It's Oscars week! Voting for the Oscars officially ended today, and this sunday, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will crown its 87th Best Picture winner from a group of 8 nominees. Before they do that, I have invited my brother Andrés to join me in this blog post so we can both name our respective
10 Best Movies of 2014. In
last year's lists we agreed on our #1 movie of the year,
12 Years a Slave, which also won Best Picture, and this year we were pretty close again. My #1 movie is his #2, and
his #1 is #6 in my ranking. Those two movies,
Birdman and
Boyhood, are also the frontrunners for the top prize at the Oscars.
Only one other Best Picture nominee,
Selma, made both our Top 10 lists. In all, I have 4 Best Picture nominees in my list and my brother has 5. 8 of his 10 films, but only 6 of mine, received at least one Oscar nomination. This difference is most notable in our Top 5s, where all of his movies are Oscar nominees but two of mine,
Force Majeure and
Calvary, are not. Those two movies were shamefully ignored by the Academy, along with
Under the Skin and
The Babadook, the other non-nominees on my list, plus
Snowpiercer and
Chef, the two non-nominees on my brother's list.
We both agreed on a movie in our Top 5s that we feel deserved more recognition from the Academy. That is
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, #5 on my list and #3 on his, which only received one nomination for Best Visual Effects(hope it wins). However, there
were some disagreements in our Top 5s. I have
The LEGO Movie(snubbed for a Best Animated Feature nomination) at #3 but my brother doesn't have it in his Top 10, and he has Best Picture nominee
Whiplash at #4 but I don't have it in my Top 10.
That's what makes these lists so fun. If 2 brothers can only agree on 4 of the year's 10 Best Movies, imagine the differences you'll find when comparing your list with total strangers. I urge you to watch as many of these movies before sunday night's Oscars so you can form your own opinion.
And now, a word from my brother, Andrés ...
So if last year was a GREAT year in movies, 2014 wasn’t too far off. Though I’ll still take 2013 because of its indie greatness (Fruitvale Station, Short Term 12, The Spectacular Now) and top-heavy power (12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street), 2014 was still really REALLY good. 2014 to me was more about the depth, a lot of great films that made choosing my top 10 like picking the 10 funniest moments in Robin Williams’ career.
Another thing that made this year so great were the leading men. What a great year for acting! Just like last year, maybe not as top-heavy thanks to Leonardo Dicaprio (the more I think about it, he deserved that Oscar last year), Matthew McConaughey, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but 2014 just had the DEPTH. From Michael Keaton’s career resurgence, to the Brits (Eddie Redmayne/Benedict Cumberbatch) bringing great men to life on the screen, to motion-capture acting in Andy Serkis’s brilliance coming to life again, 2014 just had everything for movie lovers. If selecting the Top 10 movies of the year was hard, then narrowing down the 5 nominees for Best Actor was harder than saying Idina Menzel’s name was for John Travolta.
Before we begin, I feel there were some tough enough choices that they deserve at least an honorable mention … Still Alice / Wild / Obvious Child, my 3 favorite female performances of the year fell just short … The Babadook, a horror movie that may be just as good as The Exorcist with a fantastic leading performance (seriously, how is this movie not in my top 10!?) … Unbroken, yeah maybe it goes a little torture crazy, but it’s beautifully made (great directing by Angelina Jolie), with great acting.
Seriously, what a great year for acting! How about Jack O’Connell going through a physical transformation in the mold of McConaughey last year and not even getting a sniff by the Academy, or Jake Gyllenhaal, or Ralph Fiennes!? One more and that’s it, I promise … The Skeleton Twins. I just love seeing great character actors get their shot at starring roles and kick ass doing it, and that’s exactly what Bill Hader did, A.K.A. Hank Azaria 2.0, as I call him.
And now, without further ado, we present our 10 Best Movies of 2014. Enjoy!
10) MP: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson outdoes himself with The Grand Budapest Hotel. This story within a story within a story transports you into a world so richly designed that it makes it almost impossible to believe it doesn't exist in real life. "The Grand Budapest Hotel", in the fictional European republic of Zubrowka is run by legendary concierge "Gustave H"(Ralph Fiennes in an excellent comedic performance). The movie centers on Gustave's relationship with new lobby boy "Zero Moustafa"(Tony Revolori), the main narrator of the story, and their wacky adventures after the mysterious death of "Madame D"(an unrecognizable Tilda Swinton). This movie deserved each and every one of the nine Oscar nominations it received, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being the movie with the most Oscars won on sunday night.
10) Andrés: American Sniper
Bradley Cooper gives the best performance of his career and he didn’t even make my Top 5 for Best Actor. Have I mentioned how great this year was for Acting? This is a man who now has 3 straight nominations. Cooper has come a long way from his Hangover days and is no longer a rising star in Hollywood, he is a full-fledged STAR who can carry any project.
9) MP: Under the Skin
Quick Note: There are no bonus points for great movie posters in these rankings.
As you can see from the image above, this movie has you in a trance from its very first "Kubrickian" shot, and it doesn't let go until the very end. It features some of the most disturbing scenes of the year, including that poor baby on the beach, the skin-sucking alien black hole, and the ending where the alien inside Scarlett Johansson's body is burned alive, that will stay inside my head forever. Those moments are complimented by great direction from Jonathan Glazer, and Mica Levi's mesmerizing Original Score that inexplicably was ignored by the Academy. The movie is a tough watch, so it might not be for everyone, but I recommend you expand your movie-watching horizons and give this one a shot. I am certain that 10 years from now Under the Skin will be considered one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies of its time.
9) Andrés: Begin Again
The music! The music! The music! From the first song of the movie when we hear Keira Knightley reluctantly sing her song at a bar (and we see Mark Ruffalo’s musical imagination go wild), to a “best scene of the year nominee” for me in the impromptu concert at a rooftop, to Adam Levine performing the Oscar nominated “Lost Stars” at the conclusion of the movie, the music in this film is just wonderful!
Mark Ruffalo can do no wrong as he is again phenomenal (and this wasn’t even the movie he was nominated for this year, that was “Foxcatcher”). Keira Knightley has never been more lovable (she was also nominated for another movie this year, “The Imitation Game”), and with the city of New York playing Supporting Actor in the background, Begin Again is the best musical film since “Once”, also from writer/director John Carney(if you haven’t seen “Once” what are you waiting for!?).
8) MP: Selma
The most important movie of the year due to the events in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York, and the nationwide protests they triggered, in the months prior to the film's release. Selma is the story of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama led by Dr. Martin Luther King in a quest to gain equal voting rights for disenfranchised african-americans in the south. Ava DuVernay, directing only her 4th full length feature, displays a deftness and grace with this difficult material that was worthy of an Oscar nomination in my mind. And speaking of Oscar snubs, how in the world could the Academy ignore David Oyelowo's transformative work as Dr. King!? I'm still feeling those goosebumps today from every one of his speeches / sermons.
Selma once again gained national attention on January 15th, when the Oscar nominations were announced and Selma was only mentioned twice, for Best Picture and Best Original Song. I'm certain those Oscar snubs won't be Selma's lasting legacy. Much like The Grand Budapest Hotel, this is a movie that excels in every aspect of filmmaking, from the excellent ensemble cast, to the original screenplay that maintained Dr. King's essence without being able to use his real speeches(you didn't notice, right?), to the excellent cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, and hair & makeup design that brought 1960's Alabama to life.
8) Andrés: Chef
Hands down, the feel-good movie of the year! Written, directed, and starring Jon Favreau, I just loved this movie about a Father & Son bonding experience to envy, and food so good it really made me want to learn how to cook and not just re-heat things.
I don’t get the rule from the Academy that films have to be artistically great or innovative in order for them to be nominated or considered for awards(isn’t this the same problem that happens with comedies?). Chef is just fine being your run of the mill family feel-good movie, and that’s what makes it great. You see it in every life lesson Chef Casper teaches his son through the thing he is most passionate about, and that’s cooking a great meal. Everybody can connect with these characters, and this movie just leaves you satisfied and smiling at the end, just like the great food cooked up by Chef Casper.
7) MP: The Babadook
The best horror movie I've seen since 2002's The Ring. Jennifer Kent's feature length directorial debut is an adaptation of her own short film "Monster". What makes this movie so fascinating is that "The Babadook" isn't an ordinary scary movie monster. "The Babadook" represents the emotional demons that main character "Amelia"(Essie Davis) can't let go of. We see those demons come to life in her fractured relationship with her difficult son "Samuel"(Noah Wiseman), whose father died in a car accident the same day he was born. Essie Davis gives the Best Female Lead Performance of the year for me as a woman who is gradually losing her sanity, and that's before "The Babadook" jumps out of his story book and tries to possess her in order to kill the entire family, even the poor dog. From everything we see from "Amelia" throughout the movie, by the end there is much doubt, for us and for her son, as to who we should be scared of exactly, "The Babadook" or her.
7) Andrés: Snowpiercer
This movie came out of nowhere for me, and I’m surprised how much I enjoyed it. A futuristic thrill ride with a little Hunger Games mixed into it, just sooo much better! Snowpiercer sucks you right in to the times it is set in, and it also makes you think about never eating jello again.
This film just has it all, it is wonderfully made, it’s visually mesmerizing and the production design is just perfect! Apart from that, it is really well acted. Tilda Swinton in particular is her usual amazing self and Chris Evans may have just pulled a Bradley Cooper and reached a level I never knew he could reach. But best of all about Snowpiercer is that the film is trying to get a point across to us, and they succeed in their social commentary. Just a great film all around that’s entertaining from beginning to end. A must watch!
6) MP: Boyhood
I love Richard Linklater. 2013's Before Midnight completed(?) one of the greatest movie love stories, and trilogies, of all time. I had it ranked #2 in last year's Top 10, and I have it ranked as my 3rd best movie of the decade so far(an upcoming post). I had to get that out of the way first because now I'm gonna try to explain why Boyhood is only #6 in my rankings and not higher like in my brother's, and many other lists.
It basically comes down to one thing: the Screenplay. Aside from the four main characters, I thought almost every other character was under-developed, particularly Mason's drunk stepfather, but also including his other "stepdad", his girlfriend, his high school photography teacher, his boss at the restaurant, that gardener guy who's now a restaurant manager thanks to the inspirational power of Mason's mom and nothing else, the pro & anti - Obama fanatics who happen to live on the same street, I mean, pretty much everybody. I get that with the 12 year gimmick the movie was trying to pull off it would be impossible to get a full background for every single character, but in my mind they could've done better than what they ended up with, and every time one of these stereotypical characters appeared on screen it took me away from the full 12 year experience.
Now, that being said, this movie gets more things right than it gets wrong(it's still the 6th best movie I saw last year), and every time it does it packs an emotional wallop. I have two kids of my own now, so I'm seeing first hand how quickly time flies by. The movie's main achievement, however, is capturing the magical feeling of growing up, something we can all identify with. Who hasn't had to paint their old room when they're moving out(something I just had to do), or heard their parents arguing through the door, or had fights with their brother/sister, or gone to their first baseball game with their dad, or had an awkward first crush/first date/first kiss, or had their first crappy job, or their first used car? Everyone, right? Ok, let's move on.
6) Andrés: Interstellar
5) MP: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
In the current "franchise" era in Hollywood where it seems that every movie released is a sequel, or a threequel, or a prequel, or a sequel to a prequel, it's so refreshing to get a sequel that actually expands the world it has created and dares to take its characters in new and interesting directions. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of those "sequels to a prequel", but the movie stands perfectly on its own. It opens with a quick prologue that eliminates the need to have seen the first movie. However, those who have seen the first movie will enjoy this one even more because of the emotional connection with main ape "Caesar".
Andy Serkis gives an Oscar worthy motion capture performance as the super smart chimpanzee who was raised by humans and has now established an ape colony where he takes care of his own family. His right-hand ape is "Koba"(Toby Kebbell in another great motion capture performance) who, in sharp contrast from "Caesar", only experienced torture from humans as part of scientific experiments in the first movie. As soon as the apes encounter a group of humans desperate to survive, the movie turns into a study of the inevitability of war, of how humanity's violent tendencies always overshadow our peaceful side. While the human's leaders, Malcolm(Jason Clarke) and Dreyfus(Gary Oldman), strategize as to the best way to deal with the ape threat, and vice versa, Koba's pent up hatred of the humans comes out in full force and he betrays Caesar and proceeds to lead the apes into all-out war against the humans.
Director Matt Reeves tackles this heavy material with perfect precision. The movie's ensemble cast, production design, costume design, original score, sound effects, cinematography, and editing are all excellent. There is, however, one aspect that stands out, and that is the groundbreaking visual effects. Even though the Academy tried its best to completely ignore this movie, despite my best efforts, there was no way they could snub these visual effects. Don't make the same mistake the Academy did, watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as soon as you can. You won't be disappointed.
5) Andrés: Selma
The story of the Oscars has become the lack of respect shown to Selma. I have my personal opinion in all this, just like everyone else, but the fact remains that this is still one of the best films of the year. Like I heard Spike Lee say in a recent interview when asked about the numerous snubs to Selma: “The art will speak for itself”, so let’s not worry about the lack of nominations.
That being said, perhaps the biggest snub of the year was David Oyelowo not getting nominated for his portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. TRAVESTY!!!! The movie is still nominated for Best Picture for a reason. It’s wonderfully directed by Ava DuVernay, has great acting all around (Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, and Tom Wilkinson stand out), and it succeeds in telling a wonderful story. Isn’t that what the movies are all about?
4) MP: Calvary
... or(The Underrated Virtue of Forgiveness)
No, that's not part of the movie's official title, as in another of the films that's higher in both our rankings, but when I first heard it expressed like that in on online review of the film by Father Robert Barron, I thought it was perfect. If Selma and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes show us some of the worst aspects of humanity, and the Academy's refusal to nominate these movies show us how we continue to turn a blind eye to these subjects, then Calvary provides us with an antidote: forgiveness.
This is the movie that every religious person should've seen last year, not those "so bad, they're awful" movies like Heaven is for Real, God's not Dead, Son of God, and Noah(seriously, how much did they have to pay Darren Aronofsky to make this movie?). But you know what makes me hate humanity( a lá Gustave H) sometimes, the fact that most people actually saw one or more of those movies, and up until a few seconds ago didn't even know that Calvary existed. Well, thanks to Father James(Brendan Gleeson in my favorite performance of the year), I've learned the value of forgiveness. And if he can forgive the man who has threatened to kill him in less than one week, and he's willing to sacrifice himself in his personal "Calvary", just like Jesus did, in the name of his parishioner's sins, then I can forgive you for not watching this film yet, and I can forgive the Academy for awarding ZERO nominations to one of my favorite movies of the year.
4) Andrés: Whiplash
My pick for indie of the year! While everybody has been talking about J.K. Simmons's Oscar winning turn, and yes, the man is a lock as a teacher at a prestigious music school (the guy is pure evil!), this film is a lot more than that. It really is a back and forth battle of wills between the two stars: Simmons and his student Miles Teller, a star in the making who if he wasn’t overshadowed by Simmons we may be taking about a Best Actor nomination (he made my top 5).
Whiplash really is about this young man’s strive for excellence and the fact that nobody, not even the evil professor, will stop him from achieving it. What’s great about Teller’s performance is that it never seems like he’s overacting while literally going sick over his obsession. His gradual slip into madness is wonderfully acted and you’re right there with him in the chase. Plus the ending of this movie is just so awesome! That drum solo with the wonderful editing going back and forth between Simmons and Teller was perfection.
3) MP: The LEGO Movie
"Everything is awesome indeed. Awesome story, awesome voice cast(featuring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman), awesome animation, awesome cameos, awesome twist, and, of course, an awesome song. It's the story of how we're all special and we all have the ability to create and inspire others, told through the magic of Legos."
That's what I wrote in my Best of the Year(so far) rankings in July when I had The LEGO Movie as my #1 movie. 7 months later, and a full year after its release, everything is still awesome. The only not-awesome thing related to this movie is the fact that the Academy didn't nominate it for Best Animated Feature. In LEGO Movie terms, the Academy would be "Lord Business", wanting to suppress creativity and have every movie be exactly the same, and Phil Lord & Chris Miller are the "Master Builders", always creating the blueprint for what every future movie will look like.
3) Andrés: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
While Selma got all the snub attention from the Oscars, perhaps the bigger snub was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (hey, at least Selma still got nominated for Best Picture). I did a little research looking into big budget summer blockbusters that were nominated for Oscars, and I had to go all the way back to 2010 (Inception) before I could find one. I know, I know, there are a lot of Transformers, Pearl Harbor, and Armageddon types put out every year (notice the Michael Bay theme. Seriously dude, just STOP!), but every once in a while, a great film will come out of this. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is that movie.
From the opening montage, explaining the events of the outbreak that had gotten us to this point and killed most of the human race, until the very end, you are just sucked into this world with these characters. "Caesar", played brilliantly by Andy Serkis (seriously, this guy should’ve been nominated for his work), is the “man” and leader we all strive to be in our lives. This movie simply has no flaws and by the end you’ll be rooting for the Apes. Kinda tells you something about the human race huh?
2) MP: Force Majeure
That's two straight years now where I've put a movie in my #2 spot about a long-term couple with 2 kids who are forced to deal with the sudden deterioration of their relationship. Just like with Jesse and Celine in last year's Before Midnight, I identified so much with "Tomas" and "Ebba" because my relationship with my wife just passed the 10-year mark, and we also have two kids. Now, we haven't experienced our own "force majeure"(defined as an event or effect that can't be reasonably anticipated or controlled, or for you religious people out there, an "act of god". Perfect title!), such as an avalanche coming straight at us forcing us to make a split-second decision where any person could understandably make a mistake. However, that avalanche of emotions that comes with being in a long-term relationship, where, more often than not, both parties tend to mess up? Oh yeah, we've had to face those.
Swedish filmmaker(yes, the movie is in Swedish, with a bit of English, but if you let that stop you from seeing it you're crazy) Ruben Ostlund wrote and directed this powerful movie, with a darkly comedic tone, that will force you to think about how we look at gender roles in our society(a topic that's currently making headlines in Puerto Rico, where I live). The movie presents what can happen when the male figure in a family is emasculated to the point of total humiliation, and how devastated and helpless the female can become as a consequence. The two leads, particularly Lisa Loven Kongsli as the utterly heartbroken "Ebba", do an excellent job conveying every one of these difficult emotions.
But the one person who owns this movie is director Ruben Ostlund. The tone of this movie is perfect throughout, he makes bold choices with the story, the editing, and the Original Score, and the cinematography was the most beautiful I saw in any movie last year. In my opinion, he deserved an Oscar nomination for his work. Then again, any nomination for the movie would've been nice as it was completely ignored by the Academy(man, there seems to be a recurring theme in these rankings).
In an example of "art imitating life" on par with former "Batman" Michael Keaton playing former "Birdman" Riggan Thomson in Birdman, Ruben Ostlund's reaction when the movie was snubbed for Best Foreign Language Film by the Academy completely matched his main character's legendary movie man-cry. Real or staged? Who cares! Just like Force Majeure, it was great entertainment.
2) Andrés: Birdman or(The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Man, this was a tough choice between #1 and #2, but Birdman was really more of a 1B. This movie is innovative, clever, funny, brilliantly acted ... should I go on? What makes Birdman really special to me is the one continuous long take that director Alejandro G. Iñárritu uses. A personal favorite scene in movie history for me is in Goodfellas when Henry and Karen are entering the Copacabana through a side door, and Martin Scorsese uses the same shot to follow the actors's every move through the club. I just think there is no better way to submerge an audience into your film/world than by using this strategy. Scorsese did this for a 3-minute scene, Birdman does this for the entire movie, and it’s just wonderful! Just think for a minute about the kind of planning and TIMING with actors and crew that has to go into doing some of these long takes … now do an entire 2-hour movie like this. Just brilliant!
Ok, so we know the movie was artistically innovative and beautifully made (seriously, how do you nominate this movie for Best Picture, Directing and Cinematography ... but not Editing? WHAT!?). That alone gets you in my Top 10, but what makes this movie #2 in this great year is that it was just so great all around. Birdman truly has it all, the great script, brilliant acting, edge of your seat moments, and it’s really funny on top of it all.
1) MP: Birdman or(The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
In a very close race between Force Majeure and Birdman for my #1 spot, ultimately Birdman won out. Birdman was just released on Blu-Ray & DVD today, so I'm planning to watch it for a second time before the Oscars on sunday. However, having watched Birdman in theaters one time was more than enough for me to name it my Best Movie of 2014.
This movie is 2 hours of non-stop brilliance. The whole "one take" gimmick never felt like a gimmick to me. I was completely on board for the ride the entire time, unlike with Boyhood where I didn't feel a connection at various stages of its gimmick. Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki created something that had never been seen before. I honestly can't imagine how either one will top themselves. My brother just said it, it's so difficult to make just a 3 minute continuous take like the one in Goodfellas, that a 2 hour movie in this format was previously unimaginable. It's almost like a "Perfect Game" in baseball. Everything needs to go exactly right or all the previous hard work can be ruined by one mistake at the end. If you don't believe me, ask Mike Mussina, or Armando Galarraga(although I wonder what the equivalent of an umpire blowing a call is in filmmaking).
Now, if Iñárritu is the manager, and Lubezki is the pitching coach, then the lineup that they had to work with is an All-Star Team of talent(boy, I'm really crazy for the baseball season to start). Michael Keaton gives the best performance of his career(yes, that is saying something) in a role that pretty much was designed for him. The same can be said of the character played by Edward Norton, adding another excellent performance to his resumé. The rest of the "role players", including Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, and Zach Galifianakis, are excellent as well. All this, and I haven't even mentioned what the movie's about. But you know what, it's better if you go into this movie knowing as little about the plot as possible. For me, it was like one of those roller coasters where you're going backwards and you have no idea in what direction it's gonna take you next.
Birdman is tied with The Grand Budapest Hotel for the most Oscar nomination with 9, and just like that movie, it deserved every single one. However, there is one nomination it didn't get that really sticks out. To complete the theme of the Academy's ridiculous Oscar snubs of 2014, we have Birdman's snub for Best Editing. The movie is so technically perfect that the Academy members actually believed that it was just one 2-hour take and that no editing was needed. That's a shame, since the last movie to win Best Picture without a Best Editing nomination was 1980's Ordinary People.
It's pretty much a dead heat between Birdman and Boyhood for Best Picture at sunday night's Oscars. We might see some history and get a Birdman win, which I would like since it would make 2 straight years where my favorite movie won Best Picture. But then again, a Boyhood win would be historic as well. Ever since the movie premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, it's received unanimous praise, and it was the movie that made the most appearances at the #1 spot of year-end Top 10 Lists. Speaking of which ...
1) Andrés: Boyhood
Mason: "So what’s the point?"
Dad: "Of what?"
Mason: "I don’t know, any of this. Everything."
Dad: "Everything? What’s the point? I mean, I sure as shit don’t know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We’re all just winging it, you know? The good news is you’re feeling stuff. And you’ve got to hold on to that."
Isn’t it great when you have that moment watching a movie that you just know you’re going to remember forever and just makes you feel something (like Robin Williams, as the genie, telling Aladdin “No matter what anybody says, you’ll always be a prince to me” or Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous saying “I’m always home, I’m uncool!”). In this moment from Boyhood I just couldn’t help but think of the day when my future son will come up to me and ask me a question like this and I get to share a moment this awesome with him.
As good as Birdman was, this is why Boyhood was my favorite movie of the year. Boyhood is a 2 hour 45 minute / 12 year masterpiece of a journey through the life of a family that, if there’s one thing I can say for certain it’s that this is a movie we can ALL connect with. It’s a movie about life, what better and easier way to connect with a movie than that. Thank you Richard Linklater!
