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The Best Films of 2014

Bottom five time, and I'm sure this is gonna cause a stir (at least one of these) so I'll give an explanation for these later. Just got out of the Hornets game and I'm on my phone and drunk, so tomorrow I'll do a write up. I'll give six selections since the first one on here I'm sure no one has heard of/seen, but rest assured it is unbelievably horrible.

6. A Walk Among the Tombstones
5. Chef (this is the one that I'm sure will cause a discussion, so I'll give a detailed explanation of why I think it's a piece of shit later)
4. Bad Words
3. Third Person
2. Trans4mers
1. Nothing Bad Can Happen
 
Magnolia is underrated, most underrated movie of the 90s. I still think about it and I've only seen it twice.
 
WakeFanatic said:
See Post 25 for my take on these two flicks. I can go more into depth, but id love to hear why you think they're so good.
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Birdman was excellent. I can see how as an esteemed critical mind you might have had a visceral reaction to the idea that lots of critics are hacks. Shocking. Putting that aside, Edward Norton was the best performance in a movie all year. That guy is lightning in a bottle. Couple that with the meta incorporation that his performance mirrors his IRL perception, and it takes it to yet another level. Keaton again shows why even though he's never had classic looks, he still has the electricity to carry a movie.

Whiplash also has two outstanding performances. I like that it pushes the idea that millennial culture has rejected, i.e. that bullying and pushing someone to and past their limits in some cases actually can enhance their skills and performance. The idea that a millennial would reject this as 'cartoon' also makes sense bc they don't understand non-coddling culture.

Looks like the academy doesn't agree with you either, as Birdman and Whiplash both received Best Picture noms, and Norton, Keaton and Simmons also received acting noms.
 
Nothing Bad Can Happen must be really really shitty.
 
When in doubt, TAB makes it about millennials.
 
Just keep repeating everything Bret Easton Ellis says, TAB. Eventually you'll reach a salient point.
 
Basing a movies worth off of performances is something I've always hated. Yeah, those guys give "good performances," Simmons does what he's suppose to do, he's over the top, but the movie around him is nothing special save for the final scene. Birdman is just Innaritu bitching that people "don't get him," the writers have even said they were afraid people wouldn't get the movie. Uhhh yeah, it's not that complicated. The performances are really good, but that doesn't mean the movies still not a load of bullshit.
 
For PTA list, it's hard, cause the guy's never made a bad or even mediocre movie in my opinion. They all range from "great" to "masterpiece." Here's what I'd go though:

The Master
Magnolia
Boogie Nights
There Will Be Blood
Inherent Vice
Punch Drunk Love
Hard Eight
 
TownieDeac said:
When in doubt, TAB makes it about millennials.
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Have you seen the film? The film is pretty much a direct criticism of the coddling of millenials. They don't actually use the word "millenial" in the movie but it's very clear what they're going after.

I really liked Whiplash when I first saw it but my enthusiasm has subsided once I learned the Charlie Parker story isn't remotely true. JK Simmons character uses this story as rationalization for his behavior so it takes away from the film when you learn that the story is a fairytale.
 
texasdeac said:
Have you seen the film? The film is pretty much a direct criticism of the coddling of millenials. They don't actually use the word "millenial" in the movie but it's very clear what they're going after.
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Yeah it definitely is. I reject TAB's accusations that this is why I didn't like it. I hate participation trophies and coddling kids, I played sports and was pushed hard by my dad and coaches. And I'm better for it. The movie doesn't quite cut it for me because it apes Kubrick and Fincher blatantly and spirals into silliness once Miles Teller gets kicked out of school.
 
The multiple nomination snubs for Selma and Nightcrawler is disappointing. Both are absolutely standout films with transformational lead performances. I stand by my DeNiro-Taxi Driver comparison for Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.
 
Haven't seen Inherent Vice yet, my ranking without it would be

Punch Drunk Love
Magnolia
There Will Be Blood
Boogie Nights
The Master
Hard 8
 
Whiplash was written and directed by a millennial btw.

I agree that there wasn't anything super special about the movie until the Lincoln Center scene, but even if you look at the entire movie as a set up for that 1 scene I'd put it in my top 10.

Birdman on the other hand is really original, even if you didn't like its themes. Just from the way it's shot with the appearance of one long tracking shot and the way it deals with passage of time to the great score of those solitary drums.
 
No question that Birdman was an immaculately constructed film. I'm being overly harsh on it here just for arguments sake. I enjoyed it for the most part.
 
Chef made me really hungry but compared to Jon's other work it is kind of cliched feelgoodery. Iron Man was badass and launched a megafranchise, and Swingers remains the best thing he has ever done
 
TownieDeac said:
Just keep repeating everything Bret Easton Ellis says, TAB. Eventually you'll reach a salient point.
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Again, see the movie and offer some commentary or just STFU.

BEE hasn't really commented on Whiplash, but I will, as long as you keep slurping on his foil, the biggest beta champion of them all, DFW. Maybe if DFW was born a millennial and coddled properly, he's still be with us.
 
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