I’ve finally found the first “award buzzing” movie of 2014 that has lived up to its hype. While there have certainly been a handful of other films that I’ve found to be good, there hasn’t been a movie, except for maybe Nightcrawler, that has lived up to the hope I had for the movie. That has certainly changed with Bennett Miller’s (Moneyball, Capote) methodical and engrossing Foxcatcher. While this movie isn’t for everybody, film purists will love it. This movie will likely garner a Best Director Academy Award and, without a doubt, will land Steve Carell (Crazy, Stupid, Love., Date Night) his first Best Actor nomination. In addition, mark Ruffalo (Reservation Road, Shutter Island) likely will also earn a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. And not to be lost is the performance of Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street), who gives the performance of his career. This film’s three of the best performances of the year can be viewed alone. Continue reading Foxcatcher (2014)
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The Theory of Everything (2014)
The best part of James Marsh’s (Man on a Wire, Shadow Dancer) Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything is the stunning performances of Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn, Les Miserables) and Felicity Jones (The Invisible Woman, Like Crazy). Both performers have been on the scene for quite some time, but this movie will open some doors for years to come. Redmayne is a shoo-in for Best Actor, and based on what I’ve seen so far, he’s the leader to win. I do believe that his lead will be short-lived, though. I plan on seeing Foxcatcher this weekend, and I think that Steve Carell will give the performance of his career and be the clear-cut favorite heading into awards season. However, I don’t think I’ve been more disappointed in any other year than I have been with the movies of 2014. I feel as if nothing, thus far, has exceeded expectations and that only a few films (Nightcrawler, Kill the Messenger) have even met expectations. There have been a couple of movies (most notably The Lunchbox and The Drop) that had little fanfare surrounding them beforehand and ended up being pleasant surprises. But for the most part, 2014 has been a massive letdown. This year still has potential, but with each passing week and average movie, that hope is slowly but surely dwindling. So it might seem like I wasn’t overly impressed or was even disappointed with The Theory of Everything. However, that’s not necessarily true. It was a good movie and one that I recommend seeing.
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Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is a good movie that aims to be not just a great movie but a movie that people talk about for years and years to come. I imagine that there will be a circle of fans who will do this, but I think, for the majority of people, this will be a movie that they enjoy but won’t ever think of as being unique or legendary. I think this movie tried too hard to make that lasting impression rather than just live in the moment of making a great film. As I will mention below, this movie could have been much more straightforward and, in doing so, much more effective. I felt the first 45 minutes of the movie created a cast of characters and a setting in which numerous stories could have been told, and the film could have succeeded. I say this because Interstellar is, first and foremost, a space exploration movie with overtones of the importance of human relationships and weighing what is best for society against what is best for an individual. However, I would like to know if I recommend the movie. And I do recommend it. As much as I wanted it to be great, it wasn’t. But it was still good. At 168 minutes, it is at least 45 minutes too long. And the spaceship scenes themselves are absolutely brutal. There is way too much dull talk of esoteric physics that went straight over the heads of 90% of the audience. It wasn’t needed and forced you to try to use your brain to comprehend everything that was happening. That wasn’t why I was there. I go to movies to not have to use my brain.
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Nightcrawler (2014)
It’s getting closer and closer to awards season, and I have continued to wait for that one movie that will establish itself as the movie to beat before the real crop of contenders comes out between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Unfortunately, some of those I thought would show themselves, especially Boyhood, Gone Girl, or Birdman, have failed. So, the movie to beat at this point is still The Drop. But first-time director Dan Gilroy has made his claim with the creepy Jake Gyllenhaal (Brothers, Prisoners) Nightcrawler. I am sure this will be just one of two movies I’ve seen thus far that will wind up in my end-of-year Top 10. Others are there now that, I’m hoping, will fall as we get into the meat and bones of December. But The Drop and Nightcrawler seem to have cemented their spots.
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Birdman (2014)
For all the hype surrounding Alejandro González Iñárritu’s (Babel, Biutiful) Birdman, I was highly unimpressed. Yes, it was an above-average movie. Yes, the directing was good. Yes, the acting was good. But I never felt anything remarkable about this movie, its directing, or its acting. According to www.indiewire.com, Academy Award nominations are certainties for the film and for Iñárritu, Michael Keaton (as Lead Actor), Edward Nort-on (as Supporting Actor), Emma Watson (as Supporting Actress), and a host of others. I know this has been a terrible year for movies thus far, but there are still two months left. I still have incredibly high hopes for films like Interstellar, Nightcrawler, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, American Sniper, Wild, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Foxcatcher, and Unbroken. I am hoping more than a few of these movies can break through and be the movies of 2014 that you have to see. So far, I’ve been told that Birdman, Gone Girl, and Boyhood were the movies that would be these movies that you HAD to see. So far, those who have said this have been 0 for 3. Each of these movies has been above average (B- to B range), but I will not have lasting memories of any of them.
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