#10
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I've watched this movie in years past, and it seems to get better each time I watch it. When I first saw it in the theater, I was bored by the beginning part with the Dwarves, ready to move on to the action scenes. Only to find the action scenes more childish and silly than in the original LOTR movies. After looking forward to this movie for so long, I was very disappointed.
I watched it again when it came out on DVD, and liked it a little bit more. Now, in preparation for the third Hobbit movie which just hit the theaters, I decided to go back and watch all the Hobbits in order to prep myself for the finale. This viewing was definitely my favorite. I actually thought that the part with the Dwarves was the best part of the whole movie. It was fun, funny, and really set the tone from Bilbo's perspective setting out on his big adventure.
The movie looks great. All the landscapes and monsters are very well done. This world is very believable and just nice to look at and feel like you are a part of Middle Earth. And now that I have seen it a few times, I have come to appreciate the battles, the silliness, and the trolls and all of that. This movie isn't as dire in tone as the original LOTR films, so it doesn't need to feel so grim. Maybe being a tad more light hearted was just the thing that was needed for this movie. I liked this a bunch.
#9
Star Trek Into Darkness
I was a huge fan of the first Star Trek reboot. I almost nerdgasmed all over my apartment floor the first time I saw that movie. So obviously I would be excited for the sequel. I actually saw this in 2013, and it had a middling rank on my list. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one, obviously, and I allowed my disappointment to seep into my ranking.
In 2014, this movie came to Netflix streaming and I thought what the heck, why not give it another shot? I did, and I liked it a lot. I think expectations were too high the first time I watched it. I was able to come into this movie knowing what to expect, and it really helped me to just sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is. It's a lot of fun. The cast is perfection. Cumberbatch is a great villain, and some of the twists and turns of the movie are very interesting. You never know who to trust! Great music, great special effects. Just really a lot of fun to go around.
I still think some of the ways they tried to make this similar to the Wrath of Kahn are a little hokey, but still I had a blast with this.
#8
Back To The Future
I have seen this movie a countless number of times, but never really gave it the respect it deserved. I mean, I always liked Back To The Future, but to me it was just kind of a fun light fluff movie. Not a seriously awesome film.
That changed with my 2014 viewing. Right from the get go when you hear the little twinkling sound effects that signal the beginning of the film, I was entranced. The characters are obviously very memorable. Doc Brown, Marty McFly, Biff Tannen, etc will probably be remembered for a long time. The storyline is fantastic, and it really makes you think about and try to wrap your brain around the intricacies of time travel.
It's smart, it is a lot of fun, and it has some very memorable moments. Biff getting covered in manure. Marty meeting his parents (and his mom crushing on him). Johnny B. Goode. And of course the ending sequence, which was a lot more intense and exciting than I remember. This movie is a classic for sure. And if it has managed to survive to the top of my rankings despite my having seen it a gazillion times before, it must be good.
#7
Home Alone 2
When it comes to a battle of supremacy between Home Alone 1 and 2, it has always been a close race. I like to just pretend that Home Alone 3 and 4 don't exist. Some years the first movie wins. Which is no surprise. I saw that movie in the theaters and grew up watching it over and over again on VHS when it finally came home. Great movie, great characters. I always felt like I was Kevin, in a weird way. Plus it just has that feel of a movie classic.
Home Alone 2 is generally agreed to be not as good as the first movie. It all feels like a complete rehash, almost the exact same movie. Which is fair. There are about a million parallels, too many to list here (Kevin fighting with his family. Old guy / Bird lady. People getting scared by the old movie. Kevin's traps for the criminals, etc). But it is not the same movie, and is different in very many ways.
Like I said, sometimes I go back and forth on which movie is better. If you were to ask me now, I would lean slightly towards Home Alone 2. Could be because I didn't watch the first one in 2014. Maybe, maybe not. But I just had a blast watching this. Sure there are similarities to the first movie, but this is so enjoyable that I don't care. I don't laugh a lot when watching movies, but Home Alone 2 has so many hilarious moments.
Just the trap scene alone where Harry and Marv are trying to get at Kevin is hilarious. And I think the traps and some of the torments that the burglars have to endure are better than in the original. Maybe next year I will go back to saying the first is better. But we will worry about that when the time comes. This movie is awesome, and anyone who says otherwise deserves a swift kick to the ribs.
#6
Rocky II
I had mentioned in an earlier write up that I wasn't particularly fond of the way the first Rocky movie had ended. But I did say that in a way his losing to Apollo Creed helped make the victory seem more sweet in the second movie. Which is very very true. Rocky's moment of victory at the end of this film is one of the most heartwarming and uplifting scenes I have ever seen in a movie. I almost jumped up and shouted, it was that fulfilling.
This is the best of the Rocky movies that I have seen, and not only just because of the ending. The whole movie is perfection, and the lead in to the battle is pretty awesome as well. Just like in the first movie, I liked watching Rocky just walk around in his neighborhood jiving with people. Excellent training montage as well. Unfortunately, this was the last great Rocky movie, as some of the others to follow were only okay to me.
#5
Robocop
I remember this movie scaring me when I was a kid. Murphy's brutal death, the horrible villains, that one death by toxic waste. Thanks, dad, for showing me this movie when I was like 6 years old. But still I always liked Robocop.
I decided to go back and watch this movie in my adulthood. It has been at least 5 years since I have seen this. It was even better than I had remembered. From front to end, I thought this movie was fantastic. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. I criticized the Robocop remake for being too serious and not having any fun. This movie is quite serious too, and there are not a lot of fun happy moments to go around. But it is different. It is authentic. It feels, yo.
The violence level is over the top. And awesome. The story and the whole premise of Robocop is intriguing and made me want to keep watching. Wanting to see him get that sweet, sweet redemption. I liked the characters - the villains, the scientists, the crooked businessmen, and the members of the police force. On paper the premise of a dead cop's body being turned into a crime fighting cyborg might seem silly, but this is really quite awesome.
#4
Edge Of Tomorrow
I had actually never heard of this movie until a friend of mine put it on at his house during a rehearsal dinner party. It was hard to pay attention with so much going on - but just the idea of a Groundhog Day style movie that was science fiction was intriguing to me. I vowed to watch it fully at a later date.
And that I did. And I couldn't have been more thrilled with the movie. I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but he is not in the least bit annoying in the movie. The plot centers around his character waking up the day before an alien invasion. He is forced into combat, and then when he dies in the attack, he wakes up the day before. And then he dies again, and wakes up the day before. So on and so forth. He tries to warn people that the attack will fail, but no one believes him.
So he tries to trial and error his way through the fight, and fails miserably. Each and every time. He eventually encounters someone who used to have the same problem he did, and is able to hook up with her to try and defeat the aliens once and for all. But it takes several attempts. And the reason why this is all happening, plus the outcome of the movie is cool beyond words.
I thought this was just a really spellbinding movie. It's like the perfect mix of Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers. And as cool as that sounds, it is even better. You need to watch this if you haven't already.
#3
Source Code
I had heard the name Source Code before, but I had never known what it was about. The title sounded dull to me. Having recently watched Edge of Tomorrow, I came across a trailer for Source Code on some other movie I was watching. I thought the premise was awesome, and it looked very intriguing. Again, kind of a Groundhog Day type movie but with a sci fi twist. I immediately went to go get it.
This movie did not disappoint, obviously. I loved every second of it. The mystery, the main character's uncovering of the mystery, trying to discern what was real and what was not. This movie was candy for my brain, and I loved it. Not only is the premise and storyline great, but it is also so very well done. Great action scenes and acting. Memorable characters. And of course the big twist, and everything that happens as a result of this.
This movie had me wrapped around its little finger on the edge of my seat dying to see what was going to happen next. It is about as close to a perfect film as I had seen last year, and that is the reason it comes close to topping my list.
#2
X-Men: Days Of Future Past
You know, I have always been a fan of the X-Men movies, but I have never been blown away or amazed by one of them... until now. I actually saw this in a drive in theater while on vacation earlier in the summer. The whole set up - sitting in the car in the dark with the big screen in front of us, stereo blasting - made for a really awesome viewing experience.
And the movie was great too. This is the movie where they finally got X-Men 100% right. Right from the very beginning, the tone is set as to what kind of movie this is going to be. Lots of action, death, and awesome special effects. The story isn't that bad either. One of my personal favorite themes in movies is time travel, and this movie works that angle to perfection.
Seeing the older versions of the characters in the future versus the younger ones in the past was awesome. This was like an all star X-Men movie. As if that wasn't cool enough, Peter Dinklage is in it too. I thought this was movie was beyond epic, and I was completely enraptured. There is never a dull moment, and the whole time travel thing is epic. This movie opens up unlimited possibilities for future X-Men movies too, which I am beyond excited about. For a while this was one of my front runners for favorite movie of the year. Unfortunately it falls just short.
#1
The Fault In Our Stars
Before you think I am a big sissy, let me tell you what I loved so much about this movie.
First of all, most book to movie translations fall incredibly short for me. The characters are not as developed, key plot points are dropped, things are summarized and you don't get the whole experience of things like you would in the book version.
This is one of the very rare occasions where I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book. This book was made to be turned into a movie. It is so much more gut wrenching when you are able to put faces to these characters. Not only is this incredibly faithful to the source material, but it makes everyone "human" in a way that is really amazing. I didn't cry the whole time when reading the book (well maybe I did once), but the movie had me in tears like the WHOLE time. This has never happened to me before. Even when fun happy things were going on, I was bawling like a little girl.
Ok maybe I am a big sissy after all. Proceed making fun of me.
But needless to say, this movie was amazing. Despite its length, there was never a dull moment. And I really connected with the characters and their situations in a way I was never able to when reading the book. I have mentioned multiple times on this ranking that I am generally a pretty emotionless person when watching a movie. I look for movies that can inspire a deep, resonating emotional reaction on all levels, and this one definitely fit that description. Nothing else even came close.
This is my favorite movie that I watched in 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment