In this end-of-year assessment, please note that I do this for my own pleasure, and while I can see a substantial number of movies for free as part of my job, I don't get paid for my time watching movies, so I do it on my own time, and those I can't see for free, I pay on my own dime. I see more movies than the average person, but maybe not as much as a professional critic, so I've included a list of the 2014 movies that I've seen as of this writing, those that I can comment on.
2014 MOVIES I'VE SEEN SO FAR (FILMS IN CONSIDERATION)
OBVIOUS CHILD
BOYHOOD
THE LEGO MOVIE
THE MONUMENTS MEN
MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN
300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
NEIGHBORS
NOAH
MUPPETS MOST WANTED
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
DIVERGENT
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
GODZILLA
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
EDGE OF TOMORROW
MALEFICENT
22 JUMP STREET
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
HERCULES
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
THE BOXTROLLS
THE MAZE RUNNER
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
GONE GIRL
THE BOOK OF LIFE
FURY
INTERSTELLAR
BIG HERO 6
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1
PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
INTO THE WOODS
EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
ANNIE
BIG EYES
THE INTERVIEW
UNDER THE SKIN
SNOWPIERCER
THE BEST MOVIES OF 2014
1. THE LEGO MOVIE (ANIMATED/COMEDY) Directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Featuring the Voices of: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Nick Offerman
Rated PG for mild action and rude humor.
100 minutes
By all manner of reasoning, THE LEGO MOVIE should not have worked- at best, it might have been a surprisingly amusing toy commercial- but in the most unlikely of results, a movie 'based' on a brand of interlocking building bricks turned out to be one of the best movies of the year, and undoubtedly the best major studio film of 2014. Overwhelmingly witty, subversive and disarmingly thoughtful, THE LEGO MOVIE is perfect in what it sets out to do, and it set out to do much more than any reasonable person would have thought it should have. Consistently hilarious and visually splendid, it solidifies the writing/directing team of Phil Lord & Christopher Miller as a couple of the most talented filmmakers in the business today, with the ability to take on projects like an adaptation of a minimally-plotted children's picture book, a film reboot of a comically outdated 1980s police drama about cops undercover as high school students, and now, in their best movie to date, make something great. THE LEGO MOVIE is a commercial masterpiece with something to offer to everyone; heart, humor, smarts and thrills.
2. BOYHOOD (DRAMA) Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater, Marco Perella, Brad Hawkins, Zoe Graham
Rated R for language including sexual references, and for teen alcohol and drug use.
165 minutes
Much has been said about the universally-acclaimed BOYHOOD, Richard Linklater's low-key coming-of-age drama and an epic of intimate moments, most notably about its unprecedented 12-year-long that followed a continuous cast of characters from 2002 to 2014. Centered on Mason (Ellar Coltrane, who was six when filming started), who grows into adulthood with his older sister Samantha (played by Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei), raised by their divorced mother (Patricia Arquette) and father (Ethan Hawke), who both grow as people themselves. It's an incredible experience to witness what 12 years does to people and the world we live in, all in the course of 2 hours and 45 minutes, and Linklater utilizes this opportunity to its full potential, telling a real human story, the epic of small lives composed of small moments, and how we're formed by our experiences. While his filmography is comprised of many widely varied films, from the raucous, family-friendly anarchy of SCHOOL OF ROCK to the existential experimentation of WAKING LIFE, the better part of Linklater's films are defined by an understanding of time, ever-passing, never waiting, and the people it makes of us, exemplified by DAZED AND CONFUSED and the Before trilogy (BEFORE MIDNIGHT being one of my favorite films of 2013), and now BOYHOOD. To predict as of now, BOYHOOD is the likely candidate to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
3. NOAH (FANTASY/ADVENTURE-DRAMA) Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins, Leo McHugh Carroll, Madison Davenport
Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief suggestive content.
138 minutes
I can't deny that NOAH has its shortcomings, but what it does right, it does so right, and I love it for what it is. It's a fresh and incredibly bold return to the bible epic, taking the story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis, frankly one of the less cinematic of the well-known Old Testament stories, and made into a gorgeous apocalyptic fantasy epic about redemption. Stark and terrifying, while also beautiful and moving, the movie was overshadowed by a relatively lame controversy over "biblical accuracy", despite actually being a very adept cinematic treatment of the story, one that uses Noah (played excellently by Russell Crowe) to represent the violent mood swings of the vengeful Old Testament God, and the awesome realizing of the nephilim (aka "rock giants"). It's a bible story for our times, one that rewards repeat viewings and sparks discussion.
Honorable Mention:
HER (ROMANCE/SCI-FI) Directed by Spike Jonze
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson (voice), Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, Matt Letscher, Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, Portia Doubleday
Rated R for language, sexual content and brief graphic nudity.
126 minutes
HER, while technically a 2013 film, premiering at the New York Film Festival in October 2013 and then opening in a six-theater limited release in December, the film did not open nationwide until January 2014, is included here as an honorable mention, because I would have definitely included it last year had I'd seen it in time for my end-of-year post. Written and directed by Spike Jonze, who had previously directed similarly mind-bending high-concept comedies written by Charlie Kaufman, HER is a movie so unlikely that it can only be amazing. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Ted, a warm-hearted but lonely writer going through a divorce from his childhood sweetheart, when he purchases a state-of-the-art computer operating system (set in the near-future, where people's lives are so heavily digitized, all their computer, phones and such devices are managed by a personal central network) with artificial intelligence that names herself Samantha (voiced wonderfully by Scarlett Johansson). Slowly, Ted's lonely life if filled up by Samantha, who he finds himself falling in love with. Yes, he falls in love with his computer (spoiler alert: yes, they have sex), but while it's quirky, it isn't quite silly, and is actually very moving and understanding. You have to see it to get it, but it's the perfect date movie.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
GODZILLA (ACTION-THRILLER/SCI-FI) Directed by Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Carson Bolde, Juliette Binoche, CJ Adams
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence.
123 minutes
It's not that the 2014 reboot/remake GODZILLA is a bad movie, because it's not; it's okay, but it promised to be so much more. There were a lot of complaints about the misleading advertising, but it turned out that DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES wasn't an all-out battle for global supremacy between horse-mounted apes with machine guns and humans, but it was still excellent, so what the heck, GODZILLA? Godzilla himself, or rather, Gojira, is an awe-inspiring creation of visual effects, with some of the digital acting advised on by mo-cap maestro Andy Serkis, but there isn't enough of the eponymous kaiju, while there's way too much of the mind-numbingly bland human characters. Godzilla die-hards argue that the humans are supposed to be like that and have been most Godzilla movies, but that's just an argument against all those other movies, not a defense for this one. There were some amazing moments, such as the atomic fire-breath and the introduction of the M.U.T.O., but they're too few and far in between. There were bold decisions made, but almost all of them miss, and in the end it was a hollow spectacle.
WORST MOVIE I ACTUALLY SAW
 |
| Even the poster doesn't suck as bad as the movie. |
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Tohoru Masamune, Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, Danny Woodburn
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.
I don't get paid to do this. I do it because I like to, so unless I think there's some inkling of a chance that I'll get something worthwhile out of a movie, I'll probably skip out on it. It's too easy for me to get worked up over a bad movie anyway. I literally get headaches if I have enough dislike for the movie I'm watching. That probably isn't healthy, and I need to work on that, but it's the way it is. So this is probably not the absolute worst movie of the year; people who saw more movies than me have suggested the likes of I, FRANKENSTEIN, NEED FOR SPEED, TRANSCENDENCE, LABOR DAY, LEFT BEHIND, THE OTHER WOMAN and WINTER'S TALE (although that last one sounds a lot like a "so-bad-it's-good" movie to me, which I'll always prefer over a "so-bad-it's-bad" movie). There were some close runners-up, such as TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION, a terrible movie to be sure, but after having been beaten into submission by its terrible predecessors (I'm borderline 'okay' with the first one, but the other two were atrocious), I couldn't afford to expend any fresh disdain for something I was pretty much expecting, and Brett Ratner's HERCULES was a douche-bag movie, but at least it had Ian McShane. But TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES...
I'm not a fan of the Ninja Turtles, and I can find almost nothing to like about the old movies (I guess you had to be there when it was popular), but I was kind of hoping to enjoy this one. Sure, they're "Ninja Turtles", so it was never going to be great (although, THE LEGO MOVIE makes a compelling case that you shouldn't blame the material), but giant mutant turtles fighting with katanas and bowstaffs against souped-up samurais has a raw appeal for me. So how can it go wrong? Oh, so very many ways.
Michael Bay has received an unfair share of the blame, not necessarily because he had anything good to offer, but because what makes TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES so terrible is not characteristic of Bay's work. It is, however, characteristic of director Jonathan Leibesman's work. It's a movie that is woefully unintelligent, ugly, frenetic and lazily written. Granted, that's not out of Bay's wheelhouse, but this movie is also boorishly impersonal, going through the pointless motions. The action, including a chase down some snowy slopes which had the potential to be really fun, is all ruined by overly frenetic camerawork and bland CGI. At least it isn't one of those dark, gritty reboots that are all the rage, but guess what? All the humor, with the exception of one or two brief lines from Will Arnett (in a supporting role), falls embarrassingly flat, because everything in this movie is stupid, stupid, stupid!
MOST OVERRATED MOVIE
THE MAZE RUNNER (SCI-FI/ACTION-THRILLER) Directed by Wes Ball
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Dexter Darden, Kaya Scodelario
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, including some disturbing images.
113 minutes
Yet another dull and contrived attempt to capitalize on the success of the genuinely good Hunger Games series, THE MAZE RUNNER wasn't exactly acclaimed, but the fact that it stands at a 63% with an average of 5.9/10 on Rotten Tomatoes is bewildering to me. Boring, dark, purposeless, with a lead character who could be described as anti-charismatic, THE MAZE RUNNER was a chore to sit through and shameless in its lazy screenwriting.
Note: Wes Anderson's THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL has been named one of the best movies of the year by many critics, including those who profess to have previously not been Wes Anderson fans. I'm not saying it's not a great movie, but I didn't care for it much beyond Ralph Fiennes' great central performance.
MOST UNDERRATED MOVIE
MALEFICENT (FANTASY/ACTION-ADVENTURE) Directed by Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, Juno Temple
Rated PG for sequences of fantasy action and violence, including frightening images.
97 minutes
MALEFICENT was not a great movie, possibly not even a good movie, but definitely not a bad movie. I went in skeptical, freshly aware that the similarly-conceived 2010 ALICE IN WONDERLAND was a bad movie, and that it was the directorial debut of an art director/special effects-designer, Robert Stromberg. But I was so pleased that I didn't hate it that when I posted my review, I rated it 3.5/4. Granted, that was more than generous, even by my first viewing, and when I saw it again, it was definitely a 2.5/4. It has a pair of wonderful central performances in Angelina Jolie and Elle Riley, and runs a short 97 minutes. It's refreshingly simple, and it's not like the beautifully animated but hollow 1959 animated Disney film SLEEPING BEAUTY, upon which it is based, is actually that much to live up to.
BEST OVERLOOKED MOVIES
SNOWPIERCER (SCI-FI/ACTION) Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Chris Evans, Kang-ho Song, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner, Ah-sung Ko, Alison Pill, Ed Harris, Luke Pasqualino
Rated R for violence, language and drug content.
126 minutes
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's refusal to cut 20 minutes from and add a narration to his English-language debut resulted in the Weinstein Company's decision to delay the release, and then only release it in a few hundred theaters and on VOD, but it payed off. Set in a near future where an attempt to reverse the effects of global warming as created an ice age, killing all life on Earth but the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a giant, perpetually moving, self-sustaining, environmentally-impervious train that traverses the icy globe. For the 17 years that the train, invented and maintained by the mysterious and revered Mr. Wilford, has been running, a brutal class system has held those on the tail end of the train under the oppressive thumb of the those toward the front of the train. But revolution is brewing, with a reluctant leader in Curtis Everett (Chris Evans, popularly known as the very different Steve Rogers/Captain America of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), mentored by the tail section spiritual leader Gilliam (John Hurt), as the tail section people prepare to push through the gun and ax-wielding guards of the train to take the engine. It's extremely dark, highly-imaginative and has some of the most thrilling action set-pieces of the year, most notably a battle that takes place as the train passes through a long tunnel and the lights shut off. The acting is stellar all around, and it's hard to pick a single stand-out, from Evans' dark and terrifying brooding, to Tilda Swinton's mash-up of Margaret Thatcher and Mussolini and other big political personalities, and a smaller role by the consistently great Alison Pill as a frighteningly enthusiastic schoolteacher. Most importantly, SNOWPIERCER is a fierce movie that dives headlong into its ideas, even when it's difficult or not too pleasant, building an engaging and original apocalyptic future that is detail-oriented and fantastic.
OBVIOUS CHILD (ROMANTIC-COMEDY) Directed by Gillian Robespierre
Starring: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffman, David Cross, Gabe Liedman, Richard Kind, Polly Draper, Paul Briganti, Cindy Cheung, Stephen Singer
Rated R for language and sexual content.
84 minutes
Comedienne Jenny Slate, whose film roles have included dubious distinctions like ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED and THIS MEANS WAR, proves how much more she is capable of in film (she's had some very good recurring roles in TV sitcoms though, such as Parks and Recreation) in OBVIOUS CHILD, an unusual type of rom-com, one full of farts, abortion and jokes about crusty panties. Slate stars as Donna Stern, an immature young woman who works at a failing bookstore and does standup comedy at nights, but when her boyfriend breaks up with her, she totally loses her cool, leaving dozens of desperate messages on his phone and falling into a funk. After a drunken one-night stand with a straight-laced "nice guy", Donna discovers she's pregnant and schedules an abortion for Valentine's Day, because who even cares anymore?
It's hilarious and gross, but surprisingly sensitive and passionate about women's issues.
UNDER THE SKIN (SCI-FI-THRILLER/DRAMA) Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Joe Szula, Krystof Hadek, Paul Brannigan, Adam Pearson, Michael Moreland, David Acton, Jessica Mance
Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content, some violence and language.
108 minutes
UNDER THE SKIN is not a particularly widely appealing movie, but in a way, that's the point, to create an experience of alienation. Partially experimental, UNDER THE SKIN is a film that looks at human beings from as much an outsider's perspective as can be imagined by humans, through an alien played by Scarlett Johansson. Arriving on Earth and taking the form of a beautiful human woman, the alien interacts with men around Glasgow, Scotland, seducing them away to her lair, while acting as a tourist to intimate human interactions. Outside of Johansson, whose amazing performance carries most of the film, most of the roles are played by non-actors, including scenes of Johansson pulling up to men in a van where the conversations are unscripted and filmed by hidden cameras, before the shoot was revealed to the men and they agreed to be in the film. It's a very unique experience that really encourages the viewer to consider the world that they take for granted, without sentimentality or falseness.
STANDOUT ONSCREEN PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR
Scarlett Johansson as "The Female" in UNDER THE SKIN
As "The Female", a mysterious extraterrestrial who takes the form of a human woman, Johansson is unnerving, a foreign entity experiencing humanity, and while feeling entirely alien, she is also sympathetic in an unlikely way, plausibly presenting what's familiar as utter unfamiliar.
Rosamund Pike as "Amy Dunne" in GONE GIRL
English actress Rosamund Pike has done great supporting work for years (THE WORLD'S END and Joe Wright's 2005 remake of PRIDE & PREJUDICE come to mind), but she broke out in a big way as Amy "Amazing Amy" Dunne, the enigmatic woman whose disappearance becomes the subject of a media circus.
Russell Crowe as "Noah" in NOAH
A modern answer to the stoic Bible heroes of yesteryear, Russell Crowe's Noah is an emotionally-driven man, forceful and even approaching psychotic, beginning as a simple man called upon by God, and ultimately coming to represent the emotional arc of the Old Testament God who destroys mankind, but comes to mercy and understanding. Frightening and powerful, covering a wide transformation of character, is a flashy but effective performance.
Chris Pratt as "Peter Quill/Star-Lord" in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Chris Pratt's breakthrough has been on the horizon for a while now, known for his role as the lovable man-child schlub Andy Dwyer in NBC's Parks and Recreation, and appearing in dramatic supporting roles in MONEYBALL and ZERO DARK THIRTY, but 2014 was finally his year, taking the lead in what currently stand as the #1 and #4 movies of the year, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and THE LEGO MOVIE, respectively. With all due respect to Groot and Rocket, Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, an intergalactic bandit in the vein of Han Solo, holds an easy grip on the spotlight in GUARDIANS. He's funny, cool, and not the best role model.
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