EdgarReviews

More involving than District 9 and crafted with more precision than Elysium, Chappie is a much better film than its unforgiving critical reception suggests. Sure, its tonal shifts are jarring at times and there's less political heft than expected of Blomkamp, but the film's gripping action, emotional pull and refreshing ending accumulates to a wonderful sci-fi.

Are there any directors working today that are currently more ambitious than the Wachowski siblings? On this basis, perhaps not, as the directors' latest flick has all the initiative as their last flick, Cloud Atlas, though not quite the same handsome payoff. Beautiful, wildly entertaining, and balls-off-the-walls crazy, Ascending has all the potential to become a cult classic.

For all of Kingsman's entertainment values, it's an infuriating watch. Ridden with snooty stereotypes, frustrating sequences and incoherent plot points, it's an absolute necessity to turn off all brain cells if you want to watch this muddled mess.

February's first great film comes in the form of Selma. While its enjoyability occasionally wavers, it's never an uninteresting watch, strengthened by a fantastic Oyelowo performance and its ability to move without manipulating.

Diabolically lifeless. Unforgivingly misinformative. Brimming with uninteresting characters caught up in a script as stilted as some of the ex-marines. Yet the flick's biggest downfall is its lack of any emotional, and more importantly, political heft; this American Sniper misses the target by quite some distance.

Yeah, no, no this isn't for me. I had to stop halfway through out of sheer boredom, unfortunately, though I can see how Lisandro Alonso's unconventional western will appeal to some viewers. Jauja, like Force Majeure, suffers from its lingering shots that seem to go on and on; usually this is done for a purpose, but the only purpose I can see is to convey the scintillating beauty of the film. The cinematography is the aspect of Jauja preventing me from giving it 1 or 2 points, but however gorgeous the film is, the storyline is still lacking. Shame.

As far as biopics go, The Theory of Everything is much more entertaining than most. Yet it cannot escape biopic conformities; aside from incongruous cinematography, there is very little to set this flick apart from its competition. It contains outstanding performances, but so do Mr. Turner and The Imitation Game, 2014’s other critically-acclaimed non-fictional character studies. The Theory of Everthing is worth watching for the performances alone – but the film is only a decent one, with its rather confined plot rendering it unable to excel.

One of the most entertaining films of 2014, The Guest is 90 minutes of retro-thriller flashback, dazzling with a chilling Dan Stevens performance, incredibly well-thought-out cinematography, and an incredible campy, Drive-meets-Rambo atmospheric tone that's aided by a wonderful 80s' synth score. Great stuff.

Did I watch a different film to Cannes critics? If it weren't for a sluggish start strewn with admittedly awful dialogue, Ryan Gosling's directorial debut would earn the full 5 stars; a visceral experience boasting a stunning soundtrack, startling cinematography, and some stand-out scenes featuring Ben Mendehlson. Top notch stuff.

Functioning as a cheap parody of Wes Anderson, Woody Allen and Louis C.K, Listen Up Philip is irritatingly edited and so far up its own ass that it's a wonder Philip can listen to anything at all.

Ignoring early expositional problems, a few plot holes and a lack of unpredictability, Big Hero 6 is a very funny, very charming and very entertaining animation that services its target audience near-perfectly.

My first experience of Roy Andersson, and boy is it a good one. A Pigeon presents the best kind of funny, the best kind of melancholy, the best kind of downright disturbing; it's an extraordinary depiction of the human condition, of human endeavor. Captured perfectly, each frame looking as if it were plucked out of a painting, Andersson has the ability to turn the mundane into the magnificent.

Ryan Reynolds gives a bravura performance as unhinged Jerry, anchoring an film that's fun and funny (but desperately slight and forgettable) in equal measures.

Its slight and tonally jarring at times, but Love at First Fight (Les Combattants) revels in a romcom that strips away a large amount of the tedious stereotypes given to that particular genre. Adele Haenal and Kevin Azais both give strong performances, and the chemistry is certainly present on screen, while the flick's bizarrely charming score and array of beautiful shots create definite impact; one of the film's final scenes, that takes place in an abandoned town, surprised me in its method of creating danger.

Evocative and provocative, The Duke of Burgundy is an astounding work of art; Strickland takes an intriguing plot and masterfully weaves it into a gem filled with a fine mixture of uncanny eroticism and unexpected sadness. One of 2015's best films so far, and one of the best films I've ever seen about love.