The Top 5 Best Films of 2014

Okay, so after whinging about the worst films we've seen this year, it's probably about time that we spread some cheer and talk about our favourite films of the year. Like Jenna said in our last post, there's a scary amount of films I've missed this year and I'll be spending Christmas and the New Year catching up, and obviously we aren't quite done with 2014 yet, but here's our Top 5 Best Films of 2014 (that we've actually seen!)

Locke (2014)

I've harped on a lot about Locke this year I know, and it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it was so different to anything else I'd seen before that it absolutely has to make this list for me. I get fidgety in the cinema, and so to be able to sit completely still for a film essentially about a man driving from Birmingham to London is a wonder in itself!

Gone Girl (2014)

Now for more of a mainstream choice. I'm so glad I saw Gone Girl at the cinema, and the audience's reaction as the credits roll will remain as one of my favourite experiences, it was just fantastic! A mixed of gasps, confusion, and then shocked laughter, followed by everyone leaving in a bit of a daze. This one played on my mind for days, and the book is on my kindle now waiting for me to finish Brent Weeks' latest novel.

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Many of you won't agree with this choice, but you have to understand that Horrible Bosses is my favourite comedy film. I was expecting to be let down by the sequel but I just loved it. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day have so much chemistry that I'd find anything they did funny. Let's not forget the amazing supporting cast too! Since when did Jason Sudeikis get so cute too? Our review of this is coming soon.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

I really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy when I saw it in the cinema this summer, but I wasn't blown away. It was only when I started telling people about the film that it seemed to grow on me more and more, and now I realise that it was actually a pretty awesome film. I'm looking forward to watching it again over Christmas, and I hope to get a Groot Pop! figure soon.

The Imitation Game (2014)

I haven't yet been able to put my thoughts on The Imitation Game into words, I'm still fairly speechless. I'm clueless when it comes to History, especially war. I know it's a serious topic but I actually walked into this film blind, because I didn't know how it would even end! I'm biased and blind of course when it comes to Benedict Cumberbatch, but I really enjoyed this film. It was engaging, it was interesting, and it was heartbreaking all at the same time.

There are so many other films that should be in this list, but I'm shocked at how many I've missed this year. I imagine Nightcrawler and The Hobbit would be in here too, but I haven't seen them yet.

Disclaimer: After looking through movies released in 2014 and am embarrassed at the shear number that I have missed.  Therefore, my list is based on what I have seen not what was released.

How to Train your Dragon 2 (2014)

What a film, the graphics, the story, the fact that the characters aged from the first one.  No sequel let down here, just as good as the first if not better!

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Unlike Allie, it didn't take time for me to realise I loved this film.  I grinned from ear to ear throughout the whole thing in the cinema, I didn't fidget or move through the whole thing I was that engrossed.  I am hoping my Dad has brought this for me for Christmas but I might be disappointed as my Dad doesn't respond well to hints, in fact he misses them entirely.

Fault in our Stars (2014)

I feel like I might be alone with the one but I loved the film and I think it stuck to the book really well and didn't just change it to suit.  The way they included the texts by popping up on screen was really clever.  I laughed, I cried, I can't wait to watch it again.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

This was brilliant, the effects used with the apes was incredible and story was well put together as well.  Sometimes, films with such large CGI presence tend to lose sight of the story (think the last 2 Matrix movies) but this had both.  I want to have a marathon and watch Rise and Dawn back to back next :-)

Life After Beth (2014)

There is a review coming soon for this which goes into more detail but I thought this was really great, it was comical, scary in places and the dialogue was sharp and witty.  The acting from Dane Dehaan was great, he has a real presence that I hadn't noticed in his previous supporting roles. 

As Allie said, there has to be a mention for The Hobbit, I am certain I will love it but haven't yet seen it.

What was your best movie of 2014?

The Top 5 Worst Films of 2014

Wow, to be able to write a list like this makes me feel like an actual blogger. I used to look at people with confusion when they would argue over a film and discuss just how awful it was, because I'd never really watched a film that I disliked. I guess I used to watch so little films that I only watched what I knew I would like, which is what I love so much about this blog. It's opened my eyes to a huge array of films that I never would have watched before. Some of them I've loved, and others, not so much.

So here is me, jumping on the Top 5 bandwagon with the Top 5 worst films I've seen that came out this year.

What If (2014)

You know, I never even got round to reviewing this. I couldn't even try now, I can't remember what this film was even about. When we saw it at the cinema and ordered our tickets, the guy actually said 'what?'. He forgot the film existed, and that the cinema was showing it. It wasn't a bad film by any means, but it was just entirely forgettable, just a few months after I originally saw it.

The Inbetweeners 2 (2014)

Another film I never got round to reviewing! I absolutely loved the Inbetweeners TV Show, and was so excited when the first film came out. My brother and I even introduced our parents to it, who also loved it, even if they didn't understand some of the phrases. I think too much time passed between the first film and its sequel, and although The Inbetweeners 2 started off fairly strong, after half an hour I was bored and witnessed one of the worst endings to a film I've ever seen.

The Monuments Men (2014)

I quite often get my own way when my fiance and I go to the cinema. He doesn't mind really and will sit through nearly anything, like me. However, I thought earlier in the year we should really go to see something of his choice, and he chose The Monuments Men. I didn't protest too much, war films aren't really my thing but with that cast, I thought it would be okay. This, sadly, was a complete snore fest, and even my fiance turned to my halfway through and said 'sorry, we'll see whatever you want to next time'!.

Tammy (2014)

It wasn't very long ago that I included Tammy in a mini reviews post on here. I love Melissa McCarthy and think Bridesmaids and The Heat are comedy gold, but Tammy really fell short of the mark. She played the kind of character that she plays best, but without another lead or a decent supporting cast, she just came across as irritating. A shame, but it definitely hasn't put me off her.

Sex Tape (2014)

Oh Jenna, I blame you for this one! Not the film itself of course, that would be a little harsh, you can't be completely at fault, but it was your choice for us to see this! You can read just about anyone's review of Sex Tape and my opinions are the same, I don't think I ever found a positive one. Stupid characters doing stupid things, none of which are funny. But to be fair to the film, the credits were really funny.

After seeing Allie had started this post I decided to work out what my Top 5 worst movies of 2014 were.  After finding a list of all movies released in 2014 I was gutted to spot how many movies I have missed this year (although in my defence it has been a busy year!).  I have now doubled my 'watch list' just from films in 2014.  So this list is my Top 5 worst films of the one I have actually seen....

Need for Speed (2014)

Sorry Allie, this film just wasn't for me (and in payback, I blame you for this one because you told me it was really good and that I should watch it! It was really good! I can't believe you had to be forced to see this but you willingly went and saw Transformers...).  The story was terrible, the plot holes were huge and ridiculous and there was no chemistry between any of the cast.  So disappointed as I am a big fan of Aaron Paul (in Breaking Bad he is amazing and steals the show for me most of the time) but in this there was nothing about him.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

If you have seen my review of this you will already know I didn't like it.  The story was terrible, the cast worse and the dialogue cringeworthy.  It was too long and the action scenes moved so fast you had no idea what was going on, who was the good guy/bad guy/robot/dinosaur/human and ultimately by the end I didn't care anyway.

Lucy (2014)

A lot of people have been raving about this film (I haven't yet managed to review it myself) and I'm not sure if I'm missing something.  The acting was great, Scarlett Johannsen has the ability to act without saying a word which worked well for this but I kept expected the story to start, it felt like an introduction to the real story, which never came.  Not sure I thought it was that bad, just that from previous reviews I expected more so ended up disappointed.

Sex Tape (2014)

No need to say much as Allie said pretty much everything above but I will say This. Is. A. Sh*t. Movie.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Probably my biggest disappointment of 2014, mostly because I had really high hopes for it but I was let down.  As my childhood favourite, I was willing this to be great but it was far from it.  No chemistry, scary evil looking Turtles, random useless characters and terrible dialogue.  Music was great, but that is all that was great about this lifeless reboot.

What about you though? What films disappointed you this year?

Happy Birthday Ryan Gosling...

...In honour of Mr Gosling's 34th Birthday, I thought I would cover my Top 5 Ryan movies.  However, in looking for these I realised he has not actually done that many films.  I reckon I can see all of these pretty sharpish therefore I would have justification to write the Ryan Gosling Best/Worst post.

I know this film had a huge twist but everytime I go a year without watching it I forget the end so I can watch it again with fresh eyes.  I can't decide whether this is a good or bad thing but I enjoy the film and Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as sociopath Ted Crawford tormenting Detective Beachum (Ryan Gosling) at every turn.

Gosling is brilliant as the strong silent type in this action packed thriller, he barely speaks and yet you know what he's thinking (to a certain extent) and he steals every scene he's in (which is most of them).  It is gory in parts, but that's not something that has ever bothered me and I think in this particular story it's relevant rather than pointless (such as in Hostel).

We've already done a review on this, if you haven't seen it you can here but this was one that really surprised me.  I wasn't expecting to enjoy this at all but Ryan Gosling saved the day with his incredible performance as the lonely Lars who falls in love with a  sex doll.  He does such a great job that you actually start seeing Bianca as an actual character.

Need I say more.....

Anyone who knows me would have guessed that this was my number 1 as it is one of my favourite movies.  I love Gosling and McAdam's  chemistry in this and the brilliant similarities between Gosling and Garner's versions of Noah.  For me, his best yet.

Happy Birthday Anna Kendrick!

Anna Kendrick turns 29 today and I thought it might be nice to share with you all my Top 5 Anna Kendrick films. I first saw her in the Twilight series back in 2008 and since then she just seems to have popped up in loads of other films I've seen!

Anna hasn't actually been in an awful lot of films if you take a look through her filmography, but she has an awful lot coming up in the next 2 years so my Top 5 list could well look completely different by then.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's Twilight. But this is the first time I ever saw Anna, and I think she played her character really well, and stayed true to the book version. Plus, her graduation speech Twilight Eclipse was brilliant, and made me cry a little. Not that it takes much to make me cry!

 

 

End of Watch makes my list purely for the scene with her and Jake Gyllenhaal singing in the car. It was just so natural and I think Anna's natural charm really shined during the scene. I don't know how true this is, but I heard that the song just happened to be playing anyway and the scene was completely improvised. Cute if true!

 

 

I wasn't a huge fan of 50/50 to be honest, but Anna's character was just so down to earth that I mainly enjoyed it just for her. Although her character is very similar (I think anyway) to her character in Up in the Air, the completely different topic kept it fresh for me.

As someone who gets to travel a little for work, I really appreciated Up in the Air and I just loved how it didn't follow a predictable plot. Anna played the role of a some what cold, by the book professional really well, a role which I don't think reflects her true personality at all.

 

 

I'm a human of the female variety, it's just in my nature to love Pitch Perfect, sorry! Just everything, from her dress sense, her non-cornforming attitude to her singing just had me smiling throughout the whole film. If there was ever a film on my life (highly doubtful, and a box office flop if so), I would love Anna Kendrick to play me!

 

What's your favourite Anna Kendrick film?