Interstellar (2014)

In a word: breathtaking. That's the only way I can describe Interstellar. Set in the not too distant future, the film follows a former astronaut-come farmer, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), as he struggles to keep his crops alive on a dry, desolate and dying world. Whatever the cause, the earth is dying, soon there won't enough food to sustain the remaining population. But a last hope comes in the shape of a strange phenomenon which Cooper and his daughter discover.

Soon they find themselves imprisoned in what turns out to be a secret Nasa base, run by some of Cooper's former Nasa colleges, (an unlikely coincidence which is easily forgiveable, considering how good the rest of the film is). Professor Brand (Michael Kane) has a proposition for Cooper: he wants to take part in a mission to travel through a wormhole in search of a habitable world for mankind to start a fresh on. Cooper obviously excepts an the great quest begins. Backed up by a amazing soundtrack, the film contains elements of many different classic sci-fi books: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Contact, and The Long Earth , creating an altogether more exhilarating experience than Gravity provides - and one of the most awe-inspiring cinematic experiences of my life. The film is also packed with emotion, especially during the time dilation video conversations in which Cooper talks to his now much older children (which had me in tears).

Christopher Nolan took everything that made Inception great, perfected them, and incorporated them into Interstellar. Not just the cutting edge special effects, but the mysterious and surreal dimension crossing which seamlessly melds two styles of science fiction: the space based epics of Arthur C. Clarke and Asimov with the more psychological sci-fi Philip K. Dick. The plot pretty much unfolds in the same way as Inception did, with all the pieces of the mystery slowly coming together to create a nail-biting ending. I don't want to give too much away, but the ending is brilliant and very moving indeed.

Now, whenever a film like this comes along, sci-fi geeks like myself will ask the same question: is it as good as 2001? Well, this is the only film that has come close - so close in fact - that I may have answered yes to that question...maybe.

Nightcrawler (2014)

Featuring Jake Gyllenhall's best performance to date, Nightcrawler is a thrilling and thought-provoking critique of society's desensitisation and thirst for gore. Gyllenhall plays one of the creepiest characters ever - a cold-hearted little sociopath named Louis Bloom - a petty thief turned amateur cameraman..

Bloom witnesses a car accident one evening and sees some amateur cameramen capturing footage of the wreckage, Bloom thinks he can do better, and he stops at nothing to achieve that. He starts capturing his own footage and taking to a local new centre where he sells it. Which is when he meets TV news supervisor Nini Romina (Rene Russo) and develops a controlling relationship with her. Bloom will stop at nothing to capture the most disturbing and goriest footage possible and doesn't mind breaking the law in the process.

The scene where Bloom and Nini have dinner together is probably the finest portrayal of a true sociopath. The way Bloom gains leverage and eventual control over his boss is a thing of beauty -- he even attempts to blackmail her into sleeping with him. The controlling relationships and the way he treats people makes Hannibal Lector seem like a empathic, warm-hearted little soul. His black, dead eyes are really creepy, and at no point does he show the least bit of remorse for the mayhem he causes.

I was on the edge of my seat during the Diner scene and subsequent car chase, and also amazed at the lows that Bloom will stoop to to get the story he needs. Nightcrawler is more than just another story about a sociopath. It's a scathing commentary on a corrupt media where ratings override the basic principles of ethics and morals. "If it bleeds it leads" as the slogan says.

Persona (1966)

This was more of an experience then a film. If you take all the emotion you ever felt from the viewing of any film and multiply it by a thousand, then you get close to what I just felt watching Persona. The first five minutes of fast, flashing, introduction of surrealist imagery, which subsequently creates the basis for the plot, are the most unsettling and stomach churning I've seen in a film.

The only way I can explain what this film made me feel is like being trapped in someone else's depressed mind (if that makes sense.) The viewer becomes immediately enveloped in the ever increasing feeling of unease and tension as the nurse and her silent patience's minds become melded in a chaos of self-examination, reverse psychology and dependency. Everything in this film is measured to perfection: the sound effects and camera work are amazing, and I especially liked the kind of intermission crafted from sharp sounds and images used to signal a breaking point in the relationship of the two women.

Toward the end of the film, when the truth is revealed about the silent actresses past and cause of her silence, every scene is amazingly tense, powerful and brilliantly filmed. The drip-drop sound effect,  which reappeared throughout the film, is eerily effective and cuts right straight through you. Obviously, I have a lot of unanswered questions, which isn't surprising for a film this complex, which has been studied for years, and will require multiple re-viewings to interpret, (Which I'm looking forward to). At first, I was a little dubious before watching the film, as I thought it might be a little too complex for it's own good (and mine.) But instead it has quenched my thirst for this kind of cinema - a kind I watch far too little of.

Get Hard (2015)

It's films like this that are ensuring the demise of the comedy.To start with, I don't think Will Ferrell is funny at all. He is one of the new breed of American comedians whose sense of humour and comedic style seems to completely escape me. The new style I'm talking about is present in most American sit-coms, The Big Bang Theory is a perfect example. Obliviously Americans and Brits have differing sense of humour, because our TV show have always been different, but as far as films go there used to be really funny America films; the 80's and 90's where the golden years, and produced some real classics.

This new breed of comedy films are badly scripted and the humour is completely reliant upon completely contrived and extremely unlikely scenarios; everything has to be taken to the extreme just to produce a reaction. I want to go back to the eighties style, with a well-scripted, subtle, and altogether more effective style of comedy - the films of the late John Hughes are a perfect example.

As far as Get Hard is concerned, Will Ferrell is just annoying throughout and the plot is ridiculous. As a millionaire banker who is accused of fraud, he has been given 10 years in prison, and 30 days to prepare before he goes to the slammer. So, he employs the services of a car washer who works in the basement of his office building. The basis for which is the usual racial stereotypes that are strew throughout the film. He transforms his mansion into a prison and learns how to fight... And under the presumption that he will be sexually assaulted in prison, he goes to a gay bar and asks a man if he can suck his appendage. The subsequent toilet scene is just sickening rubbish, typical of these kinds of comedies. Most of the film is the same old ridiculous scenarios and extreme reactions to practically nothing. There are a few laughs along the way, but not many, and I think this will be the last Will Farrell film I will watch. This tripe has put me off watching comedies altogether to be honest.