Locke

SF: This film had the distinct impression of being derived from films like Dial M for Murder  and  Phone booth however lacks the tension and drama of either. Thankfully its only 85 mins long so at least this isn't dragged out. Also I think Tom Hardy is attempting a Welsh accent but I'm not sure and that is all I can say for his performance, which is a real shame as I normally am most impressed by him. Watch on TV if you really feel you have to but in my opinion not one to rush to see. 3/10

50Eggs:

DonkeyB: The plaudits for the film are what made me go and see it. Its not good. If I was being cruel I would say; an inverted feature length Marion and Geoff without the pathos or humour, and I am, so I am. Get the Marion and Geoff box set and try to spot spot Fairwater baths, Ysgol Gyfun Plasmawr (big building yellow panels) etc in the background, much more fun and interesting. 4/10

Overall: 3.5/10

The Monuments Men

SF: This film had a lot going for it. The trailer is has to be said made this look like Oceans Eleven in the war. It certainly wasn't that. While Clooney is normally surprising me with how good a director he is this left me a tad underwhelmed. With such a star studded cast and the words "based on a true story" I was expecting more some how. Perhaps the very mute nature of the film was intentional but I found my mind wondering and having little to no investment in the characters. The acting was fine I guess and the plot passed the time but something was missing. Interesting premise but not one to rush and see. 5/10

50Eggs:

DonkeyB: Its not very good. It can't make up its mind if its a caper movie (al la Oceans [insert two digit number here]) or a film about the idea of the ownership of art, its more successful as a mildly amusing caper. Watch The Train instead. 5/10

Overall: 5/10

The Wolf of Wallstreet

SF: This reminded me of a mix between Blow and GoodFellas. On the whole I rather enjoyed the film, the plot was intriguing, the acting from DiCaprio superb and the direction was fine but not Scorcese's best. For the most part you could tell where this was going and it isn't breaking new ground but has enough pull to hold your interest for the most part. However the last hour drags somewhat and for me this could of done with being about 45 min shorter.  7/10

50 Eggs: Two words: Margot. Robbie. SF will be rolling her eyes that she is the first thing I mention in this review, but seriously, Margot. Robbie. On a less important subject, this is a great film with a fantastic 'rise and fall' story. The fall part takes a bit too long to get to but otherwise I cant fault this. 8.5/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall: 7.75/10

12 Years A Slave

SF: The title should tell you enough about what this film is about. Given that this is a well known subject matter you might think you are prepared for the emotional turmoil this film has to throw at you. At least that is what I thought anyway. It is nothing short of brilliant, horrifying and deeply moving. The score is a beautiful accompaniment to a well directed poignant film. The performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor is flawless, he is able to balance the pain of each situation and and the futility in the face so much injustice with real subtlety. Not one I think I could watch again because of how effected I was but well worth 10/10

50 Eggs: This is a film that is designed to be an uncomfortable watch, so it was quite ironic that I watched this in Gold Class, in one of the special seats with buttons on it that make sure I'm perfectly comfy for the duration.Maybe that is one of the reasons that 12 Years didn't affect me all that much, or maybe it's just because I'm horribly desensitized. Either way, it is still a very good film, with lots of great performances and lovely camera work. It's not the best film ever (as the advert says it is), but it is the best film of 2014 so far (15/1/14). 8.5/10

DonkeyB: It is a masterpiece, clearly McQueen's best film which is quite a statement. It is deeply upsetting- a film that is about slavery. I liked parts of Django Unchained but it was not a film which dealt in any serious way with the subject of American slavery despite Quentin's protestations- he should be made to watch this on a loop until he has disabused himself of the idea. I think there is a potential problem with the Solomon Northup story- does the fact that he is a free black man make his treatment worse or any less morally repugnant than the 'slaves' he encounters?  I thought the film hinted at this dilemma, there is a balance between the personal crime committed against one man and the wider moral crime of slavery in general which his story is used to illustrate. There are no faults with the film at all. 10/10

Overall: 9.5/10

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

SF: On a par with the first installment. That is to say, from a cinematic point of view this is beautiful, has amazing effects, lovely scenery and the production value is excellent. The first hour was rather enjoyable, however I did find it dragged a great deal towards the second and third hours. However plenty of brilliant things about this (the effect of Thranduil's face) but equally many awful additions which made no sense to me at all (the love story) and didn't enhance the story in anyway. Dragon looks amazing! But wasn't thrilled by this movie as a whole. Of course I'll still see the next one 6/10

50 Eggs: I've just re-watched the first on DVD and, on reflection, it's actually fairly boring. This is much better though. All the things I was looking forward to seeing were in there, and I loved the 'extra' scenes scrounged from Silmarilion and Unfinished Tails, such as Gandalfs face-off with Sauron. I do agree with SF on one point though - the love story was ridiculous and unnecessary. The last act was the best, with Cumberbatch making an awesome Smaug. Credit to Freeman too - he is so much better than Elijah Wood ever was. 8/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall: 7/10

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

SF: On a par with its predecessor, suffice to say its an average film. The visuals and set design are spot on but this suffers from the exact same flaw I loathed the previous version for - absolutely no depth to any of the three main characters. It astonishes me that this film and the franchise have so much potential and its clearly being wasted. Rather then listing all my grievances again see the previous review here. 5/10

50 Eggs: For me the first Hunger Games book should've been the last, as the quality took a sharp dip for the second, and a vertical plunge for the third. So no surprises that I feel the same about the film. The story just has no-where to go and it ends up been a poor-mans rehash of the first. It annoys me that this child friendly rubbish is so successful when what the world really needs is a full-on 18 rated remake of Battle Royale. 4/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall: 4.5/10

Saving Mr Banks

SF: You don't have to have seen or love Mary Poppins to watch this film but it will help. That aside this is a genuinely lovely film for the most part. There are some very emotional scenes and a number of touching moments. The director manages to blend the present sequence of events and memories in a nice fashion that isn't too condescending to the audience. Emma Thompson superb and rather understated performance is rather refreshing. The film manages to be moving and funny in just the right measure. 7/10

50 Eggs: n/a

DonkeyB: At the time I thought this was great fun, but I have to say as I've sat on this review for several weeks, I'm less and less enamoured with the film. I know I am biased against Mr Farrell, in fairness I did have to sit all the way through both 7 Psychopaths and Total Recall, but part of me was with the noisy German behind me who talked all through the film, dropped his change on the floor part way through (etc) when he took to shouting "why don't you just die already" every time poor Colin appeared as Mrs Travers' father. Way too much Australia. In the end however good Emma Thompson's performance (I would pay to watch her read out the phone book, but not Jane Austen) I was left wondering, to what end? 5.5/10

Overall: 6.25/10

Philomena

SF: This is the type of film I'd normally avoid because its either going to be very sentimental or dull. I can't say it wasn't sentimental and there were some parts that didn't seem very cinematic at all. However this is not some sweet tear jerker or overstated epic and thus suits being rather plain in the direction. The performance from all were very engaging, Steve Coogan being serious was a revelation to me. The subject matter while nothing sort of heart breaking and horrific in many ways is handled very well and this all manages to maintain a nice level of humour. 7/10

50Eggs: n/a

DonkeyB: It's a moving story, told with not a little wit. I'm not a fan of Judy Dench (I know send me into exile), and as with the Queen I'm afraid I found the direction to be absolutely, mind numbingly boring to the point where I found myself noticing how televisual it was. It is funny though, and it does have something interesting to say about what faith is, and what forgiveness means. However much Coogan's character (Martin Sixsmith) is laughing/cringing at Philomena, and some of the people in the audience we were in were joining in- the film doesn't quite let them get away with it. 6.5/10

Overall: 6.75/10

Gravity

SF: I was avoiding seeing this film. Visually it is nothing short of brilliant (I'm a space geek). There were so many nice subtle touches in the direction that you are drawn into the the film within moments. It does brilliantly well to make you feel as if your in space without making the audience dizzy. The plot is simple and effective but without giving too much away can be a little over dramatist. Clooney was excellent and Bullock was ok, which did surprise me a bit. Be warned there are a few sort of cheesy lines but forgivable enough. Well worth seeing in the cinema rather then at home. 8/10

50 Eggs: Movie of the year so far. No film ever has portrayed so accurately what it must be like to be an astronaut. Yes there were a couple of errors with the physics, but overall the sense of wonder, loneliness, serenity and beauty  was utterly convincing. Coupled with an exciting story and fantastic effects, this is a must see. The Lynx advert was absolutely right  - 'Nothing beats an Astronaut'. 9.5/10

DonkeyB: In what I think is a first for this blog I decided to tag this post with not just the Director (who my erstwhile colleagues sometimes leave out) but the visual effects studio. They got to display their logo not just their name in the end credits and it is well deserved. As the regular reader (that's not a typo I know who you are) knows I hate 3D, but the reputation of this film had preceded it, so it was with not a little confliction that SF and I eventually opted for the 2D version. The film is visually and audio-logically stunning, so it is without hesitation that I say I am off to find a massive IMAX screen in 3D to watch it again, and I have no doubt I will enjoy it even more second time round. I believe that is enough of an endorsement. Its the film you most have to have seen in the cinema since Inception, it will make no sense whatever to wait for the DVD. 9.5/10

Overall: 9/10

Thor: The Dark World

SF: Alas not as fun as the first outing.  The effects are fine, the plot passable and the general feel all worked. Plenty of it was filmed in London, which is always going to win me over some what. I enjoyed it on the whole as the action was OK but mainly I wanted Thor to have more substance and Loki to have more screen time. Generally the main thing it lacked was drive, everything was just ok and I might have got a tad bored now and again. 6/10

50 Eggs: A complete snoozefest. I used to love these marvel films but something has gone badly wrong with them recently. This isn't as bad as Iron man 3 (and certainly not as bad as Iron man 2), but it all just feels so...inconsequential. The action is just too much fit-inducing CGI. I want to see Thor hitting things with his hammer, not a shooty laser spaceship battle. Even the poster is a rip-off of Star Wars. Try harder marvel. 5/10

DonkeyB: Bored the arse off me to be honest. Cineworld also decided to leave some lights on throughout the screening, which is very unhelpful in a normal screening, but in a 3D film is tantamount to terrorism. Its hard enough to deal with the light loss and the fact as a glasses wearer I have two pieces of material to look through without having a spotlight bright enough to follow along with the (leaden) script setting up all kinds of internal reflections between the various layers of glass on my face..... So that spoilt it. Back to the film itself, the script is terrible, only lifted when Hiddleston is on screen. A film entirely of Loki might be interesting. James Hunt battling the most boring, existentially pointless, villains in history across 9 invented parallel universes (or whatever) is incredibly not. The scenes back on earth were at least moderately impressive- the problem with the entirely green screened films I seem to spend an inordinate length of time in these days is there is no sense of scale, or drama. 3/10

Overall: 4.5/10