Top Film Films of 2014

With the year coming to a close The Bigger Boat Reviews are looking back at the 10 best films of 2014. However, obviously there were a few films that, due to varying reasons, we were unable to review which had the potential to break into the top 10, so honourable mentions go to the likes of Nightcrawler, Boyhood, Under the Skin and Locke.

10. 22 Jump Street

 The best way to follow a ludicrously over the top action comedy film is to be even more ludicrously over the top, and acknowledge it. Channing Tatum continues to flex his comedy vocals to great effect and his chemistry with Jonah Hill is there for all to see, but it’s in the end credits which will leave you in stitches, which sounds like a discredit to the film, but rest assure, the previous 120 minutes are equally as funny.

9. Gone Girl

Anybody who is having any wedding jitters might want to stay away from Gone Girl. It’s difficult to describe the film without giving away any important narrative details so we’ll keep it simple. Chilling and tense, Gone Girl will have you shouting at the screen with Rosamund Pike on excellent form. Not Fincher’s best (though this is hardly a criticism) but its stylish, edgy and will keep you guessing right up until the end.

8. Interstellar

Yes it wasn’t Nolan’s best film in comparison with The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception, yes the narrative could do with a running footnotes from Brian Cox and yes the ending is a little on the mawkish side, but there’s no denying the spectacle that is Interstellar. The IMAX film of the year brought about a 2001-like edge to the idea of space expedition and exploration with ground breaking visuals. The film also packs an emotional punch with the opening (space-less) 45 minutes featuring one of the most heart-wrenching scenes of the year.

7. The Imitation Game

The part patriotic, park heart-breaking story of Alan Turing, who seemingly invented the computer, cracked the German enigma code and arguably single-handedly winning the war. Benedict Cumberbatch is superb as the tortured genius Turing who struggles to balance his commitment to the war cause and hiding his sexuality. It’s a sensational war-time thriller owing a great deal to the likes of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (coincidentally also directed by a Scandinavian filmmaker) about a worthy and previously untold part of our history.

6. The Wolf of Wall Street

It’s understandable why this film, based on a true story about debauchery, excessiveness and greed (or orgies, drugs and money if you prefer) failed to win any of the 5 awards it was nominated for at the Oscars, which is a shame as it was our favourite during the run up to the awards season. The Wolf of Wall Street tells the story of Jordan Belfort, a stock broker who delves into tax fraud and money laundering leading to excessive riches. About as ‘un-Scorecese’ as Scorcese’s last outing, Hugo, yet the film is darkly hilarious with an excellent leading performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, and the seemingly excessive 3 hour running time will fly by.

5. The Lego Movie

The first huge surprise of the year. On paper you can understand why, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a blatant cash cow, more interested in how much profit they can turn without worrying about the end product. How wrong we all were. The film was hyperactive and hilarious featuring glorious animation and even the sniffiest critics gave up resisting after 10 minutes. The voice acting (led by Chris Pratt along with Well Ferrell and Morgan Freeman to name a few), is superb and has terrific repetition of ‘SPACESHIP!’ The best aspect(or worst, depending on your outlook) is the fact that even by just reading the words ‘Everything is awesome’ will ensure that the song is stuck in your head for hours to come.

4. The Babadook

If it's in a word or it's in a look, you can’t get rid of the Babadook…A uniquely refreshing Aussie horror film telling the story of the struggles between a widow and her young son. It is a rare treat for a horror film that manages to not only have you feel for its central characters but simultaneously scare the living daylights out of you and The Babadook manages this perfectly!

3. Pride

The feel good film of the year bar none. Owing a great deal to Billy Elliot and Brassed off, Pride tells the story of the unlikely friendship between gay activists and Welsh miners. Pride manages to expertly balance the right amount of truth, comedy, and drama without stumbling into sentimentality. A tip of the cap must also go to the sensational Imelda Staunton and an outstanding supporting cast. Dominic West dancing to Shame Shame Shame will forever stick in our minds.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

Nobody, I repeat, nobody expected anything from Guardians of the Galaxy. Somehow people weren’t too keen on the idea of a Star Wars-esque space opera following a disband of humans, aliens, racoons and a 9ft talking tree on their adventures, directed by James Gunn, a generally inexperienced big-budget director (his last film Super cost just $2.5 million). Then the trailer was released, and people were even more convinced of a spectacular crash and burn for the latest Marvel flick. Then the film was released, and how wrong the naysayers were! Guardians is one of the biggest surprises of the year, blasting its way into cinemas becoming the second most successful film of the year so far. Audiences took to Guardians in their drones with its spectacular action and razor sharp script all combined with an absolutely killer soundtrack creating an entirely new franchise for the cinema giants. Never have 3 words brought watery eyes to so many people. Also, that end scene!

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Is this the most mainstream Wes Anderson film yet? Certainly the box office speaks for itself but this does not give enough credit to The Bigger Boat Reviews film of 2014. Set in the fictional Zubrowka, TGBH tells the story of Zero telling the story of his acquisition of the hotel from the enigmatic Gustave. The film features an all-star cast with a healthy mix of Anderson regulars (Wilson, Murray, Brody and Schwartzman all appear) along with some newcomers (Jude Law and F. Murray Abraham), however its Ralph Fiennes who steals the show. In the best performance of the year, Clouseau-esque Fiennes provides both the films comic side and heart which must surely have him heavily touted come awards season (he has already been nominated for a Golden Globe). There were of course the usual Anderson naysayers (there always will be), but the film contains all the charm and just enough whimsy which makes it without a doubt the best film of the year and one of Anderson’s best for many years, also showing a side of Ralph Fiennes we have rarely seen and one we’re welcome to see again.

 

And the worst…

Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Because of ‘transformium’, that’s why.

Missed Masterpiece #4: Bernie

Missed Masterpiece #4 – Bernie

Starring: Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley Maclaine

Director: Richard Linklater

Running Time: 104 mins

It is entirely possible that very few of the people reading this have even heard of Bernie, which is a real shame as it was certainly one of the more pleasant surprises of 2012, and arguably trumped every other comedy that year. It almost went unnoticed when it was released which is unusual for a film consisting of Jack Black, Oscar winner Shirley Maclaine and Matthew McConaughey, at the start of the ‘McConaissance’ era which would shoot him into Oscar winning stardom.

Bernie tells the true story of Bernie Tiede, a mild mannered mortician, beloved by the community of Carthage, Texas who forms a friendship with, recently widowed, Marjorie Nugent. Nugent frequently acts abusively towards Bernie, which results in him murdering her.

Considering the subject matter the film could have backfired dramatically but the act of murder from the central character takes a backseat and we’re treated to a study on death and murder but also how a society acts within a small town, closed community where everyone seems to know everyone.

This is made even more effective as the entire film is shot as part mockumentary style with floating heads of the various townsfolk during the aftermath of Bernie’s trial, which adds to the sense of community spirit. The rest of the film focuses on the relationship between Bernie and Marjorie followed by the investigation McConaughey’s Buck Davidson.

But this doesn’t in any way detract from the comedy, but you’ll struggle to find a film that grabs its humour from anywhere darker. A particular highlight is the titular character in a conversation with Nugent about arranging her funeral and how it will be the ‘event of the season in Carthage.’ The comedy remains jet black throughout the entire film with the entire community struggling to accept Bernie’s crimes often rallying to his defence.

Black’s performance is darkly comic who remains a strange smiling mortician, which is a welcome reprieve from Jack Black, being Jack Black. It’s about as far away from a ‘generic’ Jack Black performance, showing more of a High Fidelity –esque performance than Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny. He went on to pick up a Golden Globe nomination in this his career best performance, which in an enormous contrast to his last collaboration with director Richard Linklater School of Rock.

It’s understandable that the film didn’t get an enormous release, with a tiny budget of just $6 million (taking in $9 million), but I urge you to take the time out to watch it. Do not be put off by the presence of Black, he is *deep breath* the best thing about the film. More of the same in the future JB, please.

Top 10: Film Comebacks

Top 10 Film Comebacks

As a follow up to our previous Top 10 Film Insults, this week we count down the top 10 film comebacks. Expect burns a-plenty!

10: Pitch Perfect

Whilst attending a party, Bumper attempts some unsuccessful flirting with rival a Capella group member, and self-titled, Fat Amy.

The Opener: ‘I have a feeling we should kiss. Is that a good feeling or an incorrect feeling?’

The Comeback: ‘Well…sometimes I get the feeling I can do crystal meth, but then I think, mmm…better not.’

9: Happy Gilmore

Golfing rivals Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) and Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) engage in serious(ish) trash talk after the latter purchases Gilmore’s grandmothers’ house from right under his nose.

The Opener: ‘I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast’

The Comeback: ‘You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?’

8: Superbad

Foul-mouthed Seth (Jonah Hill) picks up best friend Evan (Michael Cera) for school, but not before staring lustfully at his mother.

The Opener: ‘I am truly jealous you got to suck on those tits when you were a baby’

The Comeback: ‘Yeah, well at least you got to suck on your dad’s dick’

7: The Big Lebowski

A rival bowling team, led by Jesus Quintana (John Turturro) approaches The Dude and his teammates and begins to intimidate the trio. In steps The Dude with possibly the most intellectual comeback of all time.

The Opener: ‘You ready to be fucked, man? I see you rolled your way into the semis. Dios mio, man. Liam and me, we’re gonna fuck you up.’

The Comeback: ‘Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

6: The Dark Knight

The Joker (Heath Ledger) interrupts a meeting with a mob, in whom he has previously ripped off, with his plans to eliminate Batman. Naturally there’s a little tension in the room until Gambol erupts with anger leading to a simple but brutally effective comeback from our favourite psychotic clown.

The Opener: ‘You think you can take all of our money and just walk away?!’

The Comeback: ‘Yeah.’

 

5: Airplane

With a jumbo jet full of sickened passengers and crew, Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) asks former fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) to take control of the plane and land it safely.

The Opener: ‘Surely you can’t be serious?’

The Comeback: ‘I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.’

4: Mean Girls

Janis is no stranger to bullies therefore has a fair amount of ammunition in her locker when they insult her.

The Opener: ‘Nice wig, Janis. What’s it made of?’

The Comeback: ‘Your mom’s chest hair!’

3: Easy A

After being labelled a ‘skank’ at her school, Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) decides to live up to her reputation by wearing a selection of revealing outfits to school, which does not go down well with the school Christian community.

The Opener: ‘Perhaps you should embroider a red A on your wardrobe, you abominable tramp.’

The Comeback: ‘Perhaps you should get a wardrobe you abominable twat.’

2: Avengers Assemble

After being thrown together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the motley group of superheroes find it difficult to get along, particularly Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Rober Downey Jnr).

The Opener: ‘Big man in a suit of armour. Take that away and what are you?’

The Comeback: ‘Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist.’

1: The Social Network

Socially awkward genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is sat in his lawsuit trial, facing allegations of intellectual property theft from the Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) twins claiming he stole their idea for Facebook. It’s safe to assume that the trial does not have the full attention of Mr Zuckerberg.

The Opener: Okay, no. You don’t think I deserve your full attention.

The Insult:’ I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try - but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing. Did I adequately answer your condescending question?

Did we miss any of your favourites? Have your say below.

Review: The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

Director: Morten Tydlum

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Charles Dance.

Running Time: 114 mins.

You’d be forgiven for having the assumption that The Imitation Game would be a straight up espionage thriller in light of the subject matter. This assumption, however, would be both right and wrong. The Imitation Game focuses on, until recently, unsung war hero and mathematical genius Alan Turing (Cumberbatch, who is making the role of a socially awkward genius entirely his own!), whose work on tackling the German Enigma code swung the pendulum in the favour of the allies during the Second World War. This is not a subject that has remained untouched in cinema with Michael Apted’s Enigma being released in 2001, however it was largely criticised for its highly fictitious approach to what is a fascinating subject.

It would be easy for The Imitation Game to follow a tried and tested, linear approach as seen in many a spy film over the years, and chances are it may have been a moderately successful, if not a very refreshing film.

It also could have easily slipped into a post-Downton, tea drinking, posh talking, and polite piece of filmmaking, furiously cramming the Union Jack down the audience’s throats; however with Norwegian Tydlum at the helm; he brings a realistic approach to wartime Britain and catches the period perfectly, and is not a million miles away from his last film, Headhunters. Coincidentally, it’s not the first time that a Scandinavian film director has taken charge on a spy thriller with an inherently British sensibility with Tomas Alfredson’s excellent Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), ironically also starring Cumberbatch as a closeted homosexual. TTSP however was about as far away from a British stereotype as you can get, with a dark, gritty, uncomfortable edge surrounding the entire film.

Here’s where The Imitation Game, sets itself apart from your average espionage flick. Whilst it manages this expertly with its tale of cracking the mysterious enigma code, it also focuses on the internal struggles facing Turing, battling with his own identity within a society that would otherwise have cast him as a criminal. Edited in a non-linear fashion it focuses on three periods of Turing life; his education at a boarding school, his employment and work on the Turing machine during the Second World War and finally (or firstly in this case), his life after the war had ended.

It also goes beyond that by asking the bigger questions, others may have overlooked. In one of the more emotional scenes Turing and his group must decide which deciphered Nazi attacks they are to intercept, resulting in the potential cost of thousands of lives. It is an emotionally poignant moment focusing on the fragility and responsibility of greater power and the greater good, an aspect that would be very easy to overlook.

The performances are also a blessing. It’s common knowledge now that this is Cumberbatch’s film, and he is the stand out performance, however it’s the supporting cast that provides the biggest surprises. Solid support is provided by the always trustworthy Matthew Goode and Mark Strong, and Charles Dance brings his grizzly authority from Game of Thrones into the preceding. However the most pleasing surprise goes to Kiera Knightley who manages to go beyond the irritating, prim and posh young lady of Pirates of the Caribbean we’re all used to and brings humanity and heart into the story.

This all comes together to form one an edgy, yet simultaneously, emotional thriller, one of the best of the year so far. Granted it may not be one of the most historically accurate films ever, and certain aspects of Turing’s life are skimmed over, but this is a minor blot on what is an impressive step up from Tydlum and a career highlight from Cumberbatch (so far).

Top 10 Jurassic Park Moments

Top 10 Jurassic Park Moments

To celebrate this week’s release of the epic trailer for Jurassic World we’re having a special Top 10 looking at the top 10 Jurassic Park moments. These can be any moments from Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Jurassic Park 3.

You can see the trailer for Jurassic World here: http://biggerboatfilmreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-jurassic-world-trailer-is-here.html

10: The Wooden Gates

The Moment: Probably the most recognisable and iconic moments from the series. Upon embarking on the maiden tour, the guests approach a 50 foot wooden door with the eponymous words ‘Jurassic Park’ sitting atop. ‘What’ve they got in there? King Kong?’ quips a hesitant Ian Malcolm.

9: Botched Take Off
The Moment: One of the few stand-out moments in Jurassic Park 3 sees Alan Grant, et al racing back onto their plane in order to make a quick escape from the island after hearing a not too distant roar. With the plan hurtling down the runway it is suddenly cut off by the Spinosaurus emerging from the trees, leading to a pretty spectacular crash into the dense jungle.

8: The Long Grass

The Moment: ‘Don’t go into the long grass!’ yells a terrified Ajay as the group of hapless mercenaries pass into a field of tall grass after fleeing the T-rex. One by one they are dragged underneath by Velociraptors, in what is a chilling scene made all the more terrifying by the fact the raptors aren’t really seen.

7: 6 Foot Turkey

The Moment: Alan Grant confronts a smart mouthed kid claiming that Velociraptors were more like ‘6 foot turkeys.’ Grant then gives the kid a lesson in dinosaur culinary describing their killing habits with the use of a 6 inch raptor claw as a handy prop. ‘The point is…you are alive when they start to eat you.’ The petrified expression on the kids face is matched by the entire audience.

6: Life Will Find a Way

The Moment: One of Malcolm’s stand-out moments. After being reassured that an all-female dinosaur society could never breed, Malcolm warns Hammond, Wu, et al that ‘life will find a way.’ Initially de-bunked, Malcolm is proved to be right in the end.

5: They’re Flocking This Way!

The Moment: A group of fleeing Gallimimus’ hurtle towards Grant, Tim and Lex fleeing the T-Rex. Not that the CGI wasn’t remarkable already, it set the standard not only for the rest of the film but for the film industry itself. This was not only a convincing CGI animal on screen; it was a CGI animal on screen, interacting with the characters themselves. Kudos must be given for the decision to rely on both CGI and animatronics as opposed to just the latter.

4: Introducing Mr T. Rex.

The Moment: After appearing illusive for the first hour of the film we finally get a glimpse of the T-Rex. Its approach is ominous enough with the genius and now iconic cup of water scene, but its appearance from within the trees whilst swallowing a goat is terrifying.  The effects are glorious and stand the test of time even to this day.

3: Clever girl.

The Moment: Gamekeeper, Robert Muldoon, is silently stalking the escaped Velociraptors only to discover that he himself is being stalked. After setting his rifle on the raptor he is greeted by a second Raptor emerging feet from him in the nearby bushes. Realising he has been cunningly outwitted he mutters ‘Clever girl’ before the Raptor pounces. The Raptor previously in his sights looks on in an almost sinister look on her face.

2: Dino-Ethics 

The Moment: A surprisingly low-key choice for number two considering the numerous action sequences within the trilogy however it’s this scene that provides the most talking points. During dinner, Malcolm calls out Hammond questioning him on the ethical implications of creating dinosaurs stating ‘Genetic power is the most awesome force the planet's ever seen, but you wield it like a kid that's found his dad's gun.’ Disheartened by this, Hammond calls on palaeontologists, Alan and Ellie to back his dream, which backfires drastically. It’s a hefty debate for a popcorn film proving that this blockbuster has brains as well as brawn.

1: Welcome to Jurassic Park

The Moment: After arriving in a seemingly empty field, Grant turns his head to find a 60 ft Brachiosaurus grazing next to them. A disbelieving Grant is joined by Ellie and Hammond before falling to his knees as Hammond exclaims ‘Welcome…to Jurassic Park.’ It’s Grant’s and the audiences first time seeing the CGI dinosaurs and we share his awe and amazement. It’s a breath-taking moment made all the more impressive by John William’s magnificent and iconic score.   

The Jurassic World Trailer is here!

Here it is! The first official trailer for Jurassic World! 

What do you think? Have your say below.

Top Ten: Uncomfortably Awkward Film Moments

Top 10 Uncomfortably Awkward Film Moments

This week’s top ten is looking at the most cringe-worthy moments in film. Moments that made us squirm in our seats, begging for it to end.

 

10. Les Miserables (2013)

The Culprit: Russell Crowe

The Moment: Any moment where Rusty flexes his vocal cords and belts out his songs in a manner living up to his nickname. Granted he’s not a musically trained actor like many of his accompanying cast, but even they couldn’t carry Crowe through the lengthy running time.

9. Withnail and I (1987)

The Culprit: Richard Griffiths

The Moment: Whilst spending a quiet week in the country, Marwood (Paul McGann) is joined by Withnail’s (Richard E. Grant) Uncle Monty (Richard Griffith) who then proceeds to use the remainder of the holiday to seduce Marwood. In one of the most disturbingly hilarious seduction scenes in cinema Monty claims ‘I must have you even if it must be burglary.’ Look away.

8. The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

The Culprits: Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Blake Harrison and James Buckley

The Moment: Truth being told there are many different cringe worthy moments from The Inbetweeners Movie. However the pièce de résistance simply has to be the group’s dismal attempt at dancing over to a group of girls in order to impress them. The worrying thing is, everyone now knows the dance movies off by heart. Form an orderly queue ladies.

7. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

The Culprit: Hayden Christensen/James Earl Jones

The Moment: Revenge of the Sith is generally considered the best (or least worst!) of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. However for most uncomfortable moment it stands out like a sore thumb. After being badly injured by Obi-Wan, Anakin is placed into the infamous Vader outfit to keep him alive. He is then informed by mentor Palpatine, that in his rage he accidentally killed his bae, Padme. Cue a heartbroken Vader crying ‘Nooooooooooooooooo’ whilst the camera slowly zooms away and audiences everywhere suppress their laughter.

6. Batman and Robin (1997)

The Culprit: Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Moments: Schwarzenegger was allegedly paid $25 million for his role as Mr Freeze who initially could be considered an interesting character to play. A scientist who places his terminally ill wife in a state of cryosleep in order to save her life, yet after a fatal accident involving his wife and her cryo-stasis, he must keep himself in a cryogenic suit to stay alive. What Schwarzenegger (and director Joel Schumacher and write Akiva Goldsman) decided to do was camp him up big time like a pantomime villain, sporting a fur coat a hip hop artist would think is ‘a little too much’ and have him spurt out ice based puns throughout the film.  Not cool.

 

5. Django Unchained (2012)

The Culprit: Quentin Tarantino

The Moment: Let’s face facts; Quentin Tarantino is a bad actor, a really, really bad actor. But in Django Unchained he took this to a whole new level. Turning up in the last quarter of the film he dons the least convincing Australian accent since Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners. His idea of an Australian accent was just to say ‘mate’ a lot.

4. The World is Not Enough (1999)

The Culprit: Denise Richards

The Moment: Denise Richards plays a scientist called Christmas Jones. Christmas Jones. Really.

3. The Wicker Man (2006)

The Culprit: Nicholas Cage

The Moment: Detective Edward Malus is captured by the inhabitants of the island. He is subjected to torture by the inhabitants, most notably placing a mesh cage on his head and filling it with bees, signalling Cage’s horrified cries of ‘No! No not the bees!’

2. Superbad (2007)

The Culprit: Jonah Hill

The Moment: Seth meets a girl at a party who takes a bit of a shine to him and they begin to have a dance together which in itself could merit a place in this list. It’s when the dancing his finished and Seth checks out the weird stain on his pants leg that makes us look away in disbelief. I’ll just leave it there and leave the rest to you!

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

The Culprit: Kiera Knightley

The Moment: Director, Gore Verbinski wanted a stand out, uplifting speech to build up to the show piece climax of his (then) Pirates trilogy, a moment to inspire the disbanded group of Pirates to unite against the dastardly East India Trading Company. Step up Kiera Knightley who manages to butcher the entire moment by delivering the speech like a head girl at a private school parents evening. 

Review: The Babadook

The Babadook

Director: Jennifer Kent

Starring: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Noah Wiseman

Running Time: 95 mins

If The Babadook could be reviewed in one word then you’d simply think the likes of terrifying, creepy or chilling would be more than appropriate, and you would be right. However, surprisingly, the most suitable word for describing The Babadook would be refreshing, not a word often used to label contemporary horror films.

The Babadook tells the story of widow, Amelia (Essie Davis), whose husband was tragically killed in a car crash whilst taking her to the hospital to give birth to her troubled son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman). As Samuel grows up he becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea of monsters living under his bed or in his closet, even going so far as to designing monster fighting weapons which he brings to school, leading to his expulsion. One night he is read ‘Mister Babadook,’ a mysterious book that is found in his bedroom, with no explanation of where it came from. From that point, Samuel’s behaviour becomes much more erratic and violent, blaming the effect of the illusive Babadook, leading Amelia to the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Horror film, nowadays, is possibly the easier genre to turn a quick profit and that is often shown through the final product, and in a way you can’t really blame producers for doing this. If we look at Annabelle and Deliver us from Evil, two contemporary examples of horror films, neither had a remarkable budget ($6.5 million and $35 million, respectively) and neither had a star studded cast. Yet the films managed modest to outstanding commercial success, with Annabelle, in particular going on to rake in $250 million! However the films were too reliant on big jumps, loud bangs and gore in order to bring home the dough and were dismissive of critical reception, but with the potential profit margins available, you can really understand why.

Here, however is how The Babadook is different. Kent has managed to create a film that brings a completely fresh approach to horror cinema, dismissing the ‘easy’ scare tactics of big jumps and loud noises in favour of a more patient, slow build up approach which makes the film all the more terrifying.  However it’s the subtleties that make for some of the most unnerving scenes in the film. At one point, Amelia rips up the book only for it to turn up on her doorstep, repaired with new pages added to it portraying Amelia being controlled by the Babadook. The production design on the book itself is stunning (kudos to the designer) and truly is one of the most terrifying scenes in the entire film.

What makes The Babadook stand out even more from the usual horror films is the characters. Essie Davis is terrific as a mother slowly becoming unhinged suffering from the guilt of losing her husband and her struggle taking care of her troubled son. What happens usually in most horror films is that we care very little about the characters and have anything but sympathy when they eventually meet their demise. However the fact that the characters are incredibly relatable and there is genuine sympathy for the struggles of Amelia which makes the film all the more tremendous.

It has more than a subtle hint of a Polanski film, owing a great to Rosemary’s Baby with the idea of an unseen evil force effecting characters only too close to home and in the character of Mister Babadook we have a character who is genuinely scary without having ever really being fully seen in the entire film.

It certainly is one of the most refreshing horror films in recent years and will surely becoming a cult classic over time. It shows that yes you can make a low budget horror film that manages to both genuinely scare us without resorting to easy, generic tactics, and have us care and relate to its characters.

In addition to this, in an even more energizing approach, hardly any blood! The horror film to beat this year.

Top 10: Film Insults

Top 10 Film Insults

This week we count down the top 10 film insults. Warning, some strong language (obviously).

10. Glengarry Glen Ross

The Setup: Alen Baldwin has been sent into a real estate office in order to motivate the salesmen. Dave (Ed Harris) asks for his name, a simple enough request.

The Insult: “F**k you, that’s my name!”

9. The 40-Year Old Virgin

The Setup: David (Paul Rudd) and Cal (Seth Rogen) are playing a video game whilst observing how each of them knows that the other one is gay.

The Insult: “You know how I know you’re gay? You have a rainbow bumper sticker on your car that says, “I like it when balls are in my face.”"

8. In The Loop

The Setup: Fresh from a foul mouthed phone conversation, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) is approached by a rotund American tourist who asks for “enough of the curse words.”

The Insult: “Kiss my sweaty balls, you fat f**k!”

7. Napoleon Dynamite

The Setup: Deb is stood on Napoleon’s doorstep, flogging jewellery “trying to save money for college”, with Napoleon’s brother, Kip listening in the background.

The Insult: “Your mom goes to college.”

6. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Setup: King Arthur and the Kinghts of the Round Table approach a French controlled castle where they are met by the inhabiting knights.

The Insult: “I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”

5. Aliens

The Setup: After waking from a cryogenic sleep, Vasquez is doing one arm pull ups in front of her fellow Marines. Hudson (Bill Pullman) asks her if she has ever been mistaken for a man.

The Insult: “No. Have you?”

4. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

The Setup: Ron, Champ, Brian and Brick are having a war of words with rival news team, Channel 9.

The Insult: “Hey, where did you get those clothes? At the toilet store?”

3. Stand by Me

The Setup: After being ambushed by Ace (Kiefer Sutherland) and his gang, Gordie (Will Wheaton) pulls out Chris’s gun and points it at the bully.

The Insult: “Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood.”

2. Full Metal Jacket

The Setup: The new recruits are having a torrid time from drill instructor, Sergeant Hartman.

The Insult: “It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your mama’s ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress”

1.   In Bruges

The Setup: A furious Harry (Ralph Fiennes) smashes up his telephone with his bare hands. His wife, after hearing the ruckus, interrupts Harry telling him “It’s an inanimate f**king object!”

The Insult: “You’re an inanimate f**king object!”