Best of 2014

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. :)

Golden Globes 2011

I recorded The Golden Globes last night.  Watched them when I woke up before I got spoilers on the winners from my email or wherever.  I don't remember watching them before, though I do know they have a reputation for more shenanigans than other awards, that the stars get drunk and cut loose more, also that there is controversy regarding awards/nominations being bought.  Like c'mon, The Tourist getting a nod?  That was such a piece of crap film.  It makes sense though; there's so much benefit to be gained for a product with an award.   Even a nomination gives whatever a sheen of prestige.  Of course the integrity of the process should be questioned, but who really cares?  It's just entertainment, and yeah it's a big money business, but it's only show biz, right?

Anyhow, this was the first time I watched an awards show with the DVR, and it was nice being able to rewind and skip bits. The show is long and boring though.  There's not much of interest aside from looking at the celebrities and seeing who you can recognise and speculate on what all plastic surgeries they might have had or whether it's just ageing that's transformed them.  If you haven't watched any of the nominations, it's more difficult to predict who will win, but more important, if you ain't watched anything in the category, you can't weigh in with your own opinion and therefore, you have less investment in the outcome.   I've seen most of the nominated films, but even  I didn't much care who or what won. 

I thought maybe Jeremy Irons had too much to drink when he started shoulder groping the diminutive Dr. Aida Takla O'Reilly, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press.  She giggled and looked uncomfortable as he leaned over her, draping his arm around her and being all massagey finger hands.  Joe thought maybe he was just trying to get closer to the mic, but I thought he was showing bad boundaries, a fairly common thing where men assume women are fine with hugginess.  Could be he's a huggy guy.  Who knows, but the reaction shots of Nicole Kidman and Madonna, where they did not look impressed, seem to indicate they thought he was crossing lines too.

I liked when Jimmy Fallon made fun of Adam Levine - show me your moves like Jagger.  I guess this was a reference to a song of  Levine's.  I've never heard the song, Maroon 5? but it's always fun seeing a big ego get prickly in the face of criticism.  I did like Lambert's big floppy bow tie and tux.

I tried not to judge any of the stars for their looks, except it's hard not too what with all the too smooth and wrinkles stretched tight plastic surgeried older actresses. When Jessica Lange won, I was marvelling on how's she's totally redone in the mode of Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore.  The reaction shots while she was giving her acceptance speech were of her cohorts and about half the fun of seeing them was figuring out which of them has had much more work done than others.  I don't think there's an undone women in Hollywood.  It's just part of the business, keeping your looks up to an unnatural standard.  The men get work done too, but they seem to start later, and there's less pressure on them to look young and beautiful anyhow.

I noticed a few of the dresses, the standouts being Reese Witherspoon looking Hollywood glamorous gorgeous in a red dealio that emphasised her curves.

and Jessica Biel in a see-through super slutty lacy looks like a wedding dress. 

 

I felt sorry for Angelina Jolie some, as her sleeveless gown emphasised how so, so bony she's become. 
 Makes me worry for her some. 

Also Natalie Portman's dress had a big hip wing that looked like a mistake.

There is so much TV I have never heard of, and have no interest in seeing.  There were a couple few series I've actually watched an episode of, but very few TV shows nominated intrigued me enough where I'd make the time commitment to check out a new series.  What if I like it?  It's way too much of an investment getting into a series.  I like movies much better.  Over and done with in the 90 - 120 minute range usually.

Morgan Freeman winning the Cecile B. Demille award was a bit excruciating to watch.  Sidney Poitier was having problems reading the teleprompter and his intro came off super pompous and fatuous.  Made me roll my eyes some, and I like Morgan Freeman.  He's done a whole lot of interesting work.  Still, it seems to me that he's like an Uncle Tom kinda guy who has done roles that make Americans feel like racism is in the past and really we shouldn't even be talking about it anymore.  Meanwhile more black men are in jail now than were slaves in 1850.  It was sweet that Freeman said, in his house, the award would be known as the Sidney Poitier award.

I'm happy The Help got some play as this is a movie that overtly addresses racism, albeit in the past. Octavia Spencer won best supporting actress for playing a maid who talks shit about her bitchy employer through a proxy white girl.  It's kinda pathetic that this is how the issue of racism is presented, but I guess any talk on these issues is progress.  At least she gave a nod to the dignity and worth of domestic labourers.  This was THE ONLY political moment in the whole show, aside from Clooney massaging Brad Pitts ego for his charity work where?  In the world....outside of Hollywood.  I guess the stars are aware they are in an enclave of privilege and playing up the part is part of the game too.  Gervais's offhand comment at the end that he hoped the champagne, gift bags, and gold took everyones' mind off the recession, backs that up.