The Panda

I am enjoying your list a lot so far.

That's the definition of a showier role, Jones was just as strong in her confliction with having to care for the man with the disease. Redmayne was brilliant but don't forget to give credit where it's due, Jones was pretty fantastic too.

I believe those suffered from having disappointing sequels. Revolutions and Worlds end are the only comparable movies there and both of them came off movies that kind of really sucked compared to the first movie. Unless infinity war part 1 is really terrible we shouldn't have that happen. (Like reloaded or dead mans chest bad). Then infinity war part 2 would need to be even worse than that (worlds end and revolutions bad)

Your opinion is wrong.

What are you talking about? Felicity Jones was just as strong if not stronger than Redmayne.

No, Boyhoods higher. I'm not saying it's the best movie of all time, but there is an overall consensus that it's better than the hurt locker. A 100 on Metacritic is something that I legitimately thought would be impossible for a movie with over 200 reviews but it has it. It's safe to say the majority of the people who are going to be voting that have seen it think it's pretty great.

There's also a couple other websites you can use if you're smart about it. I don't (unless I literally have no other way to watch it), but it could be an option in Ethan's case.

I saw it the other day and had similar problems as everyone else. The first half or so was strong but then it devolves into a a torture porn flick with no substance and just kind of ends. I wouldn't have minded all of the PoW stuff if Jolie spent more time developing character and relationships and how they changed during that time with the violence, because the violence itself became less impactful each time. I also, like Tele said, wanted at bare minimum 10 minutes or so showing him going and forgiving his captors, that would have made payoff for the PoW section. Seeing him follow through as a changed man I feel needed to be in the movie because without it everything beforehand really lost its impact. The movie as it stands is very hollow, despite good cinematography and performances. Jack O'Connell was very strong but they really did not give him enough to work with.

The last act of the broadway show Into the Woods is the best part and what makes the show. They didn't totally get the second act right but they did a decent job at it.

I really enjoyed it, but I was a fan of the broadway musical. People who weren't fans beforehand don't seem to be liking it as much.

Definitely watch Blue Ruin, it's pretty short and you won't regret it.

4 from his will probably make mine as well. However, before I do my half-decade list I want to see Selma, Whiplash, and Nightcrawler.

Here's my full ranking of the year. 1. Boyhood 2. Birdman: Or the Unexpected Nature of Ignorance 3. Guardians of the Galaxy 4. The Grand Budapest Hotel 5. The Immigrant 6. Interstellar 7. Snowpiercer 8. The LEGO Movie 9. The Theory of Everything 10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 11. Gone Girl 12. The Fault in Our Stars 13. Fury 14. Blue Ruin 15. X-Men: Days of Future Past 16. Into the Woods 17. Only Lover’s Left Alive 18. The Imitation Game 19. How to Train Your Dragon 2 20. The Interview 21. Begin Again 22. Edge of Tomorrow 23. Big Hero 6 24. 22 Jump Street 25. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 26. Wild 27. Bad Words 28. St Vincent 29. Chef 30. Godzilla 31. Noah 32. Bears 33. Neighbors 34. The Giver 35. Next Goal Wins 36. Unbroken 37. Life Itself 38. Locke 39. About Last Night 40. A Most Wanted Man 41. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 42. The Monument’s Men 43. God’s Not Dead 44. Muppets: Most Wanted 45. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit 46. Veronica Mars 47. Oculus 48. Divergent 49. Dracula Untold 50. Blended 51. That Awkward Moment 52. 300: Rise of an Empire 53. Dumb and Dumber To 54. RoboCop 55. Need For Speed 56. Alexander and the No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day 57. Non-Stop 58. Annabelle 59. Deliver Us From Evil 60. Endless Love 61. Ouija 62. Ride Along 63. The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies 64. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 65. The Nut Job 66. Pompeii 67. I, Frankenstein 68. A Million Ways to Die in the West 69. Jersey Boys 70. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 71. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones 72. Maleficent 73. Transcendence 74. Transformers: Age of Extinction 75. Winter’s Tale 76. America: Imagine the World Without Her

A's Birdman: Or The Unexpected Nature of Ignorance Boyhood Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Fury Gone Girl The Grand Budapest Hotel The Guardians of the Galaxy The Immigrant Interstellar The LEGO Movie Snowpiercer The Theory of Everything X-Men: Days of Future Past B's 22 Jump Street Bad Words Bears Begin Again Big Hero 6 Blue Ruin Captain America: The Winter Soldier Chef Edge of Tomorrow The Fault in Our Stars The Giver Godzilla How to Train Your Dragon 2 ​The Imitation Game The Interview Into the Woods Neighbors Next Goal Wins Noah Only Lovers Left Alive St Vincent Wild C's About Last Night That Awkward Moment Blended Divergent Dracula Untold God's Not Dead The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Life Itself Locke The Monument's Men A Most Wanted Man Muppets: Most Wanted Oculus Unbroken Veronica Mars D's 300: Rise of An Empire Alexander and the No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Annabelle Dumb and Dumber To The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Jersey Boys Maleficent A Million Ways to Die in the West Need For Speed Non-Stop Ride Along RoboCop Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles F's Deliver Us From Evil Endless Love I, Frankenstein The Nut Job Ouija Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Pompeii Transcendence Trans4mers: Age of Extinction Winter's Tale Z's America: Imagine a World Without Her

Thanks, I doubt anyone will agree with all of anyone's list.

Number 1 Boyhood "I'm kind of thinking it's the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us." My Original Grade: A+ Most Valuable Player: Richard Linklater for Directing Box Office: 24.2 million Tomatometer: 99% Reasoning: My number one may be fairly obvious, but that doesn't change the fact that Boyhood is not only the best picture of the year, but it is one of the best films ever created. I had previously thought that Linklater had peaked with his Before Sunset and Before Sunrise, which are two of my favorite movies period, but he has somehow managed to surpass even his own ridiculously high bar. Boyhood captures life in small moments and weaves them all together into a moving picture that represents life as an entirety of itself. Boyhood gets it right in presenting the idea that life is not a series of milestones but small moments that seize and capture you and before you know it you see it pass. Boyhood was the easiest number one pick I have had in a very, very long time, and given this year's crop of films, that says a lot. Fun Fact: Richard Linklater cast his daughter in the movie as Samantha because she was always dancing around wanting to be in his movies. After a few years she grew tired of the role and asked her dad to kill her character off. Linklater refused, saying that it was to violent for the film he was planning, and she eventually regained her enthusiasm for the movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C64EO5YdmU

Number 2 Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance "People, they love blood. The love action. Not this talky, depressing, philosophical bullshit." My Original Grade: A Most Valuable Player: Emmanuel Lubezki for Direction of Photography Box Office: 23.9 million Tomatometer: 93% Reasoning: Everything about this film can simply be put into one word, wow. Everything is total ingenuity. The ensemble is impeccable, and everyone works so well together on the long, absorbing takes. The film speaks so much about so many things it is impossible to cover here, but each scene sheds a social commentarial light on aspects of film, what it means to matter, art, the ignorance of human nature, and what is success. Michael Keaton goes on and delivers a career defining performance, and one of the best performances of the 21st century, exposing his own weak points by playing a character that so closely parallels his own life. Birdman has grown on my mind like a disease, and it remains a masterpiece that is impossible to forget. Any other year and Birdman would have easily been my number one, in fact I am still fairly surprised it isn't, but there is still one more movie that floored me even more. Fun Fact: The entire film was shot in less than a month.

Number 3 Guardians of the Galaxy "Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast, I would catch it." My Original Grade: A+ Most Valuable Player: Chris Pratt as Star Lord Box Office: 332.9 million Tomatometer: 90% Reasoning: Anybody who knows me on these forums knew this was coming, it was just a matter of how high. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy three times in the theater, and I currently own the blu-ray edition, the film is easily the most rewatchable of the year. Guardians of the Galaxy was a definitive summer blockbuster that leaves me rolling every time I see it and my eyes glued to the screen for each viewing. I love just about every aspect of this movie and it already has a classic quotability with it. Each of the Guardians are unique and complement each other wonderfully. This was the most entertaining movie of the year, and although part of me wanted to put this up at number 1, the next two movies on my list were good enough to make it impossible to do so. Fun Fact: Awesome Mix, Vol 1 was the first film soundtrack to reach number 1 on the Billboard charts without having a single original song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDFom5Typ0s

Number 4 The Grand Budapest Hotel "Keep your hands off my lobby boy!" My Original Grade: A Most Valuable Player: The Cast and Crew of Film as an Ensemble Box Office: 59.1 million Tomatometer: 92% Reasoning: The Grand Budapest Hotel is such a strong dose of quirky energy and I love it. It is a film that manages to get better every time I see it. Wes Anderson really does it with his unique filmmaking style, it carries a strong, dry wit about it and leaves you in a sense of exasperation in a good way. Everything and everyone works so finely tuned together like cogs in a well-oiled machine and you'd be challenged to find any real weak aspect to the movie. The score is one of the most memorable of the year; the acting ensemble is strong in chemistry and energy; Yeoman outdoes himself with another great effort in cinematography. The fact that the Grand Budapest Hotel came out in February and is still one of the award contending frontrunners speaks miles for how great it really is. Fun Fact: Johnny Depp was Wes Anderson's first choice for Gustave, thankfully Fiennes got the role instead.

Number 5 The Immigrant "Is it a sin for me to survive when I have done so many bad things?" My Original Grade: A Most Valuable Player: Marion Cotillard as Ewa Cybulska Box Office: 2.0 million Tomatometer: 87% Reasoning: Screw Harvey Weinstein for burying this work so deep, had this been given a proper release he may have had a Best Picture winner on his hands, or at least a Best Actress winner. The Immigrant is beautifully filmed and creates relevance out of the drama of a Polish immigrant forced into prostitution in order to work up money to save her sister from Ellis Island. There is so much sadness and things going wrong, yet it ends leaving you with a sense of hope for Ewa and a sense of despair for her wrongdoer. The Immigrant is a film that tackles injustice, and it does so so poetically. The final shot of the film is the best shot of the entire year, capturing all of the emotions, the themes, and the tone of the film in a single glorious frame. Fun Fact: Harvey Weinstein is a douchebag for dumping this film.

Number 6 Interstellar "Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." My Original Rating: A Most Valuable Player: Matthew McConaughey as Cooper Box Office: 178.1 million Tomatometer: 73% Reasoning: Maybe some were expecting this to be higher on my list because this was probably the film I have talked the most about this year, or at least it seems like it, but I placed it here (and number 6 is frankly quite high anyways). Interstellar is energized with a script that keeps you thinking throughout while also working your emotions through well played sentiment and powerful performances from McConaughey and Chastain. This is quite possibly the most polarizing film of the year, and I have fallen on the side of speaking high praise for its originality and intellectual power. Love it or hate it, Interstellar will be talked about for years to come. Fun Fact: Dr. Kip Thorne laid down two ground rules for the science in Interstellar in that nothing would violate the laws of physics and all of the speculations would come from actual science and not Nolan. Nolan accepted the terms. There were several clashes, but Nolan followed through with them.

Number 7 Snowpiercer "You've seen what people do without leadership. They devour one another." My Original Grade: A+ Most Valuable Player: Stefan Kovacik for Direction of Art Box Office: 4.6 million Tomatometer: 95% Reasoning: Snowpiercer was a small little film this Summer that absolutely floored me. It is different, it is unique, and it is quite a masterful piece of sci-fi action. Snowpiercer proves the term, "they don't make them like they used to," wrong with its ingenious script, direction, and performances (most notable Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton). The sets are elaborate and leave you in total immersion and believability of this seemingly never-ending train. Snowpiercer manages to do what most sci-fi movies can't do anymore, and that is being profound entertainment. Fun Fact: During the torchlight scene the torches were literally the only light on set.

Number 8 The LEGO Movie "A house divided against itself... Would be better than this!" My Original Grade: A+ Most Valuable Player: Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Screenwriting (and Directing) Box Office: 257.8 million Tomatometer: 96% Reasoning: I gave this movie an A+ and I stand by that grade because the LEGO Movie is absolutely perfect for what it is, and that is one fantastic time that kids can enjoy too. Everything the LEGO Movie does is a prime example of what other animators should do, it doesn't target kids and throw in a few jokes for adults, it simply goes out of its way to be a good movie that can appeal to children and adults. The screenplay is hilarious and it is incredibly inventive in its animated style. And even with all of the hilarity, the LEGO Movie still manages to pack a very strong emotional punch at the end, setting itself up as the Toy Story of the new generation. Fun Fact: The word LEGO is never spoken in the movie.

Number 9 The Theory of Everything "However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there's hope." My Original Grade: A Most Valuable Player: Johann Johannsson for Composing Box Office: 22.6 million Tomatometer: 80% Reasoning: This is probably the addition that I am going to get the most flack for, for some reason I seem to be the only one who overly loves this movie on this forum, but that isn't going to stop me from putting it in my top 10. The Theory of Everything had me more emotional than The Fault in Our Stars did, and it did that through the pure honesty put into the two lead performances, the beautiful score, and a sentimental to a fault script. The Theory of Everything gives you brief moments throughout the marriage of Jane and Steven Hawking and then ends in a very wonderful collapse of time. When I first went to see this movie I went in wanting to dislike it, but I left that theater as a major fan. Fun Fact: Stephen Hawking said there were certain points in the film where he thought he was watching himself.

Number 10 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes "War has begun." My Original Grade: A- Most Valuable Player: Andy Serkis and WETA Digital as Caesar Box Office: 208.5 million Tomatometer: 91% Reasoning: Everything that Rise of the Planet of the Apes did right Dawn took and made it twice as strong. Matt Reeves smartly focused the story even more on Caesar and the Apes, and risk of it pays off highly through the thrill and suspense this movie brings to the table. Scripting wise, Dawn is the smartest blockbuster of the year and transcends just having a high summer entertainment value. The action sequences are brilliantly shot, and Dawn brings out its messages and warnings through subtle imagery within each frame. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a definitive example of how sequels should be done. Fun Fact: Koba was used as a nickname by Joseph Stalin, and their personalities and ascents to power are strikingly similar.