TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2014… ELIMINATION STYLE

I love elimination style of anything because it narrows down to the best of the best in the end. And 2014 has already wrapped up and I’ve watched 62 movies out of hundreds.

This time I want a different style of reviewing, I want to include the process of elimination I’ve made in choosing the top 10 movies this year. Of course, it’ll be clear to everyone that most of the films I’ve seen this year are more like publicly known rather than those award winning acclaimed movies, which probably have greater story to some I’ve chosen. But let’s not ignore the fact that these movies that I’ve chosen are famous and box office hit for a reason.

There’ll be four parts in this review, and I’ll explain each below.

PART I:

In this part, I list down all the 62 films I’ve seen and got rid of those intolerable, or to be direct, totally HIDEOUS movies that are the fails of 2014.

For me, I guess the worst film I’ve seen would be ‘THE HUNGOVER GAMES’. I can’t even put on words on how bad it was: it even was worse than 2013’s ‘THIS IS THE END’, you have this comedy that’s trying hard to make a good spoof but it went from bad comedy to painful comedy.

And I think I would like to mention ‘SPIDER-MAN 2’ as well as one of the WORST films of 2014. I never really fancied the reboot because Toby McGuire’s version was ten times way better that this one which has a dysfunctional storyline, cast and villains and the Part 2 is worst in its much anticipation from an extravagant worldwide promotion.

‘STEP UP: ALL IN’ was another fail. Whatever happened to this awesome and cool dance film? It went down with its really cheesy storyline and cheap dialogues and dance showdowns.

PART II:

After filtering the films and taken away those I can’t tolerate; in this part, I already took away those movies that I CAN tolerate, or those we call the so-so films: not good but not bad either.

The film ‘UNDER THE SKIN’ is a complicated, artistic and has a life reality innuendo with it that sometimes borderline ridiculous and genius, but somehow I missed the point. Everybody’s ranting about how great this film was and their grand eureka moment in questioning things about life, but it did made me feel confused a bit, although I had my assumptions on what the point really is, but I’m not that sure.

The horror films ‘PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES’, ‘OCULUS’, and ‘ANNABELLE’ were for me just right but not that splendid especially on Annabelle which is really daunting but not as daunting as ‘THE CONJURING’. The story missed the mark here with Annabelle.

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies as well is the film I have tolerated in 2014. It’s not really good, especially when you look at the three movies holistically, but it’s not bad as well since the last parts always are usually (if not tolerable) good (e.g. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2).

Disney movies such as ‘MALEFICENT’ and ‘BIG HERO 6’ are for me quite childish for my taste and are mediocre compared to the past renditions of twisted ‘SNOW WHITE’ story and the like. And as for the latter: ‘FROZEN’ which has been part of ‘BIG HERO 6’s promotion.

PART III:

Here on the third part, I rated the films on the scale of 1 to 10 (sounds like Baymax hehe), lowest to highest respectively, and the basis will always be the first film on top which is 300: Rise of an Empire. For whatever score I gave to that film, the score of the next film on the list will be compared to it, so on.

300: Rise of an Empire – 7

Divergent – 9

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – 10

Neighbors – 6

Godzilla – 6

X-Men: Days of Future Past – 8

A Million Ways to Die in the West – 6

22 Jump Street – 8

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – 8

Hercules – 8

Lucy – 7

Guardians of the Galaxy – 10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 8

What If – 7

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – 7

The Maze Runner – 9

Gone Girl – 10

Horns – 8

Interstellar – 9

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – 9

The Interview – 8

The Grand Budapest Hotel – 8

Snowpiercer – 10

PART IV:

And finally, here I have the list of The Top 10 Films of 2014.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Snowpiercer
4. Gone Girl
5. Divergent
6. Interstellar
7. The Maze Runner
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
9. X-Men: Days of Future Past
10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

When you ask me what’s the best film in 2014, I would say ‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER’… although ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ is quite a bombshell last year, so I ended up rambling on what really is the top one. But since these two MARVEL films are on the same universe, but if we base it content-wise, I think CapAm wins the game… box office-wise and by winning the hearts of millions of people: Guardians wins. But I’ll go with content.

‘SNOWPIERCER’ is a huge superstar film in 2014 which awed me to the extreme. It’s very unique, very compelling and the awesome anecdote of reality surprised me especially in dealing with the cynicism in societal hierarchy.

‘GONE GIRL’ and ‘INTERSTELLAR’ are no-brainers upon including them to the list… I mean, we have David Fincher and Christopher Nolan here… what could go wrong?

Dystopian films ‘THE MAZE RUNNER’ and ‘THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY’ are in as well because of their really emotionally charged, rotten future conundrum  that somehow reached from the screen to the hearts of the people.

‘X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST’ are in my 9^th although I consider it as the greatest X-MEN film ever. And last but not the least is ‘DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES’ which was emotional, heartwarming, and just really good.

In a nutshell, 2014 is jam-packed of beautiful and amazing films. My list of top 10 is considered the best of the best, but those films I rated are already a good-watch in that sense like, ’22 JUMP STREET’, ‘HORNS’, ‘THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL’, ‘THE INTERVIEW’, ‘WHAT IF’ and many others.

And that’s it for 2014. Did I miss a movie? How about you, what were your favorites last year?

15 FAVORITE MOVIES IN MY RECENT MEMORY, COULD BE YOURS TOO

We can’t deny, movies offer us an escape, it gives us a pleasure to have another reality, a more complicated; sometimes happy sometimes tragic, but nevertheless: Entertaining.

I’ve been a movie fan ever since I was a kid. Film-making fascinates me way back then, and I’ve sure had directed a documentary way back in college using phone cameras, and also fan music videos of me and my friends, and hopefully develop my skills in the future.

(Read here for my top 10 movies of 2013)

Film-making is such a difficult task to do and creating an impact is another story.

In this blog post, I’m going to sum up all of the movies that got stuck in my mind in the recent memory I’ve watched in random.

 

1. The Prestige

I’ll start with magic.

The prestige is one of the most unforgettable movies I’ve ever seen. It’s directed by non-other than The Dark Knight series writer and director; Christopher Nolan, and the film depicts two talented magicians in battle of betrayal and revenge.

It’s just whooping Five out of Five stars for me. It’s very, very engaging, complex and mind boggling. My theory even went from human duplication (which I was correct) to time travelling. It was just so exciting and thrilling.

The ending was just perfect. This film is a no brainer for me; it directly hits the mark in my mind whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie is.

This film stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.

 

2. The Talented Mr. Ripley

Wow, although this movie was long but wow, this film still remains in my head up to this day. I’ve always loved the fact that I would never have a single thought on what the plot of a movie might be.

And this worked for me.

This psychological thriller is definitely a must watch.

Matt Damon stars in this film as a normal boy turned con artist turned murderer. I loved the fact that even when the character of Damon was also the main villain of the film; you would love for him to be saved from all of the crime investigations.

I had the adrenalin watching this film. It’s really worth it.

 

3. In Time

Well, this is one of the movies that many people will react to negatively. But really, I am overwhelmed by it due to its interesting plot and complicated story.

Although it received favorable reviews from ‘top critics’; I must say that I really did love watching every bit of this film.

It was exciting for me, although the plot is expected and you will know how it ends; still, it remains stuck in my head up to this day because I applaud the originality.

This film was directed by Andrew Niccol and starred Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake.

 

4. Inception

Speaking of originality; another Nolan film that I LOVED is Inception.

I love dreams and exploring it is my kind of thing; and Nolan created a storyline that would incorporate dreaming and it’s just well executed.

I mean, most of his films are well done, and most of it are my favorites, actually.

This cringe worthy film is just perfect for those who love excitement in adventure plus originality of the story. The plot is not complicated, but it’s not predictable. It’s crazy but not over-the-top.

This film stars (one of my favorite actors) Leonardo DiCaprio.

 

5. The Dark Knight

I told ya there’s going to be another Nolan film included.

Besides Heath Ledger’s  AWSOMENAJGBEABSASHHAGSHGEAH performance; this film is perfect, a great epitome of reliving a comic masterpiece.

I never loved Batman before… No, but Nolan made me love him.

 

6. Serendipity

C’mon! I’m a hopeless romantic kind of person!

Although this chick-flick is substandard to those who claims to have high level of taste (duh), but this rom-com is my favorite of all. The story is what I’m most fond of; it’s a delight to see a movie that will bother you the least from all the killings and heavy drama. It’s very nonchalant yet exciting. It’s somewhat what everyone had hoped for once in their lives, to actually have a soul-mate of their own and appears to them in the future and they lived happy ever after.

You should see this movie on Christmas, it’s just perfect…

Okay, whatevs. The movie is somewhat impossible; but relax! Chill down! Try to acknowledge the hopeless romantic in you.

This movie is directed by Peter Chelsom and starred Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, (If you haven’t seen this, but they’ve only been together in the beginning and end of the movie)

 

7. If Only

To embrace all of me being hopeless romantic, here’s the movie If Only. It’s a romantic-fantasy-tragic film that will leave you in tears.

It’s beautifully well-acted and well-directed.

The story is so beautiful it will make you think about making most out of it before everything is gone. It’s just so heart-breaking and so beautiful.

This movie is directed by Gil Junger and starred my ever favorite Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nicholls.

*sobs

 

8. Iron Man 3

Iron Man started the standard of a unified universe for a story, specifically in Comics. And not even DC could come up with a good plan to counterpart the Marvel Universe. The third film of Iron Man was the best at the time it came out, and I wondered how Marvel will even top it. Not until the next one on the list came.

 

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This came out 2014 (which is this year), and I still can’t believe how Marvel pulled off a great story out from having perfection from Iron Man 3. Comparing to Iron Man 3; The Winter Soldier has a strong and solid story which captures your attention up to the end. Action scenes are so satisfying and amped up that will leave you on the edge of your seat. I am so excited on what’s to come for Marvel. Click here for my review

10. Avengers

Okay, first of all, I’m not a Comic geek; I just LOVE movies. (Although there’s nothing wrong about being a comic geek) But Marvel really brought out that geekness in me and I’m loving it.

Avengers was the conclusion of the Phase 1 and it’s crazy.

11. Frozen

From the funny sequences to the songs that create a Last Song Syndrome to the solid story, you can never get wrong with this film. I need not explain because everyone has already seen this. Period. Click here for my review

 

12. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

This is my favorite Dystopian book series and it’s been made into movies. I would never like for movies to screw it up, but then it exudes excellence especially on Catching Fire where the excitement I felt while reading the book was magnified thru a cinematic experience. Really, really beautiful! Click here for my review.

 

13. Bridesmaid

This one is hell of a funny movie. I just can’t stop laughing from the nonchalant sequences yet hilariously portrayed. It’s brilliant and crazy.

 

14. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

Actually, I’ll be very biased to the entire Harry Potter Series because I grew up with it. And the brilliant mind of Jo Rowling captured the hearts and imagination of people around the globe, and reimagining it on the big screen, it was just pure perfection. ‘Nuff Said.

 

15. Now You See Me

I started the list with magic, and now I’ll end with magic.

The film Now You See Me is a movie that I really enjoyed watching. If entertainment and amazement is what you find in a movie; this is what you’re looking for.

This film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman and many others.

 

Whatever your favorite film might be, it may be different from mine, but still one thing’s for sure; we all have escaped and enjoyed that chance to be part of something far from our reality.

 

You, what’s your favorite movie?

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2013 IN TWO PERSPECTIVES | MOVIE REVIEW

It’s reasonable enough to create a one sided critique because it’s somebody’s opinion and it matters. But when two heads come together to pick their tops; you have the comparison and a conclusion that one differs from the other and that’s important in understanding criticism; that one may experience epic in a certain something, and the other might not; that one may have pleasure in watching the movie/TV Series, and one may find it absurd.

So, my partner and I decided to create a Top 10 Movies we’ve watched in 2013 since we are both movie-goers and below follows mine first and then my partner’s:

MY TOP 10:

I’ve come up with these top 10 by the process of elimination: by first listing down all of the movies I’ve watched and started to eliminate down to 10.

1. Man of Steel – When I was asked by my partner to write about my top 10 movies in 2013; Man of Steel came in naturally. A revamped story of Superman plus stunning visual effects made me proud to have seen a perfect revision.

2. Frozen – Perfect plot, fancy songs and a fairy tale story that did not focus on Boy meets girl, boy marries girl and they lived happy ever after. Frozen is a musical spectacle that culminates wonder and fun.

3. Iron Man 3 –Iron Man 3 who took it to the highest level. Tony Stark’s struggle in being Iron Man and a continuity of the Avengers and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is exciting. Although panned by fans due to the unprecedented twist in ‘Tony Stark’s most powerful villain of all’; Mandarin, but fanboys can be irritating sometimes; but truth is, Iron Man 3 sums it all up for Tony Stark.

4. World War Z – Zombies for me is just as lame as vampires (hi Twilight) but this heart pounding version is not like any other. Zombies do run fast and scientifically created, not mythical. The dénouement gives me satisfaction too.

5. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Probably the most exciting movie of the year. All of the other movies were full of amusement, but this one, I’ve heard and felt all of the emotions from people in the cinema. Catching Fire surpassed its predecessor and I love how it was true to the book.

6. Gravity – What I loved about Gravity was the cinematography play and the depth of Sandra Bullock’s acting. Although the plot was straight from point one to point two (survival plot), the way it was created was as of its perfection.

7. Now You See Me – The underrated movie of the year is one of my most favourites. Although this movie is on the top of the most found plot-holes this year; the story-telling in the movie is satisfying and shocking. Visually entertaining and fascinating.

8. The Croods – The most heart-warming movie of the year goes to The Croods. With indefatigable comic sequences to exciting plot, you could never go wrong with The Croods.

9. Insidious 2 – The unexpected sequel and the plot is terrifyingly enthralling. I loved how they made continuity to the first one that made sense and how daunting it was up until I got home from the cinema.

10. OZ: Great and Powerful – Visually entertaining and exciting. The movie is long yet satisfaction guaranteed by the end of it.

MY PARTNER’S TOP 10:

1. Iron Man 3 – Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man I think is reason enough why this movie is on my list.

2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – The book is my favourite in the trilogy and the movie was faithful to the book. What’s not to love?

3. Gravity – Alfonso Cuarón’s style partnered with good cinematography makes an excellent outer space movie like we have never seen before. Putting Sandra Bullock as lead and George Clooney for support makes a movie only a fool would miss.

4. The Croods – I love a family movie where I can watch with my mom and niece and just laugh our hearts off. I could barely stay on my seat.

5. We’re the Millers – This is not the typical family movie and definitely not the type you watch with your parents. But what I like about this film is this is the movie that made me realize that Jennifer Aniston is indeed funny, really funny!

6. The Great Gatsby – The movie criticizes the often irresponsible lifestyles of wealthy people and Leonardo DiCaprio as the lovestruck Jay Gatsby just feels so right.

7. Frozen – Several film critics considers this to be the best Disney animated musical since the studio’s renaissance era. The story, the songs, and the humour adds up you will have to agree the critics are right.

8. Now You See Me – I enjoy a movie about magic because there are endless possibilities how the movie can end. I almost always see how a movie can end but this time I was in for a surprise.

9. The Purge – Let’s just put it this way; I like a movie where almost everyone gets killed. I know there’s something not right with me.

10. Trance – This is a Danny Boyle film and I love manipulative women who play with danger.

CONCLUSION:

Basically, my partner and I have six out of ten common movies in different sequences, and these are Iron Man 3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Gravity, The Croods, Frozen and Now You See Me. Obviously, Iron Man 3 scored the highest in this top 10 of ours (since I also rated 5 stars for the movie), because it was sincerely good; actually great! We thought that creating Iron Man 4 would be a suicide since the third film is the peak of all the Marvel movies before it.

Catching Fire made it on my partner’s top list, also I rated it 5 stars; so it’s obviously one of the best movies in 2013.

What made it shocking to most is having Now You See Me in our list. I have to be honest, but it was really, really good. Although some might take it as a cheap thrill, having too many plot-holes and a shocking twist in the end; but the theme was all about illusion and the science of it. So, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and clearly didn’t find answers to all the questionable plot-holes I realized while still watching the movie. It’s really captivating and terrifyingly good. I can’t help but to put it on my top.