Monday, January 19, 2015

The Best (and Worst) of 2014

Best movie: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
(2. Gone Girl 3. Whiplash 4. Pride 5. Under the Skin 6. Nightcrawler 7. Enemy 8. The Guest 9. Foxcatcher 10. The Skeleton Twins)

I adore that moment when I truly fall in love with a movie that I'm watching. With Birdman it was within first five minutes when Riggan 'makes' the reflector hit the shitty actor in his play. The atmosphere of the film, its astounding visual side, energetic beat of the score, the effortless humor, the wonderful acting - it's all right there. It's not just a movie, it's a wild, surreal, beautiful, breathtaking experience and a great study of the mind of an artist and the challenges he faces in the world. Hell, not just an artist - all of us. Wanting to be someone, to have our dreams come true, to be relevant. What do we want? How can we be happy? How can we be free? Birdman asks all of those questions without ever coming across as preachy. It's just an incredible ride, from start to finish, and the finest movie I've seen in years.

Best actor: Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson in Birdman

I don't exist!

(2. Steve Carrel, Foxcatcher 3 .Mark Ruffalo, Begin Again 4. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler 5. Matthew McConaughey, Interstellar 6. Dan Stevens, The Guest 7. Bill Hader, The Skeleton Twins 8.Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game)

Michael Keaton's wonderfully meta performance in Birdman is as great as the movie itself. He's funny, tragic, difficult, relatable, all at the same time. Keaton can make you laugh both at Riggan and with him and he can make you feel so sorry for him only to root for him in the next scene. It's not an easy character to like but we like him, because we get to know him. And the scenes where he messes up are interwined with the scenes where he manages to fix things, like the lovely moment where he gives courage to fellow actress. You want everything to work out for him in the end and perhaps, perhaps it did.

Best actress: Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott Dunne in Gone Girl
I'm the cunt you married.

(2. Keira Knightley, Laggies 3. Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin 4.Reese Witherspoon, Wild 5. Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night 6. Jenny Slate, Obvious Child 7. Essie Davis, Babadook 8. Julianne Moore, Still Alice)

How do show Amy with all of her complexities when you are working with a script much less intricate than the book was? You try to understand Amy. And this is precisely what Rosamund Pike did, from reading the books that Amy might have liked to creating whole new handwriting style for her. Pike nails all of Amy's personas creating such an incredibly compelling and fascinating performance. It is a performance far and above all the other ones by actresses in 2014, one that everyone will end up remembering many years from now.

Best supporting actor: Edward Norton as Mike Shiner in Birdman
Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige.

(2. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash 3. Jim Parsons, The Normal Heart 4. Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher 5. Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart 6. Chris Pine, Into the Woods 7. Tyler Perry, Gone Girl 8. Robert Duvall, The Judge 9.Randall Park, The Interview 10. Zac Efron, Neighbors)

Norton has managed to do the impossible - he was better than J.K. Simmons for me. His hilarious turn as method actor Mike Shiner is amazing to watch. You almost sense Norton is poking fun at himself as well as other actors but it never comes off as mean spirited. And I will never stop laughing at that fight scene he has with Keaton, while wearing just underwear and getting smacked with a newspaper.

Best supporting actress: Rose Byrne as Kelly Radner in Neighbors
I'm the mama bear!

(2. Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game 3. Emma Stone, Birdman 4.Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars 5. Kim Dickens, Gone Girl 6. Carrie Coon, Gone Girl 7. Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow 8. Rene Russo, Nightcrawler 9. Mackenzie Foy, Interstellar 10. Eva Green, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For)

Rose Byrne starred in variety of movies but it's in comedy where she finally found her true calling. She was excellent in Get Him to the Greek and Bridesmaids but it's Neighbors that brings her best performance. Byrne balances all the aspects of her character - loyal wife, loving mother and a girl who refuses to let these roles turn her life into boring routine - in such a wonderful way. And there was no role more fearless than that in 2014. Milking scene may be shocking and crude but she completely owned it.

2014 was the year of: Keira Knightley, who delivered 3 wonderful, natural, inspiring performances in Begin Again, Laggies and The Imitation Game
Brokeback Mountain Award for the Most Important Movie of the Year: Pride
Best Ensemble: Birdman (2. Pride 3. Gone Girl 4. Foxcatcher 5. The Imitation Game)
Best director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu, Birdman (2. David Fincher, Gone Girl 3. Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher 4. Damien Chazelle, Whiplash 5. Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin)
Best adapted screenplay: Gone Girl (2. Obvious Child 3. Whiplash 4. The Normal Heart 5. Enemy)
Best original screenplay: Birdman (2. The Skeleton Twins 3. Pride
Best music: Gone Girl (2. Birdman 3. Interstellar 4. Under the Skin 5.The Imitation Game 6. Calvary 7.The Theory of Everything 8. Only Lovers Left Alive 9. The Guest 10. Guardians of the Galaxy)
Best original song: Lost Stars, Begin Again
Best track: Mountains, Interstellar (2. A Normal Family, The Theory of Everything 3. Running, The Imitation Game 4. Technically Missing, Gone Girl 5. No Time for Caution (movie version), Interstellar) (more)
Best Sound: Interstellar (2. The Guest 3. Whiplash)
Best costumes:  The Imitation Game (2. The Grand Budapest Hotel 3. Gone Girl)
Best production design: Birdman (2. The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Best cinematography: Birdman (2. Gone Girl 3.The Guest 4. The Imitation Game 5.Under the Skin 6. Enemy 7. Only Lovers Left Alive 8. Nightcrawler 9. Calvary 10. Wild)
Best editing: Whiplash (2. Gone Girl 3. Enemy 4. Nightcrawler 5. The Guest)
Best visual effects: Guardians of the Galaxy (2. Birdman
Biggest Disappointment: Interstellar (2. Boyhood 3. Selma)
Worst Performance by an Actress: Emily Ratajkowski, Gone Girl
Worst Performance by an Actor:  Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes
Most Overhyped: Boyhood (2. Selma 3. Interstellar)
Worst Movie of the Year: Nymphomaniac, part 2
Underrated:  The Guest (2. The Skeleton Twins 3. Laggies 4. Pride 5. Begin Again)
Best Scene of the year: Dan and Gretta listen to music, Begin Again (2. The ending, Whiplash 3. Technically Missing, Gone Girl 4. The Flight, Birdman 5. the docking of spinning Endurance, Interstellar 6. Mountains, Interstellar 7. Enigma Works, The Imitation Game 8. The murder, Gone Girl 9. The ending, Interstellar 10. The interview, Foxcatcher) (more here)

Funniest scene: The fight, Neighbors (2. The tiger situation, The Interview 3. Drunken stand up, Obvious Child 4. Fuck off, I went to Metallica concert!, The Judge 5.Tom Cruise's dying screams, Edge of Tomorrow 6. The fight, Birdman)
"You Never Can Tell" award for the best dance scene: Dominic Cooper in Pride
The most I cried during the movie: Because my dad promised me, Interstellar (2. We are Groot, Guardians of the Galaxy 3. The Final March, Pride 4. The Wedding, The Normal Heart 5. Milo and Maggie in the end, The Skeleton Twins)
The most shocking scene; The Murder, Foxcatcher (2. Tusk reveal, Tusk 3. Amy kills Desi, Gone Girl 4. The ending, Enemy 5. The fact that McConaughey wasn't shirtless for one second, Interstellar)
Best Kiss: Emma Stone and Edward Norton, Birdman
Best Fight: Riggan and Mike, Birdman (2. Neighbors 3. The Guest 4. John Wick 5. Gone Girl 6. The Interview)
Best Chemistry: Dan and Gretta, Begin Again (2. David and Anna, The Guest 3. Chris Pratt and everyone and everything, Guardians of the Galaxy 4. Amy and Nick, Gone Girl)
Best Quotes:   You're anything but invisible. You're big. And you're kind of a great mess, like a candle burning on both ends, but it's beautiful. No amount of booze or weed or attitude is gonna hide that, Birdman (2. I'm the cunt you married, Gone Girl 3. Because my dad promised me, Interstellar 4. There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job', Whiplash 5. That’s what I love about music. Even the most banal scenes are suddenly invested with so much meaning, you know? All these banalities, they suddenly turn into these beautiful effervescent pearls.From music. I've got to say, as I've gotten older, these pearls are just...becoming increasingly more and more rare to me. This moment is a pearl, Gretta. All this has been a pearl, Begin Again 6. I was fucking Game, Gone Girl 7. Do you know, this morning I was on a train that went through a city that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you. I bought a ticket from a man who would likely be dead if it wasn't for you. I read up, on my work, a whole field of scientific inquiry that only exists because of you. Now, if you wish you could have been normal... I can promise you I do not. The world is an infinitely better place precisely because you weren't, The Imitation Game 8. Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige, Birdman 9. Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine, The Imitation Game 10. I told him that bitch was as blind as a bat!, The Interview 11. You two are the most fucked up people I've ever met and I specialize in fucked up, Gone Girl 12. Everyone wants Atticus Finch until there's a dead hooker in the bath tub, The Judge 13. Do I look like a double rainbow to you?, Whiplash 14. There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope, The Theory of Everything
Best Line deliveries:  No way baby, I'm it!, Gone Girl (2. Next time you should cut deeper, The Skeleton Twins 3. SKYLARK!!! KIM!!!, The Interview)
Best comedy performance of the year: Rose Byrne, Neighbors (2. Jenny Slate, Obvious Child 3. Randall Park, The Interview 4. James Franco, The Interview)
Best performance under 20 minutes of screentime: Natalie Dormer, The Riot Club (2. Laura Dern, Wild 3. Lyndsay Duncan, Birdman 4. Matthew Goode, The Imitation Game 5. Alex Lawther, The Imitation Game 6. Lola Kirke, Gone Girl)
Sweetest scene of the year: Gretta running after Dan to hold him, Begin Again (2. The ending, Pride 3. Max taking Donna to the clinic, Obvious Child 4. Milo rescuing Maggie, The Skeleton Twins 5. Joan helping Alan in their final scene together, The Imitation Game)
Best Opening:  Gone Girl
Best Ending: Whiplash (2. Interstellar 3. Gone Girl 4. Birdman 5. Pride 6. Enemy 7. The Imitation Game 8. Obvious Child 9. The Skeleton Twins 10. The Judge)
The Lisbeth Salander favorite hero award goes to: Anna, The Guest (2. 9/10 people in Pride 3. John Wick, John Wick 4. Dave and Aaron, The Interview 5. Full Metal Bitch, Edge of Tomorrow 6. Star Lord, Guardians of the Galaxy)
The Joker favorite villain award goes to: Amy Elliott Dunne, Gone Girl (2. David, The Guest 3. Fletcher, Whiplash 4. Lou Bloom, Nightcrawler)
The Fly award for the single most disgusting thing in a movie goes to: Mr. Tusk, Tusk
Pussy Wagon travel in style award goes to: The van, Pride (2. Star Lord's ship, Guardians of the Galaxy)
Uggie's award for the best dog goes to: Kim Jong Un, The Interview
Tub Scene award for the hottest sexy scene of the year goes to: The opening credits of Begin Again and pretty much every time Mark Ruffalo was in the scene
"I blacked out for a moment there' reaction for the hottest character of the year goes to: Dan, Begin Again (2. David, The Guest)
"Am I high or did it actually happen?" question for the most ridiculous movie moment goes to: The bookshelf scene in Interstellar, pretty much the entire Interstellar, actually.
The Jar Jar binks facepalm gesture statute for the most annoying character of the year goes to: Ellie Kemper's character in Laggies (2. every guy in The Riot Club)
The shirt with the scarlet H letter for the Hypocrite of the year goes to:  Sony for all that mess with The Interview
Flaming dog poo and eternal shame goes to: John Carney for not bringing Dan and Gretta together in the end, Begin Again (2. Calvary for the dog scene 3. Babadook for the dog scene and participating in that awful horror cliche 4. the release of Interstellar soundtrack without the docking music and then with different version of it)

Lars Von Trier award for the biggest piece of misogynistic shit goes to: the movie industry for the lack of roles for women as varied as roles for men (2. David Fincher for whitewashing every single male character in Gone Girl 3. Lars von Trier for Nymphomaniac)
Tree of Life bucket of coffee award for the most boring movie of the year goes to: Selma (2. Boyhood 3. The Immigrant 4. Calvary 5. Interstellar)


Highest number of mentions:

Gone Girl: 24 (-2) = 22, wins: 6 - 1 =5
Birdman: 19, wins: 10
The Imitation Game: 15, wins: 1
The Guest: 12, wins: 2
Whiplash: 11, wins: 2
Pride: 10, wins: 3
Begin Again: 9 - 1 = 8, wins: 6-1 =5


2014 films I've seen:

Birdman, 99/100
Gone Girl, 98/100
Whiplash, 93/100
Pride, 92/100
Under the Skin, 92/100
Nightcrawler, 88/100
Enemy, 86/100
The Guest, 85/100
Foxcatcher, 85/100
The Skeleton Twins, 83/100
The Imitation Game, 82/100
Wild, 82/100
The Normal Heart, 82/100
Obvious Child, 82/100
Laggies, 81/100
Babadook, 80/100
Guardians of the Galaxy, 79/100
Only Lovers Left Alive, 78/100
Edge of Tomorrow, 77/100
Neighbors, 76/100
Begin Again, 75/100
The Interview, 74/100
The Grand Budapest Hotel, 74/100
John Wick, 73/100
Honeymoon, 73/100
Two Days One Night, 72/100
The Winter Soldier, 71/100
The Theory of everything, 70/100
Maps to the Stars, 68/100
A Most Violent Year, 66/100
The Judge, 64/100
X Men: Days of the Future Past, 63/100
American Sniper, 62/100
Still Alice, 62/100
Maleficent, 61/100
Boyhood, 60/100
Magic in the Moonlight. 58/100
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, 55/100
Interstellar, 47/100
Filth, 46/100
Into the Woods, 45
300: Rise of the Empire, 45/100
Big Eyes, 44/100
Selma, 43/100
The Immigrant, 43/100
Non-Stop, 42/100
Nymphomaniac, part 1, 41/100
Godzilla, 41/100
The Riot Club, 37/100
Calvary, 33/100
The Other Woman, 29/100
Nymphomaniac 2 17/100

Notable 2014 movies I haven't seen: 
Mr Turner, Unbroken, the Hobbit, Inherent Vice, 
Cake, Snowpiercer, Locke, Eleanor Rigby

67 comments:

  1. Your Tree of Life category is amazing. So sad that I'm the only one who enjoyed that movie. haha

    Rose Byrne needs to find better material. Not that she isn't great in everything that she in, but I feel like she has so much to offer for bigger and better roles.

    Perhaps the script of Gone Girl is my biggest gripe about it. In explaining more about Amy and Nick, I have to keep referencing the intricacy of the book. UGH... Were you surprised Gillian didn't get nominated considering all the press about her writing the script?

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    1. I'm sure there are others :)

      I think the material in Neighbors suits her just fine, she tried time and time again in drama and I didn't think her efforts show that she has much talent in that genre

      I was, but then again it looks like the Academy didn't get the movie at all.

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  2. Birdman was so, so good. I was disappointed with Boyhood too, and even Selma, to an extent. Oyelowo carried the whole film with his performance.

    Man, the murder scene in Foxcatcher was so shocking, I jumped like I hadn't in the longest time. Oh god, the bookshelf scene - I couldn't believe my eyes. Awesome post, I can't even imagine the amount of work this must've taken!

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    1. I didn't even like Oyelowo there, I did like the wife, that was an OK performance.

      Thank you! It was several months :) Whenever I saw a movie I rated it and checked if I want to include it in any categories :)

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  3. That's a good list. Not surprised at how low you chose Nymphomaniac though we do share one film that is in our worst, The Other Woman. That was terrible though I think Winter's Tale and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were much worse.

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    1. I would have included Winter's Tale but I haven't even finished it so I didn't think it would be fair :)

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  4. Your categories are amazing. ;-) I can't settle on a favorite, but the Tree of Life Award and Lars von Trier Award are contenders. another example of why I consider your blog one of the best on the interwebs. ;-)

    With a handful of exceptions, I am just getting around to seeing the 2014 movies now. We have a crappy selection of theaters around here, and I can't really afford tickets anyway. :-P Netflix is my best friend.

    So far I've seen: Gone Girl, Foxcatcher, The Skeleton Twins, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Godzilla, and Snowpiercer. I've also seem Hellion and Blue Ruin, which weren't on your list.

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    1. Thank you so much!

      Yeah I haven't seen those last two you listed but I heard amazing things about Blue Ruin, I really hope I'll get to see this one

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  5. I'm glad you still have Calvary and The Skeleton Twins there (in any categories). Don't you wonder that there are so many underrated movies in 2014? Despite some sleeper-hit that I love.

    Great disappointment is: I haven't seen The Imitation Game, Birdman, and some other award movies. Sad, just sad.

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    1. I think there are, sadly, underrated movies in every year but it's a shame The Skeleton Twins didn't get even Globes love

      I envy you, you're gonna experience Birdman for the first time!

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  6. Well this is a very cool summary of 2014. Haven't seen couple of more movies, but I think I'm going to pick Birdman as my number 1 too, and also for best actor, and best supporting actor.

    I can see why you love Gone Girl, Rosamund Pike deserves an award for sure.

    And you know I love Lost Stars and Begin Again.

    I think Rose Byrne really done her homework to let herself into the spotlight. She was something in Neighbors. I think she deserves some more.

    Haven't seen Laggies, is it inspiring too?

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    1. Awesome that you liked Birdman this much too!

      I see Byrne is gonna be in this new Melissa McCarthy movie, hopefully it's gonna be another cool part for her and the film won't bomb.

      Very much so, it's also very clever and I related to main character a lot, as someone in her mid twenties.

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  7. Fantastic post Margaret. I see we agree on a lot movies and performances this year.

    Happy for this huge love for The Skeleton Twins and Pride. These are my biggest surprises so far. I'll make my top ten lists this week.

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    1. Thank you!

      Both were such beautiful, entertaining movies. Loved all the performances there.

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    2. OH, I just love that the award for most boring film is named after The Tree of Life. Hated that movie.

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    3. Thanks! I had to go and buy the coffee to stay awake in the middle of that screening which has never happened before so it earned its name like that :)

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  8. I think you should be picking the Oscar categories, honestly! I share your love of Birdman, seriously one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The fight between Keaton and Norton was hysterical. I think besides Michael Keaton, that's probably the best work I have seen from Ed Norton and he is usually good in anything I've seen him in. Pride is on my list to see, it sounds like a very underrated movie.
    Reading this over just confirms how behind I am on my movie watching. Yikes!

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    1. Thank you! Pride is really amazing, it's a shame it didn't get more recognition in Oscar season.

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  9. Great, great list! Obviously, I love all the wins for Gone Girl, Pride and Birdman, and also your rewarding of the underrated films and performances of the year (Rose Byrne!). And finally, someone else who thinks that Christoph Waltz was terrible in Big Eyes. That performance was just wrong on every single level.

    I was really surprised by The Guest and Laggies, I really enjoyed them a lot. Still need to see The Skeleton Twins, but hopefully I will soon!

    I just want to say that I really admire the amount of passion and effort you put into all of your posts, it must have taken a long time to create this. So thank you!

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    1. Thank you so much! Oh God I watched Big Eyes on Sunday and I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I mean Adams wasn't even good but Waltz was just so embarrassing to watch.

      I think you'll like The Skeleton Twins, it's really lovely!

      Oh, thanks so much for kind words :) I pretty much just had it in draft and updated whenever I saw a new movie :)

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  10. I love your Best/Worst awards. I really do. The category names always crack me up. I agree with a lot of these. I'm glad to see Tusk getting mentions. I'm putting that film in my Indie Gem category because, damn it, it was funny!

    And that fight scene in Neighbors, that gif is hilarious.

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    1. Thanks! :) So glad you didn't hate Tusk! I thought it was...interesting. Definitely not worthy of all that spiteful hatred it got.

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  11. Emily Ratajkowski is the worst! I didn't expect anything of her, and she still let me down - that's just bad bad bad on everybody's part. How can Fincher, a guy who can bring together a brilliant cast, make such a rookie mistake? Argh.

    Anyway, I think you would like Snowpiercer.. though I thought it was 2013.. god damn it.. maybe I should add it to my list. *Goes off into a deep trans because she still can't figure out what to do with her list*

    And as always, awesome list! I loved Birdman too and I thought for weeks that Nightcrawler was my fav of 2014... but I think I'm having a different feeling now..

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    1. I think he thought with something else than his brain on this one :)

      I think I'd like it too but there just wasn't enough time to see everything.

      I'm so glad you loved Birdman!

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    2. True, I think I saw my Top 3 last year (minus Birdman which I just had to see this year but still have it in last years' list).. Considering what I haven't seen yet, I doubt they'd be able to break the mighty 3.

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    3. I had high hopes for A Violent Year but it was really mediocre

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  12. I almost cried when I saw that Rose Byrne was your Supporting Actress winner. Like, so much YES!!!

    I love these, all the different categories...just cracks me up. Great job!

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    1. Thanks! Some people have Byrne in lead but I thought she was more supporting which is a blessing because she would never win in lead :)

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  13. Great choices!

    Is the brokeback mountain award an award for the best movie about homosexuals? Lol

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    1. Well as is says, it's for the most important film. It takes the name from Brokeback Mountain because it was a film about very important things that Academy famously did not award Oscar or Best Picture. So I chose a movie that is also very important and was under appreciated. And neither Brokeback nor Pride is a movie that deserves just the label 'about homosexuals' these are movies about many different issues.

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  14. Entertaining list! Your awards categories are fun to read :) Keira Knightley was lovely in Begin Again, and I sense it's a film that would hold up to rewatching. Grand Budapest Hotel and The Double are two other 2014 films that I might want to watch multiple times in future

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    1. Thank you! I think I need to revisit Budapest but i haven't seen The Double yet

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  15. WOW, what an awesome & comprehensive 2014 recap!! LOVE all the various categories too, Sati!

    YES to all the Birdman mentions. That’s cool that you love it THAT much that it even won over Gone Girl! I was working on my Top 10 Fave MALE Performances and we share quite a few on that category, esp. Carrel and Ruffalo!! Finally saw The Guest and was impressed by Dan Stevens too and it also has one of my fave soundtracks of the year!

    Oy, worst performance is Christoph Waltz?? Hmmm I haven’t seen Big Eyes but I’d think he’d be good in that as he always impressed me.

    Oooh Dan and Gretta in Begin Again definitely has the most wonderful chemistry! But my fave is Gugu Mbatha Raw and Sam Reid in Belle, I so adore that movie!!

    Great picks on Best Quotes, I LOVE this one from Birdman "Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige” It’s absolutely spot on!

    Nice to see Matthew Goode mention too, he’s so grossly underrated in everything.

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    1. Thank you! :)

      So glad you liked the Guest, Stevens was quite something in that, wasn't he?:D

      I always loved Christoph but seriously, he is so horrible in that. Not that Adams is good, because she isn't but he is just embarrassing to watch.

      I still haven't seen Belle, I'm not big on costume movies lately

      Goode is really underrated indeed, thank God he at least shows up in all those high profile movies

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    2. I really wish Goode would get a prominent role in another high profile film. I mean he was phenomenal in Stoker yet there's no buzz around him the way Benedict's been getting. I guess some actors are just unlucky, as Matthew has the look AND talent comparable to his fellow Brits like Benedict or Hiddles.

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    3. Benedict plays a real guy in an Oscar bait movie, so I'm not sure it's comparable, it's not like he is completely unlucky he worked with some awesome directors. Armitage is the unlucky one but at least he has Hannibal going on now.

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    4. Yeah, Oscar usually LOVE biopics don't they? Ahah yeah, Armitage is perhaps the *unluckiest* for a lack of a better word. Hopefully his role in Hannibal will lead to other things. That poor lad, I mean he's moved to NYC from London, he better get something out of that, ahah.

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    5. Apparently he is gonna appear late in the season for 6 episodes, but hopefully he gets something out of this, I hear that disaster movie he did lately was awful

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  16. Great post! I'm so surprised to see Birdman surpassed Gone Girl for you this year! I'm also going to have to see Skeleton Twins after reading your posts/tweets about it...gotta love Kristen Wiig <3

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    1. Oh yeah, easily too :) Wiig is actually not one of the best things about TST but she is really good in it, hope you'll like it!

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  17. WOO WEE! This was a fun post to read and chew on. Here are a few of my totally irrelevant impressions.

    - I know you weren't a fan of Interstellar but I'm glad you gave some love to Matthew McConaughey's performance. I feel like his work in the film has kinda been thrown aside by many. He was really good.

    - Pike? Yep! Cotillard? Yep! Davis? Yep! Those ladies REALLY brought it this year. Strong category.

    - I knew it wasn't my kind of movie, but I didn't care for Neighbors. At least what I could watch of it. I think that's the only one mentioned more than once that I really kinda hated.

    - Ouch! Christoph Waltz for worst performance. I gotta admit I thought he was great.

    - The music in Gone Girl - fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.

    - 8 of my Top 20 scored a 74 or below. My favorite movie of the year scored a 47. Three of my favorites landed in the Tree of Life (Another movie I loved) Award category. Woo Hoo! I suck! ;)

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    1. Oh, you don't suck! You just have a different taste! Things would be boring if everyone liked the same things :)

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  18. Great list! My favorite category would have to be the Lisbeth Salander award. Also, love all the Keira Knightley love on the blog, whether it be about Begin Again, The Imitation Game or Laggies. She's a natural in her roles, and I love how she brings life to her characters.

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    1. Thank you! I always liked Keira but this year I really adored her, she chose such wonderful women to play and did so with so much grace.

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  19. I always look forward to your list every year Sati. Well done. I can't wait to see Birdaman and Whiplash. I couldn't agree more about 'Interstellar.' It was the disappointing film of 2014. I so looked forward to, only to be let down. I am hopeful that the woman hater known as Von Trier will never make a film again. I did think that Jamie Bell was an interesting character, but the Von Trier treatment was just too much to bear. I don't know how Charlotte Gainsbourg can stand to do so many films with him.

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    1. Thank you! I think Gainsbourg may be some sort of masochist, I mean she did 4 movies with that dude! That is about....4 too many.

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  20. Fantastic set of categories Sati! I thought I was the only person on the planet who was disappointed with Boyhood. I loved the first half but felt the second was very bland. I've even resolved to watch it again to see what I've been missing!

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    1. Oh no, there are few of us :) I honestly didn't enjoy either part of the movie, bland is the perfect word to describe it.

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  21. Great post! Stone+Norton was my favourite kiss too. All the feels! And I cry overtime during the feels"We are Groot" scene. And I forgot to breathe during Dan Stevens scenes too. Also so happy you loved stuff like The Guest, Pride and John Wick.

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    1. Thank you! That was a great kiss but there is never really lots of competition in this category :/

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  22. Not only do I love your writeup, but your Lars Von Trier award is just perfect! I'm laughing too hard to say more now, but I'll have some cogent comments later...

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    1. Thanks so much, hope you'll be back! :)

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    2. Well I'm back, baby - WOOHOO! (that's a Futurama reference)

      Well, your list makes me feel a little dumb, because I've only seen one movie in your top 10. That in turn, leaves me with not too much to say about your best actor and actress categories. For my part, I'm surprised that you ranked McConaughey so highly, though Scarlett seems well-placed (really wishing I had at least watched Wild by now).

      And I'm so glad you included Essie! Babadook was exceptional, and I was very disappointed that such a fine and strong performance from a relative unknown hasn't received more awards recognition...

      I would also put Babadook up for Best Sound, as the audio channels were used to great and creepy effect throughout. And, yes, as difficult as the sound was in some instances during Interstellar, I'd agree that it takes the top spot (again, from what I've seen). Speaking of which, I only saw GotG on a decent TV screen - was it rally that much prettier/more impressive than Interstellar? (Also: did they really screw up the release of Interstellar's soundtrack? That's insane! Zimmer is a consistent genius, why would anyone mess with that?)

      The Immigrant should get notice for production design, too - flaws aside, it was gorgeous. Let me also commend you for giving Under the Skin so much attention, despite the problems you had with it - *that's* just being a savvy and fair reviewer.

      Final thoughts: Look, we all love Bobby Duvall, but was his performance in The Judge really that good?! I heard the movie was a wash (or washroom, since they're apparently featured so often in it). My feelings on Eva Green in Sin City 2 are the same: she's good, but I heard the role was very typical of Frank Miller's style - or, in the alternative, that she was put to similar use as she was in the 300 sequel.

      In any case, this is a great wrap-up of 2014, and your use of images continues to be exceptional. PS, you even have me beat when it comes to unconventional award categories - I'm feeling worse than ever about my own impending 2014 wrap-up, so thanks for that =p

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    3. McConaughey's work along with Zimmer's score were really the only things that made me continue watching Interstellar. He deserves a medal for managing to conjure up actual emotions while working with this ridiculous script.

      Well she did get some mentions so it's not nothing, especially since horror films usually do terribly with critics awards.

      Well Guardians was more impressive - the visual side of Interstellar really underwhelmed me, some of the space shots were quite but overall it was quite a bland looking movie. The release of the soundtrack was a disaster - even Oscar promo which has that memorable melody from that stupid bookshelf scene had this track all fucked up with sound issues.

      I wasn't impressed with anything in The Immigrant, really, not even its look. As for Under the skin I did like it as a movie but it's a really bad adaptation, if they followed the book they could have done something even more wonderful.

      He was actually really good and the film is not bad either. Eva Green made that film worth seeing and really embraced her character.

      Thanks so much! I'm sure your list will be awesome!

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  23. Holy shit. This post is insane. How you managed to see just about everything good is very admirable. Clearly I watch way too much bullshit.

    Love all the love you're giving Begin Again. Other than the ending, I couldn't agree any more with you on f--king everything. That might be my favorite movie of last year. (though I really wish I'd have caught Birdman). Oh, and Rose Byrne f--king ruled in neighbors. Just about perfect.

    I have to see Nymphomaniac Vol. 2, don't I?

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    1. I did do a whole lot of focusing and marathoning in January :)

      I think you're gonna love Birdman, it seems to be loved by everyone really. It's truly a tremendous movie.

      Do not do it. Your entire home cinema system will off itself.

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  24. I love how many films we have in common in our top 10. Birdman... damn tough film to beat. I loved it so much. God, I really hope Keaton wins that Oscar. What a towering performance.

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    1. Honestly that's the only Oscar I care about this year, since Pike will most likely lose :/

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  25. Wow, lots of great stuff on here! I'm with you on Keaton & Pike as being the best of the year. Rose Byrne was hilarious in Neighbors -- she really is a great comedic actress. My favorite scene of the year was probably the ending of Whiplash.. man that was intense.

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    1. Thank you! so glad to see this many people agreeing on Keaton and Pike|!

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  26. What do you know? Nymphomaniac 2 was my least favorite movie of the year as well. What a heavy-handed piece of disgusting crap! The first one was sort of enjoyable. I turned part 2 off after about 30 minutes. I started getting sick to my stomach. Make your audience sick. Good one, Lars!

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    1. Yeah it was really an unbelievably shit movie :)

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  27. Fantastic post! These are always so much fun to read.

    Birdman! 'Nuff said. :D

    It's so great that McConaughey cracked your top 5 for Interstellar. I thought he was much better in that than Dallas Buyers Club.

    Pike kills it, but I LOVE that you put Knightley so high for Laggies. She was completely overlooked. She's pretty much locked for my top 5 too.

    Byrne is such an awesome choice for Supporting Actress. She might not make my final 5, but she's SO GOOD.

    Glad to see Under the Skin, Begin Again, The Guest and The Skeleton Twins get so much love as well.

    LOL. Two of your most boring movies of the year are firmly in my top 5. ;)

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    1. Thank you! So awesome that you liked Knightley so much! I just fell in love with this movie, really lovely little film.

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  28. Hello what is the name of actor on the gif smoking?

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    1. Dan Stevens in the Guest :)

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    2. Thank you so much you are amazing :)

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