So the last couple days I've been reading many of the top ten movie lists out there, it seems like nothing great came out this last week, so I think it's safe to say most of the better movies have already hit theaters in one way or another (On Demand).
Personally I think I've seen all the major contenders; other than Birdman, Boyhood, and Grand Budapest Hotel, all of which I will eventually see. I think overall this was a really great year in film, as there's more than one movie I considered for my top spot (1-4 was actually up for grabs).
However, I've also seen a glut of awful movies, and for some reason many of them stand out. So I'll start there first.
10. Monuments Men
9. Transcendence
8. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
7. Sabotage
6. Transformers Age of Extinction
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
4. Pompeii
3. I Frankenstein
2. Left Behind
1. Ouija
HM: Need for Speed, Deliver Us From Evil, The Devils Due.
I thought of putting The Hobbit on there, but the whole series was a gigantic disappointment. However to be fair as a movie it's no worse than The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Hercules, and they don't belong on my list either. I still remember the night where we planned on seeing Fury, but were forced to see Ouija instead when we arrived late.
Now for the top half of my list;
10. Enemy
9. The Edge of Tomorrow
8. Snowpiercer
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
5. Whiplash
4. The Guest
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Gone Girl
1. Nightcrawler
HM: Interstellar, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Lego Movie, John Wick, Predestination, Blue Ruin, and The Raid 2. That's a really solid year, considering Interstellar would probably have made my top 5 in 2013.
I also quite liked Godzilla and The Purge Anarchy, but not enough to justify having them as honorable mentions. I do think both far surpassed the standards set by their previous outings; which is what I was hoping for going in.
Now I don't think Nightcrawler is necessarily the best movie among them, but Gyllenhaal's memorable turn as Louis Bloom elevates it above the rest. I compared it to De Niro as Travis Bickle previously, and think that's an apt connection. Both movies gave as a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a sociopath, they work in different ways; at least in how you connect with our leads by the end of the movie.
So what are everyone else's thoughts? This was an outstanding year at the movies, and I could see our lists being quite varied with the works being offered in 2014.
Last edited by trackercowe; 12-27-2014 at 06:50 PM.
Haven't seen that many this year but this is how I rank them, from best to
worst.
The Hobbit
Interstellar
Imitation Game
Grand Budapest Hotel
The Equalizer
Edge of Tomorrow
The Purge Anarchy
The Raid 2
Guardians of the Galaxy
Noah
Hercules
Planet of the Apes
Fury
Pompeii
300
Neighbours
Grand Budapest Hotel was easily the best movie I saw in 2014.
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Thanks to a free movie pass I got out to see more than I'd like to admit. The only real contender I've yet to see is Birdman, which I've heard is great.
I actually wrote up a nice summary last night with reasoning for each, but CP signed me out cause I was on my tablet which I don't usually use, and the message was lost. Pretty steamed about that. Regardless, here's my list:
1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2. Grand Budapest Hotel
3. Interstellar
4. The Imitation Game
5. Under the Skin
6. Foxcatcher
7. Gone Girl
8. Captain America
9. The Skeleton Twins
10. Enemy
HMs: The Judge, The Maze Runner, The Theory of Everything, Nightcrawler
Can't help but laugh that this thread title still hasn't changed.
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Love this one. I've probably watched it 7 or 8 more times since seeing it in theatres, the way I feel at the end hasn't changed. Very well done and my vote for the best ever comic book movie. The Dark Knight is great, but is hasn't held my attention after multiple viewings like this has unless Ledger is on screen.
2: Intersteller
3: Winter Soldier
4: Guardians of the Galaxy
5: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
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X-Men seems universally enjoyed, though I don't find many people that agree with me in putting it at the top of this year's list.
Bottom in my books is without a doubt Transcendence. I knew it was horribly reviewed but forced myself because of my fascination with the technological singularity...ham-fisted treatment of the subject matter doesn't even begin to describe this boring, nonsensical tripe. The amazing, understated Her from just a few months prior made Transcendence look that much worse. What's funny is that Johnny Depp plays a computer for the majority of this movie, but an actual computer would have put in a more passionate, convincing performance than he did.
A tiny little sleeper movie that I doubt many have seen, has been a favorite around here - The Hundred-Foot Journey. I know it's not for everyone, but we really enjoyed it.
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minnie
A tiny little sleeper movie that I doubt many have seen, has been a favorite around here - The Hundred-Foot Journey. I know it's not for everyone, but we really enjoyed it.
One of my favourites of 2014. Helen Mirren as a resturant owner doing battle with the Kadam family was hilarious at times. Great story line and acting.
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Worst movies for 2014:
T-1: I, Frankenstein
T-1: Transformer, Age of Extinction
Tied for worst....maybe ever.
2.Pompeii if it were't for those two bombs up top, this would have been #1 yikes was that a terrible experience.
3. TMNT, poor usage of the source material and Megan Fox, while easy on the eyes is a pretty wooden actor (no pun intended, honestly! I swear it!)
4. A Most Wanted Man. Booooorrring. If the pace was quickened just a even a little bit this would have been a great movie.
5.The Equalizer. Denzel's getting old, and Chloe Grace Morenz was a total miscast for this one, ruined it for me.
6.The Longest Week. I'll watch anything with Olivia Wilde once. This one, weak.
7. The Interview. A whole lot of Meh, certainly was not a fan of this one.
HM: Gone Girl. Why is this one hyped so much? Am I the wrong target demogrphic?
Noah. Some really cool scenes but left with an overall sense of blegh.
The Best!
1. Interstellar, favorite movie in 2014 for me, but to be fair I've not yet seen The last Hobbit installment.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy. I was thoroughly entertained with this movie, ive watched it four times in the last month. It's addicting.
3. Chef. Just a good all around enjoyable movie.
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
5. X-man Day of Future Past
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel.
7. The Lego Movie. not usually a fan of kids movies but this one had some decent adult humor in it too. fun watch.
8. This is where I leave you.
9. The Skeleton Twins.
Worst movies for 2014:
T-1: I, Frankenstein
T-1: Transformer, Age of Extinction
Tied for worst....maybe ever.
2.Pompeii if it were't for those two bombs up top, this would have been #1 yikes was that a terrible experience.
3. TMNT, poor usage of the source material and Megan Fox, while easy on the eyes is a pretty wooden actor (no pun intended, honestly! I swear it!)
4. A Most Wanted Man. Booooorrring. If the pace was quickened just a even a little bit this would have been a great movie.
5.The Equalizer. Denzel's getting old, and Chloe Grace Morenz was a total miscast for this one, ruined it for me.
6.The Longest Week. I'll watch anything with Olivia Wilde once. This one, weak.
7. The Interview. A whole lot of Meh, certainly was not a fan of this one.
HM: Gone Girl. Why is this one hyped so much? Am I the wrong target demogrphic?
Noah. Some really cool scenes but left with an overall sense of blegh.
The Best!
1. Interstellar, favorite movie in 2014 for me, but to be fair I've not yet seen The last Hobbit installment.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy. I was thoroughly entertained with this movie, ive watched it four times in the last month. It's addicting.
3. Chef. Just a good all around enjoyable movie.
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
5. X-man Day of Future Past
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel.
7. The Lego Movie. not usually a fan of kids movies but this one had some decent adult humor in it too. fun watch.
8. This is where I leave you.
9. The Skeleton Twins.
Good picks. Skeleton Twins was a fresh, dark dramedy, I thought Hader was great. Don't worry about the Hobbit, I don't think it would make your list. It was a bit of a mess tbh, everyone I went with agreed. Entertaining still. I think Imitation game is a better current release and should be getting a lot more attention than it is.
10. Edge of Tomorrow
9. X-Men: Days of Future Past
8. Gone Girl
7. Boyhood
6. Nightcrawler
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
3. Birdman
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
1. Whiplash
HM: Big Hero 6, 22 Jump Street, Locke, Lego Movie, The Imitation Game, The Babadook
Cheating because this movie came out in late 2013 - but that's OK. I watched a movie called About Time and thought it was great. A different spin on time travel - but quite smart and touching.
I found the last Hobbit unwatchable (Desolation of Smaug). I fell asleep in the theater. It was just 2 hours of bad CGI mixed with a very slow moving story. Not too excited for this one.
Don't get the hate on for Transformers. It was exactly what I expected. A bunch of explosions and giant robots battling each other.
Keep in mind a lot of these were watched on planes and totally free.
Bad list:
Ride Along: Just doesn't pull it off. 300 Rise of an Empire: Loved the first. This lacked all of the punch you in the nuts every 5 minutes feel of the first one. Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill for: Same issue as 300 part 2. I Frankenstein: Unwatchable. Godzilla: Not a great script. Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Technically released in 2013...saw it this year. Didn't like it. Don't get it. Bad scripts. Stupid premiss. No surprises. Don't find Jennifer Lawrence hot...well unless she's naked and painted blue. Good to see PSH one last time I guess.
Meh:
Neighbours: Started off great but fizzled out quickly. Captain America 2: Good but not as great as the hype made it out to be. Amazing Spider-Man 2: Almost makes the bad list. Transformers: Comes exactly as packaged. I knew what I was getting into.
Good
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Just a good sci-fi movie. X-men: Days of Future Past: Quicksilver seen makes it worth the price of admission. Guardians of the Galaxy: great to see a superhero movie not take itself seriously and actually pull it off. Grand Budapest Hotel: Somehow manages to make every Wes Andereson cliche fresh again. 22 Jump Street: Found it to be the best comedy of the year. Lego Movie: Yeah...it was entertaining. Edge of Tomorrow: Get over the fact it's Tom Cruise and you have a very entertaining movie.
Cheating because this movie came out in late 2013 - but that's OK. I watched a movie called About Time and thought it was great. A different spin on time travel - but quite smart and touching.
Hmmm....About Time.
Has one of those cheesy multiple meaning titles that thinks it's clever...like Good Will Hunting. Not a good start.