The short. Skip Birdman. See Top Five. It’s the same movie with a couple of exceptions. Top Five has humor, is much more realistic, and you can relate more to it. It also isn’t the most over-hyped movie n the last five years. In fact, despite its 88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and lots of word of mouth on the street, it still surprisingly didn’t do all that great at the box office (just $23 million domestically). I did not see this movie in the theater, though it tempted me. Perhaps the most significant thing going against the film was its release date. It opened on December 12th, right in the middle of when all of the big-time award movies were in the theaters. As a result, it got lost in the shuffle. If the studio could go back in time, they might have released this movie in August.
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Category Archives: Hidden Gems
The Skeleton Twins (2014)
One of the most honest and straightforward movies in all of 2014 saw two of the most well known Saturday Night Live alums take on roles that were very, very different from anything that we have seen them in before. Rian Johnson’s (Looper, The Brothers Bloom) The Skeleton Twins is a movie that deals with mental health, a topic that hits very close to home with me. This is one of those movies that is categorized as a hit or miss drama/comedy, but this is hardly a comedy. This isn’t the heaviest movie in the entire world, but you certainly won’t be smiling much as you empathize with the leads Maggie (Wiig – Bridesmaids, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and Milo (Hader – Year One, Superbad). You might spend the first 15-30 minutes wondering when the comedy is coming, only to realize that maybe it not be. Best rest assured that you will know right away that this isn’t the Hader and Wiig that you know. This is something much more profound. This is a film to be seen for the film enthusiasts of the world. Continue reading The Skeleton Twins (2014)
A Most Violent Year (2014)
The best movie of 2014 that has flown under the radar is, without a doubt, J.C. Chandor’s (All Is Lost, Margin Call) A Most Violent Year. As I will mention in the paragraphs below, this movie is subtly fantastic. But before I get into the film, I want to talk about Chandor. This guy is quietly establishing himself as a master of two crafts. A Most Violent Year is just his third movie, but it is the third for which he has directed and written the screenplay. And all three films have earned at least 88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes even though none made more than $8 million at the box office. All three movies are unique from one another, and Chandor has already had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood (Robert Redford, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Oscar Isaac, David Oyelowo, Jessica Chastain, and Albert Brooks). He has already signed on Mark Wahlberg to star in his next project. And while All Is Lost and Margin Call were both unique movie experiences, A Most Violent Year is Chandor’s crowning achievement to date.
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All the Real Girls (2003)
Director David Gordon Green is quietly creeping into the upper echelon of movie directors. However, he is probably a name most people still have not heard of. Green is known for doing these smaller, independent, character-driven movies that are often set in Anytown, USA. To me, the movies are incredibly realistic because they dive so deep into raw, everyday emotions, explicitly dealing with love and lust and jealousy and anger and hurt. Keep in mind as I say this that he has also directed stupid humor comedies like Pineapple Express, The Sitter, and Your Highness, but that shows how ultra-talented the man is. The movies I am talking about are George Washington, Undertow (which I didn’t like but appreciated), and Snow Angels, a film I admire in every aspect. I’d need to go back and watch Snow Angels again (a movie I watched for the second time ever, no more than 3 or 4 months ago) before deciding if I like it or All the Real Girls better. To me, both of these movies capture the pureness of simple film-making.
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Chef (2014)

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