The Ephemeric

Welcome to another end of year retrospective on what will surely go down as one of the most unpredictable and astonishing seasons in Premier League history. Here at The Ephemeric we like to take this moment to take stock of the season gone by and bestow our carefully considered accolades.


A three-way horse-race between Manchester City, Chelsea, and surprise package Liverpool ended up going down to the last day of the season, but ultimately it was City who ended up with the top prize. It marks a successful first season in English football for manager Manuel Pellegrini with what is surprisingly only his first major honour as a manager in the European leagues. It's a victory that will no doubt hold special significance for Pellegrini having bested the man who ousted him from Real Madrid, and arguably enjoyed the fruits of Pellegrini's teambuilding, José Mourinho.

Meanwhile Brendan Rogers stunned the country by bringing Liverpool back from midtable obscurity to barely a whisker away from their first league title in two decades. The nature of the club's late slip up, having been in the driving seat with just weeks to go, will undoubtedly sting for a while. This is matched equally by third place Chelsea, who also threw away the chance to win the title having been top with just weeks remaining. It's a testament to how close this race ran that all three sides found themselves in control of the title at different times in the final weeks, a title race unlike any we have seen since the league's inception in 1992.

Further down the table it's been a remarkable season for both Everton and Southampton who wildly exceeded expectations. Roberto Martínez and Mauricio Pochettino have fast become two of the hottest properties in the football management business and it's exciting to wonder what will come next for the club; will they build on this success, or be torn to shreds by bigger, opportunistic clubs.

At the bottom it was heartbreak for Norwich, Fulham and Cardiff City, the last of which imploded in particularly spectacular fashion off the pitch, dooming their fortunes on the pitch. And on that note let's not forget the horror show of Manchester United, who's defence of the title will go down as the worst in Premier League history.

Now without further ado it is time to move on to the Ephemeric end of season awards, followed by our carefully selected Premier League team of the year.


The Ephemeric Premier League Awards 2014:

Winners: Manchester City - In a squeaker of a season, it was slow and steady which won the race despite not actually being top of the pile until right at the death. Manchester City were the most consistent team this season, and that's why they're champions.

Relegated: Norwich, Fulham, Cardiff - Perennial yo-yo club Norwich paid the price for personnel changes and poor transfer policy, ending a solid three seasons in the top flight. Fulham will join them, marking a disastrous debut for the club's new owner that sees the established club's 13 year spell in the Premier League come to an end. Meanwhile Cardiff took the honour of finishing rock bottom, due in no small part to the seemingly never-ending boardroom sideshow that threatens to ruin the club.

Player of the Year: Luis Suárez (Liverpool)- His antics make him easy to dislike, but there's simply no denying the quality of Luis Suárez, and this season has seen him emerge as truly one of the best players in the world. It's no longer a stretch to compare him with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Suárez's unbelievable goalscoring feats this season are comparable to the best of all time, and the fact that he accomplished this in the much more defensive Premier League compared to La Liga makes it in many ways even more impressive.

U-21 Player of the Year: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) - Pipped to the PFA's Young Player award on account of their bizarre criteria of considering 23 year olds like Eden Hazard to be "young", Sterling rightly picks up our far more sensible Ephemeric award. Sterling was absolutely electric for Liverpool this season, forming a key element in one of the Premier League's all time most dangerous attacks (their 101 goals scored this season came only 2 goals short of the current record set by Chelsea's magnificent attacking team circa 2010). Now a huge World Cup beckons for the youngster.

Best Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea) - The veteran Chelsea stopper has had a phenomenal season, winning yet another Golden Glove having collected the most clean sheets of any keeper this season. Much of this can be owed to his formidable teammates in defence, but let nothing take away from his reliability this season. Cech has shown himself to be once again among the very best goalkeepers in the world.

Manager of the Year: Roberto Martínez (Everton) - It was a season full of outstanding candidates for the top managerial prize: Manuel Pellegrini for winning the title in his first season, Brendan Rogers for transforming Liverpool from also-rans into a top side again, Mauricio Pochettino for his astonishing work at taking Southampton from a lower league team into one of the most exciting sides in the country in just two years, and Tony Pulis for dragging the seemingly relegation-bound Crystal Palace back into the upper midtable. But ultimately we have given the prize to Roberto Martínez who has turned Everton into a side of the very highest calibre, coming within just a whisker of Champions League football.

Top Scorer: Luis Suárez (Liverpool) (31) - What more can be said about the league's top scorer, he's been absolutely devastating, running riot against teams and scoring almost a goal every game with 31 in 33 league appearances.

Most Assists: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) (13) - An impressive comeback from a player who has looked a shadow of himself these past few seasons. Gerrard seems to have found a new lease of life under Brendan Rogers and has admirably driven his team's title charge this season until his cruel slip ultimately took the season out of their hands. That said, it is somewhat bemusing to read all this hype in the papers about how Rogers "reinvented" the marauding captain as a defensive midfielder, considering that this is the position Gerrard started in, played the better half of his career in, and quite frankly would have saved the England team a lot of stress had he continued in alongside Lampard, as he did during Euro 2004, arguably England's best tournament performance in decades. Sometimes the media gives one a headache, that's why you need non-bullshit analyses like this block, but we digress...

Overachievers: Southampton - Hugely impressive work has been done to turn Southampton into as good a side as they are, and it's to the club's credit that so much of it has come from developing young players and the club's academy. Even more impressive is how consistently good they are across the squad, from starting the season with one of the league's very best defences, including Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Artur Boruc and Luke Shaw to the exciting attacking talent of Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.

Underachievers: Manchester United - One of the worst, if not the worst, title defence since the Premier League's inception. Manchester United finished a poor 7th place, failing to qualify for any European competition for the first time in decades. It was always going to be a tough ask to follow in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson, probably the greatest manager of all time, but no one would have expected new man David Moyes to take the former champions so far downhill so quickly. Even if, as the club itself admits, Mourinho was not an option having already agreed a deal with Chelsea, surely there were other options available?

Best signing of the season: Nemanja Matić (Chelsea) - Many eyebrows were raised when Chelsea spent £20 million on a player they had given away only three years previous as a makeweight as part of the deal for David Luiz. No one is questioning the move now; Matić, who was developed within the Chelsea youth team before being shipped off to Benfica with only a handful of first team appearances, has shown himself to be an absolutely world class purchase, and arguably the finest player in the league in his deep lying midfield position. Skillful, hard tackling, full of stamina and a surprising turn of pace make Matić one of the most feared names on Chelsea's teamsheet these days.

Worst signing of the season: Mesut Özil (Arsenal) - While no one is questioning the talent of Mesut Özil, a return of just 9 assists and 5 goals is looking like a fairly meager outlay for someone who cost a record £45 million and has been placed right at the core of his team. True judgement will wait until next season, but Arsenal fans will desperately be wanting to see some return from their expenditure, lest this transfer becomes a Fernando Torres-esque debacle.


The Ephemeric Premier League Team of the Season 2014:


Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea) - It's hard to argue otherwise, the man at the heart of the league's best defence, who kept the most clean sheets. Petr Cech has had an excellent season and accordingly won our award for best goalkeeper.

Right Back: Seamus Coleman (Everton) - Everton has always been a defensively solid team throughout the Moyes era, and with Coleman's impressive 15 clean sheets this season, it looks like this will continue. But what has stood out from Martínez's new regime is the potent attacking drive from the back, led by two marauding fullbacks in Coleman and Baines. Coleman himself has an impressive 7 goals to his name, and has been a key element in Everton's resurgence.

Centrebacks: John Terry (Chelsea) & Gary Cahill (Chelsea) - There's no argument here, Chelsea have had the best defence in the league this season, and a large part of that is down to the partnership these two players have formed. Gary Cahill has established himself as one of the game's top centrebacks, full of the passion and bravery of a classic English centre half, but with an exceptional technical ability and positioning. Meanwhile John Terry is back to his best, without doubt ranking among the top three players in the Premier League this season. The imperiousness of this defensive pairing only raises further questions on the mismanaging of the England national team which has forced itself into a position where it is unable to make use of arguably one of the best defensive pairings in the world.

Left Back: Luke Shaw (Southampton) - A big debut season for the hotly tipped youngster, Luke Shaw has been electric down the flank for Southampton, as potent in attack as he is in defence. His Southampton defence was nearly impenetrable for the first half of the season, not bad for a teenager. A move to a bigger club surely beckons this summer.

Right Mid: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) – Our young player of the year and a key part of Liverpool's exceptional attacking trifecta this season. Sterling has started to hit his potential at a very high level, and if he can carry this form to the World Cup and Champions League next season there's no telling what heights he can reach.

Centre Mids: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) & Yaya Touré (Manchester City) - As we've said, something of a comeback from a player who has seemed well past his sell-by-date for quite some time, Gerrard has been on top form this season, leading his team's title challenge by example. Meanwhile Yaya Touré showed everyone why he's considered one of the world's best midfielders, superb all over the pitch in attack and defence, and arguably the champions' best player.

Left Mid: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – A good season of progress for the Chelsea talisman. Hazard is fast approaching the level of the very best players in the world, and this season has clearly established himself as the primary weapon for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Hazard is not just the best attacking talent on Chelsea, but the type of player who can singlehandedly turn a result for them, and frequently does in his own magical way. It has been an absolute joy to watch the young man's football this season as he takes a close runner up position for player of the season. If he continues to progress in this fashion it is only inevitable until we start to talk about Hazard as a potential World Player of the Year.

Forwards:  Luis Suárez (Liverpool) & Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool) – There is certainly no doubt that our key man up front will be Luis Suárez, top scorer and easily the most influential player this season. His partner will be Liverpool team mate Daniel Sturridge, who came runner up for the Golden Boot with another very impressive season. Some of us have been saying for years that Sturridge is among the best goalscorers in the league, and now that he is finally being given the prominent role he deserves he's gone ahead and proved it.


So there we have it, another season of Premier League football gone by. We'll see you again next week for our preview of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil!

Directed by Gareth Edwards
Written by Max Borenstein
Produced by Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ket Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Goddamn Godzilla, Elizabeth Olsen
Studio Legendary Pictures
Running time 123 minutes

Few franchises hold the cachet of Godzilla. From its cinematic beginning 50 years ago it has spread to just about every medium, from books to comics, videogames and children's TV shows, and Toho's original Japanese series now spans some 30 odd films. Godzilla is a worldwide phenomenon, the most famous of movie monsters, the bar against which all others in the genre are measured.

It's no surprise then that the Americans have repeatedly tried to reboot the franchise for themselves, but the last attempt, 1998's Godzilla, was a flop, a halfhearted attempt that clearly didn't understand Godzilla on the most basic level. Originally conceptualized in the wake of the atomic bombs in Japan as a manifestation of nature, the Earth's vengeance against an arrogant and destructive mankind, the American reboot re-imagined Godzilla as merely a giant animal, a big iguana with no greater purpose than to trample of Human cities. Godzilla in its element is essentially a God, a force of nature that man simply can't resist, the first American reboot missed that completely.

Cue 2014 and the newest American remake which thankfully pays a great deal more fidelity to the original Japsnese version. This version of Godzilla is huge, unstoppable, and tramples buildings with purpose, exactly as it should be. Americans finally have a Godzilla of which they can be proud. WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD.

But more importantly, this is a Godzilla movie that aspires to be even more. Produced by Legendary Pictures, the studio that made Chris Nolan's Batman, the presentation for this film has been that of a serious, highly ambitious work of fiction in the same vein as those movies.

To this end, Godzilla has a lot of credibility among its talent, which includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, and Ken Watanabe, all of whom are very capable actors with a track record of fine dramatic performances. But by far the most significant talent involved is the director, Gareth Edwards.

Gareth Edwards has just one prior film credit to his name, the low budget indie monster film Monsters. To be fair, it's a pretty excellent film, and evidently more than enough to convince Legendary Studios that Edwards can make the step up from a shoestring budget indie to a blockbuster with a $200 million budget. It's a decision that is at the same time, brave, surprising, and often downright inspired.

Edwards does a very capable job. Godzilla is mostly gorgeous to look at, and the final climactic scene in particular is absolutely stunning from a cinematographic perspective. It's no wonder that they chose to use the intense opening of this scene as the first trailer, it's by far the best part of the film. The rest never looks or feels quite as good as this final scene, but certainly won't have harmed the young director's reputation either.

In addition the pacing of the film is spot on, building very slowly until the climax, and only showing you just enough of the action to keep you wanting more. A masterclass in "less is more".

Godzilla's aspirations are also reflected in the screenplay, which wisely follows in the footsteps of the highest regarded of blockbusters by focusing on the human and character element of the story. In reality we see very little of Godzilla until the final scene, the vast majority of screentime is spent following the travails of regular people. Unfortunately, this great strength also turns out to be the film's greatest weakness.

Godzilla is undermined by very poorly written characters, with little depth and only superficial development. The entire first act of the film is focused on giving backstory to Bryan Cranston's character and giving the audience reason to care about him, and then SPOILER his role in the film ends after just 20 minutes. It makes absolutely zero sense to get rid of the one character you've actually bothered to develop right at the start of the film, and the result is that you are stuck with Taylor-Johnson's character, who is relatively one dimensional and has very little empathy built with the audience. Many have complained about Taylor-Johnson's wooden performance, but in reality the problem is simply that Cranston's character was more interesting, more developed, and should have been kept as the main character focus of the film. Moral of the story, if you're only going to give one character depth, make him the star of the damn movie. END SPOILER.

It's a shame to spoil what had all the building blocks for a really excellent movie with inexplicably misguided writing, but not surprising when you look at the track record of the screenwriter. Legendary went all out on hiring a top cast and very promising director, and then let slip on the writer. It's a real pity.

Fortunately this is not enough to ruin what is otherwise a hugely entertaining and well made movie. And boy is it ever fun. For any flaws Godzilla may have, the film still has a lot of soul, a great deal of drive and intrigue that compels viewers to keep watching. The wider story is well thought out and engrosses the audience, setting up a world that will serve the franchise nicely for future sequels, while the action sequences are excellent with some scenes showing impressively effective spectacle.

The bottom line is that Godzilla has a lot more going for it than against it. It never quite lives up to its promise or the potential that comes with the talent involved, but nevertheless makes for some of the most satisfying viewing in cinema this year. Godzilla is an excellent genre movie and should be top of your list when it comes to summer blockbusters.

Directed by Rupert Goold
Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (script), Duncan Sheik (music and lyrics)
Starring Matt Smith, Cassandra Compton, Susannah Fielding
Theatre Headlong company at the Almeida Theatre, coming soon to the West End and America



The Almeida Theatre's production of American Psycho: the Musical ended back in February, but with its impending move up to the big time west end scene, The Ephemeric has decided to revisit and belatedly review what looks set to be a very prominent fixture in London theatre towards the tail-end of this year.

But first some history. American Psycho: the Musical is an adaption of the controversial satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, which has also famously been adapted to film starring Christian Bale. It is the brainchild of producers David Johnson and Jesse Singer, conceived back in 2008 and ultimately funded in groundbreaking fashion via the crowdfunding medium of Kickstarter. Its protracted production cycle finally ended when London's famously bold Headlong theatre company decided to take it on, and after announcing the unlikely coup of international TV star Matt Smith of Dr. Who fame to star as Patrick Bateman, tickets quickly sold out at near record breaking pace.

Initial reaction to just the concept of this production has been one of puzzlement to some. The Ephemeric himself attended his showing with an individual confused as to how or why someone would adapt some kind of gruesome horror story into a musical.

But anyone familiar with the source material will tell you that a musical is the absolute perfect fit for this absurd satirical tale. At it's heart, American Psycho has never intended to be horror, or scary, it's a darkly comic satire, lampooning the ruthlessness and superficiality of the elite upper class, set against the backdrop of the Reaganite 1980s' notoriously decadent period of excess. American Psycho is about the heartless stereotype of capitalist society, where people are valued as nothing more than commodities, and everyone is so single-mindedly self-absorbed in their own wealth and prestige so as to be completely oblivious to even the most brazenly horrific of actions going on right under their nose. Patrick Bateman's methodical blood lust takes these ideas to the absurdest of extremes.

It's a story that is at its heart over-the-top, ridiculous, and funny. The musical version by necessity dials down the explicit gore of the movie adaption, and casts greater emphasis on the humour and absurdity of the material. Musicals are, but their very nature, over-the-top, exaggerated, and through Duncan Sheik's lineup of extremely catchy original songs, and some covers of 1980s classics, we cut straight to the core of American Psycho's message. Matt Smith with his vacant psychopath stare and surprisingly strong singing voice nails the starring role. Arguably it is the truest and most effective interpretation of American Psycho yet.

Following its success at the Almeida, there is little doubt that American Psycho will be a hit on the west end, with the intention being to move to Broadway shortly after. Anyone even vaguely in touch with the theatre scene would be unwise to miss out when it returns to the stage, to catch it in its early days. As for us, we await with great anticipation the release of the soundtrack.

Genre Indie Rock, Pop
Label Interscope/Cherrytree Records
Producers RAC



Once there was a loose affiliation of DJs and musicians referred to as the Remix Artist Collective, RAC. These days that name refers solely to the work of one man, André Anjos. RAC has since become one of the industry's pre-eminent remix artists, transforming over two hundred songs that vary from chart topping hits to more obscure singles into a final product that's almost always an improvement on the original, often in ways that surprise and delight. Such is RAC's prolificacy that the chances are you've heard some of their work, whether or not you realised.

One of our top previews in the 2014 Hot List, Strangers marks the debut LP in RAC's new foray into original music composition. It has been initially rolled out as two separate volumes, but the complete album can now be purchased as a single LP.

So what can one expect from a remix artist's original content? One might have expected something a bit clubby or heavily electronic that belies Anjos's DJ roots. It's a surprise then that Strangers strikes such a laid back tone, and in a variety of different styles. But while RAC displays an impressive musical range, from sparkling electropop to mellow indie rock and sun-tinged funk, there are common elements that run throughout.

Most tracks are infectiously danceable regardless of genre, and the production quality is smooth as silk. Each track flows effortlessly and strikes an expert balance of being in equal parts playful and soothing. Strangers is additionally boosted by contributions from a diverse array of A-list musical talent which includes Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, Tokyo Police Club, and Tegan and Sara among others.

It's another recurring element through the album to contrast music and lyrics. For example incredibly catchy lead single Let Go, featuring vocals from Kele and MNDR, is one of the album's clear standout tracks. The song's bouncy and carefree melody hooks into its listener fast, but belies at its heart a cautionary romantic tale.

Tegan and Sara's contribution follows a similar style as another example of catchy, and playful pop, resulting in another of the album's highlights with Hard to Hold. Sweet and sugar-toned, the track pulses with frustration beneath, also exhibiting some of RAC's instrumental range with punchy string and piano motifs.

Meanwhile Tourist, featuring the vocals of Tokyo Police Club, takes a completely different direction into somewhat more mellow sounding college rock. A much steadier and grounded melody differs starkly with some of the bubbly pop seen elsewhere, its silky vocals nevertheless provide a comforting contrast through the track's tale of relationship ennui. An extremely smooth and laid back track that crescendos slowly, it works extremely well.

Further good examples of the diversity on offer with this album come from the refreshingly funky Tear You Down featuring Alex Ebert, a track that combines an almost Bob Dylan folk style with RAC's smooth dance beat, while the sun-streaked All I Got, featuring Peter Moren, is another strong addition. Contrast these songs with the two-track combo that opens the second half of Strangers; the acoustic lull of Sixteen that leads into an almost Disney musical style of pop ballad with Seventeen, and it's clear that Anjos is growing into a songwriter of some depth and variety.

Meanwhile it's one of the album's most disparate points, 405 that stands out in particular as a highlight. Guest vocalist YACHT describes the track as an ode to driving along the west coast with its lush 80s tint and twilit melody.

Through it all a consistency in quality really stands out. The album is full of really lovely songs that are a joy to listen to, while there are very few sour notes, the album's second track Ello Ello being the most obvious culprit.

Strangers is a very strong debut album from RAC, and should form an essential part of your summer soundtrack this year.


Must Listen :
Let Go
Tourist
405
Hard to Hold

Hello and welcome back to the Hot List. So far we have previewed the essential new music, the essential new television, and the essential new movies in 2014. This week we will turn our attention to videogames, previewing for you our loyal readers the most exciting videogames set for release in 2014.



2013 was a big year for gaming with blockbuster releases like Grand Theft Auto V, but at the same time there has been an increasing trend away from massive studios and back into independent development. Kickstarter and Steam Early Access are now firmly established as viable ways for games developers to fund and develop an ambitious title without the backing (or meddling influence) of a big publisher, and this is a trend we expect to continue in 2014.

It was also the final year of the old generation of gaming, with the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Wii U now fully in the throes of battle for the next generation of home console gaming. Early signs suggest that Nintendo may suffer the consequences of a number of bad decisions with poor Wii U sales in recent months, but still they flourish in the handheld gaming market where their 3DS had a bumper year that has seen the company firmly retain their title as the king of handheld gaming consoles. That's not to disregard the smartphone gaming market which has developed massively in recent years to approach the level of complexity associated with dedicated gaming machines. Meanwhile the PC gaming market has seen something of a renaissance, driven in part by this new indie scene, and set to go mainstream with Steam's new push for "Steambox" home consoles.

2014 then has the potential to be very exciting indeed as these trends continue and the next generation of gaming continues to take shape. So behold, the top ten list of key videogames to keep an eye on in the coming year (trailers linked in the title where available), starting with number 10:


10. Titanfall (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC)

Without an established blockbuster franchise on which to ship Xbox One units, it's becoming clear that Microsoft's great hope in 2014 will rest with Titanfall.

This multiplayer only first person shooter, clearly aimed at the Call of Duty crowd, combines parkour-style on foot combat with giant mechs, as players compete across a war-torn planet between two very distinct sides.

A debut project from new developers Respawn Entertainment, Titanfall nevertheless has all the hallmarks of a new killer app in the making. Upon its reveal at E3 it won over 60 awards, and early hype is that this could do for Xbox One what Halo did for the original Xbox.

Release Date: March 2014


9. Alien Isolation (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

The venerable Alien movie franchise has always had an uneasy status in the videogame world. A few decent Alien vs Predator games aside, the series has never really lived up to its promise, and in particular the most recent effort Aliens: Colonial Marines has gone down as one of the all time biggest flops in videogame history.

Enter developer The Creative Assembly, who began life as a contractor for EA producing sports games, but has more recently seen success as the architect of the Total War series of games. They believe that the problem with Alien games is that they have typically owed more in inspiration to the action-oriented Alien movie sequels than the original horror masterpiece.

Alien Isolation seeks to rectify this with a totally new, horror-focused approach to design. No longer will you play a hulking marine with a machine gun mowing down hundreds of aliens, now you play a single unarmed scientist simply trying to survive and hide. It's a novel approach, and it could be brilliant. Much will depend on the quality of the AI of the alien, which will have to be considerably more sophisticated than what we have seen in previous games in order to create the appropriate level of unpredictability and terror. Meanwhile fans of the series will feel giddy at the love that's being put into replicating the original classic movie here, with a retro art-style taken straight out of the 1970s and a high level of detail into making game environments feel authentic.

Can this ambitious title live up to the hype? We will have to wait until the winter to find out.

Release Date: Winter 2014


8. DayZ (PC)


It's a somewhat remarkable story how DayZ came to be, starting life as an amateur mod for realistic military simulator ArmA2. The game has since on to become something very significant in its own right, and will see release as a standalone title in 2014.

The concept behind Bohemia Interactive's game is simple, take a realistic military simulator, turn it into a massively multiplayer world and fill it with zombies. Players can explore, scavenge for supplies, and do pretty much anything they want in order to survive. DayZ features a massive  225 km² land mass complete with countryside, towns, and lots of zombies. Everything else is left completely open to the players.

This results in uniquely emergent gameplay that is governed less by its programmed mechanics than by the psychology of real people. Players can team up to survive together or kill each other in order to steal invaluable supplies, making trust a central mechanic of the gameplay. AI opponents can be predicted or manipulated, but people are inherently unpredictable. It's this aspect of human nature that makes DayZ such a compelling project, even as the interface and programming continues to look rough around the edges.

The game is currently in alpha on PC, with no firm release date. The buzz suggests it will be in a complete state sometime late 2014.

Release Date: TBA 2014


7. X (tentative title) (Wii U)

X is an RPG in the classic mold: big open world for exploration, epic world-saving plot, and a heavy focus on characters. Very little else is known about the game other than it is a spiritual successor of sorts to Monolith's highly rated, but hard to find Xeno series, and everything else just comes from the very impressive trailer.

A release date is not know, except that it is mooted for some time in 2014. Could this be the shot in the arm the Wii U needs?

Release Date: TBA 2014


6. Super Smash Bros (tentative title) (Wii U, 3DS)


The newest entry in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros series is coming in 2014. It may not have a title yet, but it's coming, and it will see release on both Wii U and 3DS, with some as yet undetailed inter-connectivity between the two versions.

Nintendo's mascot beat-em-up is a gaming classic, featuring some of the most important characters in videogame history, addictive gameplay, and bucket-loads of references for nostalgic gamers. We don't expect this golden formula to change much and why should it? From Mario to Sonic to Link to Donkey Kong, all the essentials will be here, along with many others.

When it will be released is anyone's guess, but Wii U owners desperate for a taste of Nintendo's celebrated IPs will be hoping it's soon.

Release Date: TBA 2014


5. Broken Age (PC, Mac OS X)

Broken Age, the new project from legendary games designer Tim Schafer's new studio Double Fine Productions, is seen as a landmark game for many reasons.

As one of the first major Kickstarter projects, Broken Age showed that crowdfunding is a viable way to make a videogame. Additionally, the resurrection of the long forgotten point-and-click adventure genre shows that there is still the demand for such titles at a time when few publishers would ever consider such a project. That Broken Age managed to raise millions of dollars from the general public for something few games publishers would take a risk on raises serious questions about the industry.

Whatever way you look at it, Double Fine appear to have produced a fairly exceptional videogame, with a unique and gorgeous art-style, retro gameplay and classic story telling. The first chapter is out now on PC and Mac OS X, with the conclusion due by the end of the year

Release Date: Out Now (Act 1), TBA 2014 (Act 2)


4. Kerbal Space Program (PC, Mac OS X)

Another massive indie hit from a game that studios wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole (seeing a pattern yet?). Kerbal Space Program is not only one of the most unique games in years, but one of the most addictive.

It started out more as a tech demo than an actual game from developers Squad; players design spacecraft and attempt to fly them. But we're not talking about Star Trek here, these are spaceships modeled after quasi-realistic NASA style components, roughly comparable in technology and aesthetic to what we have today. Layered over this is a remarkably accurate model of interplanetary physics; you won't just point your rocket and fire engines, you have to take into account gravity, orbit, exit and entry, proapsis and apoapsis.

For non rocket scientist gamers it may seem a bit daunting at first, but the complex nature of the game, married with the cartoony and lovable artistic style and beguiling sense of scale make for one of the most rewarding experiences in gaming today. You'll cheer as you achieve stable orbit for the first time, marvel as you complete your first moon landing, and then feel giddy as you experiment with space stations, land rovers and many other possibilities.

That we have sunk so many hours into a game that's not even really a game yet, but rather a giant sandbox illustrates just how remarkable this project is. Currently at version 0.23 of alpha, the final game should be ready to play on PC and Mac OS X by the end of 2014.

Release Date: TBA 2014


3. Star Citizen (PC)

The mother of all crowdfunding success stories, Star Citizen has so far rasied over $40 million, and that amount is growing steadily every day. What makes this all the more remarkable is that people are throwing their money at Cloud Imperium Games despite the fact that barely anything in-game has been shown so far.

So why all the excitement and hype? Star Citizen is the brainchild of Chris Roberts, a game design legend from the early days of PC gaming most famous for his space-based combat simulations such as Wing Commander and Freelancer. Star Citizen is Roberts' big comeback to gaming following years in Hollywood with a number of producer credits to his name.

Unapologetically PC exclusive, Star Citizen's mission statement is simple: to be the ultimate space epic, the game that Roberts has always wanted to make. It takes Roberts' trademark quality combat simulation gaming, adds detailed economy and trading elements, and throws it all into one massively multiplayer online persistent universe. A massive online universe populated with thousands of players, in which players can essentially do what they want: they can trade or start a business, they can be a combat pilot, they can become a diplomat, or they can engage in a bit of in-game sports (racing for example).

The sheer variety of gameplay being thrown into this game is matched by the vast efforts that are going into creating a believable, fully fleshed out universe. The official website now is chock-full of literature and back-story for the world they are creating, and even if reading into all that depth is not your kind of thing, that kind of love and detail makes a game world truly engaging, even for the most casual of players. It's this kind of effort that turns a good game into a great game.

Can an independent developer really deliver on such high ambition? That much remains to be seen, but with the talent involved, and the massive funds they are raising, far eclipsing other crowdfunded titles, things are certainly looking promising. Such is the scale of the game that it is intended to be rolled out in a modular fashion, beginning in late 2014.

Release Date: TBA 2014


2. Destiny (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3)

Bungie are one of the most prestigious developers in gaming, despite only being known for a single games franchise. But when that franchise is a worldwide phenomenon like Halo, it goes a long way. With Microsoft milking that series for all its worth, Bungie were never going to stick around and let their considerable talent stagnate. Destiny is the first major project following their declaration of independence from all things Halo.

So what exactly is Destiny? Destiny is a story driven open world first person shooter with RPG elements, set in a post-apocalyptic world where Human civilization, having dominated the Solar System, suddenly collapses due to a mysterious catastrophic event. Society has withdrawn into a single isolated city on Earth. Players control one of the "guardians" of this last city, charged with protecting the remnants of Humanity and exploring the wasteland of former civilization to uncover the various mysteries.

What makes Destiny stand out is the integration of multiplayer elements. While Destiny is by no means an MMORPG, players' solo characters are very much the center of the story and will take the full focus, other players will be able to drop in and out of each others' games at specified points, encountering one another along the journey. Quite how this unique aspect will be used to impact the singleplayer narrative has yet to be revealed. In the long run Destiny has been confirmed to take a Mass Effect style approach of allowing gamers to carry on the story, importing old characters through a series of games, with players' decisions persisting throughout.

Everything about this game is ambitious, from the mysterious narrative to the quasi-multiplayer gaming, and the persistent character customization. If the gameplay lives up to its promise then we could be looking at the most epic new videogame series since Mass Effect.

Release Date: September 9th 2014


1. Starbound (PC, Mac OS X)

Every game on this list is ambitious to some degree, some look revolutionary in their scope. Starbound might just be the most ambitious game of them all, in spite of its unassuming appearance. Another entry on the list of crowdfunded indie games, Starbound is the debut title of Chucklefish Games, and the team has not been shy about taking on a very complex first project indeed.

It's easiest to describe what Starbound is by reference to other games. Most people will at least have heard of Minecraft, an open world sandbox which enables players to mine blocks of a multitude of materials and use those blocks to build just about anything they can imagine. A few years later came Terraria, which took essentially the same block building mechanic, fleshed it out a bit and presented in a retro two dimensional style.

Starbound takes Terraria's design even further. The game features a procedurally generated universe with a practically infinite number of planets, each of which is the size of Terraria's entire world. Each planet has its own environment and it's own procedurally generated plant and animal life, making each one completely unique. Players explore these planets, mine for materials, and can build whatever they want, but this time they can also hop in their spaceship and travel to any other planet they choose. In addition, Starbound adds a lot more structure and story to the game than either Terraria or Minecraft had. There's a quest system, and a fully crafted backstory to everything, and every planet is full of secrets to discover and NPC characters to meet.

The scale of universe that this design creates is simply unparalleled in gaming, and allows players to play in pretty much any manner they choose. A player can assemble a team (either singleplayer with NPCs or multiplayer) and explore the universe hopping from planet to planet, or build huge houses, military bases, farms, shops, cities, theme parks, anything they can imagine (and the creativity seen in the work the community has produced so far during the alpha testing is remarkable), the possibilities are literally limited only by the player's imagination. This is something no game has ever really achieved, and if Starbound manages to pull it of, the result will be something very memorable indeed.

What makes Starbound stand out even beyond it's ambition is the development team, engaging directly with the community and constantly implementing new features and content based on their feedback. It's quite incredible to see how much direct input the players have had into this game's production thus far, and the commitment of the development team to facilitate such back and forth is very admirable. Hopefully this is a sign of a new era where developers have the resources to produce high end games, and still engage with the users in a very personal way throughout the development process.

Starbound is available in it's very basic alpha state on PC, but the full version is expected by the end of this year.

Release Date: TBA 2014



So there you have it folks: the 2014 Hot List, running a little bit behind schedule thanks to work but finally complete. Here's to a great 2014, and the Hot List will see you again next year!

Head Chef Nuno Mendes
Style American Fusion
Address 1 Chiltern Street, London, W1U 7PA
Telephone +44 (0)20 7073 7676



For anyone reading up on the restaurant scene in London, the past few weeks will have seemed a constant bombardment of hype regarding The Chiltern Firehouse. From the Telegraph and the Guardian to Timeout and the Londonist, you can't look anywhere without seeing it mentioned. The aptly named restaurant is quite possibly the hottest thing in town right now.

There are two main reasons to justify the existence of such hype before anyone has even tried the food: André Balazs, and Nuno Mendes. The former is the noted American hotelier with a penchant for the glamorous and surreal, while the latter is one of the hottest up and coming chefs in world cuisine, who earned two Michelin stars on his first attempt with former restaurant Viajante.

For Balazs, The Chiltern Firehouse represents his first hotel opened outside the United States, the culmination of a drawn out process which almost saw him purchase a site on Saville Row some seven years ago. While the hotel itself has yet to open one can already appreciate the quality and level of detail that has been put into its design. While the Victorian-gothic converted firehouse and gleaming brass kitchen fittings lend an authentically industrial feel to the room, its predominately wood fixtures and lavish furnishing create a suitably warm and rustic feel. The calmly lit room is instantly comfortable in its retro surroundings.

So while Balazs brings his trademark impeccable style to the decor and atmosphere, Nuno brings his to the kitchen. In many ways the style of the Chiltern Firehouse is a drastic departure from Viajante, no set menus, relatively affordable prices (£50 per head vs £150), and a heavily American-influenced menu. But what people adored most about Viajante was the creativity and playfulness of Nuno, each meal treated almost as a carnival of food, and that same flair is apparent throughout the Chiltern Firehouse's menu, creating an array of dishes that are truly unique, and completely unlike anything you will find elsewhere.

The place to be seated is at the counter surrounding the kitchen, taking a page from the "workshop" concept of Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier. Here one can see every action within the buzzing kitchen, offering a truly fascinating look at the care that goes into crafting something artistic from simple ingredients. Sitting here also means you're going to be seeing a lot of Nuno himself, who likes to greet guests and discuss his work openly. A brief chat will be enough to demonstrate just how passionate he is about food, and how seriously he takes the restaurant business.

Through such discussion we learned that the departure from set menus was a very deliberate decision to avoid comparisons with Viajante, and hence the decidedly more reasonable price tag. That £50 per head price we quoted earlier will get you one bar snack (£1-5 each), one starter (£7-12), one main course (£17-30), one side dish and one dessert, a very reasonable return from any central London restaurant, let alone such a prominent one in a trendy hotel with the hottest chef in town. Equally it is entirely possible to get a simple starter/main combo for as little as £25-30, not especially expensive at all by London standards.

As for the food itself (the menu is still being tweaked as we understand), everything comes with a distinctly American twist. The bar snacks menu includes dishes such as crab doughnuts, fried chicken with bacon and maple infused ranch dip, and cornbread fingers. The starters include various types of crudo and squab with grains, chicory and redcurrants, while the main courses include maple-glazed salmon, monkfish cooked over pine with puff barley and fennel, and The "Firehouse" Caesar salad. Meanwhile as a side dish you can find maple-bourbon sweet potato.

The Ephemeric's duo of researchers ordered between them the following:

Aside from an overabundance of beetroot it's hard to find a single misstep in the menu. That all dishes are beautiful to look at is a given, but it's the bold flavours and playful combinations that make them memorable. The crab doughnuts are inspired, the squab is served shockingly pink and succulent to the taste while the mixed grains provide the perfect contrast. The scallop is beautifully served in the shell, and the Iberico pork. an homage to one of Viajante's signature dishes, comes close to achieving the same greatness of its inspiration. But particular note has to be made of the maple-bourbon sweet potato side dish, which was so divine that even days later the taste is stuck in The Ephemeric's head.

With the Chiltern Firehouse Nuno has gone to great lengths to create a distinct experience from his previous restaurant, but without doubt anyone who loved Viajante will find themselves equally enamoured here. The same atmosphere of fun and celebration permeates the setting, while the more casual style ensures comfort; the entire experience is a joy from start to finish, and for barely an above average London price it simply can't be beat. The menu is diverse and of a high enough quality that The Ephemeric is already eagerly anticipating our next visit. The Chiltern Firehouse may be the hype restaurant of the moment, but all signs point towards a new permanent fixture in London, one that will be around for years to come.

Today we take a quick break from our Hot List of 2014 series to bring you a last minute preview regarding the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend.



This Sunday, Hollywood's famous Dolby Theatre will once again play host to the biggest day on the cinema calendar, the Oscars. People all over the world will tune in for that most tragically popular of pastimes, celebrity watching, followed by four hours of forced laughs and real tears.

The host follows in the footsteps of 2013's very daring choice of Seth Macfarlane with the really quite unadventurous and unexciting Ellen DeGeneres. An especially ironic choice considering her name is plastered all over the internet across leaked copies of this year's films.

As always, I give you my loyal readers some predictions for the big night. You may not have seen the big films this year, or be familiar with the latest hype tearing through tinseltown; if so consider the following a crib sheet for what lies ahead this weekend, and perhaps even a sneak peek at who might just be walking away with the big prize.



Best Picture

Nominations:

• American Hustle
• Captain Phillips
• Dallas Buyers Club
• Gravity
• Her
• Nebraska
• Philomena
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Wolf of Wall Street

Who Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
A strong and diverse field this year which has seen three different favourites at varying stages following the various preceding awards this year. 12 Years a Slave can count among its accolades the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, while American Hustle took the New York Film Critics award, and Gravity took the Directors' Guild Award, which has typically been a strong predictor. Still 12 Years a Slave has got to be the odds on favourite here, from the fact that it has won the greatest number of best film awards this year, to the fact that it is so unanimously praised by critics, to the fact that it may as well have "Oscar Bait" stamped across the poster, 12 Years a Slave is a shoo-in to win this year.

Who Should Win: Gravity
As great a film as 12 Years a Slave is, it's not necessarily the most widely loved. The reason for this is simply that it does exactly what one expects. It's a gritty, disturbing film about slavery. It's not the first film on the subject and it won't be the last. And while it's very well made and excellently acted it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, and it's highly predictable progression means that the ultimate emotional impact is inevitably going to be lacking. Gravity, more than any other film on this list challenges expectations, showing that science fiction can be significant art in a way arguably not seen since Kubrick's 2001. While the main draw is clearly the innovative film making, the underrated performances and hugely impressive script (it would have to be to make one woman alone in a completely featureless scene so compelling for two hours) come together to make this simply in our view the greatest combination of all merits in film making for 2013.


Best Director

Nominations:

• David O. Russell – American Hustle 
• Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity 
• Alexander Payne – Nebraska 
• Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave 
• Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Who Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
This is set to be one of those rare, but increasingly common years where the best picture and best director awards diverge. Cuarón has taken all the major directing awards, including the highly coveted Director's Guild of America award for best direction, which often predicts best picture, simply by merit of the fact that it virtually flawlessly predicts best director.

Who Should Win: Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
No arguments here, Cuarón's direction was simply breathtaking. From the cinematography to the stunning Earth vistas, to the unbelievable camera shots (the film opens with a 15 minute single shot scene, set in convincing zero gravity no less!), the incredible attention to detail, and the most powerful emotional payoff at the end of any film this year, Cuarón has long been an underrated director, but this year will see him cement his position as one of the best in the world, and he will win this Oscar.


Best Actor

Nominations:

• Christian Bale – American Hustle as Irving Rosenfeld 
• Bruce Dern – Nebraska as Woody Grant 
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street as Jordan Belfort 
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave as Solomon Northup 
• Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodroof

Who Will Win: Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodroof
A few years ago no one in their right mind would have predicted Matthew McConaughey to win an Oscar, but such has been his career resurrection in recent years that he is now near certain to pick up the ultimate prize in acting this year. Up until recently Chiwetel Ejiofor was considered heavy favourite for his turn as abused slave Solomon Northup, but following a string of key award wins and a whole lot of buzz, McConaughey's AIDS victim Ron Woodroof is now dead on favourite to win. Abused minority or AIDS victim, it's a battle of the Oscar clichés this year!

Who Should Win: Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodroof
Again, no arguments, McConaughey's performance is excellent, throwing everything he has at the role and evidently nearly destroying his body to embody Woodroof. Ejiofor's performance is good too, but nothing mind-blowing and at times even a little overwrought.


Best Actress

Nominations:

• Amy Adams – American Hustle as Sydney Prosser 
• Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine as Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis 
• Sandra Bullock – Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone 
• Judi Dench – Philomena as Philomena Lee 
• Meryl Streep – August: Osage County as Violet Weston

Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine as Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis 
The hype on Blanchett's performance has been near constant since last summer when Blue Jasmine first started limited screenings. After all the Academy loves her, she's in a very topical role as a humbled rich person, and yes, she's very good. She has also picked up the vast majority of awards in the run up to these Oscars, making her a very strong certainty to win.

Who Should Win: Sandra Bullock – Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone 
But at the same time, there's nothing great about Blanchett's performance. She does what is required with a character who is deceptively thin really, with very little actual transformation. She starts the film as a miserable cretin and ends in the same way, except a little crazier. In this humble observer's opinion the stand out performance by far this year has been Sandra Bullock. Eyebrows were raised when she won her first Oscar for Blind Side, but no one can question her acting ability after her performance in Gravity. She pulls off the near impossible feat of carrying an entire film, almost on her own for the entirety, very often with the camera right up in her face shining a spotlight on even the tiniest detail of her performance. But most of all, unlike Blanchett's character, there is real progression and transformation in Bullock's Dr. Ryan, and you can feel it through every facet of the performance. Bullock's performance checks every box you could ask for, and then some, and she deserves to win the Oscar, even if she won't.


Best Supporting Actor

Nominations:

• Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips as Abduwali Muse 
• Bradley Cooper – American Hustle as Agent Richard "Richie" DiMaso 
• Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave as Edwin Epps 
• Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street as Donnie Azoff 
• Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon

Who Will Win: Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon
Another category with a heavy favourite. The Academy loves an underdog, and a former pop star turned actor is certainly that when given such a meaty role. It also helps that a tragic AIDS infected transgendered individual is just textbook Oscar material. Jared Leto has picked up all the big awards so far, and looks very likely to add to it with an Oscar. There remains a slight outside shot at Barkhad Abdi causing an upset, after all his is an even more remarkable story of a limo driver turned actor on his debut, and a strong performance to boot, but Leto seems by far the most likely going into this weekend.

Who Should Win: Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon
Another agreement, his performance is daring, transformative, and remarkable in a very difficult role.


Best Supporting Actress

Nominations:

• Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine as Ginger 
• Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle as Rosalyn Rosenfeld 
• Lupita Nyong'o – 12 Years a Slave as Patsey 
• Julia Roberts – August: Osage County as Barbara Weston-Fordham 
• June Squibb – Nebraska as Kate Grant

Who Will Win: Lupita Nyong'o – 12 Years a Slave as Patsey 
It's been a relatively weak field this year, which has made this one of the harder categories to predict all season. However the consensus appears to be building right now around newcomer Lupita Nyong'o for her performance in 12 Years a Slave. The Academy often likes to throw a spanner in the works with an unknown youngster, particularly for roles in such high drama, butt the lack of real standout among the nominees makes Lupita a genuine contender, and The Ephemeric's current favourite.

Who Should Win: Lupita Nyong'o – 12 Years a Slave as Patsey 
Another agreement, but don't worry it's the last one! Nyong'o's performance is very powerful for a newcomer in a very challenging role.


Best Original Screenplay

Nominations:

• American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell 
• Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen 
• Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack 
• Her – Spike Jonze 
• Nebraska – Bob Nelson

Who Will Win: American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell 
Of the major categories this is a tough one to call. Throughout the awards season American Hustle has been the heavy favourite, due in part to all the hype that has surrounded the film (you often see hype films pick up the smaller awards by default, even if they haven't really done anything to earn it, eg. see Hurt Locker, Kings Speech), but following a lot of last minute buzz generated mostly by word of mouth and a few screenwriting awards, Her has now emerged as a genuine contender. Is it going to win? It's tough to say. American Hustle still has the lions share of the awards so far, and quite crucially has a much larger campaign budget. In addition such has been the hype regarding American Hustle that it is hard to see it going home completely empty handed, and without this award it looks like it very well might.

Who Should Win: Her – Spike Jonze 
But there's a reason why Her has suddenly started generating buzz in spite of a complete lack of insider backing or big money campaign budgets; it really is a very good film. Her is visionary in many ways, and much of that is owed to it's excellently understated script, taking a plot that many would otherwise find quite inaccessible as science fiction, and turning it into something that's not only believable, but makes it seem inevitable. Certainly the smartest script of the bunch and a truly worthy winner if the Academy decides to award based on merit.


Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominations:

• Before Midnight – Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke 
• Captain Phillips – Billy Ray 
• Philomena – Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope 
• 12 Years a Slave – John Ridley 
• The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter

Who Will Win: 12 Years a Slave – John Ridley 
One of the few awards that 12 Years a Slave is almost certain to win. This is one of those moments where the Academy votes with their conscience, and even if the dialogue was not always the sharpest, there's very little chance of them not honoring the adaption of Solomon Northup's heartrending memoirs.

Who Should Win: The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter
The Wolf of Wall Street looks to have a very real chance of being completely shut out, and the buzz has it that this is down to the controversy of a film that seemingly glorifies the amoral debauchery of Jordan Belfort and his colleagues. That's clearly not at all what the film does, but we are not brave enough to predict that the Academy voters will be smart (or brave) enough to realize. The Wolf of Wall Street is razor sharp, deeply insightful into the mindset and flaws of a character such as Belfort, and genuinely funny. It's one of the better screenplays in a long while that it can keep audiences so entertained for a good three hours.


Best Original Score

Nominations:

• The Book Thief – John Williams
• Gravity – Steven Price 
• Her – Arcade Fire
• Philomena – Alexandre Desplat 
• Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman

Who Will Win: Gravity – Steven Price 
Remember what I said about hype films picking up the small awards? Well this is one case where the film will deserve it, Steven Price's score is magnificent, one of the best in years, and with several awards already under its belt, looks a dead cert to win on Sunday.

Who Should Win: Her – Arcade Fire
But sorry, despite how good Price's score is, it's not the best score of the year. That belongs to Arcade Fire's mesmerizing score for Her, a big part of what makes that film so special is the atmosphere and aesthetic, and the score plays into it. Add to that the fact that it's simply brilliant. An honorable mention goes to M83's score for Oblivion which absolutely should have been nominated and maybe even won; it's majestic and makes an otherwise mediocre film worth watching.


Best Original Song

Nominations:

• "Happy" from Despicable Me 2 – Pharrell Williams 
• "Let It Go" from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
• "The Moon Song" from Her – Karen Orzolek and Spike Jonze
• "Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – U2

Who Will Win: "Let It Go" from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
It's rare to see an animated film with so much hype, and lets face it, Frozen is good but it's no Beauty and the Beast or Lion King. But still Frozen will win best animated picture, and with it will probably take best song. After all the Academy loves it's Disney musical numbers.

Who Should Win: "The Moon Song" from Her – Karen Orzolek and Spike Jonze
But the deserving winner is another Oscar for Her. One of the more enchanting and touching songs to pass through the Academy in recent years, but probably loses points for being too understated, the Academy likes its pomp and melodrama. Much like the score, Her also drafted top notch musical talent for this song, in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' lead singer Karen Orzolek, and it shows.

Hello and welcome back to the Hot List. So far we have previewed the essential new music, and the essential new television in 2014. This week we will turn our attention to the cinema, previewing for you our loyal readers the most exciting movies set to hit the big screen in 2014 from March onwards, after this year's Oscars.



Last year was very memorable for cinema with great variety in both subject matter and depth of quality. A cursory look at this year's Academy Award nominations shows everything from artistic sci-fi to historic epics and quirky indies, all of which deserve merit. At the same time it was a relatively disappointing year for the major blockbuster, in particular the hugely anticipated Superman reboot Man of Steel which was a major flop.

2014 has the potential to be another exciting year. A great line up of movies awaits, featuring some of the most talented story-weavers in the business and some excellent up and coming stars.

So behold, the top ten list of key films to keep an eye on in the coming year (trailers linked in the title where available), starting with number 10:


10. The Imitation Game

First up we have The Imitation Game. Generally considered one of the more promising scripts that has been floating around Hollywood these past years, the film recently topped the "Black List" of unproduced movies in 2011.

The Imitation Game tells the story of famed British cryptographer Alan Turing who was a key figure in cracking the Nazi Engima code during World War II, only to be shamefully prosecuted later on for his sexuality. The wonderful Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Turing, and direction is handled by Morten Tyldum, a relative unknown whose films from Norway have nevertheless gathered plenty of international acclaim. In addition the project was recently acquired by the Weinstein Company, a studio with a top record for picking award winners.

It's a movie with great potential, so why has it taken so long to make? Well even in this day and age no studio in America will take on a film featuring homosexuality, and it's fallen to the Brits to handle it. Originally mooted for a late summer release, talk now suggests it may be pushed back until the fall or winter, suggesting at least an aspiration for award nominations.

Release Date: Fall 2014


9. Wish I Was Here

Following his breakout success as star of the TV show Scrubs, Zach Braff was briefly Hollywood's hottest prospect: a Woody Allen styled writer/director/star all in one, whose debut project Garden State garnered critical acclaim. The following decade has seen his star cool somewhat, with Braff bemoaning the state of the industry and difficulty in balancing artistic integrity with the demands of those all powerful studios. His solution to these problems might just be the most significant development in Hollywood for a generation.

Wish I Was Here sidesteps the pitfalls of Hollywood studios by seeking crowdfunding on Kickstarter, effectively funding through the passion and wallets of the everyday public, but leaving creative control with Braff alone. It's the first time such a thing has ever been attempted with a mainstream film, and having raised several million dollars, a new precedent for indie filmmaking may have been set.

This surprise crowdfunding success has allowed Braff to make the film he wants to make; handpicked staff and production crew from the cinematographer to the casting director and composers, and a bumper cast featuring the likes of Mandy Patinkin, Kate Hudson, Josh Gad (fresh from Broadway success with The Book of Mormon), Jim Parsons (he of many Emmy awards), and Donald Faison (Braff's partner in crime on Scrubs).

What remains to be seen is just how well this grand experiment actually works. Reaction from Sundance has generally been positive, enough to be picked up by Focus Features for distribution. The rest of us won't get to see it until September of this year, when advanced screenings begin.

Release Date: September 2014


8. A Million Ways to Die in the West

Lightening things up a bit we have A Million Ways to Die in the West, the newest film from Family Guy and Ted creator/star Seth MacFarlane.

This outing continues MacFarlane's transition from TV to Hollywood, and for the first time will see MacFarlane himself star with a live action performance, as opposed to simply voicing a character. This will be a true test of MacFarlane's star power.

It helps that he has assembled such a talented cast to line up alongside him with Oscar winner Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, and Giovanni Ribisi all household names.

Universal are looking at an early summer release, just in time for people getting out of school. At the very least it should hopefully be worth a few laughs, at best it could be as funny as Family Guy used to be. It could easily suck though.

Release Date: May 30th 2014


7. Unbroken

Now we're onto some real heavy hitters. Unbroken is the newest film written by the many award winning Coen Brothers, and the directing debut of Angelina Jolie.

Based on the novel by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken tells the war time drama of athlete Louis Zamperini who survived a plane crash and spent years as a prisoner of war. It's a strong, critic-friendly premise for Jolie's first shot at the director's chair, and stars unknowns Jack O'Connell, Garrett Hedlund, and Domhnall Gleeson. The staff also tantalizingly includes long time Coen Brothers cinematographer Roger Deakins, ensuring that if nothing else this film is going to look amazing.

It's also very awards-friendly sounding, boosted by the fact that the film is penned in for release during the prime time of Christmas day 2014. Universal have picked up the rights and seem to be pushing this one pretty hard.

Release Date: December 25th 2014


6. Transcendence

Transcendence on the surface looks like your average bit of science fiction. The story concerns AI, technological singularity, and all manner of other topics that are largely inaccessible to your average audience. The trailers as well have hardly set the world alight in terms of originality. What makes it especially worthy of note is its debut director.

Director Wally Pfister is the long-time cinematographer of the great Chris Nolan, who is attached as producer. Their collaborations have given us some truly stunning films from the more intimate indie style of Memento to the grand blockbusters that Nolan has since moved into with Inception (for which Pfister won an Oscar) and the Batman trilogy. Now Pfister is branching out as a director in his own right, and the speculation is that if he can capture half the magic that he has in Nolan's films, we could be in for something very special.

To help him along the way he has highly impressive cast that features Johnny Depp in the starring role, along with Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, and long time Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy.

There is a great deal of talent and hype on this project, and Pfister's directorial career bears a lot of promise. The only question remains is Transcendence really the right project? The marketing so far looks disappointingly generic, but we are holding out judgement for now.

Release Date: April 18th 2014


5. Knight of Cups

It may be hard to believe from a director who famously took a twenty year break from the business, but Terrence Malick has a whopping four films scheduled for release in 2014 (but probably a few slipping to 2015), three of which he is directing.

The most exciting of these is Knight of Cups, a drama about celebrity excess. The cast is heavily star-studded, including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Natalie Portman.

This is Malick we're talking about so don't expect a laugh riot, expect depth, vulnerability, and absolutely gorgeous imagery, the last of which courtesy of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki who formerly teamed up with Malick on The Tree of Life, and is himself likely to pick up an Oscar shortly for his work on Gravity.

Originally suggested to be slipping back to 2015, editor Billy Weber now says it will be with us this year, and it won't be as dialogue-free and experimental as some of Malick's recent films. Taking a stab at more mainstream success maybe? Interesting.

Release Date: TBA 2014


4. Inherent Vice

A darkly comic detective novel, Inherent Vice tells the story of a pothead detective investigating the disappearance of his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend set against the backdrop of the Manson Family murders.

This film is set to make history as the first novel by acclaimed author Thomas Pynchon ever to be adapted into a feature film, and at the helm will be the inimitable Paul Thomas Anderson, whose CV would make any director envious, including the likes of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will be Blood, and The Master. All brilliant movies. To top things off the film will be scored by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood.

Anderson will be joined by a fantastic looking featuring his The Master collaborator Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, and Benicio del Toro. It's a top notch ensemble with numerous Oscar nominations and wins between them, aside from the excellent Phoenix who is something of a persona non grata with the Academy following past altercations, but if he keeps turning in performances of such quality the Academy will have to take notice eventually. The same goes for Anderson, could this finally be his year at the top prize?

Originally slated for 2013 release, Anderson is known for taking his time in post production, and this is no exception. Expect a release towards the tail-end of the year though.

Release Date: TBA 2014


3. Big Eyes

After many years seemingly in a self-designed Hollywood wilderness, director Tim Burton could be making a comeback to serious movies with his newest project Big Eyes, a biographical film about artist Walter Keane, who secretly took credit for paintings done by his wife Margaret in the 1950s and 1960s.

It has the backing of the Weinstein Company, who more often than not picks a winner, and stars the glorious award winning machines Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. The final cherry on top? Burton is teaming up again to write the script with screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, a trio last seen in the classic Ed Wood biopic some twenty years ago.

This is an exceptionally exciting film due to be released in the latter half of the year. The talent involved at every aspect makes this potentially one to watch come awards season.

Release Date: August 2014


2. Godzilla

It certainly won't trouble the Academy in 2015, unless they invent a new award for 'best trailer' anyway, but the newest American remake of Godzilla still looks absolutely fantastic.

When most people think of Godzilla they just picture a large lizard trashing some buildings, and this was reflected in the awful 1998 American remake. But the original Japanese version had a lot more to it than just this. The original Godzilla was not just some random monster to be blown up, it was mankind's retribution, a punishment (and metaphor) specifically for the horrors of atomic war that mankind had brought upon themselves. Godzilla is less a monster and more a force of nature. This point was completely missed in the 1998 remake, but this new version seems to get it.

The cast is also refreshingly nuanced, starring the supremely talented youngster Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the consistently excellent Ken Watanabe, and the criminally underutilized Bryan Cranston, who after Breaking Bad finally looks set to make a full leap into Hollywood.

But the most exciting name on the call sheet is director Gareth Edwards, a man with only one prior credit on his CV. His acclaimed 2010 indie gem Monsters, while not well known, stands as a mesmerising example that science fiction doesn't require gratuitous action or horror elements, but can be highly intelligent, focus on real people and deep relationships. Monsters was made on a shoestring budget, and yet for these reasons it still stands out as one of the most realistic and believable works of science fiction ever created. This was a hugely impressive feat for a first time director, and it is very exciting to think about what Edwards can do with a full studio budget and a great IP.

Legendary Pictures deserve great kudos for entrusting such a massive franchise with a relatively unknown director, and employing actors with real dramatic gravitas rather than simply pumping out another cheesy monster movie. 2014's Godzilla will finally see a return to the spirit and tone of the Japanese original, and it shows in the stunning trailer. Let us also not forget that it was Legendary who rebooted Batman with Chris Nolan and turned it into a far more impressive work than anyone ever thought possible, all signs point to them repeating the feat with the grand daddy of movie monsters.

Release Date: May 16th 2014


1. Interstellar

And now for the number 1 most highly anticipated film of 2014, Interstellar.

It's a symptom of our time that we have become more inwardly focused as a society, lost our sense of excitement at the world around us. This generation has no moon landing, and science fiction moved away from movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, full of wonder in the unknown, towards movies focused on monsters and explosions. Chris Nolan wants us to be excited by the unknown once again, and with Interstellar marks a return to this optimistic and idealistic style of science fiction, a movie about pure exploration.

It's the most ambitious film yet in Nolan's glittering career that to date includes both intimate and heart-rending indies like Memento and big budget super-blockbusters like Inception and the Dark Knight Trilogy.

He will be collaborating once again with screenwriter brother Jonathan Nolan, composer Hans Zimmer, and production company Legendary Pictures, while the absurdly stocked ensemble cast includes the likes of Matthew McConaughey, whose remarkable career resurrection has seen him hit a hot streak of critically acclaimed hit after hit, which now looks likely to culminate in an Oscar win in March. He is joined by Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, John Lithgow, and Casey Affleck, possibly one of the best collections of actors ever assembled with a frankly embarrassing number of Oscar wins and nominations between them.

This is one of those rare films where every single detail looks perfect, the talent behind the camera and on it, the production company and crew, and the general premise all point towards a moment of purest movie magic. You should be very excited indeed.

Release Date: November 7th 2014



So there you have it folks: 2014 in movies. Tune in next week to find out what's new and exciting in the world of Videogames this year!