(Other Years' Awards)
Part I - Best Films of 2014
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)
FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN -
Best -
Chef [2014] - R (strange rating, probably for lang.) - 4 Stars - apparently a single work / kitchen scene with a lot of bad words gave this movie an R rating but otherwise this film is about as family oriented as it gets. The father must choose between his career and his 10 y/o son and ... comes to choose wisely ;-)
Honorable Mentions -
Rio 2 [2014] - G / A-I - 4 Stars - no questions here. A technically excellent and reliably safe family oriented movie here about a family of ... parrots ;-)
Night at the Museum: The Secret of the Tomb [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - continues and with Robin Williams' passing probably brings to an end another excellent family friendly film built around a father and son relationship.
Cantinflas [2014] - PG - 4 Stars - lovely family oriented Hollywood movie, fully bilingual, about comic genius / "Mexico's Charlie Chaplin" Cantinflas and who, despite being "a star" was also a family man.
Belle and Sebastian (orig. Belle et Sébastien) [2013] - (UR would be PG) - France (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Lovely film but probably will never be seen most American kids because, well ... it's IN FRENCH ;-). It's about an orphan kid, Sebastian, who gets taken in by a nice family and who, along with his lovely sheep dog Belle (also a originally a stray) "work together" then to "fight the Nazis" Never has the Resistance been SOOO cute ;-).
The Babadook [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - a different kind of "family oriented movie" but honestly with the exception of _really small kids_ probably _the best_ "really scary movie" that the whole family could enjoy to come out in a long, long time. About a "story book monster" named "Mister Babadook" who knocks on the door "Duk - Duk - Duk" and if you let him in, he'll NEVER, EVER LEAVE ;-)
FOR FAMILY ORIENTED FILMS FOR FAMILIES WITH TEENS -
Best -
Divergent [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - honestly in good part about a family with maturing teens in very stressed (indeed "post-Apocalyptic") circumstances that still finds a way to "work together."
Honorable Mentions -
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - 3 1/2 Stars - a family, Hispanic, probably undocumented, has to ALSO deal with a 12-y/o moderately autistic son.
The Hundred Foot Journey [2014] - PG / A-III - 4 Stars - Pakistani / Indian Muslim family living in England moves to France so that the oldest son could pursue career as a chef.
Chef [2014] - R (strange rating, probably for lang.) - 4 Stars - See above
BEST INTERGENERATIONAL FILMS (Best Family Centered Films for Adults) -
Best -
Still Alice [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 4 Stars - 50-yo univ. prof with loving husband, three grown kids comes down with early onset Alzheimers.
Honorable Mentions -
Boyhood [2014] - R / L - 4 Stars - intergenerational "phenom" certainly one of the best American pictures of the year, but despite its title is really aimed at an adult intergenerational audience.
Cinemanovels [2013] - R - Canada (subtitled at times) - 3 Stars - An adult daughter working to forgive her beloved "national icon" father, now deceased, who she remembers as having abandoned her and her mother for "HIS muse" / "love of HIS life" when SHE was child.
Colette [2013] - UR (would be R) - Czech Rep (Eng. dubbed) - 3 1/2 Stars - a very poignant and different kind of Holocaust movie - No "Bielski brothers with guns" here. Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, honestly, how did you survive the Holocaust?
Gloria [2013] - R - Chile (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - In case you think your 50 y/o mom is already "dead" / "not worthy" of (much further serious) consideration ;-).
My Old Lady [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - 50-something, never made much of himself son confronting the legacy of his far more successful but otherwise generally dirt-bag, now deceased father.
The Forgotten Kingdom [2013] - UR (would be R) - South Africa / Lesotho (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Listless 20-something son living in J-burg (in the city) must go back to Lesotho (in the country) to bury his father.
The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013] - PG - India (subtitled at times) - 4 Stars - an inter-generational "love story" (of sorts) built around the simple misdirection of a single lunch box in sprawling Mumbai one day.
The Theory of Everything [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - the story of renowned theoretical physicist Steven Hawkins and his wife / family that's taken care of him.
Wild [2014] - R - Drama - 3 1/2 Stars - a young lost woman decides to "walk her way back" to being the woman her beloved mother thought she was.
BEST GENERAL CHILDREN'S ORIENTED FILM
Best -
Big Hero 6 [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - a little boy must learn to be nice even if he wants to turn the inflatable / balloon-like robot that his older brother left him into a "Iron-Man" like "superhero" ;-)
Honorable Mentions -
The Lego Movie [2014] - PG / A-I - 4 Stars - just an unbelievably cute movie with little other social value (besides its unbelievable cuteness ;-)
Annie [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - remake of the musical "Annie" but set in the present day rather than during the Depression Era. The movie's still cute but also with more of a bite.
The Book of Life [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - lovely "Halloween"-like movie based on the traditions of the Mexican "Day of the Dead" (Nov 2).
BEST TEEN ORIENTED FILM (for boys) -
Best -
Guardians of the Galaxy [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - Probably the funnest teenage oriented movie of the year. Soon after a little boy's mother dies (of cancer), he's "abducted by aliens." Life's never the same, but IT IS ... interesting ;-).
Honorable Mentions -
Dracula Untold [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - The (mostly true) story of Vlad the Impaler who made a "deal with the Devil" to (try to) save his people.
The Maze Runner [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - probably the best of the boy oriented "post apocalyptic" thrillers being written and made into movies these days.
Stones for the Rampart (orig. Kamienie na szaniec) [2014]- UR (would be R) - Poland (subtitled) - 4 Stars - kinda like the "Red Dawn [2012] [1984]" movies but FOR REAL. About A BOY SCOUT TROOP that fought with the Polish Resistance (Home Army) during WW II.
BEST TEEN ORIENTED FILM (for girls) -
Best -
Divergent [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - Probably the best of these teen-oriented post-Apocalyptic sagas put on the screen as of now.
Honorable Mentions -
The Fault in Our Stars [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - She's got cancer, he's got cancer, but they're in love. A great sappy teenage drama / love story.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1 [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - another of the teen-oriented post-Apocalyptic series (pt 3/4), one that IMHO is improving with each installment.
BEST FILM THAT WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR SCHOOL WORK -
Best -
Night at the Museum: The Secret of the Tomb [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - a blissful run through so many historical (and prehistorical ;-) figures in so little time and an invitation to study them all. The link to wikipedia is right here ;-)
Honorable Mentions -
Belle [2013] - PG - 3 1/2 Stars / The Invisible Woman [2013] - R - 3 Stars - the two invisible English women of the 19th century, one black, one white, but both with their place in history.
Colette [2013] - UR (would be R) - Czech Rep (Eng. dubbed) - 3 1/2 Stars - A story of survival INSIDE Auschwitz. // Aftermath (orig. Pokłosie) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Noir-ish Historical Drama about Holocaust secrets that remain in the Polish countryside - 4+ Stars
Selma [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 4 Stars - not perfect but L.B.J.'s _good name_ with live and the point of demonstrations at Selma were not about LBJ but about the 20-30 million African Americans who finally got their constitutional right to vote back.
Cesar Chavez [2013] - PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - Lovely dramatization of CATHOLIC, Hispanic, Migrant Workers' Rights advocate Cesar Chavez.
Dracula Untold [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - so you wonder why the Balkans are such a mess.
The German Doctor (orig. Wakolda) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Argentina (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Historical drama about Nazi War criminal Joseph Mengele's time in a notorious town in Argentina's Patagonia region.
Generation War (orig. Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Historical Drama - 4 Stars - Two part movie / originally a miniseries about 5 young Germans (one Jewish) who "came of age" during WW II.
Words and Pictures [2014] - PG-13 - 2 1/2 Stars - fun teen accessible film that asks the question what's more important / impactful: "words" or "pictures."
BEST FILM THAT ASKS THE BIG QUESTIONS -
Best -
A Dream of Iron (orig. Cheol-ae-kum) [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - South Korea (subtitled) - 3 Stars - a visual reflection about Man and his Mastery of the Environment
Honorable Mentions -
August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] (UR would be R) - Brazil (subtitled) - 4 Stars - a "small, personalist film" about a young Afro-Brazilian couple living in North Eastern coastal Brazil. How much does one really need to be happy?
Citizenfour [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - Documentary made in real time about former NSA contractor Edward Snowden as he leaked information about the extent of NSA surveillance of the American / World's population. It may all be needed to frustrate deeply hidden terrorist plots, but IMHO he was right, we do need to at least discuss it / give some kind of societal consent.
Repentance [2014] - R - 3 1/2 Stars - African American drama / thriller that asks the question of what truly constitutes "repentance."
Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014] - PG-13 - Belgium/France (subtitled) - 4 Stars - Reminds us of the question: What are the values/benefits of work? It is only about monetary compensation that we get from it, or are there other values/benefits to work?
Words and Pictures [2014] - PG-13 - 2 1/2 Stars - fun teen accessible film that asks the question what's more important / impactful: "words" or "pictures." And ALSO asks if "a teacher that is flawed can still have a (POSITIVE) impact?"
BEST "SMALL" FILM -
Best -
August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] (UR would be R) - Brazil (subtitled) - 4 Stars - fascinating film centered on a young Afro-Brazilian couple living in North Eastern coastal Brazil.
Honorable Mentions
Locke [2013] - R - United Kingdom - 4+ Stars - at the end of work one day, a civil engineer, Locke, decides the time has come to come straight / fix his life. Two hours of "hands-free" cell phone conversations (all while driving) follow ;-)
The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013] - PG - India (subtitled at times) - 4 Stars - a LOVELY story build around the mis-delivery of a single lunch box to an office worker in sprawling Mumbai one day.
The Stranger by the Lake (orig. L'inconnu du Lac) [2013] - UR (would be R / NC-17) - France (subtitled) - 3 Stars - an excellent gay-themed film / thriller that simply takes place alongside a random lake somewhere in rural France during the summer.
My Old Lady [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - Just a well staged, well acted, tight little (family) drama that honestly keeps you guessing all the way to the end.
Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014] - PG-13 - Belgium (subtitled) 4 Stars - A woman who had been on extended sick-leave (for depression...) is given a weekend by her boss to convince her coworkers to take her back (at their expense).
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night [2014] - R - Iran-Exiles (subtitled) - Horror / Drama - 4 Stars - possibly the coolest vampire movie in long, long time, and without need of a lot of special effects.
The Babadook [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - Great "really scary movie" / "horror film" that reminds us again that a lot special effects are _not_ necessary to scare the daylights out of us if the story is good ;-)
BEST OPENLY RELIGIOUS FILM -
Best -
The Song [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 4+ Stars - IMHO the most creative of the year's openly religious films, basically retelling the story of the Biblical King Solomon but setting it in the present day: The son of a flawed but beloved "country music legend" (named David King ;-), sets out to "step out of the shadow" of his sooo famous dad. Many personal adventures, trials and tribulations ensue ...
Honorable Mentions -
Calvary [2014] - R / L - Drama - 4+ Stars - Graham Greene-like story of an Irish priest who is "sentenced to die in a week's time" by a penitent he encounters in the Confessional one Sunday morning. Why? For the sins of other priests in the Church's present-day sexual abuse crisis. The film then follows the priest over the week that follows as "the clock ticks down..."
Son of God [2014] - PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - the "Gospel portion" of the History Channel's The Bible [2013] TV Series released as a stand-alone movie. Viewers who know and enjoy the Bible will enjoy how the film-makers apply the Scriptures in the film. Also IMHO the best/most credible/balanced portrayal of Mary Magdalene in recent film.
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago [2013] - UR would be PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - a documentary that follows six different "pilgrims" and pilgrims who set out to walk the Camino de Santiago de Campostella one recent summer.
Leviathan (orig. Левиафан) [2014] - R - Russia (subtitled) - 3 Stars - A powerful Russian film challenging the (in this case, Russian Orthodox) Church to stand up and _become_ what it would like itself to be: "the conscience of the people." The film includes a telling reference to the notorious protest made by Pussy Riot at a Moscow cathedral some years ago.
BEST (YOUNG ADULT) RELATIONSHIP FILM -
Best -
Begin Again [2014] - R / A-III - 4 Stars - One of the best young-adult post-breakup movies ever made.
Honorable Mentions -
What If [2014] - PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - Excellent RomCom on the value of friendship before "jumping in the sack."
Life After Beth [2013] - R - 3 Stars - Fun RomCom about someone having trouble "letting go" even after ... she's DEAD ;-)
Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014] - UR (would be R) - Poland/Italy (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Polish film by a fairly famous director about two young adults (she even seriously discerning if she'd want to be / was being called to be a nun) who _do_ "actually believe."
BEST FILM FOR FILM LOVERS -
For the Cinematography -
Best -
The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] - R / A-III - 1 1/2 Stars (w. expl.)- created a stunning, uniquely stylized storybook "European lost world"
Honorable Mentions -
Miss Christina (orig. Domnisoara Christina) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Romania (subtitled) - 4 Stars - a ROMANIAN "vampire movie" ;-) / rarely did a vampire look _so good_ ;-)
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For [2014] - R / O - 2 Stars w. Expl. - made in high contrast B&W, the film looks honestly like a moving graphic novel.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night [2014] - R - Iran-Exiles (subtitled) - 4 Stars - again filmed in high contrast B&W one of the _coolest_ looking films of the year.
A Dream of Iron (orig. Cheol-ae-kum) [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - South Korea (subtitled) - 3 Stars - the awesomeness of the imagery lends support to the argument that we (humanity) are really coming to "plant our flag" / dominate this world.
The Stranger by the Lake (orig. L'inconnu du Lac) [2013] - UR (would be R / NC-17) - France (subtitled) - 3 Stars - the lovely laziness of the imagery here helps one to feel like one's "on vacation" as well
Mr. Turner [2013] - R - 2 1/2 Stars - some of the landscape shots honestly look like the paintings made by the artist.
Repentance [2014] - R - 3 1/2 Stars - filmed out in New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou and one honestly feels that one is there.
Nightcrawler [2014] - R / L - 3 1/2 Stars - filmed almost entirely at night the cinematography expresses perfectly the creepiness of the film
Big Eyes [2014] - PG-13 - 1 Star w. Expl. - again, the cinematography makes one feel like one has entered the hyper-real comercial "Andy Warhol"-ness of the time and place (San Francisco in the 1950s-early 60s) portrayed.
300: Rise of an Empire [2014] - R / L - 2 stars - made in a high contrast stylized manner, again the "hyper-reality" makes you feel like you are _right there_
Dracula Untold [2014] - 3 1/2 Stars - stylized cinematography makes one feel the Balkan Christians' pain during that extremely difficult time of the Ottoman invasions.
Hercules [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - again the stylized cinematography makes one feel that "one is there" with "Herc and his crew" in ancient Greece
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies [2014] - PG-13 / A-II - 3 Stars - a "final ticket to Middle Earth" for a while. If you like this kind of world, it has been one heck of an enjoyable ride ;-)
For Originality / Tightness of Story -
Best -
Boyhood [2014] - R / L - 4 Stars - American indie film, filmed with the same principal cast over the course of 10 years to tell the story of a typical American boy growing-up
Honorable Mentions -
Locke [2013] - R - 4+ Stars - follows the story of middle-aged man/civil engineer making some fairly key decisions about his life while "commuting home" one evening and placing the key cell-phone calls to the key players as he drives.
The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] - R / A-III - 1 1/2 Stars - tells basically the story of "the lost Hapsburg Empire" of Central Europe in a very interesting/visually stylized sort of way.
My Old Lady [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - originally a stage play, tells the story of a 50 or so year old man confronting (and being confronted by) the legacy of his far more successful but also problematic and, more to the point, recently deceased, father
The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - tells the story of an entire romance of sorts, caused by the random misdirection of a lunch box delivered to the wrong person one afternoon in Mumbai.
Tricked (orig. Steekspel) [2012] - PG-13 - 3 Stars - a Dutch film that was recently assembled in ten 4 minute segments over the span of a year by a national television audience writing-in its suggestions as to how the story should proceed after each successive 4 minute segment was made and aired on Dutch TV.
Repentance [2014] - R - 3 1/2 Stars - a tight African American centered "indie film" set in New Orleans and the Louisiana Bayou that asks some fairly universal questions about repentence and atonement for a single tragedy / crime.
August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] (UR would be R) - Brazil (subtitled) - 4 Stars - again a tight little story about a young couple living out their lives in a small, random coastal hamlet in North Eastern Brazil where time like everywhere else passes but also like everywhere else almost imperceptibly.
The Babadook [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - a great little "scary movie" for the whole family that reminds viewers again that a good scary story need not involve complex special effects.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM -
Best -
Citizenfour [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - documentary about the motives / actions of former NSA contractor / leaker Edward Snowden
Honorable Mentions -
The Fourth Partition / Czwarta Dzielnica [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - 3 1/2 Stars - Excellent Chicago based documentary about Poland's immigrant community in Chicago in the late-19th and early 20th centuries and its contributions both to the building-up of the United States into the modern industrial state that it became and to the creation of a modern independent Poland following WW II.
Life Itself [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - lovely documentary about the life and especially the final years legendary Midwestern / Chicago film-critic Roger Ebert
A Dream of Iron (orig. Cheol-ae-kum) [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - South Korea (subtitled) - 3 Stars - a visual reflection on Humanity's ever increasing dominance over Nature.
The Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari (orig. небесные жены луговых мари) [2012] - a documentary of sorts organized around some 20 or so folk tales of the Meadow Mari (a Finno-Ugric people) living on the banks of the central Volga. The Maris are called "the last authentic pagans of Europe" and as such offer anthropologists today a window into the practices of pre-Christian Europe.
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