As 2014 draws to a close, here's my verdict on the films I saw at the cinema during the year, in descending order of enjoyment:
The Grand Budapest Hotel - a hilarious performance from Ralph Fiennes made this one of the most enjoyable films I've ever seen at the cinema.
Locke - proving that you don't need flashy explosions or CGI to tell a story, this film with Tom Hardy is gripping from start to finish, which is particularly impressive, since most of the time all we see is him driving his car while talking on the phone.
Edge of Tomorrow - intelligent sci-fi which benefits from a good script and a good performance (rather than his usual star turn) from Tom Cruise. Nice also to see a strong female character (Emily Blunt)
The Imitation Game - a beautiful recreation of the period, and strong performances, but I was left unmoved.
The Equalizer - the usual strong performance from Denzel Washington is frittered away in a film that uses nearly half its runtime for the setup and offers excessive gore as (meagre) compensation.
Godzilla - another film that spends way too much of its running time on the set up (it's a good hour before we see Godzilla) and gives us characterisation-by-numbers. Yes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is cute, if you like that sort of thing and no, he doesn't get his kit off.
Non-Stop - once again, Liam Neeson plays a troubled hard man. The film insults our intelligence by showing us the big clue not once, but three times. Hopefully, Julianne Moore got a shedload of dosh to be in this turkey.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - Chris Pine is as wooden as his name suggests, Keira Knightley does her best and Kenneth Branagh fails hard in his portrayal of a gangster. Kevin Costner collects a pay cheque.
3 Days To Kill - the absolute stinker of the year by a country mile. What could have been either an action thriller, a comedy thriller or a family drama is completely sunk by being a tepid blend of all three. Kevin Costner collects a pay cheque.
