Best and Worst of 2014 in Film

2014 was a strong year for Hollywood.

We got our usual crop of strong superhero movies that continue to dominate the box office. We experienced the release of a movie twelve years in the making that is a Best Picture frontrunner. Movies that we were pessimistic about turned out great and movies that the whole world couldn’t wait to see disappointed.

More importantly, more than ever before, we saw films that reflected the times as far as ongoing movements (Wild and feminism), enduring societal troubles (Selma and Michael Brown) and ostensible character examinations that may or may not have been totally accurate (American Sniper and this and this and this).

As always, movies made us laugh, cry, smile, hope, and walk out of the theater demanding our money back.

Just like any other year – or any timeless film from any other year, decade, century – the greatest movies moved us, challenged our way of thinking, sometimes had us relating it to the real world to such a deep extent that we eventually had to return to it.

It was a strong year for movies, strong enough that it was hard coming up with a “best of” list.

But I tried. And I present it to you know.

 

Best Movies of 2014

1. Birdman

Right from the start, you know Birdman is going to be different. It simply grabs you by the horns and does not let up with its insanely honest and hilarious story of trying to be relevant in the modern era of twitter and viral videos. Birdman is one of the most complete films of the year, with the addicting score, masterful camera work, perfect writing, and Oscar-worthy acting all coming together to create a truly modern masterpiece, with themes and concepts meant to be analyzed with as much brainpower as when you read The Great Gatsby in high school.

2. Boyhood

There has never been anything like Boyhood, and there will probably never be again. What makes Boyhood so captivating is one in the same with how it was filmed: over a period of 12 years, utilizing the same actors, telling a seemingly simple but intensely relatable and deep story of life, and why it’s important to bask in every minute of it.

 

3. Selma

There could not have been a more perfect time for the release of Selma, a film that is as much about social discrimination and “justification” of wrongdoing as it is about Martin Luther King’s fight for getting African Americans the right to vote. Brilliantly directed, inspiring and, hopefully, educational, no movie released in 2014 entertained viewers as much as moved them in quite the same was as Selma did.

 

 

4. Guardians of the Galaxy

What was Marvel’s biggest gamble to date is also arguably their best movie to date, combining Star Wars and The Dirty Dozen to create the best superhero movie of the year.

 

 

5. Snowpiercer

An excruciatingly underappreciated dystopian film at a time when dystopian stories are all the rage. Snowpiercer is the latest allegory of the 99 percent versus the 1 percent, and also one of the gripping action flicks of the year.

 

What, I didn’t mention this all happens on a train?

 

6. Wild

Reese Witherspoon is a marvel in this real-life drama that turns standard movie tropes on its head. Wild is both unexpected and extremely satisfying.

 

 

7. Gone Girl

One of the most anticipated films of the year, moviemaking maestro David Fincher delivered on all fronts, giving us the most morbidly cool and terrifying movie ever made about the perils of marriage.

 

 

8. Foxcatcher

Led by revelatory and perspective-shifting career performances by the seasoned Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, who you just knew was going to break out soon. Although many considered it too aesthetically drab, few wouldn’t call it tantalizing, engrossing, and probably the monster movie of the year.

 

 

9. Interstellar

Christopher Nolan continues to go bigger with every film, and although many weren’t satisfied with the ending after such a daunting and emotional journey, he should receive credit alone for the sheer ambition of his latest work. It was also, remarkably, one of the LINK most accurate films of the year. Imagine that.

 

10. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

Eleanor Rigby was the most emotionally draining and realistic love story of the year. You want to find out so bad what made Conor and Eleanor (played brilliantly by James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain) split apart, but when you do, you realize it’s all about what happened beforehand, and of what could come later.

 

 

Honorary Franchise Standout Award

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Just when you thought all hope was lost after X-Men Origins: Wolverine…

The latest entry in the enduring superhero franchise is right up there with X2: X-Men United with its near-flawless blending of action, drama and time-traveling suspense.

X-Men: DOFP is the first superhero movie (at least in quite a while) that can stand proudly alongside the better films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and also gave us one of the most memorable movie scenes of 2014, regardless of genre.

 

Most Unexpected Movie of 2014

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the The Dark Knight to Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ Batman Begins.

Surprisingly dark, incredibly entertaining, and as gripping as its motion-captured villain, Dawn was the popcorn flick of the summer….at least until Guardians came out.

Judging how much of an exponential improvement in terms of narrative and style Dawn was over the okay-but-not-great Rise, the next entry should be one of the most anticipated films of the foreseeable future.

 

Eventually….

Before you gasp and comment your disdain and “how could you!”s after checking out the aforementioned films and think I left something just as good, possibly better off, here are some standout films that I wanted to catch, but just never got around to. Some day though.

Nightcrawler

Whiplash

The Imitation Game

The Theory of Everything

The Lego Movie

CitizenFour

Under The Skin

 

Alll better now?

 

The Worst Movies of 2014

Because what good would Hollywood be without some disasters?

1. Transformers: Age of Extincion

Michael Bay, how could you (again)?

We TRUSTED you, Mark…

 

2. Blended

Adam Sandler, how could you (again)?

Do you like being a perennial Razzie contender, Adam?

 

3.Divergent

Shailene Woodley, why?

This pretty much cancelled out The Fault In Our Stars, Shailene…

 

4. Lucy

ScarJo, c’mon now….

This should have been you after reading through Lucy’s completely nonsensical script, Scarlett…

 

5. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Do us all a favor, Peter Jackson…stick to the marketed mantra of your film “One Last Time”, por favor.

Are you saying goodbye to Middle-Earth, Peter? Or your Academy Award credibility?

 

 

Here’s to 2015. 

 

 

 

 

 

David Lynch likes to talk about and write about movies, sports, and important happenings around the world. He can be reached at alex.695@hotmail.com or on Twitter @RealDavidLynch.

Birdman is an all-too-rare film actually worthy of the title “masterpiece.”

After you see the penultimate Hunger Games installment, whether because you want to or because society implores you to, go see Birdman. After you drop the kids off with grandma on a Big Hero 6 date, go see Birdman. Why are you even reading this review right now? Just GO SEE BIRDMAN.

This is a work of art. A genuinely surreal yet disturbingly realistic and compellingly rare film that takes every trope of modern film and spits in its face. Birdman is something that you should see once to experience, a second time to fully digest, and countless more times just to assure yourself that the 21^st century can still output some incredible movies.

Birdman, written and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams) is a tale of relevance in the modern age, at a time when its themes couldn’t be more relevant. It is so shockingly in the NOW that you’d think it was made last week.

It seems like something that should have been novel that we should have read in high school. Its themes are mature ones, to be sure, but they are diligently and delicately molded into the very minutiae of the film. The subtle pop culture jabs and even subtler references to mythology. The gruff attitude of the film which, at least on the surface, seems to be so light-hearted and fun, only to scare us with its realism once the audience takes some time to dig deep into particular scenes and conversations. It all forms a perfect cycle of parity. You’d have to go back to 2011’s The Artist or 2007’s Juno to find such distinct thematic elements working together for the greater good of actually having something significant to say about society.

Birdman being stalked by Birdman.

The majestic nature of Birdman is that it accomplishes so much with so little. So often movies are labeled as “rollercoasters”. Name any superhero property – whether it be the first, second, third, fourth, tenth installment – and you’ll find dozens of critics who are quick to call them “an absolute ride from start to finish!”

I’m not harping on big blockbusters. Some of them actually have substance, although that is an increasingly unique trait. But if that overused moniker of “rollercoaster” has truth to it with those films, then I can confidently say that experiencing Birdman is like injecting yourself with weaponized TNT and skydiving from Mars into the face of the Sun.

Yeah, it is that exhilarating.

There isn’t a single department Birdman doesn’t excel at. There just isn’t. The cinematography alone deserves several rounds of applause (as well as an Oscar). Virtually the entire movie is a single take, something that works to grandstanding effect and must be seen to be believed. There are two kinds of moviegoers: Those who notice the effect of cinematography, and those who are ignorant to it. Birdman converts the latter.

The score, seemingly made with nothing more than a single drum set, is captivating and engrossing.

The dialogue is Tarantino-meets-Aaron Sorkin. Wonderfully exaggerated yet so true to the situations and the film’s overarching themes of holding-your-ego-in-check-at-all-costs that the movie is almost self-aware of its own ridiculously wonderful irony.

Birdman is also one of the funniest films you’ll see this year, perhaps the funniest. In the vein of 2007’s There Will Be Blood or even The Wolf of Wall Street from yesteryear, Birdman uses humor so well to disguise its own masochistic themes, and arguably better than the two aforementioned films.

The acting is some of the best in any movie this year, too. The ensemble’s individual performances are what power the film. There’s nothing to say about Michael Keaton’s (RoboCop, Batman Returns) performance as washed-up movie star Riggan Thompson other than it will terrify you, suspend you, make you laugh, make you contemplate, make you wonder if this is the highlight of an otherwise colorful career. It is. And we should be grateful for it.

Keaton and Norton may or may not be arguing over who had better acting in Birdman.

Name any other cast member and you have yourself a performance just as enthralling. Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zack Galifianakis. They all deliver. On such multilayered levels that they make their characters seem so inherently real. That is the trademark of great acting in a film.

Pacing is another strength of the film. Birdman does so well what other films strive so so so hard to do, only to fall flat in the end. Birdman simply never stops. There is never a dull moment, from its high crescendos of fast paced cinematic scurrying to its slower, more human moments. You never know what’s going to happen in the next moment, but you can bet it’s going to be there before you know it.

It truly is a shame that, unlike the Tonys for theatre, the Oscars have recently become so preferential towards historical dramas with themes that have been delved into countless times. Although they are sure to recognize Keaton’s performance, as well as the stupidly incredible camera work, there is no doubt Birdman will be grossly overlooked by the Academy.

Just make sure you aren’t overlooking it. You’d be skipping out on a masterpiece of modern cinema. And once you see the film, you’ll understand why that is the greatest irony of all.

 

In a Nutshell

Mr. Iñárritu has given us something special, something that deserves the mature moviegoer’s admiration. A wholly original piece of art that seemingly is long overdue, but actually arrived just at the right moment. Other movies can utilize their technological standard-raising methods and budget-busting capabilities to create something memorable. But Birdman aims to be something more. It aims to be as devilishly charming as anything released in recent decades.

 

10 / 10 or The Best Picture of 2014. If the Academy doesn’t coronate it as such, I sure as hell will.

 

 

Birdman is rated R for language throughout, some sexual content and brief violence

Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu 

2014