Friday, January 16, 2015

Best and Worst Films of 2014


I'll start things off by pointing out that I haven’t seen many of the films considered the best of the year, among them Gone Girl, The Skeleton Twins, Theory of Everything,  The Two Faces of January, Still Alice and The Imitation Game …you could say I've skipped a lot of those Oscar chosen, Golden Globe winners…but anyways, no worries, I’ll be reviewing those during the coming month as well. So anyhow, recapping this year, I’d say it was a weird year for commercial blockbusters, the summer –a time usually reserved for an onslaught of big budget spectacles- was a huge void, with very few blockbusters to titillate. I guess they were saving all the good ones for 2015, which is poised to be a juggernaut year at the box office! There were also a lot of bad films, some of which I've included in the 'Worst of the Year' segment of this article, this is something I've decided to add to my end of the year review thing. Past lists were comprised of only the best, but this year there were so many crappy movies, I couldn't help myself, so from now on, my end of the year review will also include the worst of the year! Hope you’ll find this list useful, this is the cream of the crop my friends, also, the worst of the worst, so you can choose wisely when the time comes to watch a good movie. Enjoy!



Comments:  So yeah, I know this one was released theatrically on 2013, but it was released on dvd on 2014, so I count it among my favorite of 2014. I’m sure some of you out there will do the same. So anyhow, this is Jim Jarmusch’s latest and boy, it’s awesome that it’s a vampire flick. Of course, this being Jarmusch (the living embodiment of artsy/independent cinema) this is a vampire flick that breaks with all the parameters of a vampire film. It has a lot of what makes a Jarmusch film great: great atmosphere, a slow yet interesting pace and characters I couldn’t stop watching. How cool are these vamps? They a cultured group, they hang out at rock and roll bars and eat blood popsicles, they like to spend their eternity reading good books and listening to music, and hanging out with Shakespeare, who by the way is also a vampire!. If you’re in the mood for a slower paced film, with moody characters who love to sulk in their sadness and despair, then this is the movie for you. I loved the locations, first the movie starts off in dilapidated real life Detroit Rock City, and then it shifts to Tangiers, Morocco. The visuals and the vibe in both locations offer distinctively different atmospheres and beautiful visuals. Another existential film from the master of existential films, Jim Jarmusch.   

Quote: “I just feel like all the sand is at the bottom of the hour glass or something”


22 Jump Street

Comments: So yeah, I always like to include comedies in my best of lists because usually they get ignored or lost in the shuffle, same as horror movies do. So anyways, I’m including 22 Jump Street because it actually made laugh. It’s stupid yes, it’s formulaic yet color me stupefied, I couldn’t stop laughing! One thing I enjoyed about the film is that it’s very self conscious, they know they are making a “cash in” sequel, so they reference the fact throughout the dialog. I thought it was kind of hilarious that way, I mean, they acknowledge the fact that they “got lucky with the first one” and so they are giving us the same crap all over again, but with a bigger budget. Another thing I dug about this movie is that the whole ending of the film was shot in Puerto Rico on this beach I’ve gone to a million times, so it was also cool seeing my own country on a film, But that aside, what matters at the end of the day is that this one made me laugh. The plot never mattered at all and they knew it. What matters is the improvisational comedy that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum pull off on any given situation, which is surprisingly hilarious.

Quote: “We Jump Street, and we about to Jump in Yo’ ass!”


Snowpiercer

Comments: Now here’s a film that caught me completely by surprise. It came out of left field for me, but I rented it because I liked the premise which reminded me of Wong Kar Wai’s 2046 (2004) an erotic/romantic film which is also about a train that runs through the world. So anyhow, I ended up liking Snowpiercer a lot because it’s a subversive film, and you guys know how much I love Subversive Cinema! The thing with Snowpiercer is that the train and its inhabitants are a representation of society and so, the people that live on the back of the train represent the poor, the working class, while the ones in the front of the train are the privileged high class, the elite, those in power. The train has its fair share of dictators, rebels and leaders going up against the evil oppressive government. I love the idea that these people have to live in the inside of this train because the outside world has frozen. The idea of having the rebels going up against the evil government to uncover “the truth” about things is nothing new, in fact, we’re currently seeing an avalanche of these types of movies in theaters, the concept of a bullet train piercing through the ice cold world is a novel one and offers some interesting visuals. I ended up loving the art design of this unique film.  

Quote: “A shoe doesn’t belong on your head; a shoe belongs in your foot. A hat belongs in your head. I am a hat. You are a foot. Yes? So it is.”



Comments: Here’s a film I was ready to hate with every inch of my body. Why? Because it reeked of unnecessary sequel, it looked like something they made simply to profit from the success of the original. To my complete an utter surprise, this movie rocked the house! I was floored by the amazing visuals! The first 300 film was centered on visuals, it was a stylistic piece, same goes for this sequel, there’s a distinctive focus on the visuals. Same as in a Frank Miller comic, we’re here to look at some cool art. And 300 comes to life in this way. There’s tons of slow motion and incredible camera angles. This film is a CGI orgasm, thankfully, they use CGI they way I like CGI to be used: artfully. Other great factors: it was neither a sequel, nor a prequel, it’s a film that happens at the same time as the first film, but in a different location, I thought that was a pretty novel idea. We get Xerxe’s origin story and get Eva Green playing a hellish villain, something she apparently excels at! 

Quote: “You fight much harder than you fuck!”



Comments: The most hyped movie of 2014 had only one thing to prove to me: was it all worth it? I mean, it’s not every day that a movie causes terrorist threats! Here’s a movie that’s supposedly so offensive to the North Korean government that they supposedly threatened to commit terrorist attacks upon any theater that dared to show it! Be that story true or not, what mattered to me was if it was funny or not, was it any good? Hell yes it was, I laughed every second of it. On top of things, the film delivers a message about the mediocrity of mass media, and the importance of using the media for something worthwhile, like say, the truth. It has that Seth Rogen and crew style of humor, so if you enjoyed say Pineapple Express (2008) or This is theEnd (2013) as much as I did, then you’re in for a treat.  

Quote: “You know what’s more destructive than nuclear bombs? Words.”


Comments: Here’s a movie that left cinemas extremely fast for whatever the reason. Maybe the filmmakers waited too long to make it? I mean, here’s a sequel that came out almost 10 years after its predecessor! It was a huge bomb in theaters, but to that I say, “whatever!” This movie gave us everything we loved from the first film, It gave us Marv again, the whole thing is still told in loud, exaggerated comic book style, we still get the voiceovers, the black and white look, the little splashes of color here and there. And it even functions as something of a sequel, concluding one of the stories from the first film. Bottom line is, while this new Sin City film is not better than the first one, because let’s face it, the first film is a hard film to top, it does still give us everything we loved from the first time around. The same style, the same characters, the same tough as nails cops and evil as hell villains; in this sequel, Sin City is still Sin City, and I loved that about it. 

Quote: “An Atom Bomb goes off between my legs..”


Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier

Comments: Sometimes it feels like Marvel just keeps getting better and better at making comic book movies. I mean, they should, each movie keeps getting bigger and bigger, with more buildings collapsing, more worlds in peril…things are getting epic with each passing film trying to top the levels of destruction achieved by the previous ones, and with budgets escalating with each passing film, who knows what we’ll end up seeing next. So yeah, this sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) is bigger and badder in every way possible. It has a distinctively subversive vibe to it, with Captain America realizing that maybe working for the government isn’t the best idea. On this one he decides to go solo, which is cool because it frees the character and the films from political propaganda, which was so present in the first film. The action is amazing, but also, this film includes one of the coolest characters to ever grace a comic book film: The Winter Soldier! Though Joe Johnston did a fine job with the first film, this one excels in many ways, it’s more bombastic, the story is more epic and the American patriotism/propaganda machine is turned off, which honestly is one of the things I didn’t like about the first one.    

Quote: “The truth isn’t all things to all people, all the time”



Comments:  This one was special for me because it’s a film from one of the greatest directors of all time: Ridley Scott. Every film he makes is a gift, so of course I went to see this one. All I have to say is that if I was a Christian, I’d be super stoked about this movie. But I’m not, and I still loved the hell out of this one, so take that for what it’s worth. The story of Moses, the ten commandments and the parting of the Red Sea is about as epic as the bible gets, so of course I was excited to see how one of the greatest directors to walk the face of the earth was going to bring these stories to life. And I wasn’t disappointed, the movie was epic, yet it was different to Cecil B. Demille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), for example, Moses isn’t portrayed as a religious zealot, he’s more a rational man. Maybe he talks to god for real, or maybe it’s because he accidentally hit his head? Maybe all the miracles are explained away by reason, or maybe God’S making them happen? The movie is ambiguous like that and many Christians resent this version of The Ten Commandments because of that, but if you ask me, Exodus: Gods and Kings is no less spectacular a film because of this.

Quote: “Follow me and you will be free, stay and you will perish.”



Comments: By now we are accustomed to a level of excellence from Christopher Nolan, slowly but surely he’s shaping up to be quite the director, one of the greats. Interstellar is certainly a good one, though truthfully, I don’t think Nolan has made a bad film yet. What’s awesome about Interstellar is that it evokes so many movies that came before it, and not just movies but also books, to be more precise Arthur C. Clarke books like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rendezvous with Rama and Hammer of God. It’s also very heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Any Kubrick fan should instantly spot all the homage’s Nolan makes to what is obviously one of his favorite directors. But aside from its influences, the film offers us the experience of what it might feel like to see a black hole up close and personal, in the most scientifically accurate way possible, which is an awesome experience, nothing remotely cheesy or silly like what you might find in Disney’s The Black Hole (1979), yet every bit as trippy. The cool thing about movies about Black Holes is that whenever we go into the Black Hole it’s going to be something trippy every time, no matter what the film, once in the black hole anything’s possible. Interstellar is no exception, it might get a bit incomprehensible at times, but there’s no denying the visual spectacle is there, and at heart, it’s also a family film, with heavy emphasis on love.      

Quote: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”



Comments: This was the surprise hit of the year, nobody (not even Disney) expected this to be as big a hit as it turned out to be and it can all be attributed to James Gunn, the director behind this superhero/sci-fi/comedy/ mash up. The thing about James Gunn is that same as Josh Weddon, the director behind The Avengers (2012) franchise, Gunn is a true geek. He’s always loved sci-fi and horror, if not check out his totally underrated Slither (2006),a  film about alien slugs that grow inside of you and turn you into a zombie. He’s also mixed the comic book genre with comedy before in Super (2010). So in many ways, Gunn was the perfect guy to direct Guardians of the Galaxy. Why did it work so well? To start things off, these characters had not been seen before, I mean, sure there have been Guardians of the Galaxy comics, but never on film. And even the comics were never that popular. So the characters have a much needed freshness to them. Also, apparently people don’t want the popular, squeaky clean heroes we all know; they want the misfits, the imperfect heroes, the heroes with a freaking sense of humor. Also, the comedy is welcome, Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a good bye to the dark and brooding superhero films like The Dark Knight (2008), and a hello, to a more light hearted, fun, comic book film, which to be honest, I was missing.     

Quote: “What should we do next? Something good? Something bad? Little bit of both?”


Grand Budapest Hotel

Comments: Wes Anderson’s films are a universe onto themselves, so every time you see an Anderson film, you know you’re seeing an Anderson film. They have that look, that framing, that music, that dialog, those colors, those actors, simply put, Anderson has his very own unique style. This time around we go even deeper into Anderson’s own world through The Grand Budapest Hotel, a gigantic hotel that exists in the fictional ‘Republic of Zubrowka’. The story focuses on a concierge and the things he does to make everybody happy, especially the ladies, even the older ones. On top of things, the film has a pacifist message; the story unfolds during the overtaking of a Nazi like government, which affects the lives of all the characters in the film. Grand Budapest Hotel is a delight to look at, the aesthetic of it is simply beautiful. Behind it all is a story of true love and true friendship, looking forward to seeing it again.   

Quote: “A lobby boy is above all discreet to a fault. Our guests know that their deepest secrets, some of which are frankly rather unseemly, will go with us to our graves. So keep your mouth shut zero.”



Comments: This one was a complete surprise to me. I’d heard it was sort of a sci-fi, but I wasn’t ready for such a different kind of sci-fi, not in your face, but instead very subtle.  The film is all about a female alien who seduces men in order to feed on them. She’s sort of like a vampire, which is why it made me think that Under the Skin is actually an artsy fartsy version of Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985), it even copies the idea of having the female vampire/alien naked throughout a huge chunk of the film. If you remember correctly, in Lifeforce a human ends up obsessed with the female alien, attracted by her magnetic, hypnotic beauty. Basically the same thing happens in Under the Skin. What I did get from Under the Skin that I didn’t get from Lifeforce was an exploration of human sensuality, how we are blinded by the prospect of having sex, so much so that we’ll sink into the blackest tar pits to get it. We are blinded by it. Because the main character is sort of like a voyeur, observing humanity with an objective point of view, many aspects of human behavior are explored, including violence, rape and compassion. Topple all of that with amazing visuals and atmosphere and a twist ending and you got yourselves one of the best sci-fi films of the year. The film does have a slow pace, which is not for everyone because truth be told, half of you will love this film while the other half will hate it. Me? I loved every second of it, it just got better and better the further I went. On top of things, it’s filled with these amazing trippy visuals and shot in a realistic documentary style. It’s just a very artful film, which is why it gets on my best of 2014 list. It’s just a beautiful film to look at and absorb.   

Quote: “People wind me up, they are ignorant”



Comments: Nightcrawler is a movie of its time; it marks the general mentality that people are living under right now. Sort of like how TheGraduate (1967) marked the 60’s, Wall Street (1987) the 80’s and Fight Club (1999) the 90’s. Its main character, Louis Bloom, is a desperate man, on the brink of poverty, willing to do anything he can do to survive. Hunger drives him, the desire for success is his fuel and he will stop at nothing to live a better life, to mingle with the big guys, to prove his worth. It’s a sad reflection of society, because while it is true that Louis Bloom is an exaggeration, a sort of cartoon of the crazy dog eat dog world we live in, we cannot deny that this character is a truthful mirror to the kind of human beings society is breeding. And this is the reason why I loved the film, but also because it comments on media manipulation. In some ways it’s similar to Sidney Lumet’s Network (1976) when it shows how the media makes us see things in a certain way, under a certain light. The film offers us a  powerful performance from Gyllenhal, he was already nominated for a Golden Globe, but lost to Eddie Redmayne for Theory of Everything. Sadly, Gyllenhall was ignored by the Academy Awards, could it be because the film attacks the media? Well, at least it got a nod for best screenplay. 

Quote: “Who am I? I’m a hard worker. I set high goals and I’ve been told that I’m persistent”



Comments: This is one of those movies that is a film about films, it speaks about the frustrations of an aging actor looking for a way to get back into the spotlight, to get the respect and admiration he once had from the public. He does this by directing and starring in a play that he hopes will become a hit. The film analyzes what cinema is today, and goes all around what it means when they say that Hollywood takes you in, chews you and then spits you out. What do audiences like to watch nowadays? Do they like philosophical cinema? Or do they enjoy empty effects spectacles?  It was interesting seeing a film that addresses society’s current obsession with superhero movies. It’s also about a man battling old age, he’s trying to prove he’s not passé, he wants to prove he still has some worth in this world! One of the more interesting aspects of the film, apart from the awesome themes it touches upon is how it was made. This film was shot with long takes, and it aims to give us the illusion that it was shot in one continuous long shot, the result is nothing short of amazing, with the camera in constant movement always following somebody around. Same as Linklater’s Boyhood (yet another Oscar contender this year) Birdman will more than likely be recognized for its technical achievements, for its direction and for Michael Keaton’s awesome performance.  

Quote: “And let’s face it Dad, it’s not for the sake of art; it’s because you want to feel relevant again”


Boyhood

Comments: Boyhood is quite possibly the most amazing coming of age story ever made. Why? Because through this film we can actually watch the protagonists grow before our very eyes and not by using different actors to play the same character in different stages of their lives, but by taking 12 years to make the film! So we see Mason, the films main character go from being a child, to being a college student, all during the course of one film. The film is a life  journey of a family. You see, Boyhood is essentially a family drama about a single mother looking for the best that she can for her and her children and how the whole family adapts to the different changes in life, the cool part is seeing the actors change through the years, they change hairstyles, music they listen to, stature. I love this kind of film because it’s  a cautionary tale, a coming of age story, it’s the kind of film I would show my preteen son or daughter so they understand the different phases that one goes through in life, the kind of things that should be taken in consideration before making life changing decisions. In accordance with Richard Linklater’s style of filmmaking, Boyhood is essentially one long philosophical conversation, exploring life, feelings and situations. It’s an amazing accomplishment for Linklater, a stroke of genius that could quite possibly win him the “Best Director” award at the Oscars this year.

Quote: “Any dipshit can take pictures Mason. Art? That’s special. What can you bring to it that nobody else can?”


Whiplash

Comments: This movie is amazing in many ways, but one of them is that you don't know how anything is going to turn out, you wont know where this film is going, and that my friends is a good thing in my book. Another thing it has going for it is that it's a film about a music student and his crazy ass gung ho teacher and his extreme teaching methods. You see 19 year old Andrew wants to be one of the greatest drummers whoever lived, and his willing to take the physical and psychological punishment he has to in order to be among the best. Does his teacher go over the line with his teaching methods? Should Andrew blow the whistle on this hot head, loud mouthed teacher? Or will all this preassure bring out the best in Andrew? You won't know if you should hate Mr. Fletcher, or admire him. Though it's J.K. Simmons that has gotten all the Oscar buzz, I also have to mention that Miles Teller's performance as Andrew is equally amazing. Simmons has been nominated for Actor of the Year at this years Oscars, and I think he actually has a shot at winning. He does have tough competition (Michael Keaton is ready for that Oscar) but without a doubt, Simmons is one heavy contender! Highly recommend this inspiring film, just forget everything you have seen in films like Mr. Hollands Opus (1995) and Dangerous Minds (1995)!

Quote: "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'Good Job'"

Worst of 2014

Haven’t seen Annie, Left Behind, God is Dead, Heaven is for Real, but if I had, trust me, they’d all be on this list! Here’s a list of some of the worst films of the year for me. All of these where simply put, a torture to look at.  



Comments: Speaking of torture, here’s a film that I gave the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t think it would be as bad as people were saying it was, cause, shoot me, I kind of enjoyed the third one. So anyhow,  things started out well, but the further into the movie I went, the worst it got. By the time the film goes to China in it’s third hour of running time, I was like “Why?” I just didn’t care for anything that was happening. Though the film does have its show stopping moments, like the scene where an alien spaceship pulls every metal object up in the air with its magnetism, most of the film felt like it didn’t really matter. I tried to like it, but it was too silly, too long and too unimportant, I blame the soulless computer generated characters. The transformers just aren’t well written characters, we never get to ‘know’ them, and therefore we never care. We’ve all seen movies that have brought computer generated characters to life through excellent characterization, excellent motion capture performances and voice acting, but these cardboard cut outs just aren’t it. Here’s a film I actually saw people walking out from!   

Quote: “I am Optimus Prime and this message is to my creators: leave planet earth alone! ‘Cause I’m coming for you!”



Comments: Wasn’t expecting to put Expendables 3 on my ‘worst of the year’ because I enjoyed the first two, but damn, here we are. Why was Expendables 3 such a disaster? Well, they did many things wrong to screw this one up, let’s see. First up, the reason why we are here is to see our favorite 80’s and 90’s action stars kick ass and say a few one liners while doing it, like in the good old days. Instead, we see the old guns for a while, but then they are replaced for most of the films running time with a new crew of kids whom we care nothing for, cause we came to see the old guys, not these new guys whom we don’t know. So that’s the first mistake, then they go and make it a PG-13 bloodless film, which is an even bigger mistake because what we came to see was a homage to old school bloody action films like the kind they made in the 80’s, not the bloodless cgi crap we see nowadays. And speaking of CGI, god they over did it here and this is certainly not what we came to see. We want to see real cars and helicopters blowing up, not Playstation grade animated versions of them. Plus, the screenplay was just freaking atrocious! It was sad to see so many big guns like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Jet Li and Arnold Schwarzenegger sink so low, these guys deserved way better than this. Bruce Willis did right in backing out of this one, smart move Willis! Even though it was greed that made you step down from appearing on this one, you avoided a huge turd! Yipee- Kiyay in deed!  

Quote: “Nothing lasts forever. We’re part of the past. If we keep this up, the only way this ends up for any of us is a whole in the ground and no one will give a shit.”



Comments: I’m a robo nut, I’ve loved Robocop ever sense he stomped his way into theaters way back in 1987, when action films still had some balls. What made the old Robocop so cool was Paul Verhoeven’s love of blood and violence and its tendency to go complete over the top, which is why this new politically correct Robocop doesn’t work. It plays it safe, it’s too squeaky clean. This movie needed to be rated ‘R’, it needed the profanity, the nudity, the violence, the gore, the violence and the blood and guts that makes the original film so memorable. If you want to read an in depth article that lists the reasons why this new Robocop just didn't work, go here. But basically, this new Robocop had none of what we liked about the old Robocop, it didn’t have the over the top villains, the craziness, the goddamn over the topness! Joel Kinnaman as Robocop, terrible choice, that black suit, awful. Robocop, without the mas just looks goofy, they should’ve just called it Goofy Cop. It frustrates me. But, the fans retaliated with a dismal box office return. Why? Because this wasn’t the Robocop we love, it wasn’t the Robocop we wanted. We want that 80’ Robocop magic back! Somebody call Verhoeven!   

Quote: “This my friends, is the future of American Justice!”



Comments: If there’s something I hate, it’s a wasted opportunity. When films that have the potential for something awesome, turn out to be crap, it infuriates me. Case in point: Transcendence, a film I had high hopes for, yet ended up being really disappointed by. Why? Well, because it was a bore fest. I mean, here’s a movie dealing with artificial intelligence and cyber punk elements. This is the story of an extremely intelligent scientist who ends up transferring his consciousness to a computer, yet somehow the film managed to bore me to tears! Too bad, because while I dig films that explore philosophical issues and this one does that, it did so in the least entertaining way, which is a big no, no for me when it comes to movies. I guess I’ll have to wait another decade for a decent cyberpunk film. 

Quote: “Once online, a sentient machine will quickly overcome the limits of biology. And in a short time, its analytic power will become greater than the collective intelligence of every person born in the history of the world ”



I, Frankenstein

Comments: Wow, where to begin, this film is an abomination for many reasons. Number one is that I really hate Hollywood’s new trend of making classical monsters less monstrous? They did it in Dracula Untold (2014), the Twilight Saga and Warm Bodies (2013) and they will apparently keep doing this. I guess somebody decided having monstrous monsters was a bad thing for our collective psyche, so now monsters are to be softened up or something? Fuck that bullshit, I want my monsters ugly, deformed and freaking monstrous. The more evil looking the better! I don’t want them to look like Aaron Eckhart or Luke Evans. Man, Frankenstein is supposed to be made of dead body parts for Christ’s sake! For all intents and purposes, Frankenstein is a zombie! Yet he looks like Aaron Eckhart scratched his face in a cat fight! On top of that, the computer generated effects on this thing were atrocious! I mean, the whole thing looked like a videogame, which made me role my eyes in disappointment. So, ugh. Don’t even bother with this one, I disconnected from it faster than you can say “It’s alive!”

Quote: “I’m a dozen different parts of eight different corpses. I’m a monster.” (Yeah Right)


The Legend of Hercules

Comments: So yeah, this is another one that I decided I’d give the benefit of the doubt to because it’s Hercules and I love films about Greek mythology, I love fantasy. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with this one either. First red flag that popped up was the fact that this one was made in a hurry, to compete with Brett Ratner’s Hercules (2014), which by the way I dug a lot. So anyhow, this version is another CGI fest, and the thing about CGI is that if it’s not done convincingly, well, then it just looks bad. And that’s what this film suffered the most for. As you can see, a lot of the films that made it onto my worst of the years suffer from the same ailment: they are filled with terrible cgi and bad scripts, a deadly combination.  Another stumbling block with this movie is that it stole a lot of scenes from Ratner’s film and from the God of War series of video games. Why didn’t they just make a God of War film instead?  It’s so sad to see Renny Harlin, who directed a series of cool action flicks like Cliffhanger (1993), Die Hard 2 (1990) and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), sink so low. Lately he just directs crap, pure unadulterated crap, so sad.
    
Well, that's it boys and girls, see you again next year!  

2 comments:

  1. I promised myself I'd give "Under The Skin" another shot as it just didn''t grab me the first time, even if I respected what Glazer was attempting. I'd say the same for "The Grand Budapest Hotel," which I dug a little more.

    Agree with you about "The Interview." It's better than most gave it credit for. We're completely on the same page with "Boyhood," "Birdman" and "Nightcrawler." Looking forward to finally seeing "Interstellar" at some point since everything suggests I'll love it.

    Luckily, I was able to avoid all the films on your Worst list. Sorry to hear they tried to make a tame, politically correct "Robocop." Clearly the worst direction they could have gone with it.

    Great write-up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, Under the Skin is a love it or hate it type of deal, I simply dug the visuals and the atmosphere which was creepy.

    YEah, Birdman, Boyhood and Nightcrawler were the big ones for me, though I know I haven't seen a lot of the "important ones"

    Recently saw Foxcatcher, but I wasn't exactly blown away by it. I mean, it was well made and acted, it but didnt say much to me.

    In regards to Robocop, I'd say another reboot, with a grittier, sarcastic, nihilistic vibe would be the right way to go. Cause what they did was just...blah.

    ReplyDelete