The Films I Liked In 2014...

Please indulge me with my cinematic highlights of 2014 (as always in no particular order):

1) Locke - who would have thought that a film set almost entirely on a car journey with conversations held entirely over the phone, would be so tense and so good, but 'Locke' is just that.

2) Under The Skin - that title is so apt as the film 'does what it says on the tin': eerie, creepy and moving with a cracking score and a brilliant turn by Adam Pearson. 'Under The Skin' is all these things and more.

3) We Are The Best - a 'coming of age' film for the teen punk in all of us. Who knew 80s Swedish punk songs were so cool?

4) Frank - this is the second musical film in my list. 'Frank' was weird but very moving and who doesn't like Frank's 'Most Likeable Song Ever'?

5) Begin Again - another musical based film in my list. Whilst not quite as good as 'Once' it still made me leave the cinema with a smile and I like Keira Knightley's singing voice.

6) Boyhood - the experiment that worked. As a Linklater fan I was probably pre-disposed to liking this but it exceeded my expectations. Funny, moving and reflective. Just remember "Life doesn't give you bumpers."

7) Two Days, One Night - a wonderful film about the local effect of globalization. Marion Cotillard might never have been better. Plus the film taught me that Petula Clark did an awesome cover of 'Needles And Pins' in French.

8) The Babadook - a cracking psychological chiller about loss and grief with standout performances by Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman. Don't think I will be purchasing the book though.

9) Northern Soul - another film that gave me the 'warm and fuzzies'. I'm so glad Elaine Constantine was able to bring her vision to the screen.

10) God Help The Girl - yet another musical movie and another one to give me those 'warm and fuzzies'. Plus I can't stop humming songs from this quirky delight.

11) Ida - I know I'm not alone in praising this movie but it's totally deserved. Really hoping it gets nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars.

12) Paddington - a late entry but one that totally charmed me and definitely ranks high on the 'warm and fuzzy' scale (and I don't mean Paddington's awesome CGI fur).

Honorable mentions to 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' (paranoia, seedy governments and Robert Redford!), 'Nightcrawler' (has Gyllenhaal been better?), 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' (a worthy entry to the series) and 'The LEGO Movie' (everything about it is indeed awesome).

Generation Extra-Wide Gap

I never really thought about generation gaps when I was younger. I knew that there were people older than me, who had different experiences, but it didn't seem to matter. I guess this was because at school, university and when I started working the people I most associated with were of a similar age to me. Many of the people who joined the company I work for at the same time as me moved on but I stayed (what can I say, I am a creature of habit) and the faces in the office started to look younger and younger. Then someone from my place of work told me that they were born in 1990 and (after picking my jaw up from the floor) I started wondering if this bothered me.

The more I thought about it the more I realised that there were people who didn't have the same cultural touchstones as me: growing-up with the teen movies of John Hughes, the fall of the Berlin Wall, 'Danger Mouse'. Furthermore I would make a reference from the 80s or early 90s and, due to being faced with a blank expression, after explaining said reference the response would be along the lines of "Yeah, I wasn't born then."

I should have taken the hint that a reference to Ollie North and the 'Iran-Contra Hearings' was perhaps a little too specific.

This isn't to say that I can't have conversations with Millennials: as a self-diagnosed 'pop culture junkie' I like to think I have my finger on the pulse (although I have only just learnt that Iggy Azalea isn't a new species of plant), but our cultural touchstones are different and this affects the way we see things. I thought this might mean I couldn't be good friends with someone of a different generation.

However I am now seeing someone who was not only born in the mid-80s but grew-up in South Africa, so her touchstones are even more out of whack with my own, but so far this doesn't seem to matter. Oh and we watched 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' recently and she really enjoyed it.

The Films I Liked In 2013...

Since everybody else is doing it, why can't I (with apologies to 'The Cranberries')? So here, in no particular order, are my top ten films of 2013.

1) Safety Not Guaranteed - yes it may have opened on Boxing Day 2012, but I didn't get to see it until February and it was the first film of  the year to leave me with a smile on my face.

2) Zero Dark Thirty - it may have been controversial, but the spectacular raid on Osama's compound and Jessica Chastain's fascinating central performance added-up for me to a great watch.

3) The Place Beyond The Pines - any film that (SPOILER) does away with Ryan Gosling part way into it is brave in my book and, after that, this study of 'the sins of the father are visited on the sons' tale was still a great watch.

4) Before Midnight - I have grown-up with and loved the story of Jesse and Celine and when I heard that a third movie was on the cards I could not wait to see it. Whilst this one is sadder than the previous two, it was still a wonderful watch. I just can't decide if I want another one in nine years time.

5) The Way Way Back - another film that gave me the 'warm and fuzzies' and left me with a huge smile on my face. This was my film of the summer.

6) Iron Man 3 - I was disappointed by 'Iron Man 2', but with Shane Black at the helm this movie put the fun back into superhero movies. Plus it has one(?) of the best gags ever about Croydon.

7) Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - Alan Partidge on the big screen thankfully worked a treat, plus I will never think of Roachford in quite the same way again.

8) Wadjda - a very simple story about a girl in Saudi Arabia wanting a bike adds up to a fascinating look at women and their rights in that country.

9) Enough Said - Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini were simply wonderful in this small movie. Nicole Holofcener has done it again.

10) All Is Lost - whilst 'Gravity' was a cracking thrill ride of a movie with some spectacular effects (and I really enjoyed it at the time) I was more emotionally involved by this story of Robert Redford as a lone sailor lost at sea. The lack of dialogue just added to the experience.

Honorable mentions should go to 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' (bring-on 'Mockingjay'), 'The Kings Of Summer', 'Sunshine On Leith', 'Frances Ha', 'Much A Do About Nothing' and 'Robot And Frank'.