Top Ten Movies of 2014 (And a Few Movie-Goer Tips)

Well, a year has come and gone. I didn't stay 100% true to my challenge, there were some months/weeks where I was short on funds or didn't feel like venturing out into the cold just to see a film. But, that's ok. I saw a movie ALMOST every week for a year. That's good enough, right?

2014 was not a good year for movies. I decided at the beginning of the year that at the end of my challenge, I would make a top 5 or top 10 list out of all the films I saw. This is the list, but I'm not sure I'd call it a top 10 since these are the only movies that I actually truly enjoyed. Kind of sad, isn't it? Back when motion pictures were a new concept, there would be one film out a month, so they had to make sure it was a good one. Now, 6 films can come out in one week, and, most of the time, they all suck. I saw close to 50 movies, and I only really liked 10, and out of those ten, I'd probably only buy 3. 3 movies out of 50. That means that Hollywood has spent billions of dollars on at least 47 pieces of trash. And they'll do it again in 2015, I'm sure. I'm so disappointed in the work of the today's filmmakers.

Before I get into my movie list, I would just like to share with you some tips and pointers on movie-going that I've found.

• If you want the best seats, get to the theatre no later than 30 minutes before the showtime. I usually went an hour ahead and had to wait until they were letting people in, but I always got the seat I wanted!!
• Middle is best, but the middle of the 3rd last row is better (in my opinion). It's the Sweet Seat. You're high enough that you can see clearly, but not so high that you can't tilt your head back without getting an awkward view, and not so low that you get a sore neck from having it tilted back the entire time. 
• Best seating #2: far top corner. This seat depends on the theatre. If you are in a theater that is sloped rather steep, this is not a great seat. If your theatre is gradually sloped, however, this seat is almost as good as the Sweet Seat.
• Always, always, always, pee before the movie. always. No one wants to leave mid-movie for a pee break, especially when you've paid good money to see it and you can't pause it. Want if you miss the emotional death scene that you never saw coming?! always pee beforehand.
• Popcorn and peanut M&Ms taste really good when eaten together. Try and and tell me I'm wrong (you won't, because I'm not wrong).
• For movie snacks, go to dollarama beforehand and get whatever your tastebuds desire and can fit in your (or your friend's)bag/pockets. This is technically against the theatre's policy, but they never check, and this way you can save money and get a bigger package of your favorite snack and/or drink!
• When choosing a seat, try to sit one seat to the left or right of another person. Most people respect the unspoken rule of personal space and won't sit directly beside a stranger. If you sit in the row above and one seat over from someone, you have a better chance of the seat directly in front of you remaining vacant, which gives you a very nice footrest. 
•  If you are buying more than one ticket and using a Scene Card, make separate transactions. You get 10 points per transaction, not per ticket...I learned this the hard way...
• That being said, if you go to any place that accepts a Scene Card, bring a friend (or 2 or 3) that don't have a card themselves. You can give your card to your friend(s) when they buy their ticket(s), which will give them a discount, and you more points!! (1000 points gets you a free movie, remember?)

• Last, but not least, bring a sweater and/or jacket. Once you've found your seat, place said clothing onto one of the seats next to you. This creates a barrier and, unless the movie you are seeing is extremely popular and the theatre completely fills up, most people will not sit where your sweater/jacket is placed. I learned this from Olan Rogers.

There are my tips! I hope you find them useful and enjoy your movie-going even more with them in mind! Now, without farther ado, here is my list, in no particular order.

1. Into the Woods
                   Great plot, great music, great character development, great cinematography.
2. American Hustle
                   Great cast, phenomenal cinematography, fantastic soundtrack.
3. How To Train Your Dragon 2
                   Fantastic animation, suspenseful action, great plot twists, great storyline.
4. The Budapest Hotel
                   Great script, fantastic cinematography, very funny, great narration
5. The Judge
                   Great plot, great character development, great cinematography, great great, great!
6. A Winter's Tale
                    Great plot twist, great cinematography, fantastic script, good casting.
7. The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
                   Wonderful cinematography, great directing, great soundtrack.
8. The Box Trolls
                    Great animation, great script, great characters and casting.
9. St. Vincent
                    Phenomenal character and plot development, good casting, very funny.
10. The Captive
                     Great storyline, great plot development, good suspense, great casting.

There you have it, your top movies of 2014. Of course, this is just MY personal opinion, and you are welcome to disagree with me (except for American Hustle. That was the best movie of the year, hands down, no discussion). I hope you enjoyed following me on this journey though film as much as I have enjoyed writing about it, and I hope you continue to read my reviews as continue to blog throughout 2015 (this time on new AND old films, I'm making a list). Happy movie-watching in 2015!!

Into The Woods

This was the best musical I've seen since Sweeney Todd. I loved it. Words can not describe how great this was. The casting, the lyrics, the script, the cinematography, everything was just golden!

If you haven't already, I recommend you see this fim.

I give Into The Woods an 9.5 out of 10.

Annie (2014)

Hmmm. I don't know how I feel about this. I grew up watching the one made in the 80s, with the pale-skinned, red-headed, freckle-faced kid that didn't let anybody (not even an old cranky billionaire) push her around. I didn't mind that they changed Annie's character, it made sense with the year they set it in. However some things didn't make sense. Some lines to the original songs they changed so it made more sense with the decade it was set in, but other lines or words they didn't when they really should have. I mean, they used the "Hard Knock Life" song and kept pretty close to the original. But, what does the phrase "hard knock life" even mean? Yeah, they briefly explained it, but why use that phrase at all? No kid in this decade would use that phrase, let alone know what it means. Also, they're cleaning up didn't make sense; who begins mopping before picking everything off the floor?? Not the best prop director, if you ask me.

I don't want to go into all the details about why I didn't like this film, because it really wasn't a bad film. It was definitely better than the last remake Hollywood attempted (Annie (1999)), and let us never speak of THAT again!!

Annie (2014) does NOT compare to the original, but let's be honest - nothing ever will.

I give Annie 7 out of 10.

Penguins of Madagascar

Pretty funny movie. The villain, Dave (Kevin Malkovich) reminded me of Megamind a bit, but that's ok I guess. They did write themselves into a corner at one point. If all they needed to turn the penguins cute again was something of immense cuteness, why did Dave have to create a serum to make them monsters? Couldn't he have just used something of immense monstrosity to take away their cuteness? Really, Private (Christopher Knights) should have stopped Dave before any of the penguins got shot with the serum.

The jokes were also kind of dead by the time I saw them in the theatre. The parts that were suppose to be the most funny had been in the previews so I was completely desensitized to them. However, I did enjoy Dave's clever name-dropping throughout the film. The first one everyone noticed, of course, but I don't think many noticed the others he through out there. It made me chuckle.

I give Penguins of Madagascar 5 out of 10.

Update and thingsssss

I am so sorry, you guys! It's exam period again, so things have been really busy. Also, christmas, so this have also been really broke. Hopefully, next week I can find some time to see something in theatres. Be patient, my friends!!

Big Hero 6

I've been looking forward to this movie for quite some time and, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Oh, sure, it was a good film, but it lacked originality.

First, the 6 characters resemble The Avengers quite obviously. I mean, the design of Baymax (Scott Adsit) 's super suit was pretty much a complete copy of Ironman. Also, the fact that Hiro (Ryan Potter) pretty much rides him like a dragon is kind of a copy of How to Train Your Dragon. They also have a similar bond to Hiccup and Toothless #Unoriginality

Second, I'm PRETTY sure the villain is either a copy, or maybe just a reference, to one of the bad guys in Star Wars (can't saw which one because I actually haven't seen the films....). Also, on a side note, THAT IS A FREAKING CREEPY VILLAIN FOR A CHILD'S FILM, DISNEY!!!!! And that sparrow symbol was a direct copy of the Mocking Jay film/book's symbol!!

And, third, failed teleportation? I'm pretty sure something like that happened in a game called PORTAL. Also, it kind of looked like that futuristic battle teleportation television show that was on in the 90s....what's it called? Stargate? Something like that. Anyway, No originality.

On the plus side,the characters where decently rounded, and the plot flowed nicely. Although they focused on Hiro and Baymax, the divided the rest of the character-focus equally amongst the other 4. Also, there was a significant moment where I thought they may have written themselves into a corner, or forgotten something that resulted in a flaw within the story, but they found a way out of it rather gracefully, so there's that.

I can't decide if I liked Big Hero 6 or not. although there were definitely parts I really liked, there are aspects of the film that just make me angry. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's unoriginality,especially when it comes to film. Disney has become such a disappointment to me, lately.

I give Big Hero 6 6 out of 10.

The Judge

I don't think this is even in theatres anymore, which is really unfortunate because it was good enough to be placed onto my top 10 of 2014 list. The moment it is either on DVD, BlueRay, or Netflex, you all need too watch it because, holy guacamole, it was - IS - fantastic!!

The cinematography was wonderful. Very unique, at times, but it worked. How it was shot gave the audience a clear view of the plot, the details of the characters and scenes, what a specific character may have been thinking in certain scenes, it was just all around GOOD.

Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) was a rather deep character, and Downey does an amazing job playing it off. This film has allowed me to respect him as an actor on a whole new level. Moments where Downey was crying in a scene, or holding back tears, I fully believed Hank was genuinely crying or wanting to cry. The realness was just so beautiful.

If I had to pick a favorite moment, it would have to be the very last shot of the very last scene. Hank is in the courtroom, after the trial had finished, he goes up to the judges chair and spins it around. As it spins, he stands there, staring at it. I honestly wondered if the chair would ever stop, but as it spun, it was almost like I could see the gears turning in Hank Palmer's head as he continued to star at the gradually slowing chair. I knew that he was contemplating whether or not HE should be the town's judge. As the chair slowed and eventually ceased, it stopped with the seat of the chair open towards Hank, as if to invite him in. That, mixed with the look on Hank's face, told me that he had just made his decision. BOOM. That's good filmmaking!!

I could say so much more, and I really should have written this last week so that I could recall all I wanted to share about this film. It was just so good, honestly, one of the best I've seen. Please, watch it.

I give The Judge a 10 out of 10