The Best of 2014

As is expected of everyone with more than just a keen love of film - read: obsessive film nerds and the like - the last few days of December are marked by the obligatory lists of best films, worst films, etc. Why would this blog of mine be any exception to that rule? So here's my personal Top-5 of Best Pictures of the year.

5: Gone Girl

David Fincher's exploration of the darkness behind the facade that is the American Dream packs a mean punch. It's a very cynical film, filled with black humour, that shatters the hopes for wedlock of the uninitiated and might be painfully recognizable for those who have been married for a while. Nevertheless, it enlarges such fears and reservations of wedded couples to absurd extremes. No side is chosen in this battle of the sexes, which introduces a seemingly perfect married couple that is tearing itself apart as diabolical schemes to gain the upper hand between both protagonists, the pair of them positively horrible people, explode to national outrage as the relentlessly hungry media, also not spared the necessary critique, are drawn into this very personal little conflict. As usual, Fincher makes sure the ingenious narrative is always one step ahead of its audience, as he surprises us with more than just a few unexpected plot twists here and there and leaves the opening of the film intentionally ambiguous. You might decide against tying the knot after having seen this picture.

4: The Wolf of Wall Street

Though technically a 2013 movie in its country of origin, Martin Scorsese's latest masterpiece sure left its mark on Dutch theaters in the year that followed. Another magnum opus in an oeuvre that largely consists of those, Scorsese's j'accuse against the world of Big Money proves both a harrowing descent into utter debauchery and stupendous opulence, as well as an infectiously hilarious comedy, since it's all just too unreal to be believed. The veteran director once more gets the most out of his muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, in a rollercoaster ride of the life time that is Jordan Belfort's. Once simply an ambitious but caring man intent on looking out for his wife, he turns into a ravenous money monster once his position on Wall Street is secured due to his talents of outrageous scheming and charismatic persuasion. What follows is a near orgy of sexual escapades, trophy wives, excessively expensive vehicles and all the drugs large quantities of money can buy, including the Holy Grail of Quaaludes. You cannot help but both admire and abhor this man, but when you see him rolling out his Porsche half paralyzed from an overdose of opiates, drooling something fierce, while afterwards abusing his wife and kid, you know that all the money and power does not make this man someone to be envied. And you wonder how many thoroughly decadent people are still ruling the upper echelons of Wall Street thanks to Belfort's example...

3: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Star Spangled Avenger's second solo feature (sort of, since he's fortunately not without his allies) exceeds the level of its predecessor on every level, while doing a great job shaking up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its core. Both a successful homage to political spy thrillers of the Seventies and a fabulous spy thriller in its own right, this movie marks Marvel's most intriguing plot to date. Poor Fourties' icon Cap (Chris Evans) still needs to adjust to the brave new world that is the 21st Century, but finds himself at odds with a much changed Home of the Free that in many ways is not his own anymore. To make matters worse, his worldwide peacekeeping employer S.H.I.E.L.D. turns out to be infiltrated by a villainous secret organization hellbent on world domination and marks both him and his friends as traitors to the American cause. To top all his misery, a painful ghost from his past returns to thwart the super soldier's attempts to save his country from shadow tyranny. A fantastic combination of explosive action, intelligent story telling and carefully crafted intertwining with the rest of the Marvel Universe makes the second Captain America movie the most wonderfully balanced Marvel movie to date.

2: Guardians of the Galaxy

And now for something completely different, Marvel must have thought. So rather than doing another superhero movie, as is all the rage in Hollywood, they decided to turn to one of their lesser known assets and delivered this delightful space opera. Infectiously setting up the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe, James Gunn's talents for quirky, off-beat humour are paired with an almost Whedonesque sense of writing dialogue for ensembles, as we are introduced to an unlikely bunch of interstellar outlaws who find themselves forced to rely upon one another to save a planet from destruction at the hands of a rampagingly zealous madman. Brilliant visual effects, enticing new characters and locations and an irresistable sense of the excitement to experience in the farthest reaches of space echo the enjoyment of the old Star Wars trilogy, but with a character distinctly its own. Though the plot may not be as strong as that of Cap 2, the genuine sense of fun Guardians of the Galaxy instills in its audience simply exceeds even that film. 2014 proved a great year for Marvel, so hopefully the company can keep up this momentum a while longer.

1: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson's latest turns out to be his finest as well. All his usual ingredients - quirky humour and characters, auteurist visuals, dysfunctional family issues and a top cast having an absolute ball - are thrown into the sweetest mix imaginable. The film looks like a wonderfully prepared cake and digests as such even more so. At the same time, Anderson turns total filmophile and utilizes every old trick in the book to acknowledge the equally rich history of the medium. Editing, sound, special effects and photography are all applied to their limits, making for a picture so thoughtfully stylized it might as well be a classical painting. If there is one director that is not to be missed by anyone who claims to love the cinema, it's Anderson. And if there's one movie on his resumé that is not to be missed by anyone, it's The Grand Budapest Hotel. The only downside seems to be it's gonna be next to impossible to top this film...

Today's Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: ****/*****, or 8/10

For those of you who were wondering when Marvel would finally more aptly acknowledge its roots in our contemporary world politics, a hallmark that sets it apart from the likes of its rival DC (which instead has its adventures take place in an uncomfortable alternate Earth that is suspiciously similar to our own, but sticks to utilizing fictional cities and such), this second Captain America finally does just that, offering a fairly serious social commentary about the status of that wonderful thing called 'freedom' in modern (American) society. Without sacrificing the quality mix of catchy humour and solid action that characterizes all of the Marvel Studios movies thus far, Captain America: The Winter Soldier proves there is room for contextual exploration of the modern zeitgeist on the big screen as much as there is on the pages of its comic books. Forget Iron Man battling terrorists in Afghanistan, there's much deeper threats to be found on the homefront, as Cap is about to discover.

Of course the first thing this second Cap movie needs to do is re-establish the Star Spangled Avenger as a man out of time, providing much needed character exposition that was lacking in his second appearance in The Avengers, since that film's alien invasion plot and abundance of characters didn't allow much time for such additional subplots. His beloved homeland has changed much since he went missing in the Fourties and poor Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) ponders if he still fits in these more cynical times. Everyone he knew is dead or dying, as illustrated by a heartbreaking scene where he visits his former love Peggy, who has become a bedridden, frail old woman suffering from degenerative diseases. Equally deteriorating seem to be his cherished notions on freedom. Civil liberties have been sacrificed for the greater good to ensure national security and his employer, the supposedly worldwide peacekeeping organisation known as S.H.I.E.L.D., is keeping far too close an eye on everybody's private affairs to his taste. Comparisons to the N.S.A.'s shenanigans are easily drawn, but in the tradition of the great spy thrillers of the Seventies (from which this movie takes its fair share of notes thematically and stylistically), Captain America: The Winter Soldier suggests the people have slowly but surely traded in their freedom, conditioned by growing fear the government was sowing in their minds of losing it altogether. Naturally it's not wholly the fault of the executive power either – if you think Marvel joins the bandwagon of calling Obama a Great Satan, think again – as the movie identifies the good Captain's principal enemy to be at the heart of this shady matter. It turns out the former Nazi science department HYDRA has made the transition to the 21^st Century much more smoothly than the Sentinel of Liberty himself, embedding itself firmly in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s upper echelons. And so Steve must find a way to root out America's hidden adversaries and end their collective mindcontrol dominating his country, all whilst on the run, as they have successfully accused him of treason.

Enter his sidekicks and assorted allies. His gruff chief, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), reluctantly starts asking questions when he tells Steve of a black ops project that involves launching three new Helicarriers, designed to patrol the world neutralizing threats in their infancy, which Cap finds a revolting concept. It quickly makes Fury a target for an apparently successful assassination, after which Cap teams up with the lethal agent Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to find out who killed his guardian. Evans and Johansson make quite an enjoyable pair with great rapport between them, both having served as agents of the same secret organization, but carrying different views of their job and its methods; a relic of a more innocent time, Cap dislikes Widow's end-justify-the-means approach to things that the Cold War, which he never experienced, has taught her, causing the necessary verbal fireworks between the two that both provide character development and witty dialogue galore thanks to their fine chemistry. Less compelling proves Cap's relationship with the new persona of Sam Wilson, an army veteran who, as a fellow former soldier, is more in line with his more black and white line of dutiful thinking. Since an ordinary human being, military background notwithstanding, would be too dull at his side in Cap's current endeavours, Wilson soon dons a pair of mechanical wings, convenient leftovers of a secret military project. Comic connoisseurs will remember Wilson's alter ego the Falcon well before the appearance of this apparatus, which only feels a forced addition to the movie's progression.

Equally contrived an inclusion to the plot could be called the movie's subtitular character, the Winter Soldier himself. Serving as the ultimate assassin, a cyborg killer whose mind is wiped after every assignment so as to keep his human tendencies from compromising his ruthless efficiency, this man with his metal arm harbours a dark past and personal connection with his new target. Considering his limited screen time, this relationship, which turns out to be crucial at the film's conclusion, is not given its due to ensure the desired emotional impact, and considering the number of loose ends left, feels largely as a set-up for a third movie. Considering how sparingly the character is seen on screen, you can't help but wonder why this movie actually carries the subtitle 'The Winter Soldier'. Nevertheless, the Winter Soldier proves quite a match for Cap in terms of kicking ass and makes for a formidable foe to behold. The same can be said for Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce, who fulfills a similar role except on a less physical level, serving as the movie's delightfully scheming evil mastermind: an apt choice, considering the various classic Seventies' political thrillers on his resumé.

In terms of visual spectacle and explosive action, The Winter Soldier effortlessly surpasses The First Avenger, trading in the predecessor's delightfully retro WW II style for a more intimidating modern look, with advanced technology to match. Drones and missiles are all part of the package to give this movie a contemporary, actual feel, but in typical Marvel fashion the movie tops this with even bigger guns and gadgets, the most exciting aspect the three giant gunships hovering above the American capitol as they threaten to hold the nation hostage, at its own behest via security over freedom. Spectacular aerial battles are the result, while the movie also contains its fair share of impressive hand-to-hand combat scenes, car chases and gun fights. Not to mention an ample dose of links to the larger Marvel Universe, evoking previously seen characters and surreptitiously introducing new ones. Rest assured, a Dr. Strange movie is a given now, while those who are eagerly looking forward to Avengers: Age of Ultron will get a vigorous nerdgasm out of the film's mid-credits scene. You have to give kudos to Marvel's continuous method of seemlessly creating a larger whole out of separate pieces, without harming the content proper in said standalone stories.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a sequel superior to its predecessor in every respect. It couples valid, well-timed social anxieties to a good political thriller plot, while never ignoring the fun that is to be expected from a Marvel flick. Granted, not all characters come across as intriguing or convincing as ought to have been the case, which is not exactly a new flaw to Marvel's movies either. This second Cap movie successfully introduces its protagonist to the new world he inhabits and the change in concept of the virtues he has always extolled, making this overly patriotic character much easier to digest and to identify with for non American audiences, while giving domestic spectators an added value in having their nation's superhero redefine their mores for them.

Today's News: Cap gets clipped

Just a minor tidbit of news today, but on schedule for a change:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/154265/nieuwe_clip_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

When a movie's promotional campaign starts handing out free clips, you know the actual release is only weeks, if not days, away. I knew that already of course, but the general audience isn't supposed to be in the know as much as I (or simply just not as much of a know-it-all as myself). Of course, such a clip still serves purely as advertisement and therefore refrains from giving away vital plot information. We get to witness an all-in-a-day's-work type of skirmish in the adventurous life and times of the Star Spangled Avenger, as he infiltrates a secret ocean base that has been commandeered by a second rate villain (Batroc the Leaper) few non Marvelites will have heard about, with only minor tie-ins to the overarching plot of the film proper. The scene shown in this fragment of the final film also serves as its opening, re-introducing Cap and Black Widow for an audience that needs its memory jogged to remember who these characters were again and how well they played together, both in terms of action and snappy dialogue. If you hadn't seen the first movie yet you largely get the handle on Cap, though you might fail to understand those few comments relating to him being a character out of time. He seems to be blending in fine though, running black ops missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. As the new footage that concludes the clip reveals, he won't keep doing fine though, as he's in for a serious reality check as to how much America has changed from the simpler times he was born and raised in. Luckily Widow will continue to have his back. And since both of them are slated to re-appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron, I wouldn't expect any dramatic casualties on their part. I hear Samuel L. Jackson's Marvel contract is rapidly expiring though. Who knows, maybe S.H.I.E.L.D.'s one eyed top dog will finally go down with his helicarrier?

Today's News: I'm being capped by the star spangled Avenger

Added another trailer to the MS archives:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153522/tweede_trailer_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

Another bitchin' trailer for this movie that keeps me excited despite its overly patriottic protagonist. I gotta admit, I'm posting a suspicious amount of Cap 2 stuff recently. I don't mean to give this movie preference over others just because I look forward to it (as I happen to look forward to said other movies too), it just depends on the availability of scoops and the eagerness of my colleagues to post the other news before I beat them to it. Also, with Cap 2's release date approaching fast, advertisement output for its rival superhero movies X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, due out soon after, seems to have diminished a little. Maybe it's Marvel Studios' way of telling its competitors 'there's only one true Marvel so back off', maybe it's just convenience, or maybe there's some secret deal to keep out of each other's way a little bit (wouldn't be surprised, as these three movies will be guaranteed hit films at the box office anyway so why deny each other success when we can all get happily loaded together?). That said, with America's top sports event the Super Bowl up this weekend (I really don't get what they like about that sport), be sure to see a lot of promotional campaigns for summer blockbusters suddenly picking up speed, as this is the perfect time to get the word out on such fare for audiences as yet unaware of these big budget Hollywood projects. First spots for various epic summer movies are already up a few days in advance accordingly, with the best stuff yet to come. I doubt this will be the last trailer I'll be posting this week...

Today's News: Winter Soldier is still coming

We're not rid of the star spangled Avenger just yet, like it or not:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153459/nieuwe_posters_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

Seems like the second Captain America's promotional campaign is releasing new pics and posters every other day now. Considering its rival at the boxoffice, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (a Sony release despite being a Marvel superhero too) is doing the same, there's a precedent for this. It's basically ensuring people are aware of your movie whether they care to be or not by going all-out releasing new materila in a high frequency: to put it brief, a sort of overkill. Still not particularly popular outside the US of A, Cap could sure use the help of some glorious new posters like these. Too bad his own is rather dull and overly sombre, not a particularly neat piece of visual imagery that sticks to mind. However, Black Widow's fabulously sexy poster, formidably appropriating all of Scarlett Johansson's wonderful physical attributes, certainly makes up for it (not to mention she can act too). That poster is bound to attract some audiences all by itself. Call me a sexist if you much, but please remember I didn't make the poster, I only spread the word about it by posting it online. It reminds us Cap has something Spidey does not have (yet): a superpowered (well, sort of) female sidekick riding along into battle with him, instead of cheering him on from the sidelines like Emma Stone's all too human Gwen Stacy sticks to (so Sony better introduce the Black Cat or Silver Sable into the rebooted Spider-Man franchise soon to keep up!). People who want to see a heroine kick butt as well as any hero, if not more so, will surely get what they want in this film. Nor will the movie feel the need to have its protagonists from both sexes engage in typical romance with each other, as these characters have a strictly professional relationship. So whatever personal demons continue to haunt Steve Rogers in the 21st century, Agent Romanoff will be there to make sure the threat to world peace (but mostly America) is subdued with extreme prejudice. And otherwise there's still their mutual boss to contend with. As if anybody could beat Samuel L. Jackson in whatever regard. Except for impressive feminine looks of course.

And guess what? On the heels of these new posters and set photos, Marvel released yet another new Cap 2 poster. Why do I even bother to keep up... Because that's what I signed up for is why! And in all honesty, that stunning Black Widow is not a poster I would want to have missed. I'll be sure to keep an eye out at work for that one! Hopefully not while covering me other eye with an eye patch and doing Nick Fury imitations. That would be a little too nerdy even for me.

Today's News: capping some Winter Soldier images

Happy New Year everybody!

Opening my blog in 2014 is this little bit of news regarding the new Captain America movie I posted on MS earlier this week:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/152734/nieuwe_beelden_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

Nothing major (well, sorry!), but then, there's very little news, even minor, this time of year, because studios figure people are out celebrating the New Year in all the usual ways, like blowing up their own fingers (something I didn't do) or beating their parents with Scrabble (which I did do!). But the Hollywood hype machine never sleeps, never takes a break and never wastes time and money with fireworks and simple family pleasantries when there's blockbuster movies that need promoting. Since The Amazing Spider-Man 2 produced itself a little New Year's Eve premium clip to entice audiences, the true Marvel Studios wanted people to know they're still in the game too and released some new stills for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which will hit theaters a few weeks prior to Spidey's latest. Ironically, it's not these pics they leaked, which instead were debuted in the latest issue of the renowned Empire magazine and as such are over a week old by now. The actual new imagery was revealed only a few hours after I posted these, but by then I was too busy scoring points with words the likes of 'ruft', 'hyena' and 'haremrok' to care. Good times!

As for Cap 2, that movie is looking good me thinks. I don't really need this rather bland quartet of pictures to remind me of that. Though the bad guy increasingly looks the type of fellow endowed with ample 'mean-bottomness', which is never a bad thing

Today's Double News: Cap 2 coming soon

Posted two bits of news relating to the same movie on MovieScene yesterday and today:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/151112/eerste_poster_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/151154/eerste_trailer_captain_america_the_winter_soldier_online

Looks pretty good, both poster and trailer. It clearly shows the writers understand the contemporary concept of 'defending freedom' isn't so simplistically black and white as most people (both now and in the Fourties) often consider it to be, especially in America where protecting liberty comes at the expense of liberty. Poor Cap is finally coming to terms with this revelation, something he didn't exactly have time for in The Avengers as he was too busy saving the planet from an alien invasion with his super buddies. But now he gets that much needed and anticipated reality check, which also forces him to find a new place for himself in American politics as the paragon of American virtue he has been shaped in. It's this aspect of Captain America, the analysis by American writers of what America stands for today relayed through this comic book character, that has always made him more interesting that most people would at first expect from a superhero who's dressed in a single nation's colours but is often shown to save the entire world, as if other nations couldn't do likewise. And hey, if you still don't like the Star-Spangled Avenger, there's still Black Widow (Scar-Jo!) to enjoy, as well as newcomer the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), who can still fly as in the comics, but apparently no longer communicates with birds (indeed, his real falcon sidekick seems to have been ixnayed, thus also saving some money on visual FX so more can be spend on crashing helicarriers). It seems he has upgraded to telepathic connections with humans instead (though this has not been overtly confirmed by the trailer). And last but not least, there's Samuel L. Jackson playing Nick Fury again, but apparently he's not as cheerful as before, and is turning a darker page of the character's history, keeping in line with his Ultimate Universe counterpart on whose likeness Mr. L. Jackson was based. Or was it the other way around? The villainous Crossbones also seems like a worthwhile addition to Marvel's current cinematic rogue gallery, but just what the deal is with that 'Winter Soldier' remains to be seen. Unless you're aware of his history from the comics, as I happen to be.

Cap 2 seems an intriguing step away from the more lightheartedly toned predecessor in favour of adding some much needed depth, both emotional and political, to the character. At the same time there appears to be a plethora of action scenes and ample room for a good joke here and there. If the film is as good as the trailer, 'winter soldier is coming' doesn't seem like that sinister a mantra. But hey, if Iron Man 3 is any indication, it may still turn out that the Winter Soldier isn't actually a scary bad guy at all, but just a silly actor hired by a much less appealing and narratively convoluted evil character we couldn't care less about who messes up our respect of the heroic protagonist, after which his girl friend needs to save the day in her underwear. Let's hope IM3 was just a one-shot screw-up for now.