Films I watched in
theaters:
Calvary (Sundance) - This was my favorite new film of 2014, though I only saw 11 new films. It is an incredibly dark "comedy" that is not really a comedy at all. It is more of an drama/allegory/character study with some comedic elements. I am drawn to dark films and character study films, so this really drew me in. I don't know if I would recommend it to most people, though, because the last several times I have shown dark films to people, they thought I had issues.
Godzilla (Private Screening) - It's a Godzilla film. Done well, but nothing really new.
The Saratov Approach (Dollar Theater) - This amazing true story was mostly lost on me because the overly-shaky handheld camera made me physically ill. No joke - I had to lay down for like an hour after the film to get my equilibrium back. I have inner ear problems, so most people could probably handle it. It was very distracting, though.
White Bird in a Blizzard (Sundance) - The director and cast spoke after the screening and acted like they were doing something amazing, but it was a pretty bad film with a "shocking twist" just for the sake of being shocking. Bad acting, bad writing, horrible clichés throughout, etc.
Like I said, I don't see films in theaters very often.
Films that came out
in 2014 that I watched on DVD:
3 Days to Kill - Decent Kevin Costner action flick. Pretty forgettable, though.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Maybe I missed something, but everybody raved about this movie. I thought it was pretty good, but not the cinematic masterpiece people made it out to be. I get bored with the extreme over-saturation of superhero movies, so that could be my problem.
The Interview - Hilarious and ridiculous. I expected nothing less from James Franco and Seth Rogen.
Laggies - Interesting take on the twenty-something drifter who can't get her act together. Usually these types of films are from a male perspective, so it was interesting seeing it from a female perspective. Really predictable, though. And the protagonist is actually kind of a horrible person when you stop and think about it.
The Lego Movie - I watched it with June and Jakob, but there were plenty of jokes for adults.
Lone Survivor - Intense take on a true story. Maybe too much glorification of death, though. Very moving, but some of the slow-motion death could have been cut.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman - Again, I watched this with June and Jakob. Again, plenty of jokes for adults.
Older films I watched
again in 2014:
12 Angry Men
Alien
Amadeus
Anchorman
Anchorman 2
Apocalypto
Atonement
Batman (1966, Adam West)
Batman Begins
Batman Returns
The Big Lebowski
Blade Runner
The Book Thief
Captain Phillips
Casino
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight Rises
Dark Shadows
The Departed
Déjà Vu
Django Unchained
Dr. Strangelove
Fargo
The Fighter (like 4-5 times)
Game of Thrones (All 40 episodes) *I’m counting these
because they are cinematic, and GRRM said they should be seen as being a 10-hour film
per season/book.
Goodfellas
Gran Torino
The Great Dictator
Hanna
How to Train Your Dragon
Inglorious Basterds
Kick Ass 1
Kick Ass 2
The King’s Speech
Lawless
Leon: The Professional
The Lion King
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
LOTR: The Two Towers
LOTR: Return of the King
Mafia!
Memento
The Mist
Mr. Bean’s Holiday
Munich
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
El Orfanato
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pineapple Express
Pulp Fiction
Raging Bull
Requiem for a Dream
Rescue Dawn
Reservoir Dogs
Schindler’s List
The Silence of the Lambs
Taxi Driver
Ted
Texas Killing Fields
This Is the End
The Usual Suspects
V for Vendetta
The World’s End
World War Z
A few of those were with June and Jakob, which is why they
seem out of place. I also probably forgot one or two films.
