As I tweeted earlier, year ends are field days for bloggers, as retrospectives make terrific subjects for new blogs. Well, I'm jumping in on the bandwagon here. And in typical fashion, since this is my movie blog, here's my two pence on the films I got to watch this past year. Now, the list doesn't essentially include only those films that came out in 2014. I have a few flicks from 2013 that were amongst the prime Oscar contenders. Well, being in a university means that they've free screenings of the previous year's best films and I took the best advantage of that. Alongside these are the typical weekend films as in, the films and TV shows on Netflix. Since, that list is generally exhaustive owing to frequent couch movie marathons, I included those that caught my eye or rather stayed with me for some reason or the other. Of course, I have the occasional Hindi movie thrown in for good measure, which brings me to express utter disappointment when I say there was not one Telugu movie that I felt was worth spending my time on. So much for the second largest film industry in India.
Well, moving on to warmer thoughts, I tried giving in a twist to this rewind note. Well, reviews for films are scattered all over these days and a mighty lot of them are probably way better written than what I'd be able to fathom. For an immediate expression of what I personally felt after watching any movie, I'd probably need to start using Letterboxd, the time for which wasn't on my side so far. So that makes up for one new new year's resolution for me. So, what I did here is to just use three phrases to describe what I felt were three best/worst aspects of each of these movies. Here it goes then. The three phrase retrospective of 2014 -
Her : Scarlett Johannson's voice, finding love, humanity's social fabric
Omar : Human desperation in conflicted times, Love & War, gutsy Indie film making
Highway : Alia Bhatt surprises, Imtiaz goes Indie, Rahman goes Indie
The Great Beauty : Companion piece to 'La Dolce Vita', soundtrack, cinematography
12 Years a Slave : Steve McQueen's intriguing surrealism, Mike Fassbender's villainy antics, Brad Pitt's southern accent
True Romance : Patricia Arquette being sexy and ferocious, Tony Scott's camera antics, Tarantino's dialogue
Lost Highway : Patricia Arquette being sexy and enigmatic, David Lynch's mysterious artistry, screenplays that incite endless discussion
Dallas Buyer's Club : Matthew McConaughey elicits emotions, Jared Leto impresses, Alright alright alright!
Nymphomaniac 1 & 2 : Mindboggling screenwriting, sheer sense of awe, ballsy cast
Captain Phillips : Paul Greengrass proves versatility, classic 'based on a real story' thriller, stand offs between Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi
John Wick : Nonsensical action flick, A waste of Keanu Reeves' talent, unimpressive exercise in style
The Grand Budapest Hotel : Most fun had in ages, charming storytelling, gorgeous visuals
The Lunchbox : Sublime storytelling, Nawaz Siddiqui's naivete, Neemrat Kaur's elegance
The Hustler : Paul Newman outshines everything, standard classic movie dialogue, taut storytelling
Need for Speed : Best car stunts in some time, Aaron Paul disappoints, dull pacing for an action flick
Under the Skin : Scarlett Johansson's brooding appeal, indulgent camera work, screenplays that incite endless discussion
Tahilina Sky : Kings of Leon soundtracks, rustic storytelling, honest documentary
The Ice Storm : Makes one take Ang Lee seriously, Sigourney Weaver's eyes, Christina Ricci dazzles
Dedh Ishqiya : Soundtrack, bold screenwriting, impeccable cast
Five Easy Pieces : An interesting side of Jack Nicholson, a haunting ending shot, a great monologue
Das Boot : Brilliant filmmaking techniques, seldom seen side of WW2, gutsy direction
Sophie's Choice : Meryl Streep's show through and through, undercurrents of sensuality, undercurrents of subtle emotions
The Office : Steve Carrell, Rainn Wilson, great writing
Twin Peaks : David Lynch pushes enigmatic boundaries, female cast, Red lounge soundtrack
Children of a Lesser God : Undercurrents of passion, Marlee Matlin's striking presence, William Hurt's jocular senses
From Here to Eternity : Impeccable execution, Frank Sinatra's timing, sublime plot
Shadows and Fog : Mia Farrow's elegance, quirky conversations in unusual scenarios, dazzling cinematography
Roman Holiday : Typical Italian charm in characters, Audrey Hepburn's beauty, visuals of Rome
Little White Lies : Balance of grimness and humor in script, introspective tendencies, Marion Cotillard's show
The Day I Saw your Heart : Exposition of Melanie Laurent's talent, soundtrack, subtle take on human relations
Guess who's coming to dinner : Spencer Tracy's monologue, Katherine Hepburn's poise, dialogue
Found Memories : deliberate pacing of scenes, profundity amidst extreme vagueness, gorgeous visuals
Just a Sigh : Intimacy between characters, subtlety in narration, brooding camera work
Jack Reacher : Sheer unadulterated fun, gripping storytelling, undercurrent of passion between Tom and Rosamund
Neighbors : Great premise, awful execution, Seth Rogen's wasted talent
Godzilla : Bad male lead, great storytelling technique, wrong publicity technique
Restrepo/Korengal : Gutsy documentation, unique subject, thrilling premise
Snowpiercer : A plot that incites introspection, undercurrent of social comment, decently interesting execution
Life Itself : Roger Ebert tribute, dedicated documentation, good moments of resonance
Boyhood : Historical landmark in filmmaking, Patricia Arquette exuding warmth, soundtrack
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes : Overrated drudgery, decent screenplay, achieves nothing special
Gone Girl : Terrific soundtrack-narration interplay, great balance of wit and thrill, Rosamund Pike vying for being sexiest villain ever
Fury : Stunning war visuals, unique battle tank perspective, Shia Lebouf's poignant show
Interstellar : Great silence-soundtrack balance, stunning space visuals, typical Nolan screenwriting
PK : Typical Raju Hirani lecturing, surprisingly subtle antics by Aamir Khan, execution lets down script's ambitions
Breakfast at Tiffany's : Manhattan as a backdrop, Audrey Hepburn's elegance, undercurrents of introspective storytelling
Three phrase retrospectives shall return in 2016. And possibly with a letterboxd page attached to it. Till then, have a great year in Cinema experiences folks...
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