Best Movies of 2014 - By Ray Manukay

 This Article first appeared on PassMeThePopcorn: (Now Defunct)

By Ray Manukay

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

 
A Most Violent Year
 
Chef
 
Birdman
 
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
 
The Lego Movie
 
Under the Skin
 
Magic in the Moonlight 

Edge of Tomorrow
 
The Drop
 
Boyhood

 

 

And here are my favorite films of 2014…

 

 

 

#15: A Most Wanted Man

 
directed by ANTON CORBIJN
 

 

#14: Noah

 
directed by DARREN ARONOFSKY
 

 

#13: Guardians of the Galaxy

 
directed by JAMES GUNN
 

 

#12: Begin Again

 
directed by JOHN CARNEY
 

 

#11: The Imitation Game

 
directed by MORTEN TYLDUM
 

 

And my Top 10 Films of 2014 are…

 

#10: Inherent Vice

 
directed by PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
 

 
Thomas Pynchon’s works are noted for their complexity, digressions and eccentric characters. All of those traits are present in the challenging and off-kilter Inherent Vice.
 
The film is an intentionally, awkward, mish-mash of genres that prefers to be absorbed rather than deciphered. Just when the viewer starts to get some semblance of the direction the story is taking us, Paul Thomas Anderson and Thomas Pynchon delightfully take the viewer down a different and more complex rabbit hole.
 
This is where the film can make it or break it for the viewer.
 
Although one can argue Inherent Vice fails to deliver a satisfying, traditional, and tidy cinematic story. The truth is Inherent Vice is more about the journey than the destination.
 
And it is a great journey. One that deserves and arguably requires repeat viewings to fully be appreciated.
 

 

# 9: Only Lovers Left Alive

 
directed by JIM JARMUSCH
 

 
I’d be hard pressed to come up with a genre more over-saturated in entertainment than vampires.
 
But director Jim Jarmusch still manages to add his own unique, eccentric spin to the vampire mythology. Less interested in the typical blood lust and super-powered abilities that most stories about the creatures focus on , Jarmusch examines the emotional and psychological price of immortality.
 
How torturous would it be for immensely educated, centuries-old cultured beings to exist in a world full of primitive, base and short-sighted, immature humans?
 
Putting aside the philosophical element of the film Only Lovers Left Alive is just a cool movie. Beautiful look, hip feel, and just an awesome overall uniquely Jarmusch vibe.
 

#8: Blue Ruin

 
directed by JEREMY SAULNIER
 

 
Revenge. In all it’s bloody, complicated and sticky forms and consequences.
 
Arguably, some of the most suspenseful and thrilling cinematic sequences of the year.
 
The less the viewer knows about the film going in the better. I’ll simply say check it out.

 

#7:The Raid 2

 
directed by GARETH EVANS
 

 
At its core The Raid 2 features cops, robbers… and just plain, wicked, violent, gangster shit.
 
But story is not what one watches The Raid 2 for.
 
Super extended and elaborate fight sequences and thrilling non-cgi action make this the best pure action film of the year.
 
Don’t let the subtitles intimidate. Just pure, glorious, bloody action.
 

#6:The Immigrant

 
directed by JAMES GRAY
 

 
If the reader has never heard of the film The Immigrant I wouldn’t be surprised. Released without any promotional support…at all.. the movie came and went with barely a whisper.
 
The problem is that The Immigrant was a fantastic movie.
 
Not only does the film feature excellent performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant is also an absolutely gorgeous film.
 
I mean incredibly, stunning and jaw dropping production design. During my screening I literally paused the film mid-viewing just to admire the scenery and cinematography.
 
At one point I became convinced that director James Gray and his cast and crew took a time machine to 1920’s New York and shot this film.
 
Shamefully under-rated The Immigrant deserves to be seen and rightfully praised. Don’t let this film slip by.
 

 

#5: Nightcrawler

 
directed by DAN GILROY
 

 
I am of the strong opinion that most television news is more harmful than helpful or even informative for that matter.
 
Nightcrawler confirms my beliefs.
 
Dan Gilroy’s look at exploitative network news is at once illuminating and morbidly thrilling. Featuring an excellent performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, the movie examines the relationship between news reporting and providing entertainment to the masses.
 
It is easy to blame the media for the seedy featured content shown nightly on news programs. But the truth is that we the audience feed that machine.
 
The villainous or arguably strangely heroic Lou Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is simply, good or bad, a product of this machine.
 
The film is likely not receiving the usual award season buzz because of its scathing critique of the media. But if one puts all that aside Nightcrawler is an excellent film that will leave the viewer thinking.
 

#4: Interstellar

 
directed by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
 

 
Much has been said about Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
 
The truth is I don’t really have much more to add to that conversation other than to say Interstellar is a thrilling, fascinating and surprisingly touching movie.
 
I get where the negative criticism comes from. Interstellar can be dense with the science talk, and at times overly sentimental.
 
But there is no denying that it is an awe inspiring, thought provoking film, by a visionary director in Christopher Nolan that is at the top of his game.
 

 

#3: The Grand Budapest Hotel

 
directed by WES ANDERSON
 

 
Wes Anderson.
 
Everyone knows what they are getting when they sit down to one of Wes Anderson’s films.
 
There are parodies everywhere of his distinct style.
 
But The Grand Budapest Hotel is likely a turning point for the director. Besides being his most mature film to date, The Grand Budapest Hotel displays the confidence of a developing master storyteller.
 
The film is uniquely his own, but unlike his previous, frivolous film Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel has surprising substance and touching, emotional depth which stays with the viewer long after its final frame.
 
Rather than just being stylish for the sake of it. Like his films usually are. Wes Anderson uses his traditional, gorgeous, eccentric, visuals to emphasize the beauty of the memories of various characters. They are precious representations of a cherished time gone by. Combined with the touching narration, it gives the film a poignancy, previously unthinkable in a Wes Anderson film.
 
Probably the most moving movie of the year. Without being overly sentimental or dramatic.
 

#2: Whiplash

 
directed by DAMIEN CHAZELLE
 

 

 
There have been many films showing the trials and tribulations of the artist.
 

But Whiplash illustrates, probably most accurately, the sacrifice, struggle and uncompromising drive to be great.
 
J.K. Simmons delivers a performance for the ages, simultaneously, provoking disgust and admiration in his portrayal of Fletcher. But all the while keeping the character feeling real and human.
 
Is Fletcher an evil manipulator or a much needed artistic motivator?
 
That is the cinematic argument of the year and one that should provide plenty of debate and conversation amongst viewers for years to come.
 
Easily the most exhilarating film of the year, Whiplash also delivers one of the most satisfying, inspiring, cinematic experiences of all time.
 

 

And my favorite film of 2014 is…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#1: Snowpiercer

 
directed by BOON JOON-HO
 
Fight your way to the front.
 
Snowpiercer rightfully fought its way to the front by being the most remarkable film experience of the year.
 
Demonstrating a wide variety of genres and powerful themes, Snowpiercer not only hits the viewer in a visceral sense, but also on an intellectual and political level.
 
Snowpiercer raises challenging questions, while also entertaining viewers with breathtaking action.
 
Featuring an inspired performance from Chris Evans and a brave, eccentric one from Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer is also arguably the best and brightest that the science fiction genre has ever offered on film.
 
Illuminating and thought-provoking Snowpiercer for me, was easily the best film of the year. And likely will be recognized as one of the best films of the decade.
 
If the viewer is looking for a movie with everything. Literally. Snowpiercer is it.
 
The perfect representation of a great, thrilling and unique year in cinema.

 

READ HERE »

Pass Me The Popcorn Presents Web Show

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I wanted to share with my humble little audience this little project me and my friends Jeremy Schaeg, Evan Danielson and my wife Erin Davis have been working on to get our creative juices flowing.


With time permitting, this will be the first of several episodes.

This is by no means the final format of the show. We will likely alternate between comedic skits and serious discussions concerning pop culture topics and events.


This is just a start.

Ideally, we'd like to involve more of our creative friends, we think with our resources and connections we've made throughout the years the sky is the limit!


So without further ado...here it is! Our humble first episode of Pass Me The Popcorn Presents...


 IF you enjoy it please like and share the video! Don't forget to subscribe for future episodes!!!

Warning! NSFW! (For language.) So put on those headphones!!!

READ HERE »

The Best Films of 2013 - by Lon Harris

 This review originally appeared on our legacy site PassMeThePopcorn. (Now defunct)

#10: BEFORE MIDNIGHT

 
Richard Linklater’s “Before…” trilogy is maybe the most diverse set of 3 movies ever contained in Trilogy form. The first movie is a relatively light, effervescent indie comedy about 2 strangers who enjoy a spontaneous day sightseeing together. The second episode is a more weighty, but also charming look at the same couple meeting up years later and reminiscing about the significance of that one day long ago. And now this third film finds our heroes, Jesse and Celine, no longer strangers, but an aging couple with twin daughters locked in a troubled marriage. On the French New Wave scale, we’ve jumped right from “Jules and Jim” to “Contempt” in the same franchise. (Fortunately, without a detour into “Cleo from 5 to 7.”)

As with the powerful Blue Valentine from a few years back, Before Midnight gives us the unique opportunity to examine a relationship from beginning to (possibly) end, in a short enough timespan to comprehend but with a level of understanding and attention to detail to make it seem fully real. The results are emotionally draining – the bitter insults and petulant put-downs take on greater significance because we KNOW these two kids, and feel so deeply that they belong together. And once again, Linklater executes the final scene to perfection, leaving the film on a note that’s bittersweet and hopeful.
 

#9: FRANCES HA

 
On paper, Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s lo-fi black-and-white 20s coming of age story sounds nigh unwatchable: The navel-gazing, twee story of a failed artist holding an extended pity party, paralyzed by the notion that she might not be a special, beautiful snowflake whose phenomenal creative, social and financial success was a pre-ordained birthright.

But Gerwig makes Frances’s sincerity and disappointment so palpable, her kinship with BFF Sophie so charming and deeply-felt, I was on her side immediately and never wavered. Frances’s story actually mirrors that of the protagonist of another “Top 10” film pretty closely, but while (spoilers!) Llewyn Davis sees distant aloofness as part of his craft and persona, there’s something undeniably touching about seeing a character who only wants to make a human connection, and to discover something greater than herself. This feels destined to be one of the key films people remember when discussing “The Movies of 2013,” a reasonably accurate snapshot of this moment in the culture, precisely because it’s not trying to do anything but tell one woman’s story well.

#8: MUD

 
Matthew McConaughey had a ridiculous year, but he’s getting the most intense praise (and probably an Oscar) for the wrong movie! He was good in “Dallas Buyers Club,” sure, and the physical transformation was impressive, but obviously everyone’s missing his superior work in Jeff Nichols remarkable, disarming Mud. Here is one of the best movies I can recall about childhood, or more specifically, that moment when kids get their first troubling, sad glimpse into the world of adults.

Jacob Lofland and Tye Sheridan play boys from rural Arkansas who discover McConaughey, the titular Mud, living alone on an island, in a boat lodged in a tree. At first, they’re afraid of him, but they slowly get sucked in to his world, and in particular, his ongoing, seemingly-doomed romance with the beautiful Juniper (Reese Witherspoon, making a rare appearance in a watchable movie.) Nichols previously made “Take Shelter,” and as in that film, he once again finds ways to get us to relate to, and even sympathize with, mysterious, ultimately unknowable characters living on the fringes of society.
 

#7: ALL IS LOST

 
That OTHER movie about an isolated individual stranded in an inhospitable environment, desperate for any shred of hope that they may get to return home to the unseen life they have left behind, sucked up all the attention in 2013. But it was J.C. Chandor’s impeccable, haunting All Is Lost, anchored (har!) by a nearly-wordless performance from Robert Redford, that made the more significant impact on me.

The set-up is deceptively simple. Redford, the only actor who appears on screen, plays an unnamed character (known as “Our Man” on IMDb) whose sea voyage through the Indian Ocean is interrupted when his boat collides with a rogue shipping container. What follows is a non-stop battle against the elements, with the resourceful sailor finding it increasingly difficult to hold the sea water at bay. It’s more of an action movie than a horror film, but as the vessel continues sinking, and the circumstances get more dire, and we start to see fear creep in to Redford’s face (the performance is OBVIOUSLY Oscar-worthy)… things get more unsettling than a dozen Conjurings.
 

#6: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

 
Several modern American films have depicted slavery, or contained memorable scenes and images showing the lives of slaves. But I’m hard-pressed to come up with a movie that seems to present a more complete, complex and thorough examination of what it was to be a black slave in the American South than 12 Years a Slave. Perhaps this is because the character of Solomon Northrup (played essentially to perfection by Chiwetel Ejoifor) – a sophisticated Northerner to whom the audience can immediately relate – gives us such a distinct, idiosyncratic view of the practice.
 
But I also think there’s an attention to detail here that’s simply lacking in even the very good films that have previously looked at this period in history. We’ve seen the brutality of slavery before, though a scene where a character is nearly hung here, and another where a slave is repeatedly, gruesomely whipped, are as chilling as any similar sequences I can recall.
 
But writer John Ridley and director Steve McQueen also point to the smaller, but still felt, indignities of slave life. There’s a moment where Northrup’s then-master, Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), presents him with a violin, and then remarks that they will both get a lot of joy out of Northrup’s playing for years to come. The way what Ford certainly thinks of as an act of kindness stings – as we come to understand that, yes, even this seemingly nice man intends to OWN Northrup for the rest of his life – speaks more about the horror of slavery than, say, the entirety of Spielberg’s Amistad. (I still love you Steve but… come on…)

 
I also have to mention Michael Fassbender’s turn as the vicious Edwin Epps, the year’s most terrifying cinematic adversary. I legitimately felt sick to my stomach sometimes when he would enter the frame.

#5: HER

 
In any other year, this would have been a strong contender for the #1 spot. I liked it that much. But man… 2013, right?
Spike Jonze’s near-future romance seems at first like it will be a consideration of technology, its intrusion into every aspect of our daily lives and the ways that it both isolates and unites people. And it is all of those things. But what impressed me most was the fact that Her still totally works without the core “gimmick” – just as a thoughtful, nuanced, insightful film about relationships. The fact that one of the two lovers is an artificially-intelligent operating system is interesting, but ultimately kind of incidental.

Also of note is Jonze and his team’s tremendous eye for detail in the look and feel of almost-now Los Angeles. (There are several “in-jokes” for people familiar with the present version of the city, like when Joaquin Phoenix futuristically manages to take a subway to the beach.) The buildings, the fashions, the gadgets – it’s an imaginative but still potentially accurate glimpse into where we’ll be in a decade or two.
 

#4: THE SPECTACULAR NOW

 
At 35 years old, I sort of thought I was done with “teen movies.” There were still examples I’d see and enjoy – The Perks of Being a Wallflower comes immediately to mind. But my enjoyment of them was academic, removed, at a distance; I could theoretically have children as old as the “Wallflower” gang.
 
But The Spectacular Now hit me the way a drama, as opposed to a TEEN drama, would. The characters are young, but they’re people first and teens second. Without having to fit their dilemmas and experiences into a pre-determined “coming of age” mold, writers Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber and director James Ponsoldt free themselves to just tell the story of troubled alcoholic Sutter (a brilliant Miles Teller) and his new shy but adventurous girlfriend, Aimee (an equally brilliant Shailene Woodley).

 
The film just feels viscerally real in a way films about young characters never do. Once you dispense with all the usual Bildungsroman tropes – dated slang, voice-overs about who’s in what clique or the “rules” of navigating high school, hamburger phones – what’s left is a beautifully rendered, painfully honest movie about making choices at the point in your life when they matter most.
 

#3: THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

 
Seeing American Hustle – a well-acted but flat attempt to recreate the Scorsese “inside a criminal enterprise” formula – within a week of “Wolf” really highlights the director’s immense talent (not to mention that of his long-time editor, Thelma Schoomaker.) His movies have an energy and a vitality that few others can even come close to replicating.
 
All of Martin Scorsese’s organized crime films are, on some level, comedies. Individual criminal acts aren’t necessarily funny, but on a macro level, dedicating your entire life to an ongoing series of grandiose, ultimately ill-conceived crimes is a crazy thing to do, and self-selects for colorful, amusing, unpredictable kinds of characters. But it’s still exciting and surprising in the moments, as a viewer, you first realize “Wolf of Wall Street” will be a 3-hour satirical comedy, and arguably the director’s funniest film to date.

 
You sense, on some level, Scorsese still relates to the gang from “Mean Streets,” or Henry Hill in Goodfellas, or Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino. He wouldn’t have made the same choices, but there’s an understanding of their humanity – these are people who got caught up in something bigger than them and lost themselves in it. (I mean, Goodfellas opens with Henry as a kid, so we almost have no choice but to understand why he ended up living the life he did, with his personal set of values.)

But Jordan Belfort’s story is not a Portrait of the Shyster as a Young Man. It’s hard to find even a glimmer of humanity behind Leonardo DiCaprio’s eyes, even in the early “naive” scenes in The Wolf of Wall Street. Interesting that DiCaprio was once favored to play Patrick Bateman in the American Psycho adaptation, and now, 14 years later, he’s been invited to inhabit the same kind of character. Only based on a real guy, this time.
 
Also, people who complain that the film’s “too long” or “could have been cut by an hour” miss the point. Belfort’s entire life story “could have been cut.” Nothing that he does is essential, or important, or noteworthy for anyone but himself. He could have stopped stealing from unsuspecting marks at any time and retired to a beach somewhere, but the grinding, repetitive, constant need for further meaningless acquisition – as if he were locked in competition against some fictional Lex Luthor-esque evil billionaire – is what drove him in the first place.

#2: INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

 
I’d say, after 2 viewings now, this joins the ranks of the greatest all-time Coen Brothers films, and that is REALLY saying something. It’s a Fargo or Millers Crossing level achievement.

Joel and Ethan’s somber comedy (a som-com?) beautifully recreates the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene and populates it with strange, fascinating characters. (John Goodman is in like 3 scenes and it’s still among his more memorable recent film appearances.)
 
But at heart, this is a story about one struggling artist and his daily choice, to give up on his dream or press on in the face of constant rejection and negativity. Call it depressing if you will, but there’s real beauty in this kind of honesty; it’s very easy to tell someone to “follow your heart,” but decisions are rarely so cut and dry. Should you still follow your heart if it means you don’t eat? You can’t take care of your loved ones? You can’t stand to look at yourself?

This is the Coens’ first collaboration with ace cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, and it’s filled with memorable imagery – as well as perfectly capturing the oppressiveness and isolation of cold winters in big cities. Oscar Isaac’s performance is so nakedly vulnerable that it’s almost difficult to watch at times – even when you hate him, you still want someone to let him inside and help him find his cat. And the soundtrack is filled to bursting with great songs that wonderfully evoke the era and speak to Llewyn’s personality and outlook as much as his spare, frequently irascible dialogue.
 
I loved it loved it loved it. How is this not my #1 movie of the year?
 

#1: THE ACT OF KILLING

 
Oh, yeah, right, because this came out.
 
I’ve seen many thousands of movies in my life, and I have never seen anything remotely like The Act of Killing. It’s a cliche to say, after seeing a documentary, “It’s too crazy to be real,” but the moments that Joshua Oppenheimer has captured here legitimately don’t seem to have any place outside of fiction. (In a sense, this is the whole point of the movie – the only way to deal with these truths is to fictionalize them in some way.) Human beings aren’t supposed to have revelations like this about themselves. We’re only supposed to have them when reflecting on situations involving other people, after the fact. Seeing it really happen in a documentary sort of breaks the whole system down. I wasn’t even sure how to deal with it.

But let’s back up a bit. In 1965, a new military government took control of the nation of Indonesia, and during this time, they recruited local thugs and gangsters to stop committing petty crimes (like scalping movie tickets) and convert into death squads that would hunt down and kill suspected communists and dissidents. It’s estimated that, in the next year, 500,000 people may have been killed.
 
This government is still in control of Indonesia, and thus the leaders of these death squads (who are still alive) are well-treated and sort of held up as heroic revolutionaries. Even though most Indonesians still know what they did.

Filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer wanted to make a movie about this event from the victim’s perspective but was finding it difficult to get anyone to talk to him, so instead, he started making a movie about the killers. They were happy to talk to him. (At this point, they have come to think of themselves as heroic revolutionaries.) They also agreed to stage and star in cinematic re-enactments of these killings.

I won’t say anything else except that this movie effortlessly and entertainingly deals with the weightiest themes there are – the nature of good and evil, man’s inhumanity to man, how memory influences our sense of self – and may make you reconsider how you understand them. It was easily, without a doubt, the best and most important film I saw in a year of great, essential filmmaking. It’s on Netflix Streaming right now. Watch it!

READ HERE »