Best and Worst of February 2015

February has been a pretty good month, and also quite a bad one. But it is definitely acting as a continuation of my prediction that 2015 is going to be a hell of a year. We’re on the fringes of blockbuster territory and the last few stragglers of Oscar season are making their way into British cinema, so overall I’d say this is a better month than January, but better individual films from the previous month. Here’s the best.

3: Selma

A poignant biopic that not only captures the decisive moment in the life of Martin Luther King, it adopts an unyielding view of a country on the brink of social upheaval. David Oyelowo gives a terrific performance as Dr King that resonates with all as we watch a man who is desperate for change, but also reluctant out of fear of failure. Not only that but the script and stellar supporting cast, with a few directorial bonuses from Ava DuVernay. I can see why everyone got so angry when Selma was snubbed.

2: Kingsman: The Secret Service

Admittedly Matthew Vaughn’s latest escapade is not as dramatically powerful as Selma. But you need only watch one scene from that film (hint; it takes place in a church) to understand why it is brilliant in so many respects. It’s a love letter to spy films that could come out of the year as the best of the genre (not easy when you have Spooks, Spectre and Mission Impossible 5 to come). It makes an action star of Colin Firth, introduces Samuel L Jackson as a wonderfully likable villain, great new star Taron Edgerton and of course there’ Michael Caine. It’s Bond with a shot of heroin.

1: Inherent Vice

I’m not going to pretend that I can’t understand why anyone would dislike Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon, if you’re obsessed with understanding every aspect of the movies you watch then you will probably drive yourself mad trying to connect the various plot details. But just let go of that and admire the substance of this film you will discover a hilarious but also haunting tale that’s as crazy as the drugs that its central characters are on. Like all of Anderson’s films it is a unique cinematic experience unlike anything else out there.

And no the worst…

Mortdecai

If you needed any proof that Johnny Depp was in need of a career U-turn then here it is. This caper comedy is almost abysmal in every way, this time last year we had another caper comedy in the form of the Grand Budapest Hotel and that was a profound and wonderfully whimsical piece of filmmaking. I’m now talking about Wes Anderson’s film because I literally want to watch anything other than Mortdecai. Now I can’t stop thinking about it, save me Wes Anderson, where’s my collection of your movies.

So what’s your favourite film that you’ve seen this month, what’s you least favourite. Leave a comment below to let me know and stick around for March.