Two lists down, two to go. So, last year in film: it was OK. It started on a sour note with Monuments Men and ended on a bizarre one with The Interview, but there was plenty to smile about. I liked that more movies opted into online distribution, as it still seems like there are a bunch of great indie movies that never make it into theaters anywhere around me. So yeah, let me remind you that this is not a list of the best movies of the year, but simply my favorites of the ones I saw. And I didn’t see a whole lot! I wish there was a guide somewhere that told you what movies are going to be on most critics’ end of the year lists, it sure would make SIFF easier. As it stands, there’s still plenty of 2014 to be mopped up for me, but my immediate focus will be on movies from John and Colin’s lists that I haven’t seen such as The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Calvary, Still Alice, Listen Up Philip, and Under The Skin. And then maybe some of the Oscar bait? I don’t know.
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There are probably a few clear indicators that 2014 was a perfectly just OK year for movies.  One of them would be the Oscar nominations which, yes I still kinda care about, and seem to have a lot less exciting things nominated than most years (they managed to nominate two British period pieces this year!  Two!)  Then there’s also the fact that I ended up seeing less movies in 2014 than most years, and yet there aren’t that many movies that I regret not catching up with.  Still, there was some good stuff, so how about we talk about this good stuff? Continue reading →

Looking through the John Otteni Film Database (a TextEdit file on my Mac), I’ve determined that 2014 tried its best but like Icarus, foolishly soared too high, and lost control of its servo guidance mechanism. It’s a shame because me and 2013 were basically BFF’s: Inside Llewyn Davis, Her, Nebraska, Frances Ha? You kidding me? And at least 2012 and myself still occasionally talk on the phone. How could we not when we can talk about great films like: Skyfall, Looper, Life of Pi, and Django Unchained. 2014? There were some brief moments of passion but that’s about as far as it goes. So without any further ado, let’s try and look back.

Honorable Mention
Dear White People
Obvious Child
Snowpiercer

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For some reason, TV felt a little more trivial to me than it has in the past few years of this supposed New Golden Age Of Television.  Perhaps it had to do with the further rise to prominence of the Neflix’s and the Amazon’s of the world, and just the sheer mass of shows out there seemed to make it feel a little less special when something really great would show up on the television landscape.  But perhaps that’s just me nitpicking, since looking at my list there are a lot of shows that I really liked that aren’t even on there, and there are still a couple I need to catch up with like Transparent and Veep (I’m working on it), but for the most part I watched everything I wanted to watch and here’s what rose to the top. Continue reading →