For further background on the year in film, please refer to the Some Other Movies From 2014 entry.
The following things happened in 2014:
- The U.S. state of Colorado legalized the sale of cannabis.
- The Ebola epidemic began.
- Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared over the Gulf of Thailand.
- The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsized, killing over 300.
- The Royal Thai Army overthrew its government.
- The FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil.
- Scotland voted against independence from the United Kingdom.
- The Occupy Central protests began in Hong Kong.
Linked entries were viewed on YouTube.
Excellent
1. Song of the Sea
Visually arresting animated film from Ireland. I walked in knowing nothing about selkies, faeries and Celtic goddesses, and walked away ready to see the other two movies in director Tomm Moore's Irish folklore trilogy. These other two movies are, by the way, The Secret of Kells and Wolfwalkers.
Some Good Ones
1. Paddington
It's very cute. I could complain about some of the CGI, but of course it's for kids and what would be the point of that? As an American I had zero knowledge of this character before seeing the movie, and this introduction to a very British bear was enjoyable from start to finish.
2. As Above, So Below
Found footage film in which several treasure hunters venture into the catacombs beneath Paris. It manages to generate some genuine creepiness, and I'd give it bonus points for originality. Critics despised it, probably due to an overfamiliarity with the genre, but I thought it was alright.
3. I am Soldier
A group of young men try to survive the S.A.S. training program. There are of course a lot of "special unit training movies," but this one maintains a sense of realism throughout. My only complaint is the mission at the end, which doesn't seem necessary to the story.
4. Rise
A young man is wrongly convicted of rape and sent to an Australian prison. It's kinda religious, but not overbearingly so. It also has a really low score on Rotten Tomatoes, though I have no idea why.
Meh.
1. Justice League War
Various DC superheroes smack each other, then smack parademons, then attempt to smack Darkseid, then succeed in smacking him. There, saved you the 1.5 hours. I have no doubt that somewhere in the world there's a 40+ year old dude who was really feeling this, but that dude is not me.
2. Step Up: All In
a. Protagonist encounters other, more successful, adversarial dancer(s).
b. Dance-off ensues.
c. Protagonist is shamed publicly.
d. Protagonist discovers dance competition which will save his/her career.
e. Protagonist recruits a crew to participate in said dance competition.
f. Crew engages in lengthy practice sessions, some of which are disrupted by internal squabbles and/or the actions of a rival "crew."
g. Romance brews in the background.
h. The day of the dance competition arrives.
i. Protagonist's crew defeats all rivals.
j. Protagonist forms lasting romantic bond with another dancer.
k. Credits roll, to be followed by next installment in series.
...not that I can fault Step Up: All In for any of that. I've seen the other movies in the series. I knew what I was in for.
3. 2014
Indonesian legal thriller in which a presidential candidate is accused of murder. The badly choreographed Silat-style fight scenes bring the whole thing down, and the cinematographer had an unfortunate penchant for highlighting certain scenes in black and white. Even so, it's an interesting window on what Indonesians worried about in 2014. (Short answer: corruption.)
Some Bad Ones
1. Falcon Rising
Michael Jai White (yup, the guy from Spawn), journeys to Brazil to manhandle drug dealers. I don't know any Brazilians, but I'm pretty sure that they'd find parts of this movie offensive.
2. Love, Rosie
Rom-com chock full of people who are impossible to relate to on any level. I mean, why don't they just tell each other they like each other at the airport? Why doesn't she tell the father of her child? Why doesn't she tell her best friend? How are her parents, who are supposedly Catholic, OK with all of this? Why....?
3. Rowdy
Telugu film which borrows most of its plot points from The Godfather I & II. It's more professionally done than 2014 above, but the melodramatic plot structure, overwrought soundtrack and badly choreographed fight scenes make for a difficult two hours.
4. The Current
A young boy moves to rural Michigan with his family, sometime thereafter learning the true value of family and... CHRIST JESUS, SAY HIS NAME!!! The young actor who stars in this movie is definitely not the most gifted thespian in the world.
5. Freedom
"Musical" about the Underground Railroad. The strangest thing about this movie is that it puts its own songs in the background, and what we're left with is an uninteresting, disjointed narrative that can't support the film's 1.5 hour runtime. I'd overlook the historical inaccuracies if it worked as what it is, a musical, but this movie can't commit to that aspect of itself. Just go watch Roots or 12 Years a Slave. They're both MUCH better.
...and I realize that in Hollywood the mandate is to keep to keep working, but seeing this sad, bargain bin version of Cuba Gooding Jr. is painful. He was up there with the greats, and now? Now he really needs a better agent.
Bad but Somehow Entertainingly Stupid
1. Need for Speed
It's somewhere between a Fast and Furious knockoff and gratuitous car porn. IF that description makes sense. In a better world every single character in this movie would be doing prison time, but in the world of Need for Speed they fall in love, and race in races, and engage in vehicular stunts which ought, in all likelihood, to result in the deaths of both other motorists and pedestrians alike.
I have no idea how they roped Michael Keaton into this movie. Most likely it was either $$$ or an offer to greenlight some project he actually wanted to do. All of his scenes seem to have been shot in someone's living room, and I wouldn't be surprised if he made up most of his character's dialogue on set.
Related Entries:
Note: I didn't forget 2013! I'm watching movies from that year now!
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