April 2014: Best Release

Game of Thrones' season première scoops up the title of last month's Best Release!
April appears to have been the Prometheus of 2014- despite all of the odds being in its favour, with a promising line-up of major entertainment releases scheduled to launch at retailers and cinemas and the like over the course of the month, the vast majority of those products fell short of their potential, leaving a somewhat bitter taste in the mouth as a result. Even HBO's Game of Thrones lost something of its swagger after the première of the opening episode of Season Four- but my, was that initial instalment a gem.

In spite of the marked failures of the likes of LEGO The Hobbit and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that surrounded it, "Two Swords" managed to overcome virtually any obstacles facing it in terms of recapping the events that had brought Season Three to its nerve-testing conclusion and introducing new series regulars such as Oberyn Martell in the process. Indeed, Pedro Pascal's performance as the latter soon-to-be monarch proved to be one of the highlights of the episode (and believe us when we say that the actor had a lot of competition in that regard), instantly establishing the character as a dangerous force to be reckoned with, and one who will surely play a pivotal role in King's Landing in days to come. Throw in staggeringly accomplished direction from producer D.B. Weiss and a masterfully structured screenplay from Weiss and David Benioff, and the gap between Thrones and the film industry's current output is most certainly closing at a rapid rate. Now, about that much-discussed spin-off movie...

2014 BEST RELEASE AWARDS- THE STORY SO FAR
JANUARY 2014- 12 YEARS A SLAVE
FEBRUARY 2014- THE LEGO MOVIE
MARCH 2014- CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
APRIL 2014- GAME OF THRONES: TWO SWORDS