i heard a lot of people say this was a weak year for movies and i could hardly disagree more. there were a few truly phenomenal, nearly perfect movies and a LOT of great ones as well. unfortunately, there were also some giant disasters.
i have a top ten list, a bunch of honorable mentions, a worst of the year list, and a most disappointing of the year list (differentiated from the "worst" list only on the basis that these were movies i had hope would be good for whatever reason). then also a list of the movies i'd liked to have seen, but didn't get to and think they would have been real contenders for the top ten or at least honorable mentions.
i'll include links to previews for the top ten and honorable mentions (this many embeds and the page would take forever to load for mobile folks), a short bit about each of the top three, a couple words on the rest of the top ten, and comments thereafter if i have anything in particular to say.
TOP TEN MOVIES OF THE YEAR
UNDER THE SKIN (trailer)
i'm not sure there's a flaw in this entire movie. i love everything. it's so much more compelling when a sci-fi/fantasy/whatever story doesn't hold your hand and just makes you figure out what's happening. in that spirit, i won't give any details about plot. but the production is interesting, too. scarlett johansson put on a wig, adopted an accent, drove a van equipped with hidden cameras, and picked up random men on the street in glasgow. hilarity (er, okay, not hilarity, but really creepy exchanges and perhaps some violence) ensues.
i could go on, but i'd rather not spoil anything further. easily number one of the year...
BOYHOOD (trailer)
...even though i almost gave it to Boyhood. another movie that needs to be taken on its own terms and not suffer from others' expectations. there's not really a plot as much as it simply follows this kid's life from circa-6 years old through to his first day of college. if you're not aware, the concept was that director richard linklater (slacker, dazed and confused, the before sunrise trilogy) cast the movie and then filmed for a week once a year for 12 years. the effect is pretty unbelievable: you see ethan hawke, patricia arquette, and the kids (boy and girl) age in real life over the course of the 2 1/2 hour running time.
i can't say it's flawless, but i can forgive any minor problem on the basis of the pure joy of the movie. and while it's called boyhood, it's as much about the growth of ethan hawke and patricia arquette's characters as that of their son. one of the several movies on this list i saw multiple times in the theater (and i'm going back to see this one a third time tomorrow).
WHIPLASH (trailer)
this one is getting some buzz and it's well-deserved, but everyone seems to be pointing to the performances. they are truly awesome, but the story is just as good. the basic plot is that a talented young drummer enters a fictionalized music school with the goal of studying under one of the top jazz conductors in the country. he is eventually chosen by the instructor for the primary jazz band in the school and the instructor uses his well-known severe teaching methods.
i've always loved jk simmons, but surprised by miles teller, who i had never cared for previously. as a jazz drummer, this was an easy win on that level, too, but i honestly think i'd have loved it if it had been about lacrosse.
BIRDMAN (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (trailer)
this was praised pretty universally, but there seems to be a backlash now, which is puzzling because i saw it again last weekend and loved it just as much - maybe more - the second time. perfect performances here as in Whiplash and again an actor i'd not liked until now - emma stone, in this case - did great work.
the film appears as if it was shot in one long continuous take - which it was not - which only builds on the tension of the plot, which tells the story of an aging former-action-superhero-movie-star trying to regain artistic credibility by putting on a raymond carver play on broadway. throughout he is burdened by his previous work as birdman and perhaps poor choices made in his personal life. it also has one of the best scores of the year - almost all a single drum set.
FOXCATCHER (trailer)
great watch from the director of moneyball - one of my favorites of its year - and probably could have pierced the top three honestly.
NIGHTCRAWLER (trailer)
dark and funny. i saw a lot of people who said it wasn't interesting because we don't need another movie to show us that the media is fucked up, but they're missing the point that this is a character study and jake gyllenhaal is truly scary in the role.
ENEMY (trailer)
another jake gyllenhaal movie (in which he gives two performances, actually). a true mindfuck, but on top of the puzzle-box quality of the story, it's filmed beautifully. plus, if you care to hear from the director what the fuck it really means, he's given interviews explaining basically everything about the movie.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (trailer)
saw this one twice in the theater and laughed out loud (a rarity for me) both times. i think i enjoy comic book movies more when i know nothing of the characters beforehand.
NOAH (trailer)
somehow entirely dismissed by everyone, but some of the most surreal images produced all year. it really goes for it in both story and character development, basically portraying noah as a crazed schizophrenic a lot of the time.
THE ONE I LOVE (trailer)
certainly the best romantic comedy/sci-fi movie of the year. great movie to watch with your significant other. a couple visits a cottage on the recommendation of their therapist and are faced with questions about which self they want to be and what they really want/need from their partner.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (also in order of preference)
INHERENT VICE (trailer) (if this had come out earlier and i'd had time to see it a few times, i think it would have had a good shot at the top ten - maybe top three - but it's one that requires repeat viewings.)
EDGE OF TOMORROW (trailer) (much more fun than i expected and doesn't devolve into the silliness so common in these types of movies.)
THE SKELETON TWINS (trailer) (honestly, this might also be a perfect movie. hilarious and honest.)
SNOWPIERCER (trailer) (not quite as mindblowing as others have pitched it imo, but very solid and certainly one of the best sci-fi movies of the year.)
THE ROVER (trailer)
THE DROP (trailer)
OBVIOUS CHILD (trailer)
LIFE ITSELF (trailer)
NYMPHOMANIAC (trailer)
THE BABADOOK (trailer)
GONE GIRL (trailer) (an absolute joy the first watch, but some significant flaws reveal themselves on repeat viewings imo)
BLUE RUIN (trailer) (really tense, fantastic revenge movie)
22 JUMP STREET (trailer) (nearly as good as the first)
JODOROWSKY'S DUNE (trailer) (first you think, "wow, it's sad he didn't get to make this movie," then you realize, "lol, no studio would fund this movie in a million years," but jodorowsky himself is just so hilarious and intense that it's a joy to hear him tell the story.)
WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
THIRD PERSON (worst screenplay i've seen in a long, long time)
TRANSCENDENCE (represents the worst of what is possible in artificial intelligence movies)
TRANSFORMERS: EXTINCTION (no surprise, these movies still suck balls)
I, FRANKENSTEIN (i, want my money back)
POMPEII (turns out john snow plays exactly one character well, but the script and absolutely horrendous CGI certainly didn't help here)
DIVERGENT (the hunger games for people who think the hunger games is too advanced)
THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (after a slight improvement in the second chapter, the hobbit movies continue to prove right all the critics who called it a cash grab)
SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR (just sad that they'd resurrect this story and sully the legacy of the great first film)
EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (it continues to puzzle me how ridley scott can make such great and such awful films so quickly after one another)
MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIES OF THE YEAR
TUSK (kevin smith proved he could do solid genre work in Red State, but this was just an embarrassment on every level)
WILLOW CREEK (there are lots of interesting places you could take this premise, but this movie found a way to avoid all of them)
I ORIGINS (again, lots of interesting options for the story - good job finding one that was at once boring and ridiculous. brit marling has done some really interesting stuff, but not for a while unfortunately. maybe next year her movie will just go onto the worst list rather than the most disappointing)
GODZILLA (as with Sin City, why resurrect a franchise to do something so fucking boring?)
ROBOCOP (ditto)
MOVIES I MISSED
SELMA
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
STRANGER ON A LAKE
AMERICAN SNIPER
THE HOMESMAN
LOCKE
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
FRANK
CALVARY
TOP FIVE
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
FORCE MAJEURE
LEVIATHAN
MANGLEHORN
IDA
THE OVERNIGHTERS
i have a top ten list, a bunch of honorable mentions, a worst of the year list, and a most disappointing of the year list (differentiated from the "worst" list only on the basis that these were movies i had hope would be good for whatever reason). then also a list of the movies i'd liked to have seen, but didn't get to and think they would have been real contenders for the top ten or at least honorable mentions.
i'll include links to previews for the top ten and honorable mentions (this many embeds and the page would take forever to load for mobile folks), a short bit about each of the top three, a couple words on the rest of the top ten, and comments thereafter if i have anything in particular to say.
TOP TEN MOVIES OF THE YEAR
UNDER THE SKIN (trailer)
i'm not sure there's a flaw in this entire movie. i love everything. it's so much more compelling when a sci-fi/fantasy/whatever story doesn't hold your hand and just makes you figure out what's happening. in that spirit, i won't give any details about plot. but the production is interesting, too. scarlett johansson put on a wig, adopted an accent, drove a van equipped with hidden cameras, and picked up random men on the street in glasgow. hilarity (er, okay, not hilarity, but really creepy exchanges and perhaps some violence) ensues.
i could go on, but i'd rather not spoil anything further. easily number one of the year...
BOYHOOD (trailer)
...even though i almost gave it to Boyhood. another movie that needs to be taken on its own terms and not suffer from others' expectations. there's not really a plot as much as it simply follows this kid's life from circa-6 years old through to his first day of college. if you're not aware, the concept was that director richard linklater (slacker, dazed and confused, the before sunrise trilogy) cast the movie and then filmed for a week once a year for 12 years. the effect is pretty unbelievable: you see ethan hawke, patricia arquette, and the kids (boy and girl) age in real life over the course of the 2 1/2 hour running time.
i can't say it's flawless, but i can forgive any minor problem on the basis of the pure joy of the movie. and while it's called boyhood, it's as much about the growth of ethan hawke and patricia arquette's characters as that of their son. one of the several movies on this list i saw multiple times in the theater (and i'm going back to see this one a third time tomorrow).
WHIPLASH (trailer)
this one is getting some buzz and it's well-deserved, but everyone seems to be pointing to the performances. they are truly awesome, but the story is just as good. the basic plot is that a talented young drummer enters a fictionalized music school with the goal of studying under one of the top jazz conductors in the country. he is eventually chosen by the instructor for the primary jazz band in the school and the instructor uses his well-known severe teaching methods.
i've always loved jk simmons, but surprised by miles teller, who i had never cared for previously. as a jazz drummer, this was an easy win on that level, too, but i honestly think i'd have loved it if it had been about lacrosse.
BIRDMAN (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (trailer)
this was praised pretty universally, but there seems to be a backlash now, which is puzzling because i saw it again last weekend and loved it just as much - maybe more - the second time. perfect performances here as in Whiplash and again an actor i'd not liked until now - emma stone, in this case - did great work.
the film appears as if it was shot in one long continuous take - which it was not - which only builds on the tension of the plot, which tells the story of an aging former-action-superhero-movie-star trying to regain artistic credibility by putting on a raymond carver play on broadway. throughout he is burdened by his previous work as birdman and perhaps poor choices made in his personal life. it also has one of the best scores of the year - almost all a single drum set.
FOXCATCHER (trailer)
great watch from the director of moneyball - one of my favorites of its year - and probably could have pierced the top three honestly.
NIGHTCRAWLER (trailer)
dark and funny. i saw a lot of people who said it wasn't interesting because we don't need another movie to show us that the media is fucked up, but they're missing the point that this is a character study and jake gyllenhaal is truly scary in the role.
ENEMY (trailer)
another jake gyllenhaal movie (in which he gives two performances, actually). a true mindfuck, but on top of the puzzle-box quality of the story, it's filmed beautifully. plus, if you care to hear from the director what the fuck it really means, he's given interviews explaining basically everything about the movie.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (trailer)
saw this one twice in the theater and laughed out loud (a rarity for me) both times. i think i enjoy comic book movies more when i know nothing of the characters beforehand.
NOAH (trailer)
somehow entirely dismissed by everyone, but some of the most surreal images produced all year. it really goes for it in both story and character development, basically portraying noah as a crazed schizophrenic a lot of the time.
THE ONE I LOVE (trailer)
certainly the best romantic comedy/sci-fi movie of the year. great movie to watch with your significant other. a couple visits a cottage on the recommendation of their therapist and are faced with questions about which self they want to be and what they really want/need from their partner.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (also in order of preference)
INHERENT VICE (trailer) (if this had come out earlier and i'd had time to see it a few times, i think it would have had a good shot at the top ten - maybe top three - but it's one that requires repeat viewings.)
EDGE OF TOMORROW (trailer) (much more fun than i expected and doesn't devolve into the silliness so common in these types of movies.)
THE SKELETON TWINS (trailer) (honestly, this might also be a perfect movie. hilarious and honest.)
SNOWPIERCER (trailer) (not quite as mindblowing as others have pitched it imo, but very solid and certainly one of the best sci-fi movies of the year.)
THE ROVER (trailer)
THE DROP (trailer)
OBVIOUS CHILD (trailer)
LIFE ITSELF (trailer)
NYMPHOMANIAC (trailer)
THE BABADOOK (trailer)
GONE GIRL (trailer) (an absolute joy the first watch, but some significant flaws reveal themselves on repeat viewings imo)
BLUE RUIN (trailer) (really tense, fantastic revenge movie)
22 JUMP STREET (trailer) (nearly as good as the first)
JODOROWSKY'S DUNE (trailer) (first you think, "wow, it's sad he didn't get to make this movie," then you realize, "lol, no studio would fund this movie in a million years," but jodorowsky himself is just so hilarious and intense that it's a joy to hear him tell the story.)
WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
THIRD PERSON (worst screenplay i've seen in a long, long time)
TRANSCENDENCE (represents the worst of what is possible in artificial intelligence movies)
TRANSFORMERS: EXTINCTION (no surprise, these movies still suck balls)
I, FRANKENSTEIN (i, want my money back)
POMPEII (turns out john snow plays exactly one character well, but the script and absolutely horrendous CGI certainly didn't help here)
DIVERGENT (the hunger games for people who think the hunger games is too advanced)
THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (after a slight improvement in the second chapter, the hobbit movies continue to prove right all the critics who called it a cash grab)
SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR (just sad that they'd resurrect this story and sully the legacy of the great first film)
EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (it continues to puzzle me how ridley scott can make such great and such awful films so quickly after one another)
MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIES OF THE YEAR
TUSK (kevin smith proved he could do solid genre work in Red State, but this was just an embarrassment on every level)
WILLOW CREEK (there are lots of interesting places you could take this premise, but this movie found a way to avoid all of them)
I ORIGINS (again, lots of interesting options for the story - good job finding one that was at once boring and ridiculous. brit marling has done some really interesting stuff, but not for a while unfortunately. maybe next year her movie will just go onto the worst list rather than the most disappointing)
GODZILLA (as with Sin City, why resurrect a franchise to do something so fucking boring?)
ROBOCOP (ditto)
MOVIES I MISSED
SELMA
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
STRANGER ON A LAKE
AMERICAN SNIPER
THE HOMESMAN
LOCKE
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
FRANK
CALVARY
TOP FIVE
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
FORCE MAJEURE
LEVIATHAN
MANGLEHORN
IDA
THE OVERNIGHTERS
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