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Best Films of 2014

Another year of films, another subjective list ranking them. There were plenty of fun times at the movies in 2014, including some surprises like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Draft Day”, and some colorful joy like “The Lego Movie” and “Chef”, all of which were good but did not crack my top ten.

Without further ado…

Honorable Mention: Interstellar

A fun, engaging and well-acted film that could have been great and ranked among the all-time great science-fiction films if it didn’t try and blow the audience’s minds in the final act. Sure, it has the classic Nolan-isms that plague all his films, but this one ranks right below “Inception” on my list of his films.

interstellar-6

Variety

10.) John Wick

Who thought a modern-day film with Keanu Reeves would ever make anyone’s top films list? Well he does it here in one of the best action movies I have ever seen. The cinematography, the action and the music all are amazing, and I really hope that this is the first child of a franchise.

john-wick-keanu-reeves

Variety

9.) Whiplash

The film that likely was the vehicle for future Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons, this thing is intense and incredibly well-edited (and that may be selling it short). Simmons and the impossible-to-hate Miles Teller have explosive chemistry and teacher and student, and this is a film I’m sure I’ll only like more upon a second viewing.

Variety

Variety

8.) Foxcatcher

This was number one on my watchlist for 2014 and it didn’t disappoint. Steve Carell is mind-blowingly eerie as John du Pont and Channing Tatum completely shattered my image of him by giving one of the most physically and mentally demanding roles of the year. This film is based on a true story, which makes the whole thing even more intense and emotional.

Variety

Variety

7.) 22 Jump Street

Before he was proving me wrong in “Foxcatcher”, Channing Tatum was doing what we all know and love: being a goofy idiot who kicks butt while undercover at school. A rare sequel that is possibly better than the original, this second trip back to Jump Street was hilarious because it knew it was an over-the-top sequel, and made sure to remind the audience every chance it got.

Variety

Variety

6.) Boyhood

Talk about a full blown nostalgia bomb. Shot with the same actors over 12 years, there was so much that could have gone wrong in the decade-plus while filming this. This movie just has so many things that were a crucial part of my own growing up: from the Oregon Trail computer game to waiting in line for a Harry Potter book to all the early 2000’s songs, this put a lump in my throat and is your cup of tea if you love trying really hard not to cry.

Variety

Variety

5.) X-Men: Days of Future Past

I’m not a huge X-Men fan, so this one caught me by surprise. It was a great action film as well as political thriller that had me entertained throughout the whole runtime. Plus it had Jennifer Lawrence, so. You know.

xmen-days-of-future-past

Variety

4.) The Imitation Game

Featuring an amazing performance from Benedict Cumberbatch and one of my favorite screenplays from 2014 by Graham Moore, this was a very interesting biopic about the men (and woman) who created the world’s first computer in order to beat the Nazis.

Variety

Variety

3.) Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Much like “Boyhood” this film was unique on a technical level, and it could have just turned out to be a gimmick that came up flat. Each scene is one take, and the whole film is edited to look like it is all one continuous shot. It really is amazing and offered mind-blowing performances from Edward Norton and Michael Keaton.

Variety

Variety

2.) Fury

Hands down one of the best war movies I’ve ever seen, right behind “Hurt Locker” (oh, shut up, haters). Brad Pitt kills Nazis with a Macklemore haircut, and the end battle sequence is as fun as it is heart-breaking. Honestly, though, ever single aspect of that finale is perfect.

Variety

Variety

1.) Captain America: The Winter Solider

When I saw this movie back in April, I was blown away by not only how much fun this film was, but how smart and well-directed it was, too. The first Captain America was, for lack of better words, not that good, so expectations were not so high for this one. But it turned out to be the second best Avengers movie behind only the first Iron Man, and I am glad it stuck at number one for over 8 months. I kept waiting for a movie to come along that was more fun, more well-made and just plain better than “Captain America: The Winter Solider”, but to my great surprise: none did.

Variety

Variety

Agree with my list? Are there any 2014 films you think deserved to be on here or some that you shocked made the cut? Let me know in the comments!

‘Interstellar’ Reaches for the Stars, Scratches Greatness

interstellar            In his first directorial effort since completing his Dark Knight trilogy, Christopher Nolan returns to the visually striking and mind-bending side of films with “Interstellar”.

Set in the future on a dying planet Earth, several astronauts (Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway) set out into a wormhole near Saturn to try and find a new planet suitable for human life. Nolan favorite Michael Caine plays the intellectual head of the project and Jessica Chastain also stars.

Say what you will about Christopher Nolan films, but one thing that is undeniable is that every one of his movies has large scopes and ambitions. The problem most of his films not named “Inception” and “The Dark Knight” have are that the scope is often too big to fill. “Interstellar” sets the bar incredibly high (that bar being an entirely different galaxy) and for most of the film it appears like it will reach that bar and be something great; before the wheels come off in the final act.

The acting in the film is great across the board. McConaughey, fresh off his first Oscar for the superb “Dallas Buyers Club”, shows that his 2013 was no fluke. He plays a father who is conflicted with possibly saving the human race, but while leaving his children behind for years in the process. He still has his signature droll and charm, but this is a side of McConaughey we’ve never seen. My future wife Anne Hathaway is equally as solid as McConaughey’s fellow astronaut, a woman torn between morals and emotion.

The visuals in the film are striking and much like last year’s “Gravity” there are shots that show the pure magnitude of space that will leave you breathless. On numerous occasions the camera pulls up to show the small ship riding among the sea of stars in complete silence, and for a split second it puts everything in perspective.

Everything was going great with “Interstellar”, and for a moment I thought maybe this could be the next space classic a la “2001”, but then the final act happens. I obviously can’t say much of anything without spoiling it, but it is one of those moments that while you watch it transpire you just think, “Oh. Well. Um…ok. Sure, I guess.” I really think the studio gave Nolan complete control of this project, and that may have been a slip-up on their end.

There are also the classic (at this point cliché) “Nolan-isms”, such as underdeveloped side characters, plot holes and the aforementioned unfillable scope, but they aren’t as prevalent or glaring here as with his other projects.

“Interstellar” has no right being nearly three hours long, but there was not a second during it that I was bored. The performances are great, the visuals are outstanding and there are several very well-directed moments of tension, one of which had the entire audience gasp at the same time. “Interstellar” reaches for the stars and they just barely evade its grasp, but just because it is not a stellar movie (*snickers*) does not mean it is a trip you can afford not to take.

Critics Rating: 8/10

‘Transcendence’ Nothing Special or New

Transcendence2014Poster            You know those movies that leave the audience with burning questions about real life issues? Yeah, “Transcendence” isn’t one of those movies.

Directed by cinematographer Wally Pfister in his directorial debut, the film stars Johnny Depp as an artificial intelligence researcher who is mortally wounded by a radical anti-technology group. Before he dies, however, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) uploads his consciousness to a computer. As the radical group approaches to finish what they started, Evelyn must decide if the intelligence claiming to be her deceased husband is who it says it is. Sound confusing? Yeah, you’re telling me.

This film features a rookie director, a rookie screenwriter and an ensemble cast. All three were red flags before the title card in “Transcendence” even showed up on the screen. Pfister is a fantastic cinematographer (he won an Oscar for “Inception”) but maybe he should not quit his day job anytime soon. His first time in the director’s chair, Pfister heads a film with pacing issues and a narrative that ranges from awkward to just plain non-existent. Oh, and the movie really doesn’t know what it wants to be or what messages it wants to send, either.

In the film’s opening act there is a decently thought provoking line about whether man creating artificial intelligence and “playing God” is any different than mankind “making up gods” throughout history. Then they drop that possible storyline for the whole “anti-technology” group. Then yet again the film decides that angle isn’t interesting enough so it goes into whether A.I. is capable of comparing to humans. If you haven’t figured it out yet, allow me to clarify: the film is a mess.

There are some redeeming qualities to the film. Obviously with Pfister being an award winning cinematographer, the movie is shot beautifully; even if half of the cool shots are completely irrelevant to the scene. For example the very first shot of the film shows rain on a window and car headlights blurred in the background. The movie then cuts to a completely unrelated scene and starts the actual story. Was the shot cool to look at? Sure. Was it confusing and irrelevant? You betcha.

The movie does make a couple interesting points about where we’re going and how we may be letting technology get the best of us, but these aren’t things that you haven’t read about or pondered before; go to any website and they’ll tell you to put down your phone and go play outside. You don’t need to pay $10 to have the voice of Johnny Depp tell you.

For what it was striving to accomplish, “Transcendence” fails. It went for broke and came up short, but not horrifically. There are a few interesting parts and for about five seconds you actually wonder if Johnny Depp’s A.I. is good or evil, but in the long run this is a very forgettable film. I guess you could say that “Transcendence” transcends the definition of an average film [I’ll pause so you can laugh].

Critics Rating: 5/10