 1)

How time can fly. It has been a year since my last collection update and having bought more then a small number of films this year I have decided to split this up over the next few weeks in several different posts. Due to the number of release I will only be commenting on specific releases that I fell attention should be brought to. So without further adieu part one of this rather massive collection update.

The film from the above which was easily among the larger surprises of the year was Blue is The Warmest Color. With near universal  acclaim it was a film that I found to be an overly long and bloated film that had plenty of potential that I didn't fell was realized (click here to see my full review). As a fan of Spike Jonze I was very happy to pick up Being John Malkovich which is a film that comes with my highest recommendation. Likewise Edge of Tomorrow was possibly the nicest surprise of the year. I wasn't expecting much and what I got was a tremendous sci fi action film with superb 3d.

Her is another film by Spike Jonze that I can't recommend highly enough. At times purposefully awkward, at other times bitter sweet. It is a film that on paper would likely appear to be a disaster waiting to happen. However thanks to some brilliant direction, acting and of course writing it stunningly is easily amongst the better films of recent memory. Catching Fire is another film I would highly recommend and the blu-ray alternates between it's scope ratio and 1.78:1 (full screen) for the imax scenes which is present throughout the entire time spent in the arena. Sadly the blu-ray does have some flaws, most notably is the film seems bit starved and thus some obvious and ugly banding is sadly present. Of note is this is the American release (which is region locked). The local Australian release does not alternate aspect ratios which some may prefer (especially those with CIH setups).

Whilst the sequel Silent Hill revelation was a travesty (click here to see my full review), the first Silent Hill is personal favourite of mine. Unfortunately the only competent blu-ray release is the French edition which I took the plunge and bought. It not only is the only release approved by the director it is the only one that doesn't have risen black levels that starves the image of any 'pop' resulting in a murky mess (the darkest black appears to be light grey). Thankfully the French release does justice to the film and its gorgeous cinematography. Likewise Super is a film by the director of Guardians of the Galaxy that few seem to have seen. It's premise is very similar to that of the first Kick-Ass film. It however doesn't drop the idea of a nobody trying to act like a super hero in favour of having 'real heroes' (such as Big Daddy and Hit Girl). This is most apparent in the final act and is a film I would recommend to those who are fans of the first Kick-Ass film.

My Favorite Films of 2013:

[edit: please not I intend to keep this list update via my letterbox account. Click here to see my up to date list].

Whilst most list for ones best and/or favorite films where release a good two weeks or so ago I have only finally managed to key together what my own personal favorite films released in 2013 where. At this point I should point out this list is for my favorite films, which in no way equal to best. Part of the reason for this is I find the notion of list of the ‘best’ films to be spurious effort at best. In other words this is a list that is completely down to my subjective opinion. The list is also based on the local release date for the films. Meaning some of these films where released elsewhere in earlier years. Likewise The Wolf of Wall Street and Her may or may not be among the better films released recently but as they are 2014 releases where I live they are not included. One last note is that the list is simply presented in alphabetical order and not in order of preference.

Another Earth:

Another Earth is a film that many will argue about what the core themes are. It delves into themes that are more about asking questions that have no set answers and doesn't thoroughly explore what the film makers think of the questions. Instead it leaves that up to the viewer and characters present to decide for themselves. I personally found this to my liking though I would venture a guess that many will not.

Before Midnight:

What is there that one can say about this film that hasn't been said numerous times elsewhere? This is simply a must see film that is the presumable finale to the Before series and once again follows Jesse and Celine and there relationship. It is rather hard to define what genre this film is from as was the case with the first two films; this film however is about what the characters lives are like now they have been in an extended relationship.

Byantium:

Byzantium essentially had a non release in Australia. Released on blu-ray and dvd in September it was seemingly only available for its first few months of release by ordering online. Which is a shame as this a true gem of a film and is how film about vampire and love should be done (along with Let The Right One In and Let Me In as two other excellent examples). Click here to see my full review.

Carrie:

Carrie is without a doubt the most underrated film I saw in 2013. Whilst it is true that it does have several very similar scenes to the 76 Brian DePalma film I thought this worked to its benefit and utilized the best aspect of both the Stephen King Novel and 76 film (excluding the ending from the novel which whilst spectacular in the novel and one of my favorite endings to a story, is also most likely unfilmable without a ludicrous amount of voice over that would remove the impact it has in the novel). I would put this film as a tremendous example of a hybrid remake and re-adaptation done right. Click here to see my full review.

God Bless America:

An empathy inducing Bonnie and Clyde’esque’ duo who feed up with society go on a killing spree throughout America. Full of dark humor and brutal violence the film will not be for everyone. However for myself I found it to work brilliantly and is easily the film I have revisited most this year.

Gravity:

Much like Before Midnight there is little I can say about this film that hasn't been said many times. Put simply it is one of the most thrilling and visually spectacular films in recent years that I would strongly urge everyone to see in 3d (it is a film that truly utilizes 3d in a way that enhances the film to a degree that I find it hard imagining the film having the same level of impact in 2d). Click here to see my full review.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is probably my biggest surprise of 2013. Whilst I did enjoy the first film in the series Catching Fire was one of the few sequels that improved on its predecessor in nearly every area. With a richer exploration of its themes, characters and a notably improved production values I cannot recommend this film highly enough. Click here to see my full review.

Oblivion:

Oblivion much like the directors previous film is in many ways a silent film that just so happens to also have dialogue. This may seem and odd statement but I fell the entire story is more then sufficiently explained through its visuals and score alone. Personally I loved this, though I imagine many will have a more mixed response. I would highly recommend one not view the trailer though as it spoils far to much about the film.

Star Trek Into Darkness:

JJ Abrams once again releases a fantastic summer (or where I live winter) blockbuster that is jam packed with exciting well staged action, likable and well acted characters, a nice sprinkling of effective humor and a film that manages to do all this whilst also successfully encompassing what Star Trek is about at its core. Put simply this is another great example of both another Star Trek and a blockbuster film done right. Sadly JJ Abrams is set to direct the upcoming Star Wars movies (does anyone really want more Star Wars?) and thus Star Trek next film will have another director at the helm.

Stoker:

Stoker is Park Chan-wook first English film and the first screenplay by Wentworth Miller which makes it all the more surprising how well realized and detail Stoker is. As one would expect given the director the film delves into areas that some well simply find enjoyable to watch. Those however interested in a meticulous character study within a horror film should certainly put Stoker on there watch list. Click here to see my full review.


Upstream Color:

Upstream Color is not a film that immediately grabbed me. Upon my first viewing I felt it was both tedious and overly vague. None the less I couldn't get the film out of my head after viewing it and it has since easily become one of my favorite films of 2013. It is hard to say to much about this film without spoiling to much but it is about the formation of a relationship between two people who have had there life largely destroyed.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire continues after the events of the first film and has Katniss and Peeta trapped in a victory tour where they are coerced to continue the love facade that developed during their time in the hunger games. Throughout the tour unrest among the many districts is clearly shown to be growing which has been sparked by many viewing Katniss and Peetas willingness to sacrifice themselves in the hunger games not as an act of love but as an act of defiance. Meanwhile President Snow and Plutarch Heavensbee the new game master prepare for the 75th Hunger Games which unlike previous games will pit previous victors of the Hunger Games from the twelve districts against one another.

Thematically Catching Fire is a more fleshed out and poignant exploration of the themes present in the first film which range from interdependence vs dependence, identity, love, sacrifice and more. Thankfully unlike so many films that are as thematically dense and ambitious as Catching Fire the films never gets weighed down by said ambition and doesn't force the themes to the forefront. Rather Catching Fire lets them present and grow in an organic manner steaming from the characters present and the situation they find themselves in. Likewise the film slowly introduces what is at stake in a manner that allows for the film to build itself to its conclusion in a very methodical and tense manner. That is until the finale which is overly abrupt and largely unsatisfying and clearly meant as bait for the next film in the series. Whilst I have no issue with this per se I found it rather ineffective in this case and certainly the weakest aspect of Catching Fire.

Unlike the first Hunger Games film which featured some delightful cinematography, Catching Fire features jaw drooping cinematography throughout. Furthermore Catching Fire doesn't feature the nauseating and overused shaky cam that was used in the first film that was more often then not to its detriment. The budget of Catching Fire has also been reported as being almost twice as large as the first film which no doubt has helped allow for the at times cheap looking effects from the first film to be absent. Simply put Catching Fire is a more polished film with less technical distractions present (such as the extremely fake and cheap looking fire effects which have not only been significantly improved in Catching Fire but actually now look good).

The single biggest stand out of Catching Fire would have to be quality of actors and actresses and the performances they provide. The performances are simply superb and Catching Fire easily features among the strongest casts I have seen in a film for quite some time. Most notably the weaker and underutilized roles from the first film such as President Snow, Haymitch, and Effie are given more substantial scenes which allows for the characters to be more rounded and fleshed out compared to their relatively limited characterization in the first film. The leads Katniss and Peeta are once again superb and along with the rest of cast elevate the film well above what most casts could hope to achieve. With that being said Catching Fire much like the first film does feature a love triangle Between Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Sadly Gale once has such a limited screen time we have little reason to care for his character and thus the love triangle whilst not forced could have benefited from more scenes fleshing out Gale as an actual character to allow us to relate to what Katniss may or may not see in Gale. However as it is the relationship between Katniss and Gale does fall relatively flat compared with the rest of the film and whilst not forced it also doesn't fell necessary.

Catching Fire most notably features a major leap in quality when compared to the already strong first Hunger Games film and features more confident film making featuring superlative performances, gorgeous cinematography and a thematically interesting and gripping plot. Hence The Hunger Games: Catching Fire comes highly recommended.

Note: A sizable portion of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has been shoot using imax cameras similar to The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. So if you have a real imax nearby it may be worth considering viewing this film in such an environment which I find to immerse in a way that normal cinemas simply cannot hope to achieve. Sadly I was unaware of this until after I had viewed the film so cannot comment further.