2014 Movie Reflection

It’s that time of year- the time where I reflect on my most anticipated movies of the year and re-rank them according to how they stood out over the 2014 Movie Release Calendar Year. I also will do a quick summary of my top movies of 2014 overall as of whatever day I’m posting this. If you want to see the original reasons for these rankings you can check out my post from April.

20. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Marc Webb) – Well I was right about this one in my anticipated summary; “disappointing” was definitely one of adjectives used to describe the sequel too. Underdeveloped Electro villain along with a crowded cast of characters for screen time and a complicated Spidey back story quickly turned this movie to mush. The only positive was the relationship between Peter Parking and Gwen Stacey. They had great chemistry on screen and appeared to setup future films nicely until the ending- Sony announced a Sinister Six and venom Spinoff movies after the release but recent Sony hacks revealed Sony is apparently spinning their wheels on where to take this franchise. We can only hope at this point the Spider-man IP swings its way back into the arms of Marvel Studios.

19. The Hobbit: There and Back Again (Peter Jackson) - TBD

18. Gone Girl (David Fincher) – Never read the book, and I’m glad I didn’t otherwise I would have been spoiled. I’m not going to divulge too much into why I liked this movie (for spoiler reasons) other than saying it’s probably Fincher’s best since Fight Club and it’s a 2014 must watch. I’m ashamed I didn’t have this higher on my anticipated list.

17. Unbroken (Angelina Jolie)- TBD

16. Blackhat “Cyber” (Michael Mann) –Pushed to 2015 and removed from my most anticipated 2015 movies- The Trailer looks incredibly boring and generic.

15. Stretch (Joe Carnahan) – I would call this the surprise of the year but I had it on my antispated movie list at number 15 and it ended up in my top 10 this year. Joe Carnahan rocked this humor- DO NOT let A-Team and Smokin’ Aces cloud your judgment hear. Stretch is light-years better than those. Ever since the Grey, Carnahan has been on a role. Another must watch for 2014.

14. 22 Jump Street-(Phil Lord, Chris Miller) Meh- The first movie was full of belly laughs but the sequel goes out of its way to remind the audience that its sequel will be doing the exact same thing as its predecessor. “The EXACT SAME”. Why would we want to see the exact same thing as an audience? There’s a few good scenes sprinkled in there, like every scene with Ice Cube, but the movie is an overall bloated mess. Let’s hope Sony was just kidding about the Men In Black – 22 Jump Street cross over film plans. Do expect a 23 Jump Street movie though.

13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Anthony & Joe Russo) – Totally exceeded expectations. The Russo brothers have a handle on how to depict great action with Chris Evans as Captain America. This might be slightly better than the Avengers as the best comic book movie made to date. We should be happy to hear the Russo brothers have signed on to complete Captain America: Civil War (and rumored to also helm the Avengers Infinity Wars).

12. American Sniper (Clint Eastwood) – The book was full of short stories of how the most lethal sniper in US history was able to get his reputation, but it also depicts a ton of internal conflict between Chris Kyle and wife on re-enlisting instead of staying with his family. That makes this a perfect story to adapt.

11. Edge of Tomorrow (Doug Liman) – I wish they had kept the ALL YOU NEED IS KILL title, but this movie is enjoyable, even coming from a young adult book adaptation. I have to hand it to Tom Cruise, he continues to play the same character over and over, “Jack, John, Ethan,” and it continues to work. He’s still an action star and get this- Mel Gibson is the same age as Cruise. Look at a picture of them side by side.

10.  Noah (Darren Aronofsky) – So glad I avoiding reading anything about this prior to seeing it- it could have been a major spoiler and I will leave it at that again. Another movie hard to talk about without ruining the experience for people who haven’t seen it. I will just say I loved some of the “Things” in this movie.  My only big complaint is the viewer has no sense of time passing. I felt like Aronofsky should have paid a little more attention to detail there.

9. Transcendence (Wally Pfister) – Just terrible. I was wrong to assume director abilities and qualities could translate to a DP. Even Johnny Depp’s stardom can’t save this movie from being an unwatchable mess.

8. Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn) – Though the Russo Brothers is probably a better movie, I put Guardians of the Galaxy ahead of it because I felt it was more of a risk and I couldn’t have been happier with both movies. I was a huge Gunn fan with Slither and Super and Gunn nailed the humor the tone the universe and it’s safe to say GotG2 will be near the number 1 spot of 2017.

7. A Million Way to Die in the West (Seth MacFarlane) – The only thing I would change about this movie is not having Seth MacFarlane play the lead- I think that hurt the experience to viewers who only know Seth MacFarlane for Family Guy. We got one of the better original songs out of 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE5uCw7y7g4

6. Jupiter Ascending (Wachowski Siblings)-  Pushed to 2015.

5. Tomorrowland  (Brad Bird) - Pushed to 2015.

4. Godzilla (Gareth Edwards) – Just a sloth of a film. Just all over the place with this story- I think they wrote it based on the imagery on screen- "Gee how do we get them all to converge on the Golden Gate Bridge". This Aaron Taylor-Johnson guy- Did he have a pulse? This is who you cast in a gritty major franchise reboot? There's an hour and a half of boilerplate Hollywood drama centered on one of the most stiff and bland actors in the world. If you thought the military was bad in the 1998 Godzilla movie- shooting everything in NYC, wait to you see the 2014 Navy by the Golden Gate Bridge! 15 School buses, no problem we got that covered. Ken Watanabe's character realizing that Cranston could help them was only slightly less hysterical than Matthew Broderick the earth worm expert helping stop Godzilla.

3. The Raid 2: Berandal (Gareth Evans) –If I had one word to describe this movie it would be: “Bonkers”- This movie is hard to watch- not because it isn’t good, but because it’s basically the most brutal fighting movie ever made. Violence, gore and there’s even a scene that resembles a live-action Superjail. Evans knows how to create great action, as depicted in this gif below- The making of The Raid 2.

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson) – There is nothing wrong with this movie- It is everything you would expect in a Wes Anderson film- I can appreciate this movie for what is it, I just did not find the story as compelling as some of Anderon’s previous work such as, Moonrise, or Life Aquatic, or Rushmore or hell even Bottle Rocket. If you’re a Wes Anderson fan, chances are you’ll love this movie.

1. Interstellar (Chris Nolan) – I cannot appreciate a movie more than what Chris Nolan puts on screen- He has the vision and ambition to go far beyond what you would expect in generic sci-fi. I still think there’s room for improvement with dialog (like Hathaway overacting the line “'Love is the one thing that transcends time and space.”)  and continuity, but overall his films are a marvel to watch.

Actual Top 10 of 2014

1. Interstellar

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

3. Gone Girl

4. The Raid 2

5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

6. The Sacrament

7. Stretch

8. Edge of Tomorrow

9, The Lego Movie

10. Nymphomaniac: Vol. I 

Bottom 10 movies of 2014

10. 3 Days to Kill

9. Willow Creek

8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

7. The Legend of Hercules

6. Under the Skin

5. Transformers: Age of Extinction

4. Into the Storm

3. 300: Rise of an Empire

1. Brick Mansions

1. Devil’s Due

Most Anticipated Movies of 2014

I'm late with this. But I've been desperately trying to catch up with seeing everything on my 2013 list which I am still missing six movies; due to two not being released in 2013 and four that I flat out just didn't go see. I'm annoyed that Mad Max was pushed out to 2015 which makes it seem like it's been in production for 7 years. When I get closer to 100% completion on my 2013 list, I'll post a wrap up. 2013 shaped up to be a very weak year in cinema for me despite being so excited for it, so I am not getting my hopes up in 2014. I still of course have a list and a baseline to what I want to see in 2014, so here it is.

20. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Marc Webb) - The first 2012 film was disappointing, being a lover of the Raimi series. I didn't think the casting of Andrew Garfield was too bad and I liked the villain. I just thought the action set pieces were lousy and so was the writing in the 3rd act. Why is this movie on my list for 2014? Because the trailer shows us 3 villains and there's tons of comic book Easter eggs to spot.

19. The Hobbit: There and Back Again (Peter Jackson) - This is low on my list, because 1, I haven't yet seen The Desolation of Smaug (although I loved an Unexpected Journey) and 2) I might be a little burnt out on Middle Earth. I think that's why I haven't seen Smaug yet.

18. Gone Girl (David Fincher) - What has David Fincher done that is not awesome?

17. Unbroken (Angelina Jolie)- Jolie's directorial debut, but that's not why this movie is on my list. Unbroken was written by the Coen brothers- which automatically means the dialog is going to be pristine.

16. Cyber (Michael Mann) - I am not usually a Michael Mann fan having hated Miami Vice but loved Collateral. I'm anxiously awaiting a trailer for a Michael Mann movie on hacking. This should be lower on my list but 

15. Stretch (Joe Carnahan) - LOVED The Grey, so Carnahan has made it to my anticipated list with Stretch.

14. 22 Jump Street (Phil Lord, Chris Miller) - Probably the funniest R-Rated comedy I've ever seen, the first movie was a surprise. The trailer for the second movie looks just as good.

13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Anthony & Joe Russo) - I have two Marvel movies on my list this year. I suspect I will have two Star Wars movies on my list next year. The standalone movies always end up being entertaining so I am looking forward to seeing Captain America fight the Winter Solider.

12. American Sniper (Clint Eastwood) - This was originally going to be directed by Spielberg but passing it off to Eastwood is just as good for me. This is an adaptation of the autobiography with the same title, by Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. Military history.

11. Edge of Tomorrow (Doug Liman) - I finished All You Need is Kill in 3 days, the fastest I've read a book since I was assigned to do so in High school. I loved the story and Edge of Tomorrow is an adaptation on the book. I'm not a huge fan of Tom Cruse, but i AM a huge fan of Emily Blunt. Trailer below.

10.  Noah (Darren Aronofsky) - It's Darren fuckin Aronofsky. The end.  

9. Transcendence (Wally Pfister) - Who is Wally Pfister? He's Chris Nolan's cinematographer and this is his directorial debut. I'm hoping a little bit of Chris Nolan has rubbed off on Wally (I think we all are hoping for that) and the trailer below is a little spoilerific, but Wally has definitely impressed me so far. 

8. Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn) Huge fan of James Gunn (Slither) and obviously Marvel has done well with its standalone comic movies; I trust all parties involved and this looks to be a winner on the cast alone;

7. A Million Way to Die in the West (Seth MacFarlane) Most people hate his humor, but I don't.  I love all of his animated TV shows and really enjoyed Ted. I also loved him hosting the Oscars last year- Seth MacFarlane's second silver screen appearance-

6. Jupiter Ascending (Wachowski Siblings) The creator's the Matrix are back with another sci-fi adventure. Trailer below as it speaks for itself.

5. Tomorrowland  (Brad Bird) - GOOD NEWS! Brad Bird! Bad news... Damon Lindelof. Ugh. I'm looking past that and acknowledging Bird has directed my two favorite Pixar films as well as the most entertaining Mission Impossible movie... the plot of this movie has been kept a secret but it appears to be an adaptation of the ride Space Mountain at Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

4. Godzilla (Gareth Edwards) - Another film that seems like it's been in production for 7 years- Gareth Edwards got Hollywood's attention with his independent film Monsters, which I also recommend. The creators of this movie decided to make Godzilla a mile tall. See this chart for details and be sure to watch the trailer below?

3. The Raid 2: Berandal (Gareth Evans) -  The fourth and final sequel on my list- The Raid: Redemption was much better than Dread, so naturally I want to see what Eveans will do with the second installment. I could post the trailer, but I like the teaser much more.

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson) - I have not yet disliked a movie Wes Anderson has released, (like the number 1 director on this list) and everything about this trailer seems full of win. Cannot wait.

1. Interstellar (Chris Nolan) - This is an easy one. It's Chris Nolan helming this project and everything he touches turns to gold. This being another original script (like Inception) with some familiar faces returning such as Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway and the first time he's worked with the red hot Matthew McConaughey. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay. Teaser below. 

Most Anticipated Movies of 2013 (Updated 12/12/12)

It looks to be a little early for this, but I thought I would go ahead and get it out of the way before I need to wrap up last year'sTop Anticipated list. (I've seen 15 out of the 20 I listed last year, three have not been released yet and one got a very small limited release that I may not catch this year, so I'm only behind on Argo) But 2012 has been a fantastic year for cinema, and 2013 looks to carry the torch. The follow is a list of my top anticipated movies of 2013.

20. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese) - It's Scorsese and it stars Leo so it makes the list. But Hugo was pure example of filmmaker porn, so it sits at the bottom for now. 

19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller) - Do we really need a 4th Mad Max? Probably not, but these set pieces look cool. 

18. The Wolverine (James Mangold) - Hugh Jackman must really love playing Logan when he keeps coming back to projects with no promise. Even though this is supposedly supposed to be a semi-sequel to the first Wolverine movie (that sucked big time) Mark Bomback is rewriting the script. Bomback is responsible for the horror that was, Race to Witch Mountain, Die Hard 4, Unstoppable and the Total Recall remake. Despite Wolverine being one of the best comic book characters ever created, that's not enough to move this movie from the bottom (but yet still slightly hopefully) of my anticipated movie list.

17. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (Robert Rodriguez) - Does Robert Rodriguez have nothing better to do? With a release date set in October of 2013, we should to start seeing some official photos and teasers soon. But most of the cast from the first film is returning, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Michael Madsen. It remains low on my list for lack of information.

16. Warm Bodies  (Jonathan Levine) - This premise is a joke, but there is something oddly charming about the way Levine approaches scripts. He made having cancer feel comfortable in 50/50 and even if 2013 is seeing more than one high profile zombie release, (Will the zombie craze ever stop??) Warm Bodies has Rob Corddry and John Malkovich... so I'm obligated to see it.

15. A Good Day to Die Hard (John Moore) - After Bomback and Len Wiseman ruined John McClane's personality in Live Free or Die Hard, John Moore apparently is doing everything he can to revive him and assuring us "This is Die Hard! Any shit won't do!". With publicity that includes a car chase that was 78 days in the making, it's hard not to get excited to see John McClane save the world. It's low on my list because Moore also is responsible for Max Payne. *shudder*

14. Man of Steel (Zack Synder) - I'm not sure what to think of this yet. What are we in for? The joke heard around the internet is we are about to see Superman fly in slow motion since that appears to be the style Synder (300, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, Sucker Punch) likes to edit in. However we also have the master of the Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan penning the script and producing, so he's obviously going to have a lot of input on how the movie comes out. Cautiously optimistic after the disaster that was Superman Returns.

13. World War Z (Marc Forster) - So it's official, this movie is going to be nothing like the book. It was originally on my list for 2012, but when reshoots were being called into action the release date was pushed back into 2013. What scares me about this? Damon Lindelof was brought in to help with the script. What's exciting about this? Joss Whedon was brought on as a consultant of the reshoots. Who knows if any of the trailer had reshoots in them. They are definitely trying something new with the zombie theme- I am not a fan of running zombies, but there's some interesting shots below.

12. White House Down (Ronald Emmerich) - The master of disaster movies, Emmerich (ID4, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) is taking on a new film that involves the white house being taken over by terrorists. Improbable concept, but Emmerich has entertained me in the past.Staring Channing Tatum.

11. The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking (David Twohy) - Probably my favorite character developed within the last 10 years. Twohy's last Riddick movie was a flop in theaters, but the fanbase was large enough he got the funding to finance another R-rated Riddick movie. I've been waiting a long time for this trailer to come out. With a release date in March, I hope we see it soon.

10. Nymphomaniac (Lars von Trier) – Easily one of the most provocative and blunt directors out there right now, Lars von Trier raised eyebrows with Anti-Christ and last year’s Melancholia (which I thought was the best film of last year). His new film is titled, Nymphomaniac, and apparently involves unsimulated sexual intercourse. Actress Nicole Kidman already dropped out after reading the script, but Shia LeBeouf remains on the cast list. Interesting to see what Lars has up his sleeve.

9. Oz: The Great and Powerful (Sam Raimi) - Trailer below. :)

8. Oldboy (Spike Lee) – I’m not sure why I have this on my list. The original was phenomenal and remains in my top 30 movies of all time. Could Spike Lee ever adapt this into something equally thrilling? Staring Samuel L Jackson, Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen… I can’t help but anticipate the Americanization of Oldboy.

7. Iron Man 3 (Shane Black) - Hard to not get excited over the next story arc in the Avengers universe. Trailer says it all.

6. The Last Stand (Jee-woon Kim) - If you don't know Jee-woon Kim by now, you fucking should. I Saw the Devil is one of the best movies I saw this year and I wrote about the Good the Bad and the Weird earlier this year. He's now directing Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first full length feature film since stepping down as Governor of California and based on the trailer, it looks to be fantastic.

5. Pacific Rim (Guillermo del Toro) – Love del Toro’s style, so naturally a science fiction film based on the Japanese monster film genre known as Kaiju, will be hard to ignore. Updated: Added Trailer!

4. The Evil Dead (Fede Alvarez) All Alvarez is known for is this short youtube clip, but The Evil Dead and I go way back. The Evil Dead (1981) was the scariest movie I had ever seen, and I probably saw it at an age where I shouldn’t have watched it. But by the time Army of Darkness came out I was already a Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell fan. Raimi is still producing this, so I have faith he won’t let it suck, but this trailer is indeed shocking… and exciting.

3. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón) – Known for Children of Men and the best Harry Potter in the crappy series (Prisoner of Azkaban) Cuaron is helming Gravity, another sci-fi movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Not much else is known about the project except: “Gravity is the next Avatar in terms of ambition: the film is a contemporary survival thriller that follows a woman as she attempts to make her way back to earth after a satellite crash sets off a chain reaction of further crashes. Because it’s set in space, most shots require every element to float in zero-gravity”… Yes please.  To further my excitement for this film; “DeFaria said there are only 156 shots in the entire two-hour film. If you do the math, that means quite a few of these shots would have to be over 30 seconds long at least (which is an eternity compared to many of the shots in your average action film), and DeFaria notes that some of them could run anywhere from six to 10 minutes without a single cut.” Wow.

2. Star Trek into Darkness (J.J. Abrams) – This will be the final straw which determines if J.J. Abrams is indeed an elite director or if his production and marketing campaigns are stronger than the actual final product. Good luck JJ. Updated: Added Trailer!

1. Elysium (Neill Blomkamp) – Blomkamp did District 9 on a $30 million budget, so how will a sci-fi film with $130 million budget turn out? Backed by Hollywood’s  A list actor Matt Damon, the synopsis reveals; “In the year 2159, two classes of people exist. The first are the very wealthy who live on Elysium, a pristine man-made space station looking like a stanford torus built by the Armadyne Corporation. The rest live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard-nosed government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium.”

Review: The Dark Knight Rises (Chris Nolan, 2012)

It’s been months since I’ve done an update, and rightfully so; in that time I’ve earned myself a nifty new post-graduate degree. Now that I have all this extra free time after work, I have the freedom to watch movies, play sports, go out with friends and do things that I’ve been dying to do but couldn’t in the past 21 months. My first update will be about the Dark Knight Rises, my number 1anticipated movie of 2012.

                The Dark Knight Rises was everything I had hoped it to be, even with a running time of 165 minutes, far exceeding the length of the first two films. The movie begins 7 years after the events in The Dark Knight. Gotham is quiet and crime free, while a badly worn out Bruce Wayne hides inside his mansion mourning over the death of his love Rachel and struggling with an internal battle realizing how much he has given up, for so little in return.

                The three new characters introduced are the most interesting parts of The Dark knight Rises. They include; a talented cop, John Blake (JGL) , who suspects Bruce Wayne to be Batman, Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a mysterious jewel thief who is described to be an associate of the main villain but appears to only act in her own selfish manner,  and the main villain Bane (Tom Hardy), whose menacing voice and monstrous appearance hides behind a respirator. The new characters are pivotal to the climax of the movie. Nolan did a fantastic job building the relationship of Selina and Bruce and at the same time intertwining the stories of the first two films to uncover Bane’s master plan. Hathaway is perfect as Selina, (but don’t call her Catwoman!) as Nolan portrayed her in a tight, black suit with cat ears that fold down to night vision goggles.  Bruce/Batman also has an incredibly memorable fight scene with Bane and Nolan depicts quiet clearly how the 7 years held up in his mansion has taken a toll on his body and it appears Batman is most definitely physically outmatched.

                The complaints I have are minor in scope. I didn’t expect Nolan to produce excellent action sequences and I was right to assume so. The Dark Knight Rises probably has more action set pieces than the previous two films and with the exception of one emotionally great sequence involving a stadium, the Dark Knight Rises chugs through bits and pieces of car chases, fist fights and aerial shots that are not exceptional. They also don’t need to be. They feed the story fine. Nolan also doesn’t do humor. There’s no witty comebacks like Spider-man is known for, no cute banter that makes Tony Stark so charming, there’s just stone cold Bale.

And my biggest gripe about Nolan (SPOILERS AHEAD *** skip this paragraph) is his inability to induce any sense of a drama into a villains defeat. We saw what happened to Two Face in The Dark Knight, which could possibly go down as the weakest character death in the history of all cinema.  There was speculation that Two Face wasn’t dead and was being held inside Arkham Asylum, but the Dark Knight Rises squashes that theory pretty quickly. But more annoyingly, the movies spend a great deal of time building up Bane as an unstoppable monster only to dispatch him in a pseudo-deus ex machina event.

                Although Nolan had more time to tell his story, there does seem to be a bit of rushing editing involved. Nolan is known for using cross-cutting (a type of editing that simulates events occurring at the same time) in his past films but there are sections of The Dark Knight Rises that really stand out as rushed. In Nolan’s defense, the cross-cutting is a technique used to power the audience through a lot of the silly (but important) pieces of information but the audience is vulnerable to get confused on just how much time has actually passed between scenes. None of these critiques affect the love affair I had with the on screen characters. They were casted perfectly and to read more about how Nolan and David Goyer (an avid comic book fan) were influenced on all three movies, I invite you to read 20 Batman Stories Most Influentialto “The Dark Knight” Trilogy.  

                In the end, Nolan left the Batman universe with another tremendous effort with a satisfying conclusion, which should leave Batman fans smiling. Chris Nolan has ended his saga with Batman with a beautifully written love letter. The hopes of Nolan being involved in a future Justice League movie are doubtful. It’s best for him to walk away at this point, let someone else spin a Batman story of their own. But Nolan has transformed comic book adaptations as we know it (as evidence with The Amazing Spider-Man and The Man of Steel).  Not only will the next Batman predecessor have a huge challenge in front of them, the filmmakers will be challenged with creating a story following the best trilogy ever made. 

Grade: 95