So everyone seems to agree that 2014 was a pretty awesome year for movies. There were big studio action movies and cool little indi films and basically just something for everyone. That said it’s top ten time. I was inspired after listening to the slash film cast and their top ten, to make my very informal list a little more polished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A86JGbBEaBk
That's right I’m kicking it off with the most saccharine sweet of rom coms. Why you ask? Because I love genre movies. Especially when they are done well. So while the rom com is, often but not always justifiably, detested by film nerds I still like it. I won’t lie, this is not the movie that will change your mind about will they or won’t they love stories. It is however a really fun take on the genre and it just oozes charm both in it’s writing and visuals. Watching Daniel Radcliff move beyond his Harry Potter beginnings might be a little odd for some but really just for the first 10 minutes.
9.) X-Men: Days Of Future Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2zYHWDZKo
But Amanda, didn’t you see Guardians Of The Galaxy? You’re just saving it for higher on the list right…right…right??? No, no I am not saving it for higher on the list. I’m about to majorly blaspheme here but I only just liked Guardians. I did not love it. There were parts where it down right annoyed me. The characters frequently shifted gear making the emotional equivalent of hairpin turns to serve the plot. Days of Future Past however was my favorite superhero movie of the year. I completely loved the mutant battle scenes. I completely loved the kitchen scene (you know the one I mean) and I loved how utterly badass Mystique continues to be, even if she is moronically stubborn at times. Loved it.
8.) Edge Of Tomorrow ( Live, Die, Repeat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw61gCe2oqI
I am not generally a Tom Cruise fan. I think the last thing I really enjoyed him in was Tropic Thunder. Other than that he’s been making the same movie since 2004. I do on the other hand really like Emily Blunt so that and the buzz were really the only reason I saw this in theaters. I am very glad I did though. As previously stated I like genre films and this is solid sic-fi. There’s time travel, so of course by the end the plot is full of holes, but that’s every time travel movie. (One possible exception being 12 Monkeys). It’s a neat concept and was well executed.
What is with so many movies this year having meaningless and completely forgettable titles. I mean, The Edge Of Tomorrow? That could literally be about anything and falls instantly out of my brain. Blue Ruin, A Most Violent Year, Inherent Vice, Whiplash (which I totally confused with The Spectacular Now because the same dude is in them and it’s title is also terrible). Name movies better. I have a lot going on I need help remembering this junk, not just a bunch of random nouns and adjectives thrown together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0
So this is not the kind of film I generally go in for. I don’t like gore and I have to be in a very specific mood for an action movie that’s this dark. I do however love world building and this film succeeds phenomenally at that. With a whole society built around the realities of a. living on a train and b. enforcing a social strata that appears to serve no other purpose other than there must be a social strata. The stakes are high from the get go as we realize our characters themselves don’t even understand the world they inhabit. The set pieces and visuals are horrifying and strangely beautiful and that’s a lot coming from me. It is the weirdest, most violent, and possibly most depressing film on the list but also one of the most visually impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA
So while Edge of Tomorrow was a fun popcorn eating kind of sic-fi, Interstellar was the movie that asked you to think really hard about the nature of both individuals and humanity as a whole. It was the big, deep, epic kind of space movie that hasn’t been made in a very long time, and judging by the box office returns probably won’t be made again any time soon. In it’s best and purest form science fiction is a mirror for culture and humanity. This film tries to carry on that tradition. Now that said, by the end some of the characters do some stuff that doesn’t seem to make much sense considering their motivations the whole rest of the film, and you will see the big reveal coming like an elephant on roller skates. However, even with those flaws it’s a pretty great movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fg5iWmQjwk
So the only reason this is before Interstellar is because I know it’s a film I will come back to many times. I’ve already watched it like three times already. It’s fun, it’s sad, it’s pretty, and Mr. Gustave is going to be one of those classic characters that lives forever. Wes Anderson has been hit and miss for me over the years but I’m always interested to see what he does next and even more so after seeing this latest work.
4.)Â Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sHMCRaS3ao
Fun fact, this is the only planet of the apes franchise movie that I actually like. From the very first shot this film grabbed my attention and I was so fascinated but he culture building aspect and the relationships that emerged. There were some crazy iconic shots throughout. One scene in particular with an ape playing dumb was in my mind particularly well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJfLoE6hanc
So this film is kind of all over the place in the best way possible. It’s got interpersonal themes of defining success and failure and how flawed we are in our measurements of these things. It has a lot to say about theater, and film, and what role entertainment actually plays in our culture. It raises questions of inherent and assigned value and who gets to decide which is which. It uses the device of an unreliable narrator…or maybe not. And it does all of this using long takes, cramped spaces and brilliant performances to manipulate time and place and make you feel like anything could happen. Also the jazz soundtrack is brilliant. You won't see anything else like it this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1LZ6JoUkJc
Firstly, I apologize for this trailer. The movie is in french so the trailer is crazy dumb because of the narrator just spelling everything out. Secondly, I didn’t know a lot going into this film. I’ve not been a huge Polanski fan in the past. I also didn’t realize that the source material is a play that debuted in 2010 so my theater friends all knew exactly what I was talking about even though they hadn't seen the film. If I had known that maybe I would have been less surprised by how phenomenal the writing is and how the simplicity of an ongoing mind game between two strangers could be so riveting. This was a movie I wanted to watch again as soon as it finished because of all the subtle details. Wonderfully acted and extremely well written.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCOvhojlZzQ
Ok so this wasn’t an obvious choice for number one when I first started thinking about all the films I’d seen this year, but it was always on the list. Once I started putting things in order it just kept climbing. It’s one of those films I like more, the more that I think about it. It starts out kind of funny but sad, then takes a turn into just being weird and a little scary then you really see what’s going on and are like WHAAAT. And that’s all I can tell you a bout the plot. Which I think might be part of the reason I like this film so much. Also because things like this tend to go full circle. It’s a relationship movie. So people in a relationship this might make for some great post film chats, or possibly fights. Highly recommend.Â
Stuff I didn’t get to see yet that will probably totally change the list when I do (in no particular order)
Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
2087
dailybridgerton
jbbartram-illu
pixelskylines
prguitarman
baratheonpilled
discoholicmusic