Well obviously I didn't watch every movie, so forgive me and included in this list are films that got nominated for the 2014 Oscars regardless of if they came out the year before! Enjoy.
1.) SNOWPIERCER
Let’s start with the obvious, this movie has one of the most boring first acts ever, save for one action sequence. There’s an online debate as to whether this was actually done on purpose to reflect the storyline and hence the progress of the characters from the end of its drab moving train to its more colourful front, but we’ll avoid that here. Led by Captain Americahimself, Chris Evans, a group of poverty-stricken and oft-neglected characters must make their way to the front of a train that never stops moving, because the world outside is dead from climate change (seriously). The progression of these characters to the front is the most colourful thing I’ve seen in a while on film, figuratively and almost literally. Thumbs up to its director, Bong Hoo in his English-language debut.
2.) GONE GIRL
People will tell you how good Gone Girl is, but you’ll never really fathom how good it is until you actually watch it. When I tell people most movies don’t tell stories anymore, they think I’m a whiner who grew up watching Turner Classics Movies and thinks everything today is crap. To see what a story actually looks like look no further than this near masterpiece from director David Fincher. Fincher who I think is second only to Scorcese (and perhaps Nolan) when it comes to picking story-telling movies, knows how to pick movies that often deal with some human dilemma (think Fight Club, The Social Network, the pilot of House of Cards; we’ll just leave his remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoofrom this group for now). What saves Gone Girl from being another botched book-to-screen movie is that the screenplay is written by the author herself, Gillian Flynn. Matter of fact Gone Girl does the one thing most movies adopted from books don’t do: it makes you want to read the book and wonder what got left out. It’s that good! Flynn has that almost dry sense of humour where any story can be told when you have the characters assessing themselves like the reader/audience would when reading or watching. This is artfully displayed in the first act of the movie, where the characters practically say and think everything the audience is likely thinking without winking at the audience. As the story unravels, you wonder to what end and are kept at the edge of your seat. There could’ve been a sequel for this, but by God, I hope it’s a book first and not a movie! I want to know what’s going to be left out!
3.) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Excellent! It’s amazing what you can do with second-tier characters that not a lot of people know about. When Iron Man first came out, he was at best a second-tier Marvel character himself, which would probably make the Guardians in actuality third-tier characters. Well, not anymore. Despite the fact that Marvel tends to have bland villains just to keep their stories going, save for a few key movies like The Avengers, Guardians is really more about its gang of misfits than who they’re facing and that makes for a very interesting movie. My only fear now as with movies like this is that I hope the sequel doesn’t go the way of Star Trek: Into Darkness, where once the characters have been established the sequel loses a bit of its original spark. A problem the next film on our list didn’t have.
4.) X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
There’s a LOT of faults with this movie. For starters nerds and geeks are going to have a problem with its continuity problem, but for the rest of the cinema-goers (I’m still a part of both groups), it’s a blast! DOFPticks so many boxes; you can excuse its faults. For starters, Wolverine may be the character through which the audience travels back in time, but amazingly (and thankfully) he’s not the star attraction. That honour goes to the First Class trio of Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence a.k.a Magneto, Xavier & Mystique respectively. Even more amazing is how Fassbender shines in scenes that just involve him like when he decides to hijack the content of a train, that whole scene is eerie in itself or when he goes to retrieve his helmet. Of course note must be made for the 1000th time, how Quicksilver damn near steals the whole show when he rescues Magneto and makes a note about how his mother knew a guy who could bend metal. The almost side-eye that Magneto gives him is classic!
5.) CHEF
Definitely the indie drama of the year, Iron Man director Jon Favreau returns to his roots with this great movie about a Chef who also goes back to basics. Filled with great cameos from Robert Downey Jr. to Peter Russell to a great soundtrack including a Wu-Tang Jazz cover and an even audible Sofia Vergara, Chef is good food (& movie) porn!
6.) THE LEGO MOVIE
For a movie based on an already established toy franchise, The Lego Movie has to be one of the most original movies of the year. It’s just a joy to watch, I wonder how they plan to top this with a sequel eventually being made. By the way both 22 Jump Street and Lego were directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who do funny clearly well.
7.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Forming the holy trinity of stand-alone Marvel movies alongside Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, Winter Soldier elevates the superhero genre not unlike what Nolan did with the second installment of his Dark Knight trilogy! Captain America goes from hero to fugitive in less than a minute in this sequel and the movie is the better for it.
8.) HER (2014 Oscar nominee; Winner for Best Original Screenplay)
One of the most original scripts of the Oscar year! Herexplores the relationship between us and our reliance on technology, in this particular case for what they can’t provide: human affection. But what if they could or simulate such human feelings? Hergoes into that question and provides some cinematic answers that will leave you marveled at its amazing script.
9.) AMERICAN HUSTLE (2014 Oscar nominee)
10 Oscar nominations and not a single award, not even for Best Costume. I seriously thought it would win for Best Adopted Screenplay(that went to 12 Years A Slave) If there was a Best Ensemble category, American Hustle would still have gone up against the more voted 12 Years A Slave, but it could’ve stood a better chance there.
10.) GODZILLA
I didn’t expect to enjoy this movie as much as I did; I, who hates most manner of remakes, but director Gareth Edwards really delivers with the visual, not to mention the big reveal. Sure, some complained there was less Godzilla than they’d like, but hey it worked for me!
11.) 22 JUMP STREET
Exactly like the last time, but even funnier! How do you make a sequel in a business where Hollywood studios make money off putting lesser subsequent sequels one after the other? Well for the team behind 22 Jump Street, you do exactly the same thing that made audiences like you in the first place, but even better! Seriously the story’s almost pretty much the same… and still funny!
12.) BEGIN AGAIN
Maybe I feel an emotional connection to this movie that’s why it’s up here, but it’s great and it captures a certain ambience to the city of its narrative. Mark Ruffalo as usual puts in a great performance, nothing less.
13.) DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
The sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes is true blockbuster, better than the first and more action-packed, we are talking about monkeys who talk here with the propensity for violence, what more could you ask for?!
14.) WOLF OF WALL STREET (2014 Oscar nominee)
If you sat through this whole movie, congrats! I did. 3 hours no be beans! But when it’s 3 hours of Scorcese magic, it’s totally worth it. Oh… Leo still hasn’t got that Oscar yet… we’re still waiting!
15.) EDGE OF TOMORROW
Live. Die. Repeat. This is a better sci-fi movie than expected, especially when you consider that the movie repeats certain scenes repeatedly as Tom Cruise’s character relives the same day over and over till he can find a way to save humanity.
16.) NEIGHBOURS
The Seth Rogen movie that didn’t get banned, Neighbours is as expected hilarious and features former teen heartthrob (did I just write that?) Zac Efron and the younger (and frankly much saner) Franco, Dave.
17.) EQUALIZER
Denzel’s first possible franchise is off to a good start, sure that start is slow (plot) and perhaps overdue (Denzel’s in his 50s), but it’s worth the wait and I mean who else oozes cool like Denzel just by sitting at a table at a diner?!
18.) INTERSTELLAR
Nolan’s first mixed review since the Dark Knight catapulted him to worshipdom. The reception to Interstellar is understandable, on the one hand Nolan along with his brother and fellow writer Jonathan Nolan tell a good story about space, time, (possibly time-travel) and love. On the other hand it’s three hours along and the plot somewhat wobbles because of this. The first hour of Interstellar is brilliant; it’s its following two hours that are the problem with its mish-mash of a plot. Fans might not be happy and even confused with the third act (let’s just say he pulls another Inception type ending). Nolan has mastered the art of the ring-structure in story- telling, where the ending leads back to the beginning (think Mementoand Inception), but in the case of Interstellar I’m not so sure it helped. It’s a great movie nonetheless with characters that get thrown away so quickly (another Nolan trait, remember The Dark Knight with all those characters, except they were more relevant there).
19.) OSANGE AUGUST COUNTY (2014 Oscar nominee)
Speaking of ensemble movies, this too could’ve been a nominee for that non-existent category. Led by the incredible Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts as her daughter, this cast that includes Sherlock Holmes himself, Benedict Cumberbatch (not so smart here) will make you do a re-think on your family. If you thought your family was fucked, guess again! If however you watched this and still thought your family was fucked… guess they really might be!
20.) NEBRASKA (2014 Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress)
This father and son movie has a lot of comedic gems usually rare in such genre. For starters most of the comedy doesn’t come from said father and son, though they do provide a certain amount of it. It is movies like this that makes one appreciate the Oscars for not usually highlighting conventional mainstream movies, I mean how else would one have gotten to watch this?!
SAVING MR. BANKS (2014 Oscar nominee for Original Screenplay)
How do you make a movie about the making of one the most beloved children’s movie? Well first you get Disney to slightly remove that stick out of their butts to allow Walt Disney to be portrayed in a slightly less than Disney manner then you hire two great actors (Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson) to star in lead and don’t forget great supporting turns from the likes of Colin Farrell and Paul Giammati. That’s how!
12 YEARS A SLAVE (2014 Oscar nominee; winner for Best Supporting Actress, Best Adopted Screenplay and Best Film)
When it’s all said and done 12 Years A Slave was a product of its time, a bit overhyped yet justifiable so. Much debate would be made as to whether it deserved all the accolades it got. It certainly deserves some, though don’t expect the next slave movie to get this much attention! The Oscars does have a liking to movies that include certain recipes: Jews and the Holocaust; tales of suffering, actors doing u-turns (think Denzel as a villain in Training Day) and now we can firmly add slavery, which all seems synonymous! This isn’t to berate the Oscars, but we’ve seen this cycle before. Best movie? Sure! But like I said, a movie of its time, I don’t think this would’ve won in say, the 90s. It just so happens the world was ready for a movie like this now!
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2014 Oscar nominee; winner for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor & Best Makeup and Hairstyling)
Matthew McConaughey was totally deserving of his Oscar win for Best Actor here. I’m not so sure about Jared Leto’s win and that’s not to take anything away from his performance, but really it’s McConaughey that carries this movie. It even won Best Makeup and Hairstyling… and they can’t have an award category for Best Ensemble?!
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
I actually enjoyed this, perhaps more than I should have. If the new Turtleswas supposed to be light and enjoyable, they succeeded hands down! And if you’ve seen the original movie franchise, you’d love the few, but subtle references to those movies. Just enough to pay homage to the old, but remind you this is a new franchise. The whole movie can be described in one scene where the Turtles get in an elevator while evading the ever evasive Foot Clan. Panting and eager to fight, the Turtles start beat-boxing; a brief moment of fun in what should be a serious scene. Just plain fun!
JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR
Another Justice League origin story updated for today’s generation.
FURY
Let’s face it, war movies are repetitive. That said, Fury makes up for this with its video games style effects and simple story of five guys in a tank… and that’s just about it and oh yeah, they kill a bunch of other guys!
THE IMMIGRANT
A great first half gets brought down by a lackluster second. Once the love triangle between the trio of Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Coitllard and Jeremy Renner is over, The Immigrant pretty much loses all its appeal. This could’ve worked better as an HBO series particularly with its period setting.
HORRIBLE BOSSES 2
Hopefully this would be the only sequel in this comedy franchise, I think we’ve all learnt from The Hangover, that there is such a thing as three much! That said, I won’t be surprised if they make a third one, the characters, specifically the actors have the potential to keep you invested. Proof is in this almost lame ass sequel that doesn’t really pick up till its final act that includes one impressive scene of improv from the squad of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, Jamie Foxx… and a train! If Foxx doesn’t return for a third movie (which they can all spare us of), it’ll be shit!
THINK LIKE A MAN TOO
You could tell this was obviously shot in two weeks. Mostly taking place in and around a hotel in Las Vegas, Think Like A Man Too ditches the layered storytelling of the first movie for a more fast-paced sequel. The result is a movie with jokes, but not much in story. It entertains though!
HALF OF A YELLOW SUN
The not so bad movie of the year, to be frank I enjoyed Yellow Sun despite its seemingly slow pace.
THE JUDGE
The Judge is not a must-see, but if you have the time you should see.
DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE YEAR:
In descending order…
TRANSCENDENCE: This movie failed on so many levels and yet it was wonderfully shot by Dark KnightCinematographer Wally Pfiser (maybe that’s why they trusted him to direct this bland movie). First of all, the premise itself isn’t bad, it kind of reminds me of 90s movie Chain Reaction which coincidentally starred Morgan Freeman. The problem with the premise is it’s pretty much predictable and predictable the movie goes. You already know at some point that Johnny Depp is going to be the bad guy, but it’s how long and slow it takes to get there. By the time he’s fully become the big bad, you’re bored already. The scenes and shots are beautiful, but the script isn’t!
MALEFICIENT: I actually enjoyed this movie, yet I sort of expected more! ABC’s Once Upon A Timedoes a better job fleshing out backstories to its villains. Yes, that’s a series and this is a movie, but considering Disney owns ABC… I expected more.
BRICK MANSIONS: There’s only two reasons to watch this movie and unfortunately one of them isn’t because it’s Paul Walker’s last completed movie, not that he’s any problem, but really only two things make Brick Mansions watch-worthy: 1. The RZA’s one-liners and 2.) The twist at the end that even I did not see coming. Do you know how hard it is to surprise people in movies these days?!
BEST TRAILERS OF THE YEAR:
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Furious 7
- Terminator- Genysis
DIRECTOR(S) OF THE YEAR:
Phil Lord and Chris Miller for directing both The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street.
SURPRISE PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR:
-Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt in Gone Girl. Tyler Perry gets a lot of flak for his Madea character and it’s easy to see why and after watching Gone Girl, you’re going to wish he never goes back to that character (Madea was a lot funnier and relevant when performed on stage). Perry has some serious acting muscles and it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the Johnnie Cochran like Tanner Bolt. This is the type of role you want to see him in more often.
-Shia LaBeouf in Fury. Who would’ve thought Even Stevens would ditch the comic routine and go all serious?! Sure he did this before in Lawless, but he was barely just there to narrate for the movie’s main star, but in Fury, LaBeouf takes center stage alongside Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman.
