57. Blue Valentine

Ouch! This is one those films that's almost too real in it's depiction of a relationship breakdown. If you've ever been involved in one those arguments that goes round and round in circles without any resolution (and enjoyed it) then you'll love this film!

Gosling and Williams do excellent impressions of normal looking people - especially Gosling and his 'present day Dean' hair line which makes him almost unrecognisable.

Overall it's an enjoyable tale of sadness and heartbreak set in an all to real place for a Sunday evenings viewing.

56. Cemetery Junction

 

Cemetery Junction is the best film John Hughes didn't make. It's also the most 'ungervais' movie Ricky Gervais will make. By that I mean it lacks acerbic, nasty and sometimes hilariously cruel humour he can dish out for a more positive and sunny outlook on the proceedings.

This is to his and the films credit as it is a beautifully entertaining comedy that is both very, very funny, nicely observed and all warm and fluffy with it.

55. Moonrise Kingdom

Upon seeing the trailer for Moonrise Kingdom I thought 'standard Wes Anderson', which is great, although not unexpected.

What you actually get it is the best children's movie of the year (of 2012) that isn't really made for them, which doesn't really matter as none of them will see it. I can imagine some of the excellent young cast (Jared Gilman & Kara Hayward are particularly spectacular) of the film actually watching this thinking 'what the hell is this all about?'

Its a wonderful tale of youthful discovery with a bit of the great escape thrown in for good measure. I loved every minute of it.

54. From Russia With Love

From Russia with Love is the first Bond movie to really establish 'the formula' of the many Bond films to follow and is a full on Bond caper from start to finish!

The pre-credits sequence, the introduction of Q, a proper theme tune and for the first time featuring some spectacular action sequences. A classic henchman turn from Robert Shaw and this really has whetted, my already considerably moist, appetite for the rest of the Bond 50 box set.

Onward!

53. Dr. No

After being lucky enough to receive the Bond 50 set on Blu-ray for Christmas I thought the least I could do was to work my way through them all. So here goes...

What needs to be said about Dr. No? Well it's the start of the greatest movie franchise ever and its as slick and engaging as many contemporary spy yarns. The one thing that really stands out is the Blu-ray print. This looks like a movie made today and set in the 60's - the image is crystal clear and the colour range is gorgeous.

The same however, cannot be said for the sound mix. The score sounds screeching high compared to everything else; although this may be optimised for surround set ups, which is something I don't currently own. Maybe I'll ask for that next Christmas...

52. End Of Watch

End of Watch is great. Not amazing or the 'greatest cop movie ever made' but a good, serviceable jaunt into the day to day wise cracking and shootouts of the LAPD.

The two leads are great and it does everything a David Ayer film usually does. Namely promises a lot but then descends into a big shootout at the end. Actually, that is a little harsh. As I have said - it's great - it just feels like it could and should have so much more...

51. Down Terrace

After seeing the amazing Kill List from the same director I was keen to catch Down Terrace. Ben Wheatley's first feature certainly has many of the same assets that made Kill List one my films of 2011. Generally this is involves bickering suburbanite families, organised-crime-based violence and some of the darkest humour ever committed to film.

Down Terrace is a look at what can happen if paranoia grips small time junkies and they start a bit of 'Let's murder everyone we think may know sometihng about anything'. It's eye watering funny at times and is punctuated by some very hard, straight forward violence. Which is nice.

Recommended.