The Best And Worst Movies Of 2014

Well, I guess it's that time of year for me to yet again sum up my favorite and least favorite movies for 2014. This isn't a new tradition, as I've ranked movies at the end of the year several times before. However, it seems like my lists change every year, as in 2012 I only did my top 10 favorite movies and in 2013 I did my top 10 and bottom 5. But this year I wanted to change it up again and I felt like my favorite 3 and least favorite 3 movies would make a well-rounded list. Overall, I feel like this year has been pretty solid in the movie department. There weren't a lot of terrible movies that I saw, but there also weren't many outstanding movies either. However, a few did stand out to me on either side of the spectrum. I also want to add that all of the movies that I evaluated for my list this year were both released in 2014 and watched by me in 2014. Enjoy, and tell me what your favorite and least favorite movies of 2014 were.

BEST MOVIES OF 2014:

1. Interstellar:
Overall, I really enjoyed Interstellar and I feel like it brought not only great directing, acting, screenwriting and visuals to the table, but also had an outstanding soundtrack. I had some minor issues with this film (which I won't elaborate on as this isn't a review for Interstellar), but the high points exceedingly outshone any negative aspects about this film, and ultimately this is why I chose it as my favorite movie of 2014.
My Rating: ★★★★☆

2. Nightcrawler:
The crime thriller Nightcrawler "crawled" its way to number two on my favorite movies list for this year. I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but maybe that's why I enjoyed it as much as I did. It's certainly a dark film, but is pulled off with the perfect combination of elements. Overall, I was very impressed with the acting on Gyllenhaal's part, and also the atmosphere that Nightcrawler evoked. These are the reasons why it's one of my favorite films of 2014. (Read my movie review for Nightcrawler here).
My Rating: ★★★★☆

3. Lucy:
The 2014 science fiction film Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, landed in third place on my list for the best movies of 2014. I thought that this movie had a fast-paced, unique and very intriguing plot that I had never seen before, and it held my attention from beginning to end. I will admit that this movie did not have it all; certain parts of it were a little over-the-top. However, to me this does not overrun the many aspects about Lucy that I really enjoyed, and so it is my 3rd place pick for the best movies of 2014.
My Rating: ★★★★☆

WORST MOVIES OF 2014:

1. Divergent:
What can I say about this film, other than predictable. Having never read the series of books that the film Divergent is based on, I had no preconceived notions about this movie. But between the easily predictable plot from beginning to end, poor acting, and cookie cutter character relationships that I have seen all too much of in many movies recently, Divergent left me sorely disappointed. Ultimately it was, in my opinion, the worst movie that I saw all year. (Read my movie review for Divergent here).
My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

2. Men, Women & Children:
I wanted this movie to be good, but boy did it let me down big time. This movie was simply too messy, and what could have been a solid concept for a film was over-complicated. There were too many different storylines going on for there to be any real substance, and in addition I found all of the storylines to be overdramatic and unrealistic. Ultimately, director Jason Reitman took what could have been a great movie and bogged it down with too much drama, landing this movie at number two for my worst films of 2014.
My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

3. Heaven Is For Real:
This movie wasn't entirely bad and did have some positive elements. But with this being said, its plot lacked the anchor that it desperately needed to really pull the audience in. It also didn't help that throughout the length of Heaven Is For Real, I kept feeling like religion was being shoved too far down my throat. I feel like the religious part of the film could have been handled in a different way that would have made it much more enjoyable to watch. This is why Heaven Is For Real is one of my least favorite movies of 2014.
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler was truly a movie that took me by surprise. In viewing the trailer for this film, it was honestly not a movie that appealed to me all that much, and I originally had no intention of watching it. But on one boring night with nothing better to do, I opted to watch Nightcrawler for some random reason and was quite pleasantly surprised with the film overall.
Nightcrawler follows the story of Louis Bloom who is looking for a job. Upon witnessing a car accident one night and seeing a news crew turn up to record the action, he eventually works his way into the cutthroat crime journalism industry. Becoming caught up in being the best in the business, Bloom walks the fine line between reporting and perpetuating the crimes that bolster his paycheck.
The movie itself is fast and precise, just like its lead character. There's no off-shooting storylines that weigh this movie down. I think this is largely why I enjoyed it, because I quickly got swept up in both the plot and the character of Lou Bloom and his brash way of operating. I actually had apprehensions about Jake Gyllenhaal playing the lead in this movie, as in my opinion some of his other characters have been somewhat overacted (namely Detective Loki in the 2013 film Prisoners). However, I found his portrayal of Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler to be a good mix of believable, idiosyncratic, and unhinged to the perfect degree.
The one negative aspect that I felt pulled this movie down a bit was the relationship between Lou Bloom and Nina, the news director that buys his footage. I found it to be bizarre and slightly off-putting in a way that's hard to explain. I can see the vision that Dan Gilroy (writer and director) had for this part of the storyline, but it was nonetheless an element of Nightcrawler that didn't seem to mesh correctly with the rest of the movie.
Overall, if you typically enjoy thrillers and crime movies and can stomach seeing some blood and gore, I would recommend seeing this movie. It's not a film that I would proclaim to be amazing, but it is certainly worthy of any award nominations that it receives and is worth a watch.

Rating: R

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller

Run Time: 117 minutes

Release Date: October 31, 2014

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Album Review: Goddess

I decided to do yet another album review here on my blog, and this one is for the album called Goddess by the singer Banks. This is her debut album, and overall I am enjoying what I've heard from her so far.
All of the songs on Goddess have a very smooth-sounding quality to them, with a combination of both electronic and R&B influences. I feel that this style of music that Banks has created for herself is a good mix of the electronic sound that dominates many popular songs today, but is balanced out well by the use of more soulful and slower R&B. It's the kind of music that one can slowly fall asleep to at night, due to it's slow and methodical qualities.
But despite the album's calm and soothing sound, the lyrics that Banks applies to her melodies on Goddess pull the songs down to a, for lack of a better word, depressing place. This is the one aspect of this album that I dislike somewhat, as its seemingly dulcet exterior gives way to woeful lyrical themes. In other words, listening to this album will not necessarily put you in your happy place.
Putting this one negative aside however, overall I have enjoyed the majority of the tracks on Goddess. I think that Banks is one musician to keep our eyes (and ears) out for in upcoming years, as I see a lot of potential in her debut album Goddess.

Artist: Banks

Genre: Electronica/R&B/trip hop

Number of Songs: 14 (plus 4 bonus tracks)

Release Date: September 5, 2014

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Album Review: Little Machines

I believe that this is the first album review that I've ever done on my blog, and so I figured that I would start with a really good one. The album that I'm reviewing is called Little Machines, and is by the Canadian musician Lights. I have been familiar with much of her music for a while, but it was only until recently that I began listening to some of the songs on her newest album.
I was not disappointed; several of the songs on this album became stuck in my head (in the best way possible) after only listening to them a few times. One aspect of Little Machines that I really find pleasing is the mix of well-written and heartfelt lyrics put to catchy, electronic-pop music. I find that most lyrically deep songs today are often quite melancholic while upbeat songs are often very lyrically shallow, but this album forms the perfect bridge between the two. You can lyrically relate to the songs, but the music provides a catchy and upbeat accompaniment to them.
I really do like all of the tracks on this album, but I would say that my personal favorites are Speeding (track 5), Muscle Memory (track 6), and Lucky Ones (bonus track 13). If you are at all familiar with this album, or the artist Lights in general, let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section.

Artist: Lights

Genre: Pop/synthpop

Number of Songs: 11 (plus 3 bonus tracks)

Release Date: September 19, 2014

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Movie Review: Divergent

I guess I should begin this review by saying that I have never read any of the Divergent books, which this movie is based on. I don't know if reading them would have made me enjoy this movie any more or less, but putting this fact aside I do know exactly how I felt about the film.
To begin I'll give a quick synopsis of what the movie Divergent is about. Basically, it takes place in a future society where five different factions exist. The main character of the film, Beatrice, does not fit into any of the five factions, thus making her a divergent. Ultimately her identity as a divergent is compromised and her life is in danger due to this. The climax of the movie occurs when the leader of one of the factions, Jeanine, attempts to overtake the entire society by taking control of the members of Beatrice's faction and controlling their actions. Since Beatrice is a divergent, she is unaffected and must stop Jeanine.
Okay, now for the review itself. The movie Divergent failed on so many levels for me, from the sub-par and predictable plot to the hardly formidable villain that Kate Winslet portrayed. The entire time I was watching Divergent, I was conscious of the fact that I was always waiting for something else to happen that would really pull me into the story line or the characters in some way, but this never happened. None of the characters seemed to click, and their relationships with each other were not believable to me as a viewer. Even the main romance between Beatrice and the character Four seemed very unnatural to me, and was also very predictable.
I feel like I basically spent 2 hours waiting for more to happen. Even during the action scenes in Divergent, it never felt like enough was going on. To sum up all of my feelings about this movie, I would say that it's a stagnant story line featuring unconvincing character relationships, all put to a really bad-ass soundtrack (my one praise for this movie). Overall I would not recommend Divergent.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Science Fiction/Action

Run Time: 139 minutes

Release Date: March 21, 2014

My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆