Film / News
Bristol best of 2014: Film
1. Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal’s amoral, ingratiating, bottom-feeding crime scene cameraman is a magnificent creation in the best film about TV News since Network. Rene Russo more than holds her own as a hard-bitten, equally desperate executive. During the last reel, you sit there hoping against hope that the film won’t wimp out with a focus-grouped redemptive ending. Without giving anything away, it doesn’t disappoint.
2. The Babadook
There are so many godawful 12A-rated horror movies swamping the multiplexes these days that you can hear an audible sigh of relief from neglected gorehounds when someone does something different and interesting with the genre. Australian director Jennifer Kent uses puppetry and stop-motion animation rather than CGI and elicits a brilliant transformation from Essie Davis in the lead role.
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson is the Nick Drake of the film world. Consider the facts. Everything that claims him as an inspiration is twee and awful, exhibiting the worst traits of all things ‘indie’ with its smug, unearned sense of superiority. But Wes himself is untouchable. This year, he even drew out Ralph Fiennes’s remarkable comic talents. Who knew?
4. Boyhood
Richard Linklater is such a great director that he can even get a restrained performance out of Jack Black (check out the under-appreciated Bernie). Twelve years in the making, this 7 Up-style drama had plenty of opportunities to go horribly wrong. But it turned out to be extraordinary. For once, that “like nothing you’ve seen before” tag wasn’t just hype.
5. As the Palaces Burn
A treat for anyone who enjoys a good rockumentary. Virginia metallers Lamb of God head off on a world jaunt, with lauded ‘Atomic States of America’ documentarian Don Argott in tow. In the Czech Republic, singer Randy Blythe is arrested on a manslaughter charge. The cameras keep rolling and the tour film mutates into a tense courtroom drama. Even rockabilly enthusiast Mark Kermode was gripped.
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