The Big Picture: Top 10 Movies of 2014

geier

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What does the guy in the Lego movie scream? It sounded to me like "verdammt", which is "damned" in german.
 

Makabriel

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geier said:
What does the guy in the Lego movie scream? It sounded to me like "verdammt", which is "damned" in german.
He's yelling "Spaceship!!". You'd have to see it, heh.
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

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I didn't like Snowpiercer at all. Surprised to see "Under the Skin" there since I don't remember him reviewing it at all. But it is good. It can haunt you like only an indie "sci-fi horror but not really" can. And Scarlett Johansson is naked in it. Completely. Frontal nudity included.

My movie of the year is The Winter Soldier. It's amazing that a superhero movie can do everything so right. I have a list of best action movies of all time. A list that I don't edit so easily. Terminator 2 is still on top of that list. But The Winter Soldier got on it immediately. It's just so, so good.

bdcjacko said:
Space Raccoons > MLK, that is what Bob just said.
I don't have a problem with that. MLK is an important historic figure, but in the end he was just a man. He was no genetically modified space racoon with a space bazooka.
 

Mikeyfell

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Me chanting from 4:07 to 4:46
Say Birdman, say Birdman, say Birdman, say Birdman!

Me at 4:45
Fuck!
I probably should have seen that coming
 

ryukage_sama

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Based on the number of movies that got positive reviews (from Bob) but are missing from the list, it looks like 2014 was a good movie year for Bob.

Swarles said:
I'm not really surprised that Bob's list gets less interesting as it gets towards number one, with only Selma being in the number two spot really throwing a wrench in his system, just overall disappointed. While yes, Guardians was a good movie, it's still nothing really more than a studio movie that's a fun time but kind of throwaway. Just because the film was a "gamble" from Marvel (The hottest studio working right now that could literally sell tickets to anything they wanted), doesn't really merit it being the best film of the year when he leaves out probably more deserving films like Obvious Child, Only Lovers Left Alive, Boyhood, Adieu au langage, Mommy, and Birdman (Though I'm less surprised about that one since it lampoons his beloved superhero genre). I just honestly think that Bob has too much of a skew towards the Marvel films, because he acts like they're all these big daring projects when really they're carefully calculated films lacking in creative vision from actual filmmakers, product just to make money. And I can enjoy these movies, there's just no way I would ever put one at the top of a year end list.
That's why it comes down to a balance of personal tastes and criteria for what constitutes "Top".

And what constitutes an "actual filmmaker"? I get the impression from Marvel's writer, actors and directors that they really enjoy making these movies, especially from Joss Whedon. Doesn't that count for something beyond making money?
 

Callate

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It's a pretty solid list. I could do without the sneering at "questionable source material" viz. Gone Girl, Fight Club, and Dragon Tattoo, though. Just a hint of the "it's achieved mass popularity so nyeehhhhhhh" there that gets people rolling their eyes at critics.

...Then again, MB seems to believe the strength of Marvel's movies comes from Silver Age source material, so *cough* *ahem* agree to disagree, wot?
 

ryukage_sama

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V TheSystem V said:
Agree with Guardians as number 1. My girlfriend thought it was way too similar to The Avengers, but even if that is so (which it kinda is structurally), I freaking LOVED it.
Having just rewatched Guardians and The Lego Movie in the last 48 hours, I'd say that GotG is much closer to Lego in terms of structure than it is to the Avenger's. They seem all the more similar when you're hearing the same voice from Emmet and Starlord.
 

Kenjitsuka

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So, Bottom 10 next week, huh? Interesting ;)

Anyway, Guardians at 1, Cap 2 at 2 and Raid 2 at 3.
The Johansen movie... it's kinda meh. Very slow and not much happens. Interesting to see where they are heading with it, but not a movie I'd rate above "quite decently made/pretty good I guess".
 

karloss01

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The ones further down the list I've not heard of; interesting you put The Raid 2 in the list as to me it was just another generic eastern action film (as in very missable).
 

Swarles

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ryukage_sama said:
Swarles said:
I'm not really surprised that Bob's list gets less interesting as it gets towards number one, with only Selma being in the number two spot really throwing a wrench in his system, just overall disappointed. While yes, Guardians was a good movie, it's still nothing really more than a studio movie that's a fun time but kind of throwaway. Just because the film was a "gamble" from Marvel (The hottest studio working right now that could literally sell tickets to anything they wanted), doesn't really merit it being the best film of the year when he leaves out probably more deserving films like Obvious Child, Only Lovers Left Alive, Boyhood, Adieu au langage, Mommy, and Birdman (Though I'm less surprised about that one since it lampoons his beloved superhero genre). I just honestly think that Bob has too much of a skew towards the Marvel films, because he acts like they're all these big daring projects when really they're carefully calculated films lacking in creative vision from actual filmmakers, product just to make money. And I can enjoy these movies, there's just no way I would ever put one at the top of a year end list.
That's why it comes down to a balance of personal tastes and criteria for what constitutes "Top".

And what constitutes an "actual filmmaker"? I get the impression from Marvel's writer, actors and directors that they really enjoy making these movies, especially from Joss Whedon. Doesn't that count for something beyond making money?
I guess it would have been better if he had said favourite rather than "Top" because that word has a sense of authority of what is the best of the best, I dunno.

What I mean by that is none of the movies really have a sense of the directors personality to it. I mean Only Lovers Left Alive feels like a Jarmusch film, Boyhood feels like a Linklater film, and Mommy feels like a Dolan film. None of the Marvel films really feel like someone is trying to get their own film across, it feels like they're trying to get the studio's film across. I mean that's the reason they fired Edgar Wright from a film he's been working on for years. Originally, Ant Man wasn't going to be part of the MCU and it was going to be an Edgar Wright film, however once they realized that they had the right to just print money with whatever was a part of the cinematic universe, Marvel shot down Wright's script and fired him from the project because it wasn't going to fit. I mean, there's obviously a reason they're hiring so many television directors to helm their projects, because they can fit well into an already established formula.

Also, from what I've seen, many of the actors don't really enjoy making the films, specifically Chris Evans. Don't take my word on that though, I believe they're only rumours.
 

Darth_Payn

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I do not remember MovieBob reviewing half of these. This video is the first time I've heard of "Under The Skin", and I heard mixed thing s about Snowpiercer from a number of other places. And the MLK movie just came out, so it's a bit premature to put it on a best list, even right under Guardians of the Galaxy.
Here's my take on Marvel and its audience: the latter was forgiving of Marvel pulling geek icon Edgar Wright off of Ant-Man because they got another Geek Icon, James Gunn, to do Guardians. And they're finishing Ant-Man with the footage and effects Wright started with, not scrapping the whole bloody thing to start over.
Also, I'll join in the chorus singing "Where's Big Hero 6?!"
Adam Jensen said:
bdcjacko said:
Space Raccoons > MLK, that is what Bob just said.
I don't have a problem with that. MLK is an important historic figure, but in the end he was just a man. He was no genetically modified space racoon with a space bazooka.
Don't forget: a genetically modified space raccoon with a space bazooka, IN SPACE. And a talking tree monster.
Mikeyfell said:
Me chanting from 4:07 to 4:46
Say Birdman, say Birdman, say Birdman, say Birdman!

Me at 4:45
Fuck!
I probably should have seen that coming
No, the right way to say it BIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRD MAN!
Oh, you weren't talking about the 3rd-rate superhero turned lawyer? Ha ha! Mistaken identity.
 

WarpedLord

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Swarles said:
I guess it would have been better if he had said favourite rather than "Top" because that word has a sense of authority of what is the best of the best, I dunno.
Come on...'tis the season for these lists, and EVERYONE calls it a "Top 5" or "Top 10". It's just how things are done. The "opinion" part of it should be obvious. Hell, pretty soon, Escapist's annual staff "Top 5" lists will start showing up, and no one will bat an eye, because... well, none of them are MovieBob so it's not the hipster thing to do to hate on them.
 

ryukage_sama

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Swarles said:
ryukage_sama said:
Swarles said:
That's why it comes down to a balance of personal tastes and criteria for what constitutes "Top".

And what constitutes an "actual filmmaker"? I get the impression from Marvel's writer, actors and directors that they really enjoy making these movies, especially from Joss Whedon. Doesn't that count for something beyond making money?
I guess it would have been better if he had said favourite rather than "Top" because that word has a sense of authority of what is the best of the best, I dunno.
Because of the signature authorship of this video series, I take it as a given that this is "MovieBob's Top 10" instead of say "The Escapist's Top 10". The inherent subjectivity in making a Top ___ list for anything that isn't strictly numerical means that there can never be an authoritative list. I rather like that the Escapist is doing so much to allow so many of their writing staff to present their own top 5 lists for the year.

What I mean by that is none of the movies really have a sense of the directors personality to it. I mean Only Lovers Left Alive feels like a Jarmusch film, Boyhood feels like a Linklater film, and Mommy feels like a Dolan film. None of the Marvel films really feel like someone is trying to get their own film across, it feels like they're trying to get the studio's film across. I mean that's the reason they fired Edgar Wright from a film he's been working on for years. Originally, Ant Man wasn't going to be part of the MCU and it was going to be an Edgar Wright film, however once they realized that they had the right to just print money with whatever was a part of the cinematic universe, Marvel shot down Wright's script and fired him from the project because it wasn't going to fit. I mean, there's obviously a reason they're hiring so many television directors to helm their projects, because they can fit well into an already established formula.

Also, from what I've seen, many of the actors don't really enjoy making the films, specifically Chris Evans. Don't take my word on that though, I believe they're only rumours.
You're right that the Marvel films don't carry a sense of auteur directing, writing or cinematography. You can see the signature influence at specific points, but it doesn't carry across the film as a whole.

I've reached the same conclusion about Evans. He has explicitly stated that he wants to be a director over an actor, which based on his limited range (albeit appropriately cast as far as I've seen) is probably for the best. It's hardly typical for an entire cast and crew to be emotionally and creatively invested in any given work, but there are those working in the franchise with a love for the work. Tom Hiddleston seems happy, and Kenneth Branagh approached Thor as a fan of the source material. All big budget blockbusters carry with them some scale of soulless, profit seeking management, but Marvel's films are far from the worst offenders in that regard while making broadly entertaining movies. That shouldn't be wholly discounted.
 

Guffe

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Next week is the intressing one.
I mean this was pretty straight forward (except a few I hadn't heard about), but next week can bring forward some surprises, as Bob also takes movies he hasn't rewieved.
 

Paul10238

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1. Cap2
2. Dawn/Apes
3. Edge of Tomorrow
4. Hobbit 3
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Big Hero 6
7. Lego Movie
8. X-Men 7
9. 22 Jump Street
10. Godzilla
 

Laughing Man

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Sure would be nice to be able to see Snowpiercer in the cinema in the UK! Guess i'll have to make do with the DVD. :/
I wouldn't bother it really isn't anywhere near as good as everyone is making out. As someone said at the end of the movie it just loses the plot totally and don't get a none English import like I did because with no English subs the story makes even less sense.

Example, the movie has the main protaganist team up with some tech expert of Korean decent, this guy only talks in his native tongue but in the movie they use a little device that on the fly translates what he says in to English, great you think. Nope the device only seems to work for simple stuff, you know the stuff that talking loudly and pointing at the object would make it clear what is going on (open door, give me drugs, etc) Their are sections where the Korean tech expert gives entire sections of exposition about the story that the device does not translate and with no English subs, especially the end.
 

mega lenin

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I'm baffled that Birdman didn't even get a mention on the list. Given he enjoys nice artsy cerebral genre bending dramas like Under the Skin and Gone Girl I figured that movie would fit in his baliwick. Perhaps he didn't see it???


I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy, but other than as a mild and lighthearted celebration of James Gunn's quirky auteur style, it didn't do anything that made it any different than The Avengers. It's no Super, that's for sure. I'm glad James Gunn is getting the huge paycheck his work justifies. It's hard for me, though, to think of Marvel/Disney hiring a hotshot cult movie director to direct a movie for a lesser known comic with a cult following, with a script structure that pretty much just follows the already known to be successful Avengers franchise as a risk. It seems like shrewd risk averse management as those choices cater to the built in audience while using a narrative model they know can work for this kind of team up movie.

When I think of bold film making risks I think of things like a creative choice to eschew traditional two camera shooting with all its quick cuts for a single camera and long uncut sequences. I think a mix of surreal and mundane narrative styles that doesn't pander to an audience or underestimate them. I think of a soundtrack that consists entirely of drums, just drums. I think trying to explore our struggles with insecurity and inadequacy as the world continues to spin despite the fact that we ourselves are falling apart, our desire to be and feel loved, mental illness, and of course suicide, through a story about the tragic descent into madness of a former movie star, is way more of a risk than making a carbon copy sequel to the Avengers and getting away with it by having different characters with different quirks. They meet. They don't like eachother at first. They fight. Some big asshole with a purple space bazooka creates a crisis they have to unite to fight. They save eachother's asses a few times. They start to like eachother, and the power of their friendship overcomes all evil. Hardly unconventional. It's a retread of the typical action adventure movie model since Star Wars. You don't have to say anything with the work. You just need distinct likable characters. GotG has craft and care in its production, it's a fun adventure thrill ride that doesn't make you feel dirty for enjoying it. It ain't a risk, though.
 

Metalrocks

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wow, no x men? or planet of the apes?
half of the movies he has listed i have never heard of or were even shown in cinemas in my country like budapest hotel. some i had no chance or time to watch or just wait for it to be out on dvd. like lucy and gone girl.
but yeah, raid 2 is awesome for sure and is also high up on my list.
 

Sylocat

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The even-numbered years of this century so far have been great for movies (though the odd-numbered years have given us The World's End and Neill Blomkamp's movies, so they're okay too).

My top 10, not that anyone cares:

1. Maleficent
2. The Lego Movie
3. MLP: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. Annie
6. Lucy
7. Selma
8. Theory of Everything
9. Guardians of the Galaxy
10. Edge of Tomorrow

Honorable mentions: Big Hero 6, Wild, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Zero Theorem

Movie that I really wish I could put here, because I really, really wanted to like it: Snowpiercer
 

Buizel91

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Aug 25, 2008
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Kinda surprised Dawn of the Apes wasn't there if i am honest, it was an amazing film.

Still, nice to see Guardians at the top, it deserves it place.