This year has been a little underwhelming. The movies that were great were just as great as previous years but everything else felt flat and done. I think as a testament to how underwhelming this year was as a whole, I had to add a category for movies I thought were only okay and I had a really hard time putting movies into my created categories because even a movie that got four stars out of me (personal description as "really good"), I still might have put in the "liked it" category on here because it didn't match up to the other four star movies. I guess pay more attention to what I say than where I put things.
I still want to see "Song Of The Sea", "Mr. Turner", the other movies nominated for Best Documentary, and the movies nominated for Best Foreign Film in terms of movies that have been nominated for Oscars but I got mostly everything else. I also put a list at the end of non-Oscar movies I also want to see because I'm so far behind on my movie watching.
As always, the order is nonsense, starred movies are my picks for the five Best Pictures, and ones with plus signs are movies that weren't nominated for Oscars (usually films I saw earlier this year or movies nominated for other awards).
Movies I Really Liked:
The Grand Budapest Hotel: I think Wes Anderson is actually getting better as a director because this was my favorite of his and I knew it the second it was over. I really liked "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Darjeeling Limited" but man, was this movie fun and so well tuned.
Boyhood*: For the reference, I was super torn about narrowing down this, "Grand Budapest" , and "Imitation Game" in my nominees. I'm actually more likely to rewatch "Budapest" by far but I felt like this one might have done more as a movie. Ignoring the gimmick (as everyone should) I'll admit I didn't really GET this movie until it got closer to the end and then it clicked and I couldn't call it over-rated like so many are doing.
The Imitation Game*: Let's brush aside how badly I wanted to see this movie for reasons (Allen Leech) and let me just say that I really loved how it is part intriguing historical drama and part character study and balances both so well. I wish the historical inaccuracy didn't bug me so much.
Whiplash*: The fact that I am alive to write this is the only proof that I breathed while watching this movie. When it was over I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or possibly throw up. It was one of the most tense movies I have ever seen, wonderfully directed, and powerfully acted.
The Theory Of Everything: I don't know what I excepted of this movie but it wasn't what I got and that's a good thing. It was a tale of two people, a romance but not how you think and I loved that about it.
Selma*: It's hard to talk about this without pointing out that Ava Duvernay really, really should have gotten nominated for Best Director over that guy who did "Foxcatcher" (see way, way below). This was a powerful film that seems to cover all sides in a way few historical movies manage to do. That aspect alone would be enough to make this movie notable.
Birdman*: It's honestly between this one and "Whiplash" as to which movie was my personal favorite this year. I love the acting, the black humor, the way it was shot, the social commentary. It was just so damn good.
Gone Girl: It's hard for me to talk about this movie since I saw the book so I know the plot is crazy and unexpected but I can say that I really trust and love the Fincher/Reznor director and composer combination and they did a fantastic job giving the movie the right feeling and balance. Rosamund Pike is mind-blowing, Ben Affleck didn't even bug me, and the rest of the cast was notably great too.
Still Alice: The idea of a language expert losing their words is a bit too on the nose but other than that I thought this movie was incredible. Anyone who has ever had to watch someone decline in a similar way can relate and it's all made even more interesting and terrible by her age and the way her family treats it.
Two Days, One Night: Very strong character study. Totally straightforward and realist style allowing for everything to be put on the actors.
Wild: Although I find the way her life went off the rails a bit unbelievable, I liked this movie way more than I thought I would. I like the method of story telling and weirdly enough, the way music is used. Another very strong character study.
The Lego Movie: EVERYTHING IS AWESOME. No really. One of the best animated films I've ever seen. The fact that the movie itself wasn't nominated for the Animated Feature Oscar is a crime.
The Tale Of Princess Kaguya: I actually read "The Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter" in my Japanese lit class and I'll be honest when I say that I didn't really get it (I also had a not great professor). This movie made me get it with interesting animation on top.
The Tale Of Princess Kaguya: I actually read "The Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter" in my Japanese lit class and I'll be honest when I say that I didn't really get it (I also had a not great professor). This movie made me get it with interesting animation on top.
Snowpiecer+: Gotta love a beautifully made classist dystropia! My one big complaint about this movie is that the end with the engine creator felt like it went on too long after the rest of the movie had gone at such a steady pace.
Big Eyes+: I seemed to like this movie a lot more than critics did and I am okay with that. Honestly, it was great to see a Tim Burton movie that was actually really good, with actors I like in it, and a plot that was interesting and had a lot to say. I remember hearing someone say that, "women seem to really get this movie" and I can totally understand.
Big Eyes+: I seemed to like this movie a lot more than critics did and I am okay with that. Honestly, it was great to see a Tim Burton movie that was actually really good, with actors I like in it, and a plot that was interesting and had a lot to say. I remember hearing someone say that, "women seem to really get this movie" and I can totally understand.
Obvious Child+: The abortion romance is funny and sweet although I find a lot of the main character's behavior inexplicable and therefore a little bit contrived for plot reasons.
Movies I Liked:
Citizenfour: This is a very, very significant movie and is about a topic that is difficult to film and these facts alone make me feel bad that I can only really say that I liked it. I gave it four stars and in all honesty, I wasn't crazy impressed with it as a film. I've seen a lot of documentaries, what can I say?
Big Hero 6: I'm pretty sure Baymax made this movie but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's kind of a tech nerd's dream and very cute. Unfortunately, I do need to say that we need to dial back on the superhero everything.
How To Train Your Dragon 2: What an enjoyable sequel! I kind of wondered what more there could be to the plot of the first and they managed to create a new story that didn't feel forced and didn't result in a quality dip. I can actually believe they could make a good third.
The Boxtrolls: I have been pleased with every Laika movie I've seen and I didn't even feel a strong drive to see this one. It's a standard story that gets amusingly meta sometimes with good animation and an adorable theme song.
Under The Skin+: I like a good slow-moving meditation on humanity as much as the next person but there was something about this movie that made it not quite strong enough for me. It definitely had something to do with how it was told but I'm still struggling to put my finger on it.
How To Train Your Dragon 2: What an enjoyable sequel! I kind of wondered what more there could be to the plot of the first and they managed to create a new story that didn't feel forced and didn't result in a quality dip. I can actually believe they could make a good third.
The Boxtrolls: I have been pleased with every Laika movie I've seen and I didn't even feel a strong drive to see this one. It's a standard story that gets amusingly meta sometimes with good animation and an adorable theme song.
Under The Skin+: I like a good slow-moving meditation on humanity as much as the next person but there was something about this movie that made it not quite strong enough for me. It definitely had something to do with how it was told but I'm still struggling to put my finger on it.
Cake+: This movie had really low ratings and I'm not fully sure why. I thought it was a good meditation on pain and loss and kind of darkly humorous on top of that.
The Fault In Our Stars+: Probably the best adaption you could get of this very good book although the book made me cry way, way more.
The Fault In Our Stars+: Probably the best adaption you could get of this very good book although the book made me cry way, way more.
Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1+: Solid movie although I can see how everyone who has not read the books (and even some who have) could be frustrated by the cliffhanger. Honestly I felt like the end wasn't abrupt enough which I also thought about the wham line at the end of Catching Fire.
Movies I Think Were Okay:
Interstellar: People seemed to either love this movie or think it was like a not as good "2001". I thought it was okay. The plot was okay. The characters were okay. The science was super questionable and didn't make the most sense. I wasn't bored but at the same time it was easily one of Nolan's weakest movies.
Guardians Of The Galaxy: This almost went in the over-rated category because in a way it was better than okay but definitely got more hype than I fully understood. Maybe I'm just over superhero movies with the saturation of films over the last few years but I do have a real complaint: I couldn't follow the plot in the second half. There were so many groups with unclear motivations or explanations of who they are fighting each other that I couldn't follow. The main characters were great and it was funny but man, that second half felt like a mess.
Maleficiant: Well, it's definitely one of the better fairy tale retellings I can remember seeing outside of a Gregory MacGuire novel. The explanation of the universe and motivations of the characters works for me. It wasn't exactly great but with all these retellings it's nice to see one that isn't intolerable.Guardians Of The Galaxy: This almost went in the over-rated category because in a way it was better than okay but definitely got more hype than I fully understood. Maybe I'm just over superhero movies with the saturation of films over the last few years but I do have a real complaint: I couldn't follow the plot in the second half. There were so many groups with unclear motivations or explanations of who they are fighting each other that I couldn't follow. The main characters were great and it was funny but man, that second half felt like a mess.
The Judge: While I don't think this movie was amazing or anything, I think the reviews of it were kind of harsh. Yes, the plot felt done and the music was manipulative and cheesy but there was nothing egregiously wrong with it aside from that. The truth is, it just wasn't anything unique which i guess for some is more of a crime than being terrible. Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall were fun to watch at least..
Movies I Think Were Over-Rated:
Foxcatcher: It didn't surprise me that the director of Moneyball had made another sports movie that I was completely underwhelmed by. The thing is, the story really does make a good basis for a film but the way they went about it put me to sleep. The movie dragged and the way time moved in the story was very strange. I also felt like it lacked the emotional impact it probably should have had. Steve Carrell was good though.
American Sniper: There's nothing more I could say about this movie that I haven't already said here aside from: I've seen better war movies. I've seen better war movies made by Clint Eastwood.
Inherent Vice: This movie was really good at showing you stuff happening without saying how it connected to other stuff at lightning speeds for twenty minutes and then slowing down for fifteen minutes for one long scene that doesn't advance the plot at all. There's a mystery in there somewhere. I almost feel like if this was two parts it might have made a lot more sense.
Movies I Didn't Like:
Divergent+: Here's the thing: this movie was extremely well cast and truthfully very faithful to the book. The problem is that the book isn't very good. This isn't really talked about since it is a very popular book read by many, many teens but it's really not a good book so a movie adaption of it can only be so good itself. Hunger Games it is not.
Other movies I want to see from this year but haven’t yet include:
The 100 Foot Journey
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
A Most Violent Year
The Babadook
A Most Violent Year
The Babadook
Belle
Bitter Honey
The Book of Life
Bound By Flesh
The Congress
The Dance Of Reality
Bitter Honey
The Book of Life
Bound By Flesh
The Congress
The Dance Of Reality
Dear White People
The Guest
In Bloom
Jersey Boys
Jimmy's Hall
Jimmy's Hall
Locke
Maps To The Stars
National Gallery
National Gallery
Noah
Only Lovers Left Alive
Palo Alto
Pride
Pride
Rosewater
The Skeleton Twins
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
Venus In Fur
We Are The Best!
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