Best Movies of 2014

[YB85]

Lego Movie backlash in 3, 2, 1..

 

[The Midnight]

Guardian of Galaxy, Night Crawler and Whiplash are my picks this year.

 

[Archie Moses]

I had a very toxic reaction to The Book of Life. Not the least of which was Ice Cube's character telling the audience "It Was a Good Day ... of the Dead." That line by itself was basically murdering things that I hold dear. I went and found my initial reaction to the film that I put on facebook. I stand by it.



I think people grade kids movies on a curve. I get it, sometimes it's important to just get a few hours where the kid is happy and finer points get glossed over. But this one actually had some real ambitions, swung, and missed wildly. I also think that it got a lot of bonus points in some corners due to its unique visual style which I was not the audience for.

I thought this year's crop of kids films were very disappointing. Even my very favorite of the year, Boxtrolls, didn't quite get there.

You warned parents against taking kids to a movie based on reasons no kid would ever think or understand? Hmm. Your kids are gonna have an awesome upbringing if you over think things that way.

This reminds me of the critic who slammed, Freebirds, because of its historical accuracies based on Thanksgiving. What a killjoy.

I didn't love the movie, but I loved that my kid did and it was an experience I'm never gonna forget. ☺

 

[Siro]

We talking US release dates?

My favorites I have seen this year, in no particular order, are probably:
Whiplash
Boyhood
Birdman
Teh Lego Movie
Ida

I liked moonrise kingdom better than the grand budapest hotel tbh and insterstellar was like the stillborn twin of Gravity. Foxcatcher just isn't my style. Don't really care for the superhero/comic book movies much, so I never watched Guardians of the Galaxy.

All good movies (except for Interstellar). Moonrise Kingdom isn't 2014, but it is really amazing. Easily my favorite Wes Anderson movie. Have you actually watched Foxcatcher? I didn't think I'd enjoy it because the make-up work on the poster looked ridiculous, but the movie was actually pretty good.

 

[QuinSnydersHair]

Not sure how anyone wouldn't want to see Foxcatcher. This is the guy who did Capote and Moneyball, the trailers looked strong, and the early word out of Cannes (and elsewhere) was that it was excellent.

Maybe it's just me. I love true stories and remember when this happened.

 

[Siro]

The edge of tomorrow was pretty cool. Especially since they did not conclude an entire conceptual fictionazation with the power of sweet love like interstellar. Expectations going into a movie is your worst enemy without doubt.

Very clever idea. Unfortunately, the movie is made in the most conventionally cliche'd Hollywood style possible. They went for what they considered the safe route, and it lost them a lot of money. Had they taken a chance and made a more unique movie, it could have been great.

 

[QuinSnydersHair]

Very clever idea. Unfortunately, the movie is made in the most conventionally cliche'd Hollywood style possible. They went for what they considered the safe route, and it lost them a lot of money. Had they taken a chance and made a more unique movie, it could have been a great movie.

This. The third act was God awful.

 

[fishonjazz]

We talking US release dates?

My favorites I have seen this year, in no particular order, are probably:
Whiplash
Boyhood
Birdman
Teh Lego Movie
Ida

I liked moonrise kingdom better than the grand budapest hotel tbh and insterstellar was like the stillborn twin of Gravity. Foxcatcher just isn't my style. Don't really care for the superhero/comic book movies much, so I never watched Guardians of the Galaxy.

Forgot about gravity.
LOVED IT on imax in 3d. Probably my favorite

 

[fishonjazz]

Not sure how anyone wouldn't want to see Foxcatcher. This is the guy who did Capote and Moneyball, the trailers looked strong, and the early word out of Cannes (and elsewhere) was that it was excellent.

Maybe it's just me. I love true stories and remember when this happened.

I can't ****ing wait!
(Doesn't come to the slc till January 15 or something like that )

 

[sirkickyass]

Holy cow, that's your list, Kick? I mean, I haven't seen any of those other than EOT (which was so mediocre they decided to rename it after their tagline) but you haven't seen anything of note like Foxcatcher? Birdman? Interstellar? And yes, I know most of those were well-critiqued. They're just not your top 10 fare by most.

I saw two of those three (Foxcatcher and Birdman). Interstellar was one that I was told to stay away from by sources I trust. They indicated it was not going to be an instance where I had a good time. I take pride in making my list truly independently and without reference to other people's lists. The only one of those five I wouldn't seriously defend as a Best Picture nominee would be Guardians of the Galaxy, but I think that's the film that's going to be the most "important" in terms of what other blockbusters look like over the next 5-10 years.

I saw Foxcatcher with my wife and best friend. I liked it the best of the three of us and I thought it was mediocre. It is, to put it mildly, relentlessly moody. We also got scolded for laughing hysterically at a couple scenes with Carrell that I'm positive were meant to be funny, but the person in front of us wanted to make it known that "this is not a comedy." The moodiness works with a Philip Seymour Hoffman at the center of a film, but is less convincing with Channing Tatum. Foxcatcher was not a serious consideration as a top film of the year for me.

I also saw Birdman. I think it's a film more to be admired than loved. Edward Norton gets to pull out his fastball for 15 minutes and that's fun, but I think the film's rep is overhyped. In some sense it's got the opposite problem of Grand Budapest Hotel. We take Wes Anderson for granted so he can churn out great work and he's on the edge of what we consider as a good film. Birdman was essentially anointed great before anyone saw it, so that's what we're hearing about now. I think there's a strong argument that Keaton is the worst part of the film, but he's getting Oscar buzz so what do I know?

Like I said early on, of the films that I didn't see Boyhood and Inherent Vice would be the most likely inclusions. I'd stand by any of the five films I named. The One I Love is on Netflix Streaming and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Lego Movie backlash in 3, 2, 1..

Who? Me?

You warned parents against taking kids to a movie based on reasons no kid would ever think or understand? Hmm. Your kids are gonna have an awesome upbringing if you over think things that way. ��

This reminds me of the critic who slammed, Freebirds, because of its historical accuracies based on Thanksgiving. What a killjoy.

I didn't love the movie, but I loved that my kid did and it was an experience I'm never gonna forget. ☺

I'm sure it's not surprising that we have different theories about how to raise kids. And since you're a parent and I'm not, I'll just assume all of my theories are correct and you're doing it wrong.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

Not sure I'd put Wes Anderson films in "best of" categories. Certainly fun, and I enjoyed the film, but I'd have difficulty calling it one of the year's best. I don't watch a ton of films, so maybe it's the quality of the year altogether?

 

[Jazz Insider]

i watched mr. bean the movie on youtube. not sure when it was released but it was uploaded in 2014. think it deserves honorable mention.