A Way Too Late Year in Review
It’s been a great year for movies, past and present. One of my favorite things about reviewing old movies is looking at old favorites as well as new-to-me gems and seeing how well they’ve stood the test of time. WIth that in mind, here’s a short recap of the movies I loved and hated this year.
The Good
- Horns Great acting from Daniel Radcliffe combined with a promising movie based on a Joe Hill novel makes for the best horror flick I saw all year.
- Blindness Wasn’t a big fan of the book, but the movie is fantastic, featuring top-notch performances, excellent cinematography, and an intense script.
- The Punisher I had zero expectations going into this pre-MCU flick, but was pleasantly surprised. When you want a dumb 80s action flick, look no further than this Dolph Lundgren vehicle.
The Bad
- Mars Attacks! Man, this movie was funnier when I was younger. These days the humor falls flat and not even the A-list cast can save the poor script and terrible-on-purpose CGI.
- Lucy I really wanted this movie to showcase Scarlett’s Johansson’s ability to carry a film; too bad Morgan Freeman’s phone-in performance and the messy script keep that from happening.
- Jumper Hayden Christensen needs to go away and Samuel L. Jackson needs to stop taking the Nic Cage approach to film roles (i.e. take any piece of crap that comes his way)
The Disappointing
- Paycheck I had so much love for this movie when it was released, but these days the film seems dated, a throwback time to Ben Affleck playing Action Star. I much prefer him in his quieter roles.
- Total Recall Kate Beckinsale kicks ass, but her fighting skills alone can’t save this bland remake.
- Sin City 2 With so much good source material to work from, the writers decided to make up their own stories. Way to fail, guys.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to reviewing many more movies in 2015.
Image courtesy Flickr user When I was a bird
