If you are looking to see the second-best performance (nobody is going to be able to touch Julianne Moore in Still Alice) by an actress in 2014, check out Daniel Barnz’s (Won’t Back Down, Phoebe In Wonderland). While the movie might not wow you, the performance of Jennifer Aniston (The Good Girl, Rock Star) absolutely will. Nearly unrecognizable, the one-time Friend is a physical and emotional wreck throughout the movie. Playing Claire, a mother who lost her young son in an automobile accident while accruing numerous injuries to her legs, arm, back, and face that have forced her to become addicted to pain killers, Aniston gives the best performance of her career. I have yet to see two of the five nominees for Best Actress (Moore and Marion Cottilard – Two Days, One Night). But I will say that Aniston’s performance rivals those of Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything). I’ll give Cottilard the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe there were six great performances for five spots. However, if I were voting, Aniston would have gotten my vote over Jones (even though I thought Jones was great).
Category Archives: Year of Release
American Sniper (2014)
In a year that hasn’t had that many must-see movies, American Sniper has proved that there is at least one reason to head out to the theaters. 2014 has been the most disappointing year overall for movies since 2008. Yet despite its horrendous start and some incredibly overrated movies (Birdman, Unbroken, Mr. Turner, Snowpiercer, Godzilla, even Boyhood to an extent), some films did manage to live up to their expectations (Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game). In addition, some movies exceeded my expectations (The Drop, Nightcrawler, Kill the Messenger, and the surprise feel-good movie of the year, Chef). But the film that had the most pressure to perform was American Sniper, the final movie released of the year. And while the movie did not exceed my expectations, it certainly met them in every single way. Before I review the film, I want to refer to a couple of observations.
Selma (2014)
Selma has a movie that will leave many audience members clapping as the film concludes. It’s a feel-good movie and an important one for all generations to see. Older generations may have forgotten some of the critical details over the years. Younger generations may be exposed to this for the first time, or at least for the first time outside of a textbook or one of those dry 45-minute, made-for-education documentaries. I am happy this movie received a PG-13 rating rather than an R rating. It is an essential movie for everyone to see. I will not ever cheer or hoot and holler at the end of a movie. That isn’t my style. I was talking with my mom the other day, and she said people stood and clapped at the end of Unbroken. I found Unbroken to be one of the most overrated, bland movies. Selma certainly isn’t that, and I was happy there were some cheers at the end of this movie.
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 deeply into raw, everyday emotions, explicitly dealing with love, lust, jealousy, anger, and hurt. Keep in mind, as I say this, that he has also directed comedies with stupid humor like Pineapple Express, The Sitter, and Your Highness, which 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. Both of these movies capture the pureness of simple filmmaking.
Unbroken (2014)
In my opinion, the two best series of trailers for 2014 have been Unbroken and American Sniper. These were two of, if not the, most anticipated movies of the year. I apologize to Foxcatcher, which had a fantastic trailer and was a movie I was looking forward to. It not only met but exceeded expectations. These two Christmas Day movies have had me buzzing for months. Unfortunately, as the reviews began pouring in, I realized these movies would probably fall short of expectations. American Sniper is currently in the 70% range on Rotten Tomatoes, while Unbroken was way down at around 50%. I have not yet seen American Sniper, but based on the few reviews I have read, I believe I know where it will fall short. If outsiders had screened this movie before its completion, they could have influenced the film’s sequencing to better tell Chris Kyle’s story after his tours of duty. Again, this is my prediction before watching the movie, but I’m going to say it was a good movie that could have been in my top ten of all time. Unfortunately, I did not feel the same way about Unbroken. The trailer didn’t live up to the movie, and I don’t think any editing could have changed that. I found this movie to be very disappointing.