Mine's The Raid 2. I know that sounds really boneheaded but I absolutely loved it, it ranks up with action movies like Die Hard in my opinion. 2 and 3 for me go to Blue Ruin and Locke, phenomenal cinematic experiences, can't argue with The Lego Movie though!
I loved Raid 2 because it felt different from the first movie, while still felling authentic. Just like alien and aliens feel like completely different movies, they are still great in their own way. The hammer girl and the baseball assassin were awesome, and that alone would make whis movie great.
MrPrankmastergeneral Exactly! While I was watching it I thought "You know, the film before this was confined to one apartment block for the entire film as well as being 99 minutes long. This is a fleshed out, full throttle, two and a half hour masterpiece of a blockbuster" I had the exact same feelings about Aliens! And yes "Throw me the ball"
I'd love to hear Mark's thoughts on Nymphomaniac! when it came out the other 5Live presenter reviewed it. It's definitely in my top 10 of this year for sure!
This list is going by United States wide release dates (since I'm from the US), released from January 1 to June 30. Life Itself would have been at #3, but it came out in July. 5 - The Lego Movie 4 - Enemy 3 - 22 Jump Street 2 - Her (didn't open wide until January 2014) 1 - Under the Skin (also my favorite film of all time)
I haven't seen as many movies as I wanted to see this year, missed many ones and some like Boyhood have yet to released in my country. However I've attended the 14th Neuchatel Film Festival which allowed me to discover many indie movies. My list goes like this: 1) "The Raid 2" Because of its clever camera work and breathtaking fight scenes. Gareth Evans has set the bar for action movies from now on and Hollywood should really take notes. 2) "What We Do In The Shadows" The funniest movie of the year for me, and I'll even go as far as saying the funniest movie I've seen in years. A vampire mocukentary coming from New-Zeland with old 17 century vampires who are flat mates and struggle to live in this modern day of age. They are followed by a tv crew that film their daily routine, it has clever jokes, funny dialogues and touching moments as well. 3) "Guardians of The Galaxy" Aka "what the star wars prequels should have been". Huge gamble with Marvel C-listers nobody knew before, yet it's so funny, entertaining, time's flies, the 3D is great, the soundtrack even more. The heroes are brillantly casted: Chris Pratt nails this role and will be the next big action/funny hollywood star. The movie has terrible villains like every other Marvel film, but at the end it made me care about a talking raccoon and a giant tree. 4) "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Darwinism at its finest proves that one day mankind won't be at the top of the food chain anymore. Less subtle than its previous installment, it's superior in terms of CGI and action. The apes are at the center of this movie and I could relate to them unlike the human beings who were bland despite efforts to do otherwise. One of the best blockbusters in recent years. 5) "The Canal" An Irish horror story about an archivist named David who comes accross this old film about an horrible crime scene, the previous owner of David's house killed his cheating wife and drowned his children in the nearby canal. Shortly after watching this film, David catches his wife in bed with another man and start having hallucinations about the old murder. I've haven't been that afraid in a movie theatre in a very long time. Little to almost no jump scares, yet so frightening. 6) X-Men Days Of Future Past X-men done right and it feels good to see Singer back. Boy the movie was fun, the action flawless even though this amount of characters things could have gone wrong (The Amazing Spider-man). Singer nails the character interractions, merges blockbuster action with political themes and adds the right ammount of drama to make this truly enjoyable. The movie was at times funny, but it took itself too seriously at times. Finally most of these characters are underused and once again Wolverine saves the day (kinda). 7) "Captain America": The Winter Soldier It had all I wanted. I was never fond of the Cap to begin with, but making it a spy flick with action set pieces and witty dialogue worked for me. I'm really surprised of how much I turned out not hating the sequel like the previous one but considering it on par with Avengers in terms of entertainment. 8) "Lego: The Movie" FUN! FUN! FUN! I never owned legos in my life, but I would play with them whenever I'll go at friends back in the days. This movie captured the essence of what being a kid was, but could also speak to adults and teens at the same time. Everyone is special, deep inside. The voice acting is superb and the animation even takes it to the next level: everything is in lego, everything! Cool light hearted adventure movie. I had a blast. 9) "Edge Of Tomorrow" Tom Cruise takes risks with his image of ultra badass action star and plays this coward PR army guy who is thrown in the battlefield and realises he lives the same day over and over again. While the premise is nothing new (Groundhog day) they used clever jokes and action to make it seem like we weren't watching the same thing over and over again. Tom Cruise is funny, but Emily Blunt steals the show for me. She's the ultimate kickass female character Hollywood has been asking for all these years. Sad to see how bad the movie performed at the BO. The chemistry between the leads was strong but the ending was a total cop out. 10) "Locke" Tom Hardy in his car makes dramatic phone calls. (read that comment on youtube) the script is short but the execution is what matters and God knows how much Tom Hardy nailed the part. No partners on screen, so it's more difficult to act and react. Locke is similar to a theatre play, it's not for everybody but it's really good. Honorable mention "Ping Pong summer" This year's Way Way Back/Kings Of Summer. Although it's nowhere near as good as them, mostly because the ending is too predictible. But its screams and feels nostalgia. A coming of age movie that makes us miss the good old days where we could go on vacation with the family and have a good time by the sea.
When I saw Frank I wasn't prepared for how heartfelt it was going be as it went on. I was expecting it be nothing more than a zany comedy which it is but the thing that makes the comic elements I wasn't laughing at the characters for being misfits, instead I was laughing with them. It was a funny and heartfelt movie that I saw twice in the cinema and had the exact same feelings both times. A truly astonishing piece
My Favourite Films of 2014: 10. The Grand Budapest Hotel 9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 8. Snowpiercer 7. The Babadook 6. Edge of Tomorrow 5. Guardians of the Galaxy 4. The Lego Movie 3. The Raid 2 2. Gone Girl 1. The Wolf of Wall Street
I just loved the real Frank Sidebottom so much that I cant get my head around the movie .The head and the voice are inseparable for me. Will def look out for Grand Budapest Hotel now tho
1: The Raid 2 2: Calvary 3: Dawn of the Oscar Campaign for Andy Serkis Best Actor 4: The LEGO Movie 5: 22 Jump Street 6: The Grand Budapest Hotel 7: Godzilla 8: Noah 9: X Men DOFP 10: Guardians of the Galaxy
I can't do a top 10, but I'll gladly do a top 5. 1. X-Men Days of Future Past. 2. The LEGO Movie. 3. Noah. 4. Bad Words. 5. Under the Skin. Also, Frank is comin out very soon here in the states! Hopefully, I'll get to watch it somehow. Just seeing Fassbender with the mask on is more than enough to sell me on it.
There's still a lot of films I've missed so far this year that I need to see before the year is out. I'd have to say though my absolute favourite so far this year has been Muppets Most Wanted. Perhaps not a popular choice but it's genuinely hilarious throughout and i haven't laughed out loud like that in a long time at the cinema :D
Was excited to go and see frank after your glowing review but unfortunately couldn't find a local showing. Hoping that boyhood was only omitted because of it's release date, relatable; heart-felt; funny and knowingly brilliant would summarise my feelings towards it. My film of the year so far and richly deserving of a kermode award... unless the next driving miss daisy or titanic comes out!
My top 10 films of 2014 so far: 1. The Grand Budapest Hotel 2. Snowpiercer 3. Chef 4. Joe 5. A Most Wanted Man 6. Edge Of Tomorrow 7. The Immigrant 8. Belle 9. Noah 10. The Lego Movie
Personally, (judging from the 63 movies I've seen so far) my top 10 are: 10. Snowpiercer 9. Bad Words 8. Afflicted 7. The LEGO Movie 6. Lone Survivor 5. Captain America: Winter Soldier 4. Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Godzilla 2. How to Train you Dragon 2 1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy is my number one so far. Super fun, excellent characters and proper heavy weight baddies. Reminded me a bit of Serenity which I really enjoyed. Maleficent is also lovely, despite critical analysis, I think it's a really beautiful film which had my 10 year old daughter's eyes sparkling with magic throughout :)
My top ten of 2014 for what it's worth #1 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes #2 Her #3 Edge of Tomorrow #4 Lego Movie #5 Guardians of the Galaxy #6 22 Jump Street #7 12 Years a Slave #8 Road to Paloma #9 Lone Survivor #10 Chef Honourable mentions, X-men Days of Future Past, Winter Soldier, There are quite a few highly recommended movies I have yet to see such as Frank, The Wind Rises, Dallas Buyers Club, Grand Budapest Hotel.
The one thing I really don't understand about 'Frank' is though it's probably my favourite to - I simply don't get how it's being sold as a 'Master class by Fassbender'. He does a great job don't get me wrong,, but without the use of facial expression through most of it,, I really felt it was Gylennhaal that made the film absolutely suberb. Perhaps a lot of how much you appreciate Gylennhaal's role depends on a viewers attitudes to supposed 'success' and what fame entails going into the film. However if you can understand why for certain talented yet tortured people traditional notions of 'making it' may be entirely unsuitable, it's interesting how likeable the protective, icy character she plays is. Besides that though, it's very hard not to watch her body language, facial expressions, vocal tone as much as lines and not surmise that's where the true acting master class lies in the film. I've only watched it once but that's the impression I got. Kermode related the character 'Frank' to the truly sublime documentary 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston', which I really can understand,, but I think if one were to watch 'Jandek on Corwood' you'd see an even better comparison and argument (though hands down T.D.A.D.J is the better doc,, few beat it). Anyway yeah,, any thoughts? I bet she won't get a supporting actress nomination for it but why on earth not? I know it's a long way to Awards season but I really can't see how it's not up there. On a similar note,, ok ok I'm gonna sound pretty pro-women in all this,, but regarding 'Boyhood', I know it wasn't released in time for this list, but did anyone else come out thinking the study of the early 'girlhood' transitions in particular were far more interesting and well acted? I thought Arquette outshon Hawke to. That's much more contentious but regarding 'Frank' I'm pretty convinced.
I haven't seen a lot of films this year, but my top 5 would be: 1) the Grand Budapest Hotel (made it straight into my top 10 favourite films, Wes Anderson's masterpiece) 2) X-men days of future past (not a great film, but awesome how Singer managed to save the x-men franchise. McAvoy's brilliant in it) 3) Captain America: the winter soldier (imo easily Marvel's best film so far - haven't seen Guardians of the galaxy yet) 4) Under the Skin (disappointed me, wasn't quite the Lynchian mindfuck I expected, but days after I still thought about the film and certain creepy moments and realized that the film had left a bigger impression on me than I thought, great soundtrack) 5) Joe (quick! someone give Cage some more good roles before he stars in a Wicker man prequel!)
I still have a lot of catching up to do. I have the Lego Movie coming in through netflix today. Also on my queue are The Grand Budapest Hotel, Blue Ruin, Under the Skin, The Raid 2, The Railway Man, Locke. Theater wise, I still need to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Maleficent, How To Train Your Dragon 2, A Most Wanted Man, Boyhood, Begin Again, Life Itself, What If, Magic in the Moonlight, I Origins, Wish I Was Here, Obvious Child and Nymphomaniac Volume 2. So here, for now, are my top 10 films of 2014: Honorable mentions: Sabotage, Godzilla, 22 Jump Street, Veronica Mars, Draft Day, Lucy, The Purge: Anarchy, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Non-Stop and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit 10. Oculus 9. Noah 8. Winter's Tale 7. Deliver Us From Evil 6. Divergent 5. Nymphomaniac Volume 1 4. X-Men: Days of Future Past 3. Chef 2. The Fault In Our Stars 1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
10. The Muppets 2 9. Cheap Thrills 8. Calvary 7. The Raid 2 6. Venus In Fur 5. The Grand Budapest Hotel 4. Under The Skin 3. The Double 2. Frank 1. Only Lovers Left Alive Not 100% on the order of these, my opinions may change on repeat viewings. Didn't think much of Godzilla or The Lego Movie but again I'll give them a second viewing. March-May are always the best months for interesting, different and quirky films, now we just have blockbusters and Oscar chasers for the rest of the year.
My ten best films of the first six months: 1 Noah 2 Frank 3 X men days of future past 4 Edge of tomorrow 5 The raid 2 6 12 years a slave 7 Godzilla 8 The muppets most wanted 9 Starred up 10 Wolf of Wall Street
I'll give you 5 Mark: Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and probably Edge of Tomorrow, maybe too blockbustery for you but there have been some interesting ones this year
here's my list 1. The Raid 2 2. Guadrians of the Galaxy 3. We are the best 4. The Grand Budapest Hotel 5 X men Days of Future past 6. Locke 7. Starred up 8. Under the Skin 9. Edge of Tomorrow 10. Frank
1. Under the Skin 2. Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Inside Llewyn Davis 4. The LEGO Movie 5. The Double 6. Edge of Tomorrow 7. Grand Budapest Hotel 8. Jersey Boys 9. X-Men: Days of Future Past 10. Godzilla
If Locke doesn't make it into his Best of 2014 at the end of the year (I'm presuming he hasn't seen it yet), I will be disappointed. Not angry...just disappointed. Magnificent movie.
1. Boyhood 2. Raid 2 3. Captain America 2 4. Lego Movie 5. Xmen Days of Future Past 6. Calvary 7. Gran Budapest Hotel 8. 22 Jump Street 9. Cold In July 10. Blue Ruin
If i ranked all films ive seen this year in order of how good they are: 1. Enemy 2. Under The Skin 3. Ida 4. Blue Ruin 5. Edge Of Tomorrow 6. Locke 7. The Raid 2 8. 22 Jump Street 9. Lego Movie 10. Xmen DOFP 11. Grand Budapest Hotel 12. As Above So Below 13. The Double 14. The Purge Anarchy 15. Neighbours 16. Afflicted 17. Amazing Spirderman 2 18. Godzilla 19. 300 2 20. Nymphomaniac 21. Noah
My top 10, I still haven't seen a lot 1. Only Lovers Left Alive 2. The Lego Movie 3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 4. Blue Ruin 5. Calvary 6. X-Men Days of Future Past 7. Snowpiercer 8. The Raid 2 9. Godzilla 10. The Wind Rises
Looking forward to The Golden Dream, hopefully seeing it next week. Here is my top ten of the year so far letterboxd.com/andyluvsfilms/list/top-ten-of-2014-work-in-progress/
My 6 favourite movies of this year so far Lego MOVIE How to train your dragon 2 Captain America the winter soldier The Double Mr Peabody and Sherman The Raid 2
I'd love to hear Mark's thoughts on Nymphomaniac! when it came out the other 5Live presenter reviewed it. It's definitely in my top 10 of this year for sure!
Interstellar will be the best movie of the year, can't wait!
Mine's The Raid 2. I know that sounds really boneheaded but I absolutely loved it, it ranks up with action movies like Die Hard in my opinion. 2 and 3 for me go to Blue Ruin and Locke, phenomenal cinematic experiences, can't argue with The Lego Movie though!
I also loved the Raid 2, it's one of the best sequels of all time
Mikie Lavery Amen to that. Got it pre ordered, released in 3 days
I loved Raid 2 because it felt different from the first movie, while still felling authentic. Just like alien and aliens feel like completely different movies, they are still great in their own way. The hammer girl and the baseball assassin were awesome, and that alone would make whis movie great.
MrPrankmastergeneral Exactly! While I was watching it I thought "You know, the film before this was confined to one apartment block for the entire film as well as being 99 minutes long. This is a fleshed out, full throttle, two and a half hour masterpiece of a blockbuster" I had the exact same feelings about Aliens! And yes "Throw me the ball"
MrPrankmastergeneral Great comparison. It's messier, but damnit, it works.
I'd love to hear Mark's thoughts on Nymphomaniac! when it came out the other 5Live presenter reviewed it. It's definitely in my top 10 of this year for sure!
This list is going by United States wide release dates (since I'm from the US), released from January 1 to June 30. Life Itself would have been at #3, but it came out in July.
5 - The Lego Movie
4 - Enemy
3 - 22 Jump Street
2 - Her (didn't open wide until January 2014)
1 - Under the Skin (also my favorite film of all time)
Kermode singing "Everything Is Awesome". I'd pay to see that!
I haven't seen as many movies as I wanted to see this year, missed many ones and some like Boyhood have yet to released in my country. However I've attended the 14th Neuchatel Film Festival which allowed me to discover many indie movies. My list goes like this:
1) "The Raid 2"
Because of its clever camera work and breathtaking fight scenes. Gareth Evans has set the bar for action movies from now on and Hollywood should really take notes.
2) "What We Do In The Shadows"
The funniest movie of the year for me, and I'll even go as far as saying the funniest movie I've seen in years. A vampire mocukentary coming from New-Zeland with old 17 century vampires who are flat mates and struggle to live in this modern day of age. They are followed by a tv crew that film their daily routine, it has clever jokes, funny dialogues and touching moments as well.
3) "Guardians of The Galaxy"
Aka "what the star wars prequels should have been". Huge gamble with Marvel C-listers nobody knew before, yet it's so funny, entertaining, time's flies, the 3D is great, the soundtrack even more. The heroes are brillantly casted: Chris Pratt nails this role and will be the next big action/funny hollywood star. The movie has terrible villains like every other Marvel film, but at the end it made me care about a talking raccoon and a giant tree.
4) "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Darwinism at its finest proves that one day mankind won't be at the top of the food chain anymore. Less subtle than its previous installment, it's superior in terms of CGI and action. The apes are at the center of this movie and I could relate to them unlike the human beings who were bland despite efforts to do otherwise. One of the best blockbusters in recent years.
5) "The Canal"
An Irish horror story about an archivist named David who comes accross this old film about an horrible crime scene, the previous owner of David's house killed his cheating wife and drowned his children in the nearby canal. Shortly after watching this film, David catches his wife in bed with another man and start having hallucinations about the old murder. I've haven't been that afraid in a movie theatre in a very long time. Little to almost no jump scares, yet so frightening.
6) X-Men Days Of Future Past
X-men done right and it feels good to see Singer back. Boy the movie was fun, the action flawless even though this amount of characters things could have gone wrong (The Amazing Spider-man). Singer nails the character interractions, merges blockbuster action with political themes and adds the right ammount of drama to make this truly enjoyable. The movie was at times funny, but it took itself too seriously at times. Finally most of these characters are underused and once again Wolverine saves the day (kinda).
7) "Captain America": The Winter Soldier
It had all I wanted. I was never fond of the Cap to begin with, but making it a spy flick with action set pieces and witty dialogue worked for me. I'm really surprised of how much I turned out not hating the sequel like the previous one but considering it on par with Avengers in terms of entertainment.
8) "Lego: The Movie"
FUN! FUN! FUN! I never owned legos in my life, but I would play with them whenever I'll go at friends back in the days. This movie captured the essence of what being a kid was, but could also speak to adults and teens at the same time. Everyone is special, deep inside. The voice acting is superb and the animation even takes it to the next level: everything is in lego, everything! Cool light hearted adventure movie. I had a blast.
9) "Edge Of Tomorrow"
Tom Cruise takes risks with his image of ultra badass action star and plays this coward PR army guy who is thrown in the battlefield and realises he lives the same day over and over again. While the premise is nothing new (Groundhog day) they used clever jokes and action to make it seem like we weren't watching the same thing over and over again. Tom Cruise is funny, but Emily Blunt steals the show for me. She's the ultimate kickass female character Hollywood has been asking for all these years. Sad to see how bad the movie performed at the BO. The chemistry between the leads was strong but the ending was a total cop out.
10) "Locke"
Tom Hardy in his car makes dramatic phone calls. (read that comment on youtube) the script is short but the execution is what matters and God knows how much Tom Hardy nailed the part. No partners on screen, so it's more difficult to act and react. Locke is similar to a theatre play, it's not for everybody but it's really good.
Honorable mention "Ping Pong summer"
This year's Way Way Back/Kings Of Summer. Although it's nowhere near as good as them, mostly because the ending is too predictible. But its screams and feels nostalgia. A coming of age movie that makes us miss the good old days where we could go on vacation with the family and have a good time by the sea.
I'm assuming 'Boyhood' is not included as released in July
When I saw Frank I wasn't prepared for how heartfelt it was going be as it went on. I was expecting it be nothing more than a zany comedy which it is but the thing that makes the comic elements I wasn't laughing at the characters for being misfits, instead I was laughing with them. It was a funny and heartfelt movie that I saw twice in the cinema and had the exact same feelings both times. A truly astonishing piece
Couldn't agree more with your no.1 pick! Absolutely enjoyed it from start to finish.
My Favourite Films of 2014:
10. The Grand Budapest Hotel
9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
8. Snowpiercer
7. The Babadook
6. Edge of Tomorrow
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
4. The Lego Movie
3. The Raid 2
2. Gone Girl
1. The Wolf of Wall Street
Calvary has to be mine, just ahead of Only Lovers Left Alive,Grand Budapest Hotel, Locke and Cold In July.
1. Boyhood
2. The Lego Movie
3. Snowpiercer
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
5. 22 Jump Street
I just loved the real Frank Sidebottom so much that I cant get my head around the movie .The head and the voice are inseparable for me.
Will def look out for Grand Budapest Hotel now tho
Starred Up is worth a mention. Amazing performances by Jack O'Connell and Ben Mendelsohn.
1: The Raid 2
2: Calvary
3: Dawn of the Oscar Campaign for Andy Serkis Best Actor
4: The LEGO Movie
5: 22 Jump Street
6: The Grand Budapest Hotel
7: Godzilla
8: Noah
9: X Men DOFP
10: Guardians of the Galaxy
I can't do a top 10, but I'll gladly do a top 5.
1. X-Men Days of Future Past.
2. The LEGO Movie.
3. Noah.
4. Bad Words.
5. Under the Skin.
Also, Frank is comin out very soon here in the states! Hopefully, I'll get to watch it somehow. Just seeing Fassbender with the mask on is more than enough to sell me on it.
Finally, someone who like Noah
There's still a lot of films I've missed so far this year that I need to see before the year is out. I'd have to say though my absolute favourite so far this year has been Muppets Most Wanted. Perhaps not a popular choice but it's genuinely hilarious throughout and i haven't laughed out loud like that in a long time at the cinema :D
Was excited to go and see frank after your glowing review but unfortunately couldn't find a local showing. Hoping that boyhood was only omitted because of it's release date, relatable; heart-felt; funny and knowingly brilliant would summarise my feelings towards it. My film of the year so far and richly deserving of a kermode award... unless the next driving miss daisy or titanic comes out!
I Love 'Grand Budapest Hotel' !! Great movie and acting,my favorite so far
My top 10 films of 2014 so far:
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Snowpiercer
3. Chef
4. Joe
5. A Most Wanted Man
6. Edge Of Tomorrow
7. The Immigrant
8. Belle
9. Noah
10. The Lego Movie
Personally, (judging from the 63 movies I've seen so far) my top 10 are:
10. Snowpiercer
9. Bad Words
8. Afflicted
7. The LEGO Movie
6. Lone Survivor
5. Captain America: Winter Soldier
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Godzilla
2. How to Train you Dragon 2
1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy is my number one so far. Super fun, excellent characters and proper heavy weight baddies. Reminded me a bit of Serenity which I really enjoyed. Maleficent is also lovely, despite critical analysis, I think it's a really beautiful film which had my 10 year old daughter's eyes sparkling with magic throughout :)
1. Boyhood
2. The Grand Budepest Hotel
3. Frank
4. We are the Best
5.Calvary
6. Obvious Child
My top ten of 2014 for what it's worth
#1 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
#2 Her
#3 Edge of Tomorrow
#4 Lego Movie
#5 Guardians of the Galaxy
#6 22 Jump Street
#7 12 Years a Slave
#8 Road to Paloma
#9 Lone Survivor
#10 Chef
Honourable mentions, X-men Days of Future Past, Winter Soldier,
There are quite a few highly recommended movies I have yet to see such as Frank, The Wind Rises, Dallas Buyers Club, Grand Budapest Hotel.
so glad to see Frank at 1. Its my film of the year so far
The one thing I really don't understand about 'Frank' is though it's probably my favourite to - I simply don't get how it's being sold as a 'Master class by Fassbender'. He does a great job don't get me wrong,, but without the use of facial expression through most of it,, I really felt it was Gylennhaal that made the film absolutely suberb.
Perhaps a lot of how much you appreciate Gylennhaal's role depends on a viewers attitudes to supposed 'success' and what fame entails going into the film. However if you can understand why for certain talented yet tortured people traditional notions of 'making it' may be entirely unsuitable, it's interesting how likeable the protective, icy character she plays is. Besides that though, it's very hard not to watch her body language, facial expressions, vocal tone as much as lines and not surmise that's where the true acting master class lies in the film. I've only watched it once but that's the impression I got.
Kermode related the character 'Frank' to the truly sublime documentary 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston', which I really can understand,, but I think if one were to watch 'Jandek on Corwood' you'd see an even better comparison and argument (though hands down T.D.A.D.J is the better doc,, few beat it).
Anyway yeah,, any thoughts? I bet she won't get a supporting actress nomination for it but why on earth not? I know it's a long way to Awards season but I really can't see how it's not up there.
On a similar note,, ok ok I'm gonna sound pretty pro-women in all this,, but regarding 'Boyhood', I know it wasn't released in time for this list, but did anyone else come out thinking the study of the early 'girlhood' transitions in particular were far more interesting and well acted? I thought Arquette outshon Hawke to. That's much more contentious but regarding 'Frank' I'm pretty convinced.
I haven't seen a lot of films this year, but my top 5 would be:
1) the Grand Budapest Hotel (made it straight into my top 10 favourite films, Wes Anderson's masterpiece)
2) X-men days of future past (not a great film, but awesome how Singer managed to save the x-men franchise. McAvoy's brilliant in it)
3) Captain America: the winter soldier (imo easily Marvel's best film so far - haven't seen Guardians of the galaxy yet)
4) Under the Skin (disappointed me, wasn't quite the Lynchian mindfuck I expected, but days after I still thought about the film and certain creepy moments and realized that the film had left a bigger impression on me than I thought, great soundtrack)
5) Joe (quick! someone give Cage some more good roles before he stars in a Wicker man prequel!)
I still have a lot of catching up to do. I have the Lego Movie coming in through netflix today. Also on my queue are The Grand Budapest Hotel, Blue Ruin, Under the Skin, The Raid 2, The Railway Man, Locke. Theater wise, I still need to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Maleficent, How To Train Your Dragon 2, A Most Wanted Man, Boyhood, Begin Again, Life Itself, What If, Magic in the Moonlight, I Origins, Wish I Was Here, Obvious Child and Nymphomaniac Volume 2. So here, for now, are my top 10 films of 2014:
Honorable mentions: Sabotage, Godzilla, 22 Jump Street, Veronica Mars, Draft Day, Lucy, The Purge: Anarchy, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Non-Stop and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
10. Oculus
9. Noah
8. Winter's Tale
7. Deliver Us From Evil
6. Divergent
5. Nymphomaniac Volume 1
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
3. Chef
2. The Fault In Our Stars
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
10. The Muppets 2
9. Cheap Thrills
8. Calvary
7. The Raid 2
6. Venus In Fur
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Under The Skin
3. The Double
2. Frank
1. Only Lovers Left Alive
Not 100% on the order of these, my opinions may change on repeat viewings. Didn't think much of Godzilla or The Lego Movie but again I'll give them a second viewing. March-May are always the best months for interesting, different and quirky films, now we just have blockbusters and Oscar chasers for the rest of the year.
My ten best films of the first six months:
1 Noah
2 Frank
3 X men days of future past
4 Edge of tomorrow
5 The raid 2
6 12 years a slave
7 Godzilla
8 The muppets most wanted
9 Starred up
10 Wolf of Wall Street
I'll give you 5 Mark: Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and probably Edge of Tomorrow, maybe too blockbustery for you but there have been some interesting ones this year
here's my list
1. The Raid 2
2. Guadrians of the Galaxy
3. We are the best
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
5 X men Days of Future past
6. Locke
7. Starred up
8. Under the Skin
9. Edge of Tomorrow
10. Frank
1. Under the Skin
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Inside Llewyn Davis
4. The LEGO Movie
5. The Double
6. Edge of Tomorrow
7. Grand Budapest Hotel
8. Jersey Boys
9. X-Men: Days of Future Past
10. Godzilla
Blue ruin was outstanding
I guessed Frank would be number one and I can't argue against it. Preferred Calvary by a whisker but Frank is fantastic.
We Are The Best is the movie of the year for me. I am surprised Kermode didn't include it as he usually like movies about music.
If Locke doesn't make it into his Best of 2014 at the end of the year (I'm presuming he hasn't seen it yet), I will be disappointed. Not angry...just disappointed. Magnificent movie.
1. Boyhood
2. Raid 2
3. Captain America 2
4. Lego Movie
5. Xmen Days of Future Past
6. Calvary
7. Gran Budapest Hotel
8. 22 Jump Street
9. Cold In July
10. Blue Ruin
If i ranked all films ive seen this year in order of how good they are:
1. Enemy
2. Under The Skin
3. Ida
4. Blue Ruin
5. Edge Of Tomorrow
6. Locke
7. The Raid 2
8. 22 Jump Street
9. Lego Movie
10. Xmen DOFP
11. Grand Budapest Hotel
12. As Above So Below
13. The Double
14. The Purge Anarchy
15. Neighbours
16. Afflicted
17. Amazing Spirderman 2
18. Godzilla
19. 300 2
20. Nymphomaniac
21. Noah
Part of me wishes that Wes Anderson hadn't felt the need to use three aspect ratios in his film. I didn't think it was necessary
It's a shame Boyhood didn't even make his top ten. Was one of my favourite movies of the year.
Wasn't released in the first six months.
My top 10, I still haven't seen a lot
1. Only Lovers Left Alive
2. The Lego Movie
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
4. Blue Ruin
5. Calvary
6. X-Men Days of Future Past
7. Snowpiercer
8. The Raid 2
9. Godzilla
10. The Wind Rises
X men dofp was phenomenal
Sadly not been able to see ten films from this so far.
Looking forward to The Golden Dream, hopefully seeing it next week. Here is my top ten of the year so far letterboxd.com/andyluvsfilms/list/top-ten-of-2014-work-in-progress/
My 6 favourite movies of this year so far
Lego MOVIE
How to train your dragon 2
Captain America the winter soldier
The Double
Mr Peabody and Sherman
The Raid 2
Hey look at that, I've actually seen all 10 of these.
Adored Frank!
Dr K, why are there always Peppa Pig episodes filling my related videos bar?
My favorite film of 2014 was birdman
No 'Starred Up'? Maybe it was the wrong timescale. Great film though.
the rover ? cold in july?
1. Boyhood
2. The Wind Rises
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
4. The Lego Movie
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
4 of those movies came after June they don't belong on the list.
Frank would be my no. 1 too :)
Did not expect number 1 and 2. Good films though.
yeahhhhh FRANK in no1 ..my top so far
I thought the Lego movie was okay, totally overhyped though. I'd have Grand Budapest Hotel above it anyday.
In Bruge
Inside Llewyn Davis? surely, at least top 10
was this video made before boyhood was released?
Boyhood came out in July, which is considered past the halfway mark of the year.
Not eligible for this list as it wasn't released between Jan and June.
Where's Boyhood??
This list is just January to June, Boyhood was released in the UK in July
Oh yeah, my mistake! Hopefully it's in his top 10 films of the year come December!
I think it will be in his final list, it's one of my favourite films of the year anyway.
No "Transformers: Age of Extinction " ?........
You must not of seen Calvary
God, I hate Hollywood.
People don't really like boyhood in the comments...
I'm no but I really hated the lego movie me and my 3 friends nearly walked out of the cinimer because of how boring it was
Review inbetweeners 2 yo.
Yeah thanks mate disappointed that king reviewed it, I don't care much for his opinion.
I don't like any of these films.
I'd love to hear Mark's thoughts on Nymphomaniac! when it came out the other 5Live presenter reviewed it. It's definitely in my top 10 of this year for sure!