BOF's top 25 movies of 2014. Full list Page 5. The forum worships at the altar of Nolan.

[Ethan Hunt]

Awesome, deservingly (IMO) made the list.

[grim22]

Number 24

 

Maze Runner – 50 points, appears on 13 lists

 

 

 

 

 

Maze Runner was a surprisingly entertaining YA adaptation. It seemed to be a movie which was being dumped in September after being delayed from its original February date. But through a pretty interesting plot, good performances and a really slick look despite its low budget, the movie managed to have a leggy run through September. The studio has already finished filming on the sequel apparently, Scorch Trials (which was my favorite book of the trilogy) releases the same weekend in September. The movie managed to become one of the few YA adaptations to actually make it to franchise status. This and Divergent showed that the YA genre need not just be big hits like the Hunger Games or huge bombs like Vampire Academy.

 

Boxoffice: 102M Domestic / 340M WW

 

BOF User Reviews:

“Watched The Maze Runner. Since I was not enamored by some of these YA movies like The Hunger Games, I went without any expectation. I loved it. It is very well made. It is an edge of the seat thriller for the most part. The pacing is good and some of the young actors have performed well. Cannot wait for the sequel.

 Rating: A” – jb007

 

“I really really enjoyed. Biggest surprise of the year so far as I didn't think I would like it as much as I did.

The acting was good all around, but especially Dylan. Also, the action and effects were good too. Oh, and I haven't read the books, so I liked the story and was surprised at points by things that happened.

I would give it an....

A(93)” – Empire 

 

 

[CoolioD1]

I've never even heard of that movie.

[Ethan Hunt]

Ugg, still need to watch that

[Fancyarcher]

Maze Runner? Really? I guess I really need to watch the film now. 

Edited February 1, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[Ethan Hunt]

I've never even heard of that movie.

It's based off of aYA novel.

[Rorschach]

I need to watch it here at some point.

[grim22]

Number 23

 

22 Jump Street – 51 points, appears on 14 lists

 

 

 

 

 

22 Jump Street unfortunately comes in at 23^rd spot (22^nd would have been perfect). The movie was probably one of the few comedy sequels to actually improve on the original and it did this by doing the exact same thing as the original, only acknowledging that they were doing it. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have great chemistry together and Lord & Miller do a good job of taking sequel clichés and putting a spin on things. And of course, the movie has probably the best end-credits of any movie last year.

 

 

 

Boxoffice: 191M Domestic / 331M WW

 

BOF User Reviews:

 

“A couple of weeks ago I must admit, I was a little skeptical about this film with the lack of reviews and imo poor trailer (they weren't funny) but I was wrong. This films is pure comedy genius and it really does poke fun at Hollywood and it's hilarious how they do it. Channing Tatum really needs to stick to comedy because he is great at it and it's not an easy feat scene stealing from Jonah hill but he manages to do it a lot. The film is basically just like the first one only it's bigger, louder and funnier and is easily the most satisfying films I've seen this year. Everything just works. A +” – jessie

 

"Best comedy of the year loved it more the first Tatum steals the show again can’t believe people still doubt his ability. 5/5” – Michael Gary Scottt

 

[Ethan Hunt]

Need to watch that one too.

[Rorschach]

Another film I really need to watch at some point.

[CJohn]

Godzilla and Maze Runner got into the list. I can sleep happy tonight.

 

22JS is also a cool movie to be there.

[Fancyarcher]

22JS is pretty hilarious. Nice to see it on this list. 

[grim22]

Number 22

 

 

Chef – 54 points, appears on 8 lists

 

 

 

 

You could tell that Jon Favreau was telling a story he believed in in Chef. A lot of people have seen the parallels between Chef’s story and Favreau’s own career, especially in dealing with big budget blockbusters. That being said, Chef is a really well made movie with a simple yet engaging story with good performances from almost everyone involved in the movie. This was one of the best movies I watched in 2014, and good to know that the forums community thought so as well.

This movie appears on the countdown despite being on only 8 lists. But it was in the top 10 in almost every one of those lists boosting its points.

 

Boxoffice: 31M Domestic / 45M WW

 

BOF User Reviews:

 

“A real gem of a movie, with so much heart, that leaves a great taste in your mouth.Sophia Vergara looked so eatable in this movie. Simply Stunning! Maybe the prettiest women ever on a movie screen!” – Lazer Deadshot

 

“Loved it. Such a cute little film.

B (86)” – Jay (and his confusing grading scheme)

 

“I enjoyed the movie all the way through. Mixing in social media and having the son teaching his father what twitter and vine were was amusing. The sending of the tweets was a nice touch. I always had ideas of owning a food truck and I am a foodie so this movie didn't hurt in that respect. It was a breath of fresh air after watching so many downer films or films that lack heart in general. This is purely a heart-warming picture. Soundtrack was great as well. It never goes to high or too low.

The scene where he rips apart the food critic was well done and Leguizamo is a great addition.

 A-“  - mdot1982

[Fancyarcher]

Chef was quite an entertaining and nice film. I'm happy it made this list. 

Edited February 1, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[Ethan Hunt]

Jon Favereau... Haven't seen Chef but not a fan of his work.

[CJohn]

Haven't seen Chef but I have read that it is very good.

[CoolioD1]

Haven't seen Chef but I have read that it is very good.

it's not.

[grim22]

Number 21

 

Under The Skin – 55 points, appears on 10 lists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haven’t seen the whole movie, and probably shouldn’t comment on the parts of the movie which I am aware of, so let’s throw it to the BOF user reviews.

 

Boxoffice: 2.6M Domestic / 5.3M WW

 

BOF User Reviews:

 

“I really took to the disorienting reality spun together by Glazer's images and Johansson's performance. The ever present fog suited the film's theme well. A very bizarre meditation on what it is to be human, what it is to be alone. Downright chilling in spells due to unsettling, trance like score.I also really took to her growing discomfort in human skin. The fog and, eventually, the woods she retreated to mirrored her lost, fractured, confused psyche.Haunting and poetic, albeit a flawed film. Under The Skin certainly treats, or at least attempts to treat, filmmaking as high art. B+

I failed to mention how well her the lair she lured prospective meat to so effectively illustrated the mystery, emptiness and lonely nature of death. It felt as if lifted from the macabre imagination of Edgar Allan Poe. It had me thinking about his short story, Masque of the Red Death.” – JohnnyGossamer

 

“Wow, what a trip. Not only is it incredibly well made with a devastatingly effective musical score that really gets under your skin (pun incidental), and it certainly succeeds in creating atmosphere perfectly. Some of the shots in this film are just flat out amazing. That alone would have made this a memorable experience (it certainly worked for Stoker), but there's something ever bigger at play here. It's a strange and wholly abstract film, but part of the fun comes from dissecting its parts and finding the meaning in it. One interpretation I have is that it's a commentary on the standards of beauty in society, given how generally attractive Scarlett Johansson is, the various people she meets on her journey, some attractive, one greatly disfigured, and the various scenes that glimpse into the materialistic beauty that exists in a lot of places. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just my two cents.

Either way, it's a really great mindbender of a film, so go check it out. “  - Spaghetti

[Fancyarcher]

 

Haven't seen Chef but I have read that it is very good.

 

It is, at least as far as I'm concerned. 

Edited February 1, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[grim22]

Number 20

 

Inherent Vice – 62 points, appears on 5 lists, 3 Top 3 rankings

 

 

 

Didn’t catch this movie yet, but this is by far the lowest number of lists a movie has appeared on and made it to the overall list. The people who love it, love it a lot. Of the 5 lists it appeared on, it was in the top 3 in 3 of them and in the top 10 in another.

 

Boxoffice: 7.5M Domestic

 

BOF User Reviews:

“After the reviews I went in thinking it was going to be some over ambitious trippy convoluted mess but though it's sprawling and a bit freewheeling I found it surprisingly easy to follow - more Maltese Falcon than The Big Sleep.  Not only does it take place in the 70s, it feels like it could have been made in the 70s.  I loved it and thought Phoenix gave one of the best performances of the year - laid back, charming, intelligent, non judgmental, partially wasted and very humane. Brolin is also a riot as Detective Bigfoot.  It's another film this year with an excellent ensemble. 

I saw this movie almost back to back with Birdman and while they both deal with seedy and ethically questionable characters (IV on both sides of the law) in a satirical manner I never felt like PTA disliked or had contempt for his characters as Inarritu did so it was by far a more fun movie to watch even if it wasn't as technically tight a movie.

A-” – TalismanRing

 

“As a fan of classic detective mysteries (The Maltese Falcon was a favorite of mine growing up) and PTA, I absolutely loved it. The deliberately convoluted nature of the film will definitely throw a lot of people off, including PTA followers. However, viewers who are patient will end up ultimately feeling rewarded.

 A” –GeneralKong