SO FAR THIS YEAR XII

[samsong]

dafuq is a c+p

[jenkins]

just me being sassy. it means copy and paste

that was my conversational segue into posting mark olsen's list

1. Under the Skin
2. Inherent Vice
3. Selma
4. Listen Up Philip
5. Only Lovers Left Alive
6. We Are the Best!
7. Snowpiercer
8. Dear White People
9 The Immigrant
10. Citizenfour

adore the guy as a critic. waters, brody, and olsen. waiting for audley's list and that's a wrap

[modage]

http://modage.tumblr.com/post/107128203651/my-top-10-films-of-2014



1. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)
After your first viewing, you may not know what to make of "Inherent Vice," Paul Thomas Anderson's seventh feature film and the first ever adaptation of literary giant Thomas Pynchon. And that's okay. For as much as Anderson claims to make films for the Saturday night crowd, he's really making them for the ages and he's not afraid of leaving a few people behind to get there. His most ardent fans like myself have learned that he never repeats himself and whatever he does next will be a complete 180 from whatever he did last time. And sure enough, coming hot off the heels of "The Master," his divisive post-WWII drama, he takes yet another left turn for 'Vice,' a 2 ½ hour broadly comic and profoundly melancholy experience that's unlike anything else Anderson has made but could only have been made by him. Once again he's assembled his all-star team, from Robert Elswit's grainy, gorgeous 35mm cinematography to Jonny Greenwood's mesmerizing score to an A-list ensemble, some of whom turn in career-best performances in essentially 1-2 scene parts. Holding the film together is Joaquin Phoenix as Doc Sportello and it's impossible to imagine anyone else embodying him quite as perfectly as the actor does here, as a puppydog optimist and aching romantic. Anderson grasps onto the novel's Doc-Shasta romantic thread and tugs on it hard, using it to pull the audience through the labyrinthine story. The mystery may be hard to follow but it's really just window dressing; this was always going to be a love story. The film may simply be too out there to figure heavily into year-end discussions but give it some time and I'd wager it will start cropping up on Best of the Decade lists a few years down the line.



2. The Raid 2: Berandal (Gareth Evans)
Where the original film was arguably the leanest and meanest action film since "Die Hard," 'Berandal' is a sprawling, 2 ½ hour epic. The original's video-game structure (our hero climbs levels of bad guys before getting to the big bad on the top floor) allowed for a nearly exposition-free 101 minutes of non-stop bone-crunching fights, the sequel admittedly has some issues with pacing and the exposition gets a little thick trying to keep all the alliances straight. But these issues are like a few scratches of paint on a brand new Jaguar. While the reach of 'Bernadal' admittedly exceeds its grasp, its highs are higher than nearly anything else you're likely to see in 2014. Instead of simply rehashing 'Redemption,' writer/director Gareth Evans expands the scope and then some, introducing warring gangs, crooked cops, and at least a dozen characters with comic-book silhouettes (like Baseball Bat Man and Hammer Girl) and staging the jaw-dropping fight sequences in prison yards, nightclubs and spilling out into the streets in a highway chase that will undoubtedly go down as a hall-of-famer. On a technical level, the film is a marvel, and digital squibs aside, you just don't see films like this anymore. The film's fluid long takes with wide compositions showcasing the performers balletic feats of physicality make it an endangered species in 2014. At the film's Sundance premiere, the audience burst into applause after every fight scene like they had just witnessed a big musical number at a Broadway show. I haven't experienced anything quite as electric in theatres in almost 11 months. Bring on Part 3.



3. Gone Girl (David Fincher)
David Fincher may be the closest thing we have to a modern day Hitchcock. On the surface, his films are popcorn entertainment for the masses — paperback thrillers and serial killer genre pictures — made with such precision he's sometimes mistaken as merely an expert craftsman. But that's what allows him to be so subversive and keep sneaking in these little bits of poison in such pretty packages. The premise may have lured 90% of people into the theatre (and to the novel on which it's based) but of course, that's not really what "Gone Girl" is about. It's everything that happens after the film's big reveal that makes it really interesting. Gillian Flynn, who adapted her own novel, proves to be a perfect match for Fincher here crafting the ultimate "date movie," digging under the surface of modern relationships (with a special shout-out to our media obsession). Audiences may have flocked to see a whodunnit thriller and find out if Ben Affleck killed his wife but what they got once they were locked in was a sometimes uncomfortable look in the mirror at their own relationship and the lies we tell our loved ones to lure them in. There's something incredibly awkward about the film's flashback scenes featuring Affleck's Nick and Rosamund Pike's (icy and excellent) Amy in the early stages of coupling up until you realize, oh this is by design. Those scenes are not supposed to be trusted and Fincher has more up his sleeve than who killed Amy. While the first viewing plays like a rollercoaster, I'm looking forward to a second so I can really take a look at what's going on under the hood.



4. Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
Every once in a great while a film comes along that makes you wonder, "Where the hell has that guy been?" and reminds you of why you loved that guy in the first place. This year that guy is Michael Keaton and that film is "Birdman," Alejandro González Iñárritu's virtuoso meta-fable of an actor fallen from grace. As Riggan Thompson, a former Hollywood sellout looking to stage a comeback on Broadway, Keaton channels the live-wire energy he's long been known for but also shows us layers of sadness and desperation that we've never really seen from the actor, and certainly not in a showcase part like this, surrounded by a terrific ensemble including Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis. Much has been made of the film's awe-inspiring "single-take" (actually achieved by seamlessly stitching together its merely very impressive long takes) and the film's detractors have pointed to that as a gimmick. But the technique isn't merely Iñárritu showing off (though it is that too), it's also the best way to communicate the film's manic energy and immediacy, in a world where where mundanity and surreality collide. With his first four features Iñárritu was in danger of hitting the same notes one too many times and thankfully he switched instruments just in the nick of time with this massively entertaining, genre-defying film — we come up short on comparisons when trying to describe it because there's really nothing quite like it. Which is probably the best recommendation of all.



5. Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
"It's like we've forgotten who we are, explorers, pioneers, not caretakers." This dialogue spoken by Matthew McConaughey in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic works not just as his character's lament for the abandonment of the space program but also as Nolan's elegy for the state of the  blockbuster movie in 2014. Whereas once the landscape was filled with new ideas, more and more those big budgets are going solely to properties whose futures are to be managed instead of explored. Looking ahead at the future of the blockbuster and it doesn't look so bright. "Star Wars" was once an original idea from a filmmaker, but today is just another intellectual property to be managed. Today that movie would have a hard time getting made as there is less and less room for new and unproven ideas and few filmmakers in the position and willing to take that risk. This is what makes Nolan stand alone in 2014 — the irony of course is that Nolan climbed into his position by reinvigorating the Batman franchise — but what he seems to understand is that we need to populate the world with new ideas and in-between every Batman film was another original one, stretching the boundaries of his talents. "Interstellar" is a bold, beautiful swing for the fences from one of the few filmmakers who can still afford to take it. It's also the closest he's come to a misfire but still more ambitious and satisfying than anything else at the multiplex this year with set pieces that will truly take your breath away. From his insistence on practical FX wherever possible to filming on stunning 70mm IMAX, to the unconventional, otherworldly score from Hans Zimmer, there is absolutely no other filmmaker working today like Christopher Nolan. Let's not take him for granted.



6. The Double (Richard Ayoade)
I was a big fan of Richard Ayoade's debut "Submarine" but was even more impressed with his sophomore effort which tonally couldn't be further from his debut. In just two films, Ayoade seems to have built a little repertory company of performers as every major actor from his debut pops up somewhere for his latest, which is equal parts "Brazil," Kafka and Ayoade's own wicked sense of humor. Darkly funny, claustrophobic and featuring two great leading performances from Jesse Eisenberg who stars as a corporate drone forced to contend with the appearance of his doppelganger, this nightmarish comedy should be a cult classic/midnight movie for years to come.



7. Guardians Of The Galaxy (James Gunn)
In just 7 years Marvel has changed the way that all major studios operate and they've done so by making some pretty good films and 2 very good ones, "Captain America" and now "Guardians of the Galaxy." James Gunn takes an impossible concept (a talking tree & raccoon?) and makes it into a film that's consistently funny, unexpectedly moving and surprisingly great looking. Marvel films have a tendency of looking cheap but the CGI here is beautifully stylized and makes it look like the characters are living in a 70's prog rock album cover. Admittedly there's a ton of stuff in 'Guardians' that doesn't work and almost all of it is related to the Marvel world-building but goddammit when it works, it really flies.



8. Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)
One of the most impressive things about "Nightcrawler" isn't just writer/first-time director Dan Gilroy's script which works as both a satire and a thriller, it's the fact that this pitch black character study opened at #1. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a career-best performance as Lou Bloom, an ambitious and possibly sociopathic freelance photographer who trawls through Los Angeles looking for grisly car accidents so he can sell the footage to local news networks. Beautifully lensed by Paul Thomas Anderson regular DP Robert Elswit, he elevates the film above the more straightforward thriller it could've resembled. Getting a film like this made in the indie world is expected but getting a wide audience to see it is pretty remarkable in 2014.   



9. The Interview (Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg)
God bless Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. After their apocalyptic, self-referential "This Is The End," the writer/director team set their sights on North Korea (and narrowly avoided international incident). Is there anyone else who would have the balls to make "The Interview"? The film itself is a riot, smart and stupid in equal measure, easily the funniest movie of 2014 and featuring James Franco's best comedic performance to date. I laughed from beginning to end until my voice made a high pitched whistling noise. Here's hoping the noise surrounding the film doesn't make them think twice about whatever they do next.



10. Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller)
Not an easy film to love but one you have to admire, Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" takes the filmmaker behind solid adult dramas "Capote" and "Moneyball" and puts him in the top-tier of American filmmakers working today. You can feel his focus behind the camera behind every patient artfully composed frame. Featuring a trio of remarkable performances from Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum, the film is an unflinching portrait of wealth, privilege and madness which like the best "true stories," uses historical events as merely a jumping off point for an artful plunge into the abyss. 

11. Boyhood (Richard Linklater), 12. Neighbors (Nicholas Stoller), 13. Mistaken For Strangers (Tom Beringer), 14. Listen Up Philip (Alex Ross Perry), 15. The One I Love (Charlie McDowell), 16. Enemy (Denis Villeneuve), 17. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch), 18. Whiplash (Damian Chazelle), 19. Under The Skin (Jonathan Glazer), 20. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson).

Runners Up: Selma (Ava DuVernay), Edge Of Tomorrow (Doug Liman), Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (Matt Reeves), Godzilla (Gareth Edwards), Frank (Lenny Abrahamson), The Guest (Adam Wingard), The Boxtrolls (Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi), Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund), Starred Up (David Mackenzie), Blue Ruin (Jeremy Saulnier).

[jenkins]

talkhouse contributors made a list. i did a cmnd+f for "audley" but no, tho i like how brandon colvin said:

Favorite Talkhouse Film piece(s) of 2014
Everything written by Kentucker Audley.

zach clark and ben york jones both listed lowery's tmnt piece as favorites. alex cox only wanted to mention a field in england. there are full lists of various people, including josephine decker, bee, aaron katz, alex ross perry, and riley stearns, at:
http://thetalkhouse.com/film/talks/talkhouse-film-contributors-top-films-of-2014/

results of the overall top 20 were:

1. Under the Skin   151
2. Boyhood   114.5
3. We are the Best!   82
4. Nightcrawler   81
5. Force Majeure   73
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel   69
=7. Birdman   61
=7. Listen Up Philip   61
9. Ida   58
10. Whiplash   55
11. Stranger by the Lake   46
12. CITIZENFOUR   45.5
=13. Inherent Vice   45
=13. Only Lovers Left Alive   45
15. Foxcatcher   40
16. It Felt Like Love   38
17. Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 & Volume 2   36
18. Blue Ruin   34
=19. Guardians of the Galaxy   32
=19. Manakamana   32

[03]

what an amazing year for movies. i'm finally all caught up.
ill start with the gold. new lifelong favorites.
top 3 in order:
1. inherent vice
2. kumiko the treasure hunter
3. grand budapest hotel

and i love all of these equally. descriptions for ones not previously mentioned. (decided to edit some short reviews for other ones too so this isnt just a list)

. 3.14 : trippy, surrealist, low budget straight to vhs kind of film. lots of fun. rainbow donkeys. fire breathing zebras. ghosts.
. 6 bullets to hell : grindhouse spaghetti western tarantino tribute. super low budget but worth watching.
. blue ruin : perfectly artistic little crime film. the performances are so lifelike its ridiculous. there are some scenes where you will literally jump out of your seat.
. bird people : heard about this, then axo mentioned it. watched it out of curiousity and was BLOWN AWAY. if there are any fans of 'last life in the universe' here, you need to see this immediately. you'll know what i mean.
. borgman : coherent surrealism at its finest. if you've seen his other films, you know what to expect, if you haven't you're in for quite a treat. modern day bunuel.
. butter on the latch : hallucinatory fever dream with just the right amount of dread.
. cub : brilliant kids horror film. think 'rare exports' mixed with 'let the right one in'.
. dark cherry twist : ok, sorry for all this low budget stuff, but i like crappy movies. they obviously worked really hard on this and it's terrible. just lots of blood and drugs and clown faces and boobs. awesome. :D
. the double : 'after hours' meets 'brazil' all through the kafka filter. delicious.
. the duke of burgundy : like taking laudenum and reading through ancient texts with a beautiful woman by your side, sleeping.
. enemy : the most fun movie to decipher of 2014. spiders.
. force majeure : a gorgeous triumph of cinematography heightened by amazing performances.
. a girl walks home alone at night : terrifying and beautiful lynchian poem.
. goodnight mommy : one of the best horror films of this decade so far.
. gone girl : when you want something specifically fincher, he always delivers. even if its 'benjamin button', the fingerprint that he leaves on his films is so satisfying, i dont think anyone can argue with that.
. the guest : pulpy, cheesy, mystery action that makes little sense but quenches action standoff thirst like crazy.
. a hitmans solitude before the shot : trailer is pretty spoilery. its a very playful film that deals with paranoia, gravitates between real dark and real hilarious and sometimes even kind of sweet.
. horns : long, deliberate, a little confusing, but overall this a complex and interesting film that includes some amazing cinematography and performances. definitely some unforgettable death scenes.
. housebound : AMAZING horror comedy. feels very inspired by early jeunet and early gilliam. do not miss.
. jodorowsky's dune : nothing to be said that hasn't been. fascinating.
. level five : just turn your mind off and enjoy the mastery of chris marker and wonder what exactly he does for money.
. leviathan : epic drama, chilling scenery.
. nightcrawler : it really is 'king of comedy' in a modern setting and much more disturbing.
. night moves : such a simple film, but deeply affecting.
. nymphomaniac : yeah. i dont know. it was great but not perfect. ill come back to it again and again. worth of my list.
. the one i love : best movie about a couple ever.
. only lovers left alive : i've heard a lot of flack for this film but jarmusch is great man. he's still doing what he does, and he does it really well. he hasnt sold out at all. this is pure him.
. a pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence : i love roy andersson. hes a very quiet filmmaker, everything is framed beautifully. definitely consistent with his style, a very beautiful movie to chill out to.
. the rover : future fiction is best when its vague, i think we can all agree. excellent movie with ZERO sense of humour.
. snowpiercer : not much to be said. visually epic, completely illogical, wonderfully grand masterful film.
. starry eyes : HOLYCRAP. this is one of the more disturbing horror films i've seen, but it is also brilliantly crafted. draws heavily from repulsion, rosemarys baby, includes some of the most disturbingly violent deaths ive seen as well. amazing film, the lead is an incredible actress.
. strange color of your bodys tears : if david lynch directed an argento script. a gorgeous love letter to giallo, visually electric and sexy. thankfully on netflix.
. the tribe : no words. takes you somewhere else.
. tusk : stupid but irresistible. he wants to be other directors so bad. not 'red state' but not horrible. this movie is on the list because i cant stop thinking about it and it was not boring.
. under the skin : compared to earlier glazer, i'm confused why this film was more 'art' than 'content', or why the balance wasn't better, but still incredibly enjoyable trippy stuff. i would put a totinos commercial on this list if it had scarlett johansson naked. still confused as to why this is so high up on big critics list.
. white bird in a blizzard : araki doing araki without constant puke blood and blowjobs. i like the direction he's taken since mysterious skin, this film was pleasantly surprising.
. why don't you play in hell : a wild, psycho kinetic rollercoaster of a film. wonderful hints of wes anderson, miike, and almodovar, insanely fun and addictive.
. the wind rises : miyazaki. thats it.
. witching and bitching : im really really confused as to why iglesias isn't mentioned alongside other directors more often, because he is insane. he has the visual and production and writing and directing scale of del toro, almodovar, and jeunet combined, but he usually is forgotten. this film is an insane ride, the sets, the effects, the costumes, the everything is just so big and loud and funny and graphic and scary. its on netflix so you have no excuse. unless your excuse is you dont have netflix. then use your moms.

hope you guys enjoy it and see the ones you havent, this took a long time so i hope its appreciated and fuck boyhood! thank you everybody!

[Knocho Pytsh]

These are the films that surprised me the most this year. It is by no means comprehensive and there are still several I've yet to see.

Interstellar – This is likely the year's most flawed film. I originally had little interest in seeing it but on that particular weekend had nothing else to do and had an even lower interest in everything else playing. Perhaps something in me just wanted to try out a better known director's new sci-fi flick in IMAX, as opposed to smaller movies akin to The One I Love and Whiplash. I wasn't dissatisfied in the least bit. And yes, it's preposterous, riddled with plot holes, melodramatic, occasionally cliché, and full of exposition, but somehow it works. Maybe it's Hanz Zimmer's score, Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography, or perhaps it's the unbreakable bond of love between this man and his precocious daughter that spoke to me so much. I see and wholeheartedly agree with every one of the problems, but somehow they aren't enough to stop various sequences from replaying in my head and haunting me. I will have to see this again.

Foxcatcher – Another flawed film I enjoyed more than is probably deserved. The nose was a mistake. It was completely distracting and took away from the interactions of the characters. Other than that, those relationships are fascinating. Yes, du Pont's behavior became more alarming leading up to the shooting than is depicted by Miller, but I feel like everything that's there cultivates so much discussion. It really captures the bleak, depressing scariness of human emptiness and the kinds of things that come of that emptiness when coupled with great wealth. It isn't really a movie I want to see again, but I liked what I saw. Also, who else wasn't chortling through the coke snorting scene in the helicopter?

Birdman – I haven't laughed this much in a long time. Every minute is brimming with unease. Whatever Inarritu does next, I'll be there.

Boyhood – An almost scary-accurate depiction of passing time in the younger years, and also just a really sweet film. The only thing that holds it back from total perfection is the "you should listen to your mom" restaurant scene, which felt very forced.

Whiplash – Whoa. Listen to the others' advice. Don't see any trailers or read anything about this before going in. It's truly a sight to behold. Even if you can argue it being unrealistic, it plays your emotions like a piano all the way through. Fast paced, intense, surprising, and altogether inspirational. Life is short. We can all afford to go nuts for the sake of our passions once in a while.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – I've never been a Wes Anderson fan. Maybe I just don't get it. After seeing this, I realized that this may just be the work that makes me revisit everything he's done. The feeling of nostalgia and longing for the past is so strong here. It balances humor and sadness so successfully that multiple viewings are consistently rewarding.

Inherent Vice – This is PTA's best film to date and my favorite of the year. Enough said.

Gone Girl – This must be the year of very flawed yet effective films. Even if the ending is meant to be satirical, it's completely unbelievable. Even then, I was completely invested. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's soundtrack combined with the clear, crisp cinematography make for a completely unique, unsettling and beautiful atmosphere. Also, the portrayal of contemporary media's invasive nature is handled far more professionally than in Nightcrawler.

[03]

'past faced' ftw.

[Knocho Pytsh]

I've neglected one of my dearest friends - the proof read.

[max from fearless]

new new:
the babadook
citzenfour
guardians of the galaxy
map to the stars
the grand budapest hotel
jodorowsky's dune
a girl walks home alone at night
gone girl
only lovers left alive
inherent vice
clouds of sils maria
bird people

new old:
the brother from another planet
altered states
walker
kansas city
cookie's fortune
injustice
santa sangre
the terrorizers

tv:
louie
the knick
house of cards guilt binge watch, where i realise fincher hates people, especially good people

music videos:
i - kendrick lamar
never catch me now - flying lotus

shorts:
key and peele - flicker
Mo'ne Davis, Throw Like A Girl
gooses
world wide woven bodies

music:
theo parrish - american intelligence
d'angelo - black messiah
farben presents james din a4
actress - rap/rule/street corp