Thursday, January 1, 2015

BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014

The Great, The Good, and The Interesting!

Eva Green,
PENNY DREADFUL

Shortcut links:
• BEST MOVIES: 2014
• BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2014
• BEST TV: 2014

Note: This will often spotlight directors for special merit.
But Auteur Theory is a shoebox; films are a collaborative effort with everyone involved.

"And...Action!"

B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 4

T H I N K

• CESAR CHAVEZ ⇧
A solid biopic with timeless truth about class, bigotry, labor, and humanity.

• BOYHOOD
Twelve years of a child's life, in real time, by director Richard Linklater.

• BELLE (UK) ⇧
A true story of a black woman in 18th century British aristocracy, and the path to the abolition of slavery.

• LOCKE (UK)
Dealing with a crisis while driving for 90 minutes equals better drama and suspense than any film around.
Tom Hardy is amazing.

• A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
Like a lost, understated classic from New Hollywood 1973.
Oscar Isaac channels his best Pacino.

• THE DROP
A razor-sharp crime thriller, layered mystery, and character piece.
A crack cast with James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace, the breakout Matthias Schoenaerts, and the brilliant Tom Hardy.

• BLACK COAL, THIN ICE (South Korea)
A twisty crime noir, leavened by sudden moments of non-sequiter humor.
(Not sure if it is quietly critiquing ingrained sexism, or just oblivious to it.)

• GONE GIRL
A wider canvas 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode.
There's wonkiness in the structure and performances, but it still generally works.

• THE GOOD LIE ⇧
A true story of four refugees from the Sudan massacres trying to make it in Kansas City.
A poignant film that flows with effortless grace, genuine warmth, and gentle humor.

• THE DANCE OF REALITY (Mexico)
Jodorowsky returns with a surrealist parable on his bizarre, brutal childhood.
Uneven but always visually arresting.

• CALGARY (Ireland)
A dark comedy or a wry drama, with odd turns, deft characters, and caustic wit.

• GET ON UP
A slightly off-foot bio of James Brown, kept on the beat by the performance of Chadwick Boseman.

• BIRDMAN
An unexpected and riveting dramedy, with powerful performances, askew surprises, and stunning cinematography.
Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Emma Stone.

• THE IMITATION GAME
Alan Turing, codebreaker, computer-maker, lost soul.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Mark Strong, Charles Dance.

• A HARD DAY (South Korea)
Like a Hitchcock ‘wrong man’ film on crank, this high-octane contemporary thriller (and sly farce) keeps you startled and guessing the whole way.

S M I L E

• FRANK ⇧
A bent comedy about music, madness, and fragile human connection.
Michael Fassbender is typically stunning. The end credits songs are worth the admission alone.

• SPACE STATION 76
A sly black comedy and surprisingly reverent homage to mid-70's Sci-Fi cinema.

• THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Stylish panache, slippery twists, and startling dialogue. Ralph Fiennes is excellent.

• WE ARE THE BEST! (Sweden) ⇧
Three teen girls conspire to be a punk band in 1982. Mayhem unleashes.

• THE TRIP TO ITALY (UK)
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon continue their comedic duel from THE TRIP by sailing abroad.

• THE ONE I LOVE ⇧
This comedy about marriage becomes something far more unexpected and surreal...

D R E A M

✭✭✭✭✭
• DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES ⇧
The GODFATHER II of the Apes films.
Andy Serkis' performance as Caesar is nuanced and electrifying.

• EDGE OF TOMORROW
ALIENS meets GROUNDHOG DAY.
Everyone keeps telling you to see this underrated, fun, and sharp SF film because you missed out.

• LUCY (France)
Scarlet Johansson will kick your ass on her way to the next level.

• I ORIGINS ⇧
Director Mike Cahill and star/co-writer Brit Marling follow ANOTHER EARTH with more heady speculative fiction.
Imagine Shane Carruth (UPSTREAM COLOR) rethinking VERTIGO.

• INTERSTELLAR
Christopher Nolan's humanist homage and counterpoint to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
A rip current of good, great, and greatness.

• THE HOBBIT: The Battle of the Five Armies
Almost a 'carnage postscript' held steady by character moments and fine performances, particularly Martin Freeman.

N I G H T M A R E

• THE BABADOOK (Australia) ⇧

This psychological horror movie is adrenalized by the shattering performances of mother and son.
A rousing debut by director/writer Jennifer Kent.

• UNDER THE SKIN (UK/Swiss) ⇧
A moody mystery about what lies beneath.
Scarlet Johansson does wonders with silence and implication.

• ENEMY (Canada/Spain)
Obtuse symbolist Kafka headgame.

• PREDESTINATION (Australia)
Can you right your wrongs or do your wrongs rewrite you?
Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook.

• A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (Iran)
"The first Iranian vampire Spaghetti Western".
An assured debut by Any Lily Amirpour.

G R A P H I C
I M A G E S

✭✭✭✭✭
• CAPTAIN AMERICA: The Winter Soldier ⇧
> Four Color Films review
This superior sequel tributes Steranko, the countercultural Cap', and 70's political thrillers to perfect effect.

✭✭✭✭✭
• X-MEN: Days of Future Past
> Four Color Films review
Director Bryan Singer returns to take his crew to their highest high. Terrific.

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
> Four Color Films review
This film, to me, takes every wrong move of SPIDER-MAN 3... and course-corrects every one.
Haters may rail to no avail. The crucial event still wrecked me.

• SNOWPIERCER (South Korea) ⇧
> Four Color Films review
BLADE RUNNER was an ignored dud on release, and grew its sterling reputation and acclaim over time and word-of-mouth.
I think this fierce meditation on class wars and the human future will also.

• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
> Four Color Films review
This is a smartly fun film with impeccable craft.
It sets up the entire Marvel cosmic cosmology without breaking a sweat.

• AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
The second season, in the aftermath of "CAPTAIN AMERICA: The Winter Soldier", is full-throttle pay-off.

A R T F L I X

• BIG HERO 6
> Four Color Films review
Marvel Comics' other left-field success.
The perfect balance of high craft and huge heart.

• THE BOXTROLLS
True stop-motion animation taken to higher levels by the Laika studio.

• THE WIND RISES (Japan, 2013) ⇧
Miyazaki bows out.
The craft is stunning, but the story leaves me with very mixed feelings.

• THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA (Japan)
Takahata makes too few films, but when he does they are works of art.
This brush-painted animation is as breathtaking as it is charming.

• GIOVANNI'S ISLAND (Japan)
A touching and inventive story of two boys trying the survive the aftermath of WWII on a remote island occupied by the Russians.

• WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE (Japan)
A surprising amount of edge and maturity in this coming-of-age/ghost story.

• THE LEGO MOVIE
All the creative chaos of kids at hyperspeed. Plus Batman!

• THE BOY WITH THE CUCKOO-CLOCK HEART / 'Jack et la mécanique du cœur' (France)
Gets by on style and surprises.

• THE SIMPSONS, S26/E06: "Simpsorama" ⇧
The Simpsons meet Futurama!

• TOY STORY That Time Forgot (TV special)
Every time they sequel TOY STORY, it only improves!

• THE LEGEND OF KORRA
How else to end an excellent series but with the bravery of compassion?

B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 4

• CITIZENFOUR ⇧
You know it's a corrupt era when we punish the whistleblower instead of the criminals.

• THE UNKNOWN KNOWN
Donald Rumsfeld is a lying war criminal.

• LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM
The fall of Saigon and the abyss of impossible choices.

• FRONTLINE: The United States of Secrets ⇧
“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”

• George Orwell, 1984

• THE ROOSEVELTS (PBS mini-series)
Ken Burns.

• COSMOS: A Space/Time Odyssey 1
Neil deGrasse Tyson.

B E S T
T V :
2 0 1 4

(The season number follows each title.)

N E W S

• LAST WEEK with John Oliver ⇧

• THE DAILY SHOW with Jon Stewart

• THE COLBERT REPORT with Stephen Colbert

• The Rachel Maddow Show

D R A M A

✭✭✭✭✭
• RECTIFY 2 ⇧
The unsung best series of last year is finally getting the acclaim it deserves.

• MASTERS OF SEX 2
As if excellence hadn't been enough before, this season took bold chances and only improved with each move.
A fine cast, sophisticated depth, and a progressive sensuality more relevant than ever.

• MAD MEN 7.1

W O N D E R

• GAME OF THRONES 4 ⇧
A great season that leaves even more bruises than before.

• AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 2
In fine form.

• FLASH 1
Like a CW/Peter Parker take for tweenies, but wins over with its enthusiasm and mythos-building.

• ARROW 3
The best Batman TV show Christopher Nolan might have made.

• CONSTANTINE 1
This is a pretty faithful version of John Constantine on USA TV. None of us saw that coming.

• HELIX 1
Trading on every SF trope, or putting a new spin on them?
Derivative of everything, but just interesting enough.

U K

✭✭✭✭✭
• PENNY DREADFUL 1 ⇧
Eva Green.
A parallel to Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books, in every right way.
(Or perhaps a League of Universal Monsters.)

• ORPHAN BLACK 2 (Canada/BBC)
Tatiana Maslaney finds new breadths and depths to amaze.

• DOCTOR WHO 8
Peter Capaldi is sharply demented, and Jenna Coleman comes into her own.

• OUTLANDER 1.1 ⇧
✭✭✭✭✭
This stealth favorite is giving the best shows a hard run for their money.

• AKTA MANISKOR / a.k.a., Almost Human 2 (Sweden)
The constantly interesting and perplexing Android series unfolds.

• BLACK MIRROR: "White Christmas" (holiday special) ⇧
The Twilight Zone for the tech era returns.
This blistering critique of the worst dangers of digital identity is the most chilling yet.

S L E U T H

• RIPPER STREET 3 (UK) ⇧
All bold risks and startling turns in this underrated and first-rate detective show.
Consistently ranks among the best dialogue -and its delivery- on any screen.

• THE FALL 2 (Ireland)
Gillian Anderson leads a grim, uncompromising, mature procedural with grace and edge.

• HAPPY VALLEY 1 (UK)
A sergeant fighting local crime, corruption, and a dissolving family in a Yorkshire valley.
Sarah Lancashire is stunning as the tour-de-force lead.

• GRACEPOINT
David Tennant reprises his Broadchurch series for the USA.

• SHERLOCK 3 (UK)
So fired up on its popular momentum it seemed to be spinning out of control, storywise.
But Cumberbatch and Freeman.

• ELEMENTARY 3 ⇧
The US parallel to Sherlock steadily delivers inventive mysteries, evolving character, and forward progress unabated.

• TRUE DETECTIVE 1
Very good with some great moments, held aloft by Matthew McConaughey.

• THE KILLING 4
Despite haters and dropouts, this series only got darker, deeper, and better as it went.
In the long run, the total quality of it will stand the test.

• BATES MOTEL 2
Confident, expansive, twisty.

• HANNIBAL 2
More moody magnification from the Red Dragon prequel, despite the twin dangers of rote formula and a hideously campy rival.

✭✭✭✭✭
• FARGO 1 ⇧
Nearly perfect. Fans of FARGO (1996) and TWIN PEAKS will love it.

C O M E D Y

2 comments:

fuzzchile99 said...: Cheers for that Tym -Perhaps 2014 was a better year than I thought initially at least cinematically - I have a better idea what to look out for on the box too -nicely put together.; January 2, 2015 at 4:57 PM
Tym Stevens said...: Thank you, John!; January 4, 2015 at 12:57 PM

Thursday, January 1, 2015

BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014

B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 4

T H I N K

S M I L E

D R E A M

N I G H T M A R E

G R A P H I C
I M A G E S

A R T F L I X

B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 4

B E S T
T V :
2 0 1 4

N E W S

D R A M A

W O N D E R

U K

S L E U T H

C O M E D Y

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Thursday, January 1, 2015

BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014

B E S T M O V I E S : 2 0 1 4

T H I N K

S M I L E

D R E A M

N I G H T M A R E

G R A P H I C I M A G E S

A R T F L I X

B E S T D O C U M E N T A R I E S : 2 0 1 4

B E S T T V : 2 0 1 4

N E W S

D R A M A

W O N D E R

U K

S L E U T H

C O M E D Y

2 comments:

What's all this?

Subscribe To

Translate

⚪ s p o t l i g h t

ANDOR, The New Revolution

m o v i e s / t v

⭕ p l a y l i s t s_𝟏

⭕ p l a y l i s t s_𝟮

⭕___h o l i d a y s

b e a t l e s

" - e s q u e"

c a n o n

c o m i c s

c u l t u r e

★ b e s t ______ m o v i e s / t v

★ b e s t ______ m u s i c

★ b e s t _______ c o m i c s

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Followers

Art, Records, Films, Comics I Love:

Links

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Search This Blog

B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 4

G R A P H I C
I M A G E S

B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 4

B E S T
T V :
2 0 1 4