:?: :?: :?:
Will be short as of now:
- Tim's Vermeer - obsession that is intoxicating, a fun documentary to watch.
- Jodorowsky's Dune - same reasons as previous documentary.
- Blue Ruin - small revenge film done right.
- Snowpiercer - action sci-fi fable done right.
- Under the Skin - biggest WTF so far.
apeshit excited about this friday. these have been my favorites so far this year
dance of reality
grand budapest hotel
under the skin
the double
blue ruin
the raid 2
snowpiercer
miss lovely
fault in our stars
land ho!
THE WIND RISES
NIGHT MOVES
THE IMMIGRANT
BOYHOOD
The Wind Rises
Exhibition
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Only Lovers Left Alive
A touch of sin
the immigrant
enemy
only lovers left alive
under the skin
snow piercer
Going by IMDB dates, I don't think I've seen anything that's been truly exceptional.
But I rather enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel.
^^
1 calendars are so tricky i just i'm like well idk what i'm like 'cause dang i mean i saw the wind rises last year oh my i saw we are the best last year oh geez and i saw a touch of sin this year during a programming of 2013's best movies i mean what's a fella to do but trust one's gut
b sounds like maybe you're more of a pottery person anyway
Inherent Vice
Force Majeure
Tom at the Farm
The Overnighters
Nymphomaniac Vol. 1
Interstellar
We Are the Best!
Mommy
Listen Up Philip
Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
Palo Alto
Maps to the Stars
Jeune et Jolie
Quote from: jenkins<3 on July 08, 2014, 12:41:45 PM
apeshit excited about this friday. these have been my favorites so far this year
dance of reality
You've seen this? I'm so jealous. Can't wait for the torrent (earliest I'll be able to watch it, really doubt I'll find it on the big screen either)
Quote
land ho!
I haven't seen Martin Bonner either, but I want to and I should and very hopefully will remember to get it and watch it and possibly talk about it.
inherent vice
only lovers left alive
the immigrant
under the skin
nymph()maniac
citizenfour
birdman
mr turner
the hobbit: the battle of the five armies
gone girl
Just watched "Jodorowsky's Dune" and it goes straight onto my So Far list. The rage, sadness and defiance of those last 15mins pack a devastating punch. One of the final scenes where "the Father who failed" sits next to "the son he sacrificed" and they lament and defy, really left a mark, y'know, dreams deferred plus that Dennis Hopper quote, "The only thing harder than making the film, is not making the film." Also loved the first third of the film where it's a man on a mission movie and the mission is to recruit a hardcore, like-minded army of filmmaker warriors, to partake in spiritual-filmmaking-warfare. I finished the film and chanted "I am Dune" for hours.
Quote from: max from fearless on July 14, 2014, 04:02:55 AM
Just watched "Jodorowsky's Dune" and it goes straight onto my So Far list. The rage, sadness and defiance of those last 15mins pack a devastating punch. One of the final scenes where "the Father who failed" sits next to "the son he sacrificed" and they lament and defy, really left a mark, y'know, dreams deferred plus that Dennis Hopper quote, "The only thing harder than making the film, is not making the film." Also loved the first third of the film where it's a man on a mission movie and the mission is to recruit a hardcore, like-minded army of filmmaker warriors, to partake in spiritual-filmmaking-warfare. I finished the film and chanted "I am Dune" for hours.
Just finished it for my second time and I agree completely. Even if Dune had been made and it was a failure (which I seriously doubt), the story behind it's creation is really quite fascinating as it is. Such a diverse collaboration of talent, with Jodorowsky's unique influence, I think it would have been extraordinary.
I wonder if anybody here has had a look at the comics at all? The documentary gives us glimpses of the story but it'd be interesting to see it as a finished work, regardless of the medium.
sundance next movies arranged by my feelings for them:
a girl walks home alone at night
kumiko, the treasure hunter
the guest
imperial dreams
listen up philip
can you give us a little more detail, jenkins? especially want to know your thoughts on 'a girl walks home alone at night' which I really wanna see and the much hyped 'listen up philip' (wish you would've caught the Kahlil Joseph, Kendrick Lemar, Flying Lotus short as well, you can't see em all tho, right...)
Quote from: max from fearless on August 11, 2014, 06:11:50 PM
can you give us a little more detail, jenkins? especially want to know your thoughts on 'a girl walks home alone at night' which I really wanna see and the much hyped 'listen up philip' (wish you would've caught the Kahlil Joseph, Kendrick Lemar, Flying Lotus short as well, you can't see em all tho, right...)
i'm still processing tbh, which is a good sign, because no one needs to process a bad movie; plus i prefer to say nice things about movies since it doesn't help people's personal opinions or movie culture in general to go around swooshing criticisms. the things i do and don't like about a movie are immediate to me, but i prefer to push through my feelings until things like time and outside influences and vision quests help shape my ideas
a girl walks home alone at night has the fusion between emotions and cinema and story which are the basic ingredients of my favorite movies. i think the style helps focus its energy. i think its emotions hum, which is what we all want really kinda
i saw the short! its theme flew above my head. there was something there i wasn't sure about. the music was great, yeah, definitely that
Quote from: jenkins<3 on August 11, 2014, 08:18:36 PM
a girl walks home alone at night has the fusion between emotions and cinema and story which are the basic ingredients of my favorite movies. i think the style helps focus its energy. i think its emotions hum, which is what we all want really kinda
i saw the short! its theme flew above my head. there was something there i wasn't sure about. the music was great, yeah, definitely that
That a good fusion to have. Glad it resonates on an emotional level. I was wondering whether it was gonna be a really good looking Anamorphic, B&W, Nocturnal vibes-fest or whether it'd have a bit more....bite....sorry.
Ah wow, you saw the short. Cool. Can you put your finger on what was you wasn't sure of? What is it like tonally? Visually?
these are the movies that most moved me and this list demonstrates how i like to move --
mommy
dance of reality
inherent vice
a girl walks home alone at night
grand budapest hotel
thou wast mild & lovely
girlhood
heaven knows what
blue ruin
the raid 2
clouds of sils maria
and there are those i haven't seen and should see again and it's not even december yet
movies i liked this year
1a. force majeure
1b. enemy
grand budapest hotel
heaven knows what
we are the best!
the double
foxcatcher
gone girl
whiplash
the wind rises
mr. turner
the immigrant
see you next tuesday
life itself
only lovers left alive
captain america 2
lego movie
national gallery
under the skin
olive kitteridge
inherent vice
listen up philip
the tale of the princess kaguya
snow piercer
the hobbit
boyhood
thou wast mild and lovely
birdman
palo alto
babadook
nymph()maniac
nightcrawler
butter on the latch
mitt
omissions: dear white people, interstellar
would like to see: mommy (2015?), girl walks home alone, blue ruin, citizenfour (on so many lists)
Cahiers Du Cinema Top 10 Films Of 2014
1 Bruno Dumont's Li'l Quinquin
2 Jean-Luc Godard's Goodbye to Language
3 Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin
4 David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars
5 Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises
6 Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac
7 Xavier Dolan's Mommy
8 Ira Sachs's Love Is Strange
9 Alain Cavalier's Le Paradis
10 Hong Sang-soo's Our Sunhi
Sight & Sound Top 20 Films Of 2014
1. Boyhood
2. Goodbye To Language 3D
3. Leviathan (tie)
3. Horse Money (tie)
5. Under The Skin
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel
7. Winter Sleep
8. The Tribe
9. Ida (tie)
9. Jauja (tie)
11. Mr. Turner (tie)
11. National Gallery (tie)
11. The Wolf Of Wall Street (tie)
11. Whiplash (tie)
15. The Duke Of Burgundy
16. Birdman (tie)
16. Two Days, One Night (tie)
18. Citizenfour (tie)
18. The Look Of Silence (tie)
18. The Wind Rises (tie)
John Waters' Top 10 Films Of 2014
1. Maps To The Stars
2. Charlie Victor Romeo
3. The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq
4. The Smell Of Us
5. Gloria
6. Who Took Johnny
7. L'il Quinquin
8. Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1 and 2
9. Violette
10. The Films Of Joanna Hogg ("Unrelated," "Archipelago," "Exhibition")
https://artforum.com/inprint/issue=201410&id=49103
EDGAR WRIGHT'S TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2014
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Snowpiercer
Interstellar
Nightcrawler
Under The Skin
The Lego Movie
Whiplash
Edge Of Tomorrow
http://www.esquire.com/the-esquire-top-10/edgar-wright-top-10
New York Film Critics Circle
Best Animated Film: "The LEGO Movie"
Best Foreign Language Film: "Ida"
Best Nonfiction Film: "CITIZENFOUR"
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons ("Whiplash")
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood")
Best Screenplay: "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Best Cinematography: Darius Khondji ("The Immigrant")
Best Actor: Timothy Spall ("Mr. Turner")
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard ("The Immigrant" and "Two Days, One Night")
Best First Film: Jennifer Kent ("The Babadook")
Best Director: Richard Linklater ("Boyhood")
Best Film: "Boyhood"
THE 25 BEST FILMS OF 2014: A VIDEO COUNTDOWN
from david Ehrlich
http://vimeo.com/113355414
^mad props
(iv is #2)
National Board Of Review 2014
Best Film: A Most Violent Year
Best Director: Clint Eastwood, American Sniper
Best Actor (tie): Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year; Michael Keaton, Birdman
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton, Birdman
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Best Original Screenplay: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Best Animated Feature: How to Train Your Dragon 2
Breakthrough Performance: Jack O'Connell, Starred Up & Unbroken
Best Directorial Debut: Gillian Robespierre, Obvious Child
Best Foreign Language Film: Wild Tales
Best Documentary: Life Itself
William K. Everson Film History Award: Scott Eyman
Best Ensemble: Fury
Spotlight Award: Chris Rock for writing, directing, and starring in Top Five
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Rosewater
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Selma
Top Films
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Fury
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Lego Movie
Nightcrawler
Unbroken
Top 5 Foreign Language Films
Force Majeure
Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
We Are the Best!
Top 5 Documentaries
Art and Craft
Jodorowsky's Dune
Keep On Keepin' On
The Kill Team
Last Days in Vietnam
Top 10 Independent Films
Blue Ruin
Locke
A Most Wanted Man
Mr. Turner
Obvious Child
The Skeleton Twins
Snowpiercer
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Starred Up
Still Alice
Empire
1. Boyhood
2. Nightcrawler
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
4. Inside Llewyn Davis
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Edge of Tomorrow
7. The Grand Budapest Hotel
8. What We Do in the Shadows
9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
10. Her
Quote from: Garam on November 14, 2014, 12:17:46 PM
Everything i've seen this year. Some that were released in the US Q4 2013 were released in UK in Q1 2014.
Loved
The Wolf of Wall Street I've read some negative reviews on here and elsewhere and tried to see it from their point of view, but i still think it's fantastic. All the criticisms seems to boil down to 'these guys are dicks.' I personally don't think that criticism is ever pertinent. You're not hanging out with them, why do you care about their morality?
The Lego Movie The live action Will Ferrell bit was a bit shit but everything else was a blast. I don't like Pixar so i was surprised at how much I enjoyed this.
Liked
Grand Budapest Hotel I've found Wes unbearable for a decade so had to force myself to this after the great reviews and didn't regret it. Some moments still had me a bit tetchy, but the charisma of Fiennes and the pure visual bombast of the whole thing more than made up for it. Such a Christmas Day feeling film.
Nightcrawler Good to see Riz as always, Gyllenhall was hilarious! As a satire i found it kind of trite, but as an action comedy i thought it was great. Had a kind of 80s vibe to the whole thing. As always Elswit capturing LA is a pleasure.
American Hustle It was fun. Frothy. But fun. Reminds me a bit of Burn After Reading in that respect. By the end of the film you're left reeling and trying to figure out whether anything actually happened and what point it was trying to make.
Under the Skin Love those dark winter Scottish blues.
Edge of Tomorrow I never like these types of movies. But i liked this one. It's not weighty and gloomy and tediously broody, it actually has fun with the premise.
Snowpiercer Ah, dystopian fiction. Always different, always the same. Looking forward to watching Bong's other films if this is his mainstream 'Hollywood' movie.
Liked but would never rewatch
Locke Generally only watch plays the once.
Heli Really impressive but I don't think i can put myself through that again
20000 Days on Earth Listen to one of his old albums instead
Calvary I felt i'd seen this all before, but Gleeson's always worth watching
It passed the time
13 Sins I really wanted a stupid modern horror. I was grateful to this film for providing it.
Nebraska Wasn't bad, but this is the film where i stop caring about Alexander Payne (i skipped the Clooney one)
Blue Ruin All i've retained from this movie is that a black guy asks the lead for some ketchup at one point
Paused halfway through and never went back to it
Guardians of the Galaxy ...not sure why i started...
The Immigrant like Gray and Phoenix but just couldn't be fucked with another 20s NYC story. Some other time
Boyhood Jesus Christ i don't care about this boring kid. No offence to the fine yankee contingent here, but this film made me feel xenophobic towards Americans for a couple of days
Frank just yeurch. Even worse considering the people it was based on (Frank Sidebottom, Mark E Smith, Don Van Vliet etc) are genuinely interesting people and deserve to have their story, or a story like it, told. This isn't it, and has fucked it up for anyone else to try.
Maps to the Stars Oh Dave. What happened?
The Zero Theorem Oh Terry. What happened?
Venus in Fur " " Roman. " " " "?
Cold in July I watched to about 2/3 through and genuinely couldn't tell you a thing about it
Godzilla Dumb
Sin City 2 Dumber
Noah I fucking hate Russell Crowe. I fucking hate fantasy epics. What the fuck was I thinking?
They Came Together ...humour is subjective. I'm trying to be nice.
God's Pocket i gave up about ten minutes before the end. Decided rewatching The Master for a 10th time was a better way to honour Hoffman and fill my time. It wasn't shit or anything, it just felt like a Sopranos episode with all the humour and insight sucked out of it.
Only Lovers Left Alive Oh fuck off Jarmusch you pompous wank. You're in your 60s, grow up for fucks sakes. Nice music though.
This is a really insufferable list.
Yeah I didn't like them either. Post yours! Or you can leave this end-of-year list thread if you hate lists.
a critic at lafca made fun of lafca a bit, aka mark olsen tweeted "The BOYHOOD/BIRDMAN/BUDAPEST slant of today's LAFCA vote doesn't give a complete view of enthusiasm in the room for plenty of other titles." and "All day N.CRAWLER, ONLY LOVERS, FOXCATCHER, WE/BEST, DEAR/PEOPLE & SNOWPIERCER came up again & again to walk away empty. It's a tough room." which is an example of why he continues to be my favorite la critic
omfg long story what's my point. a bunch of bickering la critics all agreed to share the opinion that:
BEST MUSIC/SCORE (TIE)
Jonny Greenwood (Inherent Vice)
Mica Levi (Under the Skin)
Film Comment
(iv is #9)
1 Boyhood
2 Goodbye to Language 3D
3 The Grand Budapest Hotel
4 Ida
5 Under the Skin
6 Stranger by the Lake
7 Citizenfour
8 Birdman
9 Inherent Vice
10 The Immigrant
11 Two Days, One Night
12 Only Lovers Left Alive
13 Mr. Turner
14 Force Majeure
15 Norte, The End of History
16 Whiplash
17 Stray Dogs
18 National Gallery
19 Manakamana
20 Snowpiercer
The Guardian
1. Under The Skin
2. Boyhood
3. Inherent Vice
4. Whiplash
5. Leviathan
6. Two Days, One Night
7. Nightcrawler
8. Ida
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel
10. The Lego Movie
The New Yorker's Richard Brody's list:
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-movies-2014 (http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-movies-2014)
Jauja made the list (of unreleased movies) but he also hated Boyhood and Inherent Vice :ponder:
He said he didn't necessarily hate those movies, but that he felt they were taking too much attention away from what he felt like were more worthy movies.
Congrats, though! I'm looking forward to seeing JAUJA whenever it's available to me.
slant magazine's list
http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/the-25-best-films-of-2014 (http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/the-25-best-films-of-2014)
if it isn't worth a c+p it isn't worth a click
dafuq is a c+p
just me being sassy. it means copy and paste
that was my conversational segue into posting mark olsen's list (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ca-olsen-list-20141221-story.html)
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
http://modage.tumblr.com/post/107128203651/my-top-10-films-of-2014
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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:
Quote1. 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
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 (http://youtu.be/-IiwWaPVcYk) : trippy, surrealist, low budget straight to vhs kind of film. lots of fun. rainbow donkeys. fire breathing zebras. ghosts.
. 6 bullets to hell (http://vimeo.com/104023350) : 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 (http://youtu.be/KKVo-MP2Ajc) : brilliant kids horror film. think 'rare exports' mixed with 'let the right one in'.
. dark cherry twist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H02cwflJSbs) : 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 (http://youtu.be/ZwcZQhtpYI4) : 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 (http://youtu.be/BT1KcYiPb4I) : 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 (http://youtu.be/h7pna4laaAk) : 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 (http://youtu.be/2JbO0eIc3jM) : 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 (http://youtu.be/nOTt4lUdK9A) : 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 (http://youtu.be/hZW6jGDCemo) : 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!
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.
'past faced' ftw.
I've neglected one of my dearest friends - the proof read.
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