Movies of 2014

[Captain Canuck]

Muppets Most Wanted -- B The Muppets usually walk a fine line between hilarious and stupid, and I love them for it. This one leaned a bit more toward stupid. It was fun, but a little disappointing.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- A This movie was really well made. It's hard to compare it to other superhero movies that have come before it because it's so different. If The Dark Knigt was a crime drama that happened in a universe where Batman existed, then Cap 2 is a political thriller action movie that happened in the Avengers universe. I mean, there were some more "comic booky" elements

Spoiler

(Like Arnim Zola and even just the helicarriers that we're going to wipe out millions of people,)

but genre-wise, this movie really tread some new ground.

It was a little long, and there were a couple of parts that there was just SO much going on that it was a bit hard to follow, but overall, it was a really good movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- C- This is hard. I really liked the first hour or so, but after that, it really took a nose dive. Once again, Peter and Gwen's relationship and chemistry was the highlight of the movie. The characterizations and relationships in general were really good. Until the second act when everything got rushed in order to sell the future of the franchise.

Spoiler

Gwen's death

is too important of a story to take a back seat to setting up the Sinister Six.

Also, the visual effects were awesome. But the score was terrible.

 

[Captain Canuck]

I guess no one else is into this this year, eh? I like being able to go to one thread and see what others have thought of all the movies they've seen this year.

With that in mind…

Muppets Most Wanted -- B The Muppets usually walk a fine line between hilarious and stupid, and I love them for it. This one leaned a bit more toward stupid. It was fun, but a little disappointing.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- A This movie was really well made. It's hard to compare it to other superhero movies that have come before it because it's so different. If The Dark Knigt was a crime drama that happened in a universe where Batman existed, then Cap 2 is a political thriller action movie that happened in the Avengers universe. I mean, there were some more "comic booky" elements

Spoiler

(Like Arnim Zola and even just the helicarriers that we're going to wipe out millions of people,)

but genre-wise, this movie really tread some new ground.

It was a little long, and there were a couple of parts that there was just SO much going on that it was a bit hard to follow, but overall, it was a really good movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- C- This is hard. I really liked the first hour or so, but after that, it really took a nose dive. Once again, Peter and Gwen's relationship and chemistry was the highlight of the movie. The characterizations and relationships in general were really good. Until the second act when everything got rushed in order to sell the future of the franchise.

Spoiler

Gwen's death

is too important of a story to take a back seat to setting up the Sinister Six.

Also, the visual effects were awesome. But the score was terrible.

X-Men: Days of Future Past -- A- This was a great adaptation of the DoFP comic. It really captured the important elements of the story and adapted them for the big screen and to fit in with the established X-Men universe. I liked that Wolverine wasn't the main point of the story, either. He was a driving character in the narrative, but he wasn't the focal point, at all. And the last scene was so gratifying to long-time fans of the franchise. I feel like the movie was almost worth it just for that.

 

[DARKKNIGHT]

Captain America: The Winter Solider - It was very good, probably one of the top 2 or 3 Marvel Studios movies so far. I'm writing this a weeks after seeing it, so I don't remember a ton of specifics. The chemistry between Evans and Scarjo was great. One of the issues with these movies is that it's clear they'll never kill off a character like Nick Fury, so that plot point was pretty 'meh' in my book. I also didn't particularly like the plot centering around giant gunships. The idea behind them was kind of silly, but mainly worked regardless. Those are just quibbles, and overall it was great. Grade: A-

Neighbors - This movie was ok. Not great, but I didn't hate it. Certainly could have been better, as it didn't have as many funny moments as past movies with the cast. Rogen, Efron, and Byrne were great in their parts, and I appreciate that they didn't try to make Byrne the shrewish wife that is common in these movies. The plot centering around the awkward transition from college to adulthood could have made a great movie, but this wasn't it. Still enjoyable though. Grade: C

Godzilla - This movie has flaws, but I still liked it quite a bit. Godzilla looks awesome, and his fight scenes are incredible. One of the main criticisms I've heard is that Godzilla doesn't have enough screen time and the human characters are weak. I agree to an extent, but think that it's strengths more than make up for these issues. With a few tweaks, I think this really could have been one of the great summer blockbusters. While the movie begins to drag in the middle (which could have been solved by some Godzilla screen time), the great ending made me leave the theater happy. Grade: B

X-Men: Days of Future Past - I really think this movie was as good as it could be, staying within the universe they've already established. The actors were uniformly great. I was especially impressed with McAvoy and Fassbender. They could have made the future Sentinels look a little bit less like the Destroyer from Thor. Dinklage was fairly lackluster as Trask too. By no means was he bad, but a more menacing performance really could have kicked this movie up a notch. Someone like Brian Cox in X2. Quicksilver was (surprisingly) awesome, and I'm ecstatic that

Spoiler

Cyclops and Jean are back.

While the continuity hasn't made sense for a while now, this has corrected course as much as can be expected. I'm interested and excited to see where they take the characters in the future. Hopefully this doesn't turn into the Mystique show, after the Wolverine show, now that Jennifer Lawrence is so popular. Grade: A

 

[E]

I guess no one else is into this this year, eh?

I'm trying to think of which 2014 movies I've actually seen. Just Captain America 2 that I can recall...

 

[Captain Canuck]

Muppets Most Wanted -- B The Muppets usually walk a fine line between hilarious and stupid, and I love them for it. This one leaned a bit more toward stupid. It was fun, but a little disappointing.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- A This movie was really well made. It's hard to compare it to other superhero movies that have come before it because it's so different. If The Dark Knigt was a crime drama that happened in a universe where Batman existed, then Cap 2 is a political thriller action movie that happened in the Avengers universe. I mean, there were some more "comic booky" elements

Spoiler

(Like Arnim Zola and even just the helicarriers that we're going to wipe out millions of people,)

but genre-wise, this movie really tread some new ground.

It was a little long, and there were a couple of parts that there was just SO much going on that it was a bit hard to follow, but overall, it was a really good movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- C- This is hard. I really liked the first hour or so, but after that, it really took a nose dive. Once again, Peter and Gwen's relationship and chemistry was the highlight of the movie. The characterizations and relationships in general were really good. Until the second act when everything got rushed in order to sell the future of the franchise.

Spoiler

Gwen's death

is too important of a story to take a back seat to setting up the Sinister Six.

Also, the visual effects were awesome. But the score was terrible.

X-Men: Days of Future Past -- A- This was a great adaptation of the DoFP comic. It really captured the important elements of the story and adapted them for the big screen and to fit in with the established X-Men universe. I liked that Wolverine wasn't the main point of the story, either. He was a driving character in the narrative, but he wasn't the focal point, at all. And the last scene was so gratifying to long-time fans of the franchise. I feel like the movie was almost worth it just for that.

Guardians of the Galaxy -- A- Incredibly well done. The only real problem I had was that they made Ronan evil. But besides that everything was really amazing.

The Maze Runner -- B- This movie was pretty good right up until the last part. There was NO resolution whatsoever. I was very annoyed. Besides that, it's a good twist on the dystopian future coming of age story that's so popular right now. I'd say it was better than Ender's Game (with a worse ending) but not as good as Divergent.

Interstellar -- C+ What I love about Chris Nolan is that his movies generally blow my mind. Inception, Memento, the Prestige were all incredible in their stories and they way the stories were told. And of course the Dark Knight trilogy was really good too, but a lot more "mainstream blockbuster." Interstellar was trying to be the most mind-blowing of all and it just ended up being long, sort of dreary, and really derivative. If you're even a little bit familiar with science fiction as a genre, the whole thing is very predictable and cliché. Parts of it seem to have been lifted directly out of Star Trek the motion Picture, Signs, Sunshine, and the main 'twist' has been done in every sci-fi franchize ever.

If Nolan had shaved an hour, or even half an hour off the film and made it more fun than dire, the whole thing would have worked better.

 

[E]

If Nolan had shaved an hour, or even half an hour off the film and made it more fun than dire, the whole thing would have worked better.

Granted I don't think I've seen all of his films, but none of them suggests that he does "fun" particularly well. And I haven't seen Interstellar yet but the basic premise as far as I know it doesn't suggest it could be much of a fun film.

 

[Ultimate Houde]

Guardians of the Galaxy -- A- Incredibly well done. The only real problem I had was that they made Ronan evil. But besides that everything was really amazing.

The Maze Runner -- B- This movie was pretty good right up until the last part. There was NO resolution whatsoever. I was very annoyed. Besides that, it's a good twist on the dystopian future coming of age story that's so popular right now. I'd say it was better than Ender's Game (with a worse ending) but not as good as Divergent.

Ronan was originally an F4 villain, so that's probably why they did that.

As for the Maze Runner, I've read the first book and remember and ending that was kinda, THE TWIST AND THEN THE END. And the reader is like, WHAT?

Considering I never went past the first book for either series, I'll sit this one out.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Granted I don't think I've seen all of his films, but none of them suggests that he does "fun" particularly well. And I haven't seen Interstellar yet but the basic premise as far as I know it doesn't suggest it could be much of a fun film.

No, you're right, he likes dark movies. But Inception was fun. It had a feeling of awe to it. Interstellar just felt dire and dreary all the way through. There was nothing exciting about the space exploration. No sense of adventure.

The robots were funny though. They made me chuckle a few times.

Ronan was originally an F4 villain, so that's probably why they did that.

Yeah, I don't mind him being an antagonist, but he was a genocidal zealot in Guardians.

As for the Maze Runner, I've read the first book and remember and ending that was kinda, THE TWIST AND THEN THE END. And the reader is like, WHAT?

Considering I never went past the first book for either series, I'll sit this one out.

Yeah, the movie was exactly that. My wife and I looked up the plots to the next two books when we got home from the theatre. The second book ends pretty much the same way and the third book ends by revealing that

Spoiler

the driving maguffin behind the trilogy has been a lie all along, so they decide just to settle down and start repopulating the earth.

 

[E]

But Inception was fun. It had a feeling of awe to it. Interstellar just felt dire and dreary all the way through. There was nothing exciting about the space exploration. No sense of adventure.

Interesting take. Inception was fun in the sense that the concepts were pretty incredible and it was fun to sit and watch a movie that explored those concepts, but the film itself - as far as the plot goes - was pretty dark.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Interesting take. Inception was fun in the sense that the concepts were pretty incredible and it was fun to sit and watch a movie that explored those concepts, but the film itself - as far as the plot goes - was pretty dark.

Yeah, I suppose that's true. But there was enough banter and humour and cool action to keep it from feeling dark - at least for me. And Ariadne (Ellen Page's character) supplied a voice for the wonder the audience who was experiencing. It all just worked a lot better, I thought.


Also, maybe this conversation should get it's own Interstellar thread.

 

[wyokid]

GOTG was based more on when Ronan was first introduced. He was a really flashy and bombastic villain. Lee Pace did a great job.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Muppets Most Wanted -- B The Muppets usually walk a fine line between hilarious and stupid, and I love them for it. This one leaned a bit more toward stupid. It was fun, but a little disappointing.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- A This movie was really well made. It's hard to compare it to other superhero movies that have come before it because it's so different. If The Dark Knigt was a crime drama that happened in a universe where Batman existed, then Cap 2 is a political thriller action movie that happened in the Avengers universe. I mean, there were some more "comic booky" elements

Spoiler

(Like Arnim Zola and even just the helicarriers that we're going to wipe out millions of people,)

but genre-wise, this movie really tread some new ground.

It was a little long, and there were a couple of parts that there was just SO much going on that it was a bit hard to follow, but overall, it was a really good movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- C- This is hard. I really liked the first hour or so, but after that, it really took a nose dive. Once again, Peter and Gwen's relationship and chemistry was the highlight of the movie. The characterizations and relationships in general were really good. Until the second act when everything got rushed in order to sell the future of the franchise.

Spoiler

Gwen's death

is too important of a story to take a back seat to setting up the Sinister Six.

Also, the visual effects were awesome. But the score was terrible.

X-Men: Days of Future Past -- A- This was a great adaptation of the DoFP comic. It really captured the important elements of the story and adapted them for the big screen and to fit in with the established X-Men universe. I liked that Wolverine wasn't the main point of the story, either. He was a driving character in the narrative, but he wasn't the focal point, at all. And the last scene was so gratifying to long-time fans of the franchise. I feel like the movie was almost worth it just for that.

Guardians of the Galaxy -- A- Incredibly well done. The only real problem I had was that they made Ronan evil. But besides that everything was really amazing.

The Maze Runner -- B- This movie was pretty good right up until the last part. There was NO resolution whatsoever. I was very annoyed. Besides that, it's a good twist on the dystopian future coming of age story that's so popular right now. I'd say it was better than Ender's Game (with a worse ending) but not as good as Divergent.

Interstellar -- C+ What I love about Chris Nolan is that his movies generally blow my mind. Inception, Memento, the Prestige were all incredible in their stories and they way the stories were told. And of course the Dark Knight trilogy was really good too, but a lot more "mainstream blockbuster." Interstellar was trying to be the most mind-blowing of all and it just ended up being long, sort of dreary, and really derivative. If you're even a little bit familiar with science fiction as a genre, the whole thing is very predictable and cliché. Parts of it seem to have been lifted directly out of Star Trek the motion Picture, Signs, Sunshine, and the main 'twist' has been done in every sci-fi franchize ever.

If Nolan had shaved an hour, or even half an hour off the film and made it more fun than dire, the whole thing would have worked better.

Big Hero Six -- B+ It was fun. The look was good, the characters were likeable, the script was funny. The plot was maybe a bit cliche and predictable, but I enjoyed it overall. And the short at the beginning (Feast) was the best part!

 

[Captain Canuck]

Muppets Most Wanted -- B The Muppets usually walk a fine line between hilarious and stupid, and I love them for it. This one leaned a bit more toward stupid. It was fun, but a little disappointing.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier -- A This movie was really well made. It's hard to compare it to other superhero movies that have come before it because it's so different. If The Dark Knigt was a crime drama that happened in a universe where Batman existed, then Cap 2 is a political thriller action movie that happened in the Avengers universe. I mean, there were some more "comic booky" elements

Spoiler

(Like Arnim Zola and even just the helicarriers that we're going to wipe out millions of people,)

but genre-wise, this movie really tread some new ground.

It was a little long, and there were a couple of parts that there was just SO much going on that it was a bit hard to follow, but overall, it was a really good movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- C- This is hard. I really liked the first hour or so, but after that, it really took a nose dive. Once again, Peter and Gwen's relationship and chemistry was the highlight of the movie. The characterizations and relationships in general were really good. Until the second act when everything got rushed in order to sell the future of the franchise.

Spoiler

Gwen's death

is too important of a story to take a back seat to setting up the Sinister Six.

Also, the visual effects were awesome. But the score was terrible.

X-Men: Days of Future Past -- A- This was a great adaptation of the DoFP comic. It really captured the important elements of the story and adapted them for the big screen and to fit in with the established X-Men universe. I liked that Wolverine wasn't the main point of the story, either. He was a driving character in the narrative, but he wasn't the focal point, at all. And the last scene was so gratifying to long-time fans of the franchise. I feel like the movie was almost worth it just for that.

Guardians of the Galaxy -- A- Incredibly well done. The only real problem I had was that they made Ronan evil. But besides that everything was really amazing.

The Maze Runner -- B- This movie was pretty good right up until the last part. There was NO resolution whatsoever. I was very annoyed. Besides that, it's a good twist on the dystopian future coming of age story that's so popular right now. I'd say it was better than Ender's Game (with a worse ending) but not as good as Divergent.

Interstellar -- C+ What I love about Chris Nolan is that his movies generally blow my mind. Inception, Memento, the Prestige were all incredible in their stories and they way the stories were told. And of course the Dark Knight trilogy was really good too, but a lot more "mainstream blockbuster." Interstellar was trying to be the most mind-blowing of all and it just ended up being long, sort of dreary, and really derivative. If you're even a little bit familiar with science fiction as a genre, the whole thing is very predictable and cliché. Parts of it seem to have been lifted directly out of Star Trek the motion Picture, Signs, Sunshine, and the main 'twist' has been done in every sci-fi franchize ever.

If Nolan had shaved an hour, or even half an hour off the film and made it more fun than dire, the whole thing would have worked better.

Big Hero Six -- B+ It was fun. The look was good, the characters were likeable, the script was funny. The plot was maybe a bit cliche and predictable, but I enjoyed it overall. And the short at the beginning (Feast) was the best part!

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies -- A- This was my favourite movie of the Hobbit trilogy. It's still not as good as LOTR, but I just really enjoyed it. Lots of cool action (without being stupidly drawn out or over the top like in the second movie) and a good amount of heart (mostly from Bilbo). There was still the dumb love triangle, but it was pretty minor. My favourite parts were the tie-ins to the larger world of Middle Earth and the return of Sauron. I loved seeing

Spoiler

Gandalf, Elrond, Saruman, and Galadriel facing off against the Nazgul (who apparently are less formidable fighters 60 years later when they fight Aragorn, but lets not be picky about film technology advancing) and Sauron.

I loved seeing Gundabad. I loved how they made the Lonely Mountain a strategic piece of Sauron's plan. It made me happy. I'm pretty sure that bowstring would have taken off Bard's sons' head though.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Well, this thread didn't get used much, except for by me. That's a shame. I enjoy seeing how people ranked movies. I still think I'll start a 2015 thread.