Here is where I will keep track of the flicks I've watched. If you see typos or errors, or you really like what I wrote, or maybe you flat out disagree with me. Don't be shy! Lemme know what YOU think.
Cronenberg could have made this as the third offering of his as yet unfinished violence trilogy. It reads like a more sophisticated Wolf of Wall street or Scarface in it's take on the examination of capitalism - greed as the invisible hand that like a medusa midas touch turns everything it grasps for to stone.
It's got the 80's down pat and that reminded me of Scorcese - the Sopranos. it's such a NY state of Mind movie - mostly take place in New Jersey. You'll understand why people rank on NY as a shithole when you see the locales they use to shoot.
Javarier Bardeem was supposed to be the Oscar Issaac character Abel B? but he dropped out for some reason, and Jessica Chastain campaigned hard for her boy - they went to acting class together at Juiliard.
Dude is talented man.
so is she. Looking all Michelle Pfieffer with her blonde drape and armani wardrobe - totally authentic, the fashion house lent them stuff from 1981 after chastain requested, saying she thought her character would only wear Armani.
A Most Violent Year comes out today and this soundtrack song sums it up real well. I liked it. Think Sons of Goodfellas or The Sopranos. Dude trying to get on up in the straight world, but it operates just as wicked as the thug life.
2014 was a such a great year for me in terms of movie watching. I started volunteering at an art house theatre again, so I've been able to see far more and better movies than I managed to in past years. I didn't see as many movies at the 2014 VIFF, since I had family visiting while it was on, but I still got in 30+.
Thinking on what I saw this year that impressed me most, I keep coming back to Le Sel de La Terre, (The Salt of the Earth), which is actually a documentary about the reknowned photographer, Sebastião Salgado. It's somewhat a false dichotomy to pit docs against fictional fare, but for sure documentaries are impressing me more than the nonfic films lately, and I don't think that's because I'm seeing bad movies either. Seems like more resources are spent to less effect making shitty movies, but that's a whole other subject. Primarily written and directed by Salgado's son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, with Wim Wenders, Salt is a gorgeous, gorgeous film, that has devastating insight into the problems facing humanity. What's more important, it offers hope and solutions too, principally through showing the efforts of one man. Granted, most of us don't have as much personal wealth, social pull and power, to work with as he does, but it's definitely inspiring to see what he has done with his sway. The world and society aren't doomed, and that you can make a difference, is what I came away with. I missed the beginning, which I don't think matters much in my evaluation either. I just missed out on more awesome examples of Salgado's premier photojournalism. I can't wait until I get a chance to see it in it's entirety, I only wish it could be at the Performing Arts Centre's humungo screen again.
In terms of fictional films, I saw sooooo many good ones. Birdman, Dance of Reality, The Editor, Force Majeure, Foxcatcher, Grand Budapest Hotel, Locke, Mommy, Nightcrawler, Nymphomaniac, Snowpiercer, Under The Skin, and Whiplash, are some of the standouts released this year that I managed to see, and I saw a lot of older films that were awesome too. Finally got to see Touch of Evil! Not to forget the Cronenberg and Jodorowsky stuff I was missing, plus I got a few more Godard films under my belt as well.
I saw a ton of good docs too, volunteering at a documentary festival definitely helped my numbers there ;) 69: Love, Sex, Senior, 1971, 20,000 Days on Earth, Advanced Style, Art and Craft, A Brony Tale, The Case Against 8, Crazywater, A Fragile Trust, Freak Out!, Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians, Honour Your Word, The Internet's Own Boy, Jodorowsky's Dune, Life Itself, Mirage Men, The Overnighters, Plot for Peace, The Red Army, The Reunion, Whitey: The United States vs James J. Bulger, are the best that I can recall at the moment.
My top 2014 regular movie pick is Wild though, and I notice while it's not a documentary, it is a dramatization based on a true story - the memoir that Cheryl Strayed wrote about her epic 1800 km hike along the Pacific Coast Trail. It's my top choice because it's one of the films that had the most emotional resonance for me, and also because it had a very humanist theme of acceptance. Plus, visually it's practically 100% camping porn. I think Reese Witherspoon has a good shot at taking home an Oscar for her performance.
Perhaps films based around real life experiences are simply bound to have more profound and relatable emotional payoffs.
I loved the soundtrack too.
Since I've been watching more and BETTER flicks, I've noticed I generally have less desire to articulate my opinions on them. I don't know if that's because I have less time to so, what with seeing more altogether, and having time taken up by work too - probably both. In any case, I've decided I'll make time to at least keep track of every film I see and post a trailer or poster pic, even if I don't express any judgements about them. This is my film nerdery rising up I guess, but there's something oh so satisfying about making lists, and documenting your actions.
I have yet to see these 2014 offerings: A Most Violent Year, A Most Wanted Man, Accused, American Sniper, Annie, Begin Again, Belle, Beyond The Lights, Big Hero 6, Black or White, The Book of Life, The Boxtrolls, Cake, Calvary, Camp Xray, Cheatin', CitizenFour, Corn Island, Dear White People, The Drop, Elsa & Fred, End of the Tour, The Equalizer, Exodus, The Fault in Our Stars, Fort Bliss, Fury, The Gambler, Get On Up, Goodbye to Language, The Guide, The Homesman, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Humbling, The Hundred Foot Journey, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Inherent Vice, The Judge, Kill The Messenger, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, Leviathan, Love is Strange, Low Down, Magic in the Moonlight, Mateo, Men Women and Children, Miss Julie, Mr. Turner, My Old Lady, Obvious Child, Olvidados, The One I Love, Pride, The Railway Man, The Rover, Rio 2, St Vincent, Selma, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, Song of the Sea, Still Alice, Two Days, One Night, Tangerines, Timbuktu, To Kill a Man, Top Five, The Tribe, Unbroken, Wetlands, White Bird in a Blizzard, White God, and Winter Sleep, among others.
So good movies and the opportunity to opine on them abound in my queue still. :)
