Gone too far (2014)

With themes of identity and finding your place in the world, Gone too Far is a hilarious window into the young ethnic diversity of London.

When his brother arrives from Nigeria it threatens to upset Yemi's comfortable existence. Events force him to assess his heritage and struggle with local bullies and the girl of his dreams in the midst of racial prejudice between Africans, Jamaicans and second generation residents of Peckham.

Very witty with sharp dialogue and very very funny.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Dawn of Justice?  Still in the dark if you ask me.  There was one good scene, about halfway through I guess; but otherwise there is too much plotting, and when we finally get to the final showdown, it’s all wham, bang, bash, explosion!  A a rather run-of-the-mill affair with little to recommend it.  Still the creative genius behind the Dark Knight trilogy (Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer) can’t help this turgid series.

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Paddington (2014)

I’ve not heard of director Paul King before, but what he’s done with Paddington is craft a clever, witty and heart-warming film.  With a plot which contains a couple of stories from the first of Michael Bond’s book about the bear from Darkest Peru, the main theme is that of wanting to belong and finding one’s place in the world as Paddington comes to London to find somewhere to live.

A hugely enjoyable film; the cast are all super, there are brilliant bears and there are some wonderful bits of film making.  Great stuff.

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The Hateful Eight (2015)

Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film (not just setting the historical context, it actually announces it at the beginning of the film) continues his love for the Western. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, in a similar way to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly; but rather than depicting the dynamic between three main characters, The Hateful Eight tries it with, well, eight. Not as successfully IMO.

A further link with Sergio Leone’s masterpiece is the Ennio Morricone score, which incidentally also links it with The Thing (1982). That’s not all; let’s face it OB’s character is essentially MacReady (Kurt Russell’s character in The Thing) complete with corks hanging from his hat and snow glare sunglasses. Morricone score is generally excellent, but occasionally strays into odd Hammer Horror territory, particularly in the very first shot.

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The Revenant (2015)

Wow, just wow! Following on from the critical success of Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu presents us with another Oscar-baiting film. I have never seen Birdman, but if the Revenant is anything to go by then the 2014 film must have been tremendous too.

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