FILM: '71 (dir: Yann Demange, 2014)

"You're just a piece of meat to them.  Piece of meat."

This is clearly Jack O'Connell's year as here he gives a second excellent lead performance following Starred Up.   As befitting the subject matter (the early 70s troubles in Northern Ireland), this a brutal and unflinching film that is very challenging to watch.  The constant sense of menace is palpable, created by a raft of top-notch performances, some harrowing moments that are powerful, unexpected and shocking, and on-the-fly and immediate camerawork that is presented in uncomfortably drab underlit 70s documentary style.  The balance between the personal and emotional dramas and the political positionings of both the British and Irish elements are played out with reasonable intelligence to service the thriller plot, the film is paced perfectly, and the emotional heft of O'Connell's young soldier abandoned in 'enemy' territory makes '71 utterly compelling and affecting.

FILM: The Maze Runner (dir: Wes Ball, 2014)

 "...but not a lot going on upstairs..."

Thankfully sidestepping the soppy romantic elements of its competitors, The Maze Runner is the latest YA novel adaptation/budding franchise that is essentially The Lord Of The Flies with yet another totally improbable USP in its titular maze.  The material is extremely thin, but the cast is very earnest (with standouts a natural Thomas Brodie-Sangster and wholly committed lead Dylan O'Brien), the tone is surprisingly and satisfyingly grim for a 12A certificate film that is quite happy to kill off seemingly central characters, and the director creates a handful of well-mounted action sequences.  For a low/mid-budget film, the scale and polish is mostly very effective, even if the monstrous Grievers seem like Starship Troopers knock-offs.  There is a somewhat perfunctory and unconvincing explanation for the whole thing at the end that mostly serves to set up the inevitable sequel, but in spite of its flaws, this is one of the less bloated and more watchable entries in the YA field of recent times.

FILM: Life After Beth (dir: Jeff Baena, 2014)

"Crazy things happen."

Life After Beth is not quite up there with Shaun Of The Dead or Zombieland, but it comes close.  Writer/director Baena gives the film a lo-fi/indie vibe from the outset which helps to ground the film immensely in the opening stages, aided by an admirably straight and sincere performance from Dane DeHaan as the grieving boyfriend whose girlfriend makes a surprise and initially seemingly-normal reappearance.  The supporting cast is absolutely terrific to watch, especially John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon as Beth's parents.  The standout, however, is Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza, who handles Beth's steady and remarkable transformation as the film progresses with tremendous bravado and conviction.  With little concern for explaining the returning dead and a slightly scattershot approach to narrative, the film instead focuses on the sweet but strong central romance, giving Life After Beth genuine heart and an appealing sense of daftness that is very enjoyable.

FILM: Gone Girl (dir: David Fincher, 2014)

"That's marriage."

All the elements of the recent Fincher formula - precise direction, top-notch actors, an absorbing story, a superb soundscape by Reznor and Ross - are present and correct which go towards making Gone Girl another absolute winner.  That is not to belittle the director's incredible skill, as his intelligence and care are evident from the first frames to the very last, and Gone Girl is an immensely impressive achievement.  Affleck gives a terrific and credible portrayal of the husband, if just occasionally underplaying, and Pike gives remarkably detailed and controlled character work as the wife, both of them providing and responding to the regular small but powerful narrative grenades that drive the story with aplomb.  Also of note are very strong supporting performances from Carrie Coon as Affleck's twin sister and Kim Dickens as the lead detective on the disappearance case.  The story is nothing new, nor are the comments on the media, manipulation and gender politics, but the film is a consistently engrossing puzzle - complete with moments of real shock and gloriously dark humour - that both entertains and engages the brain over its long runtime.

FILM: What We Did On Our Holiday (dirs: Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, 2014)

"I like being sick.  It's like being a fountain."

At the start, What We Did... feels very much like the creators' TV hit Outnumbered, with its beleaguered parents and wittily knowing children, with a successfully gentle comedic vibe.  Once the major plot device is employed (which is shamelessly signposted by a incredibly blatant use of Chekhov's Gun in the first minute of the film), the film then spins off into significantly darker, more bizarre and even occasionally near-offensive territory, adding a surprising bite to the second half.  Tennant and Pike are effortlessly watchable as the battling parents, Billy Connolly charms as the grandfather (with some surprisingly touching moments with his eldest granddaughter), and Amelia Bullmore has a standout comedic meltdown episode in a shop, captured in full glory on YouTube (the pumpkin moment is a comedy classic).  The ending falls back into more expected and positive feelgood territory, but the film has enough interesting ideas to make it just about stand out in the domestic comedy field.

FILM: The Equalizer (dir: Antoine Fuqua, 2014)

"If you play with the rain, you have to deal with the mud."

This re-teaming of Fuqua and Washington is undoubtedly well-made, gorgeously lensed (all dawn/dusk and neon-washed nights) and is superbly edited.  However, for an action film, it is extraordinarily ponderous, with an extremely simple story stretched achingly over more than two hours.  Denzel Washington gives a stoic and wonderfully-controlled central performance, and Chloe Moretz does well with little screen time to bookend the story.  The brief bursts of action are well-staged and effective, but the overall crawling pace makes the film worthy and great-looking but a little unengaging.

FILM: Pride (dir Matthew Warchus, 2014)

 "Dai!  Your gays have arrived!"

Pride certainly follows in the tradition of great British comedy-dramas such as The Full Monty, Brassed Off and even Billy Elliot, but it takes a typical mix of culture clash, political background and bittersweet human situations into unusually heartfelt and entertaining territory.  Taking the true story of gay activists supporting the striking miners in the mid-80s and then putting each group into each other's territories provides the expected (at times predictable)dramatic and comedic elements, but the writing and performances here elevate the material considerably.  After a somewhat strident and tub-thumping tone in the opening scenes, once the human story threads take over - and Pride is remarkably rich in this respect - the film settles into something both heartwarming and consistently engaging.  At times, some of the harsher issues are inevitably glossed over in the need for creating an entertainment package, but both the older cast - notably Imelda Staunton (barnstorming) Bill Nighy (immensely dignified), Paddy Considine (sincere) - and the younger cast - Joe Gilgun (genuine), George MacKay (immensely sympathetic) - give the film huge warmth and credibility.