We’re halfway through 2016, so here’s a rundown of the best
and worst cinema has given us this year, starting with the gems…
In at Number 5, The Jungle Book: Jon Favreau’s
adaptation of a Disney classic is a joy of fear and wonder. State-of-the-art
special effects meet good old-fashioned adventure in this interpretation that
promises to become the definitive Jungle
Book for a whole new generation. Newcomer Neel Sethi commands the screen as
Mowgli and holds his own fantastically against a voice cast starring Ben
Kingsley, Bill Murray and Idris Elba: a real treat!
At Number 4, Captain America: Civil War, Marvel
Studio’s colourful contrast to the gloom of ‘Batman v Superman’. Our favourite
heroes come to a head when the world gets a bit fed up with their constant
city-levelling antics, and the film, too, avoids the usual third-act
world-busting boredom. For all the mighty clashes and bombastic battles, it’s
the character moments that push Civil War into the stratosphere. It’s a proper
summer blockbuster.
Number 3 is 10 Cloverfield Lane, a startling
directorial debut from Danny Trachtenberg. A sort of mutant spin-off from J.J.
Abrams original found footage sci-fi, 10 Cloverfield Lane is essentially a
three-hander bunker drama. With standout turns from John Goodman as a creepy
patriarch and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the innocent (but far from helpless)
prisoner, it’s a cinematic puzzle box that gives a firm middle finger to
spoon-fed blockbusters.
In at Number 2 is
Room: surrounded by awards’ buzz (and
rightly so), Lenny Abrahamson’s film follows the life of Joy, a mother trapped
in the confines of a single, tiny space, in which her son, Jack, creates an
entire universe. Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay are tremendously affecting with
an unbelievable lightness of touch, the cinematography and music simultaneously
beautiful and restrained. It is life-affirming, awe-inspiring storytelling with
the most human of hearts.
And, the Number 1
best film released in UK cinemas this year so far: ‘Son of Saul’, Laszlo Nemes’
incredible journey into the darkest heart of the holocaust. With a camera
permanently fixed to the face of Saul – a Jewish prisoner forced to work in the
hellish landscape of the concentration camps – Nemes’ film looks evil in the
face and refuses to flinch. It’s the kind of film that reminds us of a crucial
function of cinema, and why we will always need it.
And now, from the sublime to the stinkers…
At Number 5 is The Forest: poor Natalie Dormer is
stranded in the wasteland of this latest in a long line of ‘nothing’ films;
mainstream horror fare that enters one ear and leaves the other with little
impact or injury imparted on the way. With a yucky touristy feel and a finale
that features the terrifying presence of power-bar wrappers, it’s a lazy and
predictable bore.
Number 4 snuck in
right at the very last second: Gods of
Egypt is many things (unintentionally racist, noisily directed, badly written,
atrociously acted), but on top of those, it gave us imagery we never expected
(nor wanted) to endure, such as Geoffrey Rush pulling the sun over the horizon
of a flat Earth, mid-battle with a space worm, and Gerard Butler fighting
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in glitzy Power
Ranger armour.
In at Number 3 is
Dirty Grandpa a film described by one
critic as “a film that you shouldn’t see while you’re still alive”, and
described by yours truly as having “levels of casual racism, homophobia and
chauvinism the likes of which make the cast of The Inbetweeners look like Tumblr-loving social justice warriors”. Zac
Efron looks embarrassed, everyone else just turned up for the cheque, but,
sadly, Robert De Niro looks like he’s genuinely having fun.
Number 2 sees
another entry from Gerard “I’m going to bellow every line like there’s a needle
of testosterone stuck in my arse” Butler: London
Has Fallen. This concrete-headed sequel to 2013’s action smash-hit is so
thuddingly inept in almost every conceivable area that its rampant xenophobia
is the least of its problems. It’s too thick to be offensive and too clumsy to
be entertaining.
And, at Number 1,
the worst film of 2016 so far is the old reliable from Garry Marshall; Mother’s
Day. This greetings card full of vomit takes place in a fantasy version of
Atlanta with no black people and no recognisable human emotions, either. I
spent every minute waiting for the racist grandma to stop shrieking, Julia
Roberts to stop smiling grotesquely, and for Timothy Olyphant to reprise his
role as Agent 47 in Hitman and put
everyone (including the audience) out of their misery.
