Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Top Ten Movies of 2014


1.     How to Train Your Dragon 2
Words can hardly describe the beauty this film secretes in every scene as a simple children’s story book is transformed into one of the most jaw dropping franchises to hit the big screen. After the success of its first film the How to Train Your Dragon creators decided to go for a more personal move, having just as much heart and drama if not more than action and comedy. To call this film a children’s movie would be an insult and anyone shying away from this and the other latest offerings from DreamWorks should feel ashamed. HTTYD 2 makes the top of this list because it shows that no matter how you make a film it can be engaging to everyone and that building a great story around a fantastical setting may be hard but never impossible.   
2.     The Wind Rises
It’s not surprising to see the latest offering from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki be an exquisite experience but from a cursory glance the film itself may seem uninspired. When people hear the name Miyazaki the expect something like Howl’s Moving castle and Spirited Away, giant epic movies with an otherworldly mysticism about them. The Wind Rises is a much more down to earth plot about a Japanese aeronautics engineer who designs and builds airplanes for WW2. This may seem weird but it works as a story of a man who never wanted his machines to be used for war but simply doing what he loved in the hopes that his creations could be for the benefit of mankind and not simply warfare.    
3.     Guardians of the Galaxy
A true underdog story, Guardians of the Galaxy became one of the years most beloved movies and paved the way for Marvel to expand their movies to the stars and beyond. What’s easy to forget is that all of Marvel’s current big hitters started out like this, bringing somewhat known people in to a somewhat known world and turning it into box office platinum and shooting the actors in those films to A-list status. Guardians of course was a huge risk for Disney and Marvel but it paid off both literally and conventionally and its success should be a testament to hard work, dedication and maybe just a little bit of fun.
4.     X-Men Days of Future Past
Marvel movies not made by Marvel films always seem like a risky venture. The X-men series especially has been hit or miss in terms of quality story and production which without the unified direction the Marvel has can create movies that have the same teams but could come up stinking like wolverines pits or shining like Xavier’s head. This film is of the latter quality as it takes its comic book premise and runs with it. A more dramatic story gives way to more enjoyable film that knows how to use its actors, technology and give us exactly what we want in an X-men movie.
5.     The Lego Movie
No one could expect what would come from a film simply titled “The Lego Movie” but what came was one of the most imaginative films to come out in recent history. And of course what better subject to infuse this imagination than the blankest slate toys known to man. From face value the movie may seem like a lighthearted adventure but what people might not see is the intriguing messages placed throughout the film. This film also sports some of the best looking animation utilizing a system that made everything in the film be completely made out of pre-existing Lego designs.
6.     Captain America Winter Soldier
Not surprising but still immensely enjoyable film that brings the Captain out of the 40’s and into the 21st century. The prevailing fact with all Marvel cinematic universe films is that while their all grounded in the same continuity they are not the same films. The first Captain was a period war film, Thor is a fantasy film, and Iron man movies are all action packed science fiction affairs. The fact that all these films can fit into their own groove and still leave us wanting more deserves all the credit. The Winter Soldier fits perfectly with the espionage motif and while Marvel movies may be getting over exposed they’re definitely not becoming boring.
7.     22 Jump Street
Buddy cop movies have all been demolished as a plot template because the formulas been done to death, and even younger actors may line up to these affairs and claim that they’re also getting to old for this. That’s where the 21 Jump Street franchise comes to prove that though the formula may be old it still has potential for a great hit. Focusing on the comedic aspects of this genre, 22 Jump Street continues the story of the two unlikely heroes played brilliantly by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as now they tackle a college level threat. The films astute self-awareness asks whether the film should do the same thing or change for the better and the meta narrative blends perfectly amidst a series of gut busting scenes until the movie decides when it’s time to be over.   
8.     A Walk Among the Tombstones
Liam Neeson is not a stranger to cop centered thrillers but this film will take people by surprise and make something to be remembered passed a lengthy one liner. Based off the Book series of the same name this adaptation creates a washed out world filled with crooks and hard folks but the monstrous crimes of a pair of serial killers sends shockwaves through this film that shook not only the characters but what it really means to not judge a book by its cover. Keeping with clichés the film makes them its own and will have anyone looking for a cheap ride pleasantly surprised by one of the years surprise hits.
9.     The Box Trolls
Anyone with the slightest idea of how a movie such as The Box Trolls is made will want to give it all the rewards based on the painstaking process that is stop-motion animation. But when studio Laika, the same group that brought snap masterpieces Coraline and Paranorman to life, try their hand at a fairy tale film with some steam punk added in they make animation gold. A movie with as much character as it has puppets every seen might leave you breathless either by how good it looks or by how funny the film is.
10.  Book of Life

Fans of the animated series, “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera” will find an unequivocal treat in the design and look of this animated adventure. Directed by the creator of El Tigre this film explores a more hilarious look at the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead or Dia de Muertos to be exact. The Book of Life is filled with amazing designs, great performances and a nice moral to tie it all together Book of Life stands out amongst the usual from the animation mainstays.

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