The Witch: A New England Haunting

The Witch, or The VVitch as it appears on the opening credits, is an impeccably crafted piece of work that falls just short of being and outright hit in its own regard. A unique and terrifying horror film that mixes puritanical colony drama with supernatural scares but is sadly somewhat poorly paced and, as a result suffers for it as a whole.

With painstaking historical detail the film presents a fanatically puritan family leaving their New England colony believing the local government to be religiously impure. Out in the forest they hope to live closer to God, foraging and growing their own food. Quickly thought things go devastatingly wrong when the family's newborn is straight up abducted and killed by a witch. There's no playing around here, no overstretched ambiguity, the family is plagued immediately by a wrinkled hook-nosed crone who snatches babies.

Admittedly the actual encounters with the witch itself are nicely spaced apart in favour of the gradual disintegration of the family. It's kind of amazing how the film can more or less start with them encountering devastation and go downhill from there. A major part is the interplay between the family, reeling from a tragedy while still struggling to eke out a living in a seemingly barren land. You can read all manner of allegory on the failings of fundamentalist religion that inform the dynamics. From the virtual absence of compassion from the mother to the utter incompetence of the father as a provider.

It's an ensemble work but Anya Taylor-Joy occupies the nominal lead role as Thomasin, the eldest daughter on the cusp of womanhood (albeit womanhood in the 1630s). She plays the whole thing with something I can only describe as determined uncertainty. Thomas has no idea what's going on as much as the rest of them but she refuses to be phased by the tragedy that befalls her. Only reaching breaking point at the end of the film where everything goes full-on bonkers. There's the sense that she is the grounded centre keeping the family together and when that fails she succumbs to temptation.

However the actual 'scary sequences', the part everyone's here to see prove something of a letdown. Little in the build-up of tension despite the looming dark forest and unnerving score. At the moment of release the film favours surreal imagery over anything that would be considered chilling. On the whole a well-realised concept somewhat lacking in execution.

Ghostbusters 2016 Review

A lot of the time it kind of sucks to be at the threshold of a late Gen-X/Early Millenial. Getting all the slack stick associated with Generation X but never really growing up with the nostalgic properties that defines so much of their culture. Sometimes though it's a boon. By coming relatively late to things like Ghostbusters or Transformers (still never seen the 1986 film) I was able to view them as works of art and not the entirety of my childhood. So just as I was able to view Transformers as a bad film, rather than some great desecration, I was able to come to 2016's reboot of Ghostbusters with an open mind. Hell, despite that fact that I was rooting for this all-female line up I was even able to recognise that it has major flaws in the writing and editing that drag it just short of being great.

So yes, after all the hype it turns out that Ghostbusters 2016 is...fine. Not a disaster but also not making anyone's top ten at the end of the year. A broad, cartoonish, character-based action comedy saved from the doldrums of mere adequacy by the strong chemistry between its cast and an outright star-making turn from SNL comedian Kate McKinnon.

To lead such a merely adequate film we have Kristen Wiig-american comedy's poster child for adequacy-once again opposite Bridesmaids co-star Melissa McCarthy-American Comedy's poster child for awesome! Both play accomplished scientists who once closely collaborated on a book about the paranormal but Wiig's character Abbey now wants nothing to do with. However the book leads McCarthy's Erin Gilbert (her first real 'straight' role) and engineer Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon) to a series of powerful apparitions being empowered by a mysterious figure. When one of these apparitions draws the attention of historian Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) she offers to join the group as a guide, completing the Ghostbusters team.

From the outset the film is peppered with sharp comic lines that, thanks to a cast of comedy alumni, always hit their mark. What jokes don't work are usually the ones built around garish CGI ghosts that never manage to tow the original's line of equal parts Lovecraftian horror and Three Stooges antics. With the exception of a few well-executed scares the film never generates a strong buildup of tension to be undercut with a suitable punchline. Indeed halfway through the film begins to even suffer the original's problem of being overly reliant of slapstick set pieces.

What jokes do work are those built around the characters, their relationship to one another and how they view the world. From Abbey's failed attempts to maintain composure in the face of the ridiculous to Patty's world-weary attitude to the supernatural. Erin and Abbey's relationship is the connective glue to it all built on a sincere bedrock of friendship with just enough difference in personas to generate conflict. But as you've probably heard the real MVP is Holtzmann, a melting pot of weirdness and tech-fetishes that steals every scene she's in. McKinnon's delivery is always out of left field and perfectly timed. They're the kind of jokes that work on multiple-levels as anyone who's ever been 'the weird one' in a group of friends will perfectly understand.

Finally kudos needs to go to Chris Helmswoth who's likely been nursing a desire to branch out into comedy. His useless secretary is a beautiful hodgepodge of dumb blonde cliches punching upward at handsome male entitlement. That the writers just never run out of ways for him to be inept, idiotic or unjustifiably smug is an accomplishment in itself. Though the jokes made about him do tend to wear thin towards the third act.

Ah yes, the third act that easily forms the films biggest problem. To be fair there are editing problems across the board including the hastily added scene of the group snarkily reading hateful internet comments (subtle Feig, real subtle). But it's clear that some scenes designed to split the group have been removed without much afterthought. New York being transformed into different periods of time feels like something that should have been more fleshed out in the whole film and would have better demonstrated Patty's intellectual prowess. Whatever was intended though feels mostly shelved with the Avengers-style big climax mostly covered by green screen effects instead.

So we find 2016's Ghostbusters a touch uneven but satisfying nonetheless. Thankfully what it gets wrong feel like tertiary elements that just knock it down to three-star territory. Whereas what it gets right i.e. the tone and chemistry between the four leads are what elevate away from being a complete disaster.

When Marnie Was There

I've described Studio Ghibli as being hit-and-miss at times with their output and no where is this more evident when they try their hands at teenage or young adult drama. Whisper of the Heart was a sweet and understated character piece while Ocean Waves is an absolute slog. It is a relief then to report that When Marnie was There is a wonderful, if small way for the studio to depart from feature film production. As with Whisper it finds its feet by focusing on one incredibly sympathetic character and taking her through a fanciful, emotional journey that leaves her the stronger for it.

When we first meet Anna she is isolated and vulnerable. Suffering an asthma attack during an art session where its made visibly clear that her problems are for more psychological than physical. Even if her quiet apology of 'I cost you more money' doesn't give her emotional state away the animation on her melancholy expression does. Her awkward running from fellow teenagers, her slouched or outright curled posture all gives the impression of a person riddled with anxiety.

So it seems only natural that Anna becomes attached to an ethereal and mysterious young girl who is also isolated, albeit in a ghostly marsh-house across the lake,  There's very little in the bond between Marnie and Anna, merely the mutual feeling of being unable to connect with the outside world. In fact Marnie becomes so quickly attached that it seems almost sinister but soon becomes clear that there is something much larger bonding the two.

The ups and downs of Marnie and Anna's friendship takes the form of a series of misadventures from crashing her parents elegant parties to exploring a haunted silo. The latter of these becomes so intense, so dramatic, owing to a sudden storm that all of Anna emotional conflict is painted on the waves. This is Ghibli's animation team operating at their peak with the violent movement of clouds, lightning and rain seamlessly with a distinctive physicality. Like all the best animations the atmosphere is something you could almost feel.

But it isn't just the charming animation that draws audiences to Studio Ghibli. Marnie guides Anna through her emotional conflict in a way that is typically fanciful and endearing, acting as an outlet for all the emotions that she can't express to her well-meaning relatives. Whether knowingly or not she provides Anna with scenarios that test her resolve, awkward social situations, confrontations and ultimately Anna's fear of abandonment. In doing so Anna becomes better equipped for the challenges that keep her from living and she emerges the richer for it.

It all builds to one major twist that provides a deep emotional gut-punch. In all its years Ghibli has never lost the ability to pluck at the heartstrings and in doing so they allow a story of friendship overcoming fears to end full circle.

Girlhood, Motherhood, Leprechaun in the Hood; Literally any one of these would make a better film than Boyhood.

Yes, this is long overdue. I began writing this as a video review that got sidelined by my real-life commitments. But with Linklater's latest 'Everybody Wants Some' out soon this seems as good a time as any to look back in his last critical smash.

In 2002 director Richard Linklater cast then 7-year-old Ellar Coltrane as the lead in Boyhood, originally titled The Twelve Year Project. True to its name over the next twelve years Linklater would periodically assemble the same cast members to cover his main character’s transition from boy to adolescent to the cusp of adulthood, with Coltrane visibly aging in tandem with his character Mason. It was one of the most ambitious casting decisions ever made, requiring Linklater and his four principle cast members to commit to the film for over a decade. And it was all in service of creating the most realistic visual representation of boyhood onscreen.

In this regard the film is undoubtedly a success, accurately portraying the dramatic ebbs and flows of Mason’s mostly average life. There is no singular event during the course of Boyhood that is more or less important than the next, no major formative or transformative moment. As most people will know life often does not have the big, emotional climaxes that we see onscreen and so in dedication to its cause neither does the film. Instead Boyhood is a lengthy series of life events sometimes with little or no connection to each other. Friendships, school, cultural milestones, first job and first love all pass in a disconnected blur. And while this adds a true-to-life quality to the film it also robs us of our ability to invest emotion into events that pass like the tide.

This is especially true of the times when the film tries to suggest the passage of time through the cultural and social changes occurring around Mason. Throwing in our faces facets of early to late 2000s pop culture like Britney Spears songs or Obama campaign posters in a way that feels inorganic and frankly obnoxious. It’s a good way of identifying the individual years but a good film blends visual exposition with story. For Mason these events have no long term impact, they don’t provide him an opportunity to reflect and thus display character and they certainly don’t help to shape his character.

It’s notable that the one element which does impact on Mason is also the one consistent element, his family. At the beginning of the film Mason’s parents, played by Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, are already separated, with his father a deadbeat musician and his mother a twenty-something college student.  In many ways they date the film far better than any cultural artefact as they represent the degree of arrested development that Mason’s previous generation lived through. Both are sympathetic and understandable but also are easily the architects of their own problems. Mason’s mother Olivia remarries twice with varying results while his father prolongs his adolescence until adopting a Christian life with a new wife and child.

Before I move on I wanted to make a quick note on Olivia’s second husband played by Marco Peralla. As with the cultural dating of the film this character is such an over exaggerated element that’s it’s difficult to remain immersed. This man screams arsehole in every scene he’s in, so much so that it’s difficult to imagine anyone marrying him. It’s true that people do marry and even stand by difficult people but you need to show why they would stand by that person the shades of grey that attract us. This particularly stands out as it’s one of the only times we see something powerfully dramatic happen in Mason’s life. It feels like the film is trying to write away such a potentially traumatic incident by suggesting that Mason’s stepfather is simply a bad person through and through, whereas in life such incidents are far more complicated.

Finally there is Mason’s sister Samantha who is initially the closest thing the film has to an antagonist. Sam is initially presented as an overachiever, good at sports and school and as a result is far better able to compete for her father’s attention.  As she grows older she eventually starts to see the faults in both her parents and is able to voice the frustrations that it seems Mason can’t.

However her role in the story, as well as other aspects of her character begins to diminish which was actually a logistical problem. Linklater cast his daughter in the role back in 2002 but over the years she lost interest in the character. Eventually she regained her enthusiasm but it’s likely this is the reason why she loses so much prominence in the second act. It’s a shame though because it feels like there’s a far more compelling story in Samantha who unlike Mason undergoes distinct character development throughout the film. 

This is not to say that Mason never changes throughout the course of Boyhood, it’s just that the changes are purely aesthetic. He begins the film as a thoughtful, creative child marred by his own laziness and pretty much ends the film the same way. What changes he does go through are the basic steps of finding your own voice through trial and error; different looks, different, friends, different girlfriends all until he finds what best suits who he is. Mason is a very passive character, letting the waters of life flow over him and shape him rather than deciding on his own course. It’s something that is true of most of us but, well, just isn’t that compelling to watch. 

Without any major change a film loses much of its structure and that’s certainly the case with Boyhood. Very little of the film proceeds with the kind of build-up of a conventional narrative but that’s not to say the characters aren’t moving towards something. The film concludes with Mason’s leaving home for college at which point his mother faces the culmination of her life’s work complete. She’s moved home, become a teacher and built a better life for herself and her children and all to be left alone. It’s a tragedy most mothers face and is easily the most heartfelt and powerful moment in the film. 

It only makes is sadder that I can’t give this film more credit for having its one truly affecting moment after over two hours of set up. Looking back on Linklater’s previous work, particularly the Before trilogy, it does seem that he creates characters rarely intended to be distinct individuals. Rather he uses experiences from real life to create a broad archetype that represents a collective. So it makes sense that this doesn’t resonate with me personally since Starfleet separated me from the collective several years ago.

Boyhood has been gaining critical acclaim across the boards but for me it was never something I could immerse myself in on an emotional level. A long series of individual scenes which rarely provided anything major to empathise over which may be true to life but did not make for a compelling film.

Hail, Caeser! A Story of The Coens

While the Coen Brothers are undeniably the big success story of America's independent film industry, a talented writer/director duo able to make unique arthouse films to huge popularity, they have always had more success at drama than comedy. No Country for Old Men is probably their most mirthless film, lacking even in the kind of gallows humour that made Fargo so watchable.Yet it's one of their most successful, both critically and commercially. When people bring up the comedic craftsmanship of the Coens they will always point to The Big Lebowski, which rightfully stands as one of the all time greats. However outside of The Dude lies the likes of Burn After Reading, Hudsucker Proxy and, dare we say it, Intolerable Cruelty. Yes, The Coens always produce great films but their success in dramatic films, even ones with strong comedic moments, has always been more consistent.

So it's a delight then to report the Hail,Caeser! is perhaps the most definitively successful comedy since The Big Lebowski. At once a love letter and take-down of classic Hollywood that takes one of the industry's least reputable figures and presents him as its biggest advocate. In fact Hail, Ceaser!'s biggest achievement is taking some of the worst representations of the Studio System and finding nuance and even virtue in them.

As with most Coen protagonists E.J. Mannix (Josh Brolin) is the one at the centre of a cast of neurotics, narcissists and dimwits. He's a 'fixer' covering for the scandals his stars bring and resolving the interference from outside sources. We follow Mannix as he attempts to deal with the shenanigans caused by said narcissists during a day of shooting. One of the most compelling things about Mannix though is how he's managed to apply his catholic faith to an occupation fuelled by vice and indulgence. He believes in the value of film, the artistry, the effect it has on culture, on people. Hail, Ceaser! is fundamentally a film about faith and Mannix's faith in his work is steadfast in the face of temptation, in the face of doubt, even in the face of all evidence that he is wrong.

Brolin portrays Mannix with the facade of all the tough guy roles he's played before. Stern, forceful, towering over even the likes of Clooney. Yet all too easily the facade breaks and you see the doubt and temptation crawl over him. You sympathise with his guilt and his desire to flee the gaudy circus when a Lockheed executive approaches him with a lucrative job offer. For all Mannix's intimidation and manipulation he's is one of the most likeable protagonists the Coens have written in some time.

Mannix's main concern is the production of biblical epic Hail, Caeser! already troubled by the picture's dimwitted star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) and the approval of the religious community. The first is resolved in a masterful early scene where heads of various faiths debate the nature of Christ, eventually descending into nitpicking and rambling in front of an increasingly exasperated Mannix. Then the real drama happens when Whitlock is kidnapped and production has to be halted.

While this is the plot you've all seen from the trailers in truth it's only one part of a story built on smaller subplots. The abduction story merely serves as the connective tissue to a series of petty disagreements and tabloid disasters that Mannix is forced to intervene in. From Scarlett Johannssen's starlet falling pregnant with a married man's child to Alden Ehrenreich's capable but awkward cowboy actor roped into a high society drama.

The laughs come thick and fast courtesy of the Coens' delightful dialogue and characterisation. The fact that all these characters are in conflict and yet are obligated to be amenable to each other means no scene is short of tension or wit. Jokes built on the ridiculous necessity to wear a 'fish ass' for work or an editor almost being choked to death by her own film reels are delivered with expert timing and instantly memorable performances. Each setpiece is so well realised as both a classic Hollywood scandal and classic Hollywood production that it's no wonder critics would have rather saw the films Capitol is making than the shenanigans in between.

Once the mysterious cult holding Whitlock reveals itself as The Future, the pieces quickly fall into place regarding the larger meaning at play. Lockheed pursues Mannix with warnings that his career in film is a thing of the past. Not exactly an exageration when you realise exactly when the film is set, when the studio system is facing it's collapse, when the ubiquity of television is on the horizon and the atomic bomb threatens to destroy everything. Whitlock's abductors may be hapless Communists but they serve as the manifestation of his spiritual conflict.

Mannix may have complete and utter faith in the frivolity of Hollywood but that faith is at odds with the reality ahead of him. And yet it's the epitome of that frivolous world that is the source of his salvation. A surprise turn from Hobie Doyle in which Ehrenreich receives his pay-off for having owned every scene as the dullard dust actor. It is through is actions that Mannix's faith in the righteousness of Hollywood is restored and he can return to work a more contented man. In leaving him so the Coens' finally deliver a satisfying conclusion that we leave the happier for.



 

Spotlight: Too Depressing for a Funny Title

Watching Spotlight feels like watching the functioning of an efficient and well-oiled machine. A nuts & bolts procedural from a suitably restrained director that's supported by a top notch cast of actors delivering grounded and realistic performances.

There's almost no directorial flair or intense moments of theatrical performance. In fact you'd be surprised to realise that for a journalism drama there's not even that much in the way of actual drama. For a subject as provocative as child abuse in the catholic church the film remains surprisingly muted. Nobody on the Spotlight team reporting on the church end up publicly shamed for their investigation. Nobody is harassed on the street, ostracised from their community or driven out of their home by angry churchgoers. Hell, the characters even remark with surprise that The Boston Globe isn't being picketed once the scandal is revealed. Yet as santised as the film is it still somehow works as a compelling story.

A big part of that is the clever script by Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer. It presents the real life events of Spotlight's investigation as accurately as possible but with a coherent beginning, middle and end. Opening with the arrival of Marty Baron (Liev Schrieber) as the new editor of The Globe. Baron's role is not only to organically establish the Spotlight Team and what they do (basically long-term investigations of major scandals) but also position him as the outsider, to whom things are done differently, who can encourage the team in ways they ordinarily wouldn't thinks. While the focus then mainly shifts to Spotlight and its investigation Baron remains on hand as the 'big picture' guy, the one less concerned with the individual priests and more the system that allows them to avoid prosecution.

The central theme at play here is willful ignorance. The fact that all of Boston could have seen what was going on if they had the will or consideration to look. So it's no surprise that once Spotlight does look, the evidence begins to pile up and up. Witnesses are brought out of the shadows, patterns in the movement of priests from parish to parish start to emerge and important documents, thought to be sealed under court order, quickly come to light. Information that Spotlight thought buried was, in fact, right under their noses the whole time. The almost effortless success of their investigation soon reveals that the films key conflict is not 'Will this come to light?' but 'Can we really stomach what we're about to discover?'.

To its credit Spotlight is never gratuitous with the grim reality it is unearthing. Most of the crimes committed are discussed in retrospect but with the long-term damage visible in it's victims. It's a testament to the emotional weight that even bit players like Michael Cyril Creighton and Neal Huff can bring to an already stellar cast. The only downside it that this has little impact on the Spotlight team themselves. There are a few tidbits here and there, including Mark Ruffalo's big climax that will likely feature whenever an awards show reaches the film in its nominations. However the scarcity of these scenes causes them to clash with he film's otherwise down-to-earth aesthetic and dialogue.

Yet for all its faults Spotlight works as a piece of journalistic drama. Communicating the procedures and perils of investigative work in the modern era (albeit the modern era of the early 00s). More a process of arranging appointments and tedious legal battles. It may not be cinematic but it is damn compelling.

The Hateful Eight out of Ten

Quentin Tarantino's been on such a powerful run the last few years that it's easy to forget that the beginning of his career as a filmmaker was predominantly spent making incredibly well-written, well-crafted homages to other genre films. While he's never lost this unique style for his latter films (Inglorious Basterds is a Nazisploitation flick i.e. Illsa and the She-Wolves, Django is blacksploitation meets spaghetti westerns), he's put it to good use discussing topics like race, propaganda and the misappropriation of culture.

In contrast The Hateful Eight feels like Tarantino cutting loose. Taking a step back from controversial topics and returning to a masterful dissection of linear storytelling. Admittedly one flavored with the slick dialogue, big characters and sadistic violence that one expects from the man. The result is easily one of the most violent, twisted and nihilistic films to come out in a long time but no less fascinating and most importantly entertaining for it.

The deceptively simple set-up finds Kurt Russell as John 'The Hangman' Ruth escorting his bounty Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to hang sometime in post-civil war Wyoming. Along the road he picks up two disreputable characters; fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and renegade-turned-sherriff (he claims) Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). With a blizzard threatening to freeze them the group take shelter in Minnie's Haberdashery only to find the proprietor has left for the week, a group of likewise disreputables are taking refuge and everyone finds something amiss about the whole situation.

In fact everyone at Minnie's Haberdashery is hiding something or other and it's there that the film has more in common with Agatha Christie than Charles Portis. With the titular eight (plus Ruth's driver O.B.) trapped together watching Tarantino's dialogue slowly nurse out details of characters, almost all of whom are working to mislead both each other and the audience.

This is the closest the film comes to an underlying theme. Like the mythologised heroes and villains of the old west the character know each other mostly by reputation. Ruth and Warren are notorious as bounty hunters and Mannix is a known vigilante and we only have his word that he's now Sheriff of the nearby town. Meanwhile the other members of the octet include General Smithers (Bruce Dern), a confederate soldier with a reputation of his own, Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth) a soft-spoken Englishman with his own business cards, Joe Gage a withdrawn cowboy content to write his memoirs and Bob a suspicious Mexican who claims to be running the place in Minnie's absence.

Inevitably tensions flare between the group and allow the cracks in each facade to emerge. Most notably Warren's who makes it clear that he is no parallel to Tarantino's Django. Stripped of any romanticism Jackson's Warren freely admits both his heroics during the civil war and his work as a bounty hunter is purely an excuse to revenge himself on white people. Revealing the depth of his sociopathy in an epic monologue that serves at the catalyst for everything to go to hell in the final chapters.

While Jackson is the showstopping performance everyone else takes the opportunity to quietly impress upon us. As the sole cast member with nothing to hide Leigh's Domergue occupies the role of a mischevious imp, providing some of the film's dark humour as she gestures and cracks unsavory remarks (to say the least). Unfortunately she's also the character that suffers the worst despite committing the least of the hateful eights atrocities. Tarantino's treatment of her feels constantly like a tonal bait and switch, inviting us to laugh at the slapstick nature with which she's assaulted only to make us feel guilty as the camera lingers on her agonized face and dripping blood.

The real surprise here though is Walton Goggins as Mannix. Goggins has been around for years as the kind of actor you've always seen but could never name, usually playing foolhardy, disreputable characters like Mannix. Here he's playing delightfully to type but positioned as a character who always seems just on the verge of doing the right thing. He never approaches anything resembling redemption, remaining a thoroughly despicable bigot, unapologetic over his past atrocities but Tarantino at least gives him a satisfying conclusion.

As usual Tarantino's craftsmanship is well on display. His dialogue feels at once typically otherworldly yet completely natural. With few exceptions the cinematography passes by beautifully with little of the directorial flair that can often break the illusion. As with Django Unchained the films Achilles heel is in the editing. It seems Tarantino, along with the audience, is still morning the loss of Sally Menke. The opening shots drag on far beyond the point of spectacle, the chapter breaks merely serve to stall the proceedings and the first hour could stand to be significantly trimmed. The film pick up momentum significantly once we enter Minnie's Haberdashery and doesn't drag again until the final moments.

The Hateful Eight is unlikely to go down as Tarantino's finest film. It's a compelling mystery drama clothed as a Western but does very little new with the material. Filmmakers have been trying to destroy the romance of the Old West since the days of Soldier Blue and while Tarantino brings a fresh new take it isn't worth the slog of the films weaker moments. When it works though, it works. Fun, shocking, tense, even sad at times. It's the kind of film I'm willing to call a flawed gem, something that shines to me and maybe you too.

Top 10 of 2015

So 2015 kind of flew by and while it was a rich and full year of films, many scoring highly, I still struggled to fill out a top ten. Make no mistake I saw my fair share of films, possibly more than any other year, but there was a distinct lack of films that specifically tweaked even my broad range of turn-ons. With much of the good stuff falling just short and even the two Marvel movies turning out fairly vanilla it's been a frustrating thing to watch. But thanks to playing catch up on DVD and courtesy of Bristol's Cube Microplex I have managed to film ten films releases in 2015 that made the grade.

Now bear in mind I didn't manage to see everything so if you're surprised that Sicario, Inside Out, Brooklyn or Bridge of Spies are absent just assume I would have otherwise added them. This also applies to films already out in the US but which won't reach my eyes until early 2016. Hence The Revenant and The Hateful Eight being omitted. They may appear in my Top 10 for the following year though. So without further ado:

10) Steve Jobs

I'll be the first to admit that Aaron Sorkin is a hit and miss scriptwriter (an opinion that may change when I finally mainline The West Wing) but Steve Jobs is a solid hit. A duel acting masterclass from Fassbender and Winslet with supporting turns from Jeff Daniels, Seth Rogan and Michael Stuhlberg. Thanks to Danny Boyle's direction the two hours of solid tech talk flows seamlessly and opens a window into the mind of a deeply...well deeply obnoxious human being. That said, Sorkin's version of the Apple CEO is an endlessly watchable creature. Determined, calculating, ruthless Fassbender's Jobs is always in deep thought but every once in a while he seems to be thinking about something other than himself.

9) Trumbo

Granted this is in part cheating since the film won't be released until later in the coming year. Still it's interesting to pick Trumbo since it's ultimately a film that doesn't work. It's the story of the Hollywood 10, ten writers blacklisted during the witch-hunts of the McCarthy era 'Red Scare'. It's something that should be profoundly tragic, ten talented people who were denied a livelihood and many never regained it. Yet Trumbo is one of the most cartoonishly comical films of the year burying Bryan Cranston under a Salvador Dali 'tache and high-pitched squawk. Similarly ostentatious turns come from the likes of Helen Mirren, John Goodman and Christian Berkel as very real figures from Hollywood's past. And somehow it carried itself thanks to a consistently amusing script and a sympathetic performance from Cranston.

8) The Martian

The Martian has appeared on numerous top ten lists already, even at the top of some and well-deservedly. It's definitely one of the most well-crafted films of the year, a smart hard science rescue film that's also incredibly fun and compelling to watch. The quality of which is vastly inflated by the best Matt Damon performance in years, playing the ultimate 'science bro' with a jokey demeanor that never ignores that weight or desperation of his situation. My only regret is that, with it being neither as gripping as Gravity or as emotionally powerful as Moon it just couldn't make it into the top five.

7) The Clouds of Sils Maria

This was a small but endearing look into the representation of women in the arts. Starring Juliette Binoche as an aging actress preparing for an upcoming role as the older counterpart to the ingenue role that once made her famous. Playing off her is an on-form Kristen Stewart as her co-dependent personal assistant who tries to help her come to terms with the role. The interplay between the two is organic and telling as the many layers to both their relationship and the film begin to surface. It's an endlessly watchable curiosity that leaves you pondering days after.

6) Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Force Awakens logically shouldn't work. It's a brazen rehash of the original Star Wars film coloured with a diverse cast and countless nostalgia nods to the franchise, and yet work it does. Sure once iconic moments like the destruction of a planet or an assault on a certain enemy superweapon lose their emotional impact but everything with a new twist feels new and fresh and fun in a way I can't remember Star Wars feeling like. Abrams' cinematography makes you constantly feel in the moment of a swiftly-moving story, the characters and suitably new spins on established archetypes, the old guard cast-members are as smooth as they've ever been and I was genuinely curious to see where things go.

5) Dear White People

This didn't get a wide distribution in....anywhere but in terms of this years comedy offerings it has to be the best.  Ostensibly a film about race and racial identity centered on four black students at a predominantly white Ivy league college. Each one is trying discover or establish their own personal identity while dealing with their white peers constantly misappropriating black identity. It's a smart look at race, white privilege, student radicalism and the relationships between different cultures that manages to be brilliantly funny throughout if a little soapboxy at times.

4) Carol

At the time of writing Carol is the big awards-baiting 'issue' movie still being talked about and while it checks all the boxes of such a film it still deserves the recognition. Carol is a sweet, endearing love story between two women completely sold by the performances from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Refreshingly the struggles of such a relationship in a less enlightened period setting are secondary to the much more personal conflicts between two very different people overcome by a strong attraction. Powerful, emotive and endlessly captivating thanks to a swift and elegant direction by Todd Haynes.

3) Crimson Peak

I know, I know. It isn't scary. It's too melodramatic. It's predictable. Mia Wasikowska is magically able to walk off a broken leg (OK that one's kinda valid). Thing is while Crimson Peak has all of these problems it still contains everything I love about Guillermo Del Toro while still being a very compelling Gothic Romance. Big, bombastic, entertaining characters, elaborately grim sets and a central love story that is at once a complete pastiche yet still wholly believable. This was a film that I loved from start to finish.

2) Ex Machina

This was a film that came out at the start of the year and stayed in my consciousness throughout. A smartly written film that encompasses a range of topics from trans-humanism to gender dynamics. It pitches itself as a hard science fiction film until the very last moments when it turns into a grim horror and yet never loses its aesthetic identity. Driven by smart, well-characterised performances from Dominhal Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and a deceptive turn from rising star Alicia Vikander.

1) Mad Max: Fury Road

Well What else could it be? Fury Road is hands down some of the most fun I've had in the cinema this year. Easily the best action film since The Raid 2, proof that you can make an old-school, eighties bone-cruncher that fits in a modern world that reflects modern issues. Imperator Furiosa is one of the most badass action women since Ellen Ripley, Tom Hardy makes an iconic role his own and George Miller builds a fully realised post-apocalyptic wasteland with its own culture and nuances. There's no film in 2015 that has provoked as much feeling or thought as Mad Max and that's why it's my film of the year.