Chasmmi's top 50 (or so) films of the Year - Top 5 is finally on its way - will there be any shock entries?

[chasmmi]

12th - 22 Jump Street - 93/100

 

What I was hoping/Expecting: I actually only saw 21 Jump Street this summer too and it was one of the funniest comedies I have seen in years. I couldn't believe Tatum could be that good at comedy and it was possibly in my eyes Hill's best comedic performance too. However comedy sequels are often on the dissappointing side to say the least but if this could just be 50% as good as 21, then that would still be pretty good.

 

What I got: Funniest film of the year, hands down. Not even a discussion. Maybe even the funniest film of the decade. This film took the bad comedy sequel trope and ran with it to the fullest. The jokes almost all landed, the scene with Ice Cube and Tatum's realisation of the situation is stomach achingly funny to the extent it may even be funnier than the end credit sequence. Even if it isn't that still makes it at worst the second funniest scene of the year.

 

This film was a group of actors, hitting a premise for six and having a whale of a time doing it too. The chemistry between the main cast is electric, there is actually a half decent bromance relationship thrown in as well and if the writers still think they've got some jokes left in their lockers I would happily go see 23,24 and 25 jump street at this rate.

 

The hilarious thing is that the self-mocking style of the comedy here means that almost all of the stupid end credit concepts, could actually probably work as real films and I personally just find that and everything in this film hilarious.

[baumer]

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

[chasmmi]

11th - Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 93/100

 

What I was hoping/expecting: I was split on my opinion as to whether I was anticipating this or not. On the one hand, The first Avenger is in my eyes the weakest Marvel film (I've seen them all except the Hulks) and only existed because, Avengers. It was laboured, pretty dull and despite some well acted characters really underwhelmed me.

 

On the other hand though, everything else Marvel was turning out pretty great. I personally actually really liked Iron Man 3 and love both Thor movies (although I never knew until recently that I was actually in the vast majority of people that mistakenly overate Thor more than all but 24 other films in the world!). Needlessly to say this could have gone either way for me, but I was pretty optimistic.

 

What I got: I honestly left the cinema thinking I had just seen the best film I would see from 2014, it was epic, amazingly executed and just a joy to watch. One problem with Captain America before this film is that when it comes to the crunch, he's just some guy that's a bit stronger than most other folk. He's not a God, he has no automatic weapons or suit of armour, he can't turn into anything cool or produce any animal-like qualities, he;s just a man.

 

And this film turns that into a plus. He really is the super soldier in this. The guy that does what is needed to save the day, he's unimpeachable, he's just, he is just the man. Black Widow, Nick Fury and Falcon all also really step up their game here to the point where Black Widow went from being a character who felt like she was in these films because they needed to cast a woman, to a hero I hope has a big role in Ultron. Falcon too was good enough that I'll be sad not to see him in the A team.

 

It was just a great film that was brilliantly cenceived and directed to become a definitive Captain America story and not just generic hero boom boom film number 7.

[Empire]

Glad TWS made it so high on your list!

[chasmmi]

10th - Snowpiercer - 94/100

 

What I was hoping/Expecting: Yeah so I have a minor connection to Korean cinema shall we say, so I had more of an inkling as to what to expect from this film than most. The cast really intrigued me, the director is a filmmaking God and it has the single best actor on the planet right now in Song Kang-ho. This would really have to do something weird to go bad.

 

What i got: Yeah so when I said about Captain America being the number one film of 2014 at the point of seeing it, that was based on the fact that this is a 2013 film for me as I got to see it about 11 months before anyone else here barring rysu. And it was great, really great.

 

This film is so surreal to watch as the cast make it seem like you are watching a Hollywood film, yet this is clearly Korean in its core if you are familiar with that nation's craft. Factors such as the genre changing on a moment's notice, characters dying that are not supposed to die in these sorts of films and at points when they are always supposed to be saved too, that's the rules.

 

You can also see the producer's hand of Park Chan Wook on certain scenes in this film too (I will bet my left testicle that Park directed the night vision scene for example) and what this all adds up to is a film that transcends what any audience would expect and takes you on a journey that immerses the watcher from start to finish. Chris Evans is amazing in this, as is Bell, Hurt and of course Swinton, but for me Song still steals the show here. Having him speak only in Korean allowed his natural charisma and style to shine through in a way that broken English may not have allowed and proved to me at least that even when but in s studio with some of Hollywood's finest he can still look like a megastar.

 

This film won't be for everyone and is darker than some would like too, but I loved it and I'm shocked I have it down in 10th place.

[chasmmi]

Glad TWS made it so high on your list!

 

Of course, this be where all the best films of the year reside

[Empire]

Snowpiercer was #10 for me last year too.

[chasmmi]

9th - Big Hero 6 - 94/100

 

WhaT I was hoping/expecting: Disney were on a role. Tangled, Ralph and Frozen were all great or better in my book and the trailers for this gave me hope that this could potentially top them all. Even having to wait till January for it to be released i managed to avoid all spoilers and story info not in trailers and was so excited when i finally got to see this in cinemas.

 

What I got: Sorry Lego, this was the best animated film of the year, the Oscars got that bit correct at least. I loved this film, Baymax is one of the best characters Disney have created period and his interactions with Hiro are so well done. I will admit that parts of this film's tone felt a little bit like 'How to Train Your Baymax' but that is a testament to the different directions this film takes from normal Disney animations. It even when dark at one point which was both shocking and amazing to me.

 

This film has so much heart that you want to scream at Disney for never making sequels to their animated films (I mean proper cinematic canon sequels not DTV) because this is an origin story that just begs for a new adventure to lead on to. I would not be surprised if it becomes a TV series pretty soon.

 

This could possibly have been the best year on record for American animated films (I'm sure somebody will prove to me it wasn't with like facts and stuff), but off the top of my head I cannot think of another year with a top 5 to best BH6, Lego, HTTYD, Book of Life and Penguins (yeah I'm including Penguins!). Great stuff.

 

A small sidenote, how cool would it be for a suspiciously Baymax-looking Iron man suit to pop up in the background of a future live action Avengers film?

[Fancyarcher]

Big Hero 6 is great.

[chasmmi]

8th - Gone Girl - 94/100

 

What I was hoping/expecting: I like Ben Affleck as an actor and feel he gets (or at least got) unfairly maligned for his acting talents. He's great in the Kevin Smith smiths, and Good will Hunting, hey I even liked him in Jersey Girl when nobody else did. that was about all I knew about this except its the guy from Seven directing it and the actress was getting rave reviews.

 

What I got: Wow, this film is just wow. great performances, great story and great twists. I also have to say that as good as the direction was, this is a tale of 2 actors. Affleck Carries the first half of this film like a boss as you take the journey with him, not quite knowing what you can and cannot believe, he does an amazing job portraying this role and making you both believe and be suspicious of it (it's especially impressive considering the significance of the diary excert based scenes).

 

Then halfway through, Pike takes over the film and it is one of the best and most disturbing performances by an actress you'll ever see. I have not seen Moore's Oscar performance, but if it is the standard woman has a hard life but she perserveres and doesn't wear make up and goes on a journey to become a strong independent woman yadda yadda ya type performance then Pike was robbed in my opinion.

 

The supporting cast was also great and I can even accept the ending. The only criticism I have of this film would be that the scenario to get Pike to NPH seemed very forced into happening and NPH himself was awkwardly bad in his performance which disappointed me, Overall though this was an amazing effort of a film that will go down as a must see film for cinephiles of the future probably more so that at least half of the best picture nominees.

 

[Empire]

I liked GG, but I didn't love it.

[Fancyarcher]

Gone Girl is excellent. One of the year's very best. It was an incredibly well made mystery story too.

[bartonfink]

 

10th - Snowpiercer - 94/100

 

You can also see the producer's hand of Park Chan Wook on certain scenes in this film too (I will bet my left testicle that Park directed the night vision scene for example)

 

Actually I think Park Chan Wook was too busy to direct some scene for that movie. He was directing his Hollywood film Stoker that time and also Bong Joon Ho said Park's direct participation in production was so slight in some interviews.

[Sam]

Actually I think Park Chan Wook was too busy to direct some scene for that movie. He was directing his Hollywood film Stoker that time and also Bong Joon Ho said Park's direct participation in production was so slight in some interviews.

Why did you do that? What use would you have of Chas' left testicle?

[baumer]

Not digging much of your list.  Big Hero 6 yech.....Gone Girl is great, obviously.  But no FIOS.  

 

[chasmmi]

Why did you do that? What use would you have of Chas' left testicle?

 

well he would be 1/3 of the way towards owning the holy trinity clearly...

Edited February 27, 2015 by chasmmi

[chasmmi]

7th - The Imitation Game - 95/100

 

What I was hoping/Expecting: Well it's an actor I love playing a figure who should be a hero to every person alive today and telling one of the most important stories in history. If everything falls into place then this becomes potential best film of the year (hell maybe even any year). I film of this style and story when it hits all the right notes turns into a Kings Speech or even a Schindler's List, where you laugh, cry and do everything inbetween.

 

Needless to say, I really really wanted this to be good.

 

What I got: Over this thread i have mentioned a number of films such as Whiplash, Nightcrawler, Theory of Everything, Locke to name a few where I respected the acting, was blown away by aspects of what i saw on film but ultimately docked the film 1 or 2 points for not quite being the perfect story I wanted to see subjectively. Gone Girl was a prime example of a film that was already ahead in my book for having a style to match my tastes, this took that to even another level.

 

Yes it is a little Oscary-y in places, but I loved this film. Cumberbatch is supreme in this (I arguably put him ahead of Redmayne [i haven't been able to see Keaton yet), I was just engrossed with his performance from minute one to the final scene. The boy who played young Turing also was amazing and if he isn't doing amazing things in 10 years time I'll be shocked.

 

This film had everything for me: there was comedy that totally matched my sense of humour, there was drama, triumph and despair. The wedding proposal was excellent, the break up heartbreaking. the scenes where they realise the power they had at their disposal and the burden it carried with it was one of the most powerful scenes of the year for me.

 

Yes I can see that they laid the drama on thick and fast but I enjoy that in a film when it is done well and right. This is one of the best British historical biopic films I've seen since King's Speech (another film i loved) and I'm really happy to see it getting both critical and commercial success.  

Edited February 27, 2015 by chasmmi

[Empire]

TIG was really average I thought.

[chasmmi]

6th - Begin Again - 95/100

 

What I was expecting/hoping: Mark Ruffalo is a cool actor I like as the Hulk, Keira Knightley is one of those actresses that has always been very pretty and charming but never quite carried a film in my eyes. So a musical of sorts starring them both didn't massively appeal to me, but didn't turn me off either. However seeing as the film randomly took Korea by storm last year, it was only a matter of time till I saw it anyway.

 

What i got: I specifically didn't mention Knightley in the previous review because as good as she was in that role, this was her best performance of the year in my eyes. This was quite possibly the loveliest film of 2014, it was just so charming and nice and you can't help but smile at the interactions between her and Ruffalo.

 

I don't know what it is, but stories like this just have a special place in my heart that i can quite explain. A film where two people share such wonderful chemistry and create a relationship that you can't help but get sucked into be it romantic or platonic. i could have watched this film all day, everything from start to finish is wonderful. The songs are great (she can really sing) the story, the style is fantastic and i just can't say enough good things about this film. I'm even smiling now just remembering watching it.

 

The best thing about this film too, they nailed the landing. The ending finishes so strong and the key relationships take the course that is right as opposed to the course that is Hollywood. This is just a great little film and if you like sweet and nice and kind in your films sometimes just go and watch this right now.  

[chasmmi]

TIG was really average I thought.

 

I can get why some (even many) could feel that way, but for whatever reason the film just really clicked for me.

 

I think part of it is a little like with Monuments Men earlier, that the real story is so amazing in both great and terrible ways that I was already invested in the story being told before a line was uttered.