Baumer's top 50 films of 2014/Panda's top 20 of 2014 pg 8/Numbers pg 14

[Empire]

After all of these great movies showing up in your 50-26, I am really interested in your top 25.

[4815162342]

last one tonight:

 

 

25. Foxcatcher

 

 

After digging into the world of sabermetrics in Moneyball, Bennett Miller sticks with the world of sports, exploring the dark and true story of two Olympic Wrestler brothers who are sucked into a strange and life-shattering sequence of events centered on a rich man's obsession. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo are both good as the two brothers, Tatum showing some genuine anguish and raw physical despair as he slowly realizes the ticket to his fame is becoming an uncomfortable nightmare. Steve Carell shines as reclusive billionare Du Pont, a man who at first seems to simply want to make his mark in the sports world by bankrolling a wrestling team, but who slowly has layers pulled back to show someone with a decidedly unhealthy and oppressive fixation on Tatum's character.

 

This is a film that is a very uncomfortable sit, because throughout you feel as if the film is very, very slowly picking up the shoe to drop, the atmosphere and tension getting bleaker and bleaker as the story moves along. The pacing is a little off in the second half of the movie and Tatum kinda fades away from the proceedings even though he is the protagonist for much of the way. This is the first of multiple films in the Top 25 that tackle the nature of the American Dream and the dark paths it can lead a person down.

[chasmmi]

and another will be soon I just watched my 50th 2014 release! i am doing an overview list though, so I can list my bad good and midrange in one set. also 2014 was a really really good year for films imo. 

 

Get in line

[chasmmi]

The only films I can think of left for the top 25 now are Tammy and Sex Tape

[Kalo]

Get in line

EDIT: nevermind, already answered. 

Edited February 11, 2015 by Kalo

[Kalo]

I'm probably stating my list in a week, maybe less. is there some order i need to go in or can I just start it?

[baumer]

Go ahead and start it.  But be forewarned.  There are so many threads similar to this that are going on right now that it is possible yours does not get the attention it deserves.  

 

Start a new thread.

[Kalo]

Go ahead and start it.  But be forewarned.  There are so many threads similar to this that are going on right now that it is possible yours does not get the attention it deserves.  

 

Start a new thread.

yeah I know. it's okay, it's kind of practice for me becoming a critic (maybe). but there are a lot of films on my list that I haven't seen on anyone's yet. so maybe that will help some.

[4815162342]

The only films I can think of left for the top 25 now are Tammy and Sex Tape

Haven't seen either

[chasmmi]

Go ahead and start it.  But be forewarned.  There are so many threads similar to this that are going on right now that it is possible yours does not get the attention it deserves.  

 

Start a new thread.

 

the number of threads is complicated, I've been next in line twice now and seen other people start their threads while I wait for the current one to end its course.

 

I don;t think anyone is being malicious, just there are so many threads it is hard to keep track

[Dementeleus]

I'll do my part by finishing today, so that'll free up a spot.

[Kalo]

the number of threads is complicated, I've been next in line twice now and seen other people start their threads while I wait for the current one to end its course.

 

I don;t think anyone is being malicious, just there are so many threads it is hard to keep track

yup, I know what you mean, waiting for them to finish is kind of like this.

 

[baumer]

Blame it on Tele.

[4815162342]

24. The Imitation Game

 

 

When Coolio said that the director for this was the same guy who made Headhunters I was totally thrown, because the two movies couldn't be more different. The Imitation Game is a pretty good film that is stopped from being more by a decision to spend a lot of time dawdling in the early 50s in scenes that aside from the final one pretty much do nothing other than spin wheels. I understand it's included because the filmmakers wanted to show the injustice done to Alan Turing, but when the meat of the film is about beating Enigma, it just takes time, focus, and pacing away from what is needed. They're the most pedestrian aspects of an otherwise strong movie.

 

That said, the meat of the film set in WW2 is well handled. It starts off a bit uneasy in the staging and with Turing being 1940s Sheldon Cooper, but it slowly gains its footing and by the end becomes a pretty tense and dramatic affair, with very capable acting from all involved. Cumberbatch does well to get under Turing's skin and show someone very uncomfortable and hard to like who slowly adapts and fits in as he finally works to make his co-workers understand what he is trying to do. The best moments of the film though are the flashbacks to Turing's youth, which are much more relevant and earned in the film than the flashforwards to the 50s. It's hard to find quality child actors and the one for young Turing is aces.

 

The one thing I'd have liked more of is explanation about how Turing's codebreaking machine actually works. For a film about beating a code, it's fairly light on details of how you break codes.

[4815162342]

23. Guardians of the Galaxy

 

 

Man, this was a fun movie. It's got a couple issues, namely a pedestrian villain (by MCU standards Ronan's actually a good villain) and a little bit of haphazard pacing (the film really has no third act buildup, it kinda just leaps from the second act defeat into the prep for the final battle), but the fun and entertainment is pretty damn great. The humor is very strategic, with a lot of witty banter throughout and a few brilliant gags bringing levity to stressful proceedings.

 

The Guardians themselves are very well handled. Chris Pratt is great as Star Lord, bringing a goofy ineptitude to balance out his Han Solo wannabe swagger. Zoe Saldana is good as Gamora, bringing believable deadliness yet remaining humanized. Dave Bautista has surprisingly great comic timing with Drax's one-liners, though when he's not being unintentionally funny the character is kinda flat. Groot is Groot. And Bradley Cooper brings a lot of kinetic and chaotic energy to tiny Rocket, stealing a bunch of scenes with his wisecracks and barely-controlled anger.

 

As Marvel films go, it's easily one of the best MCU outings. The soundtrack is nice and the score, while not spectacular, has some quality moments that stand out from Marvel's recent trend of throwing Zimmer-lite into a blender.

[4815162342]

22. American Sniper

 

 

Man did this film strike up a controversy here on the forums and in the real world as well. I feel compelled to weigh in my brief two cents before moving on: Yes, the film coats over some of the worse aspects of Chris Kyle and his opinions/beliefs. But that is not the same as endorsing them. In fact the weight of the film showcases how prolonged exposure to relentless conflict in multiple tours, in a branch of the military that is the most focused on institutionalized violence, can mess you up. Chris Kyle does say some unflattering things in the movie and nowhere is the impression that the film endorses them. Given how he looks, sounds, and acts by the end of the final action setpiece, it's clear he's been negatively affected by his experiences and the film implies they rubbed off on his beliefs in some fashion.

 

Okay, on to the movie. Clint Eastwood does a very good job of balancing the war aspects with the home life pieces. I might have liked to see a little more development here and there with his time as a veteran and raising his family, but what we did get got the film's message across very well. The action is very tense and effective for the most part, though the final battle in the sandstorm verges on getting too video-gamey for a film that has been more low-key in its conflicts. Bradley Cooper is great as Chris Kyle and there are scenes where he conveys a lot of emotion and thought by just being silent and staring off in space. Much of the supporting no-name cast is a bit on the bland side, but the film is really about Cooper and when he is the primary focus he dominates the screen.

[4815162342]

20a. A Most Violent Year

 

 

A Most Violent Year is another take on the American Dream, this one focused on the struggle of a man to work towards his goals the right, moral, honest, and legal way, and the pressures put on him by his competitors and hunters on both sides of the law that pull him towards considering a criminal response. Oscar Isaac is excellent as Abel Morales, a businessman in the heating oil business who in a decade has risen from a tiny outfit to one of the most successful groups in the industry in the New York City area, which has made him a target for not just jealous industry rivals, but also an ambitious district attorney looking to make a big criminal case to forward his career. As things slowly put his business and future at risk, Isaac is brilliant at conveying the inner struggle between Abel's convictions and his growing desperation. Jessica Chastain shines as his wife, a ferocious and dogged woman who is determined to convince her husband to be less passive and more proactive, even if it means stepping across the line. The rest of the supporting cast is very good, in general the acting is this film's biggest strength.

 

The film's pacing gets a little stretched in the back half. The overall arc and conclusion is pretty satisfying, as Abel generally manages to keep his convictions and morals, but does bend a little as he decides that if he's going to play by the rules, he's going to exploit those rules as much as he can without compromising his innermost standards. I thought the film was building towards something bigger and a bit more violent, with a few different Chekov's guns dropped around here and there, but instead the film flattens out and has a more subdued conclusion. It works well, though part of me had hoped for Abel to go Michael Corleone on all his attackers.

 

 

 

 

20b. A Most Wanted Man

 

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman's last starring performance is as a weary German spy running a secret black ops group that hunts for domestic terrorists and their links to international crime. Alcoholic, gruff, cynical, and dour, he's a man whose best years of life are long gone but who refuse to give up or sell out, instead focused and determined on protecting his country the right way and finding the best means to do it. It's definitely one of his better acting performances, but it sadly came in a year where the Best Actor category was insanely stacked, really, really, insanely stacked. The supporting cast is very good, though Rachel McAdams stretches credulity a little as a German social worker activist. Daniel Bruhl sadly is incredibly wasted in a very tiny role.

 

The film is a slow burn, very similar to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in its atmosphere and tone, though it's a bit more procedural and less stylized. The film slowly lays down plot and character threads piece by piece and then slowly, begins to strand them together to give the audience the full picture. It's effective and efficient, though sometimes the film is a little too slow in its momentum. One thing the film does very well is instill a sense of foreboding that something is going to go wrong, and that sense really helps drive up the tension as Hoffman moves closer and closer to achieving his endgame. When it finally breaks, it's a sudden and powerful gut punch that hits home one of the film's themes while remaining a strong and downer of a plot turn in its own right.

 

You'll be missed, PSH.

 

 

 

 

[Dementeleus]

Me???!

[Sam]

I enjoyed your list so far, Numbers. Good writeups.

Moar please.

[4815162342]

19. Belle

 

 

Belle is one of the final 2014 films I saw prior to finalizing this list and it slid into the Top 20 quite sneakily. Set in the 1780s, it follows the mixed-race child of a British naval commander from a notable family as she is raised by her great-uncle's family and has to battle prejudices and social mores as she tries to find her place in the world, all against the backdrop of one of the defining moments in the British anti-slavery movement. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is excellent as Dido Elizabeth Belle, conveying vulnerability at first and slowly the growth of inner fire and steel as she begins to form her own opinions about Britain and slaves. Tom Wilkinson is his usual good Tom Wilkinson self as her great-uncle, who is the highest judge in Britain and tasked with deciding a controversial case involving slavers who tossed their slaves overboard and sought insurance compensation. It may seem like dry dull history stuff, but Amma Asante's direction and the colorful and lush cinematography and staging help catch and keep your interest.

 

Also notable are Sam Reid as a minister's son turned anti-slavery radical who slowly forms a bond with Belle and Sarah Gadon as Belle's cousin. Draco Malfoy shows up as essentially 18th Century Draco Malfoy but even more of an ass. The film is well-staged and has a very nice sense of character and plot progression as the historical setting and plot mixes and merges with the concurrent storyline of Belle and her cousin trying to break into British society and find their future, the film using it as a critique of how many young noble women of that time were little more than property themselves, bargaining chips their parents passed around to make deals and monetary gains.