Tammy (2014)
I do love Melissa McCarthy, so despite the mediocre reviews I had to give this a go. I did enjoy the film, there were some brilliantly funny moments but mostly it was a sweet, feel good drama. It did seem at times like McCarthy wasn't sure whether to stick to her tradmark obnoxious character style or play it genuine and human. It's a shame she didn't have the confidence to go with that more genuine side, as I think the film would have worked so much better. Overall though I still liked it.
The Babadook (2014)
On the flip side I decided to try this after reading so many glowing reviews. I must admit I still don't get what the fuss is about, it was a fairly typical possession themed horror to me. It was a real slow burner, which relied on suspense rather than anything too scary. Personally I found the build up kind of fizzled out and although it got a lot of praise for the personal side of the story I find the whole struggling single mother with troubled kid theme a little tired.
Under The Skin (2014)
Scarlett Johansson is an alien who drives round Scotland in a transit van seducing and killing men. The she starts to witness and experience human life, good and bad, and begins to question her own existence. This is definitely quite a strange film, but it has a certain beauty as well, particularly the visually stunning shots of the snowy woodland. It's quite a slow film that doesn't force feed the plot, rather gives you something to think about and stays with you long after you've seen it.
