Well in just a nick of time, 2014 is over and here I am again talking about the films that stood out for me and the films that disappointed me and left a bad vibe on me. Before I start my list though, firstly, I'd like to apologize that I haven't posted any reviews or updates these past months (because of technical problems) and I also apologize that I wasn't able to review more films than I should have had. Enough rumblings, I now present to you my top 15 films of 2014 but first here's my honorable mentions. Take note though, some of the films mentioned here have been released last 2013 but it only got released in 2014 here in the Philippines so that's why those 2013 films are in this list.
So without further ado, here's my top 15:
Honorable Mentions:
12 Years A Slave (Dir. Steve McQueen)
Dallas Buyers Club (Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Dir. The Russo Bros.)
Snowpiercer (Dir. Bong Joon-Ho)
How To Train Your Dragon 2 (Dir. Dean DeBlois)
The Fault In Our Stars (Dir. Josh Boone)
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (Dir. Keishi Ohtomo)
Edge of Tomorrow (Dir. Doug Liman)
22 Jump Street (Dir. Phil Lord and Chris Miller)
Horns (Dir. Alexandre Aja)
Her(Dir. Spike Jonze)
Free To Play (VALVE)
Starting Over Again (Dir. Olivia M. Lamasan)
All is Lost (Dir. J.C. Chandor)
Enemy (Dir. Denis Villenueve)
Fury (Dir. David Ayer)
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (Dir. Peter Jackson)
Top 15 Films:
15. Guardians of the Galaxy (Dir. James Gunn)
GotG is certainly one of MARVEL's best efforts because it blends the good and the weird so well it created the perfect formula for high entertainment, humorous and clever dialogues and great characters that will keep you cheering for them even though they are the weirdest of the bunch. James Gunn was able to capture the true spirit of a comic book film whilst offering a fresh and unique take on the genre. "I AM GROOT".
14. The Lego Movie (Dir. Phil Lord and Chris Miller)
For the nth time (and I'm sorry if you're already annoyed about this) the only thing I'm going to say about this is........ EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! Oh and the Oscar snub, HERESY!!
13. Godzilla (Dir. Gareth Edwards)
Godzilla doesn't have the best of luck when it's adapted in the Western culture (need some example? Go watch Emmerich's Godzilla... just kidding, don't watch it). This film however really captures the spirit of the original TOHO film, while some audiences are clamoring for more Godzilla action (not gonna lie, I was asking for a bit more too) this film still offers a lot more tension with its overall environment and pulse-pounding score. This film was also responsible to what in my opinion is one of the best shots of the year, you have to see it to believe it.
12. Boyhood (Dir. Richard Linklater)
Boyhood is one of the most special films I've ever seen, the achievement that this film did is truly one of a kind and will certainly be one of the most unique things you're going to see in the film industry. When I was watching this film, it definitely felt like I was watching something unfold, the whole film felt very natural which was a big boost to the film and add to that the great performances from the actors and the touching message that this film beholds. Boyhood is truly something else.
11. The Drop (Dir. Michael R. Roskam)
The Drop was one of the most unpredictable films I've seen in 2014 because as you watch this film, the characters are so erratic that every decision these character makes, it dives on a different direction than what you thought but that is a big thanks to Dennis Lehane's sharp script and Roskam's stellar direction. Tom Hardy's subtle and steady performance was one of the highlights of the films as it really helped his character more and to James Gandolfini one last time was all the more merry.
10. The Babadook (Dir. Jennifer Kent)
What's really great about this horror flick is that on the surface it is indeed a horror flick but underneath it is it's a film that truly deals of how a loss of a loved one (or someone) can affect the psychology of a human being. Another thing that's great about this picture is the fact that it does not rely on the horror tropes that audiences have became accustomed to today and by that matter it really helped this film feel more original. The best thing to come out from this film though is Essie Davis' brilliant performance that can really capture you and help audience root for the character.
9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Dir. Matt Reeves)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the best reboots we've had in recent years as it showed how this new franchise about apes can work and how it all started to be. This film in my opinion surpasses every aspect of its predecessor. It was political, action-packed, dramatic but most of all
it was so engaging I had my eyes glued to it. Dare I say it, it might be better than the original Planet of the Apes (don't chase me with pitchforks).
8. Nightcrawler (Dir. Dan Gilroy)
Jake Gyllenhaal is quickly becoming one of the best working actors today, with Prisoners, Enemy and this time Nightcrawler, this guy can almost do anything. Gilroy was able to cook up one of the best characters in 2014 or as I like to call it, the Travis Bickle of this generation (and that means a lot from me since Taxi Driver is my favorite movie of all time). Gyllenhaal delivered what is probably the best performance of his entire career, his performance was just deliciously despicable
that you just want to punch him in the face but also be amazed at what this guy can do.
7. The Raid 2: Berandal (Dir. Gareth Edwards)
The Raid is in my opinion the best all-out action film that came out this year. What made this film truly unforgettable in my opinion is the way Edwards picked up the story of the first one and making the stakes way higher than the first one and dialing the action up to 11. This film indeed felt like the perfect mixture of a mob film and an action film which makes the film entertaining and thrilling.
6. The Wolf of Wall Street (Dir. Martin Scorsese)
Scorsese and DiCaprio's latest outing is surely one of my favorite films of theirs. It was deliciously diabolical and darkly funny and it showed what is probably my favorite and in my opinion the best performance in DiCaprio's career. The thing that I loved most in this movie is how it displayed the lavish lifestyle of Jordan Belfort but it doesn't glorify all the horrendous things he did but Scorsese was able to show it such a funny and entertaining way.
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Dir. Wes Anderson)
In all honesty, this is just my second Wes Anderson film (my first being Bottle Rocket) and I must say I just loved every minute of this film. This film was visually pleasing, charmingly funny and boosted great performances from its stars particularly its leading actors Ralph Fiennes and Anthony Quinonez. The dynamic between these two are so great that it really carried the film and made it so much better than it already is.
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past (Dir. Bryan Singer)
After the debacle that Ratner did with X-Men: The Last Stand, Matthew Vaugn breathed new life in this franchise with X-Men: First Class. However Singer came back in this franchise and he rewrote the X-Men history with this film. This film was dramatic, suspenseful and action-packed as it will bring joy to your inner childhood. What stood out most for this movie for me though is how they were able to restart the franchise in a clever way and also how Singer was able to still make this franchise feel fresh even though it us now running for more than a decade.
3. Gone Girl (Dir. David Fincher)
Fincher + thriller, need I say more? If so, here's more, Rosamund Pike showed her best performance and so did Ben Affleck and add to that a sharp score and great cinematography, this is a 100% winner. 'Nuff said.
2. Whiplash (Dir. Damian Chazelle)
I'm not a big fan of Miles Teller but this film made me one. I always thought that J.K. Simmons was a good actor but I had no idea that he this freaking great. Both of these actors just showcased why they are great in this business and they completely made this movie their own and the chemistry between these characters are just so electric, you can really feel the tension between them and you can't help yourself but be amazed at what Chazelle did with this film.
1. Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan (Norte, The End of History, Dir. Lav Diaz)
This is my first Lav Diaz film and it really blew me away and it had the most natural performances I've seen in a ling time. Sure the film is long but ut doesn't hinder at how great this film is. After watching this film, I thought about it for weeks and upto now it still manages to crawl up my mind and in my opinion that is a sign of one great film. It's one of the most shocking pictures I've ever seen in my entire life and it is what I consider to be one of my favorite films ever.
Now that we're done with the cream of the crop, let's now have the films that are at the bottom of the barrell or my worst films of 2014.
Worst Films of 2014:
15. Transformers: Age of Extinction (Dir. Michael Bay)
I gave this film an okay rating the first time that I saw it because I watched it in 4D and the experience was so fun it was able to hinder how bad this film is because the second time I watched this film, it was a different story because I wasn't even able to finish it. Despite it having a talent like Wahlberg onboard, he still wasn't enough to save this franchise from ever becoming more than just a Bay-splosion fest.
14. Need For Speed (Dir. Scott Waugh)
I loved the game, I disliked the adaptation. Sure there are some things redeemable in this like the magnificent stunts and Michael Keaton and Aaron Paul's performance but it still wasn't enough from letting this film crash and burn. The biggest downside for this movie was the story because it was generic and was very shallow.
13. Pompeii (Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson)
The premise is good and the actors onboard were more than decent but this film was just a borefest and it really pffers nothing new in the sword-and-sandal genre. Then again, this is the guy who keeps giving us those shitty Resident Evil adaptations so this is nothing surprising.
12. Transcendence (Dir. Wally Pfister)
Pfister is without a doubt one of the greatest cinematographers working today but with this film as his directorial debut, he surely earned a bad rap. This film had a great concept but it wasn't able to show it clearly and felt like a rushed job from start to finish. Also, Depp's "performance" didn't help the film one bit.
11. Tarzan (Dir. Reinhard Klooss)
Bad animation, bad direction and bad voice acting will only lead you to one path, to a bad film. This film was just unbearable, it tried to be modern while being faithful to the original but it didn't work. The only thing that this film did was tarnish the image of Tarzan. Here's hoping that David Yates would fix that come 2016.
10. Brick Mansions (Dir. Camille Delamarre)
This is a remake of the french film District 13, an exhilarating action film with crazy stunts, this film was anything but that. This was just a by-the-numbers shot for shot remake of a good action film, the difference here is this one is a boring one with a terrible villain in the form of RZA. Just downright a terrible flick.
9. 3 Days To Kill (Dir. McG)
Where do I start here? The action was terrible, the acting was subpar and Kevin Costner giving a lazy performance and top that off with generic storyline, this is what you'll get. I'm up for old guys doing action films because it's bad ass but if it's done like this one? Then no thanks. PLus, McG's direction is just all over the place, the tone was inconsistent and the pacing was so slow it felt like the film took 3 days to finish (well, not really but you know what I mean).
8. Vampire Academy (Dir. Mark Waters)
Coming from the director of Mean Girls, I surely had high hopes from this one because this seems like it's in his wheelhouse, but the opposite happened. My hopes was slammed into the ground while I was watching this, the dialogues were not clever and not even fun to begin with, the acting was poor, the editing was sloppy but most of all it was just boring. What I hate most from this movie though is the subplots, it just felt that they crammed it so that the movie would be longer.
7. Sex Tape (Dir. Jake Kasdan)
I don't know why Diaz and Segel still wanted to work together after the debacle that was Bad Teacher (which should be renamed Bad Movie, sorry terrible joke) because they had no chemistry in that movie. In this one though, they still had no chemistry and the jokes are still flat and definitely does not have the punch it should have had. The premise is the only thing that was good in this film and they just wasted it.
6. Blended (Dir. Frank Coraci)
The third pairing between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore was anything but good. It was just an overlong rom-com with Sandler just doing his usual schtick. This was just a waste of time and that's coming from a guy who loved Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates.
5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
This is probably the most disappointing and most frustrating film of 2014 for me. This was helmed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Pine but the good thing ends at that note. The story was not gripping enough for me to get hooked on it and the performances of the actors felt like mailed in. At the end of the film, it just felt empty and there was no originality in it. It just felt like your usual bad action film with big stars in it.
4. I, Frankenstein (Dir. Stuart Beattie)
The Underworld franchise was certainly something that I thought was good especially if it was given on the right hands, this film definitely had the same spirit as the Underworld films the difference is that this film was not fun. The action was not well directed and it had a hard time trying to modernize Frankentsein that at the end of the day it just looked like a hot mess. Kudos for Aaron Eckhart for trying though and will Bill Nigh please stop playing the same character in these types of movies? As entertaining as it is to watch, it's getting a bit tiring seeing him do the same thing over and over.
3. 47 Ronin (Dir. Carl Rinsch)
I thought that this film would put Reeves back on the map but it didn't (thankfully John Wick did just that). This film was pretentious and it tried to hard to ride on the backs of successful fantasy films because of its inclusion of dragons and whatnot. Sure I'm open to films doing other worldly stuffs but be sure that you can nail it. This film could have been something else but instead it chose to be something bad. Also, what is up with the use of English language in a Japanese setting? Odd.
2. Lucy (Dir. Luc Besson)
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Lucy is trying to be original but the idea was so far out it was just plain stupid to begin with. I tried to just go on with the ride that this film has but I can't get past at how stupid this movie is becoming the more minute it passes.
1. The Legend of Hercules (Dir. Renny Harlin)
BAD. F*CKING. FILM. KILL. IT. WITH. FIRE.
Now that we're done with the best and worst films of 2014, let's now have the best actors and actresses of 2014 (not in order) as our way of ending this list. Enjoy.
Best Actors:
• J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
• Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
• Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
• Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)
• Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
• Sid Lucero (Norte, The End of History)
• Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Enemy)
• Joaquin Phoenix (HER)
• Tom Hardy (The Drop)
• Soliman Cruz (Norte, The End of History)
• Shia LeBouf (Fury)
• James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past)
• Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past)
• Robert Redford (All Is Lost)
• Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
• Chris Evans (Snowpiercer)
• Miles Teller (Whiplash)
• Toby Kebell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
• Ben Affleck (Gone Girl)
Best Actresses:
• Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
• Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
• Essie Davis (The Babadook)
• Angeli Bayani (Norte, The End of History)
• Lupita Nyong’O (12 Years A Slave)
• Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street)
• Rene Russo (Nightcrawler)
• Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)
• Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow)
• Shailene Woodley (The Fault In Our Stars)
• Eva Green (300: Rise of an Empire and Sin City, A Dame to Kill For)
• Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1)
