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grim22

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

By grim22, in And The Winner Is...

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grim22 Global Phenomenon

grim22

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Number 17:

 

 

Nightcrawler – 85 points, appears on 12 lists

 

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Nightcrawler is basically Jake Gyllenhaal putting on an acting clinic in what may actually be the origins of TMZ. One of my favorite films from last year, it unfortunately got shut out at the Oscars, but I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t watched it yet.

 

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Boxoffice: 32M Domestic / 39M Worldwide

 

BOF User Reviews:

“The vampire metaphor runs through the movie and creeps everywhere from the settings (nightime LA), the protagonist and his "job". A livid and creepy guy who just strolls into the night looking after someone and something he can vampirize to elevate himself in the social ladder applying all those self-improvement and self-made man success mantras like a robot lacking any genuine human social skills and speaking in corporate business lingo 24/7. And the horrible truth is that's what makes him the best at what he does. He's an amoral and seedy weirdo cruising for blood, a deviant product of sensational news TV sub-culture, a parasite looking for a host to use and devour without remorse like Mattmav said. He's a low class Patrick Bateman working for TMZ.

I have my own reservations about how he got away so easily from the authorities, the movie needed to be longer and felt short, not necessary moral come-uppance but there has to be the burden of responsibilities and consequences for the character after all this and shows that he has totally sunken into delusion, that he shapes his own grave by vampirizing crime scenes and courting death for his living. The movie wants to mirror Taxi Driver's ending framed by Michael Mann but it didn't work as well. Some music choices were quite offbeat so you don't quite get if it is meant to be satirical or genuine (and tacky as a result).

Gyllenhaal got his creepy weirdo schtick nailed to the T since Donnie Darko so I wasn't surprised how well he comes off as a hungry and lunatic cameraman oblivious to morality to achieve great success within a world filled with cynical hyenas like Rene Russo's character. That long take scene when he pins Rene Russo in her office was chilling. He's menacing even though he looks like a gimp with a tiny soft voice and doesn't physically touch his partner. The confidence and immovable sense of ambition as a "proud president of his own business company Video News Entertainment" that drives him associated with that manic possessed stare, that's the kind of incredible performance in one take that acting is all about.

A-.” – dashrendar44

 

 

“The movie was very good and filled with tension and dark humour. But Gyllenhaal was truly amazing. He has been great in many movies but this is easily his best performance. I couldn't take my eyes off of him.” – JoelM

 

 

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Fancyarcher Global Phenomenon

Fancyarcher

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A LOT of people on this forum have echoed a desperate need to meet that user face to face.

 

I just question the taste of a user who considers I Frankenstein to be a top 10 movie of 2014, unless that user is trying to be ironic or think it's a comedy masterpiece. 

 

Then again, opinions will be opinions, still... 

Edited by Fancyarcher
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grim22 Global Phenomenon

grim22

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TIE: Number 16.1:

 

Selma – 91 points, appears on 11 lists, #1 on 1 list

 

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Haven’t seen it yet, but Selma turned out to be a timely movie that got tangled in controversies throughout.

 

Boxoffice: 41.7M Domestic

 

BOF User Reviews:

“Tight direction, wonderful lead performance, simple yet powerful movie. I love it, easily the best biopic from the 2014 bunch. Looking forward to DuVernay's future movies (you can say it's PC or whatever, but she deserved that BD nods over both Miller and whatshisname that directed TIG)

Well, I hope she'll have a long and successful career ahead.

A” – Sam

 

“Selma: How in the hell did David Oyelowo not get an Oscar nomination? To portray a very important man like Martin Luther King Jr. and knock it out of the park and still not get nominated is just wrong. Selma is a great film that I feel was very overlooked by the Academy and overlooked by a lot of moviegoers. This is definitely a film that will be shown in many history classes in the near future.

Now to address the controversy with President Lyndon B. Johnson and how he is portrayed in the film. I really don't see the controversy. To me President Johnson was just playing politics, not trying to go against King and his protest.

Overall, Selma is a great film, sometimes hard to watch due to the violence, but nevertheless deserves and should be seen.

Grade: A” – Scott Pilgrim vs The Forum

 

 

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grim22 Global Phenomenon

grim22

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TIE: Number 16.2

 

 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – 91 points, appears on 12 lists, #1 on 1 list

 

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The Hobbit trilogy never quite managed to recapture the public imagination like LOTR has a decade ago. The final movie of the trilogy may be the best of the three just by virtue of being shorter and to the point. Unfortunately, this was one movie which I felt could have used a further 10 minutes to actually give closure to the characters we spent 3 movies with instead of hurriedly getting through the resolution of the plot. Martin Freeman gave a good performance across all 3 movies and so did Ian McKellen and Richard Armitage. I think the trilogy never quite recovered from the first 45 minutes of AUJ which were spent watching dwarfs eat, drink, sing and discuss stuff, and apart from three of them, none of the other dwarfs actually had any role in the final movie at all. Of course with roughly 3B at the WW Box Office, the execs at WB are probably not all that sad about the decision to make 3 movies out of two. This movie did have some inventive setpieces, including the final battle between Azog and Thorin on ice. And then again, the movie also had Legolas skipping on falling rocks, so that evens things out somewhat J

 

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Boxoffice: 250M Domestic / 910M Worldwide

 

BOF User Reviews:

 

“Yeah, I liked this. A lot of unique action and what little character stuff there was really worked for me. Armitage and Freeman were highlights, especially the latter, who remains perfect casting for Bilbo. The action, as already mentioned, didn't disappoint at all, and I felt like Jackson really showed us some stuff that wouldn't be able to be done in other films. Major flaw of the movie was spending so much time on Alfred lol. A” – Blankments

 

“A nice improvement. B+” – lab276

 

 

 

 

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grim22 Global Phenomenon

grim22

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Number 14

 

 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – 93 points, appears on 16 lists

 

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One of the few sequels which lives up to the original, HTTYD2 was a really good follow up to the first movie. Some sequences in this movie, especially in the dragon nest and the battle between the alphas were beautifully animated and the movie took the character stories forward logically. The song in the middle of the movie telegraphed the upcoming sequence a lot, but the sequence still delivered the required impact when it happened. It was good to return to Berk and meet Hiccup and Toothless again, HTTYD2 makes a good addition to the yearly top movies list.

 

Boxoffice: 177M Domestic / 618M Worldwide

 

BOF User Reviews:

“My favorite film of 2014. I loved it! The animation is beautiful and the story was really good. I loved the music and the dragons and I may have even liked this better than the first one. I even teared up with Hiccup's dad. I want a dragon.....

A” –  Dr. Awesome

 

“This is how you make a fookin' sequel. Hiccup and Toothless continue to grow as characters (in this case, a boy and his dragon) and the mythology of the world, as well as the whole world of dragons and their relationships with humans, is deepened and explored even more. The emotional moments hit hard when they need to, but even the smallest moments, such as Hiccup and Toothless playing around after finding the new land, can have a surprising impact. DeBlois knows exactly what he wants out of this world, and he lets us on the ride in a glorious fashion. The first film had me longing for a world life this, the second just as much.

Some movies you watch, others you feel. This was definitely the latter for me. Everything about it just amazing.” – Spaghetti

 

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