Boyhood (2014) Film Review

Boyhood (2014) Film Review.

The coming of age genre, it can span over a couple of hours (Breakfast Club) or take over 12 years to film. Boyhood is not just a technical and creative achievement it is a life experience. It tackles a period of life that is hard to reproduce in this medium and the cinematic experiment has paid off.

This film is no three act structure, it is a series of event, tracking the progression of boy/man Mason Evans (Ellar Coltrane), while the film also tracks the lives of his mother (Patrica Arquette), who struggles being a single mother while studying. His sister, (Loreli Linklater) and his father (Ethan Hawke) who sees his kids over the weekends.

Boyhood is an engrossing experience, pack with moments that we have all shared, maybe not all but there will be big life moments that we have encountered, your first beer, having the talk with your parents etc. The reason why no other film can pull you in and re-experience it, is because this film you are growing up with the actors. You first see a boy, young and free, grow to a man, scared of the future. This journey, a full three hours, contains a genuine evolution of exploration and knowledge.

This is a unique experience and probably will never be repeated again. Filled with pop culture references and nods to past fads. Boyhood is a film that puts the audience in a position of recollection. A realisation of 12 years that has past. It is filled with moments of smiles, joys but also horror.

I hate calling it an experiment but it did have a huge risk, to work at something for 12 years and it to flop would of been a tragedy. There are some critics that will criticise this film to go against the grain. They need to re-evaluate themselves, because for a film critics to slander a project with so much passion and heart. This is what film is about and any cinema fan should be ashamed to cast this away.

Boyhood is the seminal reason why I love film. Richard Linklater had an idea. Even though it sounds ludicrous, he stepped up and made it. Great performances and commitment to all that was involved. This is not just one of the best film of the year, this is one of the best films I have ever seen.

My Top 5 Favourite Movies Of 2014 - 5. Edge Of Tomorrow.

My Top 5 Favourite Movies of 2014.

5. Edge Of Tomorrow. (2014)

2014 has been a busy year and I live further away from a cinema, meaning I haven’t got to watch as many films as I should and wanted too. This is a brilliant segway to a film that not many people have seen and should see. Now I got a free ticket to this film and didn’t expect much. It’s a tom cruise film that steals the plot from Groundhog Day. It is and it does, but it’s much more then that.

This is a underrated movie that takes the Groundhog Day plot of living the same day over and over again and expands it and does everything right. I hate Tom Cruise but in this film he’s a likable character. Emily Blunt is amazing in this. This was the biggest shock of 2014. I love it, it’s sci-fi and action element was perfect and it was brilliant to see the progression from day to day. This film was shunted before it’s release as being another Tom Cruise film, with a stupid name, which the studios recognised and imitating the Groundhog Day storyline. However it is much better then that. A great plot, great character, well shot and a massive surprise. I recommend this film.

Godzilla (2014) Review. (NO SPOILERS)

The most anticipated film of the summer. The same amount of hype mirrored to the 1998 version of Godzilla.  Instead of the eye of Godzilla from 1998, the loud ear piercing scream of Godzilla fames the 2014 marketing. However that is the only similarity between the two as this film cherishes the source material of the Japanese film lore of the king of monsters.

It's very rare Hollywood respects the source material but it achieves it here with this remake. Godzilla is bigger, louder, more destructive. I can only recommend watching this film in IMAX because when Godzilla roars it literary sent chills down my spine. It's exactly the way Godzilla should be. The scale and destruction of this film is massive, the action is explosive. Even though the first hour of the film is very slow, when Godzilla is finally shown in full, the action exponentially rises and building topples, bridges explode and cars get thrown about. Godzilla really lives up to it's title of King of the Monsters.

Now there is some weaknesses in this film, it is slow in the first part of the film and takes a while to see Godzilla but I don't see that as a major flaw. It just heighten the anticipation of when Godzilla is finally revealed.  There are some plot holes that I can't mention due to spoilers and some scientific inconsistencies but this film is about and 300ft monster so who cares. I have been reading other reviews and they always comment on the cliche characters or not well developed characters. It doesn't matter, you don't go into this film caring about the humans, you want to see Godzilla. Maybe Walter White (Bryan Cranston) but people want to see Godzilla.  Now the cliche character does limit the actors abilities being shown so I can't really excel anyone credentials here, except for Cranston's, there are moment where he does create another layer to his character which all the other actors find hard in the confines of their cliche. The action sequences sometimes get cut short when it seem things are hotting up but this just builds up to the final encounter which is absolutely amazing, literary blown off my seat.

This was the Godzilla I wanted to see, it met my expectations from the hype, it might of not surpass it beyond the confines of awesomeness. However I am satisfied of Gareth Edwards careful consideration of Godzilla, you can see he is a fan with the little nods to the Japanese originals. I would recommend people to watch it. It's big, it's loud, it full of destruction. Not overkill like Man of Steel but enough destruction to fulfill to audiences masochistic needs. As a Godzilla fan, I loved it, I'll watch it again and I think you should too.
Rating 8/10 

Has Pixar Caught Sequelitis?

Has Pixar Caught Sequelitis

From a number of sources, Pixar have confirmed that Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2 will be made. I'm normally excited for sequels, sequels can be good ideas if done well and if necessary. In recent years Hollywood has churned out sequel after sequel and the argument of sequels being necessary is blurred and the more explicit incitement seems to be for the money. Hearing news of a sequel is nothing new and I shouldn't be worried, however Pixar is no any old Hollywood studio. Pixar is a trademark for innovation and quality; not quantity. So I thought...

Pixar being under the Disney umbrella, a studio known for it's franchises, (Marvel, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean) it shouldn't come as much of a shock. However Pixar before Cars 2 only made sequels to the highly popular Toy Story franchise but it was done well. Toy Story was an metaphor for the stages of growing up, each sequel was a great message to present about childhood. Cars 2 looked more of a cash grab, even though it was John Lasseter passion project. The idea that the first film made approx. 10 billion dollars in merchandise, two sequels doesn't seem like a productive step in innovation.

Toy Story in 1995 was a huge step in computer animation with every other film after that creating a new universe, unique and the story was original and detailed. From the ocean's of Finding Nemo to the Monster world of Monsters Inc. Pixar created universes that did allow sequels to be a possibility but held back on that possibility because they relished the idea to create something new. However with the announcement of Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2, it adds to the list of sequels of Cars 2, Monster University, the upcoming Finding Dory and there have been a few sources of doing a Toy Story 4.

Now I'm a sequel addict when I hear sequel I start to dribble and make weird noises but for Pixar I'm hesitant. They have always been consistent in their films and Cars 2 and Monster University, not bad films but Pixar can;t be content with not bad. Monster's University was a great films but I see more potential in the idea of the new, original Pixar film coming out called, Inside Out. Coming out in 2015, it will be set in a girls mind and the characters will be emotions. This sounds like an amazing idea and is so 'Pixar-like' It's risky, it's experimental but Pixar seem to hit every time. I'm more interested in that film then Finding Dory. I could probably guess what will happen in Finding Dory but Inside Out; I'm intrigued.

Now I won't stop watching Pixar films, I think they are still amazing. There sequels are much better quality then any shluck that Hollywood throw out. Sequels have a bad name to them, they have a capitalist motive and Pixar doesn't need a legacy of a sequel to 'cash in'. Their consistency record allows to experiment and still be a box office success. 

Pixar is an anomaly in Hollywood. They have so much detail in their films, it's why it takes years to make just one. Pixar is a studio that can experiment and innovate. It does hurt a little that they have announced a flurry of sequels not because they won;t be good films, it's because Pixar creates new environments and new universe that are detailed and unique that a Pixar that doesn't cover new ground seems like a wasted opportunity. The announced films of Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur shows a lot of promise and I hope, on a personal standpoint that Pixar doesn't get to the point where they rely on sequels. Pixar are a trademark of innovation and sequels are not the step forward.

Jason Blight